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Brief Overview of the Baha'i Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is the youngest of the world's independent religions, comprising some 5 million believers. Its founder, Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892), is regarded by Bahá'ís as the most recent on the line of Messengers of God that stretches back beyond recorded time and that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad.
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Read more: Brief Overview of the Baha'i Faith
Tribute by the Universal House of Justice to Bahá'u'lláh on the Centenary of His Passing
With
soul-stirring emotion we gather in the hallowed environs
of His resting place to honour the memory of the
Supreme Manifestation of God, Bahá'u'lláh, on the solemn, historic
occasion of the centenary of His ascension.
Read more: Tribute by the Universal House of Justice to Bahá'u'lláh on the Centenary of His Passing
Huqúq'u'lláh Mithqál Converter
Conversion of Mithqals of gold to the currency of your choice
Read more: Huqúq'u'lláh Mithqál Converter
Historical Introduction
In
the middle of the last century, one of the most notorious dungeons in the Near
East was Tehran's "Black Pit." Once the underground reservoir for a public bath,
its only outlet was a single passage down three steep flights of stone steps.
Prisoners huddled in their own bodily wastes, languishing in the pit's inky gloom,
subterranean cold and stench-ridden
atmosphere.
Read more: Historical Introduction
Message of the Universal House of Justice
26
November 1992
To the Bahá'ís of the World
A full century has gone by since the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh was established and
set in motion. And we extend to the members of His community our loving greetings
as they are assembled today at the World Congress in New York and at auxiliary
conferences on all continents, or as they otherwise participate in the observance
of this centennial occasion.
Read more: Message of the Universal House of Justice
Tibetan
The Promise of World Peace
Read more: The Promise of World Peace
The Bahá'í Calendar
Visit the Event and Holy Day Calendar to see what's coming up, and contribute your own events!
Read more: The Bahá'í Calendar
Hindi
Read more: Hindi
The Constitution of the Universal House of Justice
Read more: The Constitution of the Universal House of Justice
Consultation
The
administrative bodies of the Bahá'í Faith at all levels use a distinctive method
of non-adversarial decision-making, known as consultation.
Read more: Consultation
Overview of the Bábí Faith
The early nineteenth century was a period of messianic expectation in the Islamic world as well as in the Christian world.
In Persia, two influential theologians, Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsá'í and his disciple and successor, Siyyid Kázim-i-Rashtí, taught a doctrine that departed radically from orthodox Shiah belief. In addition to interpreting the Qur'án in an allegorical rather than a literal manner, the "Shaykhís," as their followers were known, proclaimed that the return of the Imam Mahdi, the appointed deliverer and successor of Muhammad, was imminent.2
Their teachings attracted widespread interest and aroused an air of expectancy reminiscent of contemporary Christian groups like the Millerites in Europe and America, which at the same time were eagerly awaiting the return of Jesus Christ.3
Read more: Overview of the Bábí Faith
Shoghi Effendi
The Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith
After
the passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá in 1921, the leadership
of the Bahá'í community entered a new phase, evolving
from that of a single individual to an administrative
order founded on the "twin pillars" of the Guardianship
and the Universal House of Justice.
Read more: Shoghi Effendi
'Abdu'l-Bahá on Love
Know
thou of a certainty that Love is the secret of God's holy Dispensation, the manifestation
of the All-Merciful, the fountain of spiritual outpourings. Love is heaven's kindly
light, the Holy Spirit's eternal breath that vivifieth the human soul. Love is
the cause of God's revelation unto man, the vital bond inherent, in accordance
with the divine creation, in the realities of things. Love is the one means that
ensureth true felicity both in this world and the next. Love is the light that
guideth in darkness, the living link that uniteth God with man, that assureth
the progress of every illumined soul.
Read more: 'Abdu'l-Bahá on Love
'Abdu'l-Bahá on Racial Harmony
According
to the words of the Old Testament God has said, "Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness." This indicates that man is of the image and likeness of God
-- that is to say, the perfections of God, the divine virtues, are reflected or
revealed in the human reality. Just as the light and effulgence of the sun when
cast upon a polished mirror are reflected fully, gloriously, so, likewise, the
qualities and attributes of Divinity are radiated from the depths of a pure human
heart. This is an evidence that man is the most noble of God's creatures....
Read more: 'Abdu'l-Bahá on Racial Harmony
'Abdu'l-Bahá on Unity and Peace
Today
the world of humanity is in need of international unity and conciliation. To establish
these great fundamental principles a propelling power is needed. It is self-evident
that the unity of the human world and the Most Great Peace cannot be accomplished
through material means. They cannot be established through political power, for
the political interests of nations are various and the policies of peoples are
divergent and conflicting. They cannot be founded through racial or patriotic
power, for these are human powers, selfish and weak.
Read more: 'Abdu'l-Bahá on Unity and Peace
'Abdu'l-Bahá on Suffering and Tests
Does
the soul progress more through sorrow or through the joy in this world?"
`Abdu'l-Bahá:
"The
mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering. The more the ground
is ploughed the better the seed will grow, the better the harvest will be. Just
as the plough furrows the earth deeply, purifying it of weeds and thistles, so
suffering and tribulation free man from the petty affairs of this worldly life
until he arrives at a state of complete detachment. His attitude in this world
will be that of divine happiness. Man is, so to speak, unripe: the heat of the
fire of suffering will mature him. Look back to the times past and you will find
that the greatest men have suffered most."
Read more: 'Abdu'l-Bahá on Suffering and Tests
'Abdu'l-Bahá on the Equality of Women and Men
And
among the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh is the equality of
women and men. The world of humanity has two wings --
one is women and the other men. Not until both wings
are equally developed can the bird fly. Should one wing
remain weak, flight is impossible. Not until the world
of women becomes equal to the world
of men in the acquisition of virtues and perfections,
can success and prosperity be attained as they ought
to be.
Read more: 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the Equality of Women and Men
From the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
All-praise
to him Who, by the Shield of His Covenant, hath guarded the Temple of His Cause
from the darts of doubtfulness, Who by the Hosts of His Testament hath preserved
the Sanctuary of His most Beneficent Law and protected His Straight and Luminous
Path, staying thereby the onslaught of the company of Covenant-breakers, that
have threatened to subvert His Divine Edifice; Who hath watched over His Mighty
Stronghold and All-Glorious Faith, through the aid of men whom the slander of
the slanderer affect not, whom no earthly calling, glory and power can turn aside
from the Covenant of God and His Testament, established firmly by His clear and
manifest words, writ and revealed by His All-Glorious Pen and recorded in the
Preserved Tablet.
Read more: From the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
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