Bahá'u'lláh

Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh

Bahá'u'lláh (English pronunciation: /bɑːhɑːˈʊlə/; Arabic: بهاء الله‎, "Glory of God"; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892), born Mírzá Ḥusayn-`Alí Núrí (Persian: میرزا حسینعلی نوری), 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 other major religions.^[1]

Bahá'u'lláh taught that humanity is one single race and that the age has come for its unification in a global society. His claim to divine revelation resulted in persecution and imprisonment by the Persian and Ottoman authorities, and his eventual 24-year confinement in the prison city of `Akka, Palestine (present day Israel), where he died. He authored many religious works, most notably the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Kitáb-i-Íqán.

There are two known photographs of Bahá'u'lláh. Outside of pilgrimage, Bahá'ís prefer not to view his photo in public, or even to display it in their private homes.

Early and family life

Bahá'u'lláh was born on 12 November 1817, in Tehran, the capital of Persia (Iran). His ancestry can allegedly be traced back to Abraham through Abraham's wife Keturah, to Zoroaster and to Yazdigird III, the last king of the Sassanid Empire,^[2] and also to Jesse.^[3][4] His mother was Khadíjih Khánum and his father was Mírzá Buzurg. 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,^[5] a position that he was stripped of during a government purge when Muhammad Shah came to power. After the death of his father, Bahá'u'lláh was asked to take a government post by the new vizier Haji Mirza Aqasi, but declined.^[6]

Bahá'u'lláh was married three times. He married his first wife Ásíyih Khánum, the daughter of a nobleman, in Tehran in 1835, when he was 18 and she was 15.^[7] She was given the title of The Most Exalted Leaf and Navváb.^[8] His second marriage was to his widowed cousin Fátimih Khánum, in Tehran in 1849 when she was 21 and he was 32.^[7] She was known as Mahd-i-`Ulyá. His third marriage to Gawhar Khánum occurred in Baghdad sometime before 1863.^[7]

Bahá'u'lláh declared Ásíyih Khánum his "perpetual consort in all the worlds of God", and her son `Abdu'l-Bahá as his vicar.<sup>[9]</sup> He had 14 children, ten sons and four daughters, of which five sons predeceased him.<sup>[10]</sup> Bahá'ís regard Ásíyih Khánum and her children Mírzá Mihdí, Bahíyyih Khánum and `Abdu'l-Bahá' to be the Bahá'í holy family.^[11]

Bábí movement

In 1844, a 25 year-old man from Shiraz, Siyyid Mírzá `Alí-Muḥammad, who took the title of the Báb, claimed to be the promised Mahdi of Islam.^[12] The movement quickly spread across the Persian Empire and received widespread opposition from the Islamic clergy.^[12] The Báb himself was executed in 1850 by a firing squad in the public square of Tabriz at the age of 30 and the community was almost entirely exterminated in 1852–3.^[12]

While the Báb claimed a station of revelation, he also claimed no finality for his revelation.^[13] In most of his prominent writings, the Báb alluded to a Promised One, most commonly referred to as "Him whom God shall make manifest". The Bayán, one of the Báb's works, is essentially a discourse on Him whom God shall make manifest, and the Báb always discussed his own writings in the context of the coming of Him whom God shall make manifest.^[14] According to the Báb, this personage, promised in the sacred writings of previous religions would establish the kingdom of God on the Earth;^[12][15] several of the Báb's writings state the coming of Him Whom God shall make manifest would be imminent.^[14] In the books written by the Báb he constantly entreats his believers to follow Him whom God shall make manifest when he arrives.^[13] 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 would appear.^[14]

Acceptance of the Báb

Bahá'u'lláh first heard of the Báb when he was 27, and received a messenger, Mullá Husayn, telling him of the Báb. Bahá'u'lláh accepted the Báb's claims, becoming a Bábí and helping to spread the new movement, especially in his native province of Núr, becoming recognized as one of its most influential believers.^[10][16] 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 his co-religionists, such as Táhirih, but did so at some risk, since the aid he was giving led to his being temporarily imprisoned in Tehran and enduring bastinado.^[10] Bahá'u'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, Bahá'u'lláh took the pro-change side, which eventually won out. It is at this conference that Bahá'u'lláh took on the name Bahá.^[10]

