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IN MEMORIAM
(Based on tributes received from the National Spiritual Assemblies of Alaska and Luxembourg)
MUHAMMAD LABtB 1893—1981
Muhammad Labfb was born in about 1893 in Yazd. His father; Muhammad-Husayn Ulfat (known as ‘Attar), had been a prominent Slaykhi of Yazd prior to his conversion to the Bahá’í Faith, and when the populace of that town rose up against the Bahá’ís in 19037, in one of the most savage attacks that the Bahá’ís of Írán have experienced, he was among the prime targets of the mob. Mr. Labflfs father was expelled from Yazd and his shop and home were ransacked and demolished in the early days of the upheaval, while his mother was set upon by a throng, beaten to the point of death, and then thrown into a dark, damp dungeon for three days. Mr‘ Labflz) himself, then aged nine, spent several days in the underground canals that bring water to Yazd, seated on the shoulders
Muhammad Labib
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of his elder brother, until they found refuge in the cellar Of the house of one of the Bahá’í’s. Unable to remain in Yazd, the family moved in 1905 to Tihran where Mr. Labfb attended the Bahá’í Tarbiyat School.
From 1914 Mr. Labfb took a strong interest in Esperanto, and the following year when he moved to Qazvin to teach at the Bahá’í Tavakkul School he initiated Esperanto lessons and became the official representative of the World Esperanto movement. In 1916, while he was in Qazvin, he had the idea of establishing a trust fund called the Nawnahalan Company in which the Bahá’í children who attended his school could save their money. In 1919 Mr. Labfl) and his father were 011 pilgrimage in Haifa for sixty days. During this time Mr. Labib presented his idea of the Nawnahalan t0 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Who gave His blessing and endorsement to these plans and even contributed two gold coins as His ‘share’ in the company.
Mr. Labfl) was a keen photographer and often in the course of teaching trips and on other occasions he took many photographs of great historical importance for the Bahá’í Faith. He accompanied Effie Baker1 in 19301931 when, at the request of Shoghi Effendi, she toured iran taking photographs for his translation of The Dawn-Breakers. Mr. Labfl) crowned a life of service to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh by pioneering in 1955 to Hiroshima, Japan, and to other parts of the Far East where he remained for nine years, and in 1963 to Rhodes in the Mediterranean.
Towards the end of his life he wrote his memoirs as well as a large number of works dealing with episodes in Bahá’í history. These are rendered all the more valuable because they are profusely illustrated with his photographs. One of his books, The Seven Martyrs of Hurmazak, has been translated into English and published;2 the rest remain for the future. Although blind and physically infirm in the last years of his life, he retained an active mind until his passing on 14 March 1981.
The announcement of his death elicited the following cable from the Universal House of Justice, dated 23 March:
SADDENED NEWS PASSING DEVOTED SERVANT
' See ‘In Memoriam’, The Bahti'z’ World, vol. XIV, p. 320. 2 The Seven Martyrs of Hurmazak, trans. M. Momen, George Ronald, Oxford, 1981.
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SACRED THRESHOLD MUHAMMAD LABIB. HIS DEDICATED LONGSTANDING RECORD SERVICES IRAN REMEMBERED WITH DEEP LOVE APPRECIATION. ASSURE RELATIVES FERVENTLY PRAYING SHRINES PROGRESS HIS SOUL ABHA KINGDOM.
MOOJAN MOMEN
