The Bahá’í Faith Britannica/Text

The Bahá’í Faith Britannica by Firuz Kazemzadeh

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THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH

A Summary Reprinted from the Encyclopædia Britannica. [Page 1]

THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH

A Summary Reprinted from the Encyclopædia Britannica

by Firuz Kazemzadeh

Bahá’í Publishing Trust Wilmette, Illinois 60091 [Page 2] Reprinted with permission from Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th edition, © 1974 by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

House style of transliteration of Persian and Arabic words has been used.

This essay was first printed in pamphlet form in March 1976. Reprinted 1977

Cover design by Scott Bivans

The design from a Greek vase is from Owen Jones’ The Grammar of Ornament, and is used by permission of the publisher, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.

Printed in the United States of America [Page 3]

THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH

Bahá’í faith is a religion founded by Mírzá Husayn Alí (1817-1892; known as Bahá’u’lláh Glory of God). The word Bahá’í derives from bahá ("glory, splendour") and signifies a follower of Bahá’u’lláh. The religion stemmed from the Bábí faith-founded in 1844 by Mírzá Alí Muhammad of Shíráz, known as the Báb -which emphasized the forthcoming appearance of "Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest," a new prophet or messenger of God. The Bábí faith in turn had sprung from Shi’ah Islám which believed in the forthcoming return of the 12th imám (successor of Muhammad), who would renew religion and guide the faithful. This messianic view was the basis of the teachings of the Shaykhí sect, so named after Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsá’í. Shaykh Ahmad and his successor, Siyyid Kázim-i-Rashtí, abandoned traditional literalism and gave allegorical interpretations to doctrines such as resurrection, the Last Judgment, and the return of the 12th imám. They and their followers (known as Shaykhís) came to expect the appearance of the Qa’im ("He Who Arises," the 12th imám) in the immediate future.

On May 22, 1844, in Shíráz, Persia, a young descendant of Muḥammad, Siyyid Alí Mu- [Page 4] hammad, proclaimed to a learned Shaykhí divine, Mullá Husayn-i-Bushrú’í, that he was the expected Qá’im, whereupon Mullá Husayn became the first disciple of Siyyid ‘Alí Mu- hammad, who assumed the title of the Báb ("gate," or channel of grace from someone still veiled from the sight of men).

Soon the teachings of the Báb, the principal of which was the tidings of the coming of "Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest," spread all over Persia, provoking strong opposition on the part of the clergy and the government. The Báb was arrested and, after several years of incarcera- tion, condemned to death. In 1850 he was brought to Tabriz, where he was suspended by ropes against a wall in a public square. A regi- ment of several hundred soldiers fired a volley. When the smoke cleared, the large crowd that had gathered at the place of execution saw ropes cut by bullets but the Báb had disappeared. He was found unhurt in an adjacent building, calmly conversing with a disciple. The execu- tion was repeated, this time effectively. There followed large-scale persecutions of the Bábís in which ultimately more than 20,000 people lost their lives.

History and Extent

Bahá’u’lláh, who had been an early disciple of the Báb, was arrested in connection with an unsuccessful attempt on the life of the shah of Persia, Náşiri’d-Dín, made in August 1852 by two Bábís intent upon avenging their master. Though Bahá’u’lláh had not known of the plot, he was thrown into the Black Pit, a notorious jail in Tihrán, where he became aware of his mis- sion as a messenger of God. He was released in January 1853 and exiled to Baghdad. There Bahá’u’lláh’s leadership revived the Bábí com- munity, and an alarmed Persian government urged the Ottoman government to move both [Page 5] Bahá’u’lláh and the growing number of his followers farther away from Persia's borders. Before being transferred to Constantinople, Bahá’u’lláh spent 12 days in a garden on the outskirts of Baghdad, where in April 1863 he declared to a small number of Bábís that he was the messenger of God whose advent had been prophesied by the Báb. From Constantinople, where Bahá’u’lláh spent some four months, he was transferred to Adrianople. There he made a public proclamation of his mission in letters ("tablets") addressed to the rulers of Persia, Turkey, Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Britain, as well as to the pope and to the Christian and Muslim clergy collectively.

