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Baháʼu'lláh

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Baháʼu'lláh
Shrine-of-Bahaullah.jpg
Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh near Acre
Born
Mírzá Ḥusayn-ʻAlí Núrí[a]

12 November 1817 (1817-11-12)
Tehran, Qajar Persia (present-day Iran)
Died29 May 1892 (1892-05-30) (aged 74)
Acre, Ottoman Empire (present-day Israel)
Resting placeShrine of Baháʼu'lláh
32°56′36″N 35°05′32″E / 32.94333°N 35.09222°E / 32.94333; 35.09222
NationalityPersian
Known forFounder of the Baháʼí Faith
SuccessorʻAbdu'l-Bahá
Spouse(s)
Children
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Baháʼu'lláh[b] (b. Ḥusayn-ʻAlí, 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was a Persian religious leader, and the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, which advocates universal peace and unity among all races, nations, and religions.

Born into Persian nobility, at the age of 27 he accepted the religious claims of the Báb and became an important promoter of the new faith, for which he was tortured and imprisoned in Tehran.[1] During confinement in 1853-4, he claimed that a vision brought him divine inspiration. He was banished from Persia and took up residence in Iraq. Years later, while facing another forced exile from Ottoman authorities, he announced his own religious claims in 1863 to the followers of the Báb, followed by letters to world leaders beginning in 1867.[2] In 1868, on orders from Sultan Abdulaziz, Baháʼu'lláh and about 80 of his family and followers were rounded up from their homes in Edirne and put under heavy confinement in the prison-city of Akka.[3] By 1877 the sentence was no longer being enforced, and he lived his final years in a nearby home, while technically a prisoner of the city.

Baháʼu'lláh's notable writings include The Hidden Words (Kurdistan: 1858), the Book of Certitude (Baghdad: 1862) and the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Akka: 1873), which all vary in themes.[4] His teachings revolve around the unity of God, of religion, and of mankind. God is seen to have sent a series of divine messengers that are unified in purpose, and draw humanity toward greater spiritual, moral, and intellectual truths.[5] Baháʼu'lláh's claim to be the most recent in this series is the basis for the faith's widespread recognition as the only independent world religion to emerge in the modern age, not being a sect of any other faith.[6] Besides spiritual growth, his teachings also promote the equality of men and women, marriage and family life, an end to racial and national prejudice, and some prescriptions on how to live a Baháʼí life and organize the Baháʼí community.

His burial place near Akka is a destination of pilgrimage for his followers, as well as the direction they face for daily obligatory prayers. The Baháʼí World Centre sits in nearby Haifa. His will appointed his eldest son, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, as an authorized interpreter of his writings and to succeed him in directing the affairs of the Baháʼí Faith. By the 1950s there were about 200,000 Baháʼís in the world, mostly in Iran,[7] but starting in the 1960s the religion expanded around the world, and by the 21st century there were reliably over 5 million registered Baháʼís in the world.[8]

Early life[]

A depiction of Mírzá Buzurg, the father of Baháʼu'lláh

Baháʼu'lláh (/bəˈhɑːʊˌlɑː/) was born Mírzá Ḥusayn-ʻAlí Núrí (Persian: میرزا حسین‌علی نوری‎) on 12 November 1817 (Muharram 2, 1233 AH), in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Baháʼí authors trace his ancestry back to Abraham through Abraham's wife Keturah,[9] to Zoroaster, to Yazdgerd III, the last king of the Sassanid Empire, and also to Jesse.[10][11] According to the Baháʼí author John Able, Baháʼís also consider Baháʼu'lláh to have been "descended doubly, from both Abraham and Sarah, and separately from Abraham and Keturah".[12]

His mother was Khadíjih Khánum, and his father was Mírzá Buzurg. Baháʼu'lláh's father served as vizier to Imám-Virdi Mírzá, the twelfth son of Fath-ʻAli Shah Qajar. Mírzá Buzurg was later appointed governor of Burujird and Lorestan,[13] a position that he was stripped of during a government purge when Muhammad Shah came to power. After the death of his father, Baháʼu'lláh was asked to take a government post by the new vizier Hajji Mirza Aqasi, but declined.[14]

Bábí movement[]

Main article: Bábism

In 1844, a 24-year-old man from Shiraz, Siyyid Mírzá ʻAlí-Muḥammad, claimed to be the promised redeemer (or Mahdi and Qaim) of Islam, taking the title of the Báb, which means "the gate".[15] The resulting Bábí movement quickly spread across the Persian Empire, attracting widespread opposition from the Islamic clergy. The Báb himself was executed in 1850 by a firing squad in the public square of Tabriz at the age of 30.[15]

The Báb claimed no finality for his revelation.[16] In his writings, he alluded to a Promised One, most commonly referred to as "Him whom God shall make manifest". According to the Báb, this personage, promised in the sacred writings of previous religions, would establish the kingdom of God on the Earth;[15][17] several of the Báb's writings state the coming of Him whom God shall make manifest would be imminent.[18] The Báb constantly entreats his believers to follow Him whom God shall make manifest when he arrives.[16] The Báb also eliminated the institution of successorship or vicegerency to his movement, and stated that no other person's writings would be binding after his death until Him whom God shall make manifest had appeared.[18]

