Brief history of the Baha'i Faith

[smkolins]

Originally Posted by arthra

We don't believe God incarnates Himself in a man's body. God in our view is perfectly reflected in a Manifestation of God like a perfect Mirror. So through that medium of the Perfect Mirror God's attributes are reflected to humanity.

We view Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab and Baha'u'llah as Manifestations of God and that God was perfectly reflected in all of Them... So if you were around when Jesus was on the earth you would be correct if you said that you saw God in Him... this was a simple teaching but not easily grasped at the time and people began to think Jesus was God and so this concept of incarnation became widespread...but in our view this was not accurate.

There were lesser prophets and teachers that took their inspiration from the Manifestation...So the Disciples received their inspiration from Christ... They were dependent on the inspiration from Christ. Aaron and Mariam and the other prophets of the "Old Covenant" were under the inspiration of Moses...reflected from His radiance..

I generally agree but it's worth mentioning some of the details alittle more - Baha'is refer to Greater Prophets or Lesser Prophets on occasion. They are the same that Greater Prophets get Their Revelation from God, generally in the form of a Holy Book. Lesser Prophets, as mentioned above, recieve Their Revelation from the Greater Prophets and thus indirectly from God. They may have this Revelation recorded but it is generally within the context of the Revelation of the Greater Prophet. It is these Greater Prophets to which Baha'is normally refer to as Manifestations of God.

But there are people who write volumns or segments of Scripture which are not Prophets as Baha'is use the term - there are seers, people inspired by the age, poets, philosophers, etc. Just as Baha'is have a limited non-exhaustive list of Greater Prophets we have similar mentions of Lesser Prophets, and these other categories. If I recall, Isaiah is called the greatest of the Lesser Prophets under the dispensation of Moses, the Mormon founder Joseph Smith is called a seer, and Socrates and Confuscious are called divine philosophers.

By the term prophet means different things in different religions - Judaism vs Christianity vs Islam all have their own forms. I am particularly struck by Moses being a Prophet vs some new testament references to prophets being a common position in churches who often need to be corrected by apostles.

[arthra]

"He was taken to the Síyáh-Chál in the hopes he would betray Bahá'u'lláh, Whom he had previously met several times before in his master's company, promising him the Sháh's mother would amply reward him for it. However, every time he was taken into His presence, stood before Him for a few moments, and gazed on His face, he would leave, emphatically denying having ever seen Him.

"Having failed, they sought to poison Him to win the Sháh's mother's favor. Though they intercepted the food He was sent from home and poisoned it, and though it did impair His health for years, He was not killed as they had hoped."

Source:

http://www.bahai-library.com/study/d...kers/db26.html

[smkolins]

Originally Posted by arthra

"He was taken to the Síyáh-Chál in the hopes he would betray Bahá'u'lláh, Whom he had previously met several times before in his master's company, promising him the Sháh's mother would amply reward him for it. However, every time he was taken into His presence, stood before Him for a few moments, and gazed on His face, he would leave, emphatically denying having ever seen Him.

"Having failed, they sought to poison Him to win the Sháh's mother's favor. Though they intercepted the food He was sent from home and poisoned it, and though it did impair His health for years, He was not killed as they had hoped."

Source:

http://www.bahai-library.com/study/d...kers/db26.html

Learn something new!

Also mentioned here!!

[Popeyesays]

Originally Posted by smkolins

Learn something new!

Also mentioned here!!

Indeed one does! Thank you for the reference.

Regards,
Scott

[arthra]

OK Guys... I think I may have found what to me is really an error in this Boise Baha'i History. Check out:

"1864 Baha'u'llah is poisoned by His half brother, Aqay-i-Kalim. He was seriously ill for a month and was left with a shaking hand until the end of His life. (Today, you can see the effects of the poisoning in the penmanship of Baha'u'llah, preserved in the Baha'i archives in Haifa.) Mirza Yahya has the well poisoned which provided water to Baha'u'llah's companions."

