The Baháʼí Faith is a religion, established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. It initially developed in Iran and parts of Western Asia, where it has faced ongoing persecution since its inception. The religion has 7–8 million adherents, known as Baháʼís, who are spread throughout most of the world's countries and territories.
The Baháʼí Faith has three central figures: the Báb (1819–1850), executed for heresy, who taught that a prophet similar to Jesus and Muhammad would soon appear; Baháʼu'lláh, who claimed in 1863 to be the expected prophet and who had to endure both exile and imprisonment; and his son, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (1844–1921), who made teaching trips to Europe and the United States after his release from confinement in 1908. After ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's death in 1921, the leadership of the religion fell to his grandson Shoghi Effendi (1897–1957). Baháʼís annually elect local, regional, and national administrative bodies that govern the religion's affairs, and every five years an election is held for the Universal House of Justice, the nine-member governing institution of the worldwide Baháʼí community that is located in Haifa, Israel, near the Shrine of the Báb.
According to Baháʼí teachings, religion is revealed in an orderly and progressive way by a single God through Manifestations of God, who are the founders of major world religions throughout human history; the Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad are cited as the most recent of these Manifestations of God before the Báb and Baháʼu'lláh. Baháʼís regard the world's major religions as fundamentally unified in their purpose, but divergent in their social practices and interpretations. The Baháʼí Faith stresses the unity of all people as its core teaching; as a result, it explicitly rejects notions of racism, sexism, and nationalism. At the heart of Baháʼí teachings is the vision of a unified world order that ensures the prosperity of all nations, races, creeds, and classes.
Letters and epistles by Baháʼu'lláh, along with writings and talks by his son ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, have been collected and assembled into a canon of Baháʼí scriptures. This collection also includes works by the Báb, who is regarded as Baháʼu'lláh's forerunner. Prominent among the works of Baháʼí literature are the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Kitáb-i-Íqán, Some Answered Questions, God Passes By, and The Dawn-Breakers.
Etymology
The word "Baháʼí" (, ; بهائی) is used either as an adjective to refer to the Baháʼí Faith or as a term for a follower of Baháʼu'lláh. The proper name of the religion is the "Baháʼí Faith", not Baháʼí or Baháʼism (the latter, once common among academics, is regarded as derogatory by the Baháʼís). It is derived from the Arabic "Baháʼ" (بهاء), a name Baháʼu'lláh chose for himself, referring to the 'glory' or 'splendor' of God. In English, the word is commonly pronounced bə-HYE (), but the more accurate rendering of the Arabic is bə-HAH-ee ().
The accent marks above the letters, representing long vowels, derive from a system of transliterating Arabic and Persian script that was adopted by Baháʼís in 1923, and which has been used in almost all Baháʼí publications since. Baháʼís prefer the orthographies Baháʼí, the Báb, Baháʼu'lláh, and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. When accent marks are unavailable, Bahaʼi or Bahaʼuʼllah are often used.
History
The Baháʼí Faith traces its beginnings to the religion of the Báb and the Shaykhi movement that immediately preceded it. The Báb was a merchant who began preaching in 1844 that he was the bearer of a new revelation from God, but was rejected by the generality of Islamic clergy in Iran, ending in his public execution in 1850 for the crime of heresy. The Báb taught that God would soon send a new messenger, and Baháʼís consider Baháʼu'lláh to be that person. Although recognized as a messenger in his own right, the Báb is so interwoven into Baháʼí theology and history that Baháʼís celebrate his birth, death, and declaration as holy days, and consider him one of their three central figures (along with Baháʼu'lláh and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá). A historical account of the Bábí movement (The Dawn-Breakers) is considered one of three books that every Baháʼí should "master" and read "over and over again".
The Baháʼí community was mostly confined to the Iranian and Ottoman empires until after the death of Baháʼu'lláh in 1892; at that time, he had followers in 13 countries of Asia and Africa. Under the leadership of his son, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, the religion gained a footing in Europe and America, and was consolidated in Iran, where it still suffers intense persecution. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's death in 1921 marks the end of what Baháʼís call the "heroic age" of the religion.
