"The Service of Women on the Institutions of the Baha'i Faith."

In 1988, a group of eight Baha'i scholars collaborated to produce a paper titled "The Service of Women on the Institutions of the Baha'i Faith." One of the article's main arguments was that the exclusion of women from membership on the Universal House of Justice was not necessarily permanent. In taking this position, the authors relied on two essential...

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Baha'u'llah wrote that Baha'i authors should write in a manner as to attract souls

Thou hast written that one of the friends hath composed a treatise. This was mentioned in the Holy Presence, and this is what was revealed in response: Great care should be exercised that whatever is written in these days doth not cause dissension, and invite the objection of the people. Whatever the friends of the one true God say in these days is...

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"The first to swear allegiance to me was Muhammad the Prophet of God"

The Bāb himself made it quite explicit that not only had the Prophet, the Imāms, and the nawwāb (abwāb) returned to earth in the persons of the Letters of the Living, but other prophets and saints had reappeared in other of his followers: "The first to swear allegiance to me was Muḥammad the Prophet of God, then 'Alī, then those who were witnesses...

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"God's avenging wrath"

"God's avenging wrath" had removed, early in April, 1952, the son of Siyyid 'Ali, Nayer Afnan, who was to have been a star witness for the Covenant-breakers in the lawsuit brought to challenge the authority conferred upon the Guardian in 'Abdu'l Baha's Testament, by virtue of which he is Custodian of Baha'i Holy Places. A few months later, in...

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President of Israel recalled a visit with 'Abdu'l-Baha in Bahji

"The Guardian and Ruhiyyih Khanum warmly received the President and Mrs. Ben-Zvi, surrounding them with gracious hospitality. During the friendly and informal discussion which followed, Shoghi Effendi outlined the aims and purposes of the Faith, the love and friendliness of the Baha'is for Israel, and their hope and prayer for the success of the State....

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Baha'is will be protected and watched over by Baha’u’llah

The Baha’is all over the world are subject sometimes to suffering, along with their fellow-men. Whatever vicissitudes befall their country, they will be protected though, and watched over by Baha’u’llah, and should not fear the future but rather fear any failure on their part to carry out the work of His Cause.-Shoghi Effendihttps://reference.baha...

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the cry of 'Ya Baha'u'l-Abha' will be raised from every direction

"Know thou that hardship and privation shall increase day by day, and the people shall thereby be afflicted. The doors of joy and happiness shall be closed on all sides, and terrible wars shall occur. Frustration and despair shall encompass the people until they are forced to turn to the One True God. Then will the light of most joyful tidings so illumine...

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Shoghi Effendi about giving to the Funds

Shoghi Effendi has said that giving to the Funds is, "...…a practical and effective way whereby every believer can test the measure and character of his faith, and prove in deeds the intensity of his devotion and attachment to the Cause."https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/DG/dg-80.h...

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All the friends of God... should contribute to the extent possible

All the friends of God... should contribute to the extent possible, however modest their offering may be. God doth not burden a soul beyond its capacity... O Friends of God! Be ye assured that in place of these contributions, your agriculture, your industry, and your commerce will be blessed by manifold increases, with goodly gifts and bestowals....

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Abbas Effendi's love towards his brothers and sisters!!

At times Abbas Effendi used to meet his brothers and sisters at the Sacred Tomb of Baha’u’llah and speak to them in harsh language and treat them cruelly, in order to compel them to believe that which is against the laws of the Lord, Glory be to Him. On one occasion, by force, he seized the hand of the youngest sister [Foroughiyya Khanum] and repeatedly...

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Mulla Husayn is the return of Prophet Muhammad and Imam Husayn

Mullá Husayn himself is described in the writings of the Báb and Baháʼu'lláh as the return of the Prophet Muhammad, and in other early Bábí sources variously as the return of the Imam Husayn or even described as the "Qa'im of Khorasan".(Saeidi, Nader (2008). Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb. Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier...

