Background/History

The Prophet-Founder: Bahá'u'lláh

Bahá'u'lláh was born in Persia in 1817 into a wealthy family of the nobility. His father was a government minister. In His youth, Bahá'u'lláh was known as the "father of the poor" for His deeds of kindness. From early age He displayed marvelous faculties of intellect. Although passionately interested in social justice, He was not attracted to political life. He chose not to follow in His father's footsteps, and turned down offers to serve in the government.

The Announcement of the Coming of the Promised One

In 1844, at the age of twenty-seven, Bahá'u'lláh became a follower of the Báb. The Báb, a great religious reformer, held the station of Prophethood. He also announced the imminent advent of a Prophet greater than Himself, Who would fulfill the prophecies of past religions regarding the establishment of God's Kingdom on earth.

Bahá'u'lláh and the other followers of the Báb were persecuted for their beliefs because the priests and rulers of Persia wrongly charged them as heretics.

Martyrdom of the Báb

In 1850, the Báb was publicly executed by government order based on the accusation of heresy. Upon the death of the Báb, the persecutions of His followers intensified. Thousands upon thousands were cruelly massacred.

Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation

In 1852, in Teheran, Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned in the Black Pit (Siyáh-Chál), an underground dungeon. It was there, under "the galling weight of the chains" and oppressed by "the stench-filled air," that He received a revelation from God that He was the Promised One foretold by the Báb and all the Prophets who had come before Him. He describes the experience in these words:

"I heard a most wondrous, a most sweet voice, calling above My head...I beheld a Maiden--the embodiment of the remembrance of the name of My Lord...Pointing with her finger unto My head, she addressed all who are in heaven and all who are on earth, saying, 'By God! This is the Best-Beloved of the worlds, and yet ye comprehend not. This is the Beauty of God amongst you, and the power of His sovereignty within you, could ye but understand.'"

Forty Years of Exile and Imprisonment

Bahá'u'lláh was released from prison and exiled from His native land. His wealth and land were confiscated by government decree. He spent the remaining forty years of His life in exile and imprisonment.

Those forty years saw an outpouring of spiritual revelation unprecedented in religious history. Hundreds of books, tablets and letters were revealed, which today are the sacred scripture of the Bahá'í Faith. In these writings He presented a blueprint for the reconstruction of human society at all levels and for the spiritual regeneration of the human race.

Exile to the Holy Land

The first years of exile were spent in Baghdad, followed by periods in Istanbul and Adrianople (modern Edirne). In 1868 He was exiled to Acre, a prison city in the Ottoman province of Syria (now Israel). He lived there until His death in 1892. Despite the fierce opposition of the priests and rulers of Persia and the Ottoman Empire, and their persecution of His followers, Bahá'u'lláh fearlessly announced His mission and directed His followers to carry His teachings throughout the world. He also sent letters from prison to the kings and rulers of the day, informing them of His mission and calling on them to band together in the pursuit of justice and peace.

Bahá'u'lláh Sacrificed Wealth and Power

Bahá'u'lláh never rebelled against His oppressors. He endured sacrifice and imprisonment in order to raise the standard of a new era of unity and justice for humankind. About His purpose, He said:

"By the righteousness of God! It is not Our wish to lay hands on your kingdoms. Our mission is to seize and possess the hearts of men. Whoso followeth His Lord, will renounce the world and all that is therein."

Bahá'u'lláh Suffered for the Sake of Humanity

Here, in His own words, is Bahá'u'lláh's statement of the redeeming power of His life of persecution and sacrifice, which all the Prophets of God before Him endured as well:

"The Ancient Beauty hath consented to be bound with chains that mankind may be released from its bondage, and hath accepted to be made a prisoner within this most mighty Stronghold that the whole world may attain unto true liberty. He hath drained to its dregs the cup of sorrow, that all the peoples of the earth may attain unto abiding joy, and be filled with gladness. This is the mercy of your Lord, the Compassionate, the Most Merciful. We have accepted to be abased, O believers in the Unity of God, that ye may be exalted, and have suffered manifold afflictions, that ye might prosper and flourish. He Who hath come to build anew the whole world, behold, how they...have forced Him to dwell within the most desolate of cities!"

God's New Covenant with Humanity

Bahá'u'lláh died in 1892. In His Will, He conferred the authority of succession upon His eldest son, 'Abdu'l-Bahá. 'Abdu'l-Bahá is known to Bahá'ís as the "Center of the Covenant" of Bahá'u'lláh.

The "Covenant," as regarded by Bahá'ís, is God's promise to achieve the age-old hope for peace and abiding human fellowship.

From 1892 until His death in 1921, 'Abdu'l-Bahá directed the affairs of the Bahá'í community and began to implement the Bahá'í administrative order which had been described by Bahá'u'lláh (for more information, see Community). Renowned for His saintliness and His many acts of philanthropy and service, He exemplified the qualities of spirit that are the hallmark of a true follower of Bahá'u'lláh.

'Abdu'l-Bahá appointed His grandson, Shoghi Effendi, as the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith. Shoghi Effendi, educated at Oxford University, translated into English many of the major works of Bahá'u'lláh from the original Persian and Arabic languages in which they were revealed. He developed the Bahá'í administrative order. By the time of his death in 1957, Shoghi Effendi had overseen the expansion of the Bahá'í community on all the continents.

Since 1963, the The Universal House of Justice, an elected international council ordained by Bahá'u'lláh Himself, has overseen the worldwide affairs of the Bahá'í Faith. Its nine members are elected every five years from the membership of the Bahá'í community throughout the world.

Thus, the provisions made by Bahá'u'lláh in His own writings to safeguard the unity and integrity of His Faith have withstood the test of time: for more than 100 years since the death of Bahá'u'lláh, the Covenant has kept the Bahá'í Faith united.