Бәби дінінің негізгі кітабы – «Байан»

Principal scriptural text of the Báb

The Persian Bayán (بیان "expression") is one of the principal scriptural writings of the Báb, the founder of Bábi religion, written in Persian. The Báb also wrote a shorter book in Arabic, known as the Arabic Bayán.

The Persian Bayán was written near the end of 1847 or the beginning of 1848, while the Báb was imprisoned in Maku. The book contains elements of Bábí law, discussion of religious concepts, and the glorification of He whom God shall make manifest.

The book was intended to be composed of nineteen 'unities' each of nineteen chapters, consisting of a total of 361 sections, which had numerical significance, but this was left incomplete and stops in the ninth 'unity'. Baháʼí scholar, Nader Saiedi states that the severe laws of the Bayán were never meant to be put in practice, because their implementation depended on the appearance of He whom God shall make manifest, while at the same time all of the laws would be abrogated unless the Promised One would reaffirm them. Saiedi concludes that these can then only have a strategic and symbolic meaning, and were meant to break through traditions and to focus the Báb's followers on obedience to He whom God shall make manifest. The Báb stresses the importance of the recognition of the symbolic nature and spiritual meaning of each of his laws. In the Baháʼí view, Baháʼu'lláh is regarded as this Promised One. In his Kitab i Aqdas, Baháʼu'lláh cancelled specific laws of the Bayan, while confirming others.

Certain early researchers of the religion believed that the right of completing the Bayán was conferred to Subh i Azal. However, more modern scholarship shows that that interpretation is flawed because Subh i Azal is only given the right to complete the Bayán with the permission of He whom God shall make manifest, and that Subh i Azal was instituted as a nominal head and asked to preserve the religion until He whom God shall make manifest would arrive. The Báb eliminated any form of successorship or vicegerency from his religion and stated that no one else's writings would be authoritative after his death to the time of He Whom God shall make Manifest. One of the texts that the Azalis use to state that Subh i Azal was appointed as a viceregent is the controversial book Nuqtutu'l Kaq, but the book's statements are very contradictory and problematic.

Edward G. Browne planned at one time to publish an edited text of the Persian Bayán, and did considerable work on the compilation of six manuscripts, but the work was never completed. This incomplete compilation, still exists in the Cambridge University Library (classmark Or. 1331–7 [11]), awaiting the attention of some future scholar.