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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
By J. E. Esslemont · 1923 · George Allen & Unwin
Formative Age (1921–1957) · public domain
Classic introduction to the Bahá'í Faith; first edition 1923.
About J. E. Esslemont
Scottish physician and one of the first British Bahá'ís. *Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era* (1923), reviewed in part by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and translated into dozens of languages, became the standard introduction to the Faith.
1874–1925 · Hand of the Cause (posthumous appointment)
Stories by era covered
Featured figures
“> From every part of the mountain the symphony of “Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá!” will be raised, and before the daybreak soul-entrancing music accompanied by melodious voices will be uplifted towards the throne of the Almighty.”
From Akká and Haifa
“> O maid-servant of God. The Power of the Holy Spirit heals both material and spiritual ills.—Daily Lessons Received at Akká, p. 95.”
“Leave him to himself. Such a position is unworthy of him. He has some higher aim in view. I cannot understand him, but I am convinced that he is destined for some lofty career. His thoughts are not like ours. Let him alone.”
“In the corner where the divan met the wall sat a wondrous and”
“venerable figure, crowned with a felt head-dress of the kind called”
The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl's Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá'í Revelation
Cited in Authoritative HistoryNabíl-i-A'ẓam · 1932
God Passes By
Cited in Authoritative HistoryShoghi Effendi · 1944
The Chosen Highway
Secondary RetellingLady Blomfield · 1940
Portals to Freedom
Secondary RetellingHoward Colby Ives · 1937
The Diary of Juliet Thompson
Secondary RetellingJuliet Thompson · 1947
World Order
Secondary RetellingWorld Order Editors · 1935
The Bahá’í glad tidings disclose a vision of the Bounty of God and of the future progress of humanity, which is surely the greatest and most glorious Revelation ever given to mankind, the development and fulfillment of all previous Revelations.
The position of Bahá’u’lláh among the Prophets is unprecedented and unique, because the condition of the world at the time of His advent was unprecedented and unique.
The endeavor in the following chapters will be to set forth, as far as possible, fairly and without prejudice, the salient features of the history and more especially of the teachings of the Bahá’í Cause …
Seated by the window of a Pilgrim House in Haifa on February 14, 1914, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá foretold that Akká and Haifa would join into one mighty metropolis, and that Mount Carmel would become a sublime spectacle of light.
In the Book of Aqdas, revealed in Akká in 1873, Bahá’u’lláh appealed to America as follows:— O Rulers of America and the Presidents of the Republics therein ...
In making appointments, the only criterion must be fitness for the position.
Training in arts, sciences, crafts and useful professions is regarded as important and necessary.
Thus simply and serenely did Bahá’u’lláh pass the evening of His life on earth until, after an attack of fever, He passed away on the 29th of May, 1892, at the age of seventy-five.
In order that the power of spiritual healing may be brought fully into operation certain requirements are necessary on the part of the patient, of the healer, of the patient’s friends and of the community at large.
Bahá’u’lláh states that a person should be free to dispose of his possessions during his lifetime in any way he chooses, and it is incumbent on everyone to write a will stating how his property is to be disposed of after his death.
Abbás Effendi, Who afterwards assumed the title of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (i.e.
Mírzá Ḥusayn ‘Alí, Who afterwards assumed the title of Bahá’u’lláh (i.e.
Persia, the birthplace of the Bahá’í Revelation, has occupied a unique place in the history of the world.
According to the Bahá’í teaching the human body serves a temporary purpose in the development of the soul, and, when that purpose has been served, is laid aside …
In *Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era*, Esslemont quotes the Cambridge orientalist Edward Granville Browne's account of meeting Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí in 1890: the face he could never forget, and the words he recalled hearing.
Education and religion are alike based on the assumption that it is possible to change human nature.
Bahá’u’lláh indicated in many ways that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was to direct the Cause after His own ascension.
The thing of paramount importance in education is character training.
The hostility aroused by the claim of Bábhood was redoubled when the young reformer proceeded to declare that He was Himself the Mihdí (Mahdi) Whose coming Muḥammad had foretold.
Bahá’u’lláh says, in the Book of Aqdas:— Be the essence of cleanliness among mankind ... under all circumstances conform yourselves to refined manners ... let no trace of uncleanliness appear on your clothes....
