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The Bahá'í Faith

“The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.” 
- Bahá'u'lláh



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_What is the Bahá'í Faith?_

The Bahá’í Faith is a world religion based on the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. He taught there is one God and one human family, and that the great religions of the world represent successive stages in the spiritual evolution of human society.

Bahá’ís recognize the coming of Bahá'u'lláh as the latest expression of God's guidance, opening the way for the establishment of peace and reconciliation, when, as anticipated in the sacred scriptures of the past, all humanity will achieve its spiritual and social maturity, and live in harmony and in accordance with justice. The more than five million Bahá’ís around the world are learning how to translate Bahá'u'lláh's teachings into new patterns of individual and community life. Though they come from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, they are united by their belief in the essential spiritual nature of our existence and by their desire for a just and peaceful future for all peoples.

_An Introduction to the Bahá'í Faith_

_By Shoghi Effendi_

The Bahá'í Faith upholds the unity of God, recognizes the unity of His Prophets, and inculcates the principle of the oneness and wholeness of the entire human race. It proclaims the necessity and the inevitability of the unification of mankind, asserts that it is gradually approaching, and claims that nothing short of the transmuting spirit of God, working through His chosen Mouthpiece in this day, can ultimately succeed in bringing it about. It, moreover, enjoins upon its followers the primary duty of an unfettered search after truth, condemns all manner of prejudice and superstition, declares the purpose of religion to be the promotion of amity and concord, proclaims its essential harmony with science, and recognizes it as the foremost agency for the pacification and the orderly progress of human society. It unequivocally maintains the principle of equal rights, opportunities and privileges for men and women, insists on compulsory education, eliminates extremes of poverty and wealth, abolishes the institution of priesthood, prohibits slavery, asceticism, mendicancy and monasticism, prescribes monogamy, discourages divorce, emphasizes the necessity of strict obedience to one's government, exalts any work performed in the spirit of service to the level of worship, urges either the creation or the selection of an auxiliary international language, and delineates the outlines of those institutions that must establish and perpetuate the general peace of mankind.


The Bahá'í Faith revolves around three central Figures, the first of whom was a youth, a native of Shíráz, named Mírzá 'Alí Muhammad, known as the Báb (Gate), who in May 1844, at the age of twenty-five, advanced the claim of being the Herald Who according to the sacred Scriptures of previous Dispensations, must needs announce and prepare the way for the advent of One greater than Himself, Whose mission would be, according to those same Scriptures, to inaugurate an era of righteousness and peace, an era that would be hailed as the consummation of all previous Dispensations, and initiate a new cycle in the religious history of mankind. Swift and severe persecution, launched by the organized forces of Church and State in His native land, precipitated successively His arrest, His exile to the mountains of Ádhirbáyján, His imprisonment in the fortresses of Máh-Kú and Chihríq, and His execution, in July 1850, by a firing squad in the public square of Tabríz...


Mírzá Husayn-'Alí, surnamed Bahá'u'lláh (the Glory of God), a native of Mazindarán, Whose advent the Báb [Herald and Forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh] had foretold, ... was imprisoned in Tihrán, was banished, in 1852, from His native land to Baghdád, and thence to Constantinople and Adrianople, and finally to the prison city of Akká, where He remained incarcerated for no less than twenty-four years, and in whose neighborhood He passed away in 1892. In the course of His banishment, and particularly in Adrianople and Akká, He formulated the laws and ordinances of His Dispensation, expounded, in over a hundred volumes, the principles of His Faith, proclaimed His Message to the kings and rulers of both the East and the West, both Christian and Muslim, addressed the Pope, the Caliph of Islam, the Chief Magistrates of the Republics of the American continent, the entire Christian sacerdotal order, the leaders of Shí'ih and Sunní Islam, and the high priests of the Zoroastrian religion. In these writings He proclaimed His Revelation, summoned those whom He addressed to heed His call and espouse His Faith, warned them of the consequences of their refusal, and denounced, in some cases, their arrogance and tyranny.


