The Babi and Baha'i Religion — Page 11
THE B Ā B Ī AND BAH Ā ’ Ī RELIGION 11 Hijra, the fifth of Jam a d i ul Awwal, two hours and fifteen minutes after sunset 5. Beginning at first with a claim that he was the B a b, ‘Al i Muhammad also claimed later that he was the expected Mahdi as well. But he never claimed to be a prophet, nor did his followers accept him as such. However, he claimed to be the " Nuq t ah " (point), but left the meaning of this expression conveniently vague. His activities and those of his followers soon came to be looked upon with grave suspicion, especially as there was a considerable measure of secrecy observed by him and his followers in the matter of the inner teaching, so much so that the central scripture of the Bah a ’ i faith, entitled the Bay a n, one hardly ever sees anywhere even to this day. This secrecy gave rise to a deep suspicion in the mind of the authorities that the inner teaching bore the taint of violent political aims, for, otherwise, it was argued, there was no ground for the strict secrecy observed. The authorities first acted by placing certain re- strictions upon ‘Al i Mu h ammad. This was in 1262 Hijra. He was to remain confined to his house; was not to mix with people; and was to refrain from 5 May 23, 1844, of the Christian era.