Sufferings of Baha’u’llah

Glorified be Thy name, O Lord my God! Thou beholdest my dwelling-place, and the prison into which I am cast, and the woes I suffer. By Thy might! No pen can recount them, nor can any tongue describe or number them. I know not, O my God, for what purpose Thou hast abandoned me to Thine adversaries. Thy glory beareth me witness! I sorrow not for the vexations I endure for love of Thee, nor feel perturbed by the calamities that overtake me in Thy path. My grief is rather because Thou delayest to fulfill what Thou hast determined in the Tablets of Thy Revelation, and ordained in the books of Thy decree and judgment.

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)

Baha'u'llah delineates “the fundamental principles for the administration of the affairs” of humanity

Whilst in the Prison of Akká, We revealed in the Crimson Book that which is conducive to the advancement of mankind and to the reconstruction of the world. The utterances set forth therein by the Pen of the Lord of creation include the following which constitute the fundamental principles for the administration of the affairs of men:

First: It is incumbent upon the ministers of the House of Justice to promote the Lesser Peace so that the people of the earth may be relieved from the burden of exorbitant expenditures. This matter is imperative and absolutely essential, inasmuch as hostilities and conflict lie at the root of affliction and calamity.

Second: Languages must be reduced to one common language to be taught in all the schools of the world.

Third: It behoveth man to adhere tenaciously unto that which will promote fellowship, kindliness and unity.

Fourth: Everyone, whether man or woman, should hand over to a trusted person a portion of what he or she earneth through trade, agriculture or other occupation, for the training and education of children, to be spent for this purpose with the knowledge of the Trustees of the House of Justice.

Fifth: Special regard must be paid to agriculture. Although it hath been mentioned in the fifth place, unquestionably it precedeth the others...

Were men to strictly observe that which the Pen of the Most High hath revealed in the Crimson Book, they could then well afford to dispense with the regulations which prevail in the world. Certain exhortations have repeatedly streamed forth from the Pen of the Most High that perchance the manifestations of power and the dawning-places of might may, sometime, be enabled to enforce them. Indeed, were sincere seekers to be found, every emanation of God’s pervasive and irresistible Will would, for the sake of His love, be revealed. But where are to be found earnest seekers and inquiring minds? Whither are gone the equitable and the fair-minded?

- Baha’u’llah  (Lawh-i-Dunya [Tablet of the World]; ‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

Baha’u’llah’s Parents

The noble families of the Nur district, including Baha’u’llah’s family, had for generations provided the kings of Iran with well-educated government officials: civil servants who would collect taxes, keep accounts, pay the army and generally administer the government. Baha'u’llah’s father, Mirza Buzurg Nuri, rose in the ranks of these civil servants to become the minister to a royal prince who was the commander of the royal guards. He was later a vizier (minister), an official responsible for the collection of taxes, in a province. He was given the village of Takur in the Nur region in lieu of salary and he built a fine mansion there by the side of the Nur river as a family home. … Baha’u’llah’s father was also renowned as a calligrapher. Indeed, his real name was ‘Abbas and he had been given the designation Buzurg (meaning “great”) by the king because of his calligraphic prowess.

As was customary among Iran’s nobility, Mirza Buzurg had an extensive family. He took three wives and also had three concubines. The mother of Baha’u’llah was his second wife, Khadijih Khanum. She was from the Namadsab family of the village of Fiyul, a short distance south of Takur. This family had preexisting ties to the family of Mirza Buzurg since an older sister of Mirza Buzurg was already married into the family. Khadijih Khanum had been married before to certain Aqa Sultan and had three children from her previous marriage. With Aqa Buzurg she had five further children (two daughters and three sons; one son died while young). It was the custom of the family to spend the winter months in Tehran, where Mirza Buzurg would attend to his government duties, and the summer in the family home in Takur. Baha’u’llah, the fourth child, was born on 12 November 1817 in the family home in the Udlajan quarter of Tehran. His given name was Husayn ‘Ali but he is generally now known by the title he took in later life, Baha’u’llah (the glory of God).

