Sheikh Ehsan Ilahi Zaheer was a scholar of Ahl al-Hadith sect in Pakistan. Born in Sialkot in 1941, he earned advanced degrees from the Islamic University of Medina and Punjab University before taking on prominent leadership roles in Islamic research and journalism. He dedicated his entire life in writing academic refutations of deviant sects like Bahaism and Qadiyanism using primary sources until his death following a bomb explosion in Lahore in 1987.
In his major 1975 study titled Baha'ism: Critique and Analysis (originally in Arabic), which draws upon two hundred and seventy-eight primary academic references, Zaheer exposes the true background of the movement's founder, Mirza Husayn Ali Nuri, known to his followers as Baha'ullah. Born in Tehran in 1817, Baha'ullah persistently claimed to be an unlettered man (ummi) who had never attended formal schools or studied religious texts. However, Zaheer dismantles this assertion by showing that Baha'ullah thoroughly studied Shi'ite theology, Sufi mysticism, and classical philosophy, while learning early Babi doctrines alongside his younger brother. Furthermore, Zaheer presents direct textual proof that Baha'ullah copied heavily from Ali Muhammad the Bab's foundational book, the Bayan, inserting over one hundred stolen passages into his own chief text, the Kitab-i-Aqdas, while falsely presenting these plagiarized writings as original divine revelations.
Zaheer also uncovers Baha'ullah's shifting spiritual declarations and timeline fabrications. Baha'ullah started his career as a follower of Ali Muhammad the Bab and acted as a representative for his own half-brother, Mirza Yahya Subh-i Azal, whom the Bab had officially designated as his successor. Baha'ullah later made a drastic turn by declaring himself to be the promised divine figure known as "He whom God shall make manifest" (Man Yuzhiruhullah). Zaheer reveals a fatal contradiction in this claim by pointing directly to the Bab's writings in the Bayan, where the Bab explicitly declared that the next divine manifestation would not appear for another 1,511 to 2,001 years, a period calculated from the Abjad numerical values of the sacred terms Ghiyath (1,511) and Mustaghath (2,001). By proclaiming his own manifestation a mere nineteen years after the Bab's movement began, Baha'ullah broke the fundamental timeline set by the very scripture he claimed to uphold.
Beyond theological fabrications, Zaheer documents Baha'ullah's personal cowardice and deep connections to foreign colonial powers. While early Babis fought openly in armed conflicts, Baha'ullah avoided battle by accepting minor foot lashes in Amul as an excuse to refrain from joining the historic Battle of Fort Tabarsi. His family built close ties with the Russian Embassy in Tehran, where his elder brother and brother-in-law Mirza Majid worked. When Babi fanatics attempted to assassinate Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, Russian Ambassador Dolgorukov intervened directly to protect Baha'ullah from execution. Supported by the pro-Russian Prime Minister Aqa Khan and shielded by Russian diplomats during questioning, Baha'ullah was spared from death and sent to exile in Baghdad under the physical guard of armed Russian cavalry. This record of foreign backing extended into the next generation, culminating in 1920 when Baha'ullah's son and successor, Abbas Effendi (Abdul-Baha), was formally knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) for assisting British forces during their conquest of Palestine.
Zaheer offers a scathing critique of Baha'ullah's rising claims to absolute divinity (Ar-Rabb / Allah), contrasting his boastful statements with his helpless physical reality and internal cruelty. Baha'ullah declared himself to be the supreme Lord of creation, asserting that past prophets like Muhammad and Abraham would prostrate before his divine presence. Yet Zaheer contrasts these grand declarations with Baha'ullah's own personal letters, which are filled with constant, weeping complaints about suffering from severe fevers, poverty, imprisonment in Acre, and constant fear of his enemies. To secure his authority, Baha'ullah turned to physical violence against competing Babi leaders. He attempted to poison his half-brother Subh-i Azal and ordered the murder of spiritual rivals, including Mirza Asadullah Tabrizi (Dayyan), who was drowned in the Tigris River, and three Azali monitors in Acre who were killed with spears and butchers' knives.
In his analysis of Baha'i doctrines, Zaheer exposes attractive slogans like the "Unity of Religions" and "Universal Peace" as deceptive tools designed to serve Western imperial interests. While promoting universal brotherhood to outsiders, Baha'ullah and Abdul-Baha routinely cursed their opponents in private writings. They referred to orthodox Muslims as an "ignorant herd", branded Baha'ullah's own brother as "Satan" and the "Point of Darkness," and strictly forbade Baha'is from speaking or sitting with Muslims. Most importantly, Zaheer highlights that Baha'ullah's complete ban on Jihad and his prohibition against owning or carrying weapons, even for self-defense, were specifically calculated to render Muslim communities defenseless against Russian and British military incursions.
Ultimately, Sheikh Ehsan Ilahi Zaheer demonstrates that Baha'ism was not an organic spiritual development, but a colonial-backed movement constructed upon plagiarized texts, broken timelines, and political deception. His exhaustive study leaves thoughtful readers with serious, unavoidable questions regarding the movement's true origin and nature. How can any man claim to be the almighty God of the universe while constantly weeping over illness, shivering in prison cells, and begging human kings for protection? How can a religion preach "universal peace" and love when its founder tried to poison his own brother and ordered the cold-blooded assassination of his spiritual rivals? Can a doctrine that completely disarms believers in the face of colonial conquest be considered a divine blessing, or is it merely a political tool engineered to subjugate nations?
