Bahá'í history
Encyclopedia
Bahá'í history is often traced through a sequence of leaders, beginning with the Báb
's May 23, 1844 declaration in Shiraz, and ultimately resting on an administrative order established by the central figures of the religion. The religion had its background in two earlier movements in the nineteenth century, Shaykhism
and Babism
. Shaykism centred on theosophical doctrines and many Shaykhis expected the return of the hidden Twelfth Imam. Many Shaykhis joined the messianic Babi movement in the 1840s where the Báb
proclaimed himself to be the return of the hidden Imam. As the Babi movement spread in Iran
, violence broke out between the ruling Shi'a Muslim government and the Babis, and ended when government troops massacred the Babis, and executed the Bab in 1850.
The Bab had spoken of another messianic figure, He whom God shall make manifest
. One of the followers of the Bab, Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned by the Iranian government after the Bab's execution and then exiled to Iraq, and then to Constantinople
and Adrianople in the Ottoman Empire
. In 1863 in Baghdad, Bahá'u'lláh claimed to be the messianic figure expected by the Bab's writings. Bahá'ís consider the Baha'i religion
to start from Bahá'u'lláh's statements in 1863.
At the time of Bahá'u'lláh's death the tradition was mostly confined to the Persian and Ottoman
empires, at which time he had followers in thirteen countries of Asia and Africa. Leadership of the religion then passed on to `Abdu'l-Bahá
, Bahá'u'lláh's son, who was appointed by Bahá'u'lláh, and was accepted by almost all Bahá'ís. Under the leadership of `Abdu'l-Bahá, the religion gained a footing in Europe and America, and was consolidated in Iran, where it still suffers intense persecution
.
After the death of `Abdu'l-Bahá in 1921, the leadership of the Bahá'í community was passed on to his grandson, Shoghi Effendi
, who was appointed in `Abdu'l-Bahá's will
. The document appointed Shoghi Effendi
as the first Guardian, and called for the election of the Universal House of Justice
once the Bahá'í Faith had spread sufficiently for such elections to be meaningful. During Shoghi Effendi's time as leader of the religion there was a great increase in the number of Baha'is, and he presided over the election of many National Spiritual Assemblies.
Shoghi Effendi died in 1957, and because he was childless he had found it impossible to appoint another Guardian after himself to succeed him. In 1963 the Universal House of Justice
was elected. Since 1963 the Universal House of Justice has been elected every five years and remains the successor and leading institution of the religion. See Bahá'í Faith by country
for further information per country.
, the Mahdi
is a messianic figure who is believed to be a descendant of Muhammad
who will return near the end of time to restore the world and the religion of God. While both Sunni and Shi'a groups believe in the Mahdi, the largest Shi'a group, the Twelvers, believe that the Mahdi is the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi
, who is believed to have gone into occultation since 874 CE.
In the Shi'a view the Twelfth Imam first went into a "Minor Occultation" between 874 and 941 CE where the Hidden Imam still communicated with the community through four official intermediaries. The "Greater Occultation" is then defined from the time when the Hidden Imam ceased to communicate regularly until the time when he returns to restore the world.
In 1822 he left Iran and went to Iraq due to the controversy that his teachings had brought. There he also found himself at the centre of debate, thus deciding to move to Mecca
, he died in 1826 on his way there.
Siyyid `Alí-Muhammad, who later took on the title the Báb
, was born on October 20, 1819, in Shiraz
to a merchant
of the city; his father died while he was quite young and the boy was raised by his maternal uncle Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí, who was also a merchant.
In May 1844 the Báb proclaimed to Mulla Husayn
, one of the Shaykhis, to be the one whose coming was prophesized by Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kázim and the bearer of divine knowledge. Within five months, seventeen other disciples of Siyyid Káẓim had recognized the Báb as a Manifestation of God. These eighteen disciples were later to be known as the Letters of the Living
and were given the task of spreading the new faith across Iran and Iraq. The Báb initially attracted most of the followers of the Shaykhí movement, but soon his teachings went far beyond those roots and attracted prominent followers across Iran. His followers were known as Bábís.
After some time, preaching by the Letters of the Living led to opposition by the Islamic clergy, prompting the Governor of Shiraz to order the Báb's arrest. After being house arrest in Shiraz from June 1845 to September 1846, the Báb spent several months in Isfahan
debating clergy, many who became sympathetic. He was then ordered by the Shah to Tehran in Junary 1847; after spending several months in a camp outside Tehran, the Prime Minister sent the Báb to Tabriz
in the northwestern corner of the country, where he was confined.
He was then transferred to the fortress of Máh-Kú
in the province of Azarbaijan close to the Turkish border. During his incarceration there, the Báb began his most important work, the Persian Bayán
, which he never finished. He was then transferred to the fortress of Chihríq in April 1848. In that place as well, the Báb's popularity grew and his jailors relaxed restrictions on him. Hence the Prime Minister ordered the Báb back to Tabriz where the government called on religious authorities to put the Báb on trial for blasphemy and apostasy. Bábism
was also spreading across the country, and the Islamic government saw it as a threat to state religion and several military confrontations took place between government and Bábí forces. Communities of Bábís established themselves in Iran and Iráq, and in 1850 reached several cities of Azarbaijan.
In mid 1850 a new prime-minister, Amir Kabir
, ordered the execution of the Báb, probably because various Bábí insurrections had been defeated and the movement's popularity appeared to be waning. The Báb was brought back to Tabríz from Chihríq, so that he could be shot by a firing squad
. On the morning of July 9, 1850, the Báb was taken to the courtyard of the barracks in which he was being held, where thousands of people had gathered to watch. The Báb and a companion were suspended on a wall and a large firing squad prepared to shoot. After the order was given to shoot and the smoke cleared, the Báb was no longer in the courtyard and his companion stood there unharmed; the bullets apparently had not harmed either man, but had cut the rope suspending them from the wall. The soldiers subsequently found the Báb in another part of the barracks, completely unharmed. He was tied up for execution a second time, a second firing squad was ranged in front of them, and a second order to fire was given. This time, the Báb and his companion were killed. Their remains were dumped outside the gates of the town to be eaten by animals.
