1852: Eight-year-old ‘Abdu’l-Baha attempts to see His Father in the Siyah-Chal

Siyah-Chal (The Black Pit) of Tehran - a depiction

When I visited the dungeon in Tihrán, as a child, in order to see Bahá’u’lláh — when the door was opened there were some steps leading down into the place. They took me as far as midway. I peered through the darkness; I could not find any one; it was exceedingly gloomy. Then I heard the Blessed voice saying: "Take him away." When I heard His voice I tried to see the Blessed Beauty, but because of the great darkness I could not. Then I was taken out; they seated me. They said it is customary, about midday, to take the prisoners out for their meals; so there I sat. About noontime the jailers were all ready and the prisoners were taken out. I saw Bahá’u’lláh’s neck in chains, bound to another, both of them chained to the same link, one about His neck and another about the person who was chained to Him. The weight of the chains was so excessive that His neck was bent and He walked with great difficulty, and He was in a very sad condition. His clothes were tattered and battered; even the hat on His head was torn. He was in the utmost of ordeal and His health was quite visibly failing. They brought me and seated me, and they took Him to the place where there was a pond, in order that He might wash His face. After that they took Him back to the dungeon, and I, although I was a child, was so overcome I was unconscious. And then Bahá‘u’lláh said: "Take the child away to the house," and therefore I was taken away. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, October 19, Los Angeles; ‘World Order magazine, January 1945)

October 1863: Baha'u'llah reveals the Tablet of Subhánika-Yá-Hú, also known as Lawh-i-Náqús (Tablet of the Bell)

Subhánika-Yá-Hú: A beautiful tablet in Arabic and in Bahá'u'lláh's own hand was revealed in Constantinople on the eve of the 5th of Jamadiyu'l-Avval 1280 A.H. (19 October 1863), the anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb.[1] This Tablet, because of its opening verse, is known as Lawh-i-Náqús (Tablet of the Bell) and is also referred to as the Subhanika-Ya-Hu. It was revealed following a request made through 'Abdu'l-Bahá by one of Bahá'u'lláh's companions, Aqa Muhammad-'Ally-i-Tambaku-Furush-i-Isfahani. The revelation of this Tablet on such an auspicious occasion brought immense joy to the hearts of those who were celebrating that historic festival. Bahá'u'lláh opens this Tablet with these words:

“O Monk of the Incomparable One! Ring out the Bell, inasmuch as the Day of the Lord hath shone forth and the Beauty of the All-Glorious is established upon His holy and resplendent Throne.”

These few lines give us a glimpse of the majesty and sublimity of the Tablet. Like those revealed near the time of Bahá'u'lláh's declaration, this Tablet pulsates with an indescribable power that can emanate only from the Pen of the Supreme Manifestation of God. Here, the matchless utterances of Bahá'u'lláh, original and profound, are possessed of such beauty and rhythm as no pen can describe. Composed in a style that lends itself to collective chanting, this Tablet creates an atmosphere of ecstasy and joy when chanted by the believers.[2] Revealed soon after His departure from Baghdad, it announces in clear and majestic terms the rising of the Orb of His Revelation, asserts that He[3] who was hidden behind the veils of concealment is now made manifest, extols the potency and glory of His Cause, declares that the Day of God has come, summons the inhabitants of the highest Paradise to prepare themselves and acquire the capacity for attaining the presence of God, bids his lovers rejoice and celebrate the coming of the Well-Beloved, and calls upon all created things to proclaim the glad-tidings of this Revelation to mankind. And finally, He prays for His companions: that they may become detached from everything besides Him, that their hearts may burn with the fire of His love and become pure and without desire. He also prays that His companions, devoted to the promotion of His Cause, may become victorious over all who dwell on earth. 

[1] The Declaration of the Báb was on the evening of 5 Jamadiyu'l-Avval, 1260 A.H. (22 May 1844), but at present in the East, the anniversary of this festival is celebrated according to the lunar calendar.]

[2] Not to be confused with congregational prayer, which (with the exception of the Prayer for the Dead) is forbidden by Bahá'u'lláh. Tablets in the original language are chanted by an individual. Occasionally, when there is a refrain in a Tablet, it has been customary for others to join in the refrain if it is suitable to do so.]

