Introduction to the Bahá'í Faith
The seeds of the Bahá'í ( listen to pronunciation
) Faith were planted long ago in the
scriptures and traditions of the world's great religions. In each,
God has promised humanity that He will always send guidance in
the form of divine messengers. The early 1800's saw the prophecies
of the world's religions come together as expectation of the coming
of a messenger of God reached a crescendo the world over. Many
books were written and sermons given, and many followers of the
world's religions left behind all they owned and prepared for
the coming of their Lord. While the world was expecting a great
miracle, God was quietly preparing the way for His Messenger.
The Middle East, the land of Abraham, Jesus and Muhammad, is
also the land where the Bahá'í Faith was born. On May 22, 1844,
a young man named Mulla Husayn arrived in Shiraz, Persia. He had
spent years studying the traditions which pointed to the coming
of a messenger from God, and his studies told him that the time
for the coming of God's Messenger was at hand. Over the years,
he had collected a number of questions that he intended to ask
of whoever may claim to be God's messenger. Mulla Husayn also
intended to ask any who claimed to be God's messenger to write
a commentary on the Surih of Joseph, a difficult chapter of the
Qur'an. The time was at hand and Mulla Husayn knew that he must
put aside everything and travel far and wide in search of the
Promised One.
It was this search that had brought
Mulla Husayn to Shiraz. Upon his arrival, he was greeted at the
gate of the city by a young man who seemed to know him, even to
be expecting him. This mysterious man invited Mulla Husayn to
come to His home and refresh himself after his long journey. Mulla
Husayn was confused by the fact that someone should be expecting
him, but he felt obliged to accept the stranger's hospitality.
Later that evening, that same young man, Ali-Muhammad, announced
to Mulla Husayn that He was God's promised messenger. Mulla Husayn
was skeptical, but the young man answered all of the questions
that Mulla Husayn had collected along with many others that he
had not written down. Then without being asked Ali-Muhammad said,
"Now is the time to reveal the commentary on the Surih of
Joseph." That night Mulla Husayn became the first to believe
that Ali-Muhammad was a messenger from God. Ali-Muhammad is known
to Bahá'ís by His title "The Báb" (pronounced like the name "Bob" :
listen to pronunciation
).
It is an Arabic word meaning "The Gate".
Click here to open a new window containing an
account of the Báb's declaration.
News of the Báb's announcement spread quickly and tens of thousands
of people joined His Cause. As His popularity grew, the Muslim
clergy began to oppose the Báb and accused him of heresy. There
was terrible persecution of His followers, called Bábís, and thousands
were imprisoned, tortured and put to death.
Eventually the Báb Himself was arrested. When that did not
stop the spread of The Báb's teachings He was publicly and dramatically
executed. Although they had lost their leader, the Bábís did not
loose hope, for the main message of the Báb's teachings was one
of hope.
Click here to
open a new window containing a description of the events surrounding
execution of the Báb.
In many books and tablets the Báb told His followers to prepare
and to be watchful for a Messenger even greater than He. The Báb
taught that the Promised One of all religions, "Him Whom
God shall make manifest," was to appear soon; The Qu'im,
the Messiah, the Maitreya . . . the long awaited Messenger spoken
of in all the scriptures of God was to make himself known.
Click here to open a new window containing
selections from the Writings of the Báb.
The Promised One
Mirza Husayn `Ali was the son of a wealthy nobleman and government
official in Persia. He was known for his kindness, wisdom, and
generosity. When he heard about the Báb's teachings he immediately
declared his belief in the new Revelation and became a prominent
teacher of the Bábí Faith. After the Báb was executed, persecution
of his followers continued and increased. Some accounts say that
as many as 20,000 Bábís were killed in the years that followed.
Mirza Husayn `Ali, who was known to the followers of the Báb as
Bahá'u'lláh (in English "The Glory of God") was very
outspoken and a stabilizing force in a faith that was encompassed
by turmoil. Seen by the religious and political establishment
as one of the leaders of this “heretical movement,”
Bahá'u'lláh ( listen to pronunciation
) was imprisoned with many other Bábís and his belongings
were confiscated. Although he was only in his thirties, he was
to spend the rest of his life in prison and exile.
After being released from prison
in Persia, Bahá'u'lláh and many members of his family were exiled
from his country to Baghdad where the Persian leaders and clergy
hoped he would be forgotten. Now the struggling Bábí faith was
to receive what appeared to be a death blow.
Bahá'u'lláh had a half brother named Mirza Yahya who had followed
him to Baghdad. Mirza Yahya, who held a special position in the
leadership of the Bábís, announced that he was the sole authoritative
leader of the Bábís, stopping just short of claiming to be the
messenger of God that the Báb had promised would appear soon after
His death. Rather than challenge his brother and create division
among the Bábís, Bahá'u'lláh left the city and without telling
any his destination, retired to live the life of a hermit in the
mountains of Kurdistan.
