“Bahá’u’lláh… forecasting the bright future in store for a world now wrapt in darkness”

“The whole earth,” Bahá’u’lláh, on the other hand, forecasting the bright future in store for a world now wrapt in darkness, emphatically asserts, “is now in a state of pregnancy. The day is approaching when it will have yielded its noblest fruits, when from it will have sprung forth the loftiest trees, the most enchanting blossoms, the most heavenly blessings.” “The time is approaching when every created thing will have cast its burden. Glorified be God Who hath vouchsafed this grace that encompasseth all things, whether seen or unseen!” “These great oppressions,” He, moreover, foreshadowing humanity’s golden age, has written, “are preparing it for the advent of the Most Great Justice.” This Most Great Justice is indeed the Justice upon which the structure of the Most Great Peace can alone, and must eventually, rest, while the Most Great Peace will, in turn, usher in that Most Great, that World Civilization which shall remain forever associated with Him Who beareth the Most Great Name. 

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

“Baha’u’llah's principal mission in appearing at this time in human history”

Baha’u’llah's principal mission in appearing at this time in human history is the realization of the oneness of mankind and the establishment of peace among the nations; therefore, all the forces which are focused on accomplishing these ends are influenced by His Revelation. We know, however, that peace will come in stages, first, there will come the Lesser Peace, when the unity of nations will be achieved, then gradually the Most Great Peace—the spiritual as well as social and political unity of mankind, when the Baha'i World Commonwealth, operating in strict accordance with the laws and ordinances of the Most Holy Book of the Baha'i Revelation, will have been established through the efforts of the Baha'is.

As to the Lesser Peace, Shoghi Effendi has explained that this will initially be a political unity arrived at by decision of the governments of various nations; it will not be established by direct action of the Baha'i community.... 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 31 January 1985 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice in response to a question from an individual believer; included in ‘Attainment of the Unity of Nations and the Lesser Peace’, a Memorandum from the Research Department of the Baha’i World Center dated 19 April 2001; US Baha’i National Administrative website)

Birth of Baha’u’llah and Shaykh Ahmad’s recognition of the meaning of that auspicious event while he was in Tihran

In those days, [1817] there was born a Child in an ancient and noble family of Núr, whose father was Mírzá Abbás, better known as Mírzá Buzurg, a favoured minister of the Crown. That Child was Bahá’u’lláh. At the hour of dawn, on the second day of Muharram, in the year 1233 A.H. the world, unaware of its significance, witnessed the birth of Him who was destined to confer upon it such incalculable blessings. Shaykh Ahmad, who recognised in its full measure the meaning of this auspicious event, yearned to spend the remaining days of his life within the precincts of the court of this Divine, this new-born King. But this was not to be. His thirst unallayed, and his yearning unsatisfied, he felt compelled to submit to God’s irrevocable decree, and, turning his face away from the city of his Beloved, proceeded to Kirmansháh. 

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

Genealogy of Bahá’u’lláh

Mírzá Abu’l-Fadl asserts in his writings that the genealogy of Bahá’u’lláh can be traced back to the ancient Prophets of Persia as well as to its kings who ruled over the land prior to the Arab invasion. 

(Footnotes to chapter 1 of ‘The Dawn-Breakers’ provided by Shoghi Effendi)

Bahá'u'lláh’s mother: Khadijih Khanum

Khadijih Khanum's family belonged to the Namadsab tribe. Members of this tribe occupied areas in close proximity to Takur in the district of Núr in Mazandaran where Bahá'u'lláh's father and paternal ancestors came from. It is not known who Khadijih Khanum's parents were or whether she had any siblings. There is also no information available about Khadijih Khanum's childhood or early life. All aspects of her life before she married Mirza Buzurg, Bahá'u'lláh's father, remain unexplored. The date and place of her birth are also unknown. She was likely born in one of the villages in the vicinity of the village of Takur.

Following the traditional pattern, Khadijih Khanum married probably very young to a certain Aqa Sultan. He died sometime after the birth of their third child. They had two daughters and one son and were probably residing in Tihran. Sometime after his death, Khadijih Khanum married Mirza Buzurg.

