tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83767965703942682742024-03-15T21:11:21.718-04:00Baha'i Historical FactsA survey of Baha'i history ...
To use the Search Feature on mobile devices: scroll down to the very bottom of the page, click on View Web Version. The search box will appear on the top right corner of the screen.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger892125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-48910291430525577842024-03-12T05:00:00.004-04:002024-03-12T05:00:00.256-04:00Ridvan 2008: A “panorama” of “the progress of the worldwide Bahá’í community”<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thousands upon thousands, embracing the diversity of the
entire human family, are engaged in systematic study of the Creative Word in an
environment that is at once serious and uplifting. As they strive to apply
through a process of action, reflection and consultation the insights thus
gained, they see their capacity to serve the Cause rise to new levels.
Responding to the inmost longing of every heart to commune with its Maker, they
carry out acts of collective worship in diverse settings, uniting with others
in prayer, awakening spiritual susceptibilities, and shaping a pattern of life
distinguished for its devotional character. As they call on one another in
their homes and pay visits to families, friends and acquaintances, they enter
into purposeful discussion on themes of spiritual import, deepen their
knowledge of the Faith, share Bahá’u’lláh’s message, and welcome increasing
numbers to join them in a mighty spiritual enterprise. Aware of the aspirations
of the children of the world and their need for spiritual education, they
extend their efforts widely to involve ever-growing contingents of participants
in classes that become centres of attraction for the young and strengthen the
roots of the Faith in society. They assist junior youth to navigate through a
crucial stage of their lives and to become empowered to direct their energies
toward the advancement of civilization. And with the advantage of a greater
abundance of human resources, an increasing number of them are able to express
their faith through a rising tide of endeavours that address the needs of
humanity in both their spiritual and material dimensions. Such is the panorama
before us as we pause this Ridván to observe the progress of the worldwide
Bahá’í community. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- The Universal House of Justice (From Ridván 2008 message
to the Bahá’ís of the World; </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-46162307765297273342024-03-07T13:34:00.010-05:002024-03-09T13:38:30.583-05:00The Institution of the Hands of the Cause: “Chief Stewards of Bahá’u’lláh’s embryonic World Commonwealth”<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We trace the origins of the Institution to Bahá’u’lláh
Himself, Who designated four renowned promoters of His teachings as Hands of
the Cause of God. In a period before the administrative system of the Faith was
inaugurated, they became rallying points for the friends, as much because of
the virtuous character of their personal lives as for their unceasing
endeavours in proclaiming the Teachings and defending the Faith against its
detractors. They remained resolute in such activities despite the severe persecution,
including imprisonment in some instances, to which they were subjected by the
authorities. These distinguished personages remained active during the ministry
of ‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, Who, in 1899, instructed them to
take steps to form the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tihr</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">n, on
which they all served. The focus of these first Hands on propagation and
protection of the Faith, as well as their efforts to edify believers as to the
importance of the new Laws, intimated even then the pattern of functioning the
Institution would adopt at a later stage in the advancement of the Bahá’í
community.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Master did not Himself appoint Hands of the Cause, but
referred to four believers posthumously as such. However, His Will and
Testament confirmed the Institution and extended it by authorizing the Guardian
of the Faith to appoint consecrated souls to it. At first, over a period of
three decades, Shoghi Effendi named ten such souls posthumously; all were
distinguished for the constancy, vigour and impact of their efforts to
propagate the Cause and promote its best interests. The Guardian’s designation
in December 1951 of twelve living believers as Hands of the Cause introduced
the Bahá’í world to a wholly new dynamic in the operation of the Order of
Bahá’u’lláh; through it the Hands exerted an unusual vitality during the Ten
Year Crusade, particularly after the sudden passing of the Sign of God. His
subsequent appointment of seven more in February 1952 and replacement
thereafter of five of those deceased kept the number of living Hands at
nineteen until less than a month before his departure, when in his last message
to the Bahá’í world he identified an additional eight, bringing the total to
twenty-seven. Shoghi Effendi’s description of them as the “Chief Stewards of
Bahá’u’lláh’s embryonic World Commonwealth” prefigured the world-shaking
reality of the unexpected responsibilities that would be thrust upon them on
the morrow of his passing. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">- The Universal House of Justice (From a message
dated 26 November 2007 to the Bahá’ís of the World; online Baha’i Reference
Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-62667345480994100562024-02-28T05:00:00.002-05:002024-03-09T16:03:41.424-05:001846 Isfahan: The argument that one of the invited clergy used to dissuade others from attending the meeting to face the Báb at the home of the governor<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hájí Siyyid
Asadu’lláh refused the invitation and endeavoured to dissuade those who had
been invited, from participating in that gathering. “I have sought to excuse
myself,” he informed them, “and I would most certainly urge you to do the same.