During Bahá'u'lláh's absence, Mirza Yahya became so afraid
that he would be arrested and persecuted for being the leader
of the Bábís that he secluded himself in a house in Baghdad, refused
to meet with anyone and made his wishes know by sending secret
letters to a small group of followers. The Bábí faith fell into
confusion. The problems were compounded when Mirza Yahya ordered
the assassination of prominent Bábís who refused to recognize
him as their leader. At one point, he went so far as to send one
of his followers to Persia to make an attempt on the life of the
Shah. It looked like the Bábí faith would come to an end in disorder
and disgrace.
Emissaries from the Bábí community were sent in search of Bahá'u'lláh.
Almost two years after He had left Baghdad, they found him and
presented him with letters which explained the state of the community
and pleaded with him to return to Baghdad. Much to the disappointment
of those who hoped to destroy the new Faith, Bahá'u'lláh returned
to Baghdad to assist the Bábís. Upon his return, all but a handful
of Bábís embraced Bahá'u'lláh as the legitimate leader of their
faith and under His guidance the Bábís were once again known for
their piety, devotion and upright character. In 1863, nineteen
years after the Báb's declaration, Bahá'u'lláh announced in Baghdad
that He was the Messenger of whom the Báb had spoken, the Promised
One of all religions.
Click here to open a
new window containing one of the Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh announcing
His mission to the world.
The renewed vitality of the faith
frightened the Persian government and clergy, and Bahá'u'lláh
was exiled again. This time He was sent much further west to Constantinople,
then to Adrianople. Finally, Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned in the
fortress city of Acca in the Holy Land. Those who chose to follow
Bahá'u'lláh were known as Bahá'ís (followers of Glory). During
His life Bahá'u'lláh revealed many volumes of writings, considered
by the Bahá'ís to be Holy Scriptures. On May 29, 1892, at the
age of seventy five, after spending the greater part of His life
in prison and exile, Bahá'u'lláh passed away still officially
a prisoner in Acca.
The Bahá'ís consider Bahá'u'lláh to be a Manifestation of God;
a Messenger, a Messiah, a Prophet, a Savior. To Bahá'ís, each
of the founders of the World's great religions is a Manifestations
of God. They are all the exponents of God's will on earth.
The Covenant
In His writings, Bahá'u'lláh left instructions for the Bahá'ís
to turn to his son `Abdu'l-Bahá ( listen to
pronunciation
) for guidance after His passing.
`Abdu'l-Bahá was named in Bahá'u'lláh's writings as the "Center
of the Covenant." As such, `Abdu'l-Bahá is not considered
to be a Manifestation of God, or a Prophet, however, because of
his station as the interpreter of Bahá'u'lláh's Writings, the
works of `Abdu'l-Bahá are also considered by Bahá'ís to be Scripture.
Like his father, much of `Abdu'l-Bahá's
life was spent in prison and in exile. When Bahá'u'lláh was first
exiled from Persia to Baghdad much of His immediate family and
some of His followers were exiled along with Him. At the age of
nine, `Abdu'l-Bahá was among those who followed his father into
exile. After having been moved from city to city, region to region,
`Abdu'l-Bahá, at the age of 24, reached what would be his home
for the better part of his life -- the prison city of Acca.
At times, `Abdu'l-Bahá's imprisonment was more harsh than at
others. When communication was allowed, he wrote many letters
and tablets. As the Center of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant and the appointed
leader of the Bahá'í Faith, `Abdu'l-Bahá corresponded with the
Bahá'ís, expounded upon his father's writings and managed the
administration of the Faith.
After spending 40 years as a prisoner in the city of Acca,
`Abdu'l-Bahá was released when the Turkish government, then in
control of Acca, was overthrown in the year 1908. Thus at the
age of 64, `Abdu'l-Bahá was finally free and during the last 13
years of his life he managed to visit the Bahá'í communities in
Europe and the United States. `Abdu'l-Bahá passed away in the
Holy Land at the age of 77.
Click here to open
a window containing the farewell address given by `Abdu'l-Bahá
to the Bahá'ís of London in 1911.
The Guardian
The writings of Bahá'u'lláh established guidelines for the
future administration of the Bahá'í Faith and the establishment
of the "Universal House of Justice," an elected body
to govern the affairs of the Faith. In his will, `Abdu'l-Bahá
appointed his grandson Shoghi Effendi ( listen to
pronunciation
) to be the "Guardian"
of the Faith. Much of Shoghi Effendi's life as Guardian was spent
preparing the Bahá'í community for the eventual establishment
of the Universal House of Justice.
