The parent of the Bahá’í faith is Bábism. Although the Bahá’í faith has strict prohibitions, 19th century accusations of hashish and opium use were often directed at Bábism. (Some revived notes from an old file, combined with a Grok history summary.)
Bábism was a 19th-century messianic movement founded in Persia (Iran) in 1844 by the Báb (Sayyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi). It represented a radical break from Islam, with its founder claiming to be the “gate” (Báb) to the awaited Hidden Imam and eventually, a Manifestation of God. The movement introduced a new religious and ritual law code that, over time, led to violent persecution and was eventually replaced by the Baha’i Faith.
Bábism and the Bahá’í Faith are directly related. Bábism is the parent religion, and the Bahá’í Faith is its child. Here is the clear historical line:
1844 – In Shiraz, Persia (Iran), a 25-year-old merchant named Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad declared Himself the Báb (“Gate”).
→ He announced He was the promised “Mahdi”/messianic figure awaited by Shí‘ih Muslims and the herald of an even greater Messenger who would come after Him.
1844-1850 – His followers were called Bábís.
→ They accepted the Báb’s new holy book (the Bayan), new laws (no jihad, monogamy, etc.), and faced ferocious persecution.
→ Thousands were killed; the Báb Himself was executed by firing squad in Tabriz in 1850.
1850-1863 – After the Báb’s death, most Bábís followed His appointed successor, Ṣubḥ-i-Azal as the Báb’s appointed head.
1863 – In Baghdad, the inflential figure, Mírzá Husayn-‘Alí Núrí, titled Bahá’u’lláh (“Glory of God”) privately declared to a few followers that He was the promised “Him Whom God shall make manifest” foretold by the Báb.
→ Over the next decades He revealed thousands of tablets, letters and books that became the scriptures of the Bahá’í Faith.
Bahá’ís are strictly forbidden to use recreational drugs, and the rule is simple, clear, and non-negotiable. The exact law (in Bahá’u’lláh’s own handwriting)
It is forbidden you to drink alcohol or to take opium or any substance that dulls the mind or causes intoxication.”
— Kitáb-i-Aqdas, verse 119 (the Bahá’í “Book of Laws”)
However is this succinct with its origins in Bábism? A number of older sources indicate the copious use of opium and Hashish among the Bábi. Although for the most part when modern Bábi and Bahá’í historians do refer to it, they see that the accusations of drug use were exaggerated by enemies, although not invented and suggest some early Bábís did use opium and hashish but the later Bahá’í Faith forbids it.
Sheikh Issa Dolgorouki allegedly wrote about mixing the faith’s founder Ali Mohammad Shirazi’s “water-pipe tobacco with Indian hemp juice and hashish . During his ecstatic moods I encouraged him to stand up against the Shia mullahs and to claim superiority” –The Rise and Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty: Memoirs of Former General Hussein Fardust, By Ḥusayn Fardūst (1998). However, this source has been called into question, and is often cited as a forgery intended as anti-Baha’i and Babist propaganda.
Dolgorouki/Dolgorukov refers to Prince Dimitri Ivanovich Dolgorukov (1801–1867), a real Russian diplomat who served as ambassador to Persia (1846–1854). He reported on the Babi movement’s early persecutions, intervened to relocate the Bab from the Russian border at Maku to avoid unrest spilling over, and even aided Baha’u’llah’s family during his 1852 imprisonment in Tehran. However, a forged memoir attributed to him (circulated in anti-Baha’i propaganda since the late 19th century) falsely claims he engineered Babism and the Baha’i Faith as Russian plots to destabilize Iran—claims debunked by historians as impossible (Dolgorukov died in 1867, before the Baha’i Faith’s formal emergence)
However similar claims of hashish and/or opium use can be found about Bábism:
“The morals of most of the Babis whom our author met were pure but he also met with some whose religious imagination was stimulated and confused by the use of opium and cannabis indica and even those alcoholic liquors which the Arabian prophet sternly forbade Though evil was blended with their good yet their eloquence their poetry and their zeal excited as we have seen the admiration even of a Cambridge professor” – The Church of England Pulpit, and Ecclesiastical Review, Volume 40 (1895)
“Polak here adds a further myth in stating that the Bábís brought people into their religion through the influence of hashish.” – The Bábí and Bahá’í Religions 1844-1944
Some Contemporary Western Accounts (1981)The Prince secretary, anAzali Babi, “was a confirmed opium smoker.” Browne even joined the Bahais in the use of opium and almost became a victim of the habit. On one occasion they secretly filled his pipe with hashish (Bhang).” Also refers to its use on ‘neophytes’ –
Bahaism and Its Claims: A Study of the Religion Promulgated by Baha Utlah and Abdul Baha
By Samuel Graham Wilson (1915)“Some joined the movement from conviction, others were brought in under intoxication, being put into a state of bliss by indulgence in hashish. This narcotic then was used by the Babis to the same purpose it was by the Assassins” – The Bábí and Bahá’í Religions 1844-194: Some Contemporary Western Accounts (1981)
“as Professor Browne describes it, as a proof of the greatness and dignity of the Babi religion, and called upon the Mohammedans to acknowledge that a religion which could produce so many manifestations at one time was assuredly of no slight merit. But, sad to say, scoffers were found who sneered at the manifestations of God, and regarded their wondrous Utterances as nothing more than the ravings of men unbalanced by excessive indulgence in opium and hashish.” – The Precursor, the Prophet, and the Pope (1916) article by Robert P. Richardson, published in The Open Court journal
Bábism linked to opium use –
Bahaism and Its Claims, By Samuel Graham Wilson (2018)“The defects of some of the Babis he knew, had not disappointed him. … conscious of a certain disgust at their vain glorious assumption of divinity—helped as it was by wine and opium-smoking” – A Persian Anthology (RLE Iran B)Being Translations from the Persian By Edward Granville Browne (2012)
Browne wrote that he joined group of Bábis, and opium smoking was taking place (in A Year Amongst the Persians Browne partook of opium enough to acquire an addiction while among the Babis. As Moojan Momen specifically noted “Browne himself became addicted to opium under the influence of the Azalis there”.
