The Bab declared that a one-year-old child of the Baha'i faith is mightier than all who are in the Bayan.

O thou child in the school of ignorance, thou art not yet mature, for wert thou mature, thou wouldst not occupy thyself with such words. Fie upon thee and what thou possessest, and what thou hast used as proof, and that wherein thou takest delight! The truly mature ones today are they who have recognized the Manifestation of the Lord of all worlds and are established upon the thrones of certitude and dignity. For thee and thy like, it is most difficult to rend these veils, yet God, exalted be His praise, hath souls who, through His breaths, shall rend all veils. These are they whose very beings hold sway over all who are in the Bayan, as do their words, their deeds, and their knowledge. Even as the Point of the Bayan hath declared that a one-year-old child of the next Revelation is mightier than all who are in the Bayan.

(Vol. 35: The Kitab-i-Badi’ (1866) BH00004)

https://bahai-library.com/pdf/p/phelps_inventory_vol_35_The-Kitab-i-Badi-(1866).pdf

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After Bahá’u’lláh many Prophets will, no doubt, appear, but they will be all under His shadow.

Bahá’í scholars and writers will, no doubt, gradually appear, and will as promised by Bahá’u’lláh lend a unique support to the Faith. But in the meantime, we should note tarry, or slacken in our efforts.

Concerning your question relative to the duration of the Bahá’í Dispensation. There is no contradiction between, Bahá’u’lláh’s statement in the Iqán about the renewal of the City of God once every thousand years, and that of the Guardian in the “Dispensation” to the effect that the Bahá’í cycle will extend over a period of at least 500,000 years. The apparent contradiction is due to the confusion of the terms cycle and dispensation. For while the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh will last for at least one thousand years, His Cycle will extend still farther, to at least 500,000.

The Bahá’í cycle is, indeed, incomparable in its greatness. It includes not only the Prophets that will appear after Bahá’u’lláh but all those who have preceded Him ever since Adam. These should, indeed, be viewed as constituting but preliminary stages leading gradually to the appearance of this supreme Manifestation of God.

After Bahá’u’lláh many Prophets will, no doubt, appear, but they will be all under His shadow. Although they may abrogate the laws of this Dispensation in accordance with the needs and requirements of the age in which they appear, they nevertheless draw their spiritual force from this mighty Revelation. The Faith of Bahá’u’lláh constitutes, indeed, the stage of maturity in the development of mankind. His appearance has released such spiritual forces which will continue to animate, for many long years to come, the world in its development. Whatever progress may be achieved in later ages, after the unification of the whole human race is achieved, will be but improvement in the machinery of the world. For the machinery itself has been already created by Bahá’u’lláh. The task of continually improving and perfecting this machinery is one which later Prophets will be called upon to achieve. They will thus move and work within the orbit of the Bahá’í cycle.

(LETTERS FROM THE GUARDIAN, To Leroy Ioas, November 14, 1935 Published in Bahá'í News, No. 102, August 1936, pp. 2-3)

https://bahai.works/Bahá’í_News/Issue_102/Text

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For the next two hundred years, the thoughts of the friends must be limited only to teaching the Cause and guiding souls.

In America, for instance, I associated with all groups and denominations. When I entered their gatherings, if they were members of the clergy, I spoke to them about the functioning of the spirit. If they were philosophers, I spoke of philosophy. If they were Esperantists, I discussed the benefits of a universal language. If they were devout, I cited the fulfillment of religious prophecies in this Most Great Dispensation. If they were unaware of this Cause, I would enumerate for them its teachings and historical events. If they were Theosophists, I would speak of matters relevant to their creed.

[...]

For the next two hundred years, the thoughts of the friends must be limited only to teaching the Cause and guiding souls.

[...]

