Bahaism, World Faith

NAME: Bahai, World Faith. A person be­longing to the Bahai faith is called a Bahai (pronounced ba-ha-e). The name is a derivation of Baha'u'llah, splendor of God, who is regarded by them to be God's special mes­senger for the age in which we are now living.

HISTORY: Mirza Ali Mohammed, who later assumed the named Bab (Gate), was born at Shiraz in Iran, October 20, 1819. He was a descendant of Mohammed, and a faithful Mo­hammedan of the class called Shaykhis. When he was twenty-five years of age he declared that "God, the Exalted, had elected Him to the station of Babhood."—J. E. ESSLEMONT, Baha'^­u'llah and the New Era (New York: Bahai Publishing Committee, 1940), p. 18. He meant by this that he was the "channel of grace" from some person still unknown. Bab made this sur­prising statement on May 22, 1844.

In addition to announcing the coming glory, Bab also claimed to be Mihdi, whose coming Mohammed had foretold. It was the belief of some Mohammedans that the twelfth successor of Mohammed, Imam Mihdi, had not died but disappeared in an underground passage in A.D. 951, and that he would appear again, overthrow infidels, and inaugurate an era of happiness. Since the circumstances surrounding Bab's ap­pearance were not in accord with the generally accepted idea of the Mohammedans as to how Mihdi should appear, and because he adopted the sacred title "Nugtiyiola" or "Primal Point," which was applied to Mohammed himself, Bab and his teaching were generally rejected. He, with his followers, called I3abis, was greatly persecuted. He was killed July 9, 1850, at Ta­briz, and his remains were interred in a tomb on the slope of Mount Carmel.

"The Bab has been compared to John the Baptist, but the Station of Bab is not merely that of herald or forerunner. In Himself, the Bab was a manifestation of God, the founder of an independent religion. . . . The Bahais believe that the Bab and the Baha'u'llah were co-founders of their faith."—/bid., p. 26.

Mirza Husayn Ali, afterwards called Baha'- u'llah, sometimes referred to as the Blessed Beauty, was born November 18, 1817, in Te­heran, Iran. He was twenty-seven when Bab made his significant announcement in May, 1844, and soon became one of its most powerful exponents. Edward Browne tells us that the half brother of Baha'u'llah was the one actually pointed out by Bab. (Hastings Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, vol. 2, p. 302.) The Bahais admit that there was difficulty between the two, and in the trouble that ensued Baha' u'llah came out victor.

Whether for zealousness or attempted fratri­cide, Baha'u'llah was imprisoned and exiled to Bagdad. While there he separated himself from his friends and spent two years in the wilderness near the city. Shortly after this, April 21, 1863 (nineteen years after Bab's declaration), Ba­ha'u'llah announced to his followers the "glad tidings that he was the one whose coming had been foretold by the Bab. He was the chosen God, the promised one of all the prophets."­Baha'u'llah and the New Era, p. 38. The garden where this declaration was made is called the Garden of Ridvan, and the days spent there by Baha'u'llah are commemorated by the Feast of Ridvan.

From Bagdad, Baha'u'llah was exiled to Constantinople and then moved on to Adrian­ople. Wherever he went he continued to gather disciples. Many Babis accepted him. Those who did so were known thereafter as Bahais. Be­cause of difficulties which arose in Adrianople, he was further exiled to Akka (Acre), in Pal­estine, where after some time he was allowed greater freedom. Through the gifts of his fol­lowers he later established himself with regal­ity at Bahji. Here he wrote, meditated, and re­ceived visitors. He wrote letters to the princi­pal crowned heads of Europe, to the Pope, and to the Government of the United States, an­nouncing his mission and urging them to aid in the establishment of the true religion, just government, and international peace. Queen Victoria, upon reading the tablet, said, "If this be of God, it will stand; if not, there is no harm done." Napoleon said, "If he's one god, I am two gods." The Pope met it with scorn, and the United States Government ignored it.

Baha'u'llah passed away May 29, 1892. His son, Abdu'l-l3aha (the Master), became the fa­ther's representative and the expounder of his teachings. Here again the Bahais are very clear in the smooth transition, though Edward Browne states that there was strife to the ex­tent of bloodshed over who should be the suc­cessor. (Hastings Encyclopaedia, p. 302.) At any rate, Abdu'l-Baha served in the capacity of leader from 1892 to 1921. In 1912 he visited America where the Bahais claim he prepared "this land for its future mission to lead the nations on the path to universal peace."—Bahai, The Corning .World Religion (Wilmette; Illi­nois : Bahais Public Relations, 1946), p. 8. He visited in most of the large cities of the United States, in the Chicago Masonic Temple, and in Washington, D.C. The climax of the tour was reached at Wilmette, Illinois, where a site had been selected for a temple. This occa­sion is graphically described by an early Amer­ican convert to Bahaism, Albert Windust.