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Claims of the Bab

The hostility aroused by the claim of Bábhood (deputyship of Mahdi) was redoubled when the young reformer proceeded to declare that He was Himself the Mihdí (Mahdi) Whose coming Muḥammad had foretold. The Shí’ihs identified this Mihdí with the 12th Imám who, according to their beliefs, had mysteriously disappeared from the sight of men about a...

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Subh-i-Azal was good-natured

(Subh-i-Azal was) a mere figurehead, timid in the extreme, good-natured yet susceptible to the slightest influence, devoid of any outstanding qualities...(Shoghi Effendi)https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/GPB/gpb-7.h...

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The Bab's claims

After a few months the Báb observed a greater acceptance and readiness amongst His people and gradually moved His claim to that of 'Zikryya' and 'Qaiemyya' meaning that of the Hidden Imam in its entirety. In the final years of His life He publicly announced the station of 'Mazhariah' meaning that of a manifestation from God.(Page 224, Sepehr Manuchehri,...

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If you believe that 'Bab' is 'the Gate' of the hidden Imam then you are cursed by the Bab himself!

After his return from Mecca, the Báb was arrested in Bushihr and taken into custody to the residence of Husayn Khan Nazimu’l Dowla the Governor of Fars. On the same Friday, the Báb was pressured by the Ulama particularly the Imam Jum'ih of Shiraz to publicly renounce His earlier claims in the grand Mosque of Vakil in front of a congregation of the...

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Bahà'u'llàh's works never mentioned Buddha or Krishna as manifestations

Bahà'u'llàh's works never mentioned Buddha or Krishna as manifestations, but his son 'Abdu'l-Bahà mentioned in his own works that Buddha and Krishna were indeed manifestations of God.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_revelation_(Bahá'í)Paris Talks: Addresses Given by Abdu'l-Bahá in 1911. Baha'i Publishing Trust. ISBN 97819318473...

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Jafar Kazzab

The brother of Imám Ḥasan ʻAskarí, known to Twelver Shíʻihs as “Jaʻfar-i-Kadhdháb” (“Jaʻfar the Liar”). In this tablet, Baha’u’llah dismisses this tenet of Shíʻih eschatology by establishing the truth of Jaʻfar’s reply to the question about his brother’s son.https://adibmasumian.com/translations/existence-of-qa...

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A Baha'i who had secret "spiritual marriage" met Abdul Baha in Akka

Phelps (a New York lawyer and religious writer who studied the Bahā'ī Faith and the Radha Soami movement) and Sanghamitta (first woman to convert to Buddhism on American soil) visited `Abdu'l-Bahā in ‘Akkā and stayed with "the Master" for over a month, questioning him extensively. Except for a brief incident wherein Sanghamitta got extremely irritated...

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All the people of the world will become Baha'is

All the people of the world will become believers. Should you compare the beginning of the Cause with its position today, you would see what a quick influence the Word of God has, and now the Cause of God has encompassed the world... Unquestionably, all will come under the shadow of the Cause of God.(Abdu'l-Baha, Quoted in the book by Dr. J.E. Esslemont,...

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These Baha'is were expelled on the grounds that they disobeyed the Baha’i leadership, while others became agnostics or nominal Muslims.

A number of these graduates (Baha’is who entered the American University of Beirut) were expelled on the grounds that they disobeyed the Baha’i leadership while others became agnostic or nominal Muslims.(Footnote 7, The Iranians of AUB and Middle Class Formation in the Early Twentieth-Century Middle East, Farzin Vejdani, Department of History, Ryerson...

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Francesco Ficicchia on Baha'ism

"Like a restrictive, fundamentalist Islām, Bahā'ism is based on a theocratic doctrine of state and society (dīn wa daula) and aims to integrate all of humanity into a single state structure in which sovereignty rests solely with God. Religion thus becomes the sole guideline for all areas of life, such that there can only be a God-willed order to which...

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Denis MacEoin about Udo Schaefer and Gollmer

In 1995 Udo Schaefer, German Bahá'í author and lawyer who served on the NSA of Germany, authored Desinformation als Methode as a refutation to Francesco Ficicchia's Der Bahá'ismus — Weltreligion der Zukunft?. Although Der Bahá'ismus was never translated into English, Schaefer's Desinformation als Methode was published in 2001 in English as Making the...

