| Prophet-Founder of the Bahá'í
Faith and the Manifestation
of God for this Day. He was born Mirzá Ḥusayn-'Alí on 12 November
1817 to a noble family of Núr in Mázindarán, Iran. His mother
was K̲h̲adíjih K̲h̲ánum and his father Mírzá Buzurg-i-Vazír,
a courtier. Bahá'u'lláh was a descendant of the last Sassanian king, Yazdigird III. |
| He became a follower of the Báb in 1844 at the age of twenty-seven, when the Báb sent Mullá Ḥusayn to tell Him of the new Revelation. Although Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb never met, they corresponded. As Mirzá Ḥusayn-'Alí, Bahá'u'lláh
became known as a Bábí leader, and His leadership was especially shown at the Conference
of Badas̲h̲t, after which He was known by the name of Bahá.
Bahá'u'lláh suffered from the persecution waged against the Bábís at the time and was made to endure imprisonment and the bastinado. |
| After an attempt on the S̲h̲áh's
life by two misguided Bábís,
in 1853 Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned for four months in an underground
prison known as the Síyáh-C̲h̲ál in Ṭihrán. It was there He first received a revelation, through a dream of a Maid of Heaven, that He was
the One promised by the Báb. |
| Bahá'u'lláh was released from prison but banished from Iran. He chose
to go to Bag̲h̲dád accompanied by some members of His family and companions. After their arrival in Bag̲h̲dád the community of believers was disrupted by the actions of Mírzá Yaḥyá,
Bahá'u'lláh's disloyal brother. Bahá'u'lláh departed for
a period of solitary retreat in the mountains of Sulaymániyyih until He was persuaded to return in March 1856. |
| Upon His return He became the recognized spiritual leader of the Bábís.
His influence spread and the Persian government persuaded the Ottoman Sulṭán 'Abdu'l-'Azíz to banish
Bahá'u'lláh further. On the eve of His departure from Bag̲h̲dád for Constantinople,
in the Garden of Riḍván,
in April-May 1863, Bahá'u'lláh declared to His followers that He was
the Promised One foretold
by the Báb. The Riḍván
Festival is celebrated as the holiest and most significant of Bahá'í
Holy Days. |
| Bahá'u'lláh departed for Constantinople and soon afterwards was banished to Adrianople where He publicly proclaimed His Mission, addressing His proclamation to the kings
and rulers of the earth and calling on them to establish world peace, justice and unity. |
| Because of the disloyal Mírzá Yaḥyá's
plotting against Bahá'u'lláh, the Turkish authorities condemned Bahá'u'lláh
to perpetual imprisonment in the prison-city of 'Akká. |
| There He was at first subjected to strict confinement for two years in the barracks,
during which time He suffered the death of His son Mírzá
Mihdí. In spite of the hardship and isolation, from 'Akká He
continued His proclamation to the rulers of the earth and the revelation of the foundation-principles
which would bring about a new world order of society founded on the unity of mankind,
equality and justice. |
| Bahá'u'lláh and His family, including His Son, 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
were moved to a succession of houses in the city, notably the houses of 'údí K̲h̲ammár, where Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Kitáb-i-Aqdas,
His Book of Laws, and the House of 'Abbúd. In 1877 Bahá'u'lláh
took up residence in the Mansion of Mazra'ih for two years, and then moved to the Mansion
of Bahjí where He ascended at the age of seventy-four on 29 May 1892. In
His Will, the 'Book of My Covenant',
Bahá'u'lláh named His eldest son, 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
as His successor and authorized Interpreter of His Teachings. |
| Bahá'u'lláh's Writings are considered by Bahá'ís to be revelation from God and some
15,000 of His Tablets have so far been collected. His major works include The
Most Holy Book (Kitáb-i-Aqdas), The Hidden Words (Kalimát-i-Maknúnih), The Book of Certitude (Kitáb-i-íqán), The Seven
Valleys, The Four Valleys, the Súrih of the Kings (Súriy-i-Mulúk),
the Tablets to the kings and rulers, the Tablet of the Branch (Súriy-i-G̲h̲usn),
The Tablet of Wisdom (Lawḥ-i-Hikmat), The Tablet of the Proof (Lawḥ-i-Burhán),
The Tablet of the World (Lawḥ-i-Dunyá), The Words of Paradise (Kalimát-i-Firdawsíyyih),
Glad-Tidings (Bis̲h̲árát), Ornaments (Tarázát),
Effulgences (Tajallíyát), Splendours (Is̲h̲ráqát),
The Tablet of Carmel (Lawḥ-i-Karmil) and Epistle to the Son of the Wolf. |
| [BD 39-41] |
 |
| The Glory of God. "...an appellation
specifically recorded in the Persian Bayán,
signifying at once the glory, the light and the splendor of God...."
(GPB 93-94). "The Supreme Manifestation
of God and the Dayspring of His Most Divine Essence." (BA 11). "...never to be
identified with that invisible Reality, the Essence of Divinity itself." He is "the
complete incarnation of the names and attributes of God." (WOB 114, 112). The Promised
One of all the ages. Born Ṭihrán, Persia, Nov. 12, 1817; ascended Bahjí,
Palestine, now Israel, May 29, 1892. |
| [BG 11] |
|
| The "Glory of God", title of
Mírzá Ḥusayn-'Alí (1817-1892), the Founder of the Bahá'í
Faith. |
| [KA-G 252] |
|
| The Founder of the Bahá'í
Faith (1817-1892). |
| [GWB 347] |
|
| See also: |
|
|
| |
 |
| Map of the banishments of Bahá'u'lláh. |
[  ] [Wikipedia] |
|