The remains, however, were rescued by a handful of Bábis and were hidden. Over time the remains were secretly transported by way of Isfahan, Kirmansháh, Baghdad
and Damascus
, to Beirut
and thence by sea to Acre, Israel
on the plain below Mount Carmel
in 1899. In 1909, the remains were then interred in a special tomb
, erected for this purpose by `Abdu'l-Bahá
, on Mount Carmel in the Bahá'í Holy Land in Haifa
and remains an important place of pilgrimage
for Bahá'ís.
While the Báb claimed a station of revelation, he also claimed no finality for his revelation. A constant theme in his works, especially the Persian Bayan was that of the great Promised One, the next embodiment of the Primal Will, whom the Báb termed He whom God shall make manifest
, promised in the sacred writings of previous religions would soon establish the Kingdom of God on the Earth. In the books written by the Báb he constantly entreats his believers to follow He whom God shall make manifest when he arrives.
Before his death, the Báb had been in correspondence with two brothers, Bahá'u'lláh
and Subh-i-Azal
who, after the death of many prominent disciples, emerged as the mostly likely leaders. In a letter sent to Subh-i-Azal, then aged around nineteen, the Báb appears to have indicated a high station or leadership position. The letter also orders Subh-i-Azal to obey the Promised One when he appears; in practise, Subh-i-Azal, however, seems to have had little widespread legitimacy and authority. Bahá'u'lláh in the meantime, while in private hinted at his own high station, in public kept his messianic secret from most and supported Subh-i-Azal in the interest of unity. In 1863 in Baghdad
, he made his first public declaration and eventually was recognized by the vast majority of Bábís as "He whom God shall make manifest" and his followers began calling themselves Bahá'ís
.
. Bahá'u'lláh's father, Mírzá Buzurg
, served as vizier
to Imám-Virdi Mírzá, the twelfth son of Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar. Mírzá Buzurg was later appointed governor of Burujird
and Lorestan, a position that he was stripped of during a government purge when Muhammad Shah
came to power. After his father died, Bahá'u'lláh was asked to take a government post by the new vizier Haji Mirza Aqasi, but he declined the position.
At the age of 28, Bahá'u'lláh received a messenger, Mullá Husayn
, telling him of the Báb
, whose message he accepted, becoming a Bábí. Bahá'u'lláh began to spread the new cause, especially in his native province of Núr, becoming recognized as one of its most influential believers. The accompanying government suppression of the Báb's religion resulted in Bahá'u'lláh's being imprisoned twice and enduring bastinado torture once Bahá'u'lláh also attended the conference of Badasht, where 81 prominent Babis met for 22 days; at that conference where there was a discussion between those Babis who wanted to maintain Islamic law and those who believed that the Báb's message began a new dispenation, Bahá'u'lláh took the pro-change side, which eventually won out.
In 1852, two years after the execution of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh met briefly with a couple of radical Babi leaders and learnt of an assassination plan against the Shah, Nasser-al-Din Shah, in retaliation for the Báb's execution. Bahá'u'lláh condemned the plan, but on August 15, 1852 Babis attempted the assassination of the Shah and failed. Notwithstanding the assassins' claim that they were working alone, the entire Bábí community was blamed, and a slaughter of several thousand Bábís followed. Many of the Bábís who were not killed, including Bahá'u'lláh, were imprisoned in the Síyáh-Chál
(Black Pit), an underground dungeon of Tehran. According to Bahá'u'lláh, it was during his imprisonment in the Síyáh-Chál that he had several mystical experiences, and that he 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.
The government later found Bahá'u'lláh innocent of complicity in the assassination plot, and he was released from the Síyáh-Chál, but the government exiled him from Iran. Bahá'u'lláh chose to go to Iraq in the Ottoman Empire
and arrived in Baghdad
in early 1853. A small number of Babis, including his half-brother Subh-i-Azal, followed Bahá'u'lláh to Baghdad. An increasing number of Bábís considered Baghdad the new centre for leadership of the Bábí religion, and a flow of pilgrim
s started coming there from Persia. In Baghdad people began to look to Subh-i-Azal for leadership less and less due to his policy of remaining hidden, and instead saw Bahá'u'lláh as their leader. Subh-i-Azal started to try to discredit Bahá'u'lláh and further divided the community. The actions of Subh-i-Azal drove many people away from the religion and allowed its enemies to continue their persecution.
On April 10, 1854 Bahá'u'lláh left Baghdad in order to distance himself from Subh-i-Azal and as to avoid becoming the source of disagreement within the Babi community; he left with one companion to the mountains of Kurdistan, north-east of Baghdad, near the city Sulaymaniyah
. For two years Bahá'u'lláh lived alone in the mountains of Kurdistan living the life of a Sufi dervish
. At one point someone noticed his remarkable penmanship, which brought the curiosity of the instructors of the local Sufi
orders. During his time in Kurdistan he wrote many notable books including the Four Valleys
. In Baghdad, given the lack of firm and public leadership by Subh-i-Azal, the Babi community had fallen into disarray. Some Babis, including Bahá'u'lláh's family, thus searched for Bahá'u'lláh, and pleaded with him to come back to Baghdad, which he did in 1856.
Bahá'u'lláh remained in Baghdád for seven more years. During this time, while keeping his perceived station as the Manifestation of God
hidden, he taught the Báb's teachings. He published many books and verses including the Book of Certitude
and the Hidden Words
. Bahá'u'lláh's gatherings attracted many notables, both locals and Iranian pilgrims, giving him greater influence in Baghdad and in Iran. His 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
. They were eventually successful in having the Ottoman government
call Bahá'u'lláh from Baghdad to Constantinople
.