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"idle conjectures of the Hindus"

My meaning, however, is not that the deductions that the astrologers of old made from the motions of the stars and planets were true, for these were mere figments of the imagination which had their origin with the Egyptian, Assyrian, and Chaldean priests, or rather stemmed from the idle conjectures of the Hindus and the superstitions of the Greeks,...

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have sown in their heart the seed of faith

Anyhow Shoghi Effendi hopes that with the help of Miss Root you have been able to approach such eminent persons and have sown in their heart the seed of faith.(July 4, 1930)(Dawn of a New Day by Shoghi Effendi)&nb...

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This is Bahaism - "It has no organization, no hierarchy, no ritual..."

On September 3, 1912, an article in the Buffalo New York Enquirer titled "This is Baha'ism" stated “It has no organization, no hierarchy, no ritual, no fixed places of worship and times of meeting; in short, it is spirit and life. It does not seek to proselytize. You can be a Bahá’í without ceasing to be a Christian, a Jew or a Mohammedan.”https:/...

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"One who has lost his voting rights is considered to be a Bahá’í but not one in good standing. The following restrictions and limitations apply to such a believer"

 "…One who has lost his voting rights is considered to be a Bahá’í but not one in good standing. The following restrictions and limitations apply to such a believer:He cannot attend Nineteen Day Feasts or other meetings for Bahá’ís only, including International Conferences, and therefore cannot take part in consultation on the affairs of the community.He...

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"If in Iran they grant absolute liberty with no opposition against the Faith, it would not be of benefit to us."

I came across a quote today from Abdu'l-Baha in the memoirs of his private physician: Dr. Habib Muayyid. The quote is truly sickening and shows Abdu'l-Baha is willing to sacrifice his followers in Iran so that they can become a cause to propagate their cult:"We desire neither absolute despotism, nor unbounded liberty. We are concerned with the spiritual...

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Upon an examination of revisions in recent Bahá'í literature, it seems that the institution of the Guardian of the Cause of God has been the subject of the most widespread bowdlerization of texts.

Upon an examination of revisions in recent Bahá'í literature, it seems that the institution of the Guardian of the Cause of God has been the subject of the most widespread bowdlerization of texts. The office of the Guardian was first established by Abdu'l-Bahá in his Will and Testament. Shoghi Effendi, his eldest grandson, was named as the first in...

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Guardianship and the "future Guardians"

On February 8, 1934, Shoghi Effendi penned a work that would become the chapter titled "The Administrative Order" in his book World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, referring to "the deeds of its present and future Guardians" and noting "Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh would be mutilated..."Divorced from the...

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"The world is in turmoil because it has rejected the Baha'i Faith" - Farzam Kamalabadi

"Humanity has encountered the revelation of Baha'u'llah. A good part of people have responded, such as Martha Root, who in the 20s and 30s went around the world four times and met fifty, sixty heads of states and met, if not millions, hundreds of thousands of people and did her part, whereas many others didn't. The world to some degree listened and...

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It is, however, not definite that it will be one thousand years; it may be 2,000, or 10,000, or 20,000 years!

He (Baha'u'llah) is the unique and peerless one till the next Manifestation. It is, however, not definite that it will be one thousand years; it may be 2,000, or 10,000, or 20,000 years; but it is definite that, for the coming one thousand years there will appear no Manifestation, for one thousand years there shall arise no sun. All the appearances...

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...these two cities (Jabulqa and Jabulsa) never existed, they could only be the superstitions of diseased brains.

“She (A Babi woman who was no less great and heroic than Táhirih herself) remained in Ṭihrán a long time receiving numerous visitors both men and women. She aroused the women by showing them the abject role which Islám assigned to them and she won them over to the new religion by showing them the freedom and respect which it would bestow...

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Cities of Imaginal world

Cities of Imaginal worldIn the Hikmat al-ishraqi, Suhrawardi mentions several cities of the imaginal world, all which belong to the eighth domain. They are Jabilqa (Jabulqa), Jabirsa (Jabursa) and Hurqalya, the cities which are “nowhere”. According to Suhrawardi ,in the last one, wonders exist. As he states: “And there are eight domains therein, Jabilqa,...

