Bahá’í World/Volume 18/Nasrollah Mavaddat
Nasrollah Mavaddat
NASROLLAH MAVADDAT
(NAṢRU’LLÁH MAVIDDAT)
1897—1982
CONVEY SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY CAMPBELLTOWN GRIEVE PASSING DEDICATED SERVANT NASROLLAH MAVADDAT WHOSE EXEMPLARY DEVOTION LIFELONG SERVICES CAUSE AND LITERARY ACHIEVEMENTS LOVINGLY REMEMBERED ASSURE RELATIVES FRIENDS PRAYERS HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HIS SOUL.
Naṣru’lláh Maviddat, though humble and self-effacing, was known to and loved and respected by many throughout the Bahá’í world. He was born in Ṭihrán, Írán, in 1897 and passed away in Adelaide, Australia, on 7 April 1982. He lived every moment of his life for the Faith and in its service. His great-grandfather was a devoted Bábí and both his parents were Bahá’ís. As a child he diligently followed his studies to the highest level available at the time and was then appointed to teach at Tarbíyat Bahá’í School. His thirst for knowledge and his devotion to his work touched the hearts of his students and colleagues alike and won him many admirers.
Mr. Maviddat was among the first group of young Iranian students to be selected for technical training in the United States under a programme in which the Iranian government was collaborating with a major American industrial complex. On his way to America he broke his journey in Beirut in order to visit the Holy Shrines in Haifa. While in the Holy Land he had the bounty of meeting the beloved Guardian. The two years he spent in the United States provided an opportunity to participate in the activities of the American Bahá’ís and to enrich his experience in Bahá’í administration. On his return from America his heart was filled with joy and gratitude on being able to visit Shoghi Effendi for the second time.
Back in his homeland he lived in Ṭihrán for several years and served the Faith tirelessly as a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly and many local and national committees. In particular he was appointed to a small committee formed for translating the Guardian’s messages received in the English language or other Bahá’í materials in that tongue. In addition he taught at Summer Schools, conducted classes for youth and became a speaker and teacher of the Faith.
In 1956 he pioneered to the south of France where he quickly perfected his knowledge of French and participated in the activities of the friends of that region. When Shoghi Effendi passed away he began the difficult task of translating God Passes By from English to Persian. He worked arduously on that book for several years, seeking to be faithful both to the style of Shoghi Effendi’s own writings in Persian and to the words and expressions used in the Bahá’í Writings. That he successfully achieved his purpose to a very great extent is attested by many. His deep knowledge of Bahá’í literature was a considerable aid in identifying and locating original Persian texts for the numerous quotations Shoghi Effendi used from the three Central Figures. He thus avoided, apart from a few exceptions, retranslation of the original passages to Persian.
In 1968 Mr. Maviddat was asked by the
Universal House of Justice to help with the
work at the World Centre where he spent
three years assisting the Research Department
in codifying and indexing the Bahá’í
Writings. When his wife developed asthma
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and was advised to reside in a more favourable
climate they left the Holy Land with keen
regret. Mr. Maviddat continued to the end of
his life to translate and write. He translated
into Persian Shoghi Effendi’s The Advent of
Divine Justice, as well as numerous letters,
cables and compilations. He also wrote in
Persian an introductory book on the Faith.
His last few years were spent in Australia.
With the persecution and apparent suppression
of the Faith in Írán, and its manifest
progress in Australia and the Pacific, he would
often quote Bahá’u’lláh’s words about His
Revelation that should they attempt to conceal
its light on the continent, it will assuredly rear
its head in the midmost heart of the ocean, and,
raising its voice, proclaim: ‘I am the life-giver
of the world!’
We cannot conclude this short biography of Mr. Maviddat without mention of his wife, Ṭalí‘ih ‘Alá’í, who was his companion for more than half a century and who, with her kind nature, faith and perseverance gave him total love, devotion and wholehearted encouragement in completing his work.
After his departure from this world the above cable was communicated by the Universal House of Justice, thus crowning his achievements with words of love and appreciation from that august Institution.