Exploring The Bahá'í Faith: A Global Religious Community

The Baháʼí Faith is a monotheistic religion founded in the 19th century by Baháʼu'lláh, which teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. With approximately 8 million adherents worldwide, known as Baháʼís, the Baháʼí Faith is established in over 100,000 localities across most countries and territories. Baháʼís believe that God has sent a series of divine educators, or Manifestations of God, throughout history, including Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad. Baháʼu'lláh, the latest of these messengers, explained that all religions come from the same source and are, in essence, successive chapters of one religion from God. Baháʼís believe that the crucial need facing humanity is to find a unifying vision of the future, and that Baháʼu'lláh's writings offer hope to a troubled world.

Baháʼu'lláh

At the age of 27, Baháʼu'lláh accepted the claim of the Báb, a 24-year-old merchant from Shiraz who stirred Persia with his claim to be the promised redeemer of Islam and a new prophet of God. Baháʼu'lláh became one of the most outspoken supporters of the new religious movement, which advocated, among other things, the abrogation of Islamic law, attracting heavy opposition. At the age of 33, Baháʼu'lláh narrowly escaped death during a governmental attempt to exterminate the movement. His properties were confiscated, and he was banished from Iran.

In 1863, Baháʼu'lláh first announced his claim to a revelation from God while in Iraq. He 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. Baháʼu'lláh wrote at least 1,500 letters, some book-length, that have been translated into at least 802 languages. Notable examples include the Hidden Words, the Kitáb-i-Íqán, 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, the religious obligations of his followers, or the structure of Bahá’í institutions that would propagate the religion.

The Báb

The Baháʼí Faith is a monotheistic religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. The Báb, born Siyyid ʻAlí-Muhammad of Shiraz in 1819, is one of the three central figures of the Baháʼí Faith.

On the evening of 22 May 1844, Siyyid ʻAlí-Muhammad gained his first convert and took on the title of "the Báb" (الباب "Gate"), referring to his later claim to the status of Mahdi of Shiʻa Islam. His followers were, therefore, known as Bábís. The Báb taught that God would soon send a new messenger, and Baháʼís consider Baháʼu'lláh to be that person. The Báb's teachings spread throughout Iran, provoking strong opposition from both the Shi'i Muslim clergy and the government. The Báb was arrested and, after several years of incarceration, was publicly executed for the crime of heresy in 1850.

The writings of the Báb are considered inspired scripture by Baháʼís, though having been superseded by the laws and teachings of Baháʼu'lláh. The Báb is regarded as Baháʼu'lláh's forerunner, and Baháʼís celebrate his birth, death, and declaration as holy days. The Báb's tomb, located in Haifa, Israel, is an important place of pilgrimage for Baháʼís.

Bahá'í teachings

Bahá'ís believe in one single, personal, omniscient, omnipresent, almighty God, who is the creator of all things in the universe. God is referred to as having an unknowable essence, with Bahá'ís believing that human language is unable to fully capture what God is truly like. However, Bahá'ís believe that humans can recognise God's attributes, such as justice and love, by observing the natural world and the actions of God's manifestations.

Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, taught that all the founders of the world's major religions, including Krishna, Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad, are manifestations of God, and that all religions are fundamentally unified in their purpose, but divergent in their social practices and interpretations. Bahá'ís believe that the purpose of religion is to guide the development of a perfect human society, which will consist of one world government without conflict or prejudice, and a recognition of the unity of all people.

Bahá'ís believe in the oneness of humanity and devote themselves to the abolition of racial, class, and religious prejudices. They believe that biological unity is already a reality, as concepts like race, nationality, and ethnicity are superficial, and that political and spiritual unity are works in progress. Bahá'ís maintain that promoting the unity of humanity does not stop them from appreciating diversity between different cultures, and that a future unified human race will be stronger for its appreciation of different types of religious expression, art, and philosophy.

Bahá'ís believe that God created humans so that they could grow to know and love Him, and that humans possess a soul that continues to exist eternally after physical death in a spiritual plane outside of the physical universe.

Other Bahá'í teachings include the rejection of ritual forms of worship, the existence of a priesthood, and the notion of religious conversion. Bahá'ís are forbidden from drinking alcohol or taking recreational drugs, and are required to fast for 19 days in March every year.

Bahá'í history

The Baháʼí Faith is a monotheistic religion founded in the 19th century by Baháʼu'lláh (1817-1892), whose name means "Glory of God". It teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Baháʼís believe that all the founders of the world's great religions have been manifestations of God and agents of a progressive divine plan for the education of the human race. Baháʼu'lláh is considered to be the most recent in a series of divine messengers and spiritual teachers referred to as "Manifestations of God", which includes Jesus, Muhammad, Krishna, Abraham, Zoroaster, and the Buddha.

