Release the Sun
Millennial fervor gripped many people around the world in the early nineteenth century. While Christians anticipated the return of Jesus Christ, a wave of expectation swept through Islam that the "Lord of the Age" would soon appear. In Persia, this reached a dramatic climax on May 23, 1844, when a twenty-five-year-old merchant from Shiraz named Siyyid 'Ali-Muhammad, later titled "The Bab," announced that he was the bearer of a divine Revelation destined to transform the spiritual life of the...
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Millennial fervor gripped many people around the world in the early nineteenth century. While Christians anticipated the return of Jesus Christ, a wave of expectation swept through Islam that the "Lord of the Age" would soon appear. In Persia, this reached a dramatic climax on May 23, 1844, when a twenty-five-year-old merchant from Shiraz named Siyyid 'Ali-Muhammad, later titled "The Bab," announced that he was the bearer of a divine Revelation destined to transform the spiritual life of the human race. Furthermore, he claimed that he was but the herald of another Messenger, who would soon bring a far greater Revelation that would usher in an age of universal peace. Against a backdrop of wide-scale moral decay in Persian society, this declaration aroused hope and excitement among all classes. The Bab quickly attracted tens of thousands of followers, including influential members of the clergy -- and the brutal hand of a fearful government bent on destroying this movement that threatened to rock the established order. Release the Sun tells the extraordinary story of the Bab, the Prophet-Herald of the Baha'i Faith. Drawing on contemporary accounts, William Sears vividly describes one of the most significant but little-known periods in religious history since the rise of Christianity and Islam.
Map of Persia in the time of Release the SunviiPublisher's PrefaceixPreface to the First EditionxiA Note to the ReaderxiiiPrologue51.The Promise of the Messiah92.The Search Begins193.The Promise Is Fulfilled314.The Pilgrimage and the Proclamation415.The Persecution Begins496.The Gentle Arrest557.The Enchantment of the King's Messenger638.The Avenging Hand of God779.The Kindly Governor8910.The King's Summons9911.The Tumult in Tabriz10712.The High Stone Prison11313.The Scourging at Tabriz12314.The Massacre at the Fort of Shaykh Tabarsi13915.A Wonder among Women16916.The Death of the Wisest Persian19317.The Seven Heroes of Tihran21118.The Dawn and the Sun22319.The Martyrdom of the Bab259Glossary289Bibliography305A Basic Baha'i Reading List309Index313
