Bahai Faith

History of the Baha'i Faith

The Baha'i Faith is an independent monotheistic religion with its own sacred scriptures, its own laws, calendar, and holy days. It has no clergy and its affairs are administered by freely elected governing councils that operate at the local, national, and international levels. The chronology below follows the history of the Baha'i Faith from its birth in mid-19th century Persia (now Iran) to its emergence as a world religion with more than five million adherents from virtually every nation and ethnic group on earth.
23 May 1844Siyyid Ali-Muhammad, a 25-year-old merchant in the city of Shiraz, Persia, announces that He has been sent by God to prepare humanity for a new age and the imminent appearance of another Messenger even greater than Himself. He takes the title of the Bab (meaning “Gate” in Arabic).
1844-1850 Early Babis imprisoned in Persia The Bab's religious teachings spread rapidly and are viewed as heretical by the clergy and government of that time. The Bab is imprisoned and more than 20,000 of His followers, known as Babis, perish in a series of violent massacres throughout the country.
9 July 1850The Bab is publicly executed in the city of Tabriz, Iran. Some 10,000 citizens are present to observe the execution.
Baha'is recognize the Bab as both an independent Messenger of God and the Forerunner of Baha'u'llah (meaning "the Glory of God" in Arabic), the Founder of the Baha'i religion. Born in Tehran on 12 November 1817, Baha'u'llah was a member of a noble family that traced its lineage to imperial Persia’s Sassanian dynasty. In His mid-20s, He declined a life of wealth and privilege to pursue humanitarian goals. Baha'u'llah embraced the Babi religion in its earliest days and became one of the leading disciples of the Bab.
1852Baha'u'llah is arrested, beaten, and thrown into a pestilential underground dungeon known as the Black Pit. While in the darkness of the dungeon, Baha'u'llah receives the Revelation that He is the Messenger foretold by the Bab. Baha'u'llah is released after four months and exiled to Baghdad.
1863 Map of Baha'u'llah's exileBaha'u'llah is banished a second time, to Constantinople (Istanbul). On the eve of His departure from Baghdad, Baha'u'llah announces that He is the long-awaited Messenger of God promised by the Bab. Thereafter, the religion is known as the Baha'i Faith. Baha'is recognize Baha'u'llah as the most recent in a line of Messengers of God that includes Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ, Muhammad and the Bab.
1863-1892Baha'u'llah reveals numerous volumes of Sacred Scripture, outlining His Teachings, answering difficult theological questions, and establishing the laws and institutions of His faith. Baha'u'llah is a unique world religious figure in that He establishes in writing the future pattern of the organization of His faith. He also writes letters to the kings and rulers of His day, informing them of the advent of His Revelation.
1868Baha’u’llah arrives in the Holy Land with about 70 family members and followers, sentenced by the Ottoman authorities to perpetual confinement in the penal colony of Acre. The order of strict confinement was never lifted, but due to the growing recognition of the eminence of His character, He eventually moves outside the walls of the Old City of Acre to a nearby estate called Bahji.
29 May 1892 Abdu'l-BahaBaha'u'llah passes away and is interred at Bahji. For Baha'is, His Shrine is the holiest place on earth and a place of pilgrimage. At His instruction, the spiritual and administrative center of His Faith is permanently fixed in the Haifa/Acre area.
For the first time in history, a world religion founder leaves a written Will. Baha'u'llah appoints His eldest son, `Abdu'l-Baha (1844-1921), as the head of the Faith and authorized interpreter of His Teachings. The name, `Abdu'l-Baha, means "Servant of Baha."
1893The first public mention of the Baha'i Faith in North America is made at the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago.
9 July 1907The Chicago Baha'i Assembly incorporates, becoming the first local Baha'i community in the world to acquire legal status. The American Baha'i community, then numbering about 1,000 members, begins building the first Baha'i House of Worship in the West on the shores of Lake Michigan.
1911-1913Following the Young Turk Revolution, ‘Abdu’l-Baha's imprisonment under the Ottoman Turks is ended. He then journeys throughout Europe and North America to encourage nascent Baha'i communities and to proclaim Baha'u'llah's teachings to the general public.
1921 Shoghi Effendi‘Abdu’l-Baha passes away, leaving a will designating His eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi (1896-1957), as His successor and conferring upon him the title of Guardian of the Baha'i Faith.
1927The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States and Canada is incorporated. Its charter document, the Declaration of Trust and Bylaws, subsequently serves as the model for the formation of more than 180 National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world.
1953The Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, IL is dedicated for public worship.
1957Shoghi Effendi passes away. During his ministry, the Faith spread around the world and its local and national administrative institutions were established. The Guardian translated Baha'i scriptures from Arabic and Persian into English, wrote several major works, carried on a voluminous correspondence, and gave great impetus to the development of the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa. With the passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, the line of hereditary leaders of the Baha'i Faith came to an end.
1963 The Seat of the Universal House of JusticeFollowing Baha'u'llah's instructions, Baha'is elect the Universal House of Justice, the world governing body of the Baha'i Faith. Elections for the Universal House of Justice are held every five years. Endowed by Baha'u'llah with the authority to legislate on all matters not specifically laid down in the Baha'i scriptures, the Universal House of Justice keeps the Baha'i community unified and responsive to the needs and conditions of an evolving world.