I regard it as most unwise of you to meet the Siyyid-i-Báb face to face. He
will, no doubt, reassert his claim and will, in support of his argument, adduce
whatever proof you may desire him to give, and, without the least hesitation,
will reveal as a testimony to the truth he bears, verses of such a number as
would equal half the Qur’án. In the end he will challenge you in these words:
‘Produce likewise, if ye are men of truth.’ We can in no wise successfully
resist him. If we disdain to answer him, our impotence will have been exposed.
If we, on the other hand, submit to his claim, we shall not only be forfeiting
our own reputation, our own prerogatives and rights, but will have committed
ourselves to acknowledge any further claims that he may feel inclined to make
in the future.” </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- Nabil <span style="font-size: x-small;">(‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-25654738088951382792024-02-25T06:50:00.001-05:002024-03-09T16:03:56.358-05:001973: Announcement of “the first reigning sovereign to enter beneath the shade of this Cause” - His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II, the Head of State of the independent nation of Western Samoa<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu7M2VwWevnYdy62nQGSZhPuODsfK9KVk0LEspdvyMg7rajG8Ojw82G6mr9AA8Br9yCVK3nHVpHewp3-MIup1-kMoiJKspC-Jvz6V-HQTcSJsOmqSx7_veJcnPQynw01rAEJTZ-lkUz7qQF5f8PLghdc3N4CF-IYaWCos_zRW9o_hKAeLb8afR7GOXN6Rc/s940/His%20Highness%20Malietoa%20Tanumafili%20II.webp" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="940" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu7M2VwWevnYdy62nQGSZhPuODsfK9KVk0LEspdvyMg7rajG8Ojw82G6mr9AA8Br9yCVK3nHVpHewp3-MIup1-kMoiJKspC-Jvz6V-HQTcSJsOmqSx7_veJcnPQynw01rAEJTZ-lkUz7qQF5f8PLghdc3N4CF-IYaWCos_zRW9o_hKAeLb8afR7GOXN6Rc/w228-h141/His%20Highness%20Malietoa%20Tanumafili%20II.webp" width="228" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">7 May 1973</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To the Bahá’ís of the World</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dear Bahá’í Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is now possible to share with you all the news of an
event which crowns the victories with which Bahá’u’lláh has blessed His
followers during the Nine Year Plan, an event of which the true significance
will be fully understood only in the course of centuries to come: a reigning
monarch has accepted the Message of Bahá’u’lláh.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Among those to whom The Proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh was
presented in 1967 was His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II, the Head of State of
the independent nation of Western Samoa in the heart of the Pacific Ocean. His
Highness, who had already heard of the Faith, showed immediately that the
sacred Words had touched his heart, and the Universal House of Justice
thereupon asked the Hand of the Cause Dr. Ugo Giachery, who had presented the
book to him, to return to Western Samoa for further audiences with His Highness.
Following this visit the Malietoa conveyed his acceptance of the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh to the Universal House of Justice and became the first reigning
sovereign to enter beneath the shade of this Cause.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">His Highness decided, with the full agreement of the
Universal House of Justice, that it was not propitious to make his declaration
public at that time. He has been visited from time to time by Hands of the
Cause and other believers, and continual touch with His Highness has been
maintained by the House of Justice through Mr. Suhayl ‘Alá’í, a member of the
Continental Board of Counselors for Australasia. Gradually the Malietoa has let
it be known to those around him that he has accepted Bahá’u’lláh. Now he has
judged the time ripe to share this wondrous news with his fellow-believers in
all parts of the world, by addressing to the International Bahá’í Convention
the gracious and inspiring message of which a copy is enclosed with this
letter.…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With loving Bahá’í greetings,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-11759040623356370612024-02-21T05:00:00.002-05:002024-02-25T06:51:38.324-05:002007: “a recently disclosed communication by Central Security Office of the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology, confidentially conveyed to the officials of eighty-one universities in Iran… called for the expulsion of any student discovered to be a Bahá’í”<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The persistent position of the Iranian authorities in
banning Bahá’í students from access to higher education is deeply saddening.
