³Õ´¡¸é²ÏÄ€, Ê¿ALI-MOḤAMMAD (b. Yazd, 1855; d. Tehran, 2 May, 1896, FIGURE 1), a well-known poet, student of traditional Iranian medicine, and an early follower of µþ²¹³óÄåʾ-´¡±ô±ôÄå³ó, the founder of the Bahai Faith. He was the youngest son of ḤÄåji MollÄå Mehdi (Ê¿Aá¹ri) of Yazd. VarqÄå became a courageous teacher of Bahaism. He was one of the four Hands of the Cause of God (AyÄådi Amr-AllÄåh), posthumously elevated to this rank by Ê¿´¡²ú»å-²¹±ô-µþ²¹³óÄåʾ (The Universal House of Justice, p. 446) and one of the 19 Apostles of µþ²¹³óÄåʾ-´¡±ô±ôÄå³ó (Harper, pp. 42-51). He was given the title VarqÄå (‘dove,’ in Arabic) by µþ²¹³óÄåʾ-´¡±ô±ôÄå³ó in recognition of his poetic talents, and he subsequently adopted this title as his family name, often using it as a pen name (³Ù²¹á¸µa±ô±ô´Çá¹£) in his poetry.
It is estimated that the collection of VarqÄå’s poetry is in excess of 6000 verses, of which 3052 verses have been classified and copied (VarqÄå, p. 488; AfnÄån, p. 37). Regarded as one of the outstanding Bahai poets of his time, VarqÄå’s poetic style comprised virtually all structures typical of Persian poetry, including ḡa³ú²¹±ôs, ³¾²¹á¹¯n²¹·É¾±s, ±ç²¹á¹£i»å²¹s, and tarkiband and ³Ù²¹°ùÂᾱʿ²ú²¹²Ô»å compositions. The theme common to all of VarqÄå’s poetry is a testimonial to his dedication and absolute devotion to µþ²¹³óÄåʾ-´¡±ô±ôÄå³ó and Ê¿´¡²ú»å-²¹±ô-µþ²¹³óÄåʾ. In this regard, his poetic output is unique and unparalleled inasmuch as the combination of his style and content is not encountered amongst the works of any of his contemporaries (AfnÄån, pp. 37-38).
In his early twenties, VarqÄå married Faá¹ema, the only child of MirzÄå Abd-AllÄåhʾ Khan Nuri MÄåzandarÄåni (Goharriz, pp. 92-94). The marriage produced four sons, Aziz-AllÄåh, Ruḥ-AllÄåh, Wali-AllÄåh, who was appointed a hand of the cause of God by Shoghi Effendi, and BadiÊ¿-AllÄåh. Ruḥ-AllÄåh was put to death at the age of twelve along with his father (Momen, pp. 361-62). VarqÄå’s second eldest son, young Ruḥ-AllÄåh, was an avid teacher of the Bahai faith from an early age, and was endowed with poetic talents of high caliber. The most well known of his poetic work is in couplets (³¾²¹á¹¯n²¹·É¾±).
During his lifetime, VarqÄå made three voyages to the Holy Land, twice on pilgrimage during the life of µþ²¹³óÄåʾ-´¡±ô±ôÄå³ó (1879, and 1891), and once during the lifetime of Ê¿´¡²ú»å-²¹±ô-µþ²¹³óÄåʾ (1893). His two eldest sons accompanied him during his last two pilgrimages.
In the spring of 1896, VarqÄå and his son Ruḥ-AllÄåh, along with two other Bahais, were imprisoned under heavy chains in the government prison located in Sabza MaydÄån, Tehran, on charges of spreading the tenets of the new religion and failing to recant their faith (taqia; Mehdi VarqÄå, 2001, p. 97). Enraged by the assassination of NÄåá¹£er-al-Din Shah (1 May 1896) while on a pilgrimage at the ŠÄåh Ê¿Abd-al-Ê¿Aẓim shrine in the south of Tehran, MoÊ¿in-al-Solá¹Äån Ḥajeb-al-Dawla, accused VarqÄå of having instigated the assassination and proceeded to stab and mutilate his body in front of his son, thereafter strangling the young Ruḥ-AllÄåh who also refused to recant and insisted on joining his father.
The remains of VarqÄå and Ruḥ-AllÄåh were buried in the old Bahai cemetery in Tehran (Mehdi VarqÄå, 1994, p. 34).
Bibliography:
Abu’l-QÄåsem AfnÄån, “Morur-i bar ašÊ¿Äår-e VarqÄå,” ḴošahÄå-i az ḵarman-e adab wa honar 5, 1994, pp. 37-38.
Hušang Goharriz, The Apostles of BahÄåʾuʾlláh: Ḥawwariyun-e Ḥażrat-e BahÄåÊ¿-AllÄåh, New Delhi, 2001.
Barron Deems Harper, Lights of Fortitude: Glimpses into the Lives of the Hands of the Cause of God, Oxford, 1997, pp. 42-50.
ḴošahÄå-i az ḵarman-e adab wa honar 5, 1994, pp 21-55.
Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahaʾu’lláh IV, Oxford, 1987, Chap. 4.
The Universal House of Justice, The Bahaʾi World XIV, Haifa, 1974.
Idem, Baháʾí World XIII, Haifa, 1970, p. 381.
MirzÄå Ê¿Ali-Moḥammad VarqÄå, NaḡmahÄå-ye VarqÄå, Compiled by Beruz JabbÄåri Ontario, Canada, 1998, p. 488.
Mehdi VarqÄå. “Šarḥ-e aḥwÄål wa šahÄådat-e janÄåb-e VarqÄå wa Ruḥ-AllÄåh,”ḴošahÄå-i az ḵarman-e adab wa honar 5, 1994, pp. 29-30.
(Iraj Ayman)
Originally Published: August 31, 2017
Last Updated: August 31, 2017
Cite this entry:Iraj Ayman, “³Õ´¡¸é²ÏÄ€, Ê¿ALI-MOḤAMMAD,” Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, 2017, available at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/varqa-ali-mohammad (accessed on 31 August 2017).