The Baháʼí Faith emerged in Iran, where the main religion is Shia Islam, which recognises the authority of the 12 imams, spiritual successors of Muhammad. In the mid-19th century, there was a general expectation that "the Mahdi", a messianic figure, would soon appear and bring about a short period of justice, equity, and true religion. One branch of Shia Islam, the Shaykhi movement, was particularly important in paving the way for the Baháʼí faith.

In 1844, Siyyid ʻAlí-Muhammad of Shiraz, who would later take the title "the Báb" ("Gate"), began to identify himself as a divine prophet and predicted the imminent appearance of a new messenger from God. The Báb and his followers, known as Bábís, were accused by most Islamic clergy of being Muslims who had abandoned their faith. The Báb was arrested and, after several years of incarceration, was executed in 1850. Large-scale persecutions of his adherents followed.

One of the Báb's earliest disciples was Mírzá Ḥosayn ʻAlí Núrí, who later became known as Baháʼu'lláh. Baháʼu'lláh was arrested in 1852 and jailed in Tehran, where he became aware that he was the prophet and messenger of God whose coming had been predicted by the Báb. He was released in 1853 and exiled to Baghdad, where his leadership revived the Bábí community. In 1863, shortly before being moved to Constantinople (now Istanbul), Baháʼu'lláh declared to his fellow Bábís that he was the messenger of God foretold by the Báb. An overwhelming majority acknowledged his claim and became known as Baháʼís.

Baháʼu'lláh was subsequently confined by the Ottomans in Adrianople (now Edirne, Turkey) and then in Acre in Palestine (now Akko, Israel). He died in 1892 and, before his death, appointed his eldest son, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, to be the leader of the Baháʼí community and the authorised interpreter of his teachings. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá actively administered the movement's affairs and spread the faith to North America, Europe, and other continents. He appointed his eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, as his successor.

Under the leadership of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, the Baháʼí religion gained a foothold in Europe and America and was consolidated in Iran, where it still faces intense persecution. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's death in 1921 marks the end of what Baháʼís call the "heroic age" of the religion. The Baháʼí Faith underwent rapid expansion beginning in the 1960s, and by the early 21st century, it had more than 180 national spiritual assemblies and several thousand local spiritual assemblies.

Bahá'í community

The Baháʼí community is governed according to general principles proclaimed by Baháʼu'lláh and through institutions created by him that were later elaborated and expanded on by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. The Baháʼí community was mostly confined to the Iranian and Ottoman empires until after the death of Baháʼu'lláh in 1892, at which time he had followers in 13 countries of Asia and Africa. Under the leadership of his son, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, the religion gained a footing in Europe and America, and was consolidated in Iran, where it still suffers intense persecution.

The governance of the Baháʼí 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 Baháʼí community. On the national scale, each year Baháʼís elect delegates to a national convention that elects a national spiritual assembly with jurisdiction over Baháʼís throughout an entire country. All national spiritual assemblies of the world periodically constitute themselves an international convention and elect a supreme governing body known as the Universal House of Justice. This body applies the laws promulgated by Baháʼu'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 ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and near the Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh at Bahjí, near ʻAkko.

The Baháʼí community is established in more than 100,000 localities in virtually every country and territory around the world. Baháʼís annually elect local, regional, and national Spiritual Assemblies that govern the religion's affairs, and every five years an election is held for the Universal House of Justice, the nine-member governing institution of the worldwide Baháʼí community that is located in Haifa, Israel, near the Shrine of the Báb. Baháʼís are encouraged but not required to attend Nineteen Day Feasts, community gatherings that are held on the first day of each month in the Baháʼí calendar. Baháʼís are required to recite at least one of three prayers written by Baháʼu'lláh, known as the “obligatory prayers”, daily. These recitations are intended to be a personal practice and are not performed as a group.

Baháʼís may also recite other prayers without the requirements attached to the obligatory prayers. These other prayers, written by either Baháʼu'lláh, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, or the Báb address a number of topics, including forgiveness, healing, and marriage, and are collected in prayer books commonly carried by Baháʼís. It is common for Baháʼís to attend devotional gatherings in community centres or their own homes to recite prayers, aside from the obligatory prayers, together. There are no rituals for these gatherings and no congregational prayer. Different communities of Baháʼís might engage in a variety of practices at devotional gatherings, including the performance of music and the reading of Baháʼí texts.

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