The policy was clearly confirmed in a recently disclosed communication by the
Central Security Office of the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology,
confidentially conveyed to the officials of eighty-one universities in Iran,
which called for the expulsion of any student discovered to be a Bahá’í. It has
now been reaffirmed by the action taken recently by the Education Evaluation
Organization, which declared as “incomplete”—and therefore invalid—the
applications of some 800 Bahá’ís who took the national exam for university
entrance for the coming academic year (2007–2008). These official acts are
disappointing and shameful.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Only a few months ago, reports carried by newspapers about
the expulsion of Bahá’í students in Iran were denied by a spokesperson for
Iran’s mission to the United Nations, who said outright that no one in Iran is
expelled from university because of religion. That same assurance was given by
the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United Kingdom, in a written
response to the concern a British Member of Parliament had expressed about the
government’s treatment of Bahá’í students. A similar avowal by the Iranian
embassy in Ethiopia appeared in a newspaper in that country following the
publication of a story reporting Iran’s covert plan to identify Bahá’ís and
secretly monitor their activities throughout the country.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For more than two decades Bahá’í students in Iran were
unable to enter university because the only way open to them would have been to
misrepresent their Faith. Then, consequent to a concerted worldwide
effort—involving governments, educational institutions, non-governmental
organizations, and individuals—that raised questions about this situation, your
government’s representatives responded by averring that the reference to
religion on the forms was not to identify university applicants by belief but only
to specify the religion on which they wished to be examined. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">- The Universal
House of Justice <span style="font-size: x-small;">(From a message dated 09 September 2007, addressed to the
Bahá’í students deprived of access to higher education in Iran; online Baha’i
Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-9963993796559742122024-02-16T14:08:00.005-05:002024-02-25T06:51:51.254-05:00“sufferings which, for no less than seventy years, were endured by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá”<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">To the mounting tide of trials which laid low the Báb, to
the long-drawn-out calamities which rained on Bahá’u’lláh, to the warnings
sounded by both the Herald and the Author of the Bahá’í Revelation, must be
added the sufferings which, for no less than seventy years, were endured by
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as well as His pleas, and entreaties, uttered in the evening of
His life, in connection with the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">dangers that increasingly threatened the whole
of mankind.</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Born in
the very year that witnessed the inception of the Bábí Revelation;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">baptized with the initial fires of persecution that raged around that nascent
Cause;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">an
eyewitness, when a boy of eight, of the violent upheavals that rocked the Faith
which His Father had espoused;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">sharing
with Him, the ignominy, the perils, and rigors consequent upon the successive
banishments from His native-land to countries far beyond its confines;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">arrested
and forced to support, in a dark cell, the indignity of imprisonment soon after
His arrival in Akká;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">the
object of repeated investigations and the target of continual assaults and
insults under the despotic rule of Sultán ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd, and later under the
ruthless military dictatorship of the suspicious and merciless Jamál Páshá—</span></li></ul><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He, too, the Center and Pivot of Bahá’u’lláh’s peerless
Covenant and the perfect Exemplar of His teachings, was made to taste, at the
hands of potentates, ecclesiastics, governments and peoples, the cup of woe
which the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, as well as so many of their followers, had
drained. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">- Shoghi Effendi <span style="font-size: x-small;">(‘The Promised Day Is Come’)</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-82128219790459481032024-02-11T14:03:00.002-05:002024-02-25T06:52:04.035-05:001976: “Bahá'ís form a majority or even the entire population of the village”: - “many villages in India, the Philippines, Africa, Latin America, etc.”<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are, at the present time, many villages in India, the
Philippines, Africa, Latin America, etc., where the Bahá'ís form a majority or
even the entire population of the village. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- The Universal House of Justice <span style="font-size: x-small;">(From a letter dated 27 July 1976
written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer;
The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. III, Social and Economic Development)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-80818247136356124832024-02-06T19:46:00.024-05:002024-02-16T14:05:09.046-05:002006: The “most significant developments in the process of integration… directly related to the Faith”: - “many of which were nurtured by the Guardian”<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKX8ge19Ah48BpuufVm9KbVoEKKq3W8jMrNad0_KyhNH223geLvNIqh_MlozDB0mjTuDdS_Os1W88CHkqZJDVHZ-8DU4sH68xbabOjKfN-tDlwNwzlycY_u_UAmowvFawE4RrSNnhql-QwzwUWjPhYKypEJy_G5Gos1Bo9wtzCL2jIqDj1c07PbK3Eq1kY/s100/artistic-bird.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="71" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKX8ge19Ah48BpuufVm9KbVoEKKq3W8jMrNad0_KyhNH223geLvNIqh_MlozDB0mjTuDdS_Os1W88CHkqZJDVHZ-8DU4sH68xbabOjKfN-tDlwNwzlycY_u_UAmowvFawE4RrSNnhql-QwzwUWjPhYKypEJy_G5Gos1Bo9wtzCL2jIqDj1c07PbK3Eq1kY/s1600/artistic-bird.jpg" width="71" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">…for the followers of Bahá’u’lláh the most significant