Before he left Baghdad on the way to Constantinople, Bahá'u'lláh camped for twelve days in the Garden of Ridván
near Baghdad starting on April 22, 1863. During his stay in the garden a large number of friends came to see him before he left. It was during his time in the Garden of Ridván that Bahá'u'lláh declared to his companions his perceived mission and station as a Messenger of God. Today Bahá'ís celebrate the twelve days that Bahá'u'lláh was in the Garden of Ridván as the festival of Ridván
.
After travelling for four-month over land, Bahá'u'lláh arrived in the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople
(now 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 the penal colony of Akká, Palestine (now Acre, Israel
). Bahá'u'lláh and his family
, along with a small group of Bábí
s, stayed in Constantinople for only four months. Due to his refusal to build alliances with the Ottoman politicians, Bahá'u'lláh had no means of resisting pressure from the Iranian ambassador to exile him further away, and Sultan Abdülâziz
banished Bahá'u'lláh to Adrianople (current-day Edirne
), which was a site for the exile of political prisoners.
During the month of December 1863, Bahá'u'lláh and his family
embarked on a twelve-day journey to Adrianople
. Bahá'u'lláh stayed in Adrianople for four and a half years. In Adrianople Bahá'u'lláh made his claim to be Him whom God shall make manifest more public through letters and tablets
. Bahá'u'lláh's assertion as an independent Manifestation of God made Subh-i-Azal's leadership position irrelevant; Subh-i-Azal, upon hearing Bahá'u'lláh's words in a tablet read to him, challenging him to accept Bahá'u'lláh's revelation, refused and challenged Bahá'u'lláh to a test of divine will at a local mosque, but he lost face when he did not appear. This caused a break within the Bábí community, and the followers of Bahá'u'lláh became known as Bahá'ís
, while the followers of Subh-i-Azal became known as Azalis.
Starting in 1866, while in Adrianople, Bahá'u'lláh started writing a series of letters to world rulers, proclaiming his station as the promised one of all religions. His letters also asked them to renounce their material possessions, work together to settle disputes, and endeavour towards the betterment of the world and its peoples. Some of these leaders written to in the coming years include Pope Pius IX
, Napoleon III of France
, Czar Alexander II of Russia
, Queen Victoria
of Great Britain and Ireland, Násiri’d-Dín Sháh
of the Persian Empire and the rulers of America
.
The disagreements between the Bahá'ís and the Azalís allowed the Ottoman and Persian authorities to exile Bahá'u'lláh once again. Bahá'u'lláh and his family left Adrianople on August 12, 1868 and after a journey by land and sea arrived in Acre
on August 31. The first years in Acre imposed very harsh conditions on, and held very trying times for, Bahá'u'lláh. Mirzá Mihdí
, Bahá'u'lláh's son, was suddenly killed at the age of twenty-two when he fell through a skylight while pacing back and forth in prayer and meditation
. After some time, the people and officials began to trust and respect Bahá'u'lláh, and thus the conditions of the imprisonment were eased and eventually, after Sultan `Abdu'l-`Aziz's death, he was allowed to leave the city and visit nearby places. From 1877 until 1879 Bahá'u'lláh lived in the house of Mazra'ih.
The final years of Bahá'u'lláh's life 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, Bahá'u'lláh produced many volumes of work including the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
. On May 9, 1892 Bahá'u'lláh contracted a slight fever which grew steadily over the following days, abated, and then finally took his life on May 29, 1892. He was buried in a Shrine
located next to the Mansion of Bahjí. During his lifetime, communities of Bahá'ís were established in Armenia, Burma, Egypt, Georgia, India, Lebanon, (what is now) Pakistan, (what was then) Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Turkmenistan.
`Abdu'l-Bahá had shared his father's long exile and imprisonment. This imprisonment continued until `Abdu'l-Bahá's own release as a result of the "Young Turk" revolution in 1908.
Following his release he led a life of travelling, speaking, and maintaining correspondence with communities of believers and individuals, expounding the principles of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá died in Haifa
on November 28, 1921 and is now buried in one of the front rooms in the Shrine of the Báb. During his lifetime communities of Bahá'ís formed in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Great Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Russian S.F.S.R., South Africa, Switzerland, Tunisia, and the United States of America.
http://bahai-library.com/abdulbaha_will_testament is the charter of the Bahá'í administrative order
. In this document `Abdu'l-Bahá established the institutions of the appointed Guardianship and the elected Universal House of Justice
. In that same document he appointed his eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi
, as the first Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.
Shoghi Effendi throughout his lifetime translated the sacred writings of the Faith; developed global plans for the expansion of the Bahá'í community; developed the Bahá'í World Centre
; carried on a voluminous correspondence with communities and individuals around the world; and built the administrative structure of the Faith, preparing the community for the election of the Universal House of Justice.
in 1957, the faith was left without a clear candidate for Guardian. The Hands of the Cause, appointed by Shoghi Effendi, took the necessary administrative roles at the Bahá'í World Centre, and organized the election of the Universal House of Justice
, from which they excluded themselves from membership. By the time of the election of the Universal House of Justice, Bahá'í communities had been established in many of the countries of the world. Seventy nations had organized their communities to elect National Spiritual Assemblies.
in 1963, it then ruled that given the unique situation and the provisions of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá
, it was not possible to appoint another Guardian. The Universal House of Justice today remains the supreme governing body of the Bahá'í Faith, and its nine members are elected every five years. As recently as 2001 the number of countries with organized communities electing National Spiritual Assemblies was 182.
Báb
Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith. He was a merchant from Shíráz, Persia, who at the age of twenty-four claimed to be the promised Qá'im . After his declaration he took the title of Báb meaning "Gate"...
's May 23, 1844 declaration in Shiraz, and ultimately resting on an administrative order established by the central figures of the religion. The religion had its background in two earlier movements in the nineteenth century, Shaykhism
Shaykhism
Shaykhism is an Islamic religious movement founded by Shaykh Ahmad in early 19th century Qajar Iran. It began from a combination of Sufi and Shi‘a doctrines of the end times and the day of resurrection. Today the Shaykhi populations retain a minority following in Iran and Iraq...
and Babism
Bábism
The Babi Faith is a religious movement that flourished in Persia from 1844 to 1852, then lingered on in exile in the Ottoman Empire as well as underground. Its founder was Siyyid `Alí Muhammad Shirazi, who took the title Báb—meaning "Gate"—from a Shi'a theological term...
