Mullá Zaynul-ûÃÂbidÃÂn (May 1818 â 1903) was a prominent Iranian Baháüàwho served as a secretary to Baháüu'lláh, was listed by Shoghi Effendi as one of nineteen Apostles of Baháüu'lláh, and biographied by ûAbdu'l-Bahá in Memorials of the Faithful. With a background as an Islamic jurist, he posed the clarifying legal questions to Baháüu'lláh about the Kitáb-i-Aqdas that became the supplement "Questions and Answers" now published along with the original text. His arrangement of the Hidden Words, another major work of Baháüu'lláh, became the numbered order that is now currently used by BaháüÃÂs.
Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn was known for transcribing, illuminating, and copying numerous writings of Baháüu'lláh.
Baháüu'lláh gave him the title Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn ('The Ornament of the Near Ones'), the name for which he is known to BaháüÃÂs. He is sometimes referred to as Jináb-i-Zayn (The Excellent Zayn), or Harfu'z-Zá (the Letter Z).
He was born in the month of Rajab 1233 AH (May 1818 AD) in one of the villages of Najafábád, Iran, near Isfahan, to a family of Muslim clerics. He himself became a preacher at a mosque in Najafábád.
In 1851, Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn became a follower of the Báb, and began teaching his newfound faith in his hometown, causing opposition from his previous admirers. Under his leadership the Bábàfaith grew in the area. Around August 1852, Shaykh ûAzÃÂz Alláh Núràsent two letters to NasÃÂr al-DÃÂn Sháh with names of several prominent BábÃÂs whom he considered dangerous and deserving of punishment, including his nephews Baháüu'lláh and Azal, and Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn. According to the letters, several of the men claimed to be manifestations of various figures of the past, and he listed Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn as claiming to be the return of Imam Zayn al-ûÃÂbidÃÂn.
Sometime after 1852 Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn tried to visit Bábàleaders in Baghdad, but failed to find Subh-i-Azal and Baháüu'lláh was away from Baghdad at the time. During that visit he met only with KalÃÂm before going on to Kárbilá.
On his return journey, while approaching Najafábád, Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn learned of violent persecution against BábÃÂs there, and decided to return to Iraq. He arrived in Baghdad again in 1856, after Baháüu'lláh had returned from SulaymánÃÂyyih, and was confirmed in his faith after meeting him. After returning to Najafábád, he accepted Baháüu'lláh's claim of prophethood when it was announced in 1863. A transcribed 23-page letter he wrote to a fellow BábÃÂ, inviting him to accept Baháüu'lláh, was held in the collection of E. G. Browne.
According to ûAbdu'l-Bahá, during this time after becoming a BaháüÃÂ, "In Persia his life was in imminent peril; and since remaining at Najaf-ÃÂbád would have stirred up the agitators and brought on riots, he hastened away to Adrianople" to meet Baháüu'lláh again, then returned to Iran.
In 1864 he left Iran for the last time and moved to Baghdad. In 1867, Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn and 52 other BaháüÃÂs of Baghdad wrote an appeal to the Congress of the United States for assistance in freeing Baháüu'lláh from confinement by Ottoman authorities. This appeal arrived at the American Consul in Beirut and was commented upon by American missionary Henry Harris Jessup.
Beginning in 1868, and instigated by conversions of Sunni Muslims to the BaháüàFaith, the BaháüÃÂs of Baghdad, including Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn, were arrested and imprisoned repeatedly. In April-May 1868, three or four BaháüÃÂs of Baghdad were killed by Persian Shias, likely offended by BaháüÃÂs celebrating holy days during their mourning ceremonies.
In preparation for a pilgrimage by Nasiru'd-Din Shah to shrines in Iraq, the Consul-General of Persia petitioned the governor of Baghdad to expel all BaháüÃÂs from the city. In 1870, about seventy BaháüÃÂs, men, women, and children, were sent under military escort from Baghdad to Mosul, in northern Iraq. Their arrival was met with stones thrown at them from rooftops and businesses refusing to trade with them. Pilgrims returning from ûAkká brought goods from Baháüu'lláh to relieve their suffering. In Mosul Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn acted as leader of the Baháüàcommunity and he was also the main conduit of the writings of Baháüu'lláh passing from ûAkká to Iran. Under his supervision the BaháüÃÂs of Mosul began the first charity fund ever organized by BaháüÃÂs.
E. G. Browne visited Iran in 1887-88 and records that a Baháüàof Kirmán told him, "[Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn in Mosul] is one of the most notable of 'the Friends', and to him is entrusted the revision and correction of all copies of the sacred books sent out for circulation, of which, indeed the most trustworthy are those transcribed by his hand."
In 1886 he left Mosul and moved to ûAkká, living in the Khán-i-ûAvámid, and served as a secretary of Baháüu'lláh.
In April 1890, when Edward Granville Browne held four interviews with Baháüu'lláh, he reviewed and copied from many Baháüàmanuscripts, all in the hand of Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn. Browne was given two of them to take with him: the Kitáb-i-ÃÂqán and A Traveller's Narrative. The latter was later translated to English and published by Browne in 1891.
After each transcription, Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn left a colophon that usually indicated his name, location, number, and date of the copy. For example, the colophon on the transcription of the Kitáb-i-ÃÂqán that Browne received indicated that it was the 67th copy by Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn:
After Baháüu'lláh's death in 1892, Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn stayed in the ûAkká/Haifa area and served ûAbdu'l-Bahá until he died in 1903. ûAbdu'l-Bahá described his final years:
He was buried in a portion of the Muslim cemetery of ûAkká on the grounds that later became the Israel School for Naval Officers. The portion of the cemetery used for BaháüÃÂs after 1880 was later walled off to prevent vandalism.
Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn was known for transcribing the Writings of Baháüu'lláh and ensuring their distribution. Baháüàauthor Adib Taherzadeh wrote the following about him,
E. G. Browne used his colophons to calculate the BadÃÂû calendar, remarking,
A copy of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas from January 1887, in the handwriting of Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn, is housed at the British Library. The library's description mentions, "His copies are highly regarded for their accuracy."
Sara Blomfield, a prominent early British BaháüÃÂ, described Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn as, "one of the most devoted BaháüÃÂs". His son, MÃÂrzá MunÃÂr, translated some writings of the Bab into English for her.
Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn, along with MishkÃÂn-Qalam, were known for their sense of humor and making jokes with Baháüu'lláh.
There are two known tablets written by Baháüu'lláh, addressed to Zaynu'l-MuqarrabÃÂn. They are known as Lawh-i-Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin I (in Majmu'ih-i-Alwah-i-Mubarakih, 1920, pp. 337âÂÂ338) and Lawh-i-Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin II (upublished). He may have written a manuscript of his memoirs. His son, Núruüd-DÃÂn Zayn, later published his own memoirs of his experience with Baháüu'lláh and his father (Khátirát-i Hayát dar Khidmat-i Mahbúb).