developments in the process of integration are those directly related to the
Faith, many of which were nurtured by the Guardian himself and which have
advanced tremendously since their modest beginnings.</span><p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">From the
small nucleus of believers to whom he imparted his first teaching plans has
grown a worldwide community with a presence in thousands of localities, each
following a well-established pattern of activity that embodies the Faith’s
principles and aspirations.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Upon the
foundation of the Administrative Order he so painstakingly laid during the
early decades of his ministry has been raised a large, closely knit network of
National and Local Spiritual Assemblies diligently administering the affairs of
the Cause in more than one hundred and eighty countries.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">From the
first contingents of Auxiliary Board members for the Protection and Propagation
of the Faith brought into being by him has arisen a legion of nearly one
thousand stalwart workers serving in the field under the direction of
eighty-one Counsellors ably guided by the International Teaching Centre.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">The
evolution of the World Administrative Center of the Faith, within the precincts
of its World Spiritual Center, a process to which the Guardian consecrated so
much energy, has crossed a crucial threshold with the occupation by the
Universal House of Justice of its Seat on Mount Carmel and the subsequent
completion of the International Teaching Centre Building and the Centre for the
Study of the Texts.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">The
Institution of Huqúqu’lláh has steadily progressed under the stewardship of the
Hand of the Cause of God Dr. ‘Alí-Muhammad Varqá, appointed Trustee by Shoghi
Effendi fifty years ago, culminating in the establishment in 2005 of an
international board designed to promote the continued widespread application of
this mighty law, a source of inestimable blessings for all humanity.<span><a name='more'></a></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">The
efforts of the Guardian to raise the profile of the Faith in international
circles have developed into an extensive external affairs system, capable of
both defending the interests of the Faith and proclaiming its universal
message.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">The
respect the Faith enjoys in international fora, whenever its representatives
speak, is a most noteworthy accomplishment.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">The
loyalty and devotion that the members of a community reflecting the diversity
of the entire human race evince towards the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh constitute
a storehouse of strength the like of which no other organized group can claim. </span></li></ul><span style="font-family: verdana;">- The Universal House of Justice <span style="font-size: x-small;">(From Ridvan 2006 message to the Bahá’ís of the
World; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-17658451376870257842024-02-01T20:40:00.008-05:002024-02-16T14:09:30.850-05:002004: “the great majority of National Spiritual Assemblies have chosen to adopt the course materials devised by the Ruhi Institute”<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As foreseen, the training institute is proving to be an
engine of growth. On assessing the opportunities and needs of their respective
communities, the great majority of National Spiritual Assemblies have chosen to
adopt the course materials devised by the Ruhi Institute, finding them most
responsive to the Plan’s needs. This has had the collateral benefit that the
same materials have been translated into many languages and, wherever Bahá’ís
travel, they find other friends following the same path and familiar with the
same books and methods. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- The Universal House of Justice <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Ridván 2004 message to
the Bahá’ís of the World; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World
Center)</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-35844979001815471712024-01-28T18:36:00.010-05:002024-02-01T20:41:00.034-05:002004: Election of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Iraq – “restored after more than thirty years”<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">…we announce with great joy the election, this Ridván, of
the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iraq, restored after more
than thirty years of stifling oppression, to take its rightful place in the
international Bahá’í community. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- The Universal House of Justice <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Ridván 2004
message to the Bahá’ís of the World; online Baha’i Reference Library of the
Baha’i World Center)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-2770842363900712332024-01-22T00:56:00.002-05:002024-02-01T20:41:14.558-05:001846: At the request of the Imám-Jum’ih of Isfahan, the Báb revealed a commentary on the Súrih of Va’l-‘Asr of Qur’an in the presence of His host and his companions – “a number of verses as to equal a fourth, nay a third, of the Qur’án”<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">One night, after supper, the Imám-Jum’ih, whose curiosity
had been excited by the extraordinary traits of character which his youthful
Guest had revealed, ventured to request Him to reveal a commentary on the Súrih
of Va’l-‘Asr.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">His request was readily
granted. Calling for pen and paper, the Báb, with astonishing rapidity and
without the least premeditation, began to reveal, in the presence of His host,
a most illuminating interpretation of the aforementioned Súrih. It was nearing
midnight when the Báb found Himself engaged in the exposition of the manifold
implications involved in the first letter of that Súrih. That letter, the