Amid these troublous times, however, the Cause of God will prosper.
One of the fundamental teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is that true science and true religion must always be in harmony.
During the past century scientists have devoted an immense amount of study to the struggle for existence in the plant and animal world, and, amid the perplexities of social life …
The prayers which Bahá’u’lláh has ordained as a daily obligation for Bahá’ís are to be said privately.
The journey to Constantinople lasted between three and four months, the party consisting of Bahá’u’lláh with members of His family and twenty-six disciples.
“Prayer,” says ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “is conversation with God.” In order that God may make known His Mind and Will to men, He must speak to them in a language which they can understand, and this He does by the mouths of His Holy Prophets.
Bahá’u’lláh says:— O people of God! I exhort you to courtesy. Courtesy is indeed ... the lord of all virtues. Blessed is he who is adorned with the mantle of Uprightness and illumined with the light of Courtesy.
Bahá’u’lláh teaches that the universe is without beginning in time.
God, and God alone, has the power to do whatever He wills, and the greatest proof of a Manifestation of God is the creative power of His word—its effectiveness to change and transform all human affairs and to triumph over all human opposition.
After much negotiation, at the request of the Persian Government, an order was issued by the Turkish Government summoning Bahá’u’lláh to Constantinople.
On reaching His twenty-fifth year, in response to divine command, He declared that “God the Exalted had elected Him to the station of Bábhood.”
According to the teaching of the Prophets, disease and all other forms of calamity are due to disobedience to the Divine Commands.
In order to attain to the Bahá’í life in all its fullness, conscious and direct relations with Bahá’u’lláh are as necessary as is sunshine for the unfolding of the lily or the rose.
There are, of course, difficulties in the way of the student who seeks to get at the truth about this Cause.
In the matter of divorce, as in that of marriage, the instructions of the Prophets have varied in accordance with the circumstances of the times.
Mírzá ‘Alí Muḥammad, Who afterwards assumed the title of Báb (i.e.
Education—the instruction and guidance of men and the development and training of their innate faculties—has been the supreme aim of all the Holy Prophets since the world began …
The bearing on health of these commands relating to the simple life, hygiene, abstinence from alcohol and opium, etcetera, is too obvious to call for much comment, although their vital importance is apt to be greatly underestimated.
The Bahá’í teaching is based on moderation, not as asceticism.
Under the inspired guidance of Shoghi Effendi the Bahá’í Cause grew steadily in size and in the establishment of its Administrative Order, so that by 1951 there were eleven functioning National Spiritual Assemblies.
One of the social principles to which Bahá’u’lláh attaches great importance is that women should be regarded as the equals of men and should enjoy equal rights and privileges, equal education and equal opportunities.
This terrible imprisonment lasted four months, but Bahá’u’lláh and His companions remained zealous and enthusiastic, in the greatest of happiness.
The nineteenth month, following immediately on the hospitality of the intercalary days, is the month of the fast.
The essential joyousness of the Bahá’í religion finds expression in numerous feasts and holidays throughout the year.
As a means of promoting religious unity Bahá’u’lláh advocates the utmost charity and tolerance, and calls on His followers to “consort with the people of all religions with joy and gladness.”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá writes:— When Christ appeared, twenty centuries ago, although the Jews were eagerly awaiting His Coming, and prayed ever day, with tears, saying: “O God, hasten the Revelation of the Messiah,” yet when the Sun of Truth…
The teachings of Bahá’u’lláh contain two different types of reference to the question of true social order.
During His own lifetime Bahá’u’lláh appointed a few tried and trusted friends to assist in directing and promoting the work of the Movement, and gave them the title of Ayadiyi-Amru’lláh (lit.
The Báb has been compared to John the Baptist, but the station of the Báb is not merely that of the herald or forerunner.
He teaches that there are also many methods of healing without material means.
Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá regard the descriptions of Heaven and Hell given in some of the older religious writings as symbolic, like the Biblical story of the Creation, and not as literally true.
Bahá’u’lláh’s mission in the world is to bring about Unity—Unity of all mankind in and through God.
The Writings of Bahá’u’lláh are most comprehensive in their range, dealing with every phase of human life, individual and social, with things material and things spiritual, with the interpretation of ancient and modern scriptures …
The work of healing the sick, however, is a matter that concerns not the patient and the practitioner only, but everyone.