Acceptance of the Báb[]

Baháʼu'lláh first heard of the Báb when he was 27, and received a visitor sent by the Báb, Mullá Husayn, telling him of the Báb and his claims. Baháʼu'lláh became a Bábí and helped to spread the new movement, especially in his native province of Núr, where he became recognized as one of its most influential believers.[19][20] His notability as a local gave him many openings, and his trips to teach the religion were met with success, even among some of the religious class. He also helped to protect fellow believers, such as Táhirih, for which he was temporarily imprisoned in Tehran and punished with bastinado or foot whipping.[19] Baháʼu'lláh, in the summer of 1848, also attended the conference of Badasht in the province of Khorasan, where 81 prominent Bábís met for 22 days; at that conference where there was a discussion between those Bábís who wanted to maintain Islamic law and those who believed that the Báb's message began a new dispensation, Baháʼu'lláh took the pro-change side, which eventually won out. It is at this conference that Mírzá Ḥusayn-ʻAlí Núrí took on the title Bahá.[19][21]

When violence started between the Bábís and the Qajar government in the later part of 1848, Baháʼu'lláh tried to reach the besieged Bábís at the Shaykh Tabarsi in Mazandaran, but was arrested and imprisoned before he could get there.[19] The following years until 1850 saw the Bábís being massacred in various provinces after the Báb publicly made his claim of being the Manifestation of God.[19]

Síyáh-Chál[]

After the Báb was executed in 1850, a group of Tehran Bábís, headed by a Bábí known as Azim, who was previously a Shaykhi cleric, plotted an assassination plan against the Shah Nasser-al-Din Shah, in retaliation for the Báb's execution.[22] Baháʼu'lláh condemned the plan; however, any moderating influence that he may have had was diminished in June 1851 when he went into exile to Baghdad at the chief minister's request, returning only after Amir Kabir's fall from power.[19][22] On 15 August 1852, the radical group of Bábís attempted the assassination of the Shah and failed.[19] The group of Bábís linked with the plan, were rounded up and executed, but notwithstanding the assassins' claim that they were working alone, the entire Bábí community was blamed, precipitating violent riots against the Bábí community that were encouraged and orchestrated by the government.[22] During this time many Bábís were killed, and many more, including Baháʼu'lláh, were imprisoned in the Síyáh-Chál ("black pit"), an underground dungeon of Tehran.[23]

According to Baháʼu'lláh, it was during his imprisonment in the Síyáh-Chál that he had several mystical experiences, and received a vision of a maiden from God, through whom he received his mission as a messenger of God and as the one whose coming the Báb had prophesied.[19][23] The confession of the would-be assassin had exonerated the Bábí leaders, and in the context of the continuing mass executions of Babis, the ambassador of Russia requested that Baháʼu'lláh and other persons apparently unconnected with the conspiracy be spared. After he had been in the Síyáh-Chál for four months Baháʼu'lláh was in fact finally released, on condition he left Iran. Declining an offer of refugee status in Russia, he chose exile in Iraq (then part of the Ottoman Empire); in 1853 Baháʼu'lláh and his family, accompanied by a member of the Shah's bodyguard and a representative of the Russian embassy, travelled from Persia, arriving in Baghdad on 8 April 1853.[19][24]

Baghdad[]

Baháʼu'lláh's passport, dated January 1853

The Báb had appointed Mírzá Yahyá (later known as Subh-i-Azal) as the leader after himself. Mírzá Yahyá had gone into hiding after the assassination attempt on the Shah, and after Baháʼu'lláh's exile to Baghdad, he chose to join his brother there.[24] At the same time, an increasing number of Bábís considered Baghdad the new center for leadership of the Bábí religion, and a flow of pilgrims started going there from Persia.

Mírzá Yahyá's leadership was controversial. He generally absented himself from the Bábí community, spending his time in Baghdad in hiding and disguise; on several occasions he went so far as to publicly disavow allegiance to the Báb.[14][25][26] Mírzá Yahyá gradually alienated himself from a large number of the Bábís, who started giving their allegiance to other claimants.[25] During the time that Mírzá Yahyá remained in hiding, Baháʼu'lláh performed much of the daily administration of Bábí affairs.[14] In contrast to Mírzá Yahyá, Baháʼu'lláh was outgoing and accessible, and he was seen by an increasing number of Bábís as a religious leader, rather than just an organizer, and became their center of devotion.[27]

This was increasingly resented by Mírzá Yahyá, who began trying to discredit Baháʼu'lláh,[27] thus driving many people away from the religion.[14] Tensions in the community mounted, and in 1854 Baháʼu'lláh decided to leave the city to pursue a solitary life.[27]