[3] Baha’u’llah

- Adib Taherzadeh (The Revelation of Baha'u'llah vol. 2)

March 1994: All nine members of United States NSA met with the Universal House of Justice

We recall with much joy and deep gratitude to Bahá'u'lláh your presence in the Holy Land only a short while ago during the month of the Fast. Your urgent request to which we acceded by meeting with all nine of your members in intensive consultations over a period of three days—a new fact of history in itself—initiated another phase in the evolution of your Assembly and reinforced the bonds that bind the American Baha’i community to the World Center of the Faith. Our hearts were touched by the candor, courage, and sincerity with which your members presented your concerns, as well as by the spirit of optimism you displayed despite the overwhelming challenges and burdens which prompted your request for a meeting with us. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 19 May 1994 to NSA of USA; Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001)

1955: First Spiritual Assembly of Serekunda, Gambia

(Baha'i News, December 1955)

1993: Formation of Seven New National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies - Ridván 1994

The gathering momentum now evident in the continual teaching successes, notably in lands recently opened to the Faith, impels us to announce that conditions make it ripe for the formation next Ridván of seven new National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies.

There will be established in Asia:

• the National Spiritual Assemblies of Cambodia, with its seat in Phnom Penh;
• Kazakhstan, with its seat in Alma-Ata;
• Kyrgyzstan, with its seat in Bishkek;
• Mongolia, with its seat in Ulaan Baatar;
• Tajikistan, with its seat in Dushanbe;
• Uzbekistan, with its seat in Tashkent;
• the Regional Spiritual Assembly of Central Asia will become the National Spiritual Assembly of Turkmenistan, with its seat in ‘Ishqábád.

and in Europe:

• the Regional Spiritual Assembly of Slovenia and Croatia, with its seat in Ljubljana.

(Adapted from a message of the Universal House of Justice dated 26 November 1993 to all National Spiritual Assemblies; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001’)

1856-1863: “the Bahá’í community, under the name and in the shape of a re-arisen Bábí community was born and was slowly taking shape”

 During the seven years that elapsed between the resumption of His labors and the declaration of His prophetic mission—years to which we now direct our attention—it would be no exaggeration to say that the Bahá’í community, under the name and in the shape of a re-arisen Bábí community was born and was slowly taking shape, though its Creator still appeared in the guise of, and continued to labor as, one of the foremost disciples of the Báb.

• It was a period during which the prestige of the community’s nominal head steadily faded from the scene, paling before the rising splendor of Him Who was its actual Leader and Deliverer.
• It was a period in the course of which the first fruits of an exile, endowed with incalculable potentialities, ripened and were garnered.
• It was a period that will go down in history as one during which
• the prestige of a recreated community was immensely enhanced,
• its morals entirely reformed,
• its recognition of Him who rehabilitated its fortunes enthusiastically affirmed,
• its literature enormously enriched, and
• its victories over its new adversaries universally acknowledged.

- Shoghi Effendi (‘God Passes By’, chapter 8)

The first martyr of the Bábi Dispensation: Shaykh Sálih, an Arab resident of Karbilá, taught by Táhirih

Among the men who in Karbilá eagerly embraced, through the efforts of Táhirih, the Cause of the Báb, was a certain Shaykh Sálih, an Arab resident of that city who was the first to shed his blood in the path of the Faith, in Tihrán. She was so profuse in her praise of Shaykh Ṣáliḥ that a few suspected him of being equal in rank to Quddús. 

- Nabil (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

December 1992: Establishment of an Office for the Advancement of Women

10 December 1992

To all National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

We take pleasure in announcing the decision to establish an Office for the Advancement of Women, which, as an agency of the Bahá’í International Community, will promote the principles of the Faith through its interaction with international entities concerned with matters affecting the rights, status and wellbeing of women. It will also advise National Spiritual Assemblies regarding programs and projects in which the involvement of the community can encourage efforts towards the realization of the equality of men and women.

