The Marriage of ‘Abdu’l-Baha

It was in the summer of 1873 that 'Abdu'l-Baha [then 29 years old] was married to Munirih Khanum, the niece of two brothers who were devoted followers of Baha'u'llah in Isfahan [six years later they became King and Beloved of the martyrs] She had been brought to 'Akka by Baha'u'llah in early 1873, at a time when the situation was very difficult due to the murder of the Azalis and all other Baha'i pilgrims had been told to stay away. 'Abdu'l-Baha himself had been reluctant to marry, although a number of spouses had been proposed to him over the years. He felt he could serve his father better if he remained single, as indeed did his sister Bahiyyih Khanum who never married. Although he had turned down the other spouses who had been proposed to him, he was attracted to Munirih Khanum and agreed to marry her. The marriage was put off for a few months however because the tight accommodation in their place of residence meant that the couple could not have a room to themselves. llyas 'Abbud, their neighbor who lived in the other half of the same building and who had been so fearful of the Baha’is earlier, had by this time been won over by 'Abdu'l-Baha. Bahiyyih Khanum [‘Abdu’l-Baha’s sister] went to the wife of Ilyas 'Abbud and told her of the problem. When he was informed, 'Abbud immediately opened up a doorway between his residence and Baha'u'llah's and gave ‘Abdu'l-Baha a room in his house for his use. Once this happened the marriage was able to proceed.

An example of God’s wrath when followers of a religion became totally attached to dogmas and blind imitations and gave up the essential foundation and reality of their religion

… when the Jews became fettered by empty forms and imitations, the wrath of God became manifest. When they forsook the foundations of the law of God, Nebuchadnezzar came and conquered the Holy Land. He killed and made captive the people of Israel, laid waste the country and populous cities and burned the villages. Seventy thousand Jews were carried away captive to Babylon. He destroyed Jerusalem, despoiled the great Temple, desecrated the Holy of Holies and burned the Torah, the heavenly book of Scriptures. Therefore, we learn that allegiance to the essential foundation of the divine religions is ever the cause of development and progress, whereas the abandonment and beclouding of that essential reality through blind imitations and adherence to dogmatic beliefs are the causes of a nation's debasement and degradation. After their conquest by the Babylonians the Jews were successively subjugated by the Greeks and Romans. Under the Roman general Titus in A.D. 70 the Holy Land was stripped and pillaged, Jerusalem razed to its foundations and the Israelites scattered broadcast throughout the world. So complete was their dispersion that they have continued without a country and government of their own to the present day [1912].

From this review of the history of the Jewish people we learn that the foundation of the religion of God laid by Moses was the cause of their eternal honor and national prestige, the animating impulse of their advancement and racial supremacy and the source of that excellence which will always command the respect and reverence of those who understand their peculiar destiny and outcome. The dogmas and blind imitations which gradually obscured the reality of the religion of God proved to be Israel's destructive influences, causing the expulsion of these chosen people from the Holy Land of their Covenant and promise. 
(Abdu'l-Baha, from a talk, 'The Promulgation of Universal Peace')

“Bahá'u'lláh upraised the standard of His Cause in prison ... -- a prisoner and an exile advancing His Cause and spreading His teachings broadcast so that eventually He became powerful enough to conquer the very king who banished Him.”

Inside prison walls He wrote Epistles to all the kings and rulers of nations, summoning them to arbitration and universal peace. Some of the kings received His words with disdain and contempt. One of these was the Sultan of the Ottoman kingdom. Napoleon III of France did not reply. A second Epistle was addressed to him. It stated, "I have written you an Epistle before this, summoning you to the Cause of God, but you are of the heedless. You have proclaimed that you were the defender of the oppressed; now it hath become evident that you are not. Nor are you kind to your own suffering and oppressed people. Your actions are contrary to your own interests, and your kingly pride must fall. Because of your arrogance God shortly will destroy your sovereignty. France will flee away from you, and you will be overwhelmed by a great conquest. There will be lamentation and mourning, women bemoaning the loss of their sons." This arraignment of Napoleon III was published and spread.