For the next two hundred years, all thoughts must be limited to the thought of teaching the Cause. It is certainly true that ministering to the weak, educating children, caring for the poor, and tending to the internal affairs of the Faith must all be done, but these matters should not be deemed so important that the task of teaching the Cause is forgotten and discarded. The needs of such teachers, and the obligation of teaching the Cause itself, must first be met. Once trained, these teachers should be sent to the various corners of the world into the midst of every people. Books and treatises which demonstrate the truth of this Cause, as well as holy thoughts that shall make it widely known, should also be promoted and disseminated. After the world has entered beneath the shade of the Word of God, the time will have come to attend to other matters. For example, should one wish to build a place of worship or other edifice, one first prepares the stones, the lumber, the metals, the bricks, and the like; then begins the construction; and last of all undertakes the decoration and gathering of furnishings. If, however, that one should wish to engage, at the very beginning, in decorating and gathering furnishings, it will yield no result; the edifice must be built first.

(A talk given by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the original text of which is published in Manáhiju’l-Aḥkám, vol. 2 (also known as INBA, vol. 6), pp. 629–632))

https://adibmasumian.com/translations/abu0992/

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The next morning the owner of the plot himself came to Abdul Baha, apologized and begged him to purchase his property.

Bahá’u’lláh could trust ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with the most difficult of tasks as He knew He would never waver. One such task was that of building a Shrine for the Báb on Mount Carmel, above what was then the small town of Haifa, facing the Mediterranean Sea. One of many obstacles which developed was the owner of the plot, influenced by scheming Covenant-breakers, would not readily consent to sell the land.

‘”Every stone of that building, every stone of the road leading to it,”

He, many a time was heard to remark, “I have with infinite tears and at tremendous cost, raised and placed in position.”

“One night,” He, according to an eye-witness, once observed, “I was so hemmed in by My anxieties that I had no other recourse than to recite and repeat over and over again a prayer of the Báb which I had in My possession, the recital of which greatly calmed Me. The next morning the owner of the plot himself came to Me, apologized and begged Me to purchase his property.”’

Source: https://www.bahaistories.com/subject/anxiety

(Honnold, Annamarie, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá)

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UHJ will never infringe upon the sacred domain of the Guardian

Shoghi Effendi has given categorical assurances that neither the Guardian nor the Universal House of Justice “can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other.” Therefore, the friends can be sure that the Universal House of Justice will not engage in interpreting the Holy Writings....

(Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986)

https://bahai.works/MUHJ63-86/412/The_Universal_House_of_Justice’s_Power_of_Elucidation

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The believers should be careful not to deviate, even a hair-breadth, from the Teachings. Next principle is complete, and immediate obedience to the Assemblies

“The believers should be careful not to deviate, even a hair-breadth, from the Teachings. Their supreme consideration should be to safeguard the purity of the principles, tenets and laws of the Faith. It is only by this means that they can hope to maintain the organic unity of the Cause. There can and should be no liberals or conservatives, no moderates or extremes in the Cause. For they are all subject to the one and the same law which is the Law of God. This law transcends all differences, all personal or local tendencies, moods and aspirations.

Next is the principle of complete, and immediate obedience to the Assemblies, both local and national. It is the responsibility of these Bahá’í administrative bodies to enable the community to acquire, and increasingly deepen in the knowledge and understanding of the Cause. Doctrinal unity and administrative unity, these are the two chief pillars that sustain the edifice of the Cause, and protect it from the storms of opposition which so severely rage against it.”

Shoghi Effendi, September 5, 1936, Dawn of a New Day, p. 60.

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According to an Israeli Newspaper, Baha'is are being persecuted in Iran because their religion is in conflict with almost every dogma promulgated by the Iranian clerics.

According to the Jerusalem Post, one reason Baha'is are being persecuted in Iran is,

The religion's credo is in conflict with almost every dogma promulgated by the Iranian clerics.

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/op-ed-contributors/article-137003

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According to ex-Baha'i, Karen Bacquet, Baha'i faith can perhaps be called cult-like

Paradoxically, despite their liberal scriptures, Bahai has been accused of fundamentalism and extremism, especially in the US, where ex-Bahai Karen Bacquet claims the belief in unity led to "severe limits" being placed on followers' freedom of expression. "It would be wrong to regard the Bahai faith entirely as a cult," she writes, but it "can perhaps be called cult-like".

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jul/27/religion.davidkelly

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The UHJ will inform Baha'is who the next Manifestation is.

