The 'history' of the
Bahá'í Faith represents over 150 years of growth, and this article will attempt to provide more of the details than is possible in a more general overview of the Bahá'í Faith
The religion claims to be part of a long religious tradition begun by
Adam, and continuing through the
Abrahamic religions as well as the
Eastern religions of
Krishna and
Buddha. In this sense, its history can begin with any one of these religions, but the period of distinct history begins usually with the
Báb in
1844, or in more detail with
Shaykh Ahmad in the late 18th century.
''Note'': this page is dedicated to presenting the history of the
Bahá'í Faith as understood by Bahá'í historical texts and literature. For dissenting views of succession see
Bahá'í divisions.
Summary
A sensible approach to Bahá'í history is to divide it into different periods of its development under a series of leaders, from its origin with the
Báb, to
Bahá'u'lláh,
`Abdu'l-Bahá,
Shoghi Effendi, and then to the
Universal House of Justice, the present governing body of the Bahá'í Faith, and this is the approach used here.
The seeds of the faith can be traced to
Shaykh Ahmad, who in the early 19th century founded a religious movement related to the messianic expectations of
Shi`a Islam. Shaykh Ahmad appointed
Sayyid Kázim to succeed him in 1826. Kázim prophesized the coming of the
Mihdi and sent his followers to search for him after his own death in 1843. Bahá'ís date the founding of their faith to a night in 1844 when one of Siyyid Kázim's disciples,
Mulla Husayn, met with the young Siyyid `Alí Muhammad (the Báb) and came to believe that he was the person Husayn was looking for.
The
Báb, for his part, predicted the coming of a further Messianic figure:
He whom God shall make manifest. The Bahá'ís are those who accepted
Bahá'u'lláh's claim, in 1863, to be this Promised One.
Bahá'u'lláh appointed his eldest son,
`Abdu'l-Bahá to succeed him after his death in 1892, and `Abdu'l-Bahá in his turn established the
Bahá'í administrative order in his
Will and Testament in 1921.
This document appointed
Shoghi Effendi as the first Guardian, and called for the election of the
Universal House of Justice once the Bahá'í Faith had grown sufficiently worldwide for such elections to be meaningful.
After Shoghi Effendi died without appointing a successor in 1957, the first Universal House of Justice was elected in 1963, following a six-year period where the affairs of the faith were handled by the
Hands of the Cause. Bahá'ís believe that the Universal House of Justice will remain the head governing body of the Bahá'í Faith until another
Manifestation of God comes, at least one thousand years after Bahá'u'lláh's revelation in 1863.
Shaykhi Movement
In the tradition of
twelver Shi'a Islam, the final
Imam,
Muhammad al-Mahdi, went into occulation and will return "before the day of judgment" and "fill the Earth with justice and make the truth triumphant". This messianic figure is called the
Mahdi or the
Qa'im.
The Imam Mahdi went into a "Minor Occultation", which took place between 873 and 939 CE, when he disappeared from the community and communicated through a series of deputies, sometimes called gates ( ). In 951 CE, Muhammad al-Mahdi issued an order, via his 4th deputy, that the deputy would soon die, the Minor Occultation and the deputyship would end and the period of the "Major Occultation" would begin. The 4th deputy died six days later and the Shi'a Muslims continue to await the reappearance of the Mahdi.
Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsá'í
Main articles: Shaykh Ahmad
In 1824 Shaykh Ahmad claimed to have re-established the link to the hidden Imam Mahdi, and began teaching of the imminent coming of the
Mahdi. He received the patronage of the
Qajar dynasty of the
Persian Empire, which had restored
Shi'ism as Iran's state religion. He died two years later in 1826.
Siyyid Kázim-i-Rashtí
Main articles: Siyyid Kázim
Before the death of Shaykh Ahmad, he appointed Siyyid Kázim of Rasht to lead the Shaykhí movement, which he did until his death in 1843. Siyyid Kázim preached extensively in the Shi'a theological centers of
Najaf and
Karbala, where his public discourses were widely attended. He taught that he would not see the coming of the Mahdi in his lifetime, but that it was so imminent, he did not appoint a successor, but instead told his followers to spread out far and wide in search of the Promised One.
Ministry of the Báb
Main articles: Báb
In
1844 Siyyid `Alí-Muhammad of
Shiraz, Iran proclaimed to be the one whose coming was prophesized by Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kázim. He took the title of "the Báb". His followers were therefore known as Bábís. He initially attracted most of the followers of the Shaykhí movement, but soon his teachings went far beyond those roots and attracted prominent followers across the Empire.
Although the Bábí Faith has its own scriptures and religious teachings, Bahá'ís believe its duration was intended to be very short. The Báb's writings introduced the concept of
Him whom God shall make manifest, the one promised in the scriptures of all of the world's great religions. The Báb said:
As
Bábism spread, the Islamic government saw it as a threat to state religion. Several military confrontations took place between government and Bábí forces. The Báb himself was imprisoned and eventually executed by a firing squad in
Tabriz on
July 9,
1850. His mission lasted six years.
His tomb, the
Shrine of the Báb, located on the slope of
Mount Carmel in
Haifa is an important place of pilgrimage for Bahá'ís. The remains of the Báb were brought secretly from Persia to the Holy Land and were eventually interred in the Shrine built for them in a spot specifically designated by Bahá'u'lláh.