Khadijih Khanum’s family had preexisting ties to the family of Mirza Buzurg since an older sister of Mirza Buzurg was already married into the family. It is estimated that their wedding took place between 1810 and 1812. They had five children. The first-born of that marriage was a daughter, Sarih Khanum: she is generally known as 'Ukht’, Arabic for sister, because Baha’u’llah has thus referred to her. The next was a son, Mirza Mihdi, who died in his father's lifetime. Bahá'u'lláh was their third-born. The fourth was another son, Mirza Musa, entitled Aqay-i-Kalim in later years, and the fifth was another daughter, Nisa Khanum, who was married to Mirza Majid-i-Ahi, a secretary of the Russian Legation. 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. It is not clear exactly when Khadijih Khanum passed away and where she has been buried.

Baha’u’llah “chose for one of His names the title of The Poor One”

While Bahá’u’lláh was in Baghdád, still in possession of great wealth, He left all He had and went alone from the city, living two years among the poor. They were His comrades. He ate with them, slept with them and gloried in being one of them. He chose for one of His names the title of The Poor One and often in His Writings refers to Himself as Darvísh, which in Persian means poor; and of this title He was very proud. He admonished all that we must be the servants of the poor, helpers of the poor, remember the sorrows of the poor, associate with them; for thereby we may inherit the Kingdom of heaven. God has not said that there are mansions prepared for us if we pass our time associating with the rich, but He has said there are many mansions prepared for the servants of the poor, for the poor are very dear to God. The mercies and bounties of God are with them. The rich are mostly negligent, inattentive, steeped in worldliness, depending upon their means, whereas the poor are dependent upon God, and their reliance is upon Him, not upon themselves. Therefore, the poor are nearer the threshold of God and His throne. 

- ‘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’)

Why did Baha’u’llah bear such incredible ordeals, calamities and sorrows?

... the Blessed Perfection bore all these ordeals and calamities in order that our hearts might become enkindled and radiant, our spirits be glorified, our faults become virtues, our ignorance be transformed into knowledge; in order that we might attain the real fruits of humanity and acquire heavenly graces; in order that, although pilgrims upon earth, we should travel the road of the heavenly Kingdom, and, although needy and poor, we might receive the treasures of eternal life. For this has He borne these difficulties and sorrows. 

- '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’)

Baha’u’llah’s last outstanding Tablet

We are told by the beloved Guardian that the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf is "the last outstanding Tablet revealed by the Pen of Bahá'u'lláh."- (Shoghi Effendi, ‘God Passes By’)

Shoghi Effendi gave the western believers his fifth and last book of translations of the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, undertaken during the winter of 1939-40 … The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf was Bahá'u'lláh's last major work and contains a selection from His own Writings made by Himself (surely a unique occurrence in religious history!) during the last two years of His life and has therefore a special position of its own in the literature of our Faith. In a cable shortly prior to its publication Shoghi Effendi said "Devoutly hope its study may contribute further enlightenment deeper understanding verities on which effective prosecution teaching administrative undertakings ultimately depend..." 

- Ruhiyyih Khanum  (‘The Priceless Pearl’)

1848: Bahá’u’lláh was placed in confinement in ‘Amul

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 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. 

- Baha’u’llah  (Quoted by Nabil in ‘The Dawn-Breakers’; translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

When Bahá’u’lláh’s father died the Government wished Him to succeed to his position in the Ministry

When Bahá’u’lláh was twenty-two years old, His father died, and the Government wished Him to succeed to His father’s position in the Ministry, as was customary in Persia, but Bahá’u’lláh did not accept the offer. Then the Prime Minister said: “Leave him to himself. Such a position is unworthy of him. He has some higher aim in view. I cannot understand him, but I am convinced that he is destined for some lofty career. His thoughts are not like ours. Let him alone.” 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Quoted in ‘Baha'u'llah and the New Era’, by Dr. J.E. Esslemont)