An overwhelming majority of the Bábís acknowledged Bahá’u’lláh's claim and thenceforth became known as Bahá’ís. A small minority followed Bahá’u’lláh's half brother, Mírzá Yaḥyá Subh-i-Azal, creating a temporary breach within the ranks of the Bábís. Embittered by his failure to win more than a handful of adherents, Mírzá Yaḥyá, assisted by his supporters, provoked the Turkish government into exiling Bahá’u’lláh to ‘Akká (Akko, Acre), Palestine. He became, however, a victim of his own intrigues and was himself exiled to Cyprus.

For almost two years, Bahá’u’lláh, his family, and a number of disciples were confined in army barracks converted into a jail. One of his sons and several companions died. When the severity of the incarceration abated, Bahá’u’lláh was permitted to reside within the walls of ‘Akká and later in a mansion near the town. Before his life ended in 1892, Bahá’u’lláh saw his religion spread beyond Persia and the Ottoman Empire to the Caucasus, Turkistan, India, Burma, Egypt, and the Sudan.

Bahá’u’lláh appointed his eldest son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ("Servant of the Glory," 1844-1921), as the leader of the Bahá’í community and the authorized interpreter of his teachings. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá not only administered [Page 6] the affairs of the movement from Palestine but also actively engaged in spreading the faith, travelling in Africa, Europe, and America from 1910 to 1913. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá appointed his eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi Rabbani (1896-1957), as his successor, Guardian of the Cause, and authorized interpreter of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, thus assuring the continued unity of the believers.

During ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s ministry, Bahá’í groups were established in North Africa, the Far East, Australia, and the United States. Since then the movement has spread to virtually every country in the world, with particularly large and vigorous communities in Africa, Irán, India, the United States, and certain areas of Southeast Asia and the Pacific. No official membership statistics for the entire Bahá’í community are available. In 1971, however, Bahá’ís resided in more than 50,000 localities through the world, with more than 100 national spiritual assemblies (national governing bodies) and no fewer than 6,000 local spiritual assemblies. A current plan of worldwide expansion envisages the formation of 120 national spiritual assemblies and 13,833 local spiritual assemblies by April 1973 (600 of these in the United States)," Bahá’í literature has been translated into more than 400 languages. By 1970 more than 300 African tribes, some 100 American Indian tribes, and nearly 100 tribes and peoples of the Indian subcontinent and the Pacific Ocean were represented in the Bahá’í community. In the 1960s and early 1970s the Bahá’í faith was undergoing a period of extremely rapid expansion.

"Editor's Note: In 1973 Bahá’ís resided in more than 69,500 localities through the world, with some 17,000 Local Spiritual Assemblies. In April 1975 119 National Spiritual Assemblies were formed. The current Five Year Plan for the expansion of the Faith envisages the formation by April 1979 of 131 National Spiritual Assemblies and 23,869 Local Spiritual Assemblies (1,400 of these in the United States). [Page 7]

Sacred Literature

Bahá’í sacred literature consists of the total corpus of the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and their interpretation and amplification in the writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. Bahá’u’lláh’s literary legacy of more than 100 works includes the Kitáb-i-Aqdas ("The Most Holy Book"), the repository of his laws; the Kitáb-i-İqán (The Book of Certitude), an exposition of essential teachings on the nature of God and religion; The Hidden Words, a collection of brief utterances aimed at the edification of men’s "souls and the rectification of their conduct"; The Seven Valleys, a mystic treatise that "describes the seven stages which the soul of the seeker must needs traverse ere it can attain the object of its existence"; Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, his last major work; as well as innumerable prayers, meditations, exhortations, and epistles.

The Bahá’ís believe that the writings of Bahá’u’lláh are inspired and constitute God’s revelation for this age.

