Samawi Updates

Siyyid Kalim’u’llah Ma’ani-Entessari: The First Samawi

The loving mother of the Avatar of the Age, Humayun Khanum Zand-i-Vakili, was born into this world as the only precious child of one Mr. Hediyat’u’llah Zand-i-Vakili, who was a descendant of Karim Khan Zand, though she was a Sharifa, a female descendant of the Prophet Muhammad by way of Imam Husayn, by way of his wife, the princess Shahrbanu. Princess Shahrbanu was daughter of King Yazdegerd III, the last Sasanian Shahanshah (King of Kings). Yazdegerd III was a descendant from the line of Yazdegerd I, who was married to Shushandukht, daughter of the Jewish Exilarch Huna bar Nathan, tying Humayun and by extension Sama’u’llah’s lineage to the Biblical House of David and that of Isaac, whilst the ancestry of her husband Sayyid Kalim’u’llah Ma’ani-Entessari paternally traces through Muhammad back to Ishmael.

She married Siyyid Kalim’u’llah Ma’ani-Entessari, a Baha’i traveling teacher from a family of crystal merchants in Ashgabat, and spent much of her time with her husband guiding others through the various pathways and avenues of spiritual truth of the Baha’i religion across various regions. Together, their union produced eight children:

Misagh’u’llah Ma’ani-Entessari (Mashhad, 1920-2012)

Dr. Housang Ma’ani-Entessari (Ashgabat, 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) (Torbat-e-Heydariyeh, 1936-2009)

Hediyat’u’llah Ma’ani-Entessari (Mahmoudabat, 1944-1998)

The youngest child of Humayun and Kalim’u’llah, Hediyat’u’llah, was named after Humayun’s father, Hediyat’u’llah Zand-i-Vakili.

The couple had tried several times to give birth to a precious daughter, yet the family was instead given a blessing of a different kind while living in Damghan. When her husband Kalim’u’llah received a letter from their second youngest son Jamshid revealing privately his station as Avatar of the Age and a Manifestation of God, Kalim’u’llah rushed to gladly share the news with his wife Humayun, and together they became the first Samawi, and by extension, the foremost of the disciples of Sama’u’llah. They saw their son as the spiritual fulfillment of the spiritual quests of their ancestors, and while Humayun had no daughter to call her own, God had entrusted none other her to bring up the child that would one day be known as the Manifestation of God.

Much like the parents of the Persian Prophet Mani prior to the advent of Muhammad, Jamshid Ma’ani-Entessari, soon known to the world as Sama’u’llah, had his own parents as his earliest supporters. The couple spent much time meeting with local friends and family in regions such as Mashhad, Torbat-e-Heydariyeh, Tehran and Damghan. Humayun Khanum and Siyyid Kalim’u’llah were known to have facilitated childrens classes focused on the spiritual principles of truth, rather than the sectarian beliefs of any religion, as was the way of Sama’u’llah. Thus, the impact of Humayun and Kalim’u’llah on the lives of many young children who might otherwise have been turned away from studying such truths resulted in a vital and positive influence for the community at large. Yet, confusion began to arise as the Samawi religion gained footing.

By 1964, Humayun Khanum alongside her husband Siyyid Kalim’u’llah, his brother Siyyid Ziya’u’llah and Siyyid Ziya’u’llah’s wife were all summoned to Haifa by the Baha’i Hands of the Cause for questioning regarding their beliefs, with Mr. Ahmed Yazdani being among those present at the interrogation. The parties present were made to sign documents affirming their obedience to the Universal House of Justice of which they obliged, given that their own son Sama’u’llah in which they followed had done the same, but all parties present refused to recant their faith in Sama’u’llah as demanded. As such, a deliberation period was set forth, but upon being ready to present the proofs of their son, the family soon found themselves effectively cut off from the Baha’i administration and community at large.

The refusal of Humayun was one of a mother with unwavering belief in her son. She was a compassionate woman of illustrious blood, who focused her life on the welfare and education of youth and the community alike. When God had given her such a gift through the personage of her son, refusing to give it up was only natural. Her desire for a daughter did not merely result in eight sons, but in the birthing of Insan-e-Kamil, the Perfect Man — Sama’u’llah. Sama’u’llah in his own words present in The Universal Palace of Order describes the function of the Universal House of Justice as that of a guiding force of wisdom and justice upon the planet, whereby those most well versed in justice may meet and give counsel to the world in a free and non-binding way, leaving it up to the various institutions and communities of the world to follow such wisdom, rather than enforcing it themselves. As such, Humayun was ready to pledge her allegiance to the Universal House of Justice, but when it overreached and demanded the mother of the Avatar of the Age estrange herself from her own son and consider him mentally insane, she did not oblige and found herself excluded from the community as a result. Throughout the various attempts on her son’s life, Humayun and Siyyid Kalim’u’llah always kept him safe, often traveling with him, providing secure locations such as housing and even the facade of hospitalization due to their family’s many doctors to keep her child safe and take insitutional pressure off of her son Jamshid.

Humayun Khanum Zand-i-Vakili Ma’ani-Entessari along with her husband Kalim’u’llah were formally excommunicated by the Universal House of Justice on September 1st, 1964.