And this is the way of opium. You may smoke it occasionally at long intervals, and feel no after-craving. You may smoke it for two or three days consecutively, and abandon it without difficulty; then you may, after an interval of one or two days do the like once more, and again forsake it; and then, having smoked it once or twice again, you will try to put it from you as before, and you will find you cannot–that the fetters are forged which, likely enough, you will wear for ever. So next day I relapsed into bondage, and, when a few days later I told my plight to a friend of mine (the Prince’s secretary and an Ezeli Babi), who was a confirmed “vafuri” (opium-smoker), he clapped his hand on his thigh and exclaimed, “Hala digar guzasht! Vafuri shude-id!” (Now, at any rate, it is all over! You have become an opium-smoker!”). Neither did he say this without a certain air of contentment, if not of exultation; for it is a curious fact that, although the opium-smoker will, as a rule, never tire of abusing his tyrant, he will almost always rejoice to see another led into the same bondage, and will take the new captive by the hand as a brother. (Brown, 1893)
Browne refers to an incident that happened while smoking opium with a Bábi by the name of Sheykh Ibráhím (sometimes referred to as Sheykh Ibráhím-i-Gorgí in later Baha’i sources) and recounts an incident where cannabis was slipped into his pipe, without his consent:
…the kalydn [water-pipe] was brought, and as I took it, and, according to the customary etiquette, offered it in turn to all present before putting my lips to it, I fancied that I was watched with a certain attention and subdued amusement for which I could not account. The first whiff of smoke, however, explained the cause of this. My experience with Cannabis Indica while I was a student at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital had uot been altogether fruitless, since it had indelibly impressed on my memory the taste of this hateful drug, which now again, for the third time in my life, struck on my palate. “ Oh,” thought I to myself, “ so this is the trick you thought to play on me, is it ? “ But I continued to smoke on slowly and deliberately till the Sheykh, unable any longer to control his curiosity, asked me how I found the kalydn.
“ Nice enough,” I answered, “ but I fear it somewhat, for, unless I am much mistaken, you have put ‘Master Seyyid’ into it.”
I do not think that during the whole time I was in Persia I ever scored so great a success as by this simple remark. That I — a mere European — should be able to recognise the taste of hashish was much, but that I should know it, so to speak, by its pet name, was indeed to prove myself well matured (imklite) by travel and the society of persons of experience.
“ How ever did you know that ? “ enquired the Sheykh amidst the laughter and applause of the others.
“ Because I am a Firangi [foreigner]must I needs be an ass ? “ I demanded, with a show of indignation.
Sheykh Ibrahim was delighted, and proceeded to unfold to me many mysteries connected with the use of narcotics in Persia. He told me of an oil called Rowghan-i-Hashish (” Oil of Indian Hemp “), prepared from a plant named Tature ( ? Datura), of which half a nokhud would render a man insensible for twenty-four or thirty-six hours. This, he said, was often employed by Persian adventurers in Turkey and Arabia (especially at Mosul and Mecca) to stupefy persons whom they wished to rob. Mixed with the food intended for the victim’s consumption its flavour is imperceptible, and the protracted insensibility to which it gives rise allows the thief ample time to decamp. (Browne, 1893)
Browne notes that:
Hashish is thought so badly of in Persia that it is usually spoken of, even by those who use it, by some nickname, such as Akd-yi- Seyyid (“Master Seyyid”). Tuti-i-asrar (”The Parrot of mysteries”), or simply Asrar (“Mysteries”), the two first alluding to its green colour. One of the odes of Hafiz, beginning… (“0 Parrot, who discoursest of mysteries, may thy beak never want sugar!”), is addressed to the drug. (Browne, 1893)
Sheykh Ibráhím was among the very first believers in the Báb’s mission, accepting His claim in Shiráz shortly after the Declaration in 1844. He became a devoted early disciple and personally accompanied the Báb on portions of His journey from Shiráz toward Isfahán and later to Mecca for pilgrimage in 1845, serving as a close attendant. Remaining steadfast through the intense persecutions that followed, Sheykh Ibráhím survived the upheavals of the Bábí period and, after Bahá’u’lláh’s public declaration, recognized Him as “He Whom God shall make manifest,” thus becoming one of the early adherents who transitioned from Bábism to the Bahá’í Faith.