Actually Aqay-i-Kalim or Mirza Musa was a full brother of Baha'u'llah and loyal to Him so I think what was meant was "Mirza Yahya" ... Recall that Baha'u'llah was invited to the home of Mirza Yahya and offered some onion flavored food ...

I posted the Boise Baha'i material because it gives a good general idea of chronology... but i really think there was a mess up on this re. Aqay-i-Kalim.

- Art

[arthra]

Second Epoch of the Formative Age: 1947 - 1963

* 7 Mar 1948 Shoghi Effendi decides to commence work on the Shrine of the Bab superstructure.

* 1948 Distinct National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Canada formed.

* 1949 Special Act of Canadian Parliament is the first official recognition of the Baha'i Faith by any government .

* 9 July 1950 Completion of the Arcade and Parapet of the Shrine of the Bab.

* 16 Dec 1950 Mazra'ih leased from Israeli authorities.

* 1951 The Guardian begins appointing Hands of the Cause of God (distinguished believers who were assigned tasks to teach the Faith and protect its institutions).

* Apr 1953 Formal dedication of the house of worship at Wilmette, Illinois, designed by French-Canadian architect Jean-Louis Bourgeois.

* 21 Apr 1953 Ten Year World Crusade launched, to conclude in 1963: the centenary of Baha'u'llah's declaration in the Garden of Ridvan.The goal was to extend the Faith to 132 more countries and the existing 120 countries and territories were to be expanded.

* Oct 1953 The Shrine of the Bab is completed.

* 4 Nov 1957 The Guardian dies in England of Asian flu while on a visit to purchase furnishings for the Baha'i archives building on Mt. Carmel. Although provisions permitted successive Guardians, Shoghi Effendi had not appointed one (no living direct descendants of Baha'u'llah were faithful to His Covenant).

The Guardian had indicated that at the completion of the Crusade, conditions were ripe for the election of the Universal House of Justice. The Hands of the Cause of God, collaborating with the national spiritual assemblies, worked to complete the goals of the Ten Year World Crusade.

* 1 Feb 1959 Completion of the Baha'i Home for the Aged in Wilmette, Illinois.

* 15 Jan 1961 Dedication of the House of Worship in Kampala, Uganda.

* 16 Sep 1961 Dedication of the House of Worship in Sydney, Australia.

[arthra]

Continuing from the Brief History of the Baha'i Faith from the Boise Baha'is:

Third Epoch of the Formative Age: 1963 - 1986

* 28 Apr 1963 First Baha'i World Congress in London, England. The Hands of the Cause of God, in an unprecedented gesture of renunciation, disqualified themselves from eligibility for the election of the Universal House of Justice. The nine members of the first Universal House of Justice are elected by the members of the 56 existing national spiritual assemblies of the world. The first membership included Baha'is of Jewish, Christian and Muslim backgrounds and several ethnic origins.The Baha'i Faith, having withstood the attacks of those who would destroy it, and those who would fragment it into dozens of sects, emerges as one unified Faith with one sole living authority: the Universal House of Justice; truly the Day that shall never be followed by Night referenced in the Bible.

* 30 Apr 1963 Presentation of the members of the first Universal House of Justice; reading of its first message in London, England.

* 21 Apr 1964 The Universal House of Justice launches a Nine Year Plan which was to be completed in 1973, the centenary of Baha'u'llah's revelation of the Kitab-i-Aqdas.

* 26 Apr 1964 Election of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Hawaiian Islands.

* 4 Jul 1964 Dedication of the Mother Temple of Europe in Langenhain, Germany.

* 19 Feb 1968 First Ruling Monarch to become a Baha'i accepts the Faith: His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II - Head of State of Western Samoa.

* by April, 1969 The Universal House of Justice had appointed 11 Continental Board Counsellors to serve the Faith in roles of protection and propagation.