. Shaykism centred on theosophical doctrines and many Shaykhis expected the return of the hidden Twelfth Imam. Many Shaykhis joined the messianic Babi movement in the 1840s where the Báb
Báb
Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith. He was a merchant from Shíráz, Persia, who at the age of twenty-four claimed to be the promised Qá'im . After his declaration he took the title of Báb meaning "Gate"...
proclaimed himself to be the return of the hidden Imam. As the Babi movement spread in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, violence broke out between the ruling Shi'a Muslim government and the Babis, and ended when government troops massacred the Babis, and executed the Bab in 1850.
The Bab had spoken of another messianic figure, He whom God shall make manifest
He whom God shall make manifest
He whom God shall make manifest is a messianic figure in the religion of Babism. The messianic figure was repeatedly mentioned by the Báb, the founder of Babism, in his book, the Bayán. The Báb described the messianic figure as the origin of all divine attributes, and stated that his command was...
. One of the followers of the Bab, Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned by the Iranian government after the Bab's execution and then exiled to Iraq, and then to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and Adrianople in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. In 1863 in Baghdad, Bahá'u'lláh claimed to be the messianic figure expected by the Bab's writings. Bahá'ís consider the Baha'i religion
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
to start from Bahá'u'lláh's statements in 1863.
At the time of Bahá'u'lláh's death the tradition was mostly confined to the Persian and Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
empires, at which time he had followers in thirteen countries of Asia and Africa. Leadership of the religion then passed on to `Abdu'l-Bahá
`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
, Bahá'u'lláh's son, who was appointed by Bahá'u'lláh, and was accepted by almost all Bahá'ís. Under the leadership of `Abdu'l-Bahá, the religion gained a footing in Europe and America, and was consolidated in Iran, where it still suffers intense persecution
Persecution of Bahá'ís
The persecution of Bahá'ís is the religious persecution of Bahá'ís in various countries, especially in Iran, where the Bahá'í Faith originated and the location of one of the largest Bahá'í populations in the world...
.
After the death of `Abdu'l-Bahá in 1921, the leadership of the Bahá'í community was passed on to his grandson, Shoghi Effendi
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
, who was appointed in `Abdu'l-Bahá's will
Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá
A seminal document, written in three stages by `Abdu'l-Bahá. Several sections were written under imminent threat of harm. The first section was probably written in 1906....
. The document appointed Shoghi Effendi
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
as the first Guardian, and called for the election of the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
once the Bahá'í Faith had spread sufficiently for such elections to be meaningful. During Shoghi Effendi's time as leader of the religion there was a great increase in the number of Baha'is, and he presided over the election of many National Spiritual Assemblies.
Shoghi Effendi died in 1957, and because he was childless he had found it impossible to appoint another Guardian after himself to succeed him. In 1963 the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
was elected. Since 1963 the Universal House of Justice has been elected every five years and remains the successor and leading institution of the religion. See Bahá'í Faith by country
Bahá'í Faith by country
The Bahá'í Faith is a diverse and widespread religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in the 19th century in Iran. Bahá'í sources usually estimate the worldwide Bahá'í population to be above 5 million. Most encyclopedias and similar sources estimate between 5 and 6 million Bahá'ís in the world in the early...
for further information per country.
Shaykhi movement
In IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, the Mahdi
Mahdi
In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on Earth for seven, nine or nineteen years- before the Day of Judgment and, alongside Jesus, will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny.In Shia Islam, the belief in the Mahdi is a "central religious...
is a messianic figure who is believed to be a descendant of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
who will return near the end of time to restore the world and the religion of God. While both Sunni and Shi'a groups believe in the Mahdi, the largest Shi'a group, the Twelvers, believe that the Mahdi is the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi
Muhammad al-Mahdi
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī is believed by Twelver Shī‘a Muslims to be the Mahdī, an ultimate savior of humankind and the final Imām of the Twelve Imams...
, who is believed to have gone into occultation since 874 CE.
In the Shi'a view the Twelfth Imam first went into a "Minor Occultation" between 874 and 941 CE where the Hidden Imam still communicated with the community through four official intermediaries. The "Greater Occultation" is then defined from the time when the Hidden Imam ceased to communicate regularly until the time when he returns to restore the world.
Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsá'í
The Shaykhi movement was a school of theology within Twelver Shi'a Islam that was started through the teaching of Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsá'í. Shaykh Ahmad's teachings included that the Imams were spiritual beings and thus, in contrast to the widespread Shi'a belief, that the Imams existed within spiritual bodies, and not material bodies. He also taught that there must always exist the "Perfect Shi'a" who serves as an intermediary between the Imams and the believers, and is the one who can visualize the consciousness of the Hidden Imam.In 1822 he left Iran and went to Iraq due to the controversy that his teachings had brought. There he also found himself at the centre of debate, thus deciding to move to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, he died in 1826 on his way there.
Siyyid Kázim-i-Rashtí
Before the death of Shaykh Ahmad, he appointed Siyyid Kázim of Rasht to lead the Shaykhí movement, which he did until his death in 1843. Siyyid Kázim formulated many of the thoughts that were ambiguously expressed by Shaykh Ahmad including the doctrine of salvation history and the cycles of revelation. His teaching brought a sense of millenarian hope among the Shaykhis that the Hidden Imam may return. Siyyid Kazim did not leave a successor, but before his death in December, 1843, he had counselled his followers to leave their homes to seek the Mahdi, who according to his prophecies would soon appear.Báb
Báb
Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith. He was a merchant from Shíráz, Persia, who at the age of twenty-four claimed to be the promised Qá'im . After his declaration he took the title of Báb meaning "Gate"...