Religious and Social Tenets

Bahá’u’lláh teaches that God is unknowable and "beyond every human attribute, such as corporeal existence, ascent and descent, egress and regress." "No tie of direct intercourse can possibly bind Him to His creatures. . . . No sign can indicate His presence or His absence. . . ." Human inability to grasp the divine essence does not lead to agnosticism, since God has chosen to reveal himself through his messengers, among them Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, Muḥammad, and the Báb, who "are one and all the Exponents on earth of Him Who is the central Orb of the universe. . . ." The messengers, or, in Bahá’í terminology, "manifestations," are viewed as occupying two "stations," or occurring in two aspects. The first "is the" [Page 8] "station of pure abstraction and essential unity," in which one may speak of the oneness of the messengers of God because they are all manifestations of his will and exponents of his word. This does not constitute syncretism, since "the other station is the station of distinction.... In this respect, each manifestation of God hath a distinct individuality, a definitely prescribed mission...." Thus, while the essence of all religions is one, each has specific features that correspond to the needs of a given time and place and to the level of civilization in which a manifestation appears. Since religious truth is considered relative and revelation progressive and continuing, the Bahá’ís maintain that other manifestations will appear in the future, though not, according to Bahá’u’lláh, before the expiration of a full thousand years from his own revelation.

In Bahá’í teachings, God is, and has always been, the Creator. Therefore, there was never a time when the cosmos did not exist. Man was created through God's love: "Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee: therefore I created thee." The purpose of man's existence as taught by Bahá’u’lláh is to know and to worship God and "to carry forward an every-advancing civilization...." Man, whom Bahá’u’lláh calls "the noblest and most perfect of all created things," is endowed with an immortal soul, which, after separation from the body, enters a new form of existence. Heaven and hell are symbolic of the soul's relationship to God. Nearness to God results in good deeds and gives infinite joy, while remoteness from him leads to evil and suffering. To fulfill his high purpose, man must recognize the messenger of God within whose dispensation he lives and "observe every ordinance of him who is the desire of the world. These twin duties are inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other." [Page 9] Civilization, Bahá’u’lláh teaches, has evolved to the point where unity of mankind has become the paramount necessity. The Bahá’í faith, in the words of Shoghi Effendi, proclaims the necessity and the inevitability of the unification of mankind, asserts that it is gradually approaching, and claims that nothing short of the transmuting spirit of God, working through His chosen Mouthpiece in this day, can ultimately succeed in bringing it about. It, moreover, enjoins upon its followers the primary duty of an unfettered search after truth, condemns all manner of prejudice and superstition, declares the purpose of religion to be the promotion of amity and concord, proclaims its essential harmony with science, and recognizes it as the foremost agency for the pacification and the orderly progress of human society. It unequivocally maintains the principle of equal rights, opportunities and privileges for men and women, insists on compulsory education, eliminates extremes of poverty and wealth, abolishes the institution of priesthood, prohibits slavery, asceticism, mendicancy, and monasticism, prescribes monogamy, discourages divorces, emphasizes the necessity of strict obedience to one's government, extols any work performed in the spirit of service to the level of worship, urges either the creation or the selection of an auxiliary international language, and delineates the outlines of those institutions that must establish and perpetuate the general peace of mankind.

Practices

Membership in the Bahá’í community is open to all who profess faith in Bahá’u’lláh and accept his teachings. There are no initiation ceremonies, no sacraments, and no clergy. Every [Page 10] Bahá’í, however, is under the spiritual obligation to pray daily; to fast 19 days a year, going without food or drink from sunrise to sunset; to abstain totally from narcotics, alcohol, or any substances that affect the mind; to practice monogamy; to obtain the consent of parents to marriage; and to attend the Nineteen Day Feast on the first day of each month of the Bahá’í calendar. The Nineteen Day Feast, originally instituted by the Báb, brings together the Bahá’ís of a given locality for prayer, the reading of scriptures, the discussion of community activities, and for the enjoyment of one another’s company. The feasts are designed to ensure universal participation in the affairs of the community and the cultivation of the spirit of brotherhood and fellowship. Eventually, Bahá’ís in every location plan to erect a house of worship around which will be grouped such institutions as a home for the aged, an orphanage, a school, and a hospital. In the early 1970s, houses of worship existed in Wilmette, Illinois; Frankfurt am Main, West Germany; Kampala, Uganda; Sydney, Australia; and one was being built in Panama.* In the temples there is no preaching; services consist of recitation of the scriptures of all religions.

