Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Bab

by Nader Saiedi

In 1844 a charismatic young Persian merchant from Shiraz, known as the Báb, electrified the Shí'ih world by claiming to be the return of the Hidden Twelfth Imam of Islamic prophecy. But contrary to traditional expectations of apocalyptic holy war, the Báb maintained that the spiritual path was not one of force and coercion but love and compassion. The movement he founded was the precursor of the Bahá'í Faith, but until now the Báb's own voluminous writings have been seldom studied and often misunderstood. Gate of the Heart offers the first in-depth introduction to the writings of the Báb. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the author examines the Báb's major works in multifaceted context, explaining the unique theological system, mystical world view, and interpretive principles they embody as well as the rhetorical and symbolic uses of language through which the Báb radically transforms traditional concepts. Arguing that the Bábí movement went far beyond an attempt at an Islamic Reformation, the author explores controversial issues and offers conclusions that will compel a re-evaluation of some prevalent assumptions about the Báb's station, claims, and laws. Nader Saiedi's meticulous and insightful analysis identifies the key themes, terms, and concepts that characterize each stage of the Báb's writings, unlocking the code of the Báb's mystical lexicon. Gate of the Heart is a subtle and profound textual study and an essential resource for anyone wishing to understand the theological foundations of the Bahá'í religion and the Báb's significance in religious history.

432 pages, Paperback

Published July 5, 2023

About the author

Nader Saiedi, Ph.D., has taught at the University of Wisconsin, UCLA, University of Virginia, and Vanderbilt. He currently teaches courses in classical and contemporary social theory, social stratification, sociology of religion, and the Middle East at Carleton College in MN.

Reviews

[Daniel Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are actually two prophets (colloquially speaking) in the Baha'i Faith; there was a very briefly-lived religion based on the first, the Bab ("the Gate"), before Baha'u'llah. Baha'is revere both but very little of the voluminous writings of the Bab are translated to English. To give you a sense of the scale, just one of his books runs to 3000 pages, and he wrote a large number, several others of which are comparable to the Qur'an in length.

Saiedi's book takes this vastness and collates it meaningfully. He identifies the common threads between all the works and highlights them. He also takes deep dives into several of the Bab's major works. His process is largely to unwind the complex metaphors deployed by the Bab, and show you their facets with significant quotations. The Bab's writing is quite beautiful, it's very easy to get lost in it. Saiedi does an admirable job sifting the essential ideas out, and then illustrating those ideas with beautiful yet topical quotes. I highlighted this book all over the place. Saiedi also takes great care of readers like myself who are not deeply familiar with the Qur'an. The majority of the Bab's writings take place in an explicitly Quranic context, with direct references, structural references or at least allegory to the Qur'an, and Saiedi ensures that readers like me are not left behind.

I would certainly recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand the Bab's ideas, either in the context of the Babi Faith or as the foundational ideas of the Baha'i Faith. It is not an easy read but it's very rewarding. I expect this is going to be a deeply admired book for many years to come. If you want to know what the Bab's ideas are really about, this is your book.