, was born on October 20, 1819, in Shiraz
Shiraz, Iran
Shiraz is the sixth most populous city in Iran and is the capital of Fars Province, the city's 2009 population was 1,455,073. Shiraz is located in the southwest of Iran on the Roodkhaneye Khoshk seasonal river...
to a merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
of the city; his father died while he was quite young and the boy was raised by his maternal uncle Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí, who was also a merchant.
In May 1844 the Báb proclaimed to Mulla Husayn
Mullá Husayn
Mullá Husayn-i Bushru'i , titled Jináb-i-Bábu'l-Báb , was a Persian religious figure, and the first Letter of the Living of the Bábí movement. He died at the Battle of Fort Shaykh Tabarsi, on February 2, 1849...
, one of the Shaykhis, to be the one whose coming was prophesized by Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kázim and the bearer of divine knowledge. Within five months, seventeen other disciples of Siyyid Káẓim had recognized the Báb as a Manifestation of God. These eighteen disciples were later to be known as the Letters of the Living
Letters of the Living
The Letters of the Living was a title provided by the Báb to the first eighteen disciples of the Bábí Religion. In some understandings the Báb places himself at the head of this list...
and were given the task of spreading the new faith across Iran and Iraq. The Báb initially attracted most of the followers of the Shaykhí movement, but soon his teachings went far beyond those roots and attracted prominent followers across Iran. His followers were known as Bábís.
After some time, preaching by the Letters of the Living led to opposition by the Islamic clergy, prompting the Governor of Shiraz to order the Báb's arrest. After being house arrest in Shiraz from June 1845 to September 1846, the Báb spent several months in Isfahan
Isfahan (city)
Isfahan , historically also rendered in English as Ispahan, Sepahan or Hispahan, is the capital of Isfahan Province in Iran, located about 340 km south of Tehran. It has a population of 1,583,609, Iran's third largest city after Tehran and Mashhad...
debating clergy, many who became sympathetic. He was then ordered by the Shah to Tehran in Junary 1847; after spending several months in a camp outside Tehran, the Prime Minister sent the Báb to Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
in the northwestern corner of the country, where he was confined.
He was then transferred to the fortress of Máh-Kú
Maku, Iran
Maku is a city in the West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 41,865, in 10,428 families.It is situated from the Turkish border in a mountain gorge at an altitude of 1634 metres. The Zangmar River cuts through the city. The common languages in Maku are Kurdish and...
in the province of Azarbaijan close to the Turkish border. During his incarceration there, the Báb began his most important work, the Persian Bayán
Persian Bayán
The Persian Bayán is one of the principal scriptural writings of the Báb, the founder of Bábi religion, written in Persian. The Báb also wrote a shorter book in Arabic, the Arabic Bayán.- Content:...
, which he never finished. He was then transferred to the fortress of Chihríq in April 1848. In that place as well, the Báb's popularity grew and his jailors relaxed restrictions on him. Hence the Prime Minister ordered the Báb back to Tabriz where the government called on religious authorities to put the Báb on trial for blasphemy and apostasy. Bábism
Bábism
The Babi Faith is a religious movement that flourished in Persia from 1844 to 1852, then lingered on in exile in the Ottoman Empire as well as underground. Its founder was Siyyid `Alí Muhammad Shirazi, who took the title Báb—meaning "Gate"—from a Shi'a theological term...
was also spreading across the country, and the Islamic government saw it as a threat to state religion and several military confrontations took place between government and Bábí forces. Communities of Bábís established themselves in Iran and Iráq, and in 1850 reached several cities of Azarbaijan.
In mid 1850 a new prime-minister, Amir Kabir
Amir Kabir
Amir Kabir , also known as Mirza Taghi Khan Amir-Nezam , also known by the titles of Atabak and Amir-e Nezam; chief minister to Naser al-Din Shah Qajar for the first three years of his reign and one of the most capable and innovative figures to appear in the whole Qajar period...
, ordered the execution of the Báb, probably because various Bábí insurrections had been defeated and the movement's popularity appeared to be waning. The Báb was brought back to Tabríz from Chihríq, so that he could be shot by a firing squad
Execution by firing squad
Execution by firing squad, sometimes called fusillading , is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war.Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice...
. On the morning of July 9, 1850, the Báb was taken to the courtyard of the barracks in which he was being held, where thousands of people had gathered to watch. The Báb and a companion were suspended on a wall and a large firing squad prepared to shoot. After the order was given to shoot and the smoke cleared, the Báb was no longer in the courtyard and his companion stood there unharmed; the bullets apparently had not harmed either man, but had cut the rope suspending them from the wall. The soldiers subsequently found the Báb in another part of the barracks, completely unharmed. He was tied up for execution a second time, a second firing squad was ranged in front of them, and a second order to fire was given. This time, the Báb and his companion were killed. Their remains were dumped outside the gates of the town to be eaten by animals.
The remains, however, were rescued by a handful of Bábis and were hidden. Over time the remains were secretly transported by way of Isfahan, Kirmansháh, Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
and Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, to Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
and thence by sea to Acre, Israel
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
on the plain below Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel ; , Kármēlos; , Kurmul or جبل مار إلياس Jabal Mar Elyas 'Mount Saint Elias') is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. Archaeologists have discovered ancient wine and oil presses at various locations on Mt. Carmel...
in 1899. In 1909, the remains were then interred in a special tomb
Shrine of the Báb
The Shrine of the Báb is a structure in Haifa, Israel where the remains of the Báb, founder of Bábism and forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh in the Bahá'í Faith, have been laid to rest; it is considered to be the second holiest place on Earth for Bahá'ís, after the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh in Acre...
, erected for this purpose by `Abdu'l-Bahá
`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
, on Mount Carmel in the Bahá'í Holy Land in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
and remains an important place of pilgrimage
Bahá'í pilgrimage
A Bahá'í pilgrimage currently consists of visiting the holy places in Haifa, Akká, and Bahjí at the Bahá'í World Centre in Northwest Israel. Bahá'ís do not have access to other places designated as sites for pilgrimage....
for Bahá'ís.
