Baháʼu'lláh
Baháʼu'lláh (born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was an Iranian religious leader who founded the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Persia and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Bábí Faith. In 1863, in Iraq, he first announced his claim to a revelation from God and spent the rest of his life in further imprisonment in the Ottoman Empire. His teachings revolved around the principles of unity and religious renewal, ranging from moral and spiritual progress to world governance.[1]
Baháʼu'lláh
29 May 1892 (aged 74)
- Ásíyih
- Fatimih
- Gawhar
11, including ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, Bahíyyih, Mihdí, and Muhammad ʻAlí
Founder of the Baháʼí Faith
Religious leader
Baháʼu'lláh was raised with no formal education but was well-read and devoutly religious. His family was considerably wealthy, and at the age of 22 he turned down a position in the government, instead managing family properties and donating time and money to charities.[2] At the age of 27 he accepted the claim of the Báb and became among the most outspoken supporters of the new religious movement that advocated, among other things, abrogation of Islamic law, which attracted heavy opposition.[3] At the age of 33, during a governmental attempt to exterminate the movement, Baháʼu'lláh narrowly escaped death, his properties were confiscated, and he was banished from Iran. Just before leaving, while imprisoned in the Síyáh-Chál dungeon, Baháʼu'lláh claimed to receive revelations from God marking the beginning of his divine mission.[4] After settling in Iraq, Baháʼu'lláh again attracted the ire of Iranian authorities, and they requested that the Ottoman government move him farther away. He spent months in Constantinople where the authorities became hostile to his religious claims and put him under house arrest in Edirne for four years, followed by two years of harsh confinement in the prison-city of ‘Akká. His restrictions were gradually eased until his final years were spent in relative freedom in the area surrounding ‘Akká.
Baháʼu'lláh wrote at least 1,500 letters, some book-length, that have been translated into at least 802 languages.[5] Some notable examples include The Hidden Words, the Book of Certitude, and the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Some teachings are mystical and address the nature of God and the progress of the soul, while others address the needs of society, religious obligations of his followers, or the structure of Bahá’í institutions that would propagate the religion.[6] He viewed humans as fundamentally spiritual beings and called upon individuals to develop divine virtues and further the material and spiritual advancement of society.[7]
Baháʼu'lláh died in 1892 near ‘Akká. His burial place is a destination for pilgrimage by his followers, known as Bahá’ís, who now reside in 236 countries and territories and number between 5 and 8 million.[a] Baháʼís regard Baháʼu'lláh as a messenger or manifestation of God in succession to Buddha, Jesus, or Muhammad.[10]
Name, title, and photographs[edit]
Baháʼu'lláh's given name was Ḥusayn-ʻAlí, and as the son of a nobleman in the province of Núr, he was known as Mírzá Ḥusayn-ʻAlí Núrí (Farsi: میرزا حسینعلی نوری). In 1848 he took the title Baháʼ (بهاء), Arabic for "glory" or "splendour", or Baháʼu'lláh (/bəˈhɑːʔʊlɑː/, Arabic: بَهاءُالله), as a glorification of God.
Many symbols and phrases of the Baháʼí Faith derive their significance from the word Baháʼ. For example, a nine-pointed star or nine-sided temples are references to the numerical value of Baháʼ according to a system of numerology (b=2, h=5, á=1, ʼ=1), the word Baháʼí indicates a follower of Baháʼ, and his son ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (Servant of Baháʼ) chose his title to demonstrate servitude toward Baháʼu'lláh.
In the 1930s, Baháʼís adopted a standardized system of transliterating Arabic that renders Arabic faithfully into Roman script. The vowels without diacritical marks are short, and those with diacritical marks are long. His name is pronounced in four syllables: Ba, as in bat; há, as in hard; the apostrophe-like mark after "Bahá" is for the Arabic letter hamza which represents the glottal stop; u'l as in old (the apostrophe represents a contraction and is not pronounced); and láh as in law.[6]
Common transliterations of the name, with or without diacritical marks, include Baha'u'llah, Bahaullah, and Baháʼ Alláh.