letter ‘váv’ upon which Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsá’í had already laid such emphasis in
his writings, symbolised for the Báb the advent of a new cycle of Divine
Revelation, and has since been alluded to by Bahá’u’lláh in the “Kitab-i-Aqdas”
in such passages as “the mastery of the Great Reversal” and “the Sign of the
Sovereign.” The Báb soon after began to chant, in the presence of His host and
his companions, the homily with which He had prefaced His commentary on the
Súrih. Those words of power confounded His hearers with wonder. They seemed as
if bewitched by the magic of His voice. Instinctively they started to their
feet and, together with the Imám-Jum’ih, reverently kissed the hem of His
garment. Mullá Muḥammad-Taqíy-i-Haratí, an eminent mujtahid, broke out into a
sudden expression of exultation and praise. “Peerless and unique,” he
exclaimed, “as are the words which have streamed from this pen, to be able to
reveal, within so short a time and in so legible a writing, so great a number
of verses as to equal a fourth, nay a third, of the Qur’án, is in itself an
achievement such as no mortal, without the intervention of God, could hope to
perform. Neither the cleaving of the moon nor the quickening of the pebbles of
the sea can compare with so mighty an act.” </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- Nabil</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">(‘The Dawn-Breakers’; translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-85037325914042873422024-01-14T00:40:00.002-05:002024-01-28T00:59:07.000-05:00Some of the “ordeal[s] and…indignities” that Baha’u’llah suffered - summarized by Shoghi Effendi<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">To enumerate a few of the outstanding features of this
moving drama will suffice to evoke in the reader of these pages, already
familiar with the history of the Faith, the memory of those vicissitudes which
it has experienced, and which the world has until now viewed with such frigid
indifference.</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">The
forced and sudden retirement of Bahá’u’lláh to the mountains of Sulaymáníyyih,
and the distressing consequences that flowed from His two years’ complete
withdrawal;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">the
incessant intrigues indulged in by the exponents of Shí’ih Islám in Najaf and
Karbilá, working in close and constant association with their confederates in
Persia;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">the
intensification of the repressive measures decreed by Sultán ‘Abdu’l-‘Azíz
which brought to a head the defection of certain prominent members of the
exiled community;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">the
enforcement of yet another banishment by order of that same Sultán, this time
to that far off and most desolate of cities, causing such despair as to lead
two of the exiles to attempt suicide;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">the
unrelaxing surveillance to which they were subjected upon their arrival in
Akká, by hostile officials, and the insufferable imprisonment for two years in
the barracks of that town;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">the
interrogatory to which the Turkish páshá subsequently subjected his Prisoner at
the headquarters of the government;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">His
confinement for no less than eight years in a humble dwelling surrounded by the
befouled air of that city, His sole recreation being confined to pacing the
narrow space of His room—</span></li></ul><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">these, as well as other tribulations, proclaim, on the one
hand, the nature of the ordeal and the indignities He suffered, and point, on
the other, the finger of accusation at those mighty ones of the earth who had
either so sorely maltreated Him, or deliberately withheld from Him their
succor. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">- Shoghi Effendi <span style="font-size: x-small;">(‘The Promised Day Is Come’)</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-63131704864060194962024-01-08T18:32:00.008-05:002024-01-28T00:59:20.689-05:00May 1992: The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies expressed “profound admiration” for Bahá’u’lláh: The Author of “the most colossal religious work written by the pen of a single Man”<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The world’s appreciation of Bahá’u’lláh came perhaps most
explicitly into focus on 29 May 1992, the centenary of His death, when the
Brazilian Chamber of Deputies met in solemn session to pay tribute to Him, to
His teachings and to the services rendered to humanity by the community He
founded. On that occasion, the Speaker of the Chamber and spokespersons from
every party rose, successively, to express their profound admiration of One who
was described in their addresses as the Author of “the most colossal religious
work written by the pen of a single Man”, a message that “reaches out to
humanity as a whole, without petty differences of nationality, race, limits or
belief”. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- The Universal House of Justice <span style="font-size: x-small;">(From a message dated 26 November 2003,
addressed to the Followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the Cradle of the Faith; Online
Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-90635700818472719562024-01-05T16:30:00.002-05:002024-01-08T18:32:57.200-05:002003: “17,000 clusters worldwide”<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">During the initial months of the Plan, National Spiritual
Assemblies proceeded with relative ease to divide the territories under their
jurisdiction into areas consisting of adjacent localities, called clusters,
using criteria that were purely geographic and social and did not relate to the
strength of local Bahá’í communities. Reports received at the World Centre
indicate that there are now close to 17,000 clusters worldwide, excluding those
countries where, for one reason or another, the operation of the Faith is
restricted. The number of clusters per country varies widely—from India with
its 1,580 to Singapore, which necessarily sees itself as one cluster. Some of
the groupings are sparsely populated areas with only a few thousand
inhabitants, while the boundaries of others encompass several million people.