Báb
On the evening of 22 May 1844, Siyyid ʻAlí-Muhammad of Shiraz gained his first convert and took on the title of "the Báb" (الباب, 'Gate'), referring to his later claim to the status of Mahdi of Shia Islam. His followers were known as Bábís. As the Báb's teachings spread, which the Islamic clergy saw as blasphemous, his followers came under increased persecution and torture. The conflicts escalated in several places to military sieges by Shah Naser al-Din Shah Qajar's army. The Báb himself was imprisoned and eventually executed in 1850.
Baháʼís see the Báb as the forerunner of the Baháʼí Faith, because the Báb's writings introduced the concept of "He whom God shall make manifest", a messianic figure whose coming, according to Baháʼís, was announced in the scriptures of all of the world's great religions, and whom Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, claimed to be. The Báb's tomb, located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel, is an important place of pilgrimage for Baháʼís. The remains of the Báb were brought secretly from Iran to the Holy Land and eventually interred in the tomb built for them in a spot specifically designated by Baháʼu'lláh. The writings of the Báb are considered inspired scripture by Baháʼís, though having been superseded by the laws and teachings of Baháʼu'lláh. Extracts of the main written works of the Báb translated into English are compiled in Selections from the Writings of the Báb (1976) out of the estimated 135 works.
Baháʼu'lláh
Mírzá Husayn ʻAlí Núrí was one of the early followers of the Báb, and later took the title of Baháʼu'lláh. In August 1852, a few Bábís made a failed attempt to assassinate the shah, Naser al-Din Shah Qajar. The shah responded by ordering the killing and, in some cases, torturing of about fifty Bábís in Tehran. Further bloodshed spread throughout the country, and hundreds were reported killed in newspapers of the period by October, and tens of thousands were killed by the end of December. Baháʼu'lláh himself was not involved in the assassination attempt, but was nonetheless imprisoned in the Síyáh-Chál dungeon of Tehran until his release was obtained four months later through the intervention of the Russian ambassador. After his expulsion from Iran, Baháʼu'lláh traveled to Baghdad, then part of the Ottoman Empire, where he joined other Bábís in exile.
In Baghdad, his leadership revived the persecuted followers of the Báb back in Iran, so Iranian authorities requested his removal, instigating a summons to Constantinople (now Istanbul) from the Ottoman Sultan. In 1863, at the time of his removal from Baghdad, Baháʼu'lláh first announced his claim of prophethood to his family and followers, which he said had come to him years earlier while in the Síyáh-Chál dungeon of Tehran. From the time of the initial exile from Iran, tensions grew between him and Subh-i-Azal, the appointed leader of the Bábís, who did not recognize Baháʼu'lláh's claim. Throughout the rest of his life, Baháʼu'lláh gained the allegiance of almost all of the Bábís, who came to be known as Baháʼís, while a remnant of Bábís became known as Azalis, and are regarded by modern-day Bahá'ís as apostates.
He spent less than four months in Constantinople. The Ottoman authorities turned against him as a result of a campaign of defamation by the Persian ambassador, and the sultan's government decreed a further exile to Adrianople (now Edirne), to which Bahá'u'lláh responded with a letter voicing severe chastisement. There in Adrianople, he was placed under house arrest, and he remained there for four years, until a royal decree of 1868 banished all Bábís to either Cyprus or ʻAkká.
It was in or near the Ottoman penal colony of ʻAkká (now Acre in Israel) that Baháʼu'lláh spent the remainder of his life. After initially strict and harsh confinement, he was allowed to live in a home near ʻAkká, while still officially a prisoner of that city. He died there in 1892. Baháʼís regard his resting place at Bahjí as the Qiblih to which they turn in prayer each day.
He produced over 18,000 works in his lifetime, in both Arabic and Persian, of which only 8% have been translated into English. During the period in Adrianople, he began declaring his mission as a Messenger of God in letters to the world's religious and secular rulers, including Pope Pius IX, Napoleon III, and Queen Victoria.