The establishment of this Office now is largely a consequence of two gratifying developments, namely: the great extent to which the work of our United Nations Office concerning women’s issues has expanded in recent years; and the rising stature for the Bahá’í community which this work has achieved in international circles. We are delighted that, for instance, the Bahá’í International Community has been serving since 1988 as the convener of Advocates for African Food Security, a coalition of nongovernmental organizations, United Nations agencies and intergovernmental bodies formed in 1986 to raise awareness of women as producers of most of the domestic food in Africa; that our United Nations representative who specializes in women’s issues is a member of the Steering Committee which is planning the Non-Governmental Organizations Forum to be held in Beijing in 1995 at the time of the Fourth World Conference on Women; and that she chairs the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, New York, a position of great prestige in the UN/NGO community. Furthermore, the relations of the Bahá’í International Community with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) have fostered a mutual confidence that has encouraged UNIFEM to collaborate with the Bahá’í International Community in the launching in three countries of projects aimed at promoting change in attitudes between men and women. All three projects involve the Bahá’í community at international, national and local levels.

How different monarchs responded to Tablets they received from Bahá’u’lláh

The French Emperor had, it was reported, flung away Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablet, and directed his minister, as Bahá’u’lláh Himself asserts, to address to its Author an irreverent reply. The Grand Vizir of ‘Abdu’l-‘Azíz, it is reliably stated, blanched while reading the communication addressed to his Imperial master and his ministers, and made the following comment: “It is as if the king of kings were issuing his behest to his humblest vassal king, and regulating his conduct!” Queen Victoria, it is said, upon reading the Tablet revealed for her remarked: “If this is of God, it will endure; if not, it can do no harm.” It was reserved for Násiri’d-Dín Sháh, however, to wreak, at the instigation of the divines, his vengeance on One Whom he could no longer personally chastise by arresting His messenger, a lad of about seventeen, by freighting him with chains, by torturing him on the rack, and finally slaying him. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Promised Day Is Come’) 

Plans of Jamál Páshá, the [Ottoman] commander-in-chief in Syria, for Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

…Jamál Páshá, the commander-in-chief in Syria—he who had sworn to raze to the ground, after his triumphant return from Egypt, the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh, and to publicly crucify the Center of His Covenant in a public square of Constantinople…

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Promised Day Is Come’)

Google AI overview search results:

Ahmed Djemal Pasha (1872–1922) was a prominent Ottoman military leader and one of the "Three Pashas" ruling the empire during World War I. As Commander of the Fourth Army in Greater Syria (1914–1917), he was a brutal autocrat known as al-Saffah ("the Bloodthirsty") for executing Arab nationalists, forcing deportations, and overseeing severe food shortages that caused mass famine.

The “first among the women of Karbilá” to recognize the Báb: - “the revered widow of Siyyid Kázim, who was born in Shíráz”

She [Táhirih] was able to win to the Cause the revered widow of Siyyid Kázim, who was born in Shíráz, and was the first among the women of Karbilá to recognise its truth. I have heard Shaykh Sultán describe her extreme devotion to Táhirih, whom she revered as her spiritual guide and esteemed as her affectionate companion. He was also a fervent admirer of the character of the widow of the Siyyid, to whose gentleness of manner he often paid a glowing tribute. “Such was her attachment to Táhirih,” Shaykh Sultán was often heard to remark, “that she was extremely reluctant to allow that heroine who was a guest in her house to absent herself, though it were for an hour, from her presence. So great an attachment on her part did not fail to excite the curiosity and quicken the faith of her women friends, both Persian and Arab, who were constant visitors in her home. In the first year of her acceptance of the Message, she suddenly fell ill, and after the lapse of three days, as had been the case with Siyyid Kázim, she departed this life.” 

- Nabil (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

The effects of Bahá’u’lláh’s Lawh-i-Ra’ís on the Ottoman Empire

This process received fresh impetus after the Lawh-i-Ra’ís was revealed on the morrow of its Author’s final banishment from Adrianople to Akká. Relentless, devastating, and with ever-increasing momentum, it ominously unfolded,

• damaging the prestige of the Empire,
• dismembering its territory,
• dethroning its sultáns,
• sweeping away their dynasty,
• degrading and deposing its Caliph,
• disestablishing its religion, and
• extinguishing its glory.