* 21 April 1970 Eleven more national spiritual assemblies are formed, bringing the total to 94.

* 21 April 1971 By now, 10,360 Local Spiritual Assemblies exist,and Baha'is reside in 46,334 localities.

* 19 Dec 1971 Erection of Obelisk on Mt. Carmel to mark site of future Mashriqu'l-Adhkar.

* 29 April 1972 Dedication of Mother Temple of Latin America in Panama. By now, the Spiritual Assembly of Iraq has been dissolved because of persecution against Baha'is in that land.

* 15 Mar 1973 Mazra'ih is purchased.

* 21 Apr 1973 The Universal House of Justice launches a FiveYear Plan.

* 5 Jun 1973 Announcement of the establishment of the International Teaching Centre in Haifa.

* 7 Feb 1974 Announcement of the design for the Permanent Seat of the Universal House of Justice.

* 13 July 1974 Dedication of the John Bosch Baha'i Summer School in Santa Cruz, California.

* 14 Jan 1975 Purchase of the house of 'Abdu'llah Pasha, 'Abdu'l-Baha's Holy House in 'Akka and birthplace of Shoghi Effendi.

* 17 Jun 1975 Announcement of beginning of excavation for the Seat of the Universal House of Justice.

* 12 Sep 1976 His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II of Western Samoa visits Shoghi Effendi's grave in London, England.

* 1978 Religious fanaticism in Iran sparks the beginning of persecution against the Baha'is of Iran.

* 27 Jan 1979 Foundation Stone Ceremony, site of future House of Worship, Western Samoa, with His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II.

* 21 Apr 1979 The Universal House of Justice launches a SevenYear Plan.

* 31 Jan 1983 Universal House of Justice occupies its Permanent Seat on Mt. Carmel.

* 21 April 1983 In the last five years, the House of the Bab and the ancestral home of Baha'u'llah in Takur were razed and scores of Iranian Baha'is were executed: their crime - being Baha'i.

* Summer, 1983 Six young women, aged 18-25 were hanged in Shiraz. All were offered freedom if they would recant their Faith. None accepted that offer. Children are expelled from schools in Iran for being Baha'i.

* 21 April 1984 Nine new National Spiritual Assemblies are formed, bringing the number to 143. The Baha'is of Iran continue to be persecuted. Some six hundred men, women and children are currently in prison. The administrative functions have long been disbanded there.

* 1 Sep 1984 Dedication of the House of Worship in Apia, Western Samoa.

* Oct 1985 The Universal House of Justice publishes "The Promise of World Peace". This statement on peace is formally presented to virtually all rulers, whether individuals or parliaments, of the world and to the leading thinkers of the world.

* 17 Nov 1985 Universal House of Justice announces reinterment of the remains of Mirza Muhammad-Quli (faithful half-brother of Baha'u'llah) in new Baha'i cemetery looking towards the Qiblih of the Faith (i.e. the resting place of Baha'u'llah).

[arthra]

Converging on the Truth

In 1919, 'Abdu'l-Bahá received a letter from the Central Organization for Durable Peace in The Hague, The Netherlands. The letter was dated February 11, 1916, but its delivery had been delayed by World War I. Apparently, several other letters had also been sent to 'Abdu'l-Bahá from that Organization, but never arrived. Upon receipt of the 1916 letter, however, He wrote and sent a reply.

The Central Organization had been formed in April, 1915 by representatives from nine European nations and the United States. Its avowed purpose was pacifist, but as it pondered the possibilities for establishing a durable peace, it departed from strict pacifism and embraced the concept of military sanctions against aggressor nations. The Organization disbanded after the Treaty of Versailles, so 'Abdu'l-Bahá's letter could not have formed a part of any of their discussions, except perhaps at the very end. It is, at any rate, the latest dated document catalogued in the Organization's papers in the Swarthmore College Peace Collection.