While we are commanded to overlook the faults of others, and see their virtues, we are commanded, on the other hand, to find out our own faults and take no account of our virtues.
When the Báb declared His mission in 1844, Bahá’u’lláh, Who was then in His twenty-seventh year, boldly espoused the Cause of the new Faith, of which He soon became recognized as one of the most powerful and fearless exponents.
At that time Akká (Acre) was a prison city to which the worst criminals were sent from all parts of the Turkish Empire.
Bahá’u’lláh teaches that everyone endowed with the Station of Prophethood is given sufficient proofs of His Mission, is entitled to claim obedience from all men and has authority to abrogate, alter or add to the teachings of His predecessors.
The importance of the press as a means of diffusing knowledge and educating the people, and its power as a civilizing force, when rightly directed, are fully recognized by Bahá’u’lláh.
In the Bahá’í view the child’s nature is not like so much wax that can be molded indifferently to any shape according to the will of the teacher.
Bahá’u’lláh also advocated the establishment of an international court of arbitration, so that differences arising between nations might be settled in accordance with justice and reason, instead of by appeal to the ordeal of battle.
The interpretation of prophecy is notoriously difficult, and on no subject do the opinions of the learned differ more widely.
In the little book of Hidden Words, in which Bahá’u’lláh gives in brief the essence of the prophetic teachings, His first counsel refers to the individual life: “Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart.”
But if the essence is unknowable, the manifestations of its bounty are everywhere apparent.
During the winter of 1919–1920 the writer had the great privilege of spending two and half months as the guest of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at Haifa and intimately observing His daily life.
About this time Bahá’u’lláh wrote His famous letter to the Sulṭán of Turkey, many of the crowned heads of Europe, the Pope, and the Sháh of Persia.
Bahá’u’lláh tells us that the life in the flesh is but the embryonic stage of our existence, and that escape from the body is like a new birth through which the human spirit enters on a fuller, freer life.
Having in His earlier years of hardship shown how to glorify God in a state of poverty and ignominy, Bahá’u’lláh in His later years at Bahjí showed how to glorify God in a state of honor and affluence.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:— By a general agreement all the governments of the world must disarm simultaneously.
When asked on one occasion: “What is a Bahá’í?” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá replied: “To be a Bahá’í simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood.”
To know the Manifestation of God means also to love Him. One is impossible without the other. According to Bahá’u’lláh, the purpose of man’s creation is that he may know God and adore Him.
As to the manner of His coming at the end of the age, Christ said:— And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
The following particulars regarding the marriage of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá were kindly supplied to the writer by a Persian historian of the Bahá’í Faith:— During the youth of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the question of a suitable marriage for Him was naturally one …
On the 9th of July, 1850, the Báb Himself, Who was then in His thirty-first year, fell a victim to the fanatical fury of His persecutors.
Bahá’u’lláh left instructions that temples of worship should be built by His followers in every country and city.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá attaches the greatest importance to regular meetings of the believers for united worship, for the exposition and study of the teachings and for consultation regarding the progress of the Movement.
In bringing about the emancipation of women as in other matters, Bahá’u’lláh counsels His followers to avoid methods of violence.
Bahá’u’lláh, like Muḥammad, forbids His followers to lead lives of monastic seclusion.
In the year 1869 Bahá’u’lláh wrote to Napoleon III, rebuking him for his lust of war and for the contempt with which he had treated a former letter from Bahá’u’lláh.
According to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:— A mediator is necessary between man and the Creator—one who receives the full light of the Divine Splendor and radiates it over the human world, as the earth’s atmosphere receives and diffuses the warmth of the sun’s rays.
The unification of the world of humanity, the welding together of the world’s different religions, the reconciliation of Religion and Science, the establishment of Universal Peace …
In the Book of Aqdas Bahá’u’lláh forbids slavery, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has explained that not only chattel slavery, but also industrial slavery, is contrary to the law of God.
One other feature of the Bahá’í organization must be specially mentioned, and that is the absence of a professional priesthood.
As a religious body, Bahá’ís have, at the express command of Bahá’u’lláh, entirely abandoned the use of armed force in their own interests, even for strictly defensive purposes.
Devotion to God involves implicit obedience to His revealed Commands even when the reason for these Commands is not understood.
