Muhammad Husayn, surnamed Vafa by Bahá'u'lláh was a prominent figure in Shíráz and Nayríz at the time of Bahá'u'lláh. His father was Mullá Baqir. His mother was the niece of the Imam Jumih of Shíráz. Vafa's grandfather Mullá ‘Abdu'l Samih, nephew of the Imam Jumih of Shiraz, was a well-known scholar. Vafa's daughter, Khavar Sultan, married my great grandfather, Mullá Muhammad Shafi.

His father, Mulla Baqir, was respected by Muhammad Sháh, the king of Persia and envied by the jealous Mullás of Shíráz. Vafa was a teacher in the court. A very handsome man, Vafa dressed very colorfully and was a popular poet in Shiraz, especially among the women. Most of his poems were love stories that the ladies of town would often recite in their local dialects. His name, which means “Fidelity”, is in itself a poetic name. In his poetry, he not only spoke of love and affection for Bahá'u'lláh, but also of his ultimate surrender to the faith of Bahá'u'lláh.

To avoid any further trouble and problems, his father moved to Nayríz where due to his relationship to the Imam Jumih of Shiraz and his closeness to the king, Nayrizis treated him affectionately and respectfully.

Married three times, he met his wife Fatimih while visiting the women's prison in Shiraz with his father. She had lost her first husband and her son in the Nayríz upheaval. As was the custom in those days, Vafa became the custodian of the mosque in Nayríz after the death of his father.

Vafa asked Bahá'u'lláh in a letter a series of very important questions about the Worlds of God, the Return, the Ordinances of God and Paradise. Bahá'u'lláh answered his questions in the ‘ Tablet to Vafa'. Later he met Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, was confirmed in his faith and became enchanted with Baha'u'llah's writings. Vafa who died from a heart attack while still in his thirties, was the recipient of a Tablet of Visitation revealed especially for him from ‘Abdu'l Baha. The beautiful tablet was engraved on Vafa's stone in the public cemetery.

Tablets to Vafá