There are two known photographs of Baháʼu'lláh, both taken in Adrianople. Bahá’ís avoid displaying photographs or imagery of Baháʼu'lláh in public or in their homes, and prefer that others also avoid displaying them in books and websites.[11] One picture is shown to Bahá’ís during visits to the International Archives building as part of an organized Bahá’í pilgrimage;[12] it may also be displayed on certain other highly significant special occasions. The other image was reproduced by William Miller in his 1974 polemic against the Baháʼí Faith.[13]
Life in exile[edit]
Baghdad[edit]
Upon settling in Baghdad, Baháʼu'lláh began dispatching communications and teachers to encourage and revive flagging spirits of persecuted followers of the Báb in Persia. Over time, a number of Bábís moved to Baghdad to be close to Bahá’u’lláh. One of these was Mirza Yahya, later known as Subh-i-Azal, a half-brother 13 years younger than Bahá’u’lláh, who followed him into the Bábí Faith and even accompanied him on some early journeys on its behalf. After their father's death, Yahya’s education and care were largely overseen by Bahá’u’lláh.[56] During Baha’u’llah’s imprisonment in the Síyáh-Chál Yahya went into hiding,[57] but after Bahá’u’lláh’s exile to Iraq Yahya left Iran in disguise and made his way to Baghdad.[58]
For a time, Yahya served as Bahá’u’lláh’s secretary in Baghdad, but envy for the growing admiration Bábís showed Bahá’u’lláh led Yahya to seek leadership of the Bábí religion.[59][60] Attempting to elevate himself among Bábís, Yahya and a few supporters referenced a letter the Báb had written a few years earlier when Yahya was still a teenager,[56][61] naming Yahya to nominal leadership pending the appearance of "Him whom God shall make manifest". Yahya claimed the letter meant he was actually appointed the successor or vicegerent of the Báb. Knowledgeable Bábís promptly rejected Yahya’s bold claim, because the referenced letter indicated no such status, and due to the fact that other writings of the Báb specifically "eliminated the institution of successorship, or vicegerency"[62] from his religion. The Báb also decreed no one’s words would be binding upon believers until the advent of the Promised One.[62] Others questioned Yahya’s motives, considering he had never done anything to protect the Bábí Faith or the lives of Bábís over which he was now claiming a high position.[63][64] To bolster his effort, Yahya simultaneously sought to discredit Bahá’u’lláh by spreading false rumors and accusations about him, which stirred up feelings among Bábís in the Baghdad community.
Departure for Kurdistan[edit]
Declining to dispute with Yahya or do anything to "endanger the unity and survival of the already demoralized Bábí community",[65] Bahá’u’lláh entrusted his family to the care of his brother Mirza Musa and without notice left Baghdad on 10 April 1854 for mountains in the north near Sulaymaniyyih in Kurdistan. He later wrote that he withdrew to avoid becoming a source of disagreement within the Bábí community.[66][67]
Initially living as a hermit in those mountains, Bahá’u’lláh dressed as a dervish and used the name Darvish Muhammad-i-Irani.[66][68] In Sulaymaniyyih the head of a noted theological seminary happened to meet Bahá’u’lláh and invited him to visit.[69] There a student noticed Bahá’u’lláh’s exquisite penmanship, which raised the curiosity of leading instructors. As he responded to their queries on complex religious themes, Bahá’u’lláh quickly gained admiration for his learning and wisdom.[57] Shaykh ʻUthmán, Shaykh ʻAbdu'r-Rahmán, and Shaykh Ismáʼíl, leaders of the Naqshbandíyyih, Qádiríyyih, and Khálidíyyih Orders respectively, began to seek his advice.[70] It was to the second of these that Bahá’u’lláh’s book the Four Valleys was written.[71]
During Bahá’u’lláh’s absence from the Baghdad Bábí community, Mirza Yahya’s true nature became increasingly clear. The public respect and morale of Bábís soon disintegrated as Yahya failed to give spiritual guidance or to demonstrate in daily living the lofty standards taught by the Báb. His actions to discredit Bahá’u’lláh, and any who admired him, grew. At the same time Yahya used the Bábí Faith to benefit himself materially and to try to augment his delusory standing, employing means towards those ends which shamefully contradicted statements by the Báb.[72] He also engaged in criminal activities, including persuading several followers to murder other Bábís whom Yahya viewed as potential adversaries, or as supporters of such imagined rivals.[56] Yahya even took steps to initiate another attempt to assassinate the Shah of Persia.[73][74] Yahya’s utter failings as a religious leader led most Bábís to reject his claims.[65]