Read it and consider: one prisoner, single and solitary, without assistant or defender, a foreigner and stranger imprisoned in the fortress of 'Akká, writing such letters to the Emperor of France and Sultan of Turkey. Reflect upon this: how Bahá'u'lláh upraised the standard of His Cause in prison. Refer to history. It is without parallel. No such thing has happened before that time nor since -- a prisoner and an exile advancing His Cause and spreading His teachings broadcast so that eventually He became powerful enough to conquer the very king who banished Him. 
(‘Abdu’l-Baha, from a talk, 'The Promulgation of Universal Peace')

1948: Dr. Ugo Giachery is appointed by the Guardian as his personal representative for all the work in Italy associated with the erection of the superstructure of the Shrine of the Bab on Mr. Carmel

Ugo Giachery, born and educated in Palermo, Sicily, pursued a widely varied course of studies, receiving from the Royal University of Palermo a doctorate in chemistry, in which subject he engaged in teaching and research and published a number of papers. He served with distinction in the First World War. After living in the United States for some years, he and & wife returned to Italy in 1947 as pioneer teachers of the Baha'i Faith. From then on his career was one of continuing distinguished services.

In 1948 Dr. Ugo Giachery was appointed by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, as his personal representative for all the work in Italy associated with the erection of the superstructure of the Shrine of the Bab on Mr. Carmel. It was this service which brought him the immortal honour of having the south-western door of the original Shrine named after him as 'Bab-i-Giachery'. In 1951 Shoghi Effendi appointed Dr. Giachery Hand of the Cause of God, and in 1952 'Member at Large' of the international Baha'i Council, the forerunner of the Universal House of Justice. In 1953 he became chairman of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Italy and Switzerland.

Exceptionally cold weather during which Baha’u’llah and His Family were exiled to Adrianople

Pursuant to the peremptory orders issued for the immediate departure of the already twice banished exiles, Bahá'u'lláh, His family, and His companions, some riding in wagons, others mounted on pack animals, with their belongings piled in carts drawn by oxen, set out, accompanied by Turkish officers, on a cold December morning, amidst the weeping of the friends they were leaving behind, on their twelve-day journey, across a bleak and windswept country, to a city characterized by Bahá'u'lláh as "the place which none entereth except such as have rebelled against the authority of the sovereign." "They expelled Us," is His own testimony in the Suriy-i-Mulúk, "from thy city (Constantinople) with an abasement with which no abasement on earth can compare." "Neither My family, nor those who accompanied Me," He further states, "had the necessary raiment to protect them from the cold in that freezing weather." And again: "The eyes of Our enemies wept over Us, and beyond them those of every discerning person." "A banishment," laments Nabil, "endured with such meekness that the pen sheddeth tears when recounting it, and the page is ashamed to bear its description." "A cold of such intensity," that same chronicler records, "prevailed that year, that nonagenarians could not recall its like. In some regions, in both Turkey and Persia, animals succumbed to its severity and perished in the snows. The upper reaches of the Euphrates, in Ma'dan-Nuqrih, were covered with ice for several days -- an unprecedented phenomenon -- while in Diyar-Bakr the river froze over for no less than forty days." "To obtain water from the springs," one of the exiles of Adrianople recounts, "a great fire had to be lighted in their immediate neighborhood, and kept burning for a couple of hours before they thawed out."

Traveling through rain and storm, at times even making night marches, the weary travelers, after brief halts at Kuchik-Chakmachih, Buyuk-Chakmachih, Salvari, Birkas, and Baba-Iski, arrived at their destination, on the first of Rajab 1280 A.H. (December 12, 1863) 
(Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 161)

Baha’u’llah Reveals the Station of ‘Abdu’l-Baha – the Suriy-i-Ghusn (Surih of the Branch)

It was in Adrianople that Bahá'u'lláh revealed a Tablet the significance of which cannot be over-estimated. That Tablet was the Suriy-i-Ghusn (Surih of the Branch) addressed to Mirza 'Ali-Riday-i-Mustawfi, a Bahá'í of Khurasan --that province in eastern Persia famed in the Bábí Dispensation and to which some momentous prophecies of Bahá'u'lláh specifically apply. Mirza 'Ali-Rida was a high-ranking official in the service of the government, and his brother, Mirza Muhammad-Rida …also a follower of Bahá'u'lláh, was the Vizier of Khurasan. In the Suriy-i-Ghusn, Bahá'u'lláh thus extols His eldest Son:

