Nabíl-i-A`zam

Mullá Muḥammad-i-Zarandí (29 July 1831 – 1892), more commonly known as Nabíl-i-A’ẓam (Persian: نبيل أعظم‎‎ "the Great Nabíl") or Nabíl-i-Zarandí (Persian: نبيل زرندي‎‎ "Nabíl of Zarand"), was an eminent Bahá'í historian during the time of Bahá'u'lláh, and one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh. He is most famous for authoring The Dawn-breakers, which stands out as one of the most important and extensive accounts of the ministry of the Báb.

He learned about the Bábí Faith at the age of 16 and met Bahá'u'lláh in 1851. He made several journeys on behalf of Bahá'u'lláh, was imprisoned in Egypt and is the only person known to have made the two pilgrimages to the House of the Báb in Shíráz and the House of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád in accordance with the rites set out by Bahá'u'lláh. After the passing of Bahá'u'lláh, and at the request of `Abdu'l-Bahá, he arranged a Tablet of Visitation from Bahá'u'lláh's writings which is now used in the Holy Shrines. Shortly afterwards, overcome with grief love and longing for Bahá'u'lláh, he walked into the sea and drowned.

Nabíl was born in Zarand, Iran on 29 July 1831. He was a shepherd but strove to overcome his meagre education. He would often go with his father to Qom and listen to religious discourses, and he learned to read the Qur'an. In 1847, Nabíl, while in the village of Rubat-Karim, overheard a conversation about the Báb and was immediately interested. Later when he was more fully informed of the religion of the Báb through Siyyid Husayn-i-Zavari'i and became a believer in the new movement. He tried to join the Bábís at Shaykh Tabarsi but the siege began before he could get there. He took up residence in Tehran in the same madrisih as the transcriber of the Báb's writings; there he also met many Bábís who lived in or were travelling through the town, including Bahá'u'lláh.

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