Kurdistan[]

On 10 April 1854, without telling anyone of his intention or destination, Baháʼu'lláh left his family to the care of his brother Mirza Musa and travelled with one companion to the mountains of Kurdistan, northeast of Baghdad, near the city of Sulaymaniyah.[14][27] He later wrote that he left so as to avoid becoming a source of disagreement within the Bábí community, and that his "withdrawal contemplated no return".[27][28]

For two years, Baháʼu'lláh lived alone in the mountains of Kurdistan.[23] He originally lived as a hermit, dressed like a dervish and used the name Darvish Muhammad-i-Irani.[27][29] At one point someone noticed his penmanship, which brought the curiosity of the instructors of the local Sufi orders.[14] As he began to take guests, he became noted for his learning and wisdom. Shaykh ʻUthmán, Shaykh ʻAbdu'r-Rahmán, and Shaykh Ismá'íl, leaders of the Naqshbandíyyih, Qádiríyyih, and Khálidíyyih Orders respectively, began to seek his advice.[30] It was to the second of these that the Four Valleys was written. Baháʼu'lláh wrote several other notable books during this time.[23]

In Baghdad, given the lack of firm and public leadership by Mirza Yahya, the Bábí community had fallen into disarray.[14] Some Bábís, including Baháʼu'lláh's family, began searching for Baháʼu'lláh, and when news of a man living in the mountains under the name of Darvish Muhammad spread to neighboring areas, Baháʼu'lláh's family begged him to come back to Baghdad.[14] On 19 March 1856, after two years in Kurdistan he returned to Baghdad.[27]

Return to Baghdad[]

Map of Baháʼu'lláh's banishments

When Baháʼu'lláh returned to Baghdad he saw that the Bábí community had become disheartened and divided.[27] During Baháʼu'lláh's absence, it had become alienated from the religion because Mirza Yahya had continued his policy of militancy and had been unable to provide effective leadership.[27] Mirza Yahya had married the widow of the Báb against the Báb's clear instructions;[14] dispatched followers to the province of Nur for the second attempt on the life of the Shah;[31] and instigated violence against prominent Bábís who had challenged his leadership.[27]

After his return to Baghdad, Baháʼu'lláh tried to revive the Bábí community, mostly through correspondence, writing extensively to give the Bábís a new understanding of the Bábí religion,[27] while keeping his perceived station as the one promised by the Báb and a Manifestation of God hidden. He was soon recognized by the Bábís, as well as government authorities, as the foremost Bábí leader, and there was a growing number of people joining the Bábí movement.[27] He also gained sympathy from government officials and Sunni clerics.[27] Baháʼu'lláh's rising influence in the city, and the revival of the Persian Bábí community, gained the attention of his enemies in Islamic clergy and the Persian government.[32] The Persian government asked the Ottoman government to extradite Baháʼu'lláh to Persia, but the Ottoman government refused and instead chose to move Baháʼu'lláh from the sensitive border region to Constantinople.[27]

Declaration in the Garden of Ridvan[]

On 21 April 1863, Baháʼu'lláh left Baghdad and entered the Najibiyyih gardens, now the location of Baghdad Medical City and known to Baháʼís as the Garden of Ridván. Bahá��u'lláh and those accompanying him stayed in the garden for twelve days before departing for Constantinople.[33] It was during this time that Baháʼu'lláh declared to a small group of his companions his perceived mission and station as a Messenger of God.[23] Baháʼu'lláh declared himself He whom God shall make manifest, a messianic figure in the religion of Bábism. Baháʼu'lláh based this announcement on an experience he had previously while imprisoned in the Síyáh-Chál in Tehran where he is said to have had a vision of the Maid of Heaven. Baháʼís regard this period with great significance and celebrate the twelve days that Baháʼu'lláh spent in this Garden as the festival of Ridván.[33] He referred to the period of messianic secrecy between when he claimed to have seen the Maiden of Heaven in the Síyáh-Chál and his declaration as the ayyam-i butun ("Days of Concealment"). Baháʼu'lláh stated that this period was a "set time of concealment".[34] The declaration in the Garden of Ridván was the beginning of a new phase in the Bábí community which led to the emergence of the Baháʼí Faith as a distinctive movement separate from Bábísm.[35]

Istanbul and Edirne[]

Baháʼu'lláh was given an order to relocate to the Ottoman capital of Istanbul. Although not a formal prisoner yet, the forced exile from Baghdad was the beginning of a long process which would gradually move him into further exiles and eventually to the penal colony of Acre, in Ottoman province Syria.

Istanbul[]

Baháʼu'lláh travelled from Baghdad to Constantinople between 3 May and 17 August 1863, accompanied by a large group including family members and followers. During the trip, he was treated with respect in the towns he visited, and when he reached Constantinople, he was treated as a government guest.[35] Why the Ottoman authorities did not permit his extradition to Persia, but instead invited him to come to Istanbul, is unclear. The reason may have been political because Baháʼu'lláh was viewed as a person of influence. After three and a half months in Istanbul, he was ordered to depart for Adrianople. The reason for this further move is also unclear. It may have been due to pressure from the Persian ambassador, combined with Baháʼu'lláh's refusal to work with the Ottoman authorities.[35]

Edirne[]

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ín Edirne with his brothers and companions of Baháʼu'lláh. He is third from the left in the front row.