When violence started between the Bábís and the Qajar government in the later part of 1848, Bahá'u'lláh tried to reach the besieged Bábís at the Shaykh Tabarsi in Mazandaran, but was arrested and imprisoned before he could get there.^[10] The following years until 1850 saw the Bábís being massacred in various provinces after the Báb made his claim of being Manifestation of God more public.^[10]

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.^[17] The policy was opposed by Bahá'u'lláh, and he condemned the plan, however, any moderating influence that he may have had was diminished since in June 1851 he went into exile to Baghdad at the chief minister's request, only returning after Amir Kabir's fall from power.^[10][17] On 15 August 1852, the radical group of Bábís attempted the assassination of the Shah and failed.^[10] The group of Bábís linked with the plan, were rounded up and killed, and, notwithstanding the assassins' claim that they were working alone, the entire Bábí community was blamed and a general pogrom of the Bábí community was started by the Shah.^[17] During this time many Bábís were killed, and 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.^[18]

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.^[10][18] After four months in the Síyáh-Chál, owing to the insistent demands of the ambassador of Russia, and after the person who tried to kill the Shah confessed and exonerated the Bábí leaders, the authorities released him from prison, but the government exiled him from Iran. Bahá'u'lláh, instead of accepting the offer of refuge from Russia, chose to go to Iraq in the Ottoman Empire; in 1853 Bahá'u'lláh and his family through the cold of winter travelled from Persia and arrived in Baghdad on 8 April 1853.^[10][19][20]

Baghdad

Bahá'u'lláh's passport, dated January 1853

While the Báb 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 would appear,^[14] he did, however, appoint Mírzá Yahyá (later known as Subh-i-Azal) as a nominal leader after himself. Mírzá Yahyá had gone into hiding after the assassination attempt on the Shah, and after Bahá'u'lláh's exile to Baghdad, he chose to join his brother there.^[19] At the same time, an increasing number of Bábís considered Baghdad the new centre for leadership of the Bábí religion, and a flow of pilgrims started coming 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; and even went so far as to publicly disavow allegiance to the Báb on several occasions.^[6][21][22] Mírzá Yahyá gradually alienated himself from a large proportion of the Bábís who started to give their alliance to other claimants.^[21] During the time that Mírzá Yahyá remained in hiding, Bahá'u'lláh performed much of the daily administration of the Bábí affairs.^[6] In contrast to Mírzá Yahyá, Bahá'u'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 centre of devotion.^[23]

The development of Bahá'u'lláh being seen as the leader of the Bábís was increasingly resented by Mírzá Yahyá, and he started to try to discredit Bahá'u'lláh.^[23] These actions of Mírzá Yahyá drove many people away from the religion and allowed its enemies to continue their persecution.^[6] Tensions in the community mounted, and thus in 1854 Bahá'u'lláh decided to leave the city to pursue a solitary life.^[23]

Kurdistan

On 10 April 1854, Bahá'u'lláh, leaving his family to the care of his brother Mirza Musa, left with one companion to the mountains of Kurdistan, northeast of Baghdad, near the city of Sulaymaniyah.^[6][23] He later wrote that he left so as to avoid becoming the source of disagreement within the Bábí community, and that his "withdrawal contemplated no return".^[23][24]

For two years, Bahá'u'lláh lived alone in the mountains of Kurdistan.^[18] He originally lived as a hermit, dressed like a dervish and using the name Darvish Muhammad-i-Irani.^[23][25] At one point someone noticed his penmanship, which brought the curiosity of the instructors of the local Sufi orders.^[6] As he began to take guests, he became noted for his learning and wisdom. Shaykh `Uthmán, Shaykh `Abdu'r-Rahmán, and Shaykh Ismá'íl, leaders of the Naqshbandíyyih, Qádiríyyih, and Khálidíyyih Orders respectively, began to seek his advice.^[26] It was to the second of these that the Four Valleys was written. Several other notable books were also written during this time.^[18]

