Núrayn-i-Nayyirayn

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Núrayn-i-Nayyirayn, meaning “twin shining lights,” were two brothers from Isfahan who followed Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith. They were wealthy merchants known for their honesty and kindness.

In 1879 they were executed in Isfahan because they were Bahá’ís. The death came after a conspiracy by local leaders: the Imám-Jum’ih of Isfahan, another influential cleric, and the governor, Sultan-Mas’ud Mirza. The brothers were tortured and asked to recant their faith, which they refused. A crowd dragged them from prison, killed them in the street, and left their bodies on display. They were buried in Takht-i-Fulad cemetery on March 17, 1879.

Bahá’u’lláh wrote several tablets in their honor and gave them titles. The elder brother, Mírzá Muhammad-Husayn, was called Beloved of Martyrs. The younger brother, Mírzá Muhammad-Hasan, was called King of Martyrs and is counted among Bahá’u’lláh’s nineteen Apostles.

Their family later included a widow, Fatimih Begum, and a son, Mírzá ʻAbdu'l-Husayn; Bahá’u’lláh urged them to come to Akka for compensation. Mírzá ʻAbdu'l-Husayn died in Akka.