Mulla Muhammad Shafi’ was a brave and capable Babi who helped to rebuild the community in Nayriz, Iran, after destruction following a violent conflict in 1852.
The leading Imam of Shiraz, who had been a protector of the Bab, saw great potential in Shafi’ and educated him in religion, Arabic, logic, and poetry.
The Jamih Mosque in Shiraz
Shafi was appointed him as an administrator of the holdings of the Great Mosque in Nayriz.
In this position, he was able to help the Babi community to grow. He acted as its defender and gave employment to returning Babis. He developed a business association with several Nayrizis and relatives of the Bab, the Afnans, which brought greater prosperity and jobs to Nayriz.
In 1859, Shafi’ made the journey to Baghdad to meet Baha’u’llah. One of their donkeys was stolen, but out of deference for each other, neither man would ride the remaining one. In Baghdad, Shafi’ recognized the true spiritual station of Baha’u’llah though He had yet to make His public declaration.
Shafi’ asked Baha’u’llah to bless him and his family so that they would always keep the Covenant; ‘Ahdieh’, the family name his descendants were later given, means ‘to keep the Covenant’.
The House of Baha’u’llah in Tehran
In the following decades, Shafi’ fostered good relations between Baha’is and Muslims. These reached such a point that the town governor reached out to Baha’i leaders to make peace between the communities, hired Baha’is as his guards, and appointed two to administer certain lands under his control.
In a tablet to Shafi’, Baha’u’llah exhorted His followers in Nayriz to serve God by teaching his cause. This could be done through the performance of pure and goodly deeds in a spirit of love and compassion.
Shafi’ held regular study classes to educate believers in the Babi and Baha’i Writing especially on the Covenant, to protect them from being misled by the Covenant-breakers who were active at the time. Baha’u’llah wrote to him that Baha’is had to be well-informed about the faith to be steadfast.