Nabíl-i-Akbar


Áqá Muḥammad-i-Qá'iní and surnamed Nabíl-i-Akbar was a distinguished Baháʼí from the town of Qá'in. He is one of 19 Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh, and referred to by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá as a Hand of the Cause of God.
In the abjad notation, the name "Muhammad" has the same numerical value as "Nabíl".
Nabíl-i-Akbar was the recipient of a tablet from Baháʼu'lláh, the Tablet of Wisdom.
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá recounted:
Nabíl completed his studentship under Shaykh Murtaday-i-Ansari, and after he had obtained his sanction and blessing, Nabíl moved from Najaf to Baghdad. This teacher was the same Shaykh who refused to associate himself with the Shiʻi divines gathered together to concert plans against Baháʼu'lláh during his time in Baghdad.
It has been claimed that "no one within the enclave of the Baháʼí Faith has ever surpassed the profundity of his erudition". As far as the accomplishment demanded of a Shiʻih mujtahid is concerned, his attainment was superb, but naturally he had little knowledge of the lore and the scholarship of the West. Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl of Gulpáygán, on the other hand, was well versed in Islamic studies and had a wide and comprehensive knowledge of Western thought as well.