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These idols form the obstacle that impedeth man in his efforts to advance in the path of perfection.

Arise, O people, and, by the power of God’s might, resolve to gain the victory over your own selves, that haply the whole earth may be freed and sanctified from its servitude to the gods of its idle fancies—gods that have inflicted such loss upon, and are responsible for the misery of, their wretched worshipers. These idols form the obstacle that impedeth...

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the Reality of the All-Merciful hath been born

"This, truly, is a night during which the Reality of the All-Merciful hath been born..."-Baha'u'llah, Tablet on the Birth of the Greatest Name IIhttps://bahai-library.com/bahaullah_lawh_imawlud_ism-azamحسینعلی نوری در دعایی که برای شب ولادتش تعلیم داده می‌گوید: «و فیه ولد من لم یلد و لم یولد» اشراق خاوری، رساله ایام تسعه، ص۲۵ https://fa.wikipedi...

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There can be no rest until the destined outcome is achieved.

You are channels for this divine love; let it flow through you to all who cross your path. Infuse it into every neighborhood and social space in which you move to build capacity to canalize the society-building power of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation. There can be no rest until the destined outcome is achieved. (Message of the Universal House of Justice,...

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Abdul Baha immediately cured the lady suffering from Tuberculosis!

Watch the video from 11:28 https://youtu.be/4pLKq9TL660?t=...

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The community of Shaykh Ahmad’s adherents was characterized by fervent millenarian expectations AND Mulla Husayn's recognition of the Promised One.

...Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsá’í (1743–1828), and later his successor Siyyid Kázim-i-Rashtí (1793–1843), revived interest in charismatic authority by focusing attention on the Imáms, particularly the Hidden Imám. Moreover, they attributed their own authority not only to their traditional and professional education, but to mystical knowledge received directly...

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The voice of God that spoke to Moses through the Burning Bush is in fact the Bab

In the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’ the voice of God that spoke to Moses through the Burning Bush is in fact the Báb.(Nader Saiedi - Gate of the Heart, Page ...

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Execution of the Bab by Peter Ludwig Berger (an eminent sociologist)

The Bab and two of his closest disciples, Mulla Muhammad 'Ali of Tabriz and Siyyid Husain of Yazd were paraded through streets, after their condemnation, and cruelly tortured in front of a growing mob. The two disciples were urged to deny their master and save their lives thereby. Siyyid Husain finally succumbed to the torture and cursed the Bab. The...

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The conference of Badasht and the "self-defense" of the Babis

The original aim of the meeting was to arrange a great pilgrimage to Maku, where the Bab was then staying, probably with the intention of liberating him by force. The meeting soon, however, arrived at a discussion of the new doctrine. Tahirih made the suggestion to the other leaders that the time had come to tell all the Babis that the time of a new...

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Claims of Quddus

"It is abundantly clear from Haji Mirza Jani's history that Hazrat-i-Quddus advanced the most extravagant claims, and that many of the Babis were disposed to regard him as superior to the Bab. He not only developed himself to be Christ come back to earth, but even went so far as to say, 'Whosoever hath known me is become a polytheist, and whosoever...

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Source of Shaykh Ahmad's knowledge

After noticing an interest in grammar on the part of his son, Shaykh Zayn al-Din (father of Shaykh Ahmad) sent him to a nearby village to study with a local scholar. Sometime during his studies there, young Ahmad began having visions and dreams in which a young man would teach him the meanings of Qur'anic verses, or he would visit strange worlds....

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The Bab was sentenced to death by the Shaykhis

Mirza Ali Muhammad (born in 1819; executed in 1850) of Shiraz, Iran, attended Sayyid Kazim's lectures in Karbala for up to two years. After the latter died, he declared himself to be the Bab or "gate" to the Twelfth Imam, who disappeared in 873. Later, he claimed to be the Twelfth Imam. Finally, he declared his own prophethood and superiority over...