When rumors of a ‘saint’ living in Sulaymaniyyih reached Bábí friends in Baghdad they suspected it was Bahá’u’lláh and asked one of his relatives to locate and beg him to return to help the community.[75] Acceding to their urgent requests, to which Yahya even added an appeal,[75] Bahá’u’lláh returned to Baghdad on 19 March 1856.[66]
Return to Baghdad[edit]
Over the next 7 years, Bahá’u’lláh undertook to transform the Bábí community. Through personal example, as well as encouragement and constant interaction with Bábís, Bahá’u’lláh "restored the community to the moral and spiritual level it had attained during the Báb’s lifetime".[76] Growing numbers were drawn to join the reinvigorated Bábí movement.[66] As Bahá’u’lláh’s renown as a spiritual guide and Bábí leader grew, Mirza Yahya remained withdrawn.[76] The spread of Bahá’u’lláh’s reputation in Baghdad and surrounding areas, along with increased dissemination of his writings, attracted "[p]rinces, scholars, mystics, and government officials" to meet him, many "prominent in Persian public life."[76][69] This development unnerved antithetical elements among Iran’s Islamic clergy, and again raised the "intense fear and suspicion" of the Iranian monarch and his advisors.[76]
Invitation to Constantinople[edit]
The Persian government asked the Ottoman government to extradite Baháʼu'lláh back to Persia, but the latter refused.[66] The Persians then pressed the Ottomans to remove Baháʼu'lláh from Baghdad which was near Iran’s border. The result was an invitation in April 1863 from Sultan ʻAbdu'l-ʻAzíz himself inviting Baháʼu'lláh to reside in the Ottoman capital Constantinople (now Istanbul).[77]
First announcement[edit]
On 22 April 1863, Baháʼu'lláh left his house in Baghdad for the banks of the Tigris River and crossed to enter the verdant Najibiyyih garden-park on the other side, which a Baghdad admirer had offered for his use.[i] There Baháʼu'lláh stayed for twelve days with family members and a few close followers chosen to accompany him. Upon arrival in the garden Bahá’u’lláh declared to his companions that he was "Him whom God shall make manifest", the one promised by the Báb,[79] and announced that his mission as God’s latest manifestation in this world had commenced.[69][80][j]
Sojourn in Constantinople[edit]
Bahá’u’lláh left the Riḍván garden on 3 May 1863 and proceeded with his family to Constantinople as guests of the Ottoman government,[81][82] accompanied by a mounted government escort arranged for their protection by 'Ali Pasha, the Sultan’s prime minister.[83] Other travelers included at least two dozen companions who requested Bahá’u’lláh’s permission to accompany him. Though not included in the Sultan’s invitation, Mirza Yahya joined the group en route.[81][84] After fifteen weeks Bahá’u’lláh arrived in the Ottoman capital on 16 August 1863.[85] He was welcomed by various government ministers of the Sultan, and by prominent personalities who paid their respects. The Persian ambassador also sent emissaries to greet him the day after his arrival.[86]
At the time, it was customary for prominent government guests such as Bahá’u’lláh to "call on the prime minister and other high-ranking officials", during which the guests would seek favors, broker deals, and secure various forms of official support for themselves. When Bahá’u’lláh did not return any visits, Kamal Pasha, a former Ottoman prime minister, even reminded him of the custom. Bahá’u’lláh’s response was that he knew of the practice "but had no demands to make of anyone nor did he require favors from them; therefore there was no reason" for him to call upon anyone.[81][87]
Bahá’u’lláh’s independence and detachment from the situation was used by the Persian ambassador to maliciously misrepresent Bahá’u’lláh before the Ottoman court,[88] and to press for his banishment from the capital.[89] As a consequence, less than four months after arriving in Constantinople, the prime minister suggested the Sultan banish Baháʼu'lláh and his companions to Adrianople (now Edirne), which the ruler promptly approved.[90]
Expulsion to Edirne[edit]
On 12 December 1863, Baháʼu'lláh arrived in Adrianople with his family and other companions. His presence there, which lasted four and a half years, became a significant period for the further unfoldment of his mission among Bábís, and for the general proclamation of his cause.[91] Over the next two years, writings which flowed from Bahá’u’lláh were broadly shared with Bábís in Iran. Bahá’u’lláh dispatched several trusted followers to Iran, and most of the Bábís came to recognize him as the leader of their faith.[92][93]