The essential oneness of all the myriad forms and grades of life is one of the fundamental teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.
The unity of humanity as taught by Bahá’u’lláh refers not only to men still in the flesh, but to all human beings, whether embodied or disembodied.
After His return from this retirement, His fame became greater than ever and people flocked to Baghdád from far and near to see Him and hear His teachings.
This last quotation reveals the spirit which animated the Báb’s whole life.
In consequence of these declarations of the Báb and the alarming rapidity with which people of all classes, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, were eagerly responding to His teaching, attempts at suppression became more and more ruthless and determined.
The great Prophets of religion have always been, at Their coming, despised and rejected of men.
Esslemont records that Persian believers who walked to 'Akká to see Bahá'u'lláh were refused entry to the city, and stood on the plain outside the third moat, from where they could see the windows of His quarters.
Although advocating as the ideal condition a representative form of government, local, national and international, Bahá’u’lláh teaches that this is possible only when men have attained a sufficiently high degree of individual and social development.
Many find a difficulty in believing in the efficacy of prayer because they think that answers to prayer would involve arbitrary interference with the laws of nature.
The use of prayer is enjoined upon Bahá’ís in no uncertain terms.
To someone who asked whether prayer was necessary, since presumably God knows the wishes of all hearts, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá replied:— If one friend loves another, is it not natural that he should wish to say so?
Esslemont quotes Bahá'u'lláh's own description, from the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, of the dungeon in Tihrán where He was held for four months in 1852, with nearly a hundred and fifty fellow-prisoners.
Even when the imprisonment was at its worst, the Bahá’ís were not dismayed, and their serene confidence was never shaken.
Unfortunately it is impossible, within the space at our disposal, to describe in detail the progress of the Bahá’í Faith throughout the world.
A great stumbling block to many, in the way of religious unity, is the difference between the Revelations given by the different Prophets.
Bahá’u’lláh asked no one to accept His statements and His tokens blindly.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá suggests that each town and village or district should be entrusted as far as possible with the administration of fiscal matters within its own area and should contribute its due proportion for the expenses of the general government.
The Bahá’í doctrine of the unity of mankind strikes at the root of another cause of war, namely, racial prejudice.
According to the Bahá’í view, the problems of human life, individual and social, are so inconceivably complex that the ordinary human intellect is incapable of itself of solving them aright.
In order to see clearly how the Most Great Peace may be established, let us first examine the principle causes that have led to war in the past and see how Bahá’u’lláh proposes to deal with each.
The state of the world today surely affords ample evidence that, with rare exceptions, people of all religions need to be reawakened to the real meaning of their religion; and that reawakening is an important part of the work of Bahá’u’lláh.
At last the imprisonment was mitigated. A mobilization of Turkish troops occurred and the barracks were required for soldiers.
An important part of the Báb’s teaching is His explanation of the terms Resurrection, Day of Judgment, Paradise and Hell.
In many of His conversations Christ speaks of the future Manifestation of God in the third person, but in others the first person is used.
He was then in His seventieth year, and His long and arduous labors, culminating in these strenuous Western tours, had worn out His physical frame.
In concluding this chapter it will be well to recall ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s teaching as to the right use of physical health.
Although Bahá’u’lláh, like Christ, counsels His follows as individuals and as a religious body to adopt an attitude of nonresistance and forgiveness toward their enemies, He teaches that it is the duty of the community to prevent injustice and oppression.
Bahá’u’lláh forbids tyranny and oppression in the most emphatic terms.
Bahá’u’lláh enjoins justice on all His followers and defines it as:—“The freedom of man from superstition and imitation, so that he may discern the Manifestations of God with the eyes of Oneness, and consider all affairs with keen sight.”—Words of Wisdom.
Never, perhaps, did the world seem farther away from religious unity than in the nineteenth century.
Bahá’u’lláh constantly urges men to realize and give full expression to the perfections latent within them—the true inner self as distinguished from the limited outer self, which at best is but the temple, and too often is the prison of the real man.
Devotion to God implies a life of service to our fellow-creatures.
Devotion to God implies also severance from everything that is not of God, severance, that is, from all selfish and worldly, and ever other-worldly desires.