In Baghdad, given the lack of firm and public leadership by Mirza Yahya, the Babi community had fallen into disarray.^[6] Some Babis, including Bahá'u'lláh's family, thus searched for Bahá'u'lláh, and when news of a man living in the mountains under the name of Darvish Muhammad spread to neighbouring areas, Bahá'u'lláh's family pleaded with him to come back to Baghdad.^[6] On 19 March 1856, after two years in Kurdistan he returned to Baghdad.^[23]

Return to Baghdad

Map of Bahá'u'lláh's banishments

When Bahá'u'lláh returned to Baghdad he saw that the Bábí community had become disheartened and divided.^[23] During Bahá'u'lláh's absence, it had become alienated from the religion because Mirza Yahya had continued his policy of militancy and been unable to provide effective leadership.^[23] Mirza Yahya had married the widow of the Báb against the Báb's clear instructions;^[6] dispatched followers to the province of Nur for the second attempt on the life of the Shah;^[27] and instigated violence against prominent Bábís who had challenged his leadership.^[23]

After his return to Baghdad, Bahá'u'lláh tried to revive the Bábí community, mostly through correspondence, writing extensively to give the Bábís a new understanding of the Bábí religion.^[23] 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.^[23] He also gained sympathy from government officials and Sunni clerics.^[23] Bahá'u'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.^[28] The Persian government asked the Ottoman government to extradite Bahá'u'lláh to Persia, but the Ottoman government refused and instead chose to move Bahá'u'lláh from the sensitive border region to Constantinople.^[23]

Bahá'u'lláh remained in Baghdad for seven years after his return from the mountains near Sulaymaniyah. During this time, he kept hidden his perceived station as the one promised by the Báb and a Manifestation of God. His writings during this period dealt with a range of themes: some traditional and some containing elements innovative to the Bábí tradition.^[29] Many of his writings were letters to individuals, but he also wrote larger pieces including the Book of Certitude, the Hidden Words and the Gems of Divine Mysteries.^[28] Toward the end of his time in Baghdad hints of the unveiling of a messianic secret increased in his writings.^[30] Later, when Bahá'u'lláh made his claim to be the promised one and a divine revelator, his writings in Baghdad were also included in the corpus of Bahá'u'lláh's revelation.^[29]

Declaration in the Garden of Ridvan

On 21 April 1863, Bahá'u'lláh left Baghdad and entered the Najibiyyih gardens, now known to Bahá'ís as the Garden of Ridván, near Baghdad. Bahá'u'lláh and those accompanying him stayed in the garden for twelve days before departing for Constantinople.^[31] It was during this time that Bahá'u'lláh declared to a small group of his companions his perceived mission and station as a Messenger of God.^[18] Bahá'ís regard this period with great significance and celebrate the twelve days that Bahá'u'lláh spent in this Garden as the festival of Ridván.^[31] 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"). Bahá'u'lláh stated that this period was a "set time of concealment".^[32] 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 Bahá'í Faith as a distinctive movement separate from Bábísm.^[30]

Imprisonment

Bahá'u'lláh was given an order to relocate to the Ottoman capital of Constantinople. 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 Akká, Palestine (now Acre, Israel).

Constantinople

Bahá'u'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.^[30] Why the Ottoman authorities did not permit his extradition to Persia, but instead invited him to come to Constantinople, is unclear. The reason may have been political because Bahá'u'lláh was viewed as a person of influence. However, Bahá'u'lláh refused to work with the Ottoman authorities.^[30] After three and a half months in Constantinople, 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 Bahá'u'lláh's refusal to work with the Ottoman authorities.^[30]

Adrianople

`Abdu'l-Bahá' in Adrianople with his brothers and companions of Bahá'u'lláh. He is third from the left in the front row.

