The evening of May 22, 1844 inaugurated a new era for humankind as it gave birth to new religion. On this day, a young merchant from Shiraz, Persia, declared that he was indeed the promised messenger of God for this day. A young man that was present at this world-regenerating occasion and was the first recipient of this mighty pronouncement recorded the circumstances surrounding this event. Baha’is believe that the day of the declaration began a whole new religious cycle whereby the Word of God became known with new freshness. The Bab is an Arabic word, which translates into the Gate. The Bab is considered to be a Gate to God. He also was a Gate to a Greater Messenger to come shortly thereafter as he prophesied.

The Bab declared on that momentous occasion that He was bringing a message of Love, Peace, Fellowship, Tolerance, and Unity. The Greater Messenger was to be Baha'u'llah who the Bab had foretold in great detail. Some months after the Declaration, the Bab traveled to Mecca and went to Kaaba, the Islamic Holy Shrine in Saudi Arabia. He declared His station to the pilgrims and wrote a letter to the Shareef of Mecca, the religious person in charge of Kaaba. From there he returned to His native country but on the way to Shiraz, His hometown, He was arrested and charged with heresy. From this point on until the end of His six-year ministry He was persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, exiled, and finally executed. He wrote voluminous tablets in His own handwriting in Persian and Arabic. Unfortunately, once He was declared to be persona non grata by the Persian government, the holders of any of His writings were persecuted. Most of these Holy Writings were therefore hidden in the brick and mortar of homes in Persia (now Iran). Some of these writings have been located and are in the Baha’i Archives in Haifa, Israel.

            The same evening, Baha'i communities across the globe will celebrate this occasion. The Baha’is of Flower Mound celebrated this joyous occasion with songs, prayers, fellowship, and delicious desserts at the local Baha'i center.