For the most part, large urban centers under the jurisdiction of one Local
Spiritual Assembly have been designated single clusters, these in turn being
divided into sectors, so as to facilitate planning and implementation. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- The
Universal House of Justice <span style="font-size: x-small;">(From a message dated 17 January 2003 to the Bahá’ís
of the World; Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-27974258031245784682023-12-31T15:13:00.001-05:002024-01-08T18:33:13.568-05:00The “other tribulations which, before and immediately after this dreadful episode [Siyah-Chal], touched Baha’u’llah<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And what of the other tribulations which, before and
immediately after this dreadful episode, touched Him?</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">What of
His confinement in the home of one of the kad-khudás of Tihrán</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">What of
the savage violence with which He was stoned by the angry people in the
neighborhood of the village of Níyálá?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">What of
His incarceration by the emissaries of the army of the Sháh in Mázindarán, and
His receiving the bastinado by order, and in the presence, of the assembled
siyyids and mujtahids into whose hands He had been delivered by the civil
authorities of Ámul?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">What of
the howls of derision and abuse with which a crowd of ruffians subsequently
pursued Him?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">What of
the monstrous accusation brought against Him by the Imperial household, the
Court and the people, when the attempt was made on the life of Náṣiri’d-Dín
Sháh?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">What of
the infamous outrages, the abuse and ridicule heaped on Him when He was
arrested by responsible officers of the government, and conducted from
Níyávarán “on foot and in chains, with bared head and bare feet,” and exposed
to the fierce rays of the midsummer sun, to the Síyáh-Chál of Ṭihrán?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">What of
the avidity with which corrupt officials sacked His house and carried away all
His possessions and disposed of His fortune?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">What of
the cruel edict that tore Him from the small band of the Báb’s bewildered,
hounded, and shepherdless followers, separated Him from His kinsmen and
friends, and banished Him, in the depth of winter, despoiled and defamed, to
‘Iráq?</span></li></ul><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Severe as were these tribulations which succeeded one
another with bewildering rapidity as a result of the premeditated attacks and
the systematic machinations of the court, the clergy, the government and the
people, they were but the prelude to a harrowing and extensive captivity which
that edict had formally initiated. Extending over a period of more than forty
years, and carrying Him successively to ‘Iráq, Sulaymáníyyih, Constantinople,
Adrianople and finally to the penal colony of Akká, this long banishment was at
last ended by His death, at the age of over three score years and ten,
terminating a captivity which, in its range, its duration and the diversity and
severity of its afflictions, is unexampled in the history of previous
Dispensations. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">- Shoghi Effendi <span style="font-size: x-small;">(‘The Promised Day Is Come’)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-64697757716374540052023-12-26T15:04:00.002-05:002024-01-08T18:33:26.511-05:00“For three days and three nights no manner of food or drink was given to Bahá’u’lláh”<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">“For three days and three nights,” Nabíl has recorded in his
chronicle, “no manner of food or drink was given to Bahá’u’lláh. Rest and sleep
were both impossible to Him. The place was infested with vermin, and the stench
of that gloomy abode was enough to crush the very spirits of those who were
condemned to suffer its horrors.” “Such was the intensity of His suffering that
the marks of that cruelty remained imprinted upon His body all the days of His
life.” </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- Shoghi Effendi <span style="font-size: x-small;">(‘The Promised Day Is Come’)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-71036165154502965052023-12-19T15:02:00.002-05:002024-01-08T18:33:40.139-05:00Eight-year-old ‘Abdu’l-Bha was allowed to see Baha’u’llah while in Siyah-Chal<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">“‘Abdu’l-Bahá,” writes Dr. J.E. Esslemont, “tells how one
day He was allowed to enter the prison-yard to see His beloved Father when He
came out for His daily exercise. Bahá’u’lláh was terribly altered, so ill He
could hardly walk. His hair and beard unkempt, His neck galled and swollen from
the pressure of a heavy steel collar, His body bent by the weight of His