During Shoghi Effendi's lifetime,
the Bahá'í Faith spread to every corner of the globe. In each
country and city where there were Bahá'ís, he worked to set up
National and Local Spiritual Assemblies, the elected administrative
bodies of the Faith. The National Spiritual Assemblies would,
in turn, elect the Universal House of Justice, which was to reside
in the Holy land -- in Haifa Israel.
Unfortunately, Shoghi Effendi would not live to see the culmination
of his efforts toward establishing the Bahá'í administration.
After a short illness, Shoghi Effendi passed away unexpectedly
in 1957.
In 1963, The hundredth anniversary of Bahá'u'lláh's declaration,
the Universal House of Justice was elected and is today the international
governing body of the Bahá'í Faith.
Basic Tenets of the Bahá'í Faith
The writings of Bahá'u'lláh are extensive, but the Bahá'í Faith
does have some very basic principles. At the foundation of Bahá'u'lláh's
teachings is the concept of oneness -- the oneness of God, the
oneness of religion, and the oneness of humanity.
The oneness of God and the oneness of religion are perhaps
best explained together. Bahá'ís believe that there is one God
and that, over the millennia, God has sent guidance to humanity
in the form of Divine Messengers. Bahá'u'lláh taught that each
of the worlds great religions was inspired by the same God. Zoroaster,
Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh
. . . each were Messengers of God. Bahá'ís consider each one of
the founders of the worlds religions to be Saviors, each one a
Messiah. The Bahá'í writings often refer to these great Messengers
as "Manifestations" of God. In the day of Their Revelation,
these Manifestations are the representative of God on earth, God’s
voice and authority. Bahá'u'lláh states:
. . . all the Prophets are the Temples of the Cause of
God, Who have appeared clothed in divers attire. If thou wilt
observe with discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold Them all abiding
in the same tabernacle, soaring in the same heaven, seated upon
the same throne, uttering the same speech, and proclaiming the
same Faith . . . .
(Gleanings, page 52)
The Prophets of God should be regarded as physicians whose
task is to foster the well-being of the world and its peoples,
that, through the spirit of oneness, they may heal the sickness
of a divided humanity. . . .
(Gleanings, page 80)
The oneness of humanity is another of the fundamental teachings
of the Bahá'í Faith. In basic terms, the oneness of humanity means
that all people are created equal. We are all the children of
the same God. Each of us, regardless of race, nationality, or
sex are members of the same family. Here is a passage from the
Bahá'í writings that speaks about the oneness of humanity:
The utterance of God is a lamp, whose light are these words:
Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.
Deal ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with
friendliness and fellowship. He Who is the Day-Star of Truth
beareth Me witness! So powerful is the light of unity that it
can illuminate the whole earth. The One true God, He Who knoweth
all things, Himself testifieth to the truth of these words.
(Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, page 14)
Along with the teachings of the oneness of God, religion, and
humanity, Bahá'u'lláh also taught that this is the age for the
establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. Now is the time
for the unification of the planet and the establishment of world
peace. This was not just a prophecy given by Bahá'u'lláh, His
writings are filled with teachings and practical steps that humanity
must now take in order to establish world unity and peace. Among
those steps are; realization of the equality of women and men,
the elimination of prejudice, replacing nationalism with a sane
patriotism, the establishment of universal education and one auxiliary
world language, and the elimination of extremes of wealth and
poverty.
Two teachings which are of special interest are that of the
harmony of science and religion and the independent investigation
of truth. The Bahá'í writings state that science and religion
are not, and never were, in conflict with each other. Religion
is God's guidance to humanity, while science is man's means of
discovering God's material creation. Religion without reason
is superstition, while science without spiritual input quickly
becomes the promoter of a purely materialistic world view. Neither
superstition nor materialism have proven to be of any benefit
to the progress of humanity.
The independent investigation of truth is what this web page
is all about. The Bahá'í Faith has no clergy, and it is the right,
and the obligation, according to the Bahá'í writings, of each
person to investigate the truth for themselves. Each of us then,
is responsible for our own spiritual progress and for investigating
and studying the Holy Writings and determining their relevance
to our lives.
Bahá'u'lláh wrote about many, many other subjects, unfortunately,
there are not the resources to expand upon them here. His writings
address the establishment of world peace, the individual's relationship
to God and to his fellow human beings, the purpose and nature
of religion, explanations of the prophecies of the past, and much
more. Because of the limited scope of this web page, investigation
of these subjects will have to be left to the reader to pursue.
We hope the links provided will assist you with your investigation
of truth and your spiritual journey.