One Baha'i claimed:

The Universal House of Justice have indicated that they will let us know who the Manifestation is. Most likely, He would contact them and they could then let us know who He is.

https://www.reddit.com/r/bahai/comments/1x7amgj/comment/ph2oc44/

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even during periods of distress... they heard Bahá’u’lláh laughing out loud

According to the author’s great-uncle, Monadjem-Báshí always brought cheer and laughter to Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad even during periods of distress for Bahá’u’lláh due to the machinations of Mírzá Yahyá; contemporaries claimed that they heard Bahá’u’lláh laughing out loud.

(Monadjem-Báshí and Dr. Mohammad Khán Monadjem by Hamid Monadjem, dt. 2026-10-07)

https://bahai-library.com/monadjem_monadjem-bashi_khan-monadjem

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“the Seal of Thy Prophets and of Thy Messengers” refers specifically to the Prophet Muḥammad.

Mr. [ ] asks about a passage that appears in selection XXV in Prayers and Meditations, and specifically the use of the term “the Seal of Thy Prophets”. In the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, including the aforementioned passage, the title “the Seal of Thy Prophets and of Thy Messengers” refers specifically to the Prophet Muḥammad. It is not used as a designation for the Báb or Bahá’u’lláh.

(Memorandum, Research Department - BWC, dt. 2026-10-04)

https://bahai-library.com/uhj_seal_prophets_messengers

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Permission to break moral prohibitions, resulting in improper conduct

During the Bábí dispensation, when the Báb proclaimed the independence of his new law and spoke of kasr-i-ḥudúd ("breaking of bounds/limits"), a number of early Bábís misinterpreted this concept as permission to break moral prohibitions, resulting in improper conduct (a‘mál-i-shanī‘ih).

(عبدالحميد اشراق خاورى - تقريرات دربارۀ کتاب مستطاب اقدس)
Page 22 of PDF file
https://bahai-library.com/bahailib/70.pdf

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over time the Báb changed His mind about what station He actually held.

Reconciling the apparent differences in the claims made by the Báb has been a matter of puzzlement to some scholars. Although some have found continuity in the Báb’s claims, others have assumed that the different stations the Báb attributed to Himself at various times reflect an alteration or evolution of consciousness on His part—indicating, in effect, that over time the Báb changed His mind about what station He actually held.

(Gate of the Heart by Nader Saiedi)

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Legal Departments in the Baha'i Administration

A Legal Department was set up in 1977 to work on pending legal matters, and to advise the Spiritual Assemblies on legal matters. Individuals such as Sam Nadarajah had also been contributed their services in 1977. In 1978, the services of Christopher Reginald were employed. In the 1980’s, a few Bahá’í youths graduated as lawyers, and they then served in a legal capacity.

(Jewel Among Nation by A. Manisegaran, 2003)

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Gathering every single drop of water from the Bab's bath pool as a sacred blessing

During the Báb's transfer through Urmia, Governor Malek Qásim Mírzá attempted to test Him by providing an unruly, untamable horse for His trip to the local bathhouse. Although secretly warned of the danger by a servant, the Báb calmly approached, petted, and mounted the horse, which instantly became submissive, prompting the amazed crowd to rush forward to kiss His stirrup. Deeply impressed, the governor walked on foot alongside the Báb as He rode to the bathhouse. When the Báb finished His bath and rode back amidst loud cries of praise, devoted townspeople rushed into the building and gathered every single drop of water from the bath's pool as a sacred blessing.

(Ayyam-i-Tis‘ih by Abdu'l Hamid Ishraq Khavari)

https://notebook.google.com/notebook/4c0ff5cf-e471-427c-9344-d16bfabc0994

When the Báb visited the public bathhouse in Urmia, enthusiastic followers gathered the water from the bath's reservoir to drink for healing and blessings, and even used their handkerchiefs to soak up the remaining moisture at the bottom of the bath.

(Tarikh-i Zuhur al-Haqq, Vol. 1 by Asadu'llah Fadil Mazandarani)

https://bahai-library.com/mazandarani_tarikh_zuhur_haqq

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