From 1–12 December 1863, Bahá'u'lláh and his family travelled to Adrianople. Unlike his travel to Constantinople, this journey was in the nature of an exile.^[30] Bahá'u'lláh stayed in Adrianople for four and a half years, and was the clear leader of the newly established Bábí community there.^[30][33] Bahá'u'lláh's growing preeminence in the Bábí community and in the city at large led to a final breach between Bahá'u'lláh and Mirza Yahya.^[30] In 1865, Mirza Yahya was accused of plotting to kill Bahá'u'lláh.^[34] In contemporary accounts, Mirza Yahya is reported to have tried to have Bahá'u'lláh assassinated at the hands of the barber of the local bath. The barber, Muhammad `Alí of Isfahán, apparently refused and spread word of the danger around the community. Bahá'u'lláh is reported to have counselled "on all patience, quietude and gentleness".<sup>[35]</sup> This pattern was repeated when, according to the personal account of Ustád Muhammad-`Alíy-i Salmání, Mirza Yahya attempted to persuade him likewise to murder Bahá'u'lláh in the bath.^[36] Eventually Mirza Yahya attempted to poison Bahá'u'lláh, an act that left him gravely ill for a time, and left him with a shaking hand for the rest of his life.^{[34][37][38][39][40]}

After this event in 1866, Bahá'u'lláh made his claim to be Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest public,^[21] as well as making a formal written announcement to Mirza Yahya referring to his followers for the first time as the "people of Bahá".^[34] After his public announcement, Bahá'u'lláh secluded himself in his house and instructed the Bábís to choose between himself and Mirza Yahya.^[34] Bahá'u'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.^[6] 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.^[21]

In 1867, Mirza Yahya challenged Bahá'u'lláh to a test of the divine will in a local mosque in Adrianople,^[34] such that "God would strike down the impostor." Bahá'u'lláh agreed, and went to the Sultan Selim mosque at the appointed time, but Mirza Yahya lost face and lost credibility when he refused to show up.^[34][41][42] Eventually Bahá'u'lláh was recognized by the vast majority of Bábís as "He whom God shall make manifest" and his followers began calling themselves Bahá'ís.^[6]

Writings and letters to the leaders of the world

During his time in Adrianople, Bahá'u'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 Bahá'ís to be united and detached from the world.^[43] He also started to write about distinctive Bahá'í beliefs and practices.

Also, while in Adrianople, Bahá'u'lláh proclaimed the Bahá'í 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.^[43] In that latter letter the rulers of the earth were asked to listen to Bahá'u'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.^[43] The Christian monarchs were also asked to be faithful to Jesus' call to follow the promised "Spirit of Truth."^[43]

Later when Bahá'u'lláh was in Akka, he continued writing letters to the leaders of the world including:^[44]

• Pope Pius IX
• Emperor Napoleon III of France
• Czar Alexander II of Russia
• King Wilhelm I of Prussia
• Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland
• Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary
• Sultan ‘Abdu’l-‘Azíz of the Ottoman Empire
• Násiri’d-Dín Sháh of the Persian Empire
• Rulers of America and the Presidents of the republics therein

`Akká

Prison in Akká in which Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned

With the Bábí community now irrevocably divided, the followers of Mirza Yahya tried to discredit Bahá'u'lláh to the Ottoman authorities, accusing him of causing agitation against the government.^[45] While an investigation cleared Bahá'u'lláh, it did bring to the attention of the government that Bahá'u'lláh and Mirza Yahya were propagating religious claims, and, fearing that this might cause future disorder, they decided to again exile the 'Bábí' leaders.^[45] 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 `Akká, in Ottoman Palestine, for Bahá'u'lláh and his followers.^[45]

The Bahá'ís, including Bahá'u'lláh and his family, left Adrianople on 12 August 1868, and, after a journey by land and sea through Gallipoli and Egypt, arrived in `Akká on 31 August and were confined in the barracks in the citadel in the city.<sup>[45]</sup> The inhabitants of `Akká 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 `Akká imposed very harsh conditions with everyone becoming sick, and eventually three Bahá'ís dying.<sup>[45]</sup> It was also a very trying time 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 Sulṭán `Abdul-`Azíz'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.^[45]

Final years

Mansion of Bahjí

The shrine where Bahá'u'lláh is buried, from above.

