The image of Tahirih that Baha’is have come to revere comes from The Dawnbreakers a chronicle of the lives and events of the Bab and Baha’u’llah, written by Nabil i-Azam. He was a shepherd who became a follower of Baha’u’llah after meeting him in1851, aged 16.
Baha’u’llah sent Nabil on missions in Iran including travelling among the Babis in 1867-8 to let them know that He was the Promised One of the Bab, “He whom God shall make manifest”. Nabil was the first Baha’i to perform Baha’i pilgrimage according to the Book of Laws-to the House of Baha’u’llah in Baghdad and the House of the Bab in Shiraz.
House of Baha’u’llah
Nabil started The Dawn-Breakers 1888 with the help of Mirza Musa, Baha’u’llah’s brother. The accounts were based on the memories of the early Babis and Nabil who had lived through many of the events.
Later, Shoghi Effendi translated the early sections of the chronicle into English to help inspire Baha’is with the example of the sacrifice of the Babis.