Wikipedia
Afnan (, "Branches"), is a term in literature of the Bahá'í Faith referring to maternal relatives of the Báb, and is used as a surname by their descendants. This name is also mentioned in the Quran.
The Báb's wife was named Khadíjih-Bagum, who had two brothers, Hajjí Mírzá Abu'l-Qasim and Hajjí Mírzá Siyyid Hasan. The descendants of these two brothers-in-law of the Báb, along with the descendants of his maternal uncles are known as the Afnán. The Afnán are of the Sayyid class, i.e. claiming descent from the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.
In the late 19th century the family established a large trading business based in Shiraz and Yazd in Iran, with offices in Beirut, Bombay, Hong Kong and 'Ishqábád. They published some of the first Bahá'í literature from their printing press in Bombay.
- redirect Afnán