• BBRXXIX and BBRSM219 say it was 1 May.
• His assassin, Mírzá Ridá-yi-Kirmáni, a Pan-Islamic terrorist, was a follower of Jamálu'd-Dín-i-Afg̲h̲ání, one of the originators of the Constitutional movement in Iran and an enemy of the Faith. [BBRSM87; GBP296]
• For an account of his assassination see PDC67–8.
• See BKG430–55 for a history of his reign.
• He is succeeded by his son Muzaffari'd-Dín. [GPB296]
• See also CBM54-56.

• See World Order: Winter 1974-1975, Vol. 9 No.2 p.43 for contribution by Kazem Kazemzadeh on the martyrdom of Varqá and Ruhu'lláh.
• For the story of their lives see MRHK405–22 and World Order: Winter 1974-1975, Vol. 9 No.2 p29-44.
• For a Western account of the episode see BBR361–2.
• He was posthumously named a Hand of the Cause of God by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
• ‘Abdu'l-Bahá named him posthumously as a Hand of the Cause and Shoghi Effendi designated him as one of the Apostles of Bahá-u-lláh. [EB75-97 LoF42-49, BBR361-362, SoBSNBp225-229]
• See World Order: Winter 1974-1975, Vol. 9 No.2 p.43 for contribution by Kazem Kazemzadeh on the martyrdom of Varqá and Ruhu'lláh.
• See Varqá and Son: The Heavenly Doves by Darius Shahrokh.
• See also Bahá'í Chronicles.

• BBRXXIX says the four Bahá'ís were martyred in August.
• These four together with Ḥájí Muḥammad Sádiq are known as the S̲h̲uhadáy-i-K̲h̲amsih (Five Martyrs). [GPB296]
• Their martyrdom is the result of the assassination of the S̲h̲áh, for which the Bahá'ís are erroneously blamed. [GPB296]
• For Western accounts of the episode see BBR405–6.

• He establishes it as His residence and as the home for His daughters, their husbands and families. [DH60-4, BW16:104]
• See also BW16:104–6, DH60–4.

• born in Muḥammad-Ábád in the province of Yazd into a well-known family in about 1814. He is provided a good education and he becomes a divine known for his piety, eloquence and courage.
• Becomes a follower of the Báb in the early days of the Revelation. He recognizes Bahá'u'lláh as the Promised One of the Bayan some time after 1855 upon reading Qasídiy-i-Varqá'íyyih, "Ode of the Dove". (Bahá'u'lláh had composed this ode while still in Sulaymáníyyih.)
• He became well-known for his courage in teaching and his endurance in withstanding abuse. He was found to be picking his teeth while being bastinadoed and, while a elderly man, withstood a brutal flogging on his bare back in the prison yard. (A witness to this flogging, G̲h̲ulám-Ridá K̲h̲án, a notable of Tehran who happened to be imprisoned at the same time, became a believer upon seeing his steadfastness under the lashing.) [RoB1p84-91, EB89-111, LoF21-27]
• 'Abdu'l-Bahá referred to a few of the believers posthumously as being Hands of the Cause (see MF5 and BW14p446) Adib Taherzadeh points out that "since there are one or two others by the same name (S̲h̲ayk̲h̲-Ridáy-i-Yazdí) it is not possible to identify him. However, some believe strongly that he is Mullá Muḥammad-i-Ridáy-i-Muhammmad-Ábádí. [RoB4p186n]

• He was a fearless teacher who was outspoken and often suffered imprisonment and torture. "Other than seventeen-year-old Badi, no one has surpassed Mulla Rida's unusual power of endurance. The rare combination of endurance, eloquence, courage and humour made him that unique hero who illuminated the pages of the history of the Baha'i Faith." [Extract from a Persian book called Masabih-i-Hidayat, Volume I by Azizu'llah-i-Sulaymani]

• For the story of his downfall see CB181–92.

The Hands of the Cause appointed by Bahá'u'lláh are instructed by `Abdu'l-Bahá to gather to begin the consultations regarding the future organization of the Bahá'í community in Ṭihrán.

• This gathering leads to the formation of the Central Spiritual Assembly of Ṭihrán in 1899. [BBD98, 114, 115; EB268]

Three Bahá'ís are arrested in Nayríz on the orders of Áqá Najafí, the `Son of the Wolf'. [BW18:384]

The homes of several Bahá'ís in Hamadán are looted and ransacked after complaints by Jews of the town against Bahá'ís of Jewish background. [BW18:384]

• He is descended from both the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh: his mother is the eldest daughter of `Abdu'l-Bahá; his father is an Afnán, a grandson of Ḥájí Mírzá `Abu'l-Qásim, a cousin of the mother of the Báb and a brother of His wife. [CB280; GBF2]
• He is the G̲h̲usn-i-Mumtáz, the Chosen Branch. [BBD87]
• `Shoghi' means `one who longs'. [CB281]
• `Abdu'l-Bahá commands everyone, even Shoghi Effendi's father, to add the title `Effendi' after his name. [CB281; GBF2]
• `Abdu'l-Bahá gives him the surname Rabbání in the early years of his study in Haifa so that he will not be confused with his cousins, who are all called Afnán. Rabbání is also used by Shoghi Effendi's brothers and sister. [BBD191–2; DH60–1]
• See GBF6 for the schools he attends.
• See also Rabbani, The Priceless Pearl;

  Rabbani, The Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith;

  Giachery, Shoghi Effendi: Recollections.