chains.” </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- Shoghi Effendi <span style="font-size: x-small;">(‘The Promised Day Is Come’)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-13386668810598085912023-12-12T15:01:00.002-05:002024-01-08T18:33:54.334-05:00Bahá’u’lláh describes the awful conditions of the Black Pit<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">“We were consigned,” He wrote in His “Epistle to the Son of
the Wolf,” “for four months to a place foul beyond comparison. As to the
dungeon in which this Wronged One and others similarly wronged were confined, a
dark and narrow pit were preferable.... The dungeon was wrapped in thick
darkness, and Our fellow prisoners numbered nearly a hundred and fifty souls:
thieves, assassins, and highwaymen. Though crowded, it had no other outlet than
the passage by which We entered. No pen can depict that place, nor any tongue
describe its loathsome smell. Most of these men had neither clothes nor bedding
to lie on. God alone knoweth what befell Us in that most foul-smelling and
gloomy place!” </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- Shoghi Effendi <span style="font-size: x-small;">(‘The Promised Day Is Come’)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-20081871254624470622023-12-07T14:57:00.002-05:002024-01-08T18:34:08.298-05:00Bahá’u’lláh was “for nearly half a century… under the domination of the two most powerful potentates of the East”<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What of Bahá’u’lláh, the germ of Whose Revelation, as
attested by the Báb, is endowed with a potency superior to the combined forces
of the Bábí Dispensation? Was He not—He for Whom the Báb had suffered and died
in such tragic and miraculous circumstances—made, for nearly half a century and
under the domination of the two most powerful potentates of the East, the
object of a systematic and concerted conspiracy which, in its effects and
duration, is scarcely paralleled in the annals of previous religions? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- Shoghi
Effendi <span style="font-size: x-small;">(‘The Promised Day Is Come’)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-58088090076726193752023-12-01T08:29:00.010-05:002024-01-06T15:07:38.802-05:00October 2000: The Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS) was launched on the Internet<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In October, the Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS) was
launched on the Internet with the intention of reaching both Bahá’í and
non-Bahá’í audiences with news stories about developments throughout the Bahá’í
world. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- The Universal House of Justice <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Ridvan 2001 message to the Bahá’ís of
the World; (Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-18459995391870816152023-11-25T09:12:00.003-05:002024-01-06T15:07:53.612-05:002000: The “restoration of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Indonesia after a lapse of almost three decades”<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">With the greatest of happiness we extend our loving
greetings to you on the long-awaited occasion of the restoration of the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Indonesia after a lapse of almost
three decades.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Your Bahá’í community owes its origin to the arrival in
Batavia over a century ago of Jamal Effendi and Mustafa Rumi and their
subsequent travel to many parts of the region. It entered a period of
accelerated growth during the Ten Year Crusade, aided by an influx of dedicated
pioneers from other lands, including the Hand of the Cause Rahmatu’llah
Muhajir, but its progress was arrested by the enforced dissolution of the
elected Bahá’í institutions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Although deprived of their institutions, members of your
community held fast to the Cause of God in the face of misunderstanding and
hostility in some quarters. We are moved to express our admiration and
gratitude for the heroism and tenacity manifested during the years of
adversity. Who can doubt that it was this fidelity and steadfastness which
attracted the limitless blessings of Bahá’u’lláh through which the barriers to
your progress have been removed? Our profound gratitude is offered also to the
dear friends who guided your activities with consummate wisdom during the years
of deprivation, most recently as members of the Bahá’í Committee for Indonesia,
and whose endeavors were powerfully reinforced by the Continental Counselors
and their helpers. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">- The Universal House of Justice <span style="font-size: x-small;">(From a message dated Ridván
157, addressed to the Bahá’ís of Indonesia; ‘Messages from the Universal House
of Justice 1986-2001’)</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-78477954214483906792023-11-16T04:44:00.002-05:002024-01-06T15:08:07.485-05:001999: Latvia’s first National Spiritual Assembly<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is with profound happiness that we greet the dear friends
who are gathered for the first National Convention of the Bahá’ís of Latvia.