Today—2008 Baha'is of TodayThe Baha'i community now has more than five million members from over 2000 ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Baha'i communities are established in more than 230 countries and dependent territories, with elected national administrative institutions in 182
Baha'u'llah: Promised One of All Ages
Baha’u’llah announced in 1863 that He is God's Messenger for this age. His teachings and sacred writings are the basis of the Baha'i Faith.
Baha'u'llah claimed that His Divine Mission is to bring about the spiritual rebirth and the unity of mankind. He promised that this would lead to the establishment of permanent world peace and to the Kingdom of God on Earth. Baha'u'llah has attracted millions of adherents from every part of the globe; He has provided laws and teachings on how to realize His vision; and His followers are laboring everywhere to bring it about.
When He first arrived in ‘Akká, Bahá’u’lláh and His family were confined in this prison on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea.
Baha'u'llah proclaimed that God, our loving Creator, sends Divine Messengers, known as Manifestations of God, with teachings that enable humanity to know and to worship God. These great Manifestations, which have appeared throughout history at intervals of about 500 to 1,000 years, bring human civilization to ever higher levels of spiritual and material advancement. Baha'u'llah is the latest in this long line of Divine Messengers, which has included Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster and the Bab.
Baha'u'llah was born in 1817 to a prominent family in Persia, where His father was a minister in the court of the Shah. His given name was Mirza Husayn Ali, but He identified Himself as Baha'u'llah, a title that means “Glory of God.” Turning His back on the position at court which these advantages offered Him, Baha'u'llah became known for His generosity, kindliness and concern for the poor, which made Him deeply loved among his countrymen.
The Shrine of Baha'u'llah
This privileged position did not last. In 1844, when Baha'u'llah was still in his twenties, a young merchant from the city of Shiraz, known to history as the Bab, announced that He was the Herald of a Messenger from God, much greater than Himself, who was destined to establish the universal peace foretold in all the world's sacred scriptures. Baha'u'llah announced His support for the Bab and was engulfed in a wave of persecution unleashed upon the Bab and His followers by Persia's government and clergy. After the Bab was executed in 1850, Baha'u'llah was stripped of all His worldly endowments and subjected to imprisonment, torture and a series of banishments. The first was to Baghdad where, in 1863, He announced himself as the One promised by the Bab. From Baghdad, Baha'u'llah was exiled to Constantinople, to Adrianople, and finally to the prison-city of Akka, in the Holy Land, where He arrived as a prisoner in 1868.
From Adrianople and later from Akka, Baha'u'llah addressed a series of letters to the rulers of His day that are among the most remarkable documents in religious history. They proclaimed the coming unification of humanity and the emergence of a world civilization. Baha'u'llah called on the kings, emperors and presidents of the nineteenth century to reconcile their differences, curtail their armaments, and devote their energies to the establishment of universal peace.
In 1892, Baha'u'llah passed away at Bahji, just north of Akka, and is buried there. His teachings had already begun to spread beyond the confines of the Middle East, and His Shrine is today the focal point of the world community which these teachings have brought into being.
Central Figures of the Baha'i Faith
The Bab (1819-1850) - Founder of the Babi religion and Herald of Baha'u'llah.
Baha'u'llah (1817-1892) - Founder of the Baha'i Faith.
'Abdu'l-Baha (1844-1921) - Appointed by His father, Baha'u'llah, to lead the Baha'i Faith after His death.
Shoghi Effendi (1896-1957) - Appointed by his grandfather, 'Abdu'l-Baha, to lead the Baha'i Faith after His death.
Core Beliefs
The principle of the oneness of humankind is the pivot around which all the teachings of Baha'u'llah revolve.
Baha'u'llah taught that humanity, after a long and turbulent adolescence, is at last reaching a stage of maturity in which unity in a global and just society finally can be established.
To this end, the Baha'i Faith prescribes laws of personal morality and behavior, as well as social laws and principles, to establish the oneness of humanity.
Baha'is believe:
the purpose of life is to know and worship God, to acquire virtues, to promote the oneness of humankind and to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization
all humanity was created by one God and is part of one human race
work performed in the spirit of service is a form of worship
the soul, created at the moment of conception, is destined by God to reach the afterlife, where it will continue to progress until it attains the presence of God
Baha'is practice:
daily prayer and communion with God
high moral principles, including trustworthiness, chastity and honesty
independent investigation of truth
a life dedicated to the service of humanity
fellowship with the followers of all religions
avoidance of excessive materialism, partisan politics, backbiting, alcohol, drugs and gambling
(For more information, read a description of Baha'i laws excerpted from A Short Introduction on the Baha'i Faith, by Dr. Moojan Momen.)
Social principles include:
the abandonment of all forms of prejudice
assurance to women of full equality of opportunity with men
recognition of the unity and relativity of religious truth
the elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth
the realization of universal education
the responsibility of each person to independently search for truth
the establishment of a global commonwealth of nations
recognition that true religion is in harmony with reason and the pursuit of scientific knowledge