Father of the Avatar of the Age, Siyyid Kalim’u’llah Ma’ani-Entessari was born at the turn of the century into a devout Baha’i family with a rich history. The son of Siyyid Bulbul Ma’ani-Entessari and Bibi Alieh Khanum, the very surname of “Ma’ani-Entessari” itself comes from tablets carried by the family, whereby a kahhal (eye doctor) known affectionately as Tuti Nane alongside all her descendants were blessed by Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l-Baha. Kalim’u’llah and his father Bulbul are descendants of Muhammad tracing back to descendants of Imam Zain ul Abideen who had settled in the region of Khorasan. His maternal grandfather was Mulla Ahmad-i-Mu'allim, teacher of Siyyid Kazim-i-Rashti’s children and one of the earliest supporters of the Bab. Mulla Ahmad-i-Mu'allim’s own father was Akhund Karbalai Ismail, a teacher in the Karbala area at the time of the aforementioned Siyyid Kazim-i-Rashti.
Siyyid Kalim’u’llah Ma’ani-Entessari was born in Ashgabat, modern day Turkmenistan, known as the Middle-Eastern “City of Love”, where his family had been settled for at least 2 generations. He was a man constantly on the move so as to give the light of truth to the masses, prompting him to move to Mashhad. At some point, he married Humayun Khanum Zand-i-Vakili. Soon they had their first child together, Misagh’u’llah, in 1920 before returning to Ashgabat in 1923. The union of Kalim’u’llah and Humayun Khanum gave life to 8 children:
Misagh’u’llah Ma’ani-Entessari (1920-2012)
Dr. Housang Ma’ani-Entessari (1925-2012)
Firouz Ma’ani-Entessari
Manuchehr Ma’ani-Entessari (1927-1962)
Kamran Ma’ani-Entessari
Dr. Daryush Ma’ani-Entessari (????-~2018)
Jamshid Ma’ani-Entessari (Sama’u’llah) (1936-2009)
Hediyat’u’llah Ma’ani-Entessari (1944-1998)
Siyyid Kalim’u’llah was known for his frequent travels. Having been born first in Ashgabat, he moved to Torbat-e-Heydariyeh and back, and then eventually to Mashhad, Tehran, and eventually Damghan. Siyyid Kalim’u’llah’s son who would come to be known as the Manifestation of God (Avatar) Sama’u’llah was born at dawn on Naw-Ruz, 1936, in the city of Torbat-e-Heydariyeh, being given the name “Jamshid” in honour of the ancient Indo-Iranian King Jamshid, associated with Naw-Ruz. The family moved to Mashhad shortly thereafter.
Siyyid Kalim’u’llah is said to have sold practically all of his belongings in order to take his teaching work to Tehran alongside his family. The family was also known to have obtained the blessings of the Sufi Saint Hassan Ali Nokhodaki Isfahani before his death in 1942, the first of 5 Perfect Masters who would bring his son Jamshid to enlightenment. Soon, the family found themselves teaching in Mahmoudabad, where Hediyat’u’llah was born. During Shoghi Effendi’s 10-year Crusade, the Ma’ani-Entessari family headed by Siyyid Kalim’u’llah heeded the call, taking their teaching efforts to the locality of Damghan where they would come to settle for a long time.
In 1961, when his son Jamshid sent him a letter privately disclosing his status as a new Avatar and Messenger of God, Siyyid Kalim’u’llah accepted immediately, believing his son to be the fulfillment of his own lifelong spiritual quest. Siyyid Kalim’u’llah and his wife Humayun Khanum would go on to become the first disciples of Sama’u’llah, and by extension the first-ever Samawi. Siyyid Kalim’u’llah would go on to convince several members of the Ma’ani-Entessari family including that of his brothers, Fayz’u’llah and Ziya’u’llah Ma’ani-Entessari, their wives, and several of their respective relatives and families in the Torbat-e-Heydariyeh, Mashhad, and Damghan regions.
The Ma’ani-Entessari family came under intense scrutiny as a result of the spiritual awakening of their son. Siyyid Kalim’u’llah’s own son who had caused such a stir, Jamshid Ma’ani (Sama’u’llah) was part of the Regional Spiritual Assembly of Southeast Asia and was present at the inauguration of the 1963 Universal House of Justice, wrote a letter to the House in 1964 affirming obedience to the divine institutions as laid out by God, and requested that the writings in which he had personally sent to his father Siyyid Kalim’u’llah, the likes of which were in the hands of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran and being circulated by local Samawi, be disregarded by the Baha’i community given that they were personal documents written in a revelatory state, effectively telling those confused by such writings to continue as normal. The Ma’ani family had started teaching local Samawi youth programmes and spreading the word of Sama’u’llah, which had caused much local confusion before the independence of the Samawi religion became clear.
By mid-1964, Siyyid Kalim’u’llah and his wife Humayun Khanum, alongside Siyyid Ziya’u’llah and his wife, were all summoned to Haifa and questioned in regards to their beliefs, with Mr. Ahmed Yazdani being present. The families present signed written documents affirming loyalty to the Universal House of Justice, but refused to give up believe for their son, Jamshid Ma’ani, holding him dearly in their hearts. As such, a deliberation period was set for the family to reconsider their actions, and the family of the Avatar of the Age was told to abandon their son and publicly retract their Samawi beliefs, or face spiritual excommunication by the Baha’i community.
In the face of such oppression, Siyyid Kalim’u’llah Ma’ani-Entessari refused to recant his beliefs. He was the descendant of a family whose bloodline was comprised of some of the earliest Babis, a bloodline blessed by both Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l-Baha, and while he was wholeheartedly obedient to the Universal House of Justice elected by his son, his loyalty to the truth was stronger than his loyalty to any institution, and he remained by his son’s side. Sama’u’llah in “The Universal Palace of Order” describes the proper functioning of the House of Justice as being that of wisdom and consultation, rather than being a house of obligation and legislative authority, and it is in this exact spirit that Siyyid Kalim’u’llah held the Universal House of Justice, willing to listen to the wisdom of the House, yet also willing to take a stand where what is said might be considered unwise.
Siyyid Kalim’u’llah Ma’ani-Entessari was formally declared a covenant-breaker by the Universal House of Justice on September 1st, 1964.