The final years of Bahá'u'lláh's life (1879–1892) were spent in the Mansion of Bahjí, just outside `Akká, even though he was still formally a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire. During his years in `Akká and Bahjí, since `Abdu'l-Bahá, his eldest son, had taken care of the organizational work, Bahá'u'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.^[46] 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.^[46]

In 1890, the Cambridge orientalist Edward Granville Browne had an interview with Bahá'u'lláh in this house. After this meeting he wrote his famous pen-portrait of Bahá'u'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!"^[46][47]

On 9 May 1892, Bahá'u'lláh contracted a slight fever which grew steadily over the following days, abated, and then finally took his life on 29 May 1892. He was buried in the shrine located next to the Mansion of Bahjí.^[48]

Claims

Bahá'u'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.^[49] In the Bahá'í writings, the Manifestations of Gods are a series of interrelated personages 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.^[49][50] The Manifestations of God, as explained by Bahá'u'lláh, are not incarnations of God, but have a two-fold station; one which is the divine in that they reveal God's attributes, but not God's essence, and one which is human in that they represent the physical qualities of common man, and have human limitations.^[49][51] Bahá'u'lláh wrote that God will never manifest his essence into the world.^[49]

In Bahá'u'lláh's writings he writes in many styles including cases were he speaks as if he was instructed by God to bring a message; in other cases he writes as though he is speaking as God directly.^[52] In his writings, Bahá'u'lláh's style changes frequently, where in some cases he is speaking as the messenger of God, and then it changes to as if he were speaking as God.^[53]

Some have taken Bahá'u'lláh's style of writings to conclude that Bahá'u'lláh had claimed divinity. Bahá'u'lláh, however, states himself that the essence of God will never descend into the human world.^[49] Statements where Bahá'u'lláh speaks with the voice of God are meant that he is not actually God, but that he is speaking with the attributes of God.^[49]

Bahá'u'lláh declared, as the most recent Manifestation of God, that he was the "Promised One" of all religions, fulfilling the messianic prophecies found in world religions.^[1] 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.^[1] Bahá'u'lláh's eschatological claims constitute six distinctive messianic identifications: from Judaism, the incarnation of the "Everlasting Father" from the Yuletide prophecy of Isaiah 9:6, the "Lord of Hosts"; from Christianity, 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"; from Zoroastrianism, the return of Shah Bahram Varjavand, a Zoroastrian messiah predicted in various late Pahlavi texts; from Shi'a Islam the return of the Third Imam, Imam Husayn; from Sunni Islam, the return of Jesus (Isa);^[54] and from Bábism, He whom God shall make manifest.^[1]

While Bahá'u'lláh did not himself directly claim to be either the Hindu or Buddhist messiah, he did so in principle through his writings.^[1] Later, `Abdu'l-Bahá stated that Bahá'u'lláh was the Kalki avatar, who in the classical Hindu Vaishnavas tradition is the tenth and final Avatar (great incarnation) of Vishnu who will come to end The Age of Darkness and Destruction.^[1] Bahá'ís also believe that Bahá'u'lláh is the fulfilment of the prophecy of appearance of the Maitreya Buddha, who is a future Buddha who will eventually appear on earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure Dharma.^[55][56] Bahá'ís believe that the prophecy that Maitreya will usher in a new society of tolerance and love has been fulfilled by Bahá'u'lláh's teachings on world peace.^[55] Bahá'u'lláh is believed to be a descendant of a long line of kings in Persia through Yazdgerd III, the last monarch of the Sasanian Dynasty;^[3] he also asserted to be a descendant of Abraham through his third wife Keturah.^[57]

