The Babi and Baha'i Religion — Page 34
THE B Ā B Ī AND BAH Ā ’ Ī RELIGION 34 themselves B a h a ’ i s attach no importance either to Al-Bay a n or Al-Mustaiqaz: their sharia is embodied in Al-Aqdas, of which the author is Bah a ’ull a h. Al-Bay a n After the decision to abrogate the Islamic Sharia taken at the Badasht Conference, ‘Al i Mu h ammad, B a b, started writing Al-Bay a n while he was in prison in Fort Maku. Some people think that the duration of his imprisonment in this fortress is nine months, while others extend it to about a year and a half. But in any case all agree that Al-Bay a n was written during this time, whether we take it to have extended to nine months or to a year and a half. ‘Abdul Bah a ’ says that the B a b wrote Al-Bay a n in the fort of M a ku where he was in prison 36. The Bah a ’ i historian ‘Abdul H usain confirms this view 37. No one is permitted to give any commentary on Al-Bay a n 38 B a b's idea in regard to Al-Bay a n was that he would divide it into 19 parts, with 19 chapters in each part But he could not carry out this plan as he had originally conceived it 39. In actual fact he wrote 36 T a r i kh Bah a ’ull a h , page 2. 37 Al-Kaw a kib , pages 382, 405. 38 Bah a ’ull a h ki Ta‘l i m a t , page 8. 39 Al-Kaw a kib page 406.