This indicates a considerable knowledge of these substances on the part of some Bábis. Edward G. Browne, seems like a reasonable source in regards to the use of opium and hashish among the Bábis, as he published many books and articles on the Babi and Bahá’í religions. In a biography composed for the online Baha’i Library Browne is referred to as a “famous scholar of the Bábí and Bahá’í Faiths” and he “is best known to modern Bahá’ís for his description of his meeting with Bahá’u’lláh”. The Baha’i Library also hosts a pdf of Browne’s A Year Amongst the Persians (1893) which contains numerous first hand accounts of Browne smoking opium with the Babis and their use of hashish, and knowledge of other drugs as well. The Babis were greatly impressed when Browne, a Westerner, was able to identify the hashish they had laced his water pipe with by taste! However the copious opium smoking proved a habitual challenge for Browne.
As Grok concludes after running this information through it:
19th-century Persian Sufi and messianic circles commonly used opium and hashish in dhikr (mystical remembrance) sessions. When the Báb’s movement exploded, it attracted exactly those circles. → The drugs were cultural luggage, not doctrine. → Once Bahá’u’lláh consolidated the community in the 1860s–70s, He purged the practice and made the prohibition non-negotiable.
Opium and hashish were used by some early Bábís in 1840s–50s Persia, especially in Sufi-style gatherings, and hostile sources magnified the charge. The Báb Himself never endorsed drugs, and Bahá’u’lláh explicitly outlawed them in the 1870s. So drugs were present at the social margins of Bábism, but never part of its scripture or sanctioned ritual.
The Báb (Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad Shírází) explicitly prohibits opium in the Persian Bayán (His major scriptural work). The key passage appears in Vahid IX – Bab 8 “His absolute interdiction of opium, of fermented drinks and of medications…. All are forbidden fermented liquors and all to which is applied the name ‘medication’: and that, in absolute fashion, so that you hold yourself pure of all to which is applied the appellation of ‘for other than for God’ and that you change these medications, in case of necessity, against the most subtle dishes that God has given and that were and are from the Tree of Love… Certainly! Certainly! Against these things that are not beloved of God, take refuge in God, your Lord, Him Who accords His mercy to you, if you desire to be saved.” However there dose appear to be a caveat here, as it continues with:
And in the appearance of certain crafts whose practitioners necessarily require some of these substances, permission has been granted them in that limited measure which, in every Dispensation, has been permitted to the people thereof—so that they might show forbearance toward those who are beneath the Manifestations of God, that perchance a fruit may be obtained from their existence through faith in the Truth. For the possibility (of belief) exists within every soul, unless it become veiled by its own self. – The Eighth Gate of the Ninth Unity [of the Persian Bayān]: Concerning the prohibition of opium (tiryāq), intoxicants, and all medicine in general
Here we see the specific mention of Opium, but not hashish. Between Browne, and other sources it seems clear that the use of hashish and opium were widely present in early Bábism. The Báb clearly rejected opium, his stance on cannabis is less clear as it is not directly mentioned. Likewise it is equally clear that any intoxicating substances were banned across the board by the Bahá’u’lláh.
In 1924, when the Bahá’u’lláh’s son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was asked about the status of hashish in light of the fact that Bahá’u’lláh’s prohibition of opium did not specifically specify cannabis products (”any substance that dulls the mind or causes intoxication”) he responded:
Regarding hashish you have pointed out that some Persians have become habituated to its use. Gracious God! This is the worst of all intoxicants, and its prohibition is explicitly revealed. Its use causeth the disintegration of thought and the complete torpor of the soul. How could anyone seek the fruit of the infernal tree, and by partaking of it, be led to exemplify the qualities of a monster? How could one use this forbidden drug, and thus deprive himself of the blessings of the All-Merciful? Alcohol consumeth the mind and causeth man to commit acts of absurdity, but this opium, this foul fruit of the infernal tree, and this wicked hashish extinguish the mind, freeze the spirit, petrify the soul, waste the body and leave man frustrated and lost. ( ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1924)
Shoghi Effendi (Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, 1921–1957): repeatedly stated that the law of the Aqdas forbidding opium applies equally to hashish and, later, to marijuana and all derivatives. The Universal House of Justice (1963–present): has ruled since the 1960s that the prohibition covers cannabis in all forms, whether smoked, eaten, or otherwise ingested, except when prescribed as a medicine (e.g., certain modern pharmaceutical preparations).
The forerunner of the Baha’i, Bábism, grew out of a 19th-century Persian culture that had Sufi circles which were known to have used opium or hashish during dhikr (remembrance) ceremonies, and this bled over into the early Bábist movement which took members from these same groups. The rules of the Bahá’u’lláh were a new resolution in response too and forged against these existing activities. From both Browne’s account, and the later clarification from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the ban did not take immediate effect, and for decades after some use continued.
In reference to these prohibitions, currently the Baháʼí Reference Library lists that the “prohibition against taking certain classes of drugs does not forbid their use when prescribed by qualified physicians as part of a medical treatment”.