Succession

After Bahá'u'lláh died on 29 May 1892, the Will and Testament of Bahá'u'lláh named `Abdu'l-Bahá as Centre of the Covenant, successor and interpreter of Bahá'u'lláh's writings.<sup>[58][59]</sup> This appointment given to `Abdu'l-Bahá was a cause of jealousy within Bahá'u'lláh's family. Bahá'u'lláh also stated that another one of his sons Mírzá Muḥammad `Alí was subordinate and second in rank after `Abdu'l-Bahá.^[60] `Abdu'l-Bahá's appointment as Bahá'u'lláh's successors was readily accepted by almost all Bahá'ís, as the appointment was written and unambiguous, and `Abdu'l-Bahá had already proved himself a capable and devoted assistant.^[60] Mírzá Muḥammad `Alí, however, insisted that `Abdu'l-Bahá was exceeding his powers, and started a rebellion, at first covert, and then public to discredit `Abdu'l-Bahá. Mírzá Muḥammad `Alí's actions, however, were rejected by the majority of the Bahá'ís.^[60] Due to this conflict, `Abdu'l-Bahá later ex-communicated him as a covenant-breaker. The conflict was not long lived; after being alienated by the Bahá'í community, Muhammad Ali died in 1937 with only a handful of followers.

Works

Bahá'u'lláh wrote many books, tablets and prayers, of which only a fraction has been translated into English until now.^[61] There have been 15,000 works written by him identified so far; many of these are in the form of short letters, or tablets, to Bahá'ís.^[61] The total volume of his works are more than 70 times the size of the Qur'an and more than 15 times the size of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.^[62][63][64]

The books and letters written by Bahá'u'lláh cover religious doctrine, the proclamation of his claims, social and moral teachings as well as Bahá'í laws; he also wrote many prayers.^[61] Jináb-i-Fádil-i-Mázindarání, analyzing Baha'u'llah'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.^[65] All of his works are considered by Bahá'ís to be revelation, even those that were written before his announcement of his prophetic claim.^[61] Some of his better known works that have been translated into English include Gleanings, the Hidden Words, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Kitáb-i-Íqán.

Photographs and imagery

Bahá'u'lláh. Persian inscription reads Mírzá Ḥusayn-`Alí Núrí

There are two known photographs of Bahá'u'lláh. This photo was taken for passport purposes while he was in Adrianople (present day Edirne) and is reproduced in William Miller's book on the Bahá'í Faith. Copies of both pictures are at the Bahá'í World Centre, and one is on display in the International Archives building, where the Bahá'ís view it as part of an organized pilgrimage. Outside of this experience Bahá'ís prefer not to view this photo in public, or even to display it in their private homes,^[66] and Bahá'í institutions have requested the press not to publish the image in the media.^[67]

Bahá'u'lláh's image is not, itself, offensive to Bahá'ís. However, Bahá'ís 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. For example, copies of the photographs are displayed on highly significant occasions, such as six conferences held in October 1967 commemorating the centenary of Bahá'u'lláh's writing of the Suriy-i-Mulúk (Tablet to the Kings), which Shoghi Effendi describes as "the most momentous Tablet revealed by Bahá'u'lláh".^[68] 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, which it will be the privilege of those attending the Conferences to view.'^[69]

The official Bahá'í position on displaying the photograph of Bahá'u'lláh is:

"There is no objection that the believers look at the picture of Bahá'u'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)^[70]

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

"For Bahá'ís, the photograph of Bahá'u'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-Bahá'í web site]. Thus, it is indeed disturbing to Bahá'ís to have the image of Bahá'u'lláh treated in such a disrespectful way. However, as the creator of the site is not a Bahá'í, 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 Bahá'u'lláh on Web Site)^[66]

See also

• Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh
• List of founders of major religions

Notes

References

External links

• BBC Religion and Ethics Special: Bahá'í.
• The Life of Bahá'u'lláh - A Photographic Narrative
• Mirza Husayn-Ali - Bahá'u'lláh - The Glory of God
• Bahá'u'lláh: Manifestation of God, biography from bahai.org
• A Brief Biography of Baha'u'llah, from University of Michigan Department of History.
• The Works of Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of Bahá'u'lláh in English, Persian and Arabic
• Works by Bahá'u'lláh at Project Gutenberg