1927 -- First time delegates from nine leading provinces of Persia convened a conference

With their traditional fidelity and characteristic vigor, notwithstanding the unimaginable hindrances they have to face, they have convened their first historic representative conference of various delegates from the nine leading provinces of Persia, have evolved plans for holding every year as fully representative a convention of Bahá'í delegates in Persia as circumstances permit, and modelled after the method pursued by their brethren in the United States and Canada. 
(Letter written by Shoghi Effendi, dated October 18, 1927; printed in 'Baha'i Administration')

Nov. 27, 1924 -- The Guardian approved suggestion by Horace Holley to create Baha’i Year Books

The suggestion made by my dear and able friend, Mr. Horace Holley, as to the compilation of an annual " Bahá'í Year Book" is extremely valuable and timely. I am much impressed by it, and feel that an immediate start should be made. I believe it can best be now undertaken under the direction and supervision of your Assembly until the time should come for the friends in the East and particularly Persia to participate effectually in its development. I trust you will send me a copy of the skeleton of the material you propose to include, and I shall here attempt to fill up any gap and render any assistance I can to make it as comprehensive, as attractive, and as authoritative as possible. (Shoghi Effendi, 'Baha'i Administration')

Circa May 1922 – Shoghi Effendi left for a time the affairs of the Cause both at home and abroad in the hands of Bahiyyih Khanum

In the Name of God

This servant, after that grievous event and great calamity, the ascension of His Holiness 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the Abha Kingdom, has been so stricken with grief and pain and so entangled in the troubles (created) by the enemies of the Cause of God, that I consider that my presence here, at such a time and in such an atmosphere, is not in accordance with the fulfilment of my important and sacred duties.

For this reason, unable to do otherwise, I have left for a time the affairs of the Cause both at home and abroad, under the supervision of the Holy Family and the headship of the Greatest Holy Leaf [Bahiyyih Khanum, sister of 'Abdu'l-Bahá] until, by the Grace of God, having gained health, strength, self-confidence and spiritual energy, and having taken into my hands, in accordance with my aim and desire, entirely and regularly the work of service I shall attain to my utmost spiritual hope and aspiration.

The servant of His Threshold,

Shoghi

Haifa, Palestine.
Circa May, 1922 (undated).

(Shoghi Effendi, 'Baha'i Administration')

September 1867-August 1868: the most momentous Tablet of Baha’u’llah, The Suriy-i-Mulúk (the Surih of the Kings) was revealed in Adrianople

The first full translation of this Tablet is included in the Summons of the Lord of Hosts. In the Introduction section of that book the Universal House of Justice explains that:

Included in this collection, as well, is the first full translation of the Súriy-i-Mulúk or Súrih of the Kings, which Shoghi Effendi described as “the most momentous Tablet revealed by Bahá’u’lláh in which He, for the first time, directs His words collectively to the entire company of the monarchs of East and West”. It sets forth both the character of His mission and the standard of justice that must govern the exercise of their rule in this Day of God:

“Lay not aside the fear of God, O kings of the earth, and beware that ye transgress not the bounds which the Almighty hath fixed. Observe the injunctions laid upon you in His Book, and take good heed not to overstep their limits. Be vigilant, that ye may not do injustice to anyone, be it to the iii extent of a grain of mustard seed. Tread ye the path of justice, for this, verily, is the straight path.” (Baha’u’llah)

The Tablet introduces some of the great themes that were to figure prominently in the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh over the next two and a half decades: the obligation of those into whose hands God has entrusted civil authority to institute the reign of justice, the necessity for the reduction of armaments and the resolution of conflicts among nations, and an end to the excessive expenditures that were impoverishing these rulers’ subjects.