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Promised Day Is Come’)

1921: ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s funeral: - “Thousands gathered for His funeral: …a gathering the like of which the city had never witnessed.”

At dawn on that woeful day, the news of His passing spread across the city of Haifa, consuming the hearts with grief. Thousands gathered for His funeral: young and old, high and low, distinguished officials and the masses—Jews and Muslims, Druze and Christians, as well as Bahá’ís—a gathering the like of which the city had never witnessed. In the eyes of the world, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had been a champion of universal peace and the oneness of humanity, a defender of the oppressed and promoter of justice. To the people of both ‘Akká and Haifa, He was a loving father and friend, a wise counsellor and a refuge for all in need. At His funeral they poured out fervent expressions of love and lamentation. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated 28 November 2023: To the Bahá’ís of the World; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

The “first national House of Worship”: - Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

25 March 2023

To the Friends Gathered in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, for the Dedication of the House of Worship

Dearly loved Friends,

Our joyful hearts turn towards you who have gathered in the city of Kinshasa for an occasion that is of great significance in the history of your community: the dedication of the first House of Worship in your country, the first national House of Worship to be raised in the Bahá’í world. We send you loving greetings and wish for you a celebration that will join together your hearts and souls in praise and thanksgiving for the divine bounty represented by the erection of this House of Worship in a nation that is in the heart of Africa.

The edifice whose doors open today represents an institution inaugurated by Bahá’u’lláh Himself in His Most Holy Book. Charging His followers with building “houses of worship throughout the lands in the name of Him Who is the Lord of all religions”, He exhorted them to make these Temples as perfect as possible and, “with radiance and joy, celebrate therein the praise of your Lord, the Most Compassionate.” This worship and praise of God finds its highest expression in its translation into dynamic and disinterested service to humanity. The House of Worship raised in this Congolese metropolis is thus dedicated to uniting the worship of God and service to humanity, both vital to the regeneration of the world. It emerges, in the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as a “collective centre” for all souls. Open to the followers of all religions, it enables all who inhale the sweet savours of its spirit to become “harmoniously attuned one to another”.

April 2022: “the Cause of God has entered the sixth epoch of its Formative Age”; April 2021: “the third epoch of the Master’s Divine Plan had commenced”

In the extraordinary rise in capacity that has occurred in the last two decades—and which has made it possible for the Bahá’í world to view its endeavours in terms of the release of the society-building power of the Faith—we see incontrovertible evidence that the Cause of God has entered the sixth epoch of its Formative Age. We announced last Riḍván that the widespread phenomenon of large numbers participating in Bahá’í activities, being kindled by faith, and acquiring the skills and abilities to serve their communities signalled that the third epoch of the Master’s Divine Plan had commenced; thus, the One Year Plan, at its inception then and at its conclusion now, has come to mark a set of historic advances made by the company of the faithful. And at the threshold of a new, mighty undertaking, this united body of believers stands ready to seize the possibilities wide open before it. 

- The Universal House of Justice (Ridvan 2022 message; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 2001-2022’)

2021 Worldwide“: - “300,000 core activities are being sustained at once”; “329 national and regional training institutes in operation”; “approximately 4,000” “intensive programmes of growth”; “number of clusters where the friends had passed the third milestone… has risen to an astonishing 1,000 in nearly 100 countries”; “over 30 clusters where the number of core activities being sustained exceeds 1,000… involving the participation of more than 20,000 people in a single cluster”

The achievements of the Plan, simply in numerical terms, quickly eclipsed those of all the Plans that had preceded it since 1996. At the start of this Plan, the capacity existed for conducting just over 100,000 core activities at a given time, a capacity that was the fruit of twenty years of common endeavour. Now, 300,000 core activities are being sustained at once. Participation in those activities has risen above two million, which is also close to a threefold increase. There are 329 national and regional training institutes in operation, and their capacity is evidenced by the fact that three-quarters of a million people have been enabled to complete at least one book of the sequence; overall, the number of courses completed by individuals is now also two million—a rise of well over a third in five years.