From 1 to 12 December 1863, Baháʼu'lláh and his family travelled to Edirne. Unlike his travel to Constantinople, this journey was in the nature of an exile.[35] Baháʼu'lláh stayed in Edirne for four and a half years, and was the clear leader of the newly established Bábí community there.[35][36] Baháʼu'lláh's growing preeminence in the Bábí community and in the city at large led to a final breach between Baháʼu'lláh and Mirza Yahya.[35] In 1865, Mirza Yahya was accused of plotting to kill Baháʼu'lláh.[37] In contemporary accounts, Mirza Yahya is reported to have tried to have Baháʼu'lláh assassinated by a local barber. The barber, Muhammad ʻAlí of Isfahán, apparently refused and spread word of the danger around the community. Baháʼu'lláh is reported to have counseled "on all patience, quietude and gentleness".[38] This pattern was repeated when, according to the personal account of Ustád Muhammad-ʻAlíy-i Salmání, Mirza Yahya attempted to persuade him likewise to murder Baháʼu'lláh in the bath.[39] Eventually Mirza Yahya attempted to poison Baháʼu'lláh, an act that left him gravely ill for a time, and left him with a shaking hand for the rest of his life.[37][40][41][42][43]

After this event in 1866, Baháʼu'lláh made his claim to be He whom God shall make manifest public,[25] as well as making a formal written announcement to Mirza Yahya referring to his followers for the first time as the "people of Bahá".[37] After his public announcement, Baháʼu'lláh secluded himself in his house and instructed the Bábís to choose between himself and Mirza Yahya. Baháʼu'lláh's claims threatened Mirza Yahya's position as leader of the religion since it would mean little to be leader of the Bábís if Him whom God shall make manifest were to appear and start a new religion.[14] Mirza Yahya responded by making his own claims, but his attempt to preserve the traditional Bábísm was largely unpopular, and his followers became the minority.[25]

In 1867, Mirza Yahya challenged Baháʼu'lláh to a test of the divine will in a local mosque in Adrianople, such that "God would strike down the impostor." Baháʼu'lláh agreed, and went to the Sultan Selim mosque at the appointed time, but Mirza Yahya lost credibility when he failed to show up.[37][44][45] Eventually Baháʼu'lláh was recognized by the vast majority of Bábís as "He whom God shall make manifest" and his followers began calling themselves Baháʼís.[14]

Writings and letters to the leaders of the world[]

The house where Baháʼu'lláh stayed in Adrianople

During his time in Adrianople, Baháʼu'lláh wrote a great deal. One of the main themes during this time was the proclamation of his claimed mission; he instructed some of his followers to take his claims to Bábís in Iran and Iraq who had not heard of his statements, as well as asking the Baháʼís to be united and detached from the world.[46] He also started to write about distinctive Baháʼí beliefs and practices.

Also, while in Adrianople, Baháʼu'lláh proclaimed the Baháʼí Faith further by addressing tablets to the kings and rulers of the world asking them to accept his revelation, renounce their material possessions, work together to settle disputes, and endeavour toward the betterment of the world and its peoples. His first letter was sent to Sultan Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire and his ministers, which was followed by the Tablet of the Kings which was a general address to all rulers.[46] In that latter letter, the rulers of the earth were asked to listen to Baháʼu'lláh's call, and cast away their material possessions, and since they were given the reins of government that they should rule with justice and protect the rights of the downtrodden. He also told the rulers to reduce their armaments and reconcile their differences.[46] The Christian monarchs were also asked to be faithful to Jesus' call to follow the promised "Spirit of Truth".[46]

Later when Baháʼu'lláh was in Acre, he continued writing letters to the leaders of the world including:[47]

Akka[]

Prison in Acre in which Baháʼu'lláh was imprisoned

With the Bábí community now irrevocably divided, the followers of Mirza Yahya tried to discredit Baháʼu'lláh to the Ottoman authorities, accusing him of causing agitation against the government.[48] While an investigation cleared Baháʼu'lláh, it did bring to the attention of the government that Baháʼu'lláh and Mirza Yahya were propagating religious claims, and, fearing that this might cause future disorder, they decided to again exile the 'Bábí' leaders.[48] A royal command was issued in July 1868 condemning the Bábís to perpetual imprisonment and isolation in far-flung outposts of the Ottoman Empire – Famagusta, Cyprus for Mirza Yahya and his followers, and Acre, in Ottoman Palestine, for Baháʼu'lláh and his followers.[48]