- Moojan Momen  ('Baha’u’llah: A Short Biography')

Bahá'u'lláh's Father's House in Tihran

“at the beginning the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh was almost unknown, but on account of being a divine Movement it grew and developed with irresistible spiritual power”

…when Bahá’u’lláh was exiled from Persia with ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá and the rest of His family, they traveled the long road from Tihrán to Baghdád, passing through many towns and villages. During the whole of that journey and distance they did not meet a single believer in the Cause for which they had been banished. At that time very little was known about it in any part of the world. Even in Baghdád there was but one believer who had been taught by Bahá’u’lláh Himself in Persia. Later on, two or three others appeared. You will see, therefore, that at the beginning the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh was almost unknown, but on account of being a divine Movement it grew and developed with irresistible spiritual power until in this day, wherever you travel—East or West—and in whatever country you journey, you will meet Bahá’í assemblies and institutions. This is an evidence that the Bahá’ís are spreading the blessings of unity and progressive development throughout the world under the direction of divine guidance and purpose… 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a talk, 22 April 1912, Washington D.C.; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)

Baha’u’llah’s teachings are for the entire human race

The summons and the message which We gave were never intended to reach or to benefit one land or one people only. Mankind in its entirety must firmly adhere to whatsoever hath been revealed and vouchsafed unto it.

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)

Baha’u’llah “had an extraordinary power of attraction”

From childhood He [Baha’u’llah] 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 of 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 in ‘Baha'u'llah and the New Era’, by Dr. J.E. Esslemont)

Only “a faint reflection” of God’s Reality within Baha’u’llah was revealed to humanity

O My Well-Beloved! Thou hast breathed Thy Breath into Me, and divorced Me from Mine own Self. Thou didst, subsequently, decree that no more than a faint reflection, a mere emblem of Thy Reality within Me be left among the perverse and envious. Behold, how, deluded by this emblem, they have risen against Me, and heaped upon Me their denials! Uncover Thy Self, therefore, O My Best-Beloved, and deliver Me from My plight.

Thereupon a Voice replied: “I love, I dearly cherish this emblem. How can I consent that Mine eyes, alone, gaze upon this emblem, and that no heart except Mine heart recognize it? By My Beauty, which is the same as Thy Beauty! My wish is to hide Thee from Mine own eyes: how much more from the eyes of men!”

I was preparing to make reply, when lo, the Tablet was suddenly ended, leaving My theme unfinished, and the pearl of Mine utterance unstrung.

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)

Baha’u’llah was “singled… out and chosen… above all Thy [God’s] servants to reveal” God

Praised be Thou, O my God! How can I thank Thee for having singled me out and chosen me above all Thy servants to reveal Thee, at a time when all had turned away from Thy beauty! I testify, O my God, that if I were given a thousand lives by Thee, and offered them up all in Thy path, I would still have failed to repay the least of the gifts which, by Thy grace, Thou hast bestowed upon me.

I lay asleep on the bed of self when lo, Thou didst waken me with the divine accents of Thy voice, and didst unveil to me Thy beauty, and didst enable me to listen to Thine utterances, and to recognize Thy Self, and to speak forth Thy praise, and to extol Thy virtues, and to be steadfast in Thy love. Finally I fell a captive into the hands of the wayward among Thy servants.

Thou beholdest, therefore, the exile which I suffer in Thy days, and art aware of my vehement longing to look upon Thy face, and of mine irrepressible yearnings to enter the court of Thy glory, and of the stirrings of my heart under the influences of the winds of Thy mercy.

I entreat Thee, O Thou Who art the Ruler of the kingdoms of creation and the Author of all names, to write down my name with the names of them who, from eternity, have circled round the Tabernacle of Thy majesty, and clung to the hem of Thy loving-kindness, and held fast the cord of Thy tender mercy.

Thou art, in truth, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)