1873: Baha’u’llah revealed the Lawh-i-Ru'ya (Tablet of the Vision)

This Tablet was revealed “on the anniversary of the birth of His Forerunner [the Báb]” “nineteen years” before His ascension in 1892. (Shoghi Effendi, ‘God Passes By’)

In the Lawh-i-Ru'ya Bahá'u'lláh describes His vision of a Maiden dressed in white and illumined with the light of God. She entered the room in which Bahá'u'lláh was seated upon His throne of Lordship. She displayed an indescribable enthusiasm and devotion, circled around Him, was enraptured by the inebriation of His Presence, was thunderstruck at His Glory. And when she recovered, she remained in a state of bewilderment. She longed to offer up her life for her Beloved and finding Him captive in the hands of the unfaithful, she bade Him leave 'Akká to its inhabitants and repair to His other dominions 'whereon the eyes of the people of names have never fallen', words which found their fulfilment nineteen years later with the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh. In the absence of a translation it is not possible to convey the beauty of the verses and the mystery of the subject revealed in the Lawh-i-Ru'ya. The theme of this Tablet is as enchanting as it is unfathomable and mysterious. 
- Adib Taherzadeh  (‘The Revelation of Baha'u'llah vol. 3)

Please visit ‘Baha’i Tablets – provisional translations’

“For a space of three years Bahá’u’lláh continued to extol in His writings the heroism of” Badi

Áqá Buzurg of Khurásán, the illustrious “Badí” (Wonderful); converted to the Faith by Nabíl; surnamed the “Pride of Martyrs”; the seventeen-year old bearer of the Tablet addressed to Násiri’d-Dín Sháh; in whom, as affirmed by Bahá’u’lláh, “the spirit of might and power was breathed,” was arrested, branded for three successive days, his head beaten to a pulp with the butt of a rifle, after which his body was thrown into a pit and earth and stones heaped upon it. After visiting Bahá’u’lláh in the barracks, during the second year of His confinement, he had arisen with amazing alacrity to carry that Tablet, alone and on foot, to Tihrán and deliver it into the hands of the sovereign. A four months’ journey had taken him to that city, and, after passing three days in fasting and vigilance, he had met the Sháh proceeding on a hunting expedition to Shimírán. He had calmly and respectfully approached His Majesty, calling out, “O King! I have come to thee from Sheba with a weighty message”; whereupon at the Sovereign’s order, the Tablet was taken from him and delivered to the mujtahids of Tihrán who were commanded to reply to that Epistle—a command which they evaded, recommending instead that the messenger should be put to death. That Tablet was subsequently forwarded by the Sháh to the Persian Ambassador in Constantinople, in the hope that its perusal by the Sultán’s ministers might serve to further inflame their animosity. For a space of three years Bahá’u’lláh continued to extol in His writings the heroism of that youth, characterizing the references made by Him to that sublime sacrifice as the “salt of My Tablets.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

1900: The "Board of Counsel" of the Baha'i Assembly of New York City

Seated left to right: Orosco C. Woolson, Howard MacNutt, Arthur P. Dodge, Charles E. Sprague. Standing, left to right: Anton F. Haddad (honorary), Frank E. Osborne, Hooper Harris, William H. Hoar, Andrew Hutchinson, and Erwin A. Putnam. (The Baha'i World 1940-1944)

The “miracle associated with the Báb’s execution” and comparisons of His Mission and the forces of opposition He encountered with those of Christ

It should be remembered, however, that apart from the miracle associated with the Báb’s execution, He, unlike the Founder of the Christian religion, is not only to be regarded as the independent Author of a divinely revealed Dispensation, but must also be recognized as the Herald of a new Era and the Inaugurator of a great universal prophetic cycle. Nor should the important fact be overlooked that, whereas the chief adversaries of Jesus Christ, in His lifetime, were the Jewish rabbis and their associates, the forces arrayed against the Báb represented the combined civil and ecclesiastical powers of Persia, which, from the moment of His declaration to the hour of His death, persisted, unitedly and by every means at their disposal, in conspiring against the upholders and in vilifying the tenets of His Revelation. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

The martyrdom of the Báb: “the most heroic phase of the Heroic Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation”; “unparalleled in the annals of the lives of all the Founders of the world’s existing religious systems.”