Azal
Main articles: Subh-i-Azal
The Báb appointed an interrim leader of the Bábí community who held authority until the appearance of "Him whom God shall make manifest". He appointed the 19 year old Mirza Yahya, surnamed
Subh-i-Azal, who went underground. In 1852 some Bábís acting independently tried to assassinate the Qajar
Shah, which resulted in massive killings of Bábís across the country. Those that were not killed were banished and congregated in
Baghdad, which soon became the new center of Bábí leadership.
Ministry of Bahá'u'lláh
Main articles: Bahá'u'lláh
Family and Companions of Bahá'u'lláh, presumably taken towards the close of Baha'u'llah's exile in Adrianople.
Husayn `Alí of Nur was one of the early followers of the Báb, who later took the title of Bahá'u'lláh. He was arrested and imprisoned for this involvement in
1852. He claimed that in 1852 while incarcerated in the dungeon of the
Síyáh-Chál in
Tehran, he received the first intimations that he was the One anticipated by the Báb. (He shared this privately in 1863, and publicly in 1866.)
Shortly therefter he was expelled from
Persia to
Baghdad, in the
Ottoman Empire; then to
Constantinople (
Istanbul), and shortly thereafter to Adrianople (
Edirne). During this time tensions grew between Bahá'u'lláh and
Subh-i-Azal, the appointed leader of the Bábís, culminating in Bahá'u'lláh's 1866 declaration. While in Adrianople, he wrote letters to several rulers of the world, including Sultan
Abd-ul-Aziz, declaring his mission as a Messenger of God. As a result Bahá'u'lláh was moved one final time, to the penal colony of Akká,
Palestine (now
Acre, Israel).
Towards the end of his life, the strict and harsh confinement was gradually relaxed, and he was allowed to live in a home near Akka, while still officially a prisoner of that city. He died there in 1892. Bahá'ís regard his resting place as the
Qiblih to which they turn in prayer each day.
During his lifetime, Bahá'u'lláh left a large volume of writings. The
Kitáb-i-Aqdas, and the
Book of Certitude are recognized as primary Bahá'í theological works, and the
Hidden Words and the
Seven Valleys as primary mystical treatises.
Ministry of `Abdu'l-Bahá
Main articles: `Abdu'l-Bahá
Bahá'u'lláh was succeeded by his eldest son, `Abdu'l-Bahá. Designated as the "Center of the Covenant" and Head of the Faith, Bahá'u'lláh designated him in his will as the sole authoritative interpreter of Bahá'u'lláh's writings.
[1]
`Abdu'l-Bahá had shared his father's long exile and imprisonment. This imprisonment continued until `Abdu'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, and maintaining correspondence with communities of believers and individuals, expounding the principles of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá died in
Haifa on
November 28,
1921 and is now buried in one of the front rooms in the Shrine of the Báb.
The Guardianship
Main articles: Shoghi Effendi
`Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament [2] is the charter of the
Bahá'í administrative order. In this document `Abdu'l-Bahá established the institutions of the appointed Guardianship and the elected
Universal House of Justice. In that same document he appointed his eldest grandson,
Shoghi Effendi, as the first Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.
Shoghi Effendi throughout his lifetime translated the sacred writings of the Faith; developed global plans for the expansion of the Bahá'í community; developed the
Bahá'í World Centre; carried on a voluminous correspondence with communities and individuals around the world; and built the administrative structure of the Faith, preparing the community for the election of the Universal House of Justice.
Ministry of the Custodians
Main articles: Hands of the Cause
With the unexpected passing of
Shoghi Effendi in
1957, the faith was left without a clear candidate for Guardian. The Hands of the Cause, appointed by Shoghi Effendi, took the necessary administrative roles at the Bahá'í World Centre, and organized the election of the
Universal House of Justice, from which they excluded themselves from membership.
The Universal House of Justice
Main articles: Universal House of Justice
After the election of the
Universal House of Justice in 1963, it then ruled that given the unique situation and the provisions of the
Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá, it was not possible to appoint another Guardian. The Universal House of Justice today remains the supreme governing body of the Bahá'í Faith, and its nine members are elected every five years.
Notes
References
★
The Will And Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, `Abdu'l-Bahá, , , Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1901-08,
★
The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book, Bahá'u'lláh, , , Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1873, ISBN 0853989990
★
Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá'u'lláh, , , Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1873-92, ISBN 0877431744
★
`Abdu'l-Bahá: The Centre of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, , H.M., Balyuzi, George Ronald, 2001, ISBN 0853980438
★
The Báb: The Herald of the Day of Days, , H.M., Balyuzi, George Ronald, 1973, ISBN 0853980489
★
Bahá'u'lláh, King of Glory, , H.M., Balyuzi, George Ronald, 2000, ISBN 0853983283
★
A Basic Bahá'í Chronology, Cameron, G., , , George Ronald, 1996, ISBN 0853984022
★
God Passes By, , Shoghi, Effendi, Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1944, ISBN 0877430209
★
The Bahá'í Faith: The Emerging Global Religion, Hatcher, William S. and Martin, J. Douglas, , , Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1998, ISBN 0877432643
★
The Bábí and Bahá'í Religions, 1844-1944 - Some Contemporary Western Accounts, , M. (editor), Momen, George Ronald, 1981, ISBN 0853981027
★
The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl’s Narrative, Nabíl-i-Zarandí, , , Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1932, ISBN 0900125225
★
The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963, Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (Ed.), , , Bahá'í World Centre, 1992, ISBN 085398350X
★
The Priceless Pearl, Rabbani, Ruhiyyih, , , Bahá'í Publishing Trust: 2000, 1969, ISBN 1870989910
★
The Covenant of Baha'u'llah, Taherzadeh, Adib, , , George Ronald, 1972, ISBN 0853983445
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