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
ʻAbbás Effendi was Baháʼu'lláh's eldest son, who chose for himself the title of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ("Servant of Bahá"). His father left a will that appointed ʻAbdu'l-Bahá as the leader of the Baháʼí community. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá had shared his father's long exile and imprisonment, which continued until ʻAbdu'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, teaching, and maintaining correspondence with communities of believers and individuals, expounding the principles of the Baháʼí Faith. Bahá'ís consider ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to be a perfect exemplar of the Baháʼí teachings.
As of 2020, there are over 38,000 extant documents containing the words of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, which are of widely varying lengths. Only a fraction of these documents have been translated into English. Among the more well known are The Secret of Divine Civilization, Some Answered Questions, the Tablet to Auguste-Henri Forel, the Tablets of the Divine Plan, and the Tablet to The Hague. Additionally notes taken of a number of his talks were published in various volumes like Paris Talks during his journeys to the West.
Shoghi Effendi
Baháʼu'lláh's Kitáb-i-Aqdas and The Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá are foundational documents of the Baháʼí administrative order. Baháʼu'lláh established the elected Universal House of Justice, and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá established the appointed hereditary Guardianship and clarified the relationship between the two institutions. In his Will, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá appointed Shoghi Effendi, his eldest grandson, as the first Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith. Shoghi Effendi served for 36 years as the head of the religion until his death in 1957.
Throughout his lifetime, Shoghi Effendi translated Baháʼí texts; developed global plans for the expansion of the Baháʼí community; developed the Baháʼí World Centre; carried on a voluminous correspondence with communities and individuals around the world; and built the administrative structure of the religion, preparing the community for the election of the Universal House of Justice.
In 1937, Shoghi Effendi launched a seven-year plan for the Baháʼís of North America, followed by another in 1946. In 1953, he launched the first international plan, the Ten Year Crusade. This plan included extremely ambitious goals for the expansion of Baháʼí communities and institutions, the translation of Baháʼí texts into several new languages, and the sending of Baháʼí pioneers into previously unreached nations. He announced in letters during the Ten Year Crusade that it would be followed by other plans under the direction of the Universal House of Justice, which was elected in 1963 at the culmination of the Ten Year Crusade.
Shoghi Effendi died unexpectedly after a brief illness on 4 November 1957 in London, England, under conditions that did not allow for a successor to be appointed. He is buried in New Southgate Cemetery in Barnet, London.
Universal House of Justice
Since 1963, the Universal House of Justice has been the elected head of the Baháʼí Faith. The general functions of this body are defined through the writings of Baháʼu'lláh and clarified in the writings of Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. These functions include teaching and education, implementing Baháʼí laws, addressing social issues, and caring for the weak and the poor.
Starting with the Nine-Year Plan that began in 1964, the Universal House of Justice has directed the work of the Baháʼí community through a series of multi-year international plans. The Baháʼí leadership sought to continue the expansion of the religion but also to "consolidate" new members, meaning to increase their knowledge of the Baháʼí teachings. In this vein, in the 1970s, the Ruhi Institute was founded by Baháʼís in Colombia to offer short courses on Baháʼí beliefs, ranging in length from a weekend to nine days. The associated Ruhi Foundation, whose purpose was to systematically "consolidate" new Baháʼís, was registered in 1992, and since the late 1990s, the courses of the Ruhi Institute have been the dominant way of deepening in the Baháʼí Faith around the world. By 2013, there were over 300 Baháʼí training institutes around the world and 100,000 people participating in courses. The courses of the Ruhi Institute train communities to self-organize classes for the spiritual education of children and youth, among other activities. Additional lines of action the Universal House of Justice has encouraged for the contemporary Baháʼí community include social action and participation in the prevalent discourses of society.
Annually, on 21 April, the Universal House of Justice sends a 'Ridván' message to the worldwide Baháʼí community, that updates Baháʼís on current developments and provides further guidance for the year to come.