The Baháʼís, including Baháʼu'lláh and his family, left Adrianople on 12 August 1868, and, after a journey by land and sea through Gallipoli and Egypt, arrived in Acre on 31 August and were confined in the barracks of the city's citadel.[48] The inhabitants of Acre were told that the new prisoners were enemies of the state, of God and his religion, and that association with them was strictly forbidden. The first years in Acre imposed very harsh conditions with many becoming sick, and eventually three Baháʼís dying.[48] Dr. Thomas Chaplin, director of a British Hospital in Jerusalem[49] visited Baháʼu'lláh in April 1871 and sent a letter to the editor printed in The Times in October.[50] This seems to be the first extended commentary on Baháʼu'lláh in western newspapers.[51] It was also a very trying time for Baháʼu'lláh, whose son, Mirzá Mihdí, died in June 1870 at the age of twenty-two when he fell through a skylight while pacing back and forth in prayer and meditation. After some time, relations between the prisoners and officials and the local community improved, so that the conditions of the imprisonment were eased and eventually, after the Sultan's death, Baháʼu'lláh was allowed to leave the city and visit nearby places. From 1877 until 1879 Baháʼu'lláh lived in the house of Mazra'ih.[48]

Final years[]

Mansion of Bahjí
The shrine near Acre, where Baháʼu'lláh is buried

The final years of Baháʼu'lláh's life (1879–1892) were spent in the Mansion of Bahjí, just outside Acre, even though he was still formally a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire. During his years in Acre and Bahjí, since ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, his eldest son, had taken care of the organizational work, Baháʼu'lláh was able to devote his time to writing, and he produced many volumes of work including the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, his book of laws.[52] His other works included letters outlining his vision for a united world, as well as the need for ethical action; he also composed many prayers.[52]

In 1890, the Cambridge orientalist Edward Granville Browne had an interview with Baháʼu'lláh in this house. After this meeting he wrote his famous pen-portrait of Baháʼu'lláh:

In the corner where the divan met the wall sat a wondrous and venerable figure, crowned with a felt head-dress of the kind called táj by dervishes (but of unusual height and make), round the base of which was wound a small white turban. The face of him on whom I gazed I can never forget, though I cannot describe it. Those piercing eyes seemed to read one's very soul; power and authority sat on that ample brow; while the deep lines on the forehead and face implied an age which the jet-black hair and beard flowing down in indistinguishable luxuriance almost to the waist seemed to belie. No need to ask in whose presence I stood, as I bowed myself before one who is the object of a devotion and love which kings might envy and emperors sigh for in vain![52][53]

On 9 May 1892, Baháʼu'lláh contracted a slight fever which grew steadily over the following days, abated, and then finally resulted in his death on 29 May 1892 (Dhu'l Qa'dah 2, 1309 AH). He was buried in the shrine located next to the Mansion of Bahjí.[54]

Claims and teachings[]

Baháʼu'lláh stated that he was a messenger of God, and he used the term Manifestation of God to define the concept of an intermediary between humanity and God.[55] In the Baháʼí writings, the Manifestations of God are a series of interrelated individuals who speak with a divine voice and who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization.[55][56] The Manifestations of God, as explained by Baháʼu'lláh, are not incarnations of God; they reveal God's attributes, not God's essence.[55][57]

The Promised One[]

Baháʼu'lláh wrote that all the "Manifestations of God" are, in a sense, the same person and speak of past and future manifestations in the first-person. Baháʼís view Baháʼu'lláh as the "Promised One" of older world religions:[58] the "Spirit of Truth" or Comforter predicted by Jesus in his farewell discourse of John 14–17 and the return of Christ "in the glory of the Father", the return of the Kalki avatar of Hinduism, the appearance of the Maitreya Buddha,[59] the return of the Third Imam, or the return of Jesus (Isa) expected in Islam.[60]

He stated that his claims to being several messiahs converging in one person were the symbolic, rather than literal, fulfilment of the messianic and eschatological prophecies found in the literature of the major religions.[58] Baháʼu'lláh's eschatological claims constitute six distinctive messianic identifications:

Doctrine[]

Baháʼu'lláh's teachings affirm the fundamental unity of God, of religion, and of humankind. Similar to other monotheistic religions, God is considered the ultimate and absolute source of all created things. One true religion, according to Baháʼu'lláh, is renewed periodically by "Manifestations of God," special figures who reflect the divine attributes and act as the sole intermediaries between God and humanity throughout history. Bahá'ís recognize Zoroaster, Krishna, Buddha, Moses, Christ, Muhammad, and the Báb, among others, as some of these figures. Baháʼu'lláh taught that God's revelation to humankind shall never end, and that the process of religious renewal would endure for all of human existence. Baháʼís view Baháʼu'lláh as the most recent of these Manifestations of God, and his explicitly stated mission emphasizes the spiritual unification of the entire planet through the eradication of racism, excessive nationalism, and prejudice. Baháʼu'lláh's teachings include the need for a world tribunal to adjudicate disputes between nations, a uniform system of weights and measures, and an auxiliary language to be used by all peoples. Baháʼu'lláh also taught that the appearance of the next Manifestation of God shall not take place for at least one thousand years (at least 2852 CE), and that anyone making a claim to a revelation direct from God before the expiration of that period would be a "lying impostor".[61][62][63]