The “ominous warning sounded by Bahá’u’lláh” concerning the plight of humanity

“Bestir yourselves, O people,” is, on the one hand, the ominous warning sounded by Bahá’u’lláh Himself, “in anticipation of the days of Divine Justice, for the promised hour is now come.” “Abandon that which ye possess, and seize that which God, Who layeth low the necks of men, hath brought. Know ye of a certainty that if ye turn not back from that which ye have committed, chastisement will overtake you on every side, and ye shall behold things more grievous than that which ye beheld aforetime.” And again: “We have fixed a time for you, O people! If ye fail, at the appointed hour, to turn towards God, He, verily, will lay violent hold on you, and will cause grievous afflictions to assail you from every direction. How severe indeed is the chastisement with which your Lord will then chastise you!” And again: “God assuredly dominateth the lives of them that wronged Us, and is well aware of their doings. He will most certainly lay hold on them for their sins. He, verily, is the fiercest of Avengers.” And finally: “O ye peoples of the world! Know verily that an unforeseen calamity is following you and that grievous retribution awaiteth you. Think not the deeds ye have committed have been blotted from My sight. By My Beauty! All your doings hath My pen graven with open characters upon tablets of chrysolite.” 

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

An illuminated Seal of Baha'u'llah

Purpose of the appearance of the “Prophets and Messengers of God”

The Prophets and Messengers of God have been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding mankind to the straight Path of Truth. The purpose underlying their revelation hath been to educate all men, that they may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the Most High.... 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. 1. Baha’i Education)

God’s “Supreme Mediator”

The light that is shed from the heaven of bounty, and the benediction that shineth from the dawning-place of the will of God, the Lord of the Kingdom of Names, rest upon Him Who is the Supreme Mediator, the Most Exalted Pen, Him Whom God hath made the Dawning-Place of His most excellent names and the Dayspring of His most exalted attributes. Through Him the light of unity hath shone forth above the horizon of the world, and the law of oneness hath been revealed amidst the nations, who, with radiant faces, have turned towards the Supreme Horizon, and acknowledged that which the Tongue of Utterance hath spoken in the kingdom of His knowledge: "Earth and heaven, glory and dominion, are God's, the Omnipotent, the Almighty, the Lord of grace abounding!" 

- Baha'u'llah (‘Epistle to the Son of the Wolf’)

The mystical reality of the Manifestation of God

Magnified be Thy name, O Lord my God! I know not what the water is with which Thou hast created me, or what the fire Thou hast kindled within me, or the clay wherewith Thou hast kneaded me. The restlessness of every sea hath been stilled, but not the restlessness of this Ocean which moveth at the bidding of the winds of Thy will. The flame of every fire hath been extinguished except the Flame which the hands of Thine omnipotence have kindled, and whose radiance Thou hast, by the power of Thy name, shed abroad before all that are in Thy heaven and all that are on Thy earth. As the tribulations deepen, it waxeth hotter and hotter.

Behold, then, O my God, how Thy Light hath been compassed with the onrushing winds of Thy decree, how the tempests that blow and beat upon it from every side have added to its brightness and increased its splendor. For all this let Thee be praised.

I implore Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, and Thy most ancient sovereignty, to look upon Thy loved ones whose hearts have been sorely shaken by reason of the troubles that have touched Him Who is the Manifestation of Thine own Self. Powerful art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou art, verily, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. 

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

1848: Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri became known as Bahá

In the early summer of 1848, Bahá’u’lláh hosted a gathering at a village of Badasht in northern Persia. He “rented, amidst pleasant surroundings, three gardens, one of which He assigned to Quddus, another to Tahirih, whilst the third He reserved for Himself." (Shoghi Effendi, ‘God Passes By’) This gathering was called for by the Báb for His most eminent followers, known as Bábís, to attend. “The primary purpose of that gathering was to implement the revelation of the Bayan by a sudden, a complete and dramatic break with the past -- with its order, its ecclesiasticism, its traditions, and ceremonials. The subsidiary purpose of the conference was to consider the means of emancipating the Báb from His cruel confinement in Chihriq. The first was eminently successful; the second was destined from the outset to fail.” (Shoghi Effendi, ‘God Passes By’) It became known as the Badasht Conference. It is estimated that there were 81 Bábís in attendance. They were all guests of Bahá’u’lláh for the entire duration of the conference which lasted about twenty-two days.