Thus ended a life which posterity will recognize as standing at the confluence of two universal prophetic cycles, the Adamic Cycle stretching back as far as the first dawnings of the world’s recorded religious history and the Bahá’í Cycle destined to propel itself across the unborn reaches of time for a period of no less than five thousand centuries. The apotheosis in which such a life attained its consummation marks, as already observed, the culmination of the most heroic phase of the Heroic Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation. It can, moreover, be regarded in no other light except as the most dramatic, the most tragic event transpiring within the entire range of the first Bahá’í century. Indeed it can be rightly acclaimed as unparalleled in the annals of the lives of all the Founders of the world’s existing religious systems. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

Passages in the Kitab-i-Aqdas translated by the Guardian – identified by the Universal House of Justice

Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh:

Sections XXXVII, LVI, LXX, LXXI, LXXII, XCVIII, CV, CIV, CLIX, and CLXV

The Promised Day is Come:

pp. 26 (1st para.), 36-37 (until the end of 2nd para.), 40 (2nd para.), and 84-85 (until the end of 1st para.)

The Challenging Requirements of the Present Hour [1]:

pp. 16-17 (until the end of 1st para.)

Bahá'í Administration:

p. 21 (1st para.)

The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh:

p. 134 (2nd para.)

The Bahá'í Community (1963 edition):

p. 4 (2nd & 3rd paras)

Star of the West, XIV:

pp. 112-14

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 6 December 1965; Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986)

[1] This message of Shoghi Effendi was later published in Citadel of Faith, pp. 4-38; the passage from the Kitáb-i-Aqdas appears on pp. 18-19 (see also PB, p. 63)

Before “the election of the Universal House of Justice there was no knowledge that there would be no Guardian.”

The friends should clearly understand that before the election of the Universal House of Justice there was no knowledge that there would be no Guardian. There could not have been any such foreknowledge, whatever opinions individual believers may have held. Neither the Hands of the Cause of God, nor the International Bahá'í Council, nor any other existing body could make a decision upon this all-important matter. Only the House of Justice had authority to pronounce upon it. This was one urgent reason for calling the election of the Universal House of Justice as soon as possible. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 9 March, 1965; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986)

1941: Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Pasadena, California, USA

Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Pasadena, California, USA, 1941 (The Baha'i World 1940-1944)

Badí carries the Epistle of Baha’u’llah to the King of Persia – ‘Abdu’l-Baha describes

During the latter days [passed] in Adrianople Bahá’u’lláh composed a detailed epistle setting forth all matters clearly and minutely. He unfolded and expounded the main principles of the sect, and made clear and plain its ethics, manners, course, and mode of conduct: He treated certain political questions in detail, and adduced sundry proofs of His truthfulness: He declared the good intent, loyalty, and sincerity of the sect, and wrote some fragments of prayers, some in Persian, but the greater part in Arabic. He then placed it in a packet and adorned its address with the royal name of His Majesty the King of Persia, and wrote [on it] that some person pure of heart and pure of life, dedicated to God, and prepared for martyr-sacrifice, must, with perfect resignation and willingness, convey this epistle into the presence of the King.

A youth named Mírzá Badí, a native of Khurásán, took the epistle, and hastened toward the presence of His Majesty the King. The Royal Train had its abode and station outside Tihrán, so he took his stand alone on a rock in a place far off but opposite to the Royal Pavilion, and awaited day and night the passing of the Royal escort or the attainment of admission into the Imperial Presence. Three days did he pass in a state of fasting and vigilance: an emaciated body and enfeebled spirit remained. On the fourth day the Royal Personage was examining all quarters and directions with a telescope when suddenly his glance fell on this man who was seated in the utmost respectful attitude on a rock. It was inferred from the indications [perceived] that he must certainly have thanks [to offer], or some complaint or demand for redress and justice [to prefer].

The oppressive treatment received by ‘Abdu’l-Baha from the Ottoman Sultan ‘Abdu’l-Hamid

When the deposed Sultán of the Ottoman Empire, 'Abdu'l-Hamíd, arose in tyranny and oppression, 'Abdu'l-Bahá was incarcerated in the prison of 'Akká and was surrounded with the utmost surveillance of police, detectives and men of the Secret Service. The door of communication was entirely closed and the means of correspondence was prevented. If any soul approached the house he was searched; nay, rather, threatened with dire persecution. The affairs reached to such a degree that, not being satisfied with these restrictions, the Sultán sent an oppressive investigating Commission, so that with all kinds of wiles, simulations, slander and fabrication of false stories they might fasten some guilt upon 'Abdu'l-Bahá in order that he might crucify Him, or cast Him into the sea, or banish Him into the heart of the distant and unknown Sahara of Feyzan [Africa]. That oppressive investigating Commission exercised its rights with tyranny and passed the sentence that 'Abdu'l-Bahá merited all kinds of persecution. Finally they decided to send Him to Feyzan, and when they cabled this decision to the palace of 'Abdu'l-Hamíd, an answer was received that the matter of Feyzan was approved by the Imperial Order. Then that unjust investigating Commission returned to Constantinople. They were in the midst of the sea when the cannon of God boomed forth before the palace of 'Abdu'l-Hamíd, a charge of dynamite was exploded, a number of people were killed, 'Abdu'l-Hamíd fled into the interior of his residence, difficulties and trials surrounded him, and incidents and events developed rapidly. Therefore he did not find the opportunity to oppress 'Abdu'l-Bahá; public revolution was started, which ended in his deposition, and the Hand of Divine Power released the neck of 'Abdu'l-Bahá from the chains of the prison of Joseph and the fetters and manacles were placed around the unblessed neck of 'Abdu'l-Hamíd. Be ye admonished, O ye people of insight! 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet, Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 4, May 17, 1911)