While the Báb claimed a station of revelation, he also claimed no finality for his revelation. A constant theme in his works, especially the Persian Bayan was that of the great Promised One, the next embodiment of the Primal Will, whom the Báb termed He whom God shall make manifest
He whom God shall make manifest
He whom God shall make manifest is a messianic figure in the religion of Babism. The messianic figure was repeatedly mentioned by the Báb, the founder of Babism, in his book, the Bayán. The Báb described the messianic figure as the origin of all divine attributes, and stated that his command was...
, promised in the sacred writings of previous religions would soon establish the Kingdom of God on the Earth. In the books written by the Báb he constantly entreats his believers to follow He whom God shall make manifest when he arrives.
Before his death, the Báb had been in correspondence with two brothers, Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
and Subh-i-Azal
Subh-i-Azal
' was a Persian religious leader of Azali Bábism.-Background:Mirza Yahya was born in 1831 to Kuchak Khanum-i-Karmanshahi and Mírzá Buzurg-i-Núrí, in the province of Mazandaran, and a younger-half-brother of Mírzá Husayn `Ali, better known as Bahá'u'lláh...
who, after the death of many prominent disciples, emerged as the mostly likely leaders. In a letter sent to Subh-i-Azal, then aged around nineteen, the Báb appears to have indicated a high station or leadership position. The letter also orders Subh-i-Azal to obey the Promised One when he appears; in practise, Subh-i-Azal, however, seems to have had little widespread legitimacy and authority. Bahá'u'lláh in the meantime, while in private hinted at his own high station, in public kept his messianic secret from most and supported Subh-i-Azal in the interest of unity. In 1863 in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, he made his first public declaration and eventually was recognized by the vast majority of Bábís as "He whom God shall make manifest" and his followers began calling themselves Bahá'ís
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
.
Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh was born on November 12, 1817, in TehranTehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
. Bahá'u'lláh's father, Mírzá Buzurg
Mírzá `Abbás Núrí
Mírzá `Abbás-i-Núrí more commonly known as Mírzá Buzurg was the father of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. Mírzá Buzurg was a nobleman from the Persian province of Núr, and worked for a time in the service of Fatḥ-`Alí Sháh....
, served as vizier
Vizier
A vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....
to Imám-Virdi Mírzá, the twelfth son of Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar. Mírzá Buzurg was later appointed governor of Burujird
Borujerd
Borujerd is a city in and capital of Borujerd County, Lorestan Province in western Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 227,547, in 59,388 families....
and Lorestan, a position that he was stripped of during a government purge when Muhammad Shah
Mohammad Shah Qajar
Mohammad Shah Qajar was king of Persia from the Qajar dynasty .- Rise to power :...
came to power. After his father died, Bahá'u'lláh was asked to take a government post by the new vizier Haji Mirza Aqasi, but he declined the position.
At the age of 28, Bahá'u'lláh received a messenger, Mullá Husayn
Mullá Husayn
Mullá Husayn-i Bushru'i , titled Jináb-i-Bábu'l-Báb , was a Persian religious figure, and the first Letter of the Living of the Bábí movement. He died at the Battle of Fort Shaykh Tabarsi, on February 2, 1849...
, telling him of the Báb
Báb
Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith. He was a merchant from Shíráz, Persia, who at the age of twenty-four claimed to be the promised Qá'im . After his declaration he took the title of Báb meaning "Gate"...
, whose message he accepted, becoming a Bábí. Bahá'u'lláh began to spread the new cause, especially in his native province of Núr, becoming recognized as one of its most influential believers. The accompanying government suppression of the Báb's religion resulted in Bahá'u'lláh's being imprisoned twice and enduring bastinado torture once Bahá'u'lláh also attended the conference of Badasht, where 81 prominent Babis met for 22 days; at that conference where there was a discussion between those Babis who wanted to maintain Islamic law and those who believed that the Báb's message began a new dispenation, Bahá'u'lláh took the pro-change side, which eventually won out.
In 1852, two years after the execution of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh met briefly with a couple of radical Babi leaders and learnt of an assassination plan against the Shah, Nasser-al-Din Shah, in retaliation for the Báb's execution. Bahá'u'lláh condemned the plan, but on August 15, 1852 Babis attempted the assassination of the Shah and failed. Notwithstanding the assassins' claim that they were working alone, the entire Bábí community was blamed, and a slaughter of several thousand Bábís followed. Many of the Bábís who were not killed, including Bahá'u'lláh, were imprisoned in the Síyáh-Chál
Síyáh-Chál
Síyáh-Chál is the common word in Persian language for "dungeon".Historically, siyah-chals were used as a harsher form of incarceration. Typically, such dungeons had no windows or outlets, other than the entrance, consisting of a short stairway into the ground.In Bahá'í history the "Síyáh-Chál"...
(Black Pit), an underground dungeon of Tehran. According to Bahá'u'lláh, it was during his imprisonment in the Síyáh-Chál that he had several mystical experiences, and that he 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.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and arrived in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
in early 1853. A small number of Babis, including his half-brother Subh-i-Azal, followed Bahá'u'lláh to Baghdad. An increasing number of Bábís considered Baghdad the new centre for leadership of the Bábí religion, and a flow of pilgrim
Pilgrim
A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system...
s started coming there from Persia. In Baghdad people began to look to Subh-i-Azal for leadership less and less due to his policy of remaining hidden, and instead saw Bahá'u'lláh as their leader. Subh-i-Azal started to try to discredit Bahá'u'lláh and further divided the community. The actions of Subh-i-Azal drove many people away from the religion and allowed its enemies to continue their persecution.
