Bahá'u'lláh's ancestral home in Takur

Two views of Bahá'u'lláh's ancestral home in Takur, in the district of Nur, where He usually spent His summers as a boy.

Baha’u’llah’s sufferings – Yahya’s contribution

I am the one, O Lord, whose heart and soul, whose limbs, whose inner and outer tongue testify to Thy unity and Thy oneness, and bear witness that Thou art God and that there is no God but Thee. Thou didst bring mankind into being to know Thee and to serve Thy Cause, that their station might thereby be elevated upon Thine earth and their souls be uplifted by virtue of the things Thou hast revealed in Thy Scriptures, Thy Books and Thy Tablets. Yet no sooner didst Thou manifest Thyself and reveal Thy signs than they turned away from Thee and repudiated Thee and rejected that which Thou didst unveil before their eyes through the potency of Thy might and Thy power. They rose up to inflict harm upon Thee, to extinguish Thy light and to put out the flame that blazeth in Thy Burning Bush. Their iniquity waxed so grievous that they conspired to shed Thy blood and to violate Thy honour. And likewise acted he [1] whom Thou hadst nurtured with the hand of Thy loving-kindness, hadst protected from the mischief of the rebellious among Thy creatures and the froward amidst Thy servants, and whom Thou hadst set the task of writing Thy holy verses before Thy throne.

Alas! Alas! for the things he perpetrated in Thy days to such an extent that he violated Thy Covenant and Thy Testament, rejected Thy holy Writ, rose up in rebellion and committed that which caused the denizens of Thy Kingdom to lament. Then no sooner had he found his hopes shattered and had perceived the odour of utter failure than he raised his voice and gave tongue to that which caused Thy chosen ones, who are nigh unto Thee, and the inmates of the pavilion of glory, to be lost in bewilderment. 

- Baha’u’llah (‘Ishraqat [Splendours], ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

[1] Mirza Yahya

“The sun of justice hath risen above the horizon of Bahá’u’lláh.”

“God be praised!” ‘Abdu’l Bahá, in His turn, exclaims, “The sun of justice hath risen above the horizon of Bahá’u’lláh. For in His Tablets the foundations of such a justice have been laid as no mind hath, from the beginning of creation, conceived.” “The canopy of existence,” He further explains, “resteth upon the pole of justice, and not of forgiveness, and the life of mankind dependeth on justice and not on forgiveness.” 

- Shoghi Effendi (Quoting 'Abdu'l-Baha in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

The religious and historical significance of Bahá'u'lláh’s Declaration in the Garden of Ridván

The arrival of Bahá'u'lláh in the Najibiyyih Garden, subsequently designated by His followers the Garden of Ridvan, signalizes the commencement of what has come to be recognized as the holiest and most significant of all Bahá'í festivals, the festival commemorating the Declaration of His Mission to His companions. So momentous a Declaration may well be regarded both as the logical consummation of that revolutionizing process which was initiated by Himself upon His return from Sulaymaniyyih, and as a prelude to the final proclamation of that same Mission to the world and its rulers from Adrianople.

Through that solemn act the "delay," of no less than a decade, divinely interposed between the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation in the Siyah-Chal and its announcement to the Báb's disciples, was at long last terminated. The "set time of concealment," during which as He Himself has borne witness, the "signs and tokens of a divinely-appointed Revelation" were being showered upon Him, was fulfilled. The "myriad veils of light," within which His glory had been wrapped, were, at that historic hour, partially lifted, vouchsafing to mankind "an infinitesimal glimmer" of the effulgence of His "peerless, His most sacred and exalted Countenance." The "thousand two hundred and ninety days," fixed by Daniel in the last chapter of His Book, as the duration of the "abomination that maketh desolate" had now elapsed. The "hundred lunar years," destined to immediately precede that blissful consummation (1335 days), announced by Daniel in that same chapter, had commenced. The nineteen years, constituting the first "Vahid," preordained in the Persian Bayan by the pen of the Báb, had been completed. The Lord of the Kingdom, Jesus Christ returned in the glory of the Father, was about to ascend His throne, and assume the sceptre of a world-embracing, indestructible sovereignty. The community of the Most Great Name, the "companions of the Crimson Colored Ark," lauded in glowing terms in the Qayyúmu'l-Asmá', had visibly emerged. The Báb's own prophecy regarding the "Ridvan," the scene of the unveiling of Bahá'u'lláh's transcendent glory, had been literally fulfilled. 

- Shoghi Effendi ('God Passes By')

To “read the utterances of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá with selflessness and care”

If you read the utterances of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá with selflessness and care and concentrate upon them, you will discover truths unknown to you before and will obtain an insight into the problems that have baffled the great thinkers of the world. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 30 January 1925 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Living the Life)

Range of Baha’u’llah’s suffering

Forsaking fame and fortune, accepting imprisonment and exile, careless of ostracism and obloquy, submitting to physical indignities and cruel deprivations, He, the Vicegerent of God on earth, suffered Himself to be banished from place to place and from country to country, till at length He, in the Most Great Prison, offered up His martyred son as a ransom for the redemption and unification of all mankind. 