Now known as "The Tablet to the Hague", this letter is worthy of study for several reasons. (Warning: The next sentence is long enough to have been written by Shoghi Effendi!) In it, 'Abdu'l-Bahá praises the aims of the Organization; states that world peace is a matter of great importance but also notes that its establishment depends upon "unity of conscience"; describes fourteen principles taught by Bahá'u'lláh that are essential to the establishment of peace, spending a considerable amount of time on the elimination of religious, racial, political, economic and patriotic prejudices; describes how the establishment of peace is dependent upon them; holds up the experience of the Bahá'í community in Persia as an evidence of the effectiveness of these teachings; warns that some individuals have been distributing Bahá'u'lláh's Writings under their own names, causing confusion among European orientalists regarding the Bahá'í Faith; discusses the importance of unity in diversity; and closes by proclaiming that only the Word of God has the power to bring about such a state of unity. In sum, it is a bold and comprehensive document, running to about fifteen pages in printed form.

Obviously I'm not going to talk about the whole thing in detail. For the moment, I just want to pull out one thing the Master said about one of the key principles He described:


"Among these teachings was the independent investigation of reality so that the world of humanity may be saved from the darkness of imitation and attain to the truth; may tear off and cast away this ragged and outgrown garment of 1,000 years ago and may put on the robe woven in the utmost purity and holiness in the loom of reality. As reality is one and cannot admit of multiplicity, therefore different opinions must ultimately become fused into one."
('Abdu'l-Baha, Tablet to the Hague, p. 4)

Excerpted from an article by Dale Lehman of Planet Baha'i

Source:

http://www.planetbahai.org/articles/2005/ar100705a.html

[smkolins]

A long history with many facets and high ideals.

One thing not mentioned so far is the history of suffering and death at the hands of oppressors of every stripe. Like the begining of most religions for us it begins in the period of the Bab's ministry. The deaths of Babis and later Baha'is forms an almost continuous history in parallel with the above record: not just a matter of one time or just of one place. Far more recent martyrdoms have been eulogized in play, song and prayer as well of special note. A broad survey finds mentions of countries, of Faiths, not generally tripping off lips when thinking of such conditions and recriminations against such well-wishers of humanity.

[sara[h]ng]

I have a question in regards to the Bab's execution. I know the story about the 750 gunmen all missing and 20,000 witnesses to prove it, etc. Not that I am unwilling to believe in a proven miracle, but of course all of this sounds fantastic and I'm not one to just accept such things based on story alone.What does non-Baha'i/non-biased history say about this matter? Is it documented in any secular literature?

-Sarah

[Popeyesays]

Originally Posted by sara[h]ng

I have a question in regards to the Bab's execution. I know the story about the 750 gunmen all missing and 20,000 witnesses to prove it, etc. Not that I am unwilling to believe in a proven miracle, but of course all of this sounds fantastic and I'm not one to just accept such things based on story alone.What does non-Baha'i/non-biased history say about this matter? Is it documented in any secular literature?

-Sarah

Footnotes from Dawnbreakers (this one is properly noted so one can check the relative document)
"An intense clamor arose from the crowd at this moment as the onlookers saw the Bab freed from his bonds advancing towards them. Amazing to believe, the bullets had not struck the condemned but, on the contrary, had broken his bonds and he was delivered. It was a real miracle and God alone knows what would have happened without the fidelity and calm of the Christian regiment on this occurrence. The soldiers in order to quiet the excitement of the crowd which, being extremely agitated, was ready to believe the claims of a religion which thus demonstrated its truth, showed the cords broken by the bullets, implying that no miracle had really taken place. At the same time, they seized the Bab and tied him again to the fatal post. This time the execution was effective. Muhammadan justice and ecclesiastical law had asserted themselves. But the crowd, vividly impressed by the spectacle they had witnessed, dispersed slowly, hardly convinced that the Bab was a criminal. After all his crime was only a crime for the legalists and the world is indulgent toward crimes which it does not understand." (M.C. Huart's "La Religion du Bab," pp. 3-4.) "An extraordinary thing happened, unique in the annals of the history of humanity: the bullets cut the cords that held the Bab and he fell on his feet without a scratch." (A. L. M. Nicolas' "Siyyid Ali-Muhammad dit le Bab," p. 375.) "By a strange coincidence, the bullet only touched the cords which bound the Bab, they were broken and he felt himself free. Uproar and shouts arose on all sides, no one understanding at first what it was all about." (Ibid., p. 379.)