The increased intensity with which programmes of growth around the world are being pursued tells an impressive story of its own. In this five-year span, we had called for growth to be accelerated in every one of the 5,000 clusters where it had begun. This imperative became the impetus for earnest endeavour throughout the world. As a result, the number of intensive programmes of growth more than doubled and now stands at approximately 4,000. Difficulties involved in opening up new villages and neighbourhoods to the Faith in the midst of a global health crisis, or expanding activities that were at an early stage when the pandemic began, prevented an even higher total from being reached during the Plan’s final year. However, there is more to tell than this. At the outset of the Plan, we had expressed the hope that the number of clusters where the friends had passed the third milestone along a continuum of growth, as a consequence of learning how to welcome large numbers into the embrace of their activities, would grow by hundreds more. That total then stood at around 200, spread across some 40 countries. Five years on, this number has risen to an astonishing 1,000 in nearly 100 countries—a quarter of all the intensive programmes of growth in the world and an achievement far surpassing our expectations. And yet even these figures do not reveal the loftiest heights to which the community has soared. There are over 30 clusters where the number of core activities being sustained exceeds 1,000; in places, the total is several thousand, involving the participation of more than 20,000 people in a single cluster. A growing number of Local Spiritual Assemblies now oversee the unfoldment of educational programmes that cater to practically all the children and junior youth in a village; the same reality is beginning to emerge within a few urban neighbourhoods. Engagement with the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh has, in notable instances, transcended individuals, families and extended kinships—what is being witnessed is the movement of populations towards a common centre. At times, age-old hostilities between opposing groups are being left behind, and certain social structures and dynamics are being transformed in the light of the divine teachings. 

- The Universal House of Justice (Ridvan 2021 message; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 2001-2022’)

Ridvan 2021: Worldwide: 1500 social and economic development projects, 160 “Bahá’í-inspired organizations, “70,000 grassroots social action initiatives of short duration”

Viewed from the perspective of the last two and a half decades, the capacity for undertaking social action has risen markedly, leading to an extraordinary efflorescence of activity. Compared with 1996, when some 250 social and economic development projects were being sustained from year to year, there are now 1,500, and the number of Bahá’í-inspired organizations has quadrupled to surpass 160. More than 70,000 grassroots social action initiatives of short duration are being undertaken each year, a fifty-fold increase. We look forward to a continued rise in all these endeavours resulting from the dedicated support and stimulus now provided by the Bahá’í International Development Organization. 

- The Universal House of Justice (Ridvan 2021 message; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 2001-2022’)

Bahá’u’lláh’s prophecy concerning Adrianople and the Ottoman Empire

And, finally, in the Lawh-i-Ra’ís we find these prophetic words recorded: “Hearken, O Chief … to the Voice of God, the Sovereign, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting… Thou hast, O Chief, committed that which hath made Muhammad, the Apostle of God, groan in the Most Exalted Paradise. The world hath made thee proud, so much so that thou hast turned away from the Face through Whose brightness the Concourse on high hath been illumined. Soon thou shalt find thyself in evident loss… The day is approaching when the Land of Mystery (Adrianople) and what is beside it shall be changed, and shall pass out of the hands of the King, and commotions shall appear, and the voice of lamentation shall be raised, and the evidences of mischief shall be revealed on all sides, and confusion shall spread by reason of that which hath befallen these captives at the hands of the hosts of oppression. The course of things shall be altered, and conditions shall wax so grievous, that the very sands on the desolate hills will moan, and the trees on the mountain will weep, and blood will flow out of all things. Then wilt thou behold the people in sore distress.” 

- Shoghi Effendi (Quoting Bahá’u’lláh; ‘The Unfoldment of World Civilization’)

2018: Establishment of the Bahá’í International Development Organization at the Bahá’í World Center

Once again, then, we find that forces inside and outside the Faith have made possible a new stage in the work of social and economic development in the Bahá’í world. Therefore, on this sacred occasion of the Festivals of the Twin Birthdays, we are pleased to announce that the Office of Social and Economic Development now effloresces into a new world-embracing institution established at the World Centre, the Bahá’í International Development Organization. In addition, a Bahá’í Development Fund will be inaugurated, from which the new organization will draw to assist both long-standing and emerging development efforts worldwide; it will be supported by the House of Justice, and individuals and institutions may contribute to it.