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

“Consider...the Báb…how He was attracted to the love of the Blessed Beauty, Bahá'u'lláh;…We must follow His heavenly example”

Consider how the Báb endured difficulties and tribulations; how He gave His life in the Cause of God; how He was attracted to the love of the Blessed Beauty, Bahá'u'lláh; and how He announced the glad tidings of His manifestation. We must follow His heavenly example; we must be self-sacrificing and aglow with the fire of the love of God. We must partake of the bounty and grace of the Lord, for the Báb has admonished us to arise in service to the Cause of God, to be absolutely severed from all else save God during the day of the Blessed Perfection, Bahá'u'lláh, to be completely attracted by the love of Bahá'u'lláh, to love all humanity for His sake, to be lenient and merciful to all for Him and to upbuild the oneness of the world of humanity. Therefore, this day, 23 May, is the anniversary of a blessed event. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)

1848: Bahá’u’lláh’s confinement in ‘Amul, Persia

When… We went to Ámul, [December 1848] such was the turmoil which the people had raised that above four thousand persons had congregated in the masjid and had crowded onto the roofs of their houses. The leading mullá of the town denounced Us bitterly… We informed him that, although We had never met Him [the Qá'im] face to face, yet We cherished, none the less, a great affection for Him. We expressed Our profound conviction that He had, under no circumstances, acted contrary to the Faith of Islám.

The mullá and his followers, however refused to believe Us, and rejected Our testimony as a perversion of the truth. They eventually placed Us in confinement, and forbade Our friends to meet Us. The acting governor of Ámul succeeded in effecting Our release from captivity. Through an opening in the wall that he ordered his men to make, he enabled Us to leave that room, and conducted Us to his house. No sooner were the inhabitants informed of this act than they arose against Us, besieged the governor’s residence, pelted Us with stones, and hurled in Our face the foulest invectives.

- Bahá’u’lláh  (Quoted in ‘The Dawn-Breakers’)

Baha’u’llah has come “for the education and training of all humanity”

… Baha’u’llah has manifested for the education and training of all humanity. He is the Teacher of all, whether rich or poor, black or white, oriental or occidental, northern or southern. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet to Mr. and Mrs. Ostburg, Boston, Mass; Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 5, June 5, 1911)

“The Revelation of Baha’u’llah is, in relation to the body of the world, as the spirit of man is to his body.”

The Revelation of Baha’u’llah is, in relation to the body of the world, as the spirit of man is to his body. In relation to the body of the world (humanity) Divinity is as the light within a lantern. In relation to the soil of the hearts, it is the quickening shower. In relation to the spiritual growth of the trees, it is the vernal breeze; and in relation to the recovery of the diseased body politic, it is a quick acting remedy, because it is the cause of the oneness of the world of humanity. It is love among all mankind. It is a bond which unites all the religions. It is the unity which welds together all the races. It is the connection between all the countries. It is universal peace among the nations. It is universal peace among all the peoples. It is the universal peace which will bring together all nativities. And undoubtedly it is the spirit of the world. It is the light of the world. Likewise, it is an impetus to the promulgation of knowledge, and it is the cause of agreement of religion with science and reason. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk in Oakland, California, at the home of Helen Goodall, October 3, 1912; Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 11, September 27, 1913)

Manifestations of God & the station of Baha’u’llah

O Lord! The tongue of my tongue and the heart of my heart and the spirit of my spirit and my outward and inmost beings bear witness to Thy unity and Thy oneness, Thy power and Thine omnipotence, Thy grandeur and Thy sovereignty, and attest Thy glory, loftiness and authority. I testify that Thou art God and that there is none other God besides Thee. From everlasting Thou hast been a treasure hidden from the sight and minds of men and shalt continue to remain the same for ever and ever. The powers of earth can never frustrate Thee, nor can the might of the nations alarm Thee. Thou art the One Who hath unlocked the door of knowledge before the faces of Thy servants that they may recognize Him Who is the Day-Star of Thy Revelation, the Dawning-Place of Thy signs, the Heaven of Thy manifestation and the Sun of Thy divine beauty. In Thy holy Books, in Thy Scriptures and Thy Scrolls Thou hast promised all the peoples of the world that Thou Thyself shalt appear and shalt remove the veils of glory from Thy face, even as Thou didst announce in Thy words unto Thy Friend [Muhammad] through Whom the Day-Star of Revelation shone brightly above the horizon of Hijáz, and the dawning light of divine Truth shed its radiance among all men, proclaiming: ‘The Day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds.’ [Qur’án 83:6] And before Muhammad Thou didst impart this glad-tiding unto Him Who

“Bahá'u'lláh, like a bright star, rose from the horizon of Persia and shone with the great Light of Guidance”

Thus when hatred and animosity, fighting, slaughtering, and great coldness of heart were governing this world, and darkness had overcome the nations, Bahá'u'lláh, like a bright star, rose from the horizon of Persia and shone with the great Light of Guidance, giving heavenly radiance and establishing the new Teaching. He declared the most human virtues; He manifested the Spiritual powers, and put them into practice in the world around Him. 