Hands of the Cause of God -- Their “strict self-discipline… absolute loyalty and… complete self-abnegation” following the passing of Shoghi Effendi has “no comparable record” in the “entire history of religion”

From the very outset of their custodianship of the Cause of God the Hands realized that since they had no certainty of divine guidance such as is incontrovertibly assured to the Guardian and to the Universal House of Justice, their one safe course was to follow with undeviating firmness the instructions and policies of Shoghi Effendi. The entire history of religion shows no comparable record of such strict self-discipline, such absolute loyalty and such complete self-abnegation by the leaders of a religion finding themselves suddenly deprived of their divinely inspired guide. The debt of gratitude which mankind for generations, nay, ages to come, owes to this handful of grief-stricken, steadfast, heroic souls is beyond estimation. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 9 March 1965; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

London 1902: Wedding of May Bolles and Sutherland Maxwell

February 1965: Creation of Continental Pioneering Committees

The National Spiritual Assemblies of Australia, the British Isles, Germany, Persia and the United States were requested by the Universal House of Justice to each appoint a Continental Pioneer Committees for their respective continent. Please see February 8, 1965 message from the Universal House of Justice.

The Universal House of Justice later assumed responsibility for appointing the members of Continental Pioneer Committees and transferred responsibility for directing their work to the International Teaching Centre (please see message dated 19 May 1983 in ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963 to 1986’)

November 1964: Auxiliary Board Members were freed from administrative responsibilities

Members of Auxiliary Boards should be freed from administrative responsibilities including serving on Committees and as delegates to conventions. In the event of any member of a National Assembly accepting appointment to a Board, the National Assembly should accept this as valid reason for that member's resignation from the Assembly; should a Board member be elected to a National Assembly, he must choose on which body he will serve. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (from a message dated November 1964 to the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Baha’i world; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

2015: The standing and position of the Bahá’í community in the world today

• More than 5 million Bahá’ís reside in virtually every country and territory around the world, in well over 100,000 localities.
• Three National Assemblies have been re-formed in recent years in the Muslim world: those of Egypt, Indonesia and Iraq.
• There are 182 National Spiritual Assemblies operating around the world. Over 40 percent of the membership of these national councils are women.
• National Spiritual Assemblies in countries with extended areas of jurisdiction have all established Regional Bahá’í Councils.
• The number of Continental Counselors has reached 81, with 990 Auxiliary Board members serving under them.
• The number of countries where Bahá’í marriage certificates are recognized has reached 60.
• Bahá’í literature is available in 802 languages.
• Over 27,000 classes for the spiritual and moral education of children and junior youth, open to children of Bahá’ís and those belonging to other denominations or groups, are conducted by Bahá’í communities on a regular basis.
• More than 600 Bahá’í elementary schools, mostly in rural areas where formal schools do not exist, are operating throughout the world.
• Seven continental Bahá’í Houses of Worship have been established in virtually all the continents of the globe—all open for prayers and readings for the spiritual upliftment of Bahá’ís and interested friends. The eighth and last continental Temple is being built in Santiago, Chile.
• Plans for the construction of two national and five local Bahá’í Houses of Worship have been set in motion.
• Countless devotional gatherings all over the world are held regularly in Bahá’í centers and in Bahá’í homes. These are open to the believers and to the public as well.
• In all such meetings, whether in Bahá’í Temples or in informal devotional gatherings, Bahá’í prayers and readings are offered as well as appropriate extracts of scriptures of other revealed religions.