The Bahá’ís use a calendar established by the Báb and confirmed by Bahá’u’lláh, in which the year is divided into 19 months of 19 days each, with the addition of four intercalary days (5 in leap years). The year begins on the first day of spring, March 21, which is a holy day. Other holy days on which work is suspended are the days commemorating the declaration of Bahá’u’lláh’s mission (April 21, April 29, and May 2), the declaration of the mission of the Báb (May 23), the birth of Bahá’u’lláh (November

• Editor’s Note: The House of Worship in Panama was dedicated in 1972. The current Five Year Plan calls for the initiation of Houses of Worship in India and Samoa.

[Page 11] 12), the birth of the Báb (October 20), the passing of Bahá’u’lláh (May 29), and the martyrdom of the Báb (July 9).

Organization and Administration

The Bahá’í community is governed according to general principles proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh and through institutions created by him that were elaborated and expanded by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. These principles and institutions ‎consitute constitute‎ the Bahá’í administrative order, which the followers of the Faith believe to be a blueprint of a future world order. The governance of the Bahá’í community begins on the local level with the election of a local spiritual assembly. The electoral process excludes parties or factions, nominations, and campaigning for office. The local spiritual assembly has jurisdiction over all local affairs of the Bahá’í community. On the national scale, each year Bahá’ís elect delegates to a national convention that elects a national spiritual assembly with jurisdiction over the entire country. All national spiritual assemblies of the world periodically constitute themselves an international convention and elect the supreme governing body known as the Universal House of Justice. In accordance with Bahá’u’lláh’s writings, the Universal House of Justice functions as the supreme administrative, legislative, and judicial body of the Bahá’í commonwealth. It applies the laws promulgated by Bahá’u’lláh and legislates on matters not covered in the sacred texts. The seat of the Universal House of Justice is in Haifa, Israel, in the immediate vicinity of the shrines of the Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and near the shrine of Bahá’u’lláh at Bahjí near ‘Akká.

There also exist in the Bahá’í faith appointive institutions, such as the Hands of the Cause of God and the continental counsellors. The former were created by Bahá’u’lláh and later assigned by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the functions of prop- [Page 12] agating the faith and protecting the community.

The Hands of the Cause appointed by Shoghi Effendi in his lifetime now serve under the direction of the Universal House of Justice. The continental counsellors perform the same functions as the Hands of the Cause but are appointed by the Universal House of Justice. Assisting the counsellors in advising, inspiring, and encouraging Bahá’í institutions and individuals are auxiliary boards appointed by the counsellors and serving under their direction.

Bibliography

The classic introduction to the Bahá’í faith, giving a general view of its history and teachings, is J. E. ESSLEMONT, Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, 3rd rev. ed. (1970). GEORGE TOWNSHEND, The Promise of All Ages, rev. ed. (1948, reprinted 1957), approaches the Bahá’í faith from a background of Christianity. The history of the Bahá’í faith has been studied by many scholars, but the most detailed and poetic account is The Dawn-Breakers by MUHAMMAD-I-ZARANDÍ, surnamed Nabíl, trans. and ed. by SHOGHI EFFENDI (1932, reprinted 1970; 2nd ed., 1953); the latter’s God Passes By (1944), recounts to the end of the first Bahá’í century. The most important source for the study of the Bahá’í faith is the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and their interpretation and application by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. Several of Bahá’u’lláh’s major works are available in excellent English translations. The Kitáb-i-İqán (1950) is indispensable for understanding Bahá’í views of God, progressive revelation, and the nature of religion. The Hidden Words, rev. ed. (1954, reprinted 1970), and The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, rev. ed. (1952, reprinted 1968), deals with man’s spiritual life and the states of the soul. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh (1951) is a representative selection. [Page 13] ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ’s Some Answered Questions, rev. ed. (1964), is a record of table talks on various religious themes. The Secret of Divine Civilization (1957) uses the problem of modernization and development to set forth the spiritual prerequisites of true progress and civilization. SHOGHI EFFENDI’s writings include The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh (1955), an exposition of principles for the establishment of Universal Peace and world civilization; and The Promised Day Is Come (1961), an examination of the effects of manifestation upon the modern world.

(F. Ka.)

For further information write Bahá’í National Center 112 Linden Avenue, Department C Wilmette, IL 60091