This significant achievement is the fruit of the united efforts of all the
friends in the Baltic States, together with the assistance of the many
dedicated souls who have visited your country, beginning with Miss Martha Root,
who first brought the light of Bahá’u’lláh's Revelation to Latvia during her
visit to Riga in April 1927. Today, your community has acquired the strength to
elect its own National Spiritual Assembly, and stands ready to carry forward
the noble work of the Cause. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- The Universal House of Justice <span style="font-size: x-small;">(From a message
dated Ridvan 156, addressed to the Bahá’ís of Latvia; ‘Messages from the
Universal House of Justice 1986-2001')</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-12551069919034027072023-11-10T01:52:00.004-05:002024-01-06T15:08:23.598-05:001999: Lithuania’s first National Spiritual Assembly<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOdh_h89LynyM4TJrpdVH6H4LT7zG5MMhM5y6B8EMnzj-0qq_71avB2ys2F6183jNzthmIGzyIg48fSuuQ3IRwoPLiosSdUBItZg8ePbVL6djQHyTNfm3CtSph0fiQmhqAY2ld5kw9YJpwRd1TjMopcu0c9HUbe1O9T3U3v81ro3hW2hgIS9W6PfLSZOR/s1672/Lithuania's%20first%20National%20Spiritual%20Assembly.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1142" data-original-width="1672" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOdh_h89LynyM4TJrpdVH6H4LT7zG5MMhM5y6B8EMnzj-0qq_71avB2ys2F6183jNzthmIGzyIg48fSuuQ3IRwoPLiosSdUBItZg8ePbVL6djQHyTNfm3CtSph0fiQmhqAY2ld5kw9YJpwRd1TjMopcu0c9HUbe1O9T3U3v81ro3hW2hgIS9W6PfLSZOR/s320/Lithuania's%20first%20National%20Spiritual%20Assembly.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is with exceeding gladness that we greet the dear friends
of Lithuania on the historic occasion of their first National Bahá’í
Convention. The emergence of the independent National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá’ís of Lithuania is a cause of rejoicing for the whole Bahá’í world. This precious victory for the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh is the
fruit of the self-sacrificing endeavors of the devoted believers, whether
native Lithuanians, pioneers or traveling teachers, who have raised up a
dynamic national Bahá’í community where, just a decade ago, there were only two
believers in the entire country. Looking even further back, we can see the
foundations of this achievement in the travels of Miss Martha Root, who planted
the seeds of Bahá’u’lláh's Teachings in her visit to Kaunas in April 1927. </span><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- The
Universal House of Justice <span style="font-size: x-small;">(From a message dated Ridvan 156, addressed to the
Bahá’ís of Lithuania; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-6967756790603693382023-11-02T13:36:00.003-04:002023-12-27T01:54:59.303-05:00Excruciating cruelties inflicted upon Bahá’u’lláh during His ministry<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">“The cruelties inflicted by My oppressors,” He Himself in
His anguish has cried out, “have bowed Me down, and turned My hair white.
Shouldst thou present thyself before My throne, thou wouldst fail to recognize
the Ancient Beauty, for the freshness of His countenance is altered and its
brightness hath faded, by reason of the oppression of the infidels. I swear by
God! His heart, His soul, and His vitals are melted!” “Wert thou to hear with
Mine ear,” He also declares, “thou wouldst hear how ‘Alí [the Báb] bewaileth Me
in the presence of the Glorious Companion, and how Muhammad weepeth over Me in
the all-highest Horizon, and how the Spirit [Jesus] beateth Himself upon the
head in the heaven of My decree, by reason of what hath befallen this Wronged
One at the hands of every impious sinner.” “Before Me,” He elsewhere has
written, “riseth up the Serpent of wrath with jaws stretched to engulf Me, and
behind Me stalketh the lion of anger intent on tearing Me in pieces, and above
Me, O My Well-Beloved, are the clouds of Thy decree, raining upon Me the
showers of tribulations, whilst beneath Me are fixed the spears of misfortune,
ready to wound My limbs and My body.” “Couldst thou be told,” He further
affirms, “what hath befallen the Ancient Beauty, thou wouldst flee into the
wilderness, and weep with a great weeping. In thy grief, thou wouldst smite
thyself on the head, and cry out as one stung by the sting of the adder.... By
the righteousness of God! Every morning I arose from My bed I discovered the
hosts of countless afflictions massed behind My door, and every night when I
lay down, lo! My heart was torn with agony at what it had suffered from the
fiendish cruelty of its foes. With every piece of bread the Ancient Beauty
breaketh is coupled the assault of a fresh affliction, and with every drop He
drinketh is mixed the bitterness of the most woeful of trials. He is preceded
in every step He taketh by an army of unforeseen calamities, while in His rear
follow legions of agonizing sorrows.” </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- Shoghi Effendi <span style="font-size: x-small;">(‘The Promised Day Is
Come’)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8376796570394268274.post-71447408053676954172023-10-23T21:52:00.012-04:002023-12-08T13:37:20.406-05:001993-1996: “some 10,600 friends arose to serve the Faith outside the bounds of their homelands”<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In June 1993 we raised the call for pioneers, both long-term
and short-term, and traveling teachers for the Three Year Plan. We are now
happy to announce that some 10,600 friends arose to serve the Faith outside the
bounds of their homelands during the three years, evoking our admiration and
pride. Of particular significance was the number of youth who dedicated periods
of service to the Faith.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">- The Universal House of Justice <span style="font-size: x-small;">(From a letter dated 15 September 1996 to the Baha’is of the
world; 'Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001')</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com