Divinity[]

Baháʼu'lláh wrote in many styles including cases where he speaks as if he was instructed by God to bring a message; in other cases he writes in the first-person as God speaking, garnering some criticism that he was claiming to be God incarnated.[64][65][66] Denis MacEoin states "...it is difficult to avoid the suspicion that he [Baha'u'llah] himself made much more radical claims than this in parts of his later writings. The following statements are, I think, explicit enough to serve as examples: 'he who speaks in the most great prison (i.e. Acre) is the Creator of all things and the one who brought all names into being'."[67] However, the understanding among Baháʼís is that writing in the voice of God is a literary style and represents a message coming through Baháʼu'lláh.[55]

Ancestry[]

Baháʼu'lláh is believed[by whom?] to be a descendant of a long line of kings in Persia through Yazdegerd III, the last monarch of the Sasanian dynasty;[10] he also claimed to be a descendant of Abraham through his third wife Keturah.[68]

Succession[]

After Baháʼu'lláh died on 29 May 1892, the Will and Testament of Baháʼu'lláh named his son ʻAbdu'l-Bahá as Centre of the Covenant, successor and interpreter of Baháʼu'lláh's writings,[69][70] and the appointment was readily accepted by almost all Baháʼís, since the appointment was written and unambiguous, and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá had proved himself a capable and devoted assistant.[71] However, the appointment given to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was a cause of jealousy within Baháʼu'lláh's family. Baháʼu'lláh had also stated that another one of his sons Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí was to be subordinate and second in rank after ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.[71] Mírzá Muḥammad ʻAlí, however, insisted that ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was exceeding his powers, and started a rebellion, at first covert, and then public to discredit ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. Mírzá Muḥammad ʻAlí's actions, however, were rejected by the majority of the Baháʼís.[71] Due to this conflict, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá later ex-communicated his brother as a covenant-breaker. The conflict was not long-lived; after being alienated by the Baháʼí community, Muhammad Ali died in 1937 with a handful of followers.

Personal life[]

See also: Baháʼu'lláh's family

Baháʼu'lláh had three wives. He married his first wife Ásíyih Khánum, the daughter of a nobleman, in Tehran in 1835, when he was 18 and she was 15.[72] She was given the title of The Most Exalted Leaf and Navváb.[73] His second wife was his widowed cousin Fátimih Khánum. The marriage took place in Tehran in 1849 when she was 21 and he was 32.[72] She was known as Mahd-i-ʻUlyá. His third wife was Gawhar Khánum and the marriage occurred in Baghdad sometime before 1863.[72]

He had 14 children, four daughters and ten sons, five of whom he outlived.[19] Baháʼís regard Ásíyih Khánum and her children Mírzá Mihdí, Bahíyyih Khánum and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to be the Baháʼí holy family.[74]

Works[]

Main article: List of writings of Baháʼu'lláh

Baháʼu'lláh wrote many texts, of which only a part, about 11%,[75] has been translated into English.[76]

There have been 15,000 works written by him identified; many of these are in the form of short letters, or tablets, to Baháʼís,[76] but he also wrote larger pieces including the Hidden Words, the Seven Valleys, the Book of Certitude (Kitáb-i-Íqán) and the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.[32] The total volume of his works is more than 70 times the size of the Qurʼan and more than 15 times the size of the combined Old and New Testaments of the Bible.[77][78][79]

The books and letters written by Baháʼu'lláh cover religious doctrine, the proclamation of his claims, social and moral teachings as well as Baháʼí laws; he also wrote many prayers.[76] Jináb-i-Fádil-i-Mázindarání, analyzing Baháʼu'lláh's writings, states that he wrote in the different styles or categories including the interpretation of religious scripture, the enunciation of laws and ordinances, mystical writings, writings about government and world order, including letters to the kings and rulers of the world, writings about knowledge, philosophy, medicine, and alchemy, writings calling for education, good character and virtues, and writing about social teachings.[80] All of his works are considered by Baháʼís to be revelation, even those that were written before his announcement of his prophetic claim.[76][81]

Lawh-i-Tibb[]

The Lawh-i-Tibb (or "Tablet to a Physician," also "Tablet of Medicine") is a tablet of Baháʼu'lláh written to Áqá Mírzá Muhammad-Ridáy-i-Tabib-i-Yazdí, a doctor of the old school of medicine.[clarification needed] It was written in Acre between 1870 and 1875.[82] In it, Baháʼu'lláh gives advice on eating habits and emotions, and the need for medical treatment. It includes a well-known healing prayer by Baháʼu'lláh:[83]