Baha’i Summer Schools Originated in America

The Bahá'í summer schools were originated in America to meet the requirements of the friends. They have been adopted by other Bahá'í Communities the world over, but there is no reason why they should be called "summer schools". There is nothing rigid about the term, it is purely descriptive. 
(From a letter dated 26 December 1941 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand; The Compilation of Compilations vol. 1)

Amazing growth with respect to the administrative order of the Faith

In 1953 there were only 12 National Spiritual Assemblies.

In Ridvan 1964, there were 69 National Spiritual Assemblies!!

In 1953 there were “slightly more than six hundred Local Spiritual Assemblies, the greater part of which were situated in Persia, North America and Europe ..”

In Ridvan 1964, there were “nearly four thousand six hundred Local Spiritual Assemblies scattered throughout the continents and islands of the world.”!! (Adapted from the 1964 Ridvan message of the Universal House of Justice)

July 1915 -- First Photo of Baha'is in Japan

July 1915 - The first photograph of Baha'is of Japan with Martha Root and Agnes Alexander. Mr Fukuta, the first Japanese to accept the Faith in Japan, is seated front row, far left, next to Martha Root. Agnes Alexander is second from left in the back row

The Guardian’s first letter inserted in the first issue of the Baha’i News, December 1924 (then called Baha’i News Letter)

To my dearly-beloved brothers and sisters in ‘Abdu'l-Baha: care of the American National Spiritual Assembly.

Dearest Friends:

The day is drawing near when, for the third time, we shall commemorate the world over the passing of our well-beloved ‘Abdu’l-Baha. May we not pause for a moment, and gather our thoughts? How has it fared with His little band of followers, since that day? Whither are we marching? What has been our achievement?

We have but to turn our eyes to the world without to realize the fierceness and the magnitude of the forces of darkness that are struggling with the dawning light of the Abha Revelation. Nations, though exhausted and disillusioned, have seemingly begun to cherish anew the spirit of revenge, of domination, and strife. Peoples, convulsed by economic upheavals, are slowly drifting into two great opposite camps with all their menace of social chaos, class hatreds, and world- wide ruin. Races, alienated more than ever before, are filled with mistrust, humiliation and fear, and seem to prepare themselves for a fresh and fateful encounter. Creeds and religions, caught in this whirlpool of conflict and passion, appear to gaze with impotence and despair at this spectacle of unceasing turmoil.

Such is the plight of mankind three years after the passing of Him from whose lips fell unceasingly the sure message of a fast-approaching Divine salvation. Are we by our, thoughts, our words, our deeds, whether individually or collectively, preparing the way? Are we hastening the advent the Day He so often foretold?

First NSA of Iran was elected in 1934

The First National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Iran, 1934-1935

May 1st, 1912 -- ‘Abdu’l-Baha lays the cornerstone of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar in Wilmette

May 1st was a remarkable day, a day of very high distinction: 'Abdu'l-Baha laid the foundation-stone of the Mother Temple of the West. At Wilmette on the shores of Lake Michigan ample land had been purchased. On the site chosen for the construction of the Temple, a large tent had been raised and here, after inspecting the grounds, 'Abdu'l-Baha took His place to speak. He said:

“The power which has gathered you here today notwithstanding the cold and windy weather is indeed mighty and wonderful. It is the power of God, the divine favour of Baha'u'llah which has drawn you together. We praise God that through His constraining love human souls are assembled and associated in this way.

Thousands of Mashriqu’l-Aadhkars, dawning-points of praise and mentionings of God for all religionists will be built in the Orient and Occident, but this being the first one erected in the Occident has great importance. In the future there will be many here and elsewhere; in Asia, Europe, even in Africa, New Zealand and Australia;* but this edifice in Chicago is of especial significance ..." (you can see the entire talk at : http://centerofcovenanttalks.blogspot.com/2010/05/holiest-mashriqul-adhkar-of-bahai-world.html )