His eldest son, 'Abbás Effendi, known as 'Abdu'l-Bahá (the Servant of Bahá), appointed by Him as His lawful successor and the authorized interpreter of His teachings, Who since early childhood had been closely associated with His Father, and shared His exile and tribulations, remained a prisoner until 1908, when, as a result of the Young Turk Revolution, He was released from His confinement. Establishing His residence in Haifa, He embarked soon after on His three-year journey to Egypt, Europe and North America, in the course of which He expounded before vast audiences, the teachings of His Father and predicted the approach of that catastrophe that was soon to befall mankind. He returned to His home on the eve of the first World War, in the course of which He was exposed to constant danger, until the liberation of Palestine by the forces under the command of General Allenby, who extended the utmost consideration to Him and to the small band of His fellow-exiles in Akká and Haifa...


The passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá [in 1921] marked the termination of the first and Heroic Age of the Bahá'í Faith and signalized the opening of the Formative Age destined to witness the gradual emergence of its Administrative Order, whose establishment had been foretold by the Báb, whose laws were revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, whose outlines were delineated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament, and whose foundations are now being laid by the national and local coucils which are elected by the professed adherents of the Faith...


This Administrative Order, unlike the systems evolved after the death of the Founders of the various religions, is divine in origin, rests securely on the laws, the precepts, the ordinances and institutions which the Founder of the Faith has Himself specifically laid down and unequivocally established, and functions in strict accordance with the interpretations of the authorized Interpreters of its holy scriptures...


The Faith which this order serves, safeguards and promotes is, it should be noted in this connection, essentially supernatural, supranational, entirely non-political, non-partisan, and diametrically opposed to any policy or school of thought that seeks to exalt any particular race, class or nation. It is free from any form of ecclesiasticism, has neither priesthood nor rituals, and is supported exclusively by voluntary contributions made by its avowed adherents. Though loyal to their respective governments, though imbued with the love of their own country, and anxious to promote at all times, its best interests, the followers of the Bahá'í Faith, nevertheless, viewing mankind as one entity, and profoundly attached to its vital interests, will not hesitate to subordinate every particular interest, be it personal, regional or national, to the over-riding interests of the generality of mankind, knowing full well that in a world of interdependent peoples and nations the advantage of the part is best to be reached by the advantage of the whole, and that no lasting result can be achieved by any of the component parts if the general interests of the entity itself are neglected....

“The purpose of God in creating man hath been, and will ever be, to enable him to know his Creator and to attain His Presence.”  - Bahá'u'lláh

The Roots of the Bahá'í Faith: Part 1

The Roots of the Bahá'í Faith: Part 2

“So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.” - Bahá'u'lláh 
_Official Bahá'í Statements_

:: Bahá'u'lláh : A Statement by the Bahá’í International Community Office of Public Information New York.

:: The Promise of World Peace - A Statement by the Universal House of Justice.

:: Two Wings of a Bird - A Statement by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States.

:: The Vision of Race Unity - A Statement by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States.

_Bahá'í Websites_

 :: The Bahá'í Faith : The website of the worldwide Baha'i community.

 :: The Life of Bahá'u'lláh : A photographic narrative.

 :: Bahá'u'lláh : Introduction - History and Writings.

 :: Bahá'í Reference Library : The authoritative online source of Bahá'í writings.

 :: Bahá'í World News Service : The official news source of the worldwide Bahá'í community.

 :: Bahá'í International Community : Represents the worldwide Bahá'í community, whose members come from every national, ethic, religious, cultural, and socio-economic background, represnting a cross-section of humanity.

:: National Bahá'í Websites : A Global Community - Websites and contact information.

_Other Topics_

:: آئين بهائى : Introduction the Bahá'í Faith in Farsi.

:: الدين البهائي : An introduction to the Bahá'í Faith in Arabic.

:: Bahá'í Faith Symbols : Meaning of Bahá'í Faith Symbols.