On April 10, 1854 Bahá'u'lláh left Baghdad in order to distance himself from Subh-i-Azal and as to avoid becoming the source of disagreement within the Babi community; he left with one companion to the mountains of Kurdistan, north-east of Baghdad, near the city Sulaymaniyah
Sulaymaniyah
Sulaymaniyah is a city in Iraqi Kurdistan, Iraq. It is the capital of Sulaymaniyah Governorate. Sulaymaniyah is surrounded by the Azmar Range, Goizja Range and the Qaiwan Range in the north east, Baranan Mountain in the south and the Tasluje Hills in the west. The city has a semi-arid climate with...
. For two years Bahá'u'lláh lived alone in the mountains of Kurdistan living the life of a Sufi dervish
Dervish
A Dervish or Darvesh is someone treading a Sufi Muslim ascetic path or "Tariqah", known for their extreme poverty and austerity, similar to mendicant friars in Christianity or Hindu/Buddhist/Jain sadhus.-Etymology:The Persian word darvīsh is of ancient origin and descends from a Proto-Iranian...
. At one point someone noticed his remarkable penmanship, which brought the curiosity of the instructors of the local Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
orders. During his time in Kurdistan he wrote many notable books including the Four Valleys
Four Valleys (Bahá'í)
The Four Valleys is a book written in Persian by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. The Seven Valleys was also written by Bahá'u'lláh, and the two books are usually published together under the title The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys...
. In Baghdad, given the lack of firm and public leadership by Subh-i-Azal, the Babi community had fallen into disarray. Some Babis, including Bahá'u'lláh's family, thus searched for Bahá'u'lláh, and pleaded with him to come back to Baghdad, which he did in 1856.
Bahá'u'lláh remained in Baghdád for seven more years. During this time, while keeping his perceived station as the Manifestation of God
Manifestation of God
The Manifestation of God is a concept in the Bahá'í Faith that refers to what are commonly called prophets. The Manifestations of God are a series of personages who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization...
hidden, he taught the Báb's teachings. He published many books and verses including the Book of Certitude
Kitáb-i-Íqán
The Kitáb-i-Íqán is one of many books held sacred by followers of the Bahá'í Faith; it is their primary theological work. One Bahá'í scholar states that it can be regarded as the "most influential Koran commentary in Persian outside the Muslim world," because of its international audience. It is...
and the Hidden Words
Hidden Words
Kalimát-i-Maknúnih or The Hidden Words is a book written in Baghdad around 1857 by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith...
. Bahá'u'lláh's gatherings attracted many notables, both locals and Iranian pilgrims, giving him greater influence in Baghdad and in Iran. His 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
Qajar dynasty
The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal family of Turkic descent who ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925....
. They were eventually successful in having the Ottoman government
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
call Bahá'u'lláh from Baghdad to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
.
Before he left Baghdad on the way to Constantinople, Bahá'u'lláh camped for twelve days in the Garden of Ridván
Garden of Ridván, Baghdad
The Garden of Ridván or Najibiyyih Garden was a wooded garden in what is now Baghdad's Rusafa District, on the banks of the Tigris river...
near Baghdad starting on April 22, 1863. During his stay in the garden a large number of friends came to see him before he left. It was during his time in the Garden of Ridván that Bahá'u'lláh declared to his companions his perceived mission and station as a Messenger of God. Today Bahá'ís celebrate the twelve days that Bahá'u'lláh was in the Garden of Ridván as the festival of Ridván
Ridván
Riḍván is a twelve-day festival in the Bahá'í Faith, commemorating the commencement of Bahá'u'lláh's prophethood. It begins at sunset on April 20 and continues until sunset, May 2...
.
After travelling for four-month over land, Bahá'u'lláh arrived in the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
(now Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
). Although not a formal prisoner yet, the forced exile from Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
was the beginning of a long process which would gradually move him into further exiles and eventually the penal colony of Akká, Palestine (now Acre, Israel
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
). Bahá'u'lláh and his family
Bahá'u'lláh's family
Bahá'u'lláh was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He was born in 1817 to Khadíjih Khánum and Mírzá Buzurg of Nur , a Persian nobleman, and went on to be a leader in the Bábí movement, and then established the Bahá'í Faith in 1863...
, along with a small group of Bábí
Babi
Babi may refer to:* Babı, a municipality in Azerbaijan* Babi Dynasty, founded in 1735 by Muhammed Sher Khan Babi , Nawabs of this dynasty went on to rule over Junagadh in Gujarat, from the 18th to the 20th century....
s, stayed in Constantinople for only four months. Due to his refusal to build alliances with the Ottoman politicians, Bahá'u'lláh had no means of resisting pressure from the Iranian ambassador to exile him further away, and Sultan Abdülâziz
Abdülâziz
Abdülaziz I or Abd Al-Aziz, His Imperial Majesty was the 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned between 25 June 1861 and 30 May 1876...
banished Bahá'u'lláh to Adrianople (current-day Edirne
Edirne
Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
), which was a site for the exile of political prisoners.
Bahá'u'lláh's family
Bahá'u'lláh was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He was born in 1817 to Khadíjih Khánum and Mírzá Buzurg of Nur , a Persian nobleman, and went on to be a leader in the Bábí movement, and then established the Bahá'í Faith in 1863...
embarked on a twelve-day journey to Adrianople
Edirne
Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
. Bahá'u'lláh stayed in Adrianople for four and a half years. In Adrianople Bahá'u'lláh made his claim to be Him whom God shall make manifest more public through letters and tablets
Tablet (religious)
A tablet, in the religious context, is a term traditionally used for religious texts.Jews and Christians believe that Moses brought the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai in the form of two stone tablets. According to the Book of Exodus, God delivered the tablets twice, the first set having been...
. Bahá'u'lláh's assertion as an independent Manifestation of God made Subh-i-Azal's leadership position irrelevant; Subh-i-Azal, upon hearing Bahá'u'lláh's words in a tablet read to him, challenging him to accept Bahá'u'lláh's revelation, refused and challenged Bahá'u'lláh to a test of divine will at a local mosque, but he lost face when he did not appear. This caused a break within the Bábí community, and the followers of Bahá'u'lláh became known as Bahá'ís
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
, while the followers of Subh-i-Azal became known as Azalis.
