Babi law....

[Zazaban]

Whoa..... it looks totally nuts. could somebody clarify?

The Báb also created a large number of rituals and rites which remained largely unpracticed.[7] Some of these rituals include the carrying of arms only in times of necessity, the obligatory sitting on chairs, the advocating of the cleanliness displayed by Christians, the non-cruel treatment of animals, the prohibition of beating children severely, the recommendation of the printing of books, even scripture and the prohibition on the study of logic or dead languages.[7] While some statements in the Bayan show tolerance, there are other very harsh regulations in regards to relations with non-believers. For example, non-believers are forbidden to live in five central Iranian provinces, the holy places of previous religions are to be demolished, all non-Bábí books should be destroyed, believers are not to marry or sit in the company of non-believers, and the property of non-believers can be taken from them.[7] Some further ritual include elaborate regulations regarding pilgrimage, fasting, the manufacture of rings, the use of perfume, and the washing and disposal of the dead.[7]

EDIT: after thinking, it seems that the Babi faith was a temporary buffer religion that never was very big in it's own time. to preach to religious extremists you must be a religious extremist.

like, the Babi faith was the means to get the attention to the real lasting message. and it worked.

[Dorumerosaer]

Shoghi Effendi's secretary wrote on his behalf:

...The severe laws and injunctions revealed by the Báb can be properly appreciated and understood only when interpreted in the light of His own statements regarding the nature, purpose and character of His own Dispensation. As these statements clearly reveal, the Bábí Dispensation was essentially in the nature of a religious and indeed social revolution, and its duration had therefore to be short, but full of tragic events, of sweeping and drastic reforms. These drastic measures enforced by the Báb and His followers were taken with the view of undermining the very foundations of Shí'ah orthodoxy, and thus paving the way for the coming of Bahá'u'lláh. To assert the independence of the new Dispensation, and to prepare also the ground for the approaching Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh the Báb had therefore to reveal very severe laws, even though most of them, were never enforced. But the mere fact that He revealed them was in itself a proof of the independent character of His Dispensation and was sufficient to create such widespread agitation, and excite such opposition on the part of the clergy that led them to cause His eventual martyrdom.
(from a letter dated February 17, 1939 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, quoted on p 214 of the Most Holy Book)

Another reason for a good number of the laws of the Bab was so that Baha'u'llah, the Supreme Manifestation of God, would be treated properly. The Bab told His followers that the next Manifestation of God was one of them but not recognized by them; that He would enter their homes though they would not realize it; so He directed them to wear their best clothing, and have the best possible furnishings, so that when Baha'u'llah entered their homes He would experience no repugnance. The Bab even directed certain foods that should not be eaten, so that bad breath would not offend Baha'u'llah. The Bab was extremely solicitious of the wellbeing of Baha'u'llah. Nader Saedi has a very interesting explanation of this in his book "Logos and Civilization."

Also, the Bab revealed laws so that Baha'u'llah would not have to do so; the Bab wrote the Baha'u'llah was free to modify or annul or keep them, as He wished. When Baha'u'llah revealed His laws, He annulled most of the laws of the Bab, but He kept many in modified form, such as the Right of God, the Fast, the Feast, the laws of inheritance, the Qiblih, the prohibition against carrying weapons, the manner of burial, the dowry, and the calendar. These are explained in the Notes to the Aqdas.

So the motivation for some of the laws revealed by the Bab was love for Baha'u'llah; and in fact, Baha'u'llah and the Guardian refer to the Bayan as a eulogy to the Promised One; it "should be regarded primarily as a eulogy of the Promised One rather than a code of laws and ordinances designed to be a permanent guide to future generations." (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 24)

So the severe laws of the Bab were not designed to be enforced, they were designed to prepare the way.

Brent

[Zazaban]

So, in a way it was god's way of sticking it to the man? That's one of the the funniest things I've ever heard. not ridiculous funny, but just... funny.

[Dorumerosaer]

It was God's way of bringing one of the holiest Beings to ever walk the face of the earth. If you study the Bab's Writings, His life, and especially, I hope that one day you will have the privilege of walking in the gardens surrounding His Shrine; of circumambulating His sacred Shrine, the holiest act I have ever had the privilege to perform; and of praying in his Shrine and resting your forehead on that sacred Threshold. I hope you will do these things so that you taste of the refined, exalting Spirit that flows out to the earth through the one known as The Exalted One.

Here is a prayer Shoghi Effendi composed about the Shrine of the Bab, and addressed to it. This prayer, or ode to the Shrine of the Bab is a part of his Naw-Ruz 1955 Message to the Baha'is of Persia. The translation was authorized by the Universal House of Justice, and excerpts from it are included in Hand of the Cause Khadem's article, "The Mountain of God and the Tablet of Carmel" published in U.S. Baha'i News in August, 1975. The article is included as an appendix to Javidukht Khadem's "Zikrullah Khadem, The Itinerant Hand of the Cause of God," (Wilmette: Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1990) pp. 282-286.

This magnificent Edifice stands facing Baha'u'llah's Most Great Prison, extolled by the Pen of Glory as the "Heaven of heavens," and looks toward the Qiblih of the people of Baha, that Spot within the Vale of Security and Peace, the Plain of `Akka, round which circle in adoration the Concourse on high. To her right are the hills of Galilee in which nestles the childhood home of the beautiful Christ, and the locality by the banks of the Jordan River where He who is the Spirit [Jesus] was called to prophethood; and on her left, on the crest of Carmel, are to be found the Cave of Elijah and the exalted Spot which was blessed by the footsteps of the Most Holy Abha Beauty and was ennobled through the revelation of the Tablet of Carmel from the treasury of the Pen of Glory....
High, immeasurably high is this Shrine, the lofty, the most great, the most wondrous. Exalted, immeasurably exalted is this Resting-place, the fragrant, the pure, the luminous, the transcendent. Glorified, immeasurably glorified is this Spot, the most august, the most holy, the most blessed, the most sublime....
Upon thee, O Queen of Carmel, be the purest, the most tender salutations, the fairest, the most gracious blessings! Glorified is He Whose footsteps have ennobled the spot whereon thou standest, Who ordained thy Seat, and Who extolled thee in His Tablet and Book. How great is the potency of thy might, a might which has bewildered the souls of the favored ones of God and His Messengers.
Methinks I behold thee in my dreams established upon thy glorious throne, attired in thy white raiment, crowned with thy golden crown, resplendent with the lights shining within thee and around thee, calling aloud in ringing tones and raising thy voice between earth and heaven.
Methinks I perceive the souls of the holy ones and of the dwellers of the realms above hastening toward thee with utmost joy, eagerness and ecstasy, pointing to thee, circling round thee, inhaling the perfume of thy flowers and roses, seeking blessing from the earth of thy precincts, bowing their foreheads to the ground before thee in recognition of the majesty and glory which surround the Holy Dust reposing within thee, the Pearl which is enshrined in thy bosom.
Blessed, immeasurably blessed is the person who visits thee and circles around thee, who serves at thy threshold, waters thy flowers, inhales the fragrance of holiness from thy roses, celebrates thy praise and glorifies thy station for the love of God, thy Creator, in this hallowed and radiant, this great, august and wondrous age.

[Jonah]

I think you'll also find some interesting bits in this article (by a non-Baha'i, I guess I should add): "From Babism to Baha'ism: Problems of Militancy, Quietism, and Conflation in the Construction of a Religion" at http://bahai-library.com/?file=maceoin_babism_militancy

-Jonah