Бәби дінінің алғашқы он сегіз шәкіртінің құрметті атауы

Title given by the Báb to his first eighteen disciples

The Letters of the Living (حروف الحي) was a title provided by the Báb to the first eighteen disciples of the Bábí Religion.</blockquote>

The 19 letters of the Basmala are (note Arabic is "read" right to left): ب س م ا ل ل ه ا ل ر ح م ن ا ل ر ح ي م. ((in English) m y h r l a n m h r l a h l l a m s b.) Additionally, the Báb says:<blockquote> the Five Letters of Hell Fire when separated become 19, as God says: 'Over it (Hell) are Nineteen'; and so also the Letters in the Five Letters of Affirmation are nineteen. [ And Momen comments:] "i. e. Muhammad, 'Ali, Fatima, Hasan, Husayn, which together contain 19 letters in Arabic." The term "Hayy" means The Living and is used as one of the names of God in Islamic and Bábí scriptures.

First Letter of the Living, present at the night of the Declaration of the Báb celebrated as a holy day by Baháʼís, and who died at Battle of Fort Tabarsi.

Muḥammad Ḥasan Bus͟hrú'í was the second Letter of the Living, and the brother of Mullá Husayn. He, his sons, Muḥammad Báqir Bus͟hrú'í, and Mullá Ḥusayn travelled to Shiraz in search of the Qá'im; where the Báb revealed his message. He was killed during the Battle of Fort Tabarsi. Bábís consider him a martyr.

Muḥammad Báqir Bus͟hrú'í was the third Letter of the Living, and the nephew of Mullá Husayn. He and Muḥammad Ḥasan Bus͟hrú'í (his father) travelled with his uncle Mullá Ḥusayn to Shiraz in search of the Qá'im where the Báb revealed his message. He was killed in the fighting at the Battle of Fort Tabarsi. Bábís consider him a martyr.

This first Bábí martyr.

Later named Mullá ʻAlí(*) "He died a natural death, but his son Mashiyyatu'llah later met with martyrdom in his youth." (H. M. Balyuzi, The Bab The Herald of the Day of Days, p. 27)

Mullá Ḥasan Bajistání was the sixth Letter of the Living.

Siyyid Ḥusayn Yazdí was the seventh Letter of the Living. He is known as the Báb's amanuensis who shared his imprisonment in Maku and then Chihriq. In the story of the Báb's execution, he is the secretary that the Báb spoke to before being taken away to be shot. Siyyid Ḥusayn Yazdí was executed in Tehran in 1852 in the aftermath on the attempt on the Shah's life.

He remained apart from other Bábís and was generally known as a Shaykhi. But he never renounced his faith and taught it whenever he could. (H. M. Balyuzi, The Bab The Herald of the Day of Days, p. 27)

According to the official website of the Baháʼís of Pakistan, Saʻíd Hindí was a native of Multan, in present day Pakistan. He was one of the students of Siyyid Kazim Rashti in Iraq. Saʻíd Hindí met the Báb after He declared His mission in 1844. The Báb sent him to India to announce the news of His advent. Saʻíd Hindí reached Multan in that very year to share the Báb's message with his fellow countrymen. Sayyid Basir Hindí, one of Saʻíd Hindí's contacts and a blind man of Sufi background from the Multan area, embraced the Bábí Faith and set out on pilgrimage to Shiraz in Iran to meet the Báb.

He was killed at Battle of Fort Tabarsi.

He was killed at Battle of Fort Tabarsi.

He was killed at Battle of Fort Tabarsi.

Ṭáhirih's brother in law. Killed at Battle of Fort Tabarsi.

He was the eighteenth and last Letter of the Living. He was chosen by the Báb to accompany Him to pilgrimage in Mecca and Medina. And was the cousin to
the first letter of the living, Mullá Husayn. (*) Not included in the list provided by Qatíl which was created far earlier. He does not however provide alternatives and leaves the count at fourteen. Although the Báb seems to have written a tablet to each of the letters, the names are not on any of them so the identities cannot be confirmed. Of these the most distinguished are Mullá Ḥusayn, Ṭáhirih and Quddús. Ṭáhirih is singled out because she is the only woman and recognised the Báb without even meeting him. She sent a letter of belief through her brother in law and was sure he would find the Báb.

The Letters of the Living were all appointed by the Báb in the period between May 1844, when he first declared his mission and October 1844 when he set out for his pilgrimage to Mecca. Individuals such as Mírzá Yaḥyá, Baháʼu'lláh, Áqá Sayyid ʻAli Arab and Mullá Rajab ʻAli who all became Bábís after this period were not and could not have been part of the Letters of the Living as has been claimed in some accounts. Most of the Letters died in Bábí uprisings before Baháʼu'lláh started the Baháʼí Faith.

It has been stated that Mírzá Yaḥyá was the fourth of the Letters of the Living (where the Báb would be the first) by Edward Granville Browne in A Traveller's Narrative (page xvi). The book does not include any other details of the Letters and is against the Baháʼís' commonly accepted view that Mulla Ḥusayn's brother and nephew recognised the Báb shortly after him (since they'd take the third and fourth place). Also the paragraph claims that Baháʼu'lláh was also in the group. The assertion that either were Letters is contrary to Baháʼí accounts. It is notable that Mírzá Yaḥyá would have been 12, or perhaps 13 at the declaration of the Báb.