Starting in 1866, while in Adrianople, Bahá'u'lláh started writing a series of letters to world rulers, proclaiming his station as the promised one of all religions. His letters also asked them to renounce their material possessions, work together to settle disputes, and endeavour towards the betterment of the world and its peoples. Some of these leaders written to in the coming years include Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
, Napoleon III of France
Napoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
, Czar Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
, Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
of Great Britain and Ireland, Násiri’d-Dín Sháh
Nasser al-Din Shah
Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar was the King of Iran from September 17, 1848 to May 1, 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Malek Jahan Khanom, Mahd-e Olia and the third longest reigning monarch king in Iranian history after Shapur II of the Sassanid Dynasty and...
of the Persian Empire and the rulers of America
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
.
The disagreements between the Bahá'ís and the Azalís allowed the Ottoman and Persian authorities to exile Bahá'u'lláh once again. Bahá'u'lláh and his family left Adrianople on August 12, 1868 and after a journey by land and sea arrived in Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
on August 31. The first years in Acre imposed very harsh conditions on, and held very trying times for, Bahá'u'lláh. Mirzá Mihdí
Mírzá Mihdí
Mírzá Mihdí , given the title Ghusn-i-Athar . Mírzá Mihdí was born Mihdí Núrí in Tehran, and named after a deceased brother of his father.-Biography:...
, Bahá'u'lláh's son, was suddenly killed at the age of twenty-two when he fell through a skylight while pacing back and forth in prayer and meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
. After some time, the people and officials began to trust and respect Bahá'u'lláh, and thus the conditions of the imprisonment were eased and eventually, after Sultan `Abdu'l-`Aziz's death, he was allowed to leave the city and visit nearby places. From 1877 until 1879 Bahá'u'lláh lived in the house of Mazra'ih.
The final years of Bahá'u'lláh's life were spent in the Mansion of Bahjí
Mansion of Bahjí
The Mansion of Bahjí is a term used to describe a summer house in Acre, Israel, where Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith died in 1892. His shrine is located next to this house...
, just outside Acre, even though he was still formally a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire. During his years in Acre and Bahjí, Bahá'u'lláh produced many volumes of work including the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
Kitáb-i-Aqdas
The Kitáb-i-Aqdas is a central book of the Bahá'í Faith written by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion. The work was written in Arabic under the Arabic title , but it is commonly referred to by its Persian title, Kitáb-i-Aqdas , which was given to the work by Bahá'u'lláh himself...
. On May 9, 1892 Bahá'u'lláh contracted a slight fever which grew steadily over the following days, abated, and then finally took his life on May 29, 1892. He was buried in a Shrine
Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh
The Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, located in Bahjí near Acre, Israel, is the most holy place for Bahá'ís and represents their Qiblih, or direction of prayer...
located next to the Mansion of Bahjí. During his lifetime, communities of Bahá'ís were established in Armenia, Burma, Egypt, Georgia, India, Lebanon, (what is now) Pakistan, (what was then) Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Turkmenistan.
`Abdu'l-Bahá
Bahá'u'lláh was succeeded by his eldest son, `Abdu'l-Bahá. Designated as the "Center of the Covenant" and Head of the Faith, Bahá'u'lláh designated him in his will as the sole authoritative interpreter of Bahá'u'lláh's writings. http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/TB/tb-16.html#gr1`Abdu'l-Bahá had shared his father's long exile and imprisonment. This imprisonment continued until `Abdu'l-Bahá's own release as a result of the "Young Turk" revolution in 1908.
Following his release he led a life of travelling, speaking, and maintaining correspondence with communities of believers and individuals, expounding the principles of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá died in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
on November 28, 1921 and is now buried in one of the front rooms in the Shrine of the Báb. During his lifetime communities of Bahá'ís formed in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Great Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Russian S.F.S.R., South Africa, Switzerland, Tunisia, and the United States of America.
Shoghi Effendi
`Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and TestamentWill and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá
A seminal document, written in three stages by `Abdu'l-Bahá. Several sections were written under imminent threat of harm. The first section was probably written in 1906....
http://bahai-library.com/abdulbaha_will_testament is the charter of the Bahá'í administrative order
Bahá'í administration
The Bahá'í administration or Bahá'í administrative order refers to the administrative system of the Bahá'í Faith.It is split into two parts, the elected and the appointed...
. In this document `Abdu'l-Bahá established the institutions of the appointed Guardianship and the elected Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
. In that same document he appointed his eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
, as the first Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.
Shoghi Effendi throughout his lifetime translated the sacred writings of the Faith; developed global plans for the expansion of the Bahá'í community; developed the Bahá'í World Centre
Bahá'í World Centre
The Bahá'í World Centre is the name given to the spiritual and administrative centre of the Bahá'í Faith. The World Centre consists of the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh near Acre, Israel, the Shrine of the Báb and its gardens on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel, and various other buildings in the area...
; carried on a voluminous correspondence with communities and individuals around the world; and built the administrative structure of the Faith, preparing the community for the election of the Universal House of Justice.
Custodians
With the unexpected passing of Shoghi EffendiShoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
in 1957, the faith was left without a clear candidate for Guardian. The Hands of the Cause, appointed by Shoghi Effendi, took the necessary administrative roles at the Bahá'í World Centre, and organized the election of the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
, from which they excluded themselves from membership. By the time of the election of the Universal House of Justice, Bahá'í communities had been established in many of the countries of the world. Seventy nations had organized their communities to elect National Spiritual Assemblies.
Universal House of Justice
After the election of the Universal House of JusticeUniversal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
in 1963, it then ruled that given the unique situation and the provisions of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá
Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá
A seminal document, written in three stages by `Abdu'l-Bahá. Several sections were written under imminent threat of harm. The first section was probably written in 1906....
, it was not possible to appoint another Guardian. The Universal House of Justice today remains the supreme governing body of the Bahá'í Faith, and its nine members are elected every five years. As recently as 2001 the number of countries with organized communities electing National Spiritual Assemblies was 182.