A five-member board of directors will be appointed which will function as a consultative body to promote and coordinate the efforts of the worldwide community in social and economic development. The directors will serve for a term of five years beginning on the Day of the Covenant. Operating at the spiritual and administrative centre of the Faith, the board will consult with the Universal House of Justice and the International Teaching Centre to ensure that the development work is coherent with the many endeavors of the Bahá’í world.

1990: Formation of 14 Local Spiritual Assemblies in Soviet Union, 6 in Romania, 1 in Czechoslovakia, 1 in Hungry, and 1 in Yugoslavia

12 November 1990

To the Followers of Bahá’u’lláh throughout the World

SEVEN MONTHS AFTER LAUNCHING SUPPLEMENTARY TWO YEAR PLAN REJOICE ANNOUNCE FOURTEEN LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES IN SOVIET UNION. PLUS SIX IN ROMANIA WHERE THERE ARE NOW OVER 600 BELIEVERS, AND ONE LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY EACH IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA, HUNGARY AND YUGOSLAVIA. DEVELOPMENT FAITH IN ALL THESE COUNTRIES AS WELL AS IN ALBANIA. BULGARIA. MONGOLIA AND POLAND GOING FORWARD WITH EXTRAORDINARY SPEED. FORMATION MORE LOCAL ASSEMBLIES IN PROCESS OR EXPECTED SHORTLY.

The Universal House of Justice

(Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001)

23 May 1990: Commencement of Work on Extension of Terraces on Mount Carmel

Construction of the Terraces of
the Shrine of the Báb 1991

24 MAY 1990

To all National Spiritual Assemblies

WITH FEELINGS OF PROFOUND JOY ANNOUNCE TO FOLLOWERS OF BAHÁ’ULLÁH IN EVERY LAND THAT ON MORNING OF TWENTY-THIRD MAY, ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SIX YEARS AFTER THE DECLARATION OF THE BÁB, WORK ON EXTENSION TERRACES COMMENCED. THIS HISTORIC OCCASION MARKED BY VISIT HIS SHRINE AND SHRINE OF ABDU’L-BAHÁ BY THE HANDS OF THE CAUSE OF GOD AMATUL-BAHÁ RÚHÍYYIH KHÁNUM AND ALl-AKBAR FURÜTAN, THE MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE AND COUNSELOR MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TEACHING CENTER WITH FARIBORZ SAHBA, ARCHITECT OF TERRACES AND MANAGER OF ARC PROJECT. TO PRAY FOR DIVINE CONFIRMATIONS ENABLE UNINTERRUPTED PROSECUTION THIS MAJESTIC ENTERPRISE. SUBSEQUENTLY DETAILED PLANS WERE VIEWED FOR LENGTHENING EASTERN WING OF MAIN TERRACE OF SHRINE, MAKING IT EQUAL TO EXISTING WESTERN WING.

GLORIOUS UNDERTAKING CREATION BEFITTING RESTING PLACE MARTYR-HERALD FAITH WAS ENVISAGED BY BAHÁ’ULLÁH HIMSELF, WAS SOLEMNLY INITIATED BY ABDU’L-BAHÁ, WHO RAISED WITH INFINITE PAINS ORIGINAL STRUCTURE AND PLACED WITHIN IT THE SACRED REMAINS OF THE BAB. WAS VIGOROUSLY PURSUED BY SHOGHI EFFENDI, WHO COMPLETED CENTRAL EDIFICE, EMBELLISHED IT WITH BEAUTEOUS SUPERSTRUCTURE AND CONNECTED IT WITH MAIN AVENUE TEMPLAR COLONY THROUGH CONSTRUCTION FIRST NINE TERRACES. IS NOW ENTERING UPON CULMINATING PHASE ITS DEVELOPMENT THROUGH EXTENSION BEAUTIFICATION NINE EXISTING TERRACES AND CONSTRUCTION NINE MORE TO REALIZE MONUMENTAL CONCEPT REACHING FROM FOOT TO CREST HOLY MOUNTAIN.

