(Source: footnote to a message from the Universal House of
Justice to the friends gathered at the Baha'i International Conference in
Montreal, 5 September 1982; Messages from the Universal House of Justice
1963-1986)
February 28, 2018
1921 to about 1946: World convulsions synchronized with Plans of the Faith
The series of world convulsions with which the Plans
synchronized included World War II, the outbreak of which threatened the
security of the World Centre itself. The German Baha'is faced grave danger
throughout the Nazi period; their activities as a community were banned, and
some of their members were killed. Instances of crises within the Faith were
those instigated by the relatives of Shoghi Effendi who rebelled against his
authority as Guardian of the Cause of God and were ultimately expelled from the
Faith as Covenant-breakers. Also troublesome during the 1930s and 1940s were
the activities of a former secretary to 'Abdu'l-Baha, Ahmad Sohrab, who also violated
the provisions of Baha'u'llah's Covenant and was expelled from the Faith by
Shoghi Effendi.
February 25, 2018
Victories by North American Baha’is include…
Foremost among the victories won by the North American
Baha'is during the first and second Seven Year Plans (1937-44 and 1946-53) was
the establishment of the Administrative Order in Central and South America and
Europe. The North American Baha'is have also played a major role in
establishing the Administrative Order in Africa, Asia, and Australasia.
(Source: footnote to a message from the Universal House of Justice to the
friends gathered at the Baha'i International Conference in Montreal, 5
September 1982; Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986)
February 22, 2018
circa 1930: Public Bath in Shiraz
Views of the public bath in Shiraz where the Báb went as a child
(The Dawn-Breakers)
February 17, 2018
Mirzá Muhammad-Báir - the first in Mashhad, Persia, to embrace the Cause of the Báb; - builder of Bábíyyih, the first Baha’i center; designer of structural reinforcement of Fort Tabarsi; lieutenant and trusted counsellor of Quddús
Mírzá Muhammad-Báqir, known as Haratí, though originally a
resident of Qayin. He was a close relative of the father of Nabíl-i-Akbar, and
was the first in Mashhad to embrace the Cause. It was he who built the
Bábíyyih, and who devotedly served Quddús during his sojourn in that city. When
Mullá Husayn hoisted the Black Standard, he, together with his child, Mírzá
Muhammad-Kázim, eagerly enrolled under his banner and went forth with him to
Mázindarán… It was Mírzá Muḥammad-Báqir who acted as the standard-bearer of the
company, who designed the plan of the fort, its walls and turrets and the moat
which surrounded it, who succeeded Mullá Husayn in organising the forces of his
companions and in leading the charge against the enemy, and who acted as the
intimate companion, the lieutenant and trusted counsellor of Quddús until the
hour when he fell a martyr in the path of the Cause.
- Nabil (‘The
Dawn-Breakers’; translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)
February 14, 2018
Mulla Husayn’s brother and nephew were both among the Letters of the Living – they were martyred at Fort Tabarsi
Mírzá Muḥammad-Báqir, the nephew of Mullá Husayn. He, as
well as Mírzá Muḥammad-Ḥasan, accompanied Mullá Ḥusayn from Bushrúyih to
Karbilá and from thence to Shíráz, where they embraced the Message of the Báb
and were enrolled among the Letters of the Living. With the exception of the
journey of Mullá Husayn to the castle of Máh-Kú, they continued to be with him
until the time they suffered martyrdom in the fort of Tabarsí.
- Nabil (‘The
Dawn-Breakers’; translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)
February 12, 2018
February 10, 2018
February 5, 2018
The Dawn-Breakers - the second book the Guardian translated into English
During that same year [1930] the Guardian began work on the
second book published during this period, a work that was neither a translation
of Bahá'u'lláh's words nor one of Shoghi Effendi's general letters, but which
must be considered a literary masterpiece and one of his most priceless gifts
for all time. This was the translation of the first part of the narrative
compiled by a contemporary follower of both the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh known as
Nabil, which was published in 1932 under the title The Dawn-Breakers. If the
critic and sceptic should be tempted to dismiss the literature of the Bahá'í
Faith as typical of the better class of religious books designed for the
initiate only, he could not for a moment so brush aside a volume of the quality
of Nabil's Narrative , which deserves to be counted as a classic among epic
narratives in the English tongue. Although ostensibly a translation from the
original Persian Shoghi Effendi may be said to have re-created it in English,
his translation being comparable to Fitzgerald's rendering of Omar Khayyam's
Rubaiyat which gave to the world a poem in a foreign language that in many ways
far exceeded the merits of the original. The best and most descriptive comments
on this masterpiece of the Guardian are to be found in the words of prominent
non-Bahá'ís. The playwright Gordon Bottemley wrote: "...living with it has
been one of the salient experiences of a lifetime; but beyond that it was a
moving experience both in itself and through the psychological light it throws
on the New Testament narrative." The well-known scholar and humanitarian,
Dr Alfred W. Martin of the Ethical Culture Society, in his letter of thanks to
Shoghi Effendi for sending him Nabil's Narrative wrote: "Your magnificent
and monumental work...will be a classic and a standard for all time to come. I
marvel beyond measure at your ability to prepare such a work for the press over
and above all the activities which your regular professional position devolves
upon you." One of his old professors, Bayard Dodge of the American University
of Beirut, after receiving the gift of Nabil's Narrative from the Guardian
wrote to him: "...The last book - The Dawn-Breakers - is an especially
valuable contribution. In congratulate you heartily for publishing it. You must
have worked very hard to produce such a splendid translation, with such very
interesting notes and photographs."
- Ruhiyyih Khanum ('The Priceless Pearl')
February 1, 2018
The first book the Guardian translated into English - The Kitáb-i-Iqán (The Book of Certitude)
Concurrent with the period when these first illuminating
letters on such major subjects were streaming from the pen of Shoghi Effendi,
he undertook the translation of two books. In a letter written on 4 July 1930
Shoghi Effendi says "I feel exceedingly tired after a strenuous year of
work, particularly as I have managed to add to my labours the translation of
the Íqán, which I have already sent to America." This was the first of his
major translations, Bahá'u'lláh's great exposition on the station and role of
the Manifestations of God, more particularly in the light of Islamic teachings
and prophecies, known as the Kitáb-i-Íqán of Book of Certitude. It was an
invaluable adjunct to the western Bahá'ís in their study of the Faith they had
embraced and infinitely enriched their understanding of Divine Revelation.
- Ruhiyyih
Khanum ('The Priceless Pearl')