Next, Irene Holmes handed 'Abdu'l-Baha a small, gold trowel which she had ordered for this very purpose, and He dug the earth to lay the corner-stone, having chosen for this a fragment of rock brought by Mrs Nettie Tobin as her offering. Having done so, He invited the delegates of various American communities to do likewise. Following them, 'Abdu'l-Baha asked a number of oriental Baha'is present to step forth and take part: Mihtar Ardishir Bahrarn Surush represented Baha'is of Zoroastrian background, Siyyid Asadu’llah stood in for Baha’is of Muslim origin, Dr. Zia Baghdadi represented Arab Baha’is, and Ghodsieh Khanum-i-Ashraf the Baha’I women of the orient. Then the corner-stone was laid in place. (Balyuzi, ‘Abdu’l-Baha, pp. 186-87) (Some pictures are shown at: http://abdulbahawest.blogspot.com/2010/04/abdul-baha-speaking-at-plymouth.html )

Baha'i Faith on Singapore's stamps

In commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of Singapore's Inter-Religious Organization, a body formed to promote peace, understanding and good will among people of different faiths, three specially-designed stamps were issued in January 1999, depicting nine of the major religions in Singapore. The Baha'i Faith was honored through its inclusion. 
(The Baha'i World, 1998-99)

The First Baha’i Center in Europe Was Formed in 1898

     

The first Baha'i center in Europe was established by May Maxwell (nee Bolles). Born in 1870 in the United States, Mrs. Maxwell spent many years resident in Paris with her mother and brother. In February 1899, she was among the first group of western pilgrims to go to Acre (in what was then Palestine) to visit 'Abdu'l-Baha, the son of Baha'u'llah and leader of the Baha’i Faith, who was still being held as a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire On her return to the French capital, she began to tell others of the new religious movement she had discovered. A significant group of Baha'is emerged around her, among them a number of artists and artisans, and believers of various nationalities, including the early English Baha'i Thomas Breakwell. To mark the centenary of these momentous events, the Baha'i community of France held an ambitious conference in Paris from 27 to 29 November 1998. The celebrations began when more than one thousand Baha'is gathered beneath the Eiffel Tower for a photograph, on the same spot where 'Abdu'l-Baha had been photographed during His historic visit to Paris in 1913. Later, the conference opened with the participation of two thousand people, including more than two hundred guests of the Baha'is and six hundred Baha'is from outside France. The structure of the program, which was modeled on the Second Baha'i World Congress held in New York in 1992, included talks, film and video presentations and theatrical and musical segments. A high point of the conference was the colorful public concert "La Nuit de l'espoir" ("The Night of Hope"), held at the Salle de la MutualitC, one of the largest halls in Paris. Before the event, more than two hundred and fifty special guests, including ambassadors, politicians, religious and civil dignitaries, journalists, and representatives of major non-governmental organizations attended a reception and expressed great interest in and admiration for the work of the Baha’i community. Another highlight of the event was a dedication and reception held immediately after the conference at the Paris apartment where ‘Abdu’l-Baha had stayed.

(The Baha’i World, 1998-99, pp. 122-124)

Some prominent western non-Baha’is who hosted receptions for ‘Abdu’l-Baha

From 1911 to 1913 'Abdu'l-Baha journeyed through Europe and North America, visiting the local Baha'i communities, addressing public audiences in peace societies, universities, churches, Negro conferences and synagogues, meeting distinguished personages in government, clerical and educational life and promulgating by example and eloquent speech the principles of universal peace. The roster of these distinguished persons is too extensive to include here, but the character of 'Abdu'l-Baha's reception in the West may be indicated by naming, among many others, Archdeacon Wilberforce, Reverend R. J. Campbell, Lord Lamington, Sir Michael Sadler, the Maharajahs of Jalawar and Rajputana, Professor E. G. Browne, and Professor Patrick Geddes, in London; the Persian Minister, the Turkish Ambassador, "Church dignitaries of various branches of the Christian Tree," in Paris; Professor Arminius Vambery, several members of Parliament, Count Albert Apponyi, Prelate Alexander Giesswein and Professor Ignatius Goldziher, in Vienna; and in America, Dr. David Starr Jordan, Rabbi Stephen Wise, Alexander Graham Bell, Hon. Franklin K. Lane, Mrs. William Jennings Bryan, Andrew Carnegie, Hon. Franklin MacVeagh, Admiral Peary, Rabindranath Tagore.
(Horace Holley, Introduction to The Secret of Divine Civilization)
To see some pictures of this historic visit please go to http://abdulbahawest.blogspot.com/