CALL UPON FRIENDS EVERY LAND RALLY SUPPORT THIS SACRED ENTERPRISE NOW INSEPARABIY LINKED WITH ARC PROJECT EXPRESS BEFITTINGLY THEIR AWARENESS MAGNITUDE BOUNTY CONFERRED UPON MANKIND BY MINISTRY AND SACRIFICE BLESSED BÄB. DEMONSTRATE THEIR COMMITMENT TO BAHÁ’ULLÁH’S CALL IN TABLET OF CARMEL TO ESTABLISH UPON THAT MOUNTAIN SEAT GODS THRONE AND FULFILL, THROUGH THEIR GENEROUS CONTRIBUTIONS. ABDUL-BAHÁ’S AND SHOGHI EFFENDI’S VISION OF EFFLORESCENCE MIGHTY INSTITUTIONS FAITH ON MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD.

The Universal House of Justice

(Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001)

2017 Battambang, Cambodia: The “first local House of Worship”

1 September 2017

To the Friends Gathered in Battambang, Cambodia, for the Dedication of the House of Worship

Dearly loved Friends,

A full year has yet to pass since the Bahá’í world marked the completion of the last of the continental Houses of Worship, and already a new dawn is breaking in the development of the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. You are gathered at the very dawning-place itself—the site of the first local House of Worship to rise above the horizon in the stage that has now opened. The dedication of this unique edifice is a historic occasion, prefiguring the appearance of many more local as well as national Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs, in obedience to Bahá’u’lláh’s commandment revealed in His Most Holy Book: “Build ye houses of worship throughout the lands in the name of Him Who is the Lord of all religions.”

It is fitting that this special moment is celebrated in a region that has a long and proud association with the Faith, for even within the lifetime of Bahá’u’lláh His message had reached as far as Asia’s south-eastern peninsula. It was a message that summoned all peoples to work for unity and peace, and its urgency has only intensified in the intervening years. Does not disunity fuel the crises and conflicts that afflict the world? Does it not exacerbate the pain and hardship experienced by so many? God be praised that the pure-hearted people of Cambodia, who have themselves suffered much, are responding with such enthusiasm to the call of the Ancient Beauty. Drawing on the power of unity, they are making strenuous efforts to uplift souls through spiritual and material education and are enabling populations to develop their capacity for service. Indeed, the believers in Cambodia are among those on the frontiers of learning in the Bahá’í world’s efforts to build communities on enduring foundations.

Bahá’u’lláh’s amanuensis, Mírzá Áqá Ján, recalls witnessing the tremendous sadness that Bahá’u’lláh evinced before His sudden retirement

Mírzá Áqá Ján himself has testified: “That Blessed Beauty evinced such sadness that the limbs of my body trembled.” He has, likewise, related, as reported by Nabíl in his narrative, that, shortly before Bahá’u’lláh’s retirement, he had on one occasion seen Him, between dawn and sunrise, suddenly come out from His house, His night-cap still on His head, showing such signs of perturbation that he was powerless to gaze into His face, and while walking, angrily remark:

“These creatures are the same creatures who for three thousand years have worshipped idols, and bowed down before the Golden Calf. Now, too, they are fit for nothing better. What relation can there be between this people and Him Who is the Countenance of Glory? What ties can bind them to the One Who is the supreme embodiment of all that is lovable?” “

I stood,” declared Mírzá Áqá Ján, “rooted to the spot, lifeless, dried up as a dead tree, ready to fall under the impact of the stunning power of His words.

Finally, He said: ‘Bid them recite: “Is there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding!” Tell them to repeat it five hundred times, nay, a thousand times, by day and by night, sleeping and waking, that haply the Countenance of Glory may be unveiled to their eyes, and tiers of light descend upon them.’