Thy Name is my healing, O my God, and remembrance of Thee is my remedy. Nearness to Thee is my hope, and love for Thee is my companion. Thy mercy to me is my healing and my succour in both this world and the world to come. Thou, verily, art the All-Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Photographs and imagery[]

Baháʼu'lláh in 1868. The inscription lists his Persian name: Mírzá Ḥusayn-ʻAlí Núrí

There are two known photographs of Baháʼu'lláh, both taken at the same occasion in 1868 while he was in Adrianople (present-day Edirne). The one where he looks at the camera was taken for passport purposes and is reproduced in William Miller's book on the Baháʼí Faith. Copies of both pictures are at the Baháʼí World Centre, and one is on display in the International Archives building, where the Baháʼís view it as part of an organized pilgrimage. Outside of this experience Baháʼís prefer not to view his photos in public, or even to display any of them in their private homes,[84] and Baháʼí institution strongly suggests to use an image of Baháʼu'lláh's burial shrine instead.[85]

Baháʼu'lláh's image is not in itself offensive to Baháʼís. However, Baháʼís are expected to treat the image of any Manifestation of God with extreme reverence. According to this practice, they avoid depictions of Jesus or of Muhammad, and refrain from portraying any of them in plays and drama.[86] Copies of the photographs are displayed on highly significant occasions, such as six conferences held in October 1967 commemorating the hundredth anniversary of Baháʼu'lláh's writing of the Suriy-i-Mulúk (Tablet to the Kings), which Shoghi Effendi describes as "the most momentous Tablet revealed by Baháʼu'lláh".[87] After a meeting in Adrianople, the Hands of the Cause travelled to the conferences, "each bearing the precious trust of a photograph of the Blessed Beauty (Baháʼu'lláh), which it will be the privilege of those attending the Conferences to view".[88]

The official Baháʼí position on displaying the photograph of Baháʼu'lláh is:

There is no objection that the believers look at the picture of Baháʼu'lláh, but they should do so with the utmost reverence, and should also not allow that it be exposed openly to the public, even in their private homes.

— From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, 6 December 1939[89]

While the above passage clarifies that it is considered disrespectful to display his photograph to the public, regarding postings on other websites the Baháʼí World Centre has written:

For Baháʼís, the photograph of Baháʼu'lláh is very precious and it should not only be viewed but also handled with due reverence and respect, which is not the case here [on a non-Baháʼí web site]. Thus, it is indeed disturbing to Baháʼís to have the image of Baháʼu'lláh treated in such a disrespectful way. However, as the creator of the site is not a Baháʼí, there is little, if anything, that can be done to address this matter. We hope these comments have been of assistance."

— Office for Public Information, 4 September 1999, Photo of Baháʼu'lláh on Web Site[90]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ As an aristocrat, Baháʼu'lláh was titled Mírzá, signifying him as the son of a nobleman.
  2. ^ The first apostrophe-like mark in "Baháʼu'lláh" is a hamza, a letter that in Persian is pronounced like the catch in the throat in English "uh-oh!". The second is an actual apostrophe, used to show a contraction of the first vowel of "Alláh", and is not pronounced. (Baháʼ-u-Alláh > "Baháʼu'lláh" or "Baháʼulláh".) In printed and ASCII texts they are rendered the same, unless the second is omitted.

Citations[]