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Effect of Sufi expressions on Baha'u'llah

Sufi expressions which emphasized personal transformation of character enabled Bahá'u'lláh to richly describe His doctrine of spreading Bábísm through the force of example rather than militancy, as had been the case with the supporters of earlier religions. He continued to use this mixture of Bábí and Sufi terminology until the period preceding the...

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The episode of Badasht in the words of Abdul Baha

When at dawn Ḥájí Mullá Taqí (Shi'ih cleric and father-in-law of Tahirih) came to the mosque, that individual (a Shaykhi from Shiraz) stabbed him in the back and in the mouth with a spear-tipped cane. Ḥájí Mullá Taqí fell to the ground and his assailant fled. When the people arrived, they saw the cleric lying dead…. … As a result, Ṭáhirih (also a Shaykhi,...

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at least half of the world will become Baha'i

There is no reference in the writings stating that every single person will become Bahá’í, but at least half of them will. Rúhíyyih Khánum used to say that Shoghi Effendi was asked this question quite often by pilgrims. He would answer by saying that, in this Dispensation, the totality of the peoples of the world will not become Bahá’ís, but the majority...

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Such will be the majesty of the Faith in the future.

Nevertheless, the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh is the Most Holy, the Most Sacred Shrine on the planet. And, as I stated before, the Shrine of the Báb and the World Administrative Centre are under the shadow of the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh. Blessed are those who are able to visit that Shrine. In this day we are permitted to enter the Shrine – what a blessing...

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Do you not remember your sodomies?

Of these times at Adrianople I have heard an interesting narrative from a Persian Mirza, in whose testimony as a witness I have strongest confidence. He was at the time a peesh-Khidmat to the Persian Minister at Constantinople. He was at Samsun when Azal, Baha and their party embarked, and was introduced to them by Haji Rajab Ali Khan. He saw them...

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Self-perception of Baha'is

The Baha'i religion is a small international community whose members wish to be perceived as adherents of a 'major world religion'. This creates problems for Baha'is, since outside observers may contradict their self-perception and use different criteria to evaluate their status.-Denis MacEoinhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1016/j.religion....

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tormenting trials will have surged above your heads...

"Say: O concourse of the heedless! I swear by God! The promised Day is come, the Day when tormenting trials will have surged above your heads, and beneath your feet, saying: 'Taste ye what your hands have wrought!'" (Bahá’u’lláh, quoted in The Advent of Divine Justice, p. ...

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ignorant men and smokers of opium.

It is impossible in this brief note to do justice to this remarkable book (Haji Mirza Jani Kashani's Nuqtat-al-Kaf), which contains many particulars not to be found elsewhere. For instance, in discussing (on p. 179) my allusion to the "stationary" Babis called "Kullu-Shay'i," the author describes and names the small group at Yazd of whom...

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Extravagant claims by the Babis

In July of 1850 the Bab was executed by the Iranian government. Thereafter a number of important Babis put forth extravagant claims, including, in 1851, Sayyid Basir-i Hindi of Multan. Bahá'u'lláh challenged Sayyid Basir, and asserted his own divinity instead (many Babi leaders of the time represented themselves as participating in a pleroma of divine...

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Production of revelation-like verses

Baha'u'llah complains that Azal has asserted that whereas the production of eloquent divine verses [of the sort Baha'u'llah produced] constituted a valid proof of prophethood in the time of the Bab, this particular feat was no longer probative later in the Babi dispensation. I have not read enough of Azal to know the details of this controversy, but...

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cast him out from the congregation of the people of Baha

My object is to show that the Hands of the Cause of God must be ever watchful and so soon as they find anyone beginning to oppose and protest against the Guardian of the Cause of God, cast him out from the congregation of the people of Baha and in no wise accept any excuse from him. -The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Baha https://www.bahai.org/ab...

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Conflict between Baha'u'llah and Subh-i-Azal

In Baghdad, says Bahiyyih Khanum, "disharmony and misunderstanding arose among the believers--discord--strife--contention." Therefore Baha'u'llah went, off to Kurdistan.He refers in the "Iqan" to the dissensions, "Such an odour of jealousy was diffused, banners of discord hoisted, enemies endeavoured to destroy this servant,--hardships, calamities...