First National Convention of the Baha'is of Iran, 1934

Women in Nineteenth-Century Iran

Women in nineteenth-century Iran were regarded as being much inferior to men, both in regard to their intellectual capacity and their spiritual worth. The religiously devout men looked on them with suspicion and disdain as a potential cause of the loss of their religious purity; women were regarded as having been placed on earth to lead men astray. The less religious would merely think of women as a source of sexual pleasure and domestic management. They were not much above chattels and slaves, certainly not worthy of being consulted about family affairs or entrusted with making any decisions for themselves. Indeed, a woman's temperament was felt to be totally unsuitable for any serious deliberation or rational thought.

Symbolic representation of the stages in the Administrative Order by means of a monument designed by Shoghi Effendi

               

This love the Guardian had for the Greatest Holy Leaf, who had watched over him for thirty-five years as far more than a mother, continued to be demonstrated for the remainder of his life. When the news of her death [15 July 1932 at the age of 86] reached him in Switzerland his first act was to plan for her grave a suitable memorial which he hastened to Italy to order. No one could possibly call this exquisitely proportioned monument, built of shining white Carrara marble, anything but what it appears - a love temple, the embodiment of Shoghi Effendi's love, he had undoubtedly conceived its design from buildings of a similar style and, under his supervision, an artist now incorporated his concept in the monument he planned to erect on her resting-place. Shoghi Effendi used to compare the stages in the Administrative Order of the Faith to this monument, saying the platform of three steps was like the local Assemblies, the pillars like the National Assemblies, and the dome that crowned them and held them together like the Universal House of Justice, which could not be placed in position until the foundations and pillars were first firmly erected. After the Greatest Holy Leaf's monument had been completed in all its beauty he had a photograph of it sent to many different Assemblies, as well as to a special list of individuals to whom he wished to present so tender a memento. 
(Ruhiyyih Khanum, 'The Priceless Pearl')

The Doors to the Shrine of the Bab – Named after Eminent Believers

        
The main floor of the Shrine of the Bab is made of nine rooms, six of which were created at the time of ‘Abdu’l-Baha and three during the early years of the Guardian’s ministry between 1928 and 1930. Beneath the central room of these nine rooms are precious remains of the Bab and in an adjacent room those of ‘Abdu’l-Baha.

The exterior doors to the eight rooms surrounding the central room were named by both ‘Abdu’l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi after certain eminent believers:

The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States 1939

Seven future Hands of the Cause served on this Assembly!

From left: Louis Gregory, Harlan Obar, Dorothy Baker, Leroy Ioas, Fred Schopflocker, Horace Holley, Amelia Collins, Roy Wilhelm, Allen McDaniel

Possibly the first fruit of Baha’u’llah’s Divine Pen and the only preserved Tablet revealed in Iran: -- The Poem of Rashh-i-'Ama [The Mist of Unknown]

To our knowledge Bahá'u'lláh's first Tablet was a poem in Persian, Rashh-i-'Ama [The Mist of Unknown] revealed in the Siyah-Chal of Tihran soon after the descent of the Most Great Spirit upon His radiant soul. It is a song of victory and joy. Although its language is allusive, His divine experience is clearly proclaimed. In every line He extols the glory of God of which He had become the embodiment, and in every phrase He unveils the spiritual worlds which were then manifested within His soul.

Although consisting of only twenty lines, this poem in itself constitutes a mighty book. Within it are contained the potentialities, the character, the power and the glory of forty years of Divine Revelation to come. It announces the glad-tidings of the release of spiritual energies which are described by Bahá'u'lláh in such terms as the wafting of the divine musk-laden Breeze, the appearance of the Ocean of the Cause of God, the sounding of the Trumpet Blast, the flow of the Living Waters, the warbling of the Nightingale of Paradise and the appearance of the Maid of Heaven. In language supremely beautiful and soul-stirring, He attributes these energies to Himself. His choice of words, and the beauty, power, depth and mystery of this poem and, indeed, of others which were revealed later, are such that they may well prove impossible to translate.