Sam Khan's regiment refused to repeat the execution, Sam Khan did afterwards resign his commission in the army.

Were there 750 men in each of the two regiments involved? Probably not. Regiments tended to be understrength, particularly in an army where the commander pocketed the pay of people in the unit who only existed on paper.
Sam Khan's regiment was probably closer to its proper numbers because he was a Christian officer and reputedly honest (or more so than most Persian army officers of the day). Probably the regiment that executed the Bab numbered somewhere between five and six hundred since that is closer to normal strength of the time. For instance a British regiment of 1850 was supposed to have 800 men in the ranks. In foreign service they rarely had more than 700.

Regards,
Scott

[arthra]

Sarah,

Thanks for your post!

You asked the following:

"I have a question in regards to the Bab's execution. I know the story about the 750 gunmen all missing and 20,000 witnesses to prove it, etc. Not that I am unwilling to believe in a proven miracle, but of course all of this sounds fantastic and I'm not one to just accept such things based on story alone.What does non-Baha'i/non-biased history say about this matter? Is it documented in any secular literature?"

My reply:

I don't think you'll find an account that says there were 20,000 witnesses...At least I have yet to see that actual number suggested.

Most of the accounts known in the West are from Christian sources British French and Russian and they roughly agree... Nabil's narrative is available:

Here is the account as recorded in Babi history:

As soon as they were fastened, the regiment went in 3 files of 250 men, each ordered to fire until all bullets were fired. The smoke of 750 rifles changed the noonday sunlight into darkness. 10000 people had gathered on the barracks' and other houses' roofs to see the scene.

When the smoke cloud cleared, the masses were stunned that the youth was standing there unhurt with his tunic unsullied despite the smoke while the Báb had disappeared. When the multitude cried out about His disappearance, they sought and found Him eventually, calmly seated unscathed in the same room occupied the night before finishing His conversation with Siyyid Husayn.
As testified to by eyewitnesses and Western historians, the bullets had cut the cords and freed Him without a scratch. The Christian soldiers used these broken cords to imply to the agitated crowd that no miracle had occurred.

Source:

http://bahai-library.com/books/dawnb...s/23.html#513a

A Western account:

The other disciple was a young merchant of Tabriz, named Aka Muhammad 'Ali. Although every effort was made to induce him to follow the example of his comrade, and though his wife and little children were brought before him, entreating him with tears to save his life, he stood firm in his faith, and only requested that at the moment of death he might still be allowed to fix his gaze on his Master. Finding all efforts to alter his decision unavailing, the executioners proceeded to suspend him alongside of his Master at the distance of a few feet from the ground by means of cords passed under the arms. As he hung thus he was heard to address the Bab in these words: "Master! art thou satisfied with me?" Then the file of soldiers drawn up before the prisoners received the command to fire, and for a moment The smoke of the volley concealed the sufferers from view. When it rolled away, a cry of mingled exultation and terror arose from the spectators, for, while the bleeding corpse of the disciple hung suspended in the air pierced with bullets, the Bab had disappeared from sight! It seemed, indeed, that his life had been preserved by a miracle, for, of the storm of bullets which had been aimed a him, not one had touched him; nay, instead of death they had brought him deliverance by cutting the ropes which bound him so that he fell to the ground unhurt.