“On each of the twenty-two days of His sojourn in that hamlet He [Bahá’u’lláh] revealed a Tablet, which was chanted in the presence of the assembled believers. On every believer He conferred a new name, without, however, disclosing the identity of the one who had bestowed it. He Himself was henceforth designated by the name Bahá. Upon the Last Letter of the Living was conferred the appellation of Quddus, while Qurratu'l-'Ayn was given the title of Tahirih. By these names they were all subsequently addressed by the Báb in the Tablets He revealed for each one of them.” (Shoghi Effendi, ‘God Passes By’)

Baha'u'llah's Lineage

He [Baha'u'llah] derived His descent, on the one hand, from Abraham (the Father of the Faithful) through his wife Katurah, and on the other from Zoroaster, as well as from Yazdigird, the last king of the Sasaniyan dynasty. He was moreover a descendant of Jesse [1], and belonged, through His father, Mirza Abbas, better known as Mirza Buzurg -- a nobleman closely associated with the ministerial circles of the Court of Fath-'Ali Shah -- to one of the most ancient and renowned families of Mazindaran. 

- Shoghi Effendi  ('God Passes By')

[1] This is not Jesse the father of David, but Jesse referred to in Isaiah 11:1,10 - David Hofman in 'Baha'u'llah the Prince of Peace'.

The reason “the Prophets of God, not excepting Bahá’u’lláh Himself, [have] chosen to appear, and deliver their Message” in certain countries and amidst certain “peoples and races”

How often have the Prophets of God, not excepting Bahá’u’lláh Himself, chosen to appear, and deliver their Message in countries and amidst peoples and races, at a time when they were either fast declining, or had already touched the lowest depths of moral and spiritual degradation.

• The appalling misery and wretchedness to which the Israelites had sunk, under the debasing and tyrannical rule of the Pharaohs, in the days preceding their exodus from Egypt under the leadership of Moses;
• the decline that had set in in the religious, the spiritual, the cultural, and the moral life of the Jewish people, at the time of the appearance of Jesus Christ;
• the barbarous cruelty, the gross idolatry and immorality, which had for so long been the most distressing features of the tribes of Arabia and brought such shame upon them when Muhammad arose to proclaim His Message in their midst;
• the indescribable state of decadence, with its attendant corruption, confusion, intolerance, and oppression, in both the civil and religious life of Persia, so graphically portrayed by the pen of a considerable number of scholars, diplomats, and travelers, at the hour of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh—

all demonstrate this basic and inescapable fact. To contend that the innate worthiness, the high moral standard, the political aptitude, and social attainments of any race or nation is the reason for the appearance in its midst of any of these Divine Luminaries would be an absolute perversion of historical facts, and would amount to a complete repudiation of the undoubted interpretation placed upon them, so clearly and emphatically, by both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l Bahá. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

A “twofold Manifestation” expected by both Shi’ah and Sunni sects of Islam

Important as these differences are, both sects agree, however, in expecting a twofold Manifestation. The shí’ahs look for the Qá’im, who is to come in the fulness of time, and also for the return of the Imám Husayn. The sunnís await the appearance of the Mihdí and also “the return of Jesus Christ.” When, at the beginning of his Mission, the Báb, continuing the tradition of the shí’ahs, proclaimed His function under the double title of, first, the Qá’im and, second, the Gate, or Báb, some of the Muhammadans misunderstood the latter reference. They imagined His meaning to be that He was a fifth Gate In succession to Abu’l-Hasan-‘Alí. His true meaning, however, as He himself clearly announced, was very different. He was the Qá’im; but the Qá’im, though a High Prophet, stood in relation to a succeeding and greater Manifestation as did John the Baptist to the Christ. He was the Forerunner of One yet more mighty than Himself. He was to decrease; that Mighty One was to increase. And as John the Baptist had been the Herald or Gate of the Christ, so was the Báb the Herald or Gate of Bahá’u’lláh. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘Introduction to ‘The Dawn-Breakers’)