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Establishment of a Babi state and twenty-four claimants to supreme authority

The system propounded by the Bāb depended for its implementation on the establishment of a Babi state, which was now only a very remote possibility. There was, moreover, a lack of certainty over the question of leadership. Although the consensus seemed to favor the acceptance of Subh-i Azal as head of the faith, he appears to have lacked the qualities...

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Baha'u'llah about the Twelfth Imam of the Shi'ih

All that thou hast heard regarding Muhammad the son of Hasan - may the souls of all that are immersed in the oceans of the spirit be offered up for His sake - is true beyond the shadow of a doubt, and we all verily bear allegiance unto Him. But the Imams of the Faith have fixed His abode in the city of Jabulqa, which they have depicted in strange and...

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Though sprung from Shi'ih Islam...

Though sprung from Shi'ih Islam, and regarded, in the early stages of its development, by the followers of both the Muslim and Christian Faiths, as an obscure sect, an Asiatic cult or an offshoot of the Muhammadan religion, this Faith is now increasingly demonstrating its right to be recognized, not as one more religious system superimposed on the...

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No fewer than twenty-five separate individuals claimed to be "him whom God shall manifest".

The most striking feature of Babism during the 1850s is the proliferation of claims to some form of theophanic status on the part of individual members of the sect. ʿAbbās Effendi maintains that no fewer than twenty-five separate individuals claimed to be man yuẓhiruhuʾllāh at this time. Browne goes even further, saying that religious speculation...

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...at the mosque, during the prayers with Abdul Baha

The exaggerated and discourteous behavior of the other children, and especially that of Mirza Shua'u'llah, was shocking to me. His same attitude at the mosque, during the prayers with 'Abdu'l Baha, caused such a deep feeling of disgust in me that I never wanted to see Shua' again. -Moments with Baháʼuʼlláh: Memoirs of the Hand of the Cause of God,...

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Abdul Baha was responsible for Haji Siyyid Muhammad Afnan's death

After returning from the said voyage and remaining a few years under the shadow of the Great Sun of Truth, Baha'u'llah, again by His command I journeyed to Bombay (East India) [in 1889]. This time my son Shua'u'llah and the late Haji Khavar accompanied me. The previous voyage was for the purpose which I have already explained, and this time also the...

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Baha'i response to the growing challenge

The rising sun of Bahá’u’lláh's Revelation is having its visible effect upon the world and upon the Bahá’í community itself. Opportunities, long dreamed of for teaching, attended by showering confirmations, now challenge in ever-increasing numbers, every individual believer, every Local and National Spiritual Assembly. The potent seeds sown by `Abdu'l-Bahá...

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Baha'is see William Miller as correct in his awareness of the "Return of Christ".

"The strict moral codes and ideological commitments of old-time Baha'is who tended to control Local Spiritual Assemblies and to provide the cadre for Auxiliary Board Members and their assistants may have been a powerful selecting mechanism. Liberals who joined may have been made uncomfortable and encouraged to leave at much higher rates than those...

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Throne of God

The establishment of the Throne of God mentioned in the Tablet of Carmel, as interpreted by Shoghi Effendi, is none other than the establishment of the World Centre on Mount Carmel. -Adib Taherzadeh, Revelation of Baha'u'llah, Vol...

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All the converts among the Jews are ours

Beha bought himself lands outside the town, laid out a garden, a true Persian garden, on the banks of the river, and took up his abode in a large house in the corn-growing plain of Acre for in those days, and during all his lifetime, money flowed in from Persia to support the exiles, money enough to permit of Beha’s organising an army of missionaries...

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Mulla Taqí's murder

Mullá Taqí’s murder came about in this way: One day, when that besotted tyrant had mounted his pulpit, he began to mock and revile the great Shaykh Aḥmad-i-Aḥsá’í. Shamelessly, grossly, screaming obscenities, he cried out: “That Shaykh...

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