He Himself, I was subsequently informed, recited this same verse, His face betraying the utmost sadness.… Several times during those days, He was heard to remark: ‘We have, for a while, tarried amongst this people, and failed to discern the slightest response on their part.’ Oftentimes He alluded to His disappearance from our midst, yet none of us understood His meaning.” 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘God Passes By’)

The extent of “Bahá’u’lláh’s sorrows” during the early years in Baghdad – a summary by the Guardian

The cup of Bahá’u’lláh’s sorrows was now running over. All His exhortations, all His efforts to remedy a rapidly deteriorating situation, had remained fruitless. The velocity of His manifold woes was hourly and visibly increasing. Upon the sadness that filled His soul and the gravity of the situation confronting Him, His writings, revealed during that somber period, throw abundant light.

• In some of His prayers He poignantly confesses that “tribulation upon tribulation” had gathered about Him,
• that “adversaries with one consent” had fallen upon Him,
• that “wretchedness” had grievously touched Him, and
• that “woes at their blackest” had befallen Him.
• God Himself He calls upon as a Witness to His “sighs and lamentations,” His “powerlessness, poverty and destitution,” to the “injuries” He sustained, and the “abasement” He suffered.
• “So grievous hath been My weeping,” He, in one of these prayers, avows, “that I have been prevented from making mention of Thee and singing Thy praises.”
• “So loud hath been the voice of My lamentation,” He, in another passage, avers, “that every mother mourning for her child would be amazed, and would still her weeping and her grief.”
• “The wrongs which I suffer,” He, in His Lawh-i-Maryam, laments, “have blotted out the wrongs suffered by My First Name (the Báb) from the Tablet of creation.” “O Maryam!” He continues, “From the Land of Tá (Tihrán), after countless afflictions, We reached ‘Iráq, at the bidding of the Tyrant of Persia, where, after the fetters of Our foes, We were afflicted with the perfidy of Our friends. God knoweth what befell Me thereafter!”
• And again: “I have borne what no man, be he of the past or of the future, hath borne or will bear.”

“evidences of the directing Hand of the departed Founder…Who, from the invisible Realm, was unloosing a flood of well-deserved calamities upon a rebellious religion and nation”

 The Cause of which Bahá’u’lláh was still the visible leader had, despite the calculations of a short-sighted enemy, undeniably triumphed. No unbiased mind, penetrating the surface of conditions surrounding the Prisoner of ‘Akká, could any longer mistake or deny it. Though the tension which had been relaxed was, for a time, heightened after Bahá’u’lláh’s ascension and the perils of a still unsettled situation were revived, it was becoming increasingly evident that the insidious forces of decay, which for many a long year were eating into the vitals of a diseased nation, were now moving towards a climax. A series of internal convulsions, each more devastating than the previous one, had already been unchained, destined to bring in their wake one of the most catastrophic occurrences of modern times.

• The murder of that arrogant despot [Sultan 'Abdu'l-'Aziz] in the year 1876;
• the Russo-Turkish conflict that soon followed in its wake;
• the wars of liberation which succeeded it;
• the rise of the Young Turk movement;
• the Turkish Revolution of 1909 that precipitated the downfall of ‘Abdu’l-Hamíd;
• the Balkan wars with their calamitous consequences;
• the liberation of Palestine enshrining within its bosom the cities of ‘Akká and Haifa, the world center of an emancipated Faith;
• the further dismemberment decreed by the Treaty of Versailles;
• the abolition of the Sultanate and the downfall of the House of Uthmán;
• the extinction of the Caliphate;
• the disestablishment of the State Religion;
• the annulment of the Sharí’ah Law and the promulgation of a universal Civil Code;
• the suppression of various orders, beliefs, traditions and ceremonials believed to be inextricably interwoven with the fabric of the Muslim Faith—

these followed with an ease and swiftness that no man had dared envisage. In these devastating blows, administered by friend and foe alike, by Christian nations and professing Muslims, every follower of the persecuted Faith of Bahá’u’lláh recognized evidences of the directing Hand of the departed Founder of his religion, Who, from the invisible Realm, was unloosing a flood of well-deserved calamities upon a rebellious religion and nation. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Unfoldment of World Civilization’)