      For a moment even the executioners were overwhelmed with amazement, which rapidly gave place to alarm as they reflected what effect this marvellous deliverance was likely to have on the
------------------------------------------------------------------------
+70
inconstant and impressionable multitude. These apprehensions, however, were of short duration. One of the soldiers espied the Bab hiding in a guardroom which opened on to the stone platform over which he had been suspended. He was seized, dragged forth, and again suspended; a new firing-party was ordered to advance (for the men who had composed the first refused to act again); and before the spectators had recovered from their first astonishment, or the Babis had had time to attempt a rescue, the body of the young prophet of Shiraz was riddled with bullets.

- From "Persian and the Persian Question" by George Curzon

Source:

http://bahai-library.com/books/ayatp/ayatp.03.html

The only systematic biography of the Báb written according to the standards of modern scholarship is Abbas Amanat's Resurrection and Renewal, particularly chapters 3, 4, 5, and 9. A useful biography is Balyuzi's The Báb. Also useful is Stephen Lambden's "An Episode in the Childhood of the Báb," in Peter Smith, In Iran, Studies in Bábí and Bahá'í Religions, volume 3 (reprinted from Bahá'í Studies Bulletin, 1.4 (March 1983)). Kalimát Press' The Martyrdom of the Báb: A Compilation, brings together the Bahá'í scriptural accounts and a few eyewitness accounts of the Báb's execution. Descriptions of his execution can also be found in a collection of original accounts collected and edited by Firuz Kazemzadeh titled "The Báb: Accounts of His Martyrdom," in World Order, 8.1 (Fall 1973).

In the nineteenth century Gobineau and ALM Nichols wrote about the execution of the Bab as well

"`The Emperor of Russia,' he [Haji Mirza Jani] says, `sent to the Russian consul at Tabriz, bidding him fully investigate and report the circumstances of His Holiness the Bab. As Soon as this news arrived, they, i.e. the Persian authorities, put the Bab to death. The Russian consul summoned Aqa Siyyid Muhammad-i-Husayn, the Bab's amanuensis, who was imprisoned at Tabriz, into his presence, and enquired concerning the signs and circumstances of His Holiness. Aqa Siyyid Husayn, because there were Musulmans present, dared not speak plainly about his Master, but managed by means of hints to communicate sundry matters, and also gave him [the Russian consul] certain of the Bab's writings.' That this statement is, in part at least, true is proved by the testimony of Dorn, who, in describing a M.S. of one of the Bab's `Commentaries on the Names of God' (which he calls `Qur'an der Babi') says, on p. 248 of vol. 8 of the Bulletin de l'Academie Imperiale des Sciences de St. Petersbourg, that it was `received directly from the Bab's own secretary, who, during his imprisonment at Tabriz, placed it in European hands.'" (The "Tarikh-i-Jadid," pp. 395-6.)

[BruceDLimber]

Originally Posted by Popeyesays

I cannot find any record of a poisoning attempt on Baha`u'llah while in the Siyah Chal (Late 1852). There's no mention in [i][b]God Passes By....

You are mistaken, Scott: it's on page 72.

Bruce

[arthra]

Sarah,

I just wanted to add that the Bab's execution while it is in itself a remarkable occurence is not regarded by us as say some would regard as a miracle...like an article of faith or anything like that. I haven't talked with anyone who became a Baha'i based on this narrative of the Bab's execution.

There were other reported miracles by the Bab as well... but the miracle is most often convincing to those who experience it and see it first hand...after it becomes hear-say it can lose credibility in today's world. So we don't rely on miracles to teach our Faith but rather what was actually taught and how it applies to the challenges facing humanity.

- Art

[Popeyesays]

Originally Posted by BruceDLimber

You are mistaken, Scott: it's on page 72.

Bruce

Somebody already noted that for me, and I stand corrected. How are you Bruce? Have not seen you since I left AOL.

Regards,
Scott