  1. ^ Hartz 2009, p. 38.
  2. ^ Hartz 2009, p. 48.
  3. ^ Hartz 2009, p. 51.
  4. ^ Hartz 2009, p. 54.
  5. ^ Hartz 2009, p. 14.
  6. ^ Hartz 2009, p. 22.
  7. ^ Smith & Momen 1989, p. 72.
  8. ^ Warburg 2006, p. 225.
  9. ^ Hatcher & Martin 1998, pp. 130–31.
  10. ^ a b Balyuzi 2000, pp. 9–12.
  11. ^ Effendi 1944, p. 94.
  12. ^ Able, John (2011). Apocalypse Secrets: Baha'i Interpretation of the Book of Revelation. McLean, VA: John Able Books Ltd. p. 219. ISBN 978-0-9702847-5-4. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  13. ^ Balyuzi 2000, pp. 11.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cole 1996.
  15. ^ a b c MacEoin 1988.
  16. ^ a b Browne 1889, p. 339.
  17. ^ Farah 1970, pp. 242–49.
  18. ^ a b Saiedi 2008, p. 344.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cole 1988.
  20. ^ Balyuzi 2000, pp. 35–37.
  21. ^ Johnson, Todd M. (Todd Michael), 1958– (25 March 2013). The worlds religions in figures : an introduction to international religious demography. Bellofatto, Gina A. Chichester, West Sussex, UK. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-118-32303-8. OCLC 826899669.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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  23. ^ a b c d e Hutter 2005.
  24. ^ a b Smith 2008, p. 16.
  25. ^ a b c d MacEoin 1987.
  26. ^ Barrett 2001, p. 246.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Smith 2008, p. 17.
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  32. ^ a b Daume & Daphne 1988.
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  34. ^ Buck 1998.
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  42. ^ Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland p.296
  43. ^ Holy People of the World, Phyllis G. Jestice p.101
  44. ^ Browne 1918, p. 18.
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  47. ^ Smith 2008, pp. 28–29.
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  50. ^ "The Babs of Persia", The Times, London, 5 October 1871, p. 8, 3rd column down from top
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  53. ^ Edward Granville Browne in the introduction to "A Traveller's Narrative". Cambridge. 1891. Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2006., pp. xxxix–xl.
  54. ^ Balyuzi 2000, p. 328.
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  56. ^ Smith 2008, p. 109.
  57. ^ Smith 2008, p. 107.
  58. ^ a b Buck 2004, pp. 143–78.
  59. ^ Momen 1995, pp. 50–52.
  60. ^ Momen 2000, pp. 32–36.
  61. ^ Taherzadeh, Adib (1992). The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh. G. Ronald. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-85398-344-6.
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  63. ^ Monjazeb, Shahrokh (2007). Bahá'u'lláh : a brief survey of his life and his works. Ottawa: Furútan Academy Publications. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-9783571-0-8. OCLC 153913689.
  64. ^ Esslemont 1980, p. 41.
  65. ^ Esslemont 1980, p. 45.
  66. ^ Stockman, Robert (2012). The Bahaʼi Faith: A Guide For The Perplexed. A & C Black. p. 28.
  67. ^ MacEoin, Dennis (30 November 2008). The Messiah of Shiraz: Studies in Early and Middle Babism. Brill. p. 500. ISBN 978-90-474-4307-0.
  68. ^ Sears 2002.
  69. ^ Bausani & MacEoin 1982.
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  71. ^ a b c Smith 2008, pp. 43–44.
  72. ^ a b c Taherzadeh 2000, pp. 20–22.
  73. ^ Taherzadeh 1976, p. 13.
  74. ^ Taherzadeh 2000, p. 22.
  75. ^ Dunbar, Hooper (2017). Questions & Answers – Dallas, TX – Hooper Dunbar – 2017 (Video). Archived from the original on 6 November 2021.
  76. ^ a b c d Smith 2000, pp. 79–80.
  77. ^ BWNS (May 2002). "A new volume of Baháʼí sacred writings, recently translated and comprising Baháʼu'lláh's call to world leaders, is published". Retrieved 24 November 2006.
  78. ^ Archives Office at the Baháʼí World Centre, Haifa, Israel. "Baháʼí Archives – Preserving and safeguarding the Sacred Texts". Retrieved 24 November 2006.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  79. ^ Universal House of Justice. "Numbers and Classifications of Sacred Writings texts". Retrieved 24 November 2006.
  80. ^ Fádil-i-Mázindarání 1967, p. 453.
  81. ^ Smith 2008, pp. 18–19.
  82. ^ Smith 2000, p. 243. "Medicine, Tablet of"
  83. ^ Taherzadeh 1984, pp. 357–60.
  84. ^ Office for Public Information. "Photographs of Baháʼu'lláh; William Miller". Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  85. ^ United States Baháʼí Office of Communications. "Publication of Baháʼí Photos" (PDF). bahai.us. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
  86. ^ Hornby 1983, pp. 99–100.
  87. ^ Effendi 1944, p. 171.
  88. ^ Universal House of Justice 1996, p. 105.
  89. ^ Hornby 1983, p. 540.
  90. ^ Office for Public Information. "Photograph of Baha'u'llah on Website". Retrieved 29 September 2014.

References[]

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  • Barrett, David (2001). The New Believers. London, UK: Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-35592-5.
  • Bausani, A.; MacEoin, D. (15 December 1982). "ʿABD-AL-BAHĀʾ". Encyclopædia Iranica. 1. III. pp. 102–04.
  • Browne, E.G. (1889). "Bábism". Religious Systems of the World: A Contribution to the Study of Comparative Religion. London: Swann Sonnenschein.
  • Daume; Daphne (1988). "The Baháʼí Faith". Britannica Book of the Year. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica. ISBN 0-85229-486-7.
  • Esslemont, J.E. (1980). Baháʼu'lláh and the New Era (5th ed.). Wilmette, IL: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-160-4.
  • Hutter, Manfred (2005). "Bahā'īs". In Lindsay Jones (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion. 2 (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. pp. 737–40. ISBN 0-02-865733-0.
  • Momen, Moojan (1995). Buddhism And The Baha'i Faith: An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith for Theravada Buddhists. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-384-4.
  • Momen, Moojan (2000). Islam and the Baháʼí Faith. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-446-8.
  • Saiedi, Nader (2008). Gate of the Heart. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 978-1-55458-035-4.
  • Smith, Peter (1987). The Bábí & Baháʼí Religions: From Messianic Shí'ism to a World Religion. Cambridge: The University Press. ISBN 0-521-30128-9.
  • Taherzadeh, Adib (2000). The Child of the Covenant. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-439-5.

External links[]

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