- ‘Abdu'l-Baha (From a talk; “Abdu’l-Baha in London”)

Range of people to whom Baha’u’llah addressed Tablets

To emperors, kings, princes and potentates, to rulers, governments, clergy and peoples, whether of the East or of the West, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, or Zoroastrian, He addressed, for well-nigh fifty years, and in the most tragic circumstances, these priceless pearls of knowledge and wisdom that lay hid within the ocean of His matchless utterance. 

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

Baha’u’llah is “the Primal Veil of God”

Say, He Whom God shall make manifest is indeed the Primal Veil of God. Above this Veil ye can find nothing other than God, while beneath it ye can discern all things emanating from God. He is the Unseen, the Inaccessible, the Most Exalted, the Best-Beloved.

If ye seek God, it behooveth you to seek Him Whom God shall make manifest, and if ye cherish the desire to dwell in the Ark of Names, ye will be distinguished as the guides to Him Whom God shall make manifest, did ye but believe in Him. Verily then make your hearts the daysprings of His exalted Names as recorded in the Book, and ye shall, even as mirrors placed before the sun, be able to receive enlightenment. 

- The Báb  (From the Kitáb-i-Asmá’ [The Book of Names]; ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb’)

Bahá'u'lláh became renowned for His learning when He was about thirteen years old

He was extremely kind and generous. He was a great lover of outdoor life, most of His time being spent in the garden or the fields. He had an extraordinary power of attraction, which was felt by all. People always crowded around Him, Ministers and people of the Court would surround Him, and the children also were devoted to Him. When He was only thirteen or fourteen years old He became renowned for His learning. He would converse on any subject and solve any problem presented to Him. In large gatherings He would discuss matters with the 'Ulama (leading mullas) and would explain intricate religious questions. All of them used to listen to Him with the greatest interest.

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Quoted by Esslemont in ‘Baha'u'llah and New Era’)

Baháu’lláh's sufferings and the manifestation of “the daystar of justice”

“The shame I was made to bear,” He significantly remarks, “hath uncovered the glory with which the whole of creation had been invested, and through the cruelties I have endured, the daystar of justice hath manifested itself, and shed its splendor upon men.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Quoting Bahá'u'lláh in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

The story of how Mullá Husayn was able to discover Baha’u’llah in Tihran and have delivered to Him a scroll containing passages from the Writings of the Báb

Mírzá Músá, Áqáy-i-Kalím, the brother of Bahá’u’lláh, recounted to me [Nabil] the following:

“I have heard Mullá Muhammad-i-Mu’allim, a native of Núr, in the province of Mázindarán, who was a fervent admirer of both Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kázim, relate this story:

‘I was in those days recognised as one of the favoured disciples of Hájí Mírzá Muhammad, and lived in the same school in which he taught. My room adjoined his room, and we were closely associated together. On the day that he was engaged in discussion with Mullá Husayn, I overheard their conversation from beginning to end, and was deeply affected by the ardour, the fluency, and learning of that youthful stranger. I was surprised at the evasive answers, the arrogance, and contemptuous behaviour of Hájí Mírzá Muhammad.

That day I felt strongly attracted by the charm of that youth, and deeply resented the unseemly conduct of my teacher towards him. I concealed my feelings, however, and pretended to ignore his discussions with Mullá Husayn. I was seized with a passionate desire to meet the latter, and ventured, at the hour of midnight, to visit him. He did not expect me, but I knocked at his door, and found him awake seated beside his lamp. He received me affectionately, and spoke to me with extreme courtesy and tenderness. I unburdened my heart to him, and as I was addressing him, tears, which I could not repress, flowed from my eyes.

The “emergence of His [Bahá’u’lláh’s] embryonic World Order…has ‘deranged the equilibrium of the world and revolutionized mankind’s ordered life’”

To what else can the observant eye or the unprejudiced mind, acquainted with the signs and portents heralding the birth, and accompanying the rise, of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh ascribe this dire, this planetary upheaval, with its attendant destruction, misery and fear, if not to the emergence of His embryonic World Order, which, as He Himself has unequivocally proclaimed, has “deranged the equilibrium of the world and revolutionized mankind’s ordered life”?

- Shoghi Effendi  (Preface to ‘God Passes By’)

Bahá'u'lláh's Shawl and Comb