Mírzá Muhammad `Alí

Who was Mírzá Muhammad `Alí?

Mírzá Muhammad `Alí was one of the sons of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He was the child of his father's second wife, Fatimih Khanum, later known as Mahd-i-'Ulya, whom Bahá'u'lláh married in Tehran in 1849.

Muhammad `Alí received the title from his father of Ghusn-i-Akbar.

In the Kitáb-i-‘Ahd, Bahá'u'lláh appointed `Abdu'l-Bahá as his successor, with Muhammad `Ali subordinate to `Abdu'l-Bahá. Both were noted explicitly by their titles. As time passed, Muhammad `Alí claimed that `Abdu'l-Bahá was not sharing power. According to some interpretations, Muhammad `Alí insisted that he should instead be regarded as the leader of the Bahá'ís. Many accusations were levelled against each other by both `Abdu'l-Bahá and Muhammad `Alí, culminating in Muhammad `Alí accusing his older brother of conspiring against the Ottoman government. This resulted in the imprisonment and near-death of `Abdu'l-Bahá and his family. Almost all Bahá'ís accepted `Abdu'l-Bahá as Bahá'u'lláh's successor.

At the time of `Abdu'l-Bahá's death, Shoghi Effendi was appointed as the Guardian of the Faith by `Abdu'l-Bahá in his Will and Testament, while Muhammad `Alí was reprimanded in the same document.