History topics

[Parsa]

Use this board to post topics related to the history of the Babi and Baha'i Faiths.

The Baha'i Faith is usually dated to the declaration of the Bab in May 1844. However, its history can be traced back to the Shaykhi movement of Shaykh Ahmad Ahsai and Siyyid Kazim Rashti. The Bab ("the Gate", Siyyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi) declared his status as a Messenger from God and the prophesied "Gate" leading to the Promised One of all faiths, "Him Whom God shall manifest." Many of His early disciples were followers of Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kazim. His ministry lasted from 1844 until His martyrdom in Tabriz in 1850. Baha'u'llah ("Glory of God", Husayn Ali Nuri) was a prominent follower of the Bab in the same way that Jesus was baptised by and followed John. Baha'u'llah was from an aristocratic family; a direct descendent of the Sassanian kings of Persia. However, despite His background, He was persecuted, tortured and imprisoned for His beliefs. He received the full glory of His mission from God in 1853 while imprisoned within the Black Pit in Tehran. He was exiled from Iran and took up residence in Baghdad. After a two-year seclusion in Kurdistan he was again ordered to move, this time by the Turkish authorities. At this time He declared His station to His family, and the followers of the Bab, in a garden in Bagdad known to Baha'is as Ridvan ("paradise'). This was in April 1863. Baha'u'llah was sent from Bagdad to the Ottoman capital in Istanbul (Constantinople), and was later sent to Edirneh (Adrianople) on the European continent. It was while in Turkey that Baha'u'llah sent letters to the kings, rulers, and clergy of the world, announcing His station as God's Messenger and the advent of the promised Day of God. Baha'u'llah was finally banished to the worst of Turkish penal colonies: the city of Akka in Palastine (today Akko, Israel). Here He, His family, and followers suffered imprisonment for two years until He was finally allowed to take up residence in a rented house in Akka. Baha'u'llah travelled to nearby Haifa, gave orders for the location of the final resting place of the Bab on Mount Carmel, and prophesied the establishment of the center of a global civilization on the slopes of that sacred hill. Baha'u'llah passed away in 1892, appointing His son 'Abdu'l-Baha, the "Master", as the Center of His Covenant and the Interprester of His teachings. Baha'u'llah's sacred remains are interred near the city of Akko at Bahji, the most holy spot for Baha'is. Today there are approximately 6 or 7 million Baha'is throughout the world, and is said to be one of the most global religions in scope.

[Enmisueños]

A few years ago, my wife and I were privileged to attend a commemoration of the martyrdom of the Báb at which a young Persian woman spoke of her great-grandfather who had been present at this momentous occasion.  It may have been a great-great-great, but she told how her ancestor had been in the crowd and witnessed the tremendous volley, the Manifestation's miraculous survival, and the second execution at which the Báb willingly surrendered His life on earth.  From that day forward, this woman's family had been believers.  I found it tremendously moving to hear her speak, and to be so close to the events which opened this new age.  Imagine knowing someone who knew whose great-grandfather knew Peter or Paul, or Christ Himself!  In the year 164 AD this would have been the case for some.  When we scratch the surface of Baha'i history we find only a little over a century and a half, but what a time it has been!  And in digging deeper we find the threads of Truth that have been laid down since the world came into being.