(Data prepared by the Statistics Department of the Bahá’í World Center and provided to Mr. Nakhjavani for his article on: “Theninth cycle of the Bahá’í calendar and its relationship to the teaching work”)

The Shrine of Baha'u'llah in the time of 'Abdu'l-Baha

The Shrine of Baha'u'llah in the time of 'Abdu'l-Baha

circa 1968: Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga in Colombia

Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga with some Baha'is in Colombia, circa 1968

Tribulations sustained by Baha’u’llah until His arrival in Baghdad – a summary by Shoghi effendi

Was it not He Who, at the early age of twenty-seven, spontaneously arose to champion, in the capacity of a mere follower, the nascent Cause of the Báb? Was He not the One Who by assuming the actual leadership of a proscribed and harrassed sect exposed Himself, and His kindred, and His possessions, and His rank, and His reputation to the grave perils, the bloody assaults, the general spoliation and furious defamations of both government and people? Was it not He—the Bearer of a Revelation, Whose day “every Prophet hath announced,” for which “the soul of every Divine Messenger hath thirsted,” and in which “God hath proved the hearts of the entire company of His Messengers and Prophets”—was not the Bearer of such a Revelation, at the instigation of Shí’ih ecclesiastics and by order of the Sháh himself forced, for no less than four months, to breathe, in utter darkness, whilst in the company of the vilest criminals and freighted down with galling chains, the pestilential air of the vermin-infested subterranean dungeon of Tihrán—a place which, as He Himself subsequently declared, was mysteriously converted into the very scene of the annunciation made to Him by God of His Prophethood?

The first public persecution

Mullá Sádiq-i-Khurásání, impelled by the injunction of the Báb in the Khasá’il-i-Sab‘ih to alter the sacrosanct formula of the adhán,[call to prayer] sounded it in its amended form before a scandalized congregation in Shíráz, and was instantly arrested, reviled, stripped of his garments, and scourged with a thousand lashes. The villainous Husayn Khán, the Nizámu’d-Dawlih, the governor of Fárs, who had read the challenge thrown out in the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá, having ordered that Mullá Sádiq together with Quddús and another believer be summarily and publicly punished, caused their beards to be burned, their noses pierced, and threaded with halters; then, having been led through the streets in this disgraceful condition, they were expelled from the city. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

The speed of the revelation of divine verses by the Báb

…Mullá ‘Alíy-i-Bastamí, one of the Letters of the Living, “the first to leave the House of God (Shíráz) and the first to suffer for His sake…had audaciously asserted that from the pen of his new-found Master within the space of forty-eight hours, verses had streamed that equalled in number those of the Qur’án, which it took its Author twenty-three years to reveal… 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

1941: First Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of San Jose, Costa Rica

Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of San Jose, Costa Rica, 1941 (The Baha'i World 1940-1944)

Naw-Ruz 1974: The Third Global Plan is launched by the Universal House of Justice

“The Five Year Plan to which this community is now summoned is the opening campaign of these critical years. It is the third global plan embarked upon by the Army of Light in its implementation of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan, that world-encompassing programme disclosed in His perspicuous Tablets and described by the Guardian of the Cause of God as the Charter for the propagation of the Faith throughout the world.” 

- The Universal House of Justice  (from a message to the Baha’is of the world, Naw-Ruz, 1974)

The other two global Plans were the Ten Year Crusade, 1953 to 1963, and the Nine Year Plan, 1964 to 1973.

Ridvan 1943: India's First Baha'i Youth Conference

First Baha'i Youth Conference of India, Ridvan 1943 (The Baha'i World 1940-1944)

April 1974: 115 National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the planet

The victories of that crusade implanted the banner of Bahá'u'lláh throughout the planet and the following Nine Year Plan reinforced and extended the bastions of the Faith and raised the number of National Spiritual Assemblies -- the supporting pillars of the Universal House of Justice -- to one hundred and thirteen, a number increased to one hundred and fifteen by the formation at this Ridvan of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Hong Kong and South East Arabia. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (from a message tothe Baha’is of the world, Naw-Ruz, 1974)

May 1963: Hands of the Cause decided that Auxiliary Board members should be free of administrative responsibilities – The Universal House of Justice approved

The Hands of the Cause at their London Conclave last May decided that Auxiliary Board members should be free of administrative responsibilities in order to devote their full energies to their work as Board members. Those Board members serving on National Assemblies were therefore requested to decide, before Ridvan 1964, in which capacity they could best serve the Cause…

… Should Board members still be elected on National Assemblies after the above explanation, it should rest with each Board member to decide which of the two functions he feels best suited to perform. The Universal House of Justice, therefore, approves the request made by the Hands of the Cause to their Board members that they choose between the two functions. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (from a letter to all National Spiritual Assemblies dated 25 November 1963; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986)