In an account by 'Abdu'l-Bahá quoted in *Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era*, the Master tells how, after Bahá'u'lláh three times declined to leave 'Akká with the words "I am a prisoner," an Arab shaykh of the city pleaded with Him for a whole hour until He consented to go to the mansion of Mazra'ih.
In the Hebrew, Christian, Muḥammadan and many other Scriptures, there is a remarkable similarity in the description of the signs which are to accompany the coming of the Promised One.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:— Economy is the foundation of human prosperity.
In His Writings the Báb tells His followers that they must be distinguished by brotherly love and courtesy.
Both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá also foretold a period of great social upheaval, conflict and calamity as an inevitable result of the irreligion and prejudices, the ignorance and superstition, prevalent throughout the world.
Before ‘Abdu’l-Bahá completed His earthly mission, He had laid a basis for the development of the administrative order established in Bahá’u’lláh’s Writings.
The first eighteen disciples of the Báb (with Himself as nineteenth) became known as “Letters of the Living.”
In consequence of this and other equally unfounded charges, in 1901, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and His family, who for more than twenty years had been allowed the freedom of the country for some miles around Akká, were again, for over seven years …
The real Bahá’í will not only believe in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, but find in them the guide and inspiration of his whole life and joyfully impart to others the knowledge that is the wellspring of his own being.
Many are the wars which have been fought over pieces of territory whose possession has been coveted by two or more rival nations.
It has been the general characteristic of religion that organization marks the interruption of the true spiritual influence and serves to prevent the original impulse from being carried into the world.
The Bahá’í teaching is at one with science and philosophy in declaring the essential nature of God to be entirely beyond human comprehension.
In the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah are several references to a man called the Branch.
That the world, during the nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth centuries, has been passing through the death pangs of an old era and the birth pangs of a new, is evident to all.
The “Coming of the Lord” in the “last days” is the one “far-off divine event” to which all the Prophets look forward, about which Their most glorious songs are sung.
In the last half century or so, however, a change has come over the spirit of the times, a New Light of Truth has arisen which has already made the controversies of last century seem strangely out of date.
The word “Day” in such phrases as “Day of God” and “Last Day” is interpreted as meaning “Dispensation.”
Christ spoke much in parables about a great Day of Judgment when “the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father ... and ... shall reward every man according to his works” (Matt. xvi, 27).
In order that we may attain the spiritual condition in which conversation with God becomes possible, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:— We must strive to attain to that condition by being separated from all things and from the people of the world and by turning to God alone.
All things manifest the bounty of God with greater or less clearness, as all material objects exposed to the sun reflect its light in greater or less degree.
All the signs of the times indicate that we are at the dawn of a new era in the history of mankind.
According to the Bahá’í teachings, riches rightly acquired and rightly used are honorable and praiseworthy.
Bahá’u’lláh also confirms the biologist who finds for the body of man a history reaching back in the development of the species through millions of years.
The title “Bahá’u’lláh” is the Arabic for “Glory of God,” and this very title is frequently used by the Hebrew prophets for the Promised One Who is to appear in the last days.
Bahá’u’lláh gives the assurance that, through harmonious cooperation of patients, healers and the community in general, and by appropriate use of the various means to health, material, mental and spiritual, the Golden Age may be realized …
The Day of Judgment is also the Day of Resurrection, of the raising of the dead.
Both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on many occasions foretold with surprising accuracy the coming of the Great War of 1914–1918.
If we study the story of the “ascent of man” as recorded in the pages of history, it becomes evident that the leading factor in human progress is the advent, from time to time …
‘Abdu’l-Bahá appointed His eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, to the responsible position of “Guardian of the Cause” (Valiyy-i-Amru’lláh).
The power of spiritual healing is doubtless common to all mankind in greater or less degree, but, just as some men are endowed with exceptional talent for mathematics or music, so others appear to be endowed with exceptional aptitude for healing.
In all ages the Prophets of God have foretold the coming of an era of “peace on earth, goodwill among men.”
With the development of the Bahá’í administrative order since the ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Nineteen Day Feast, observed on the first day of each Bahá’í month, has assumed a very special importance …
According to Bahá’í philosophy it follows from the doctrine of the unity of God that there can be no such thing as positive evil.
The most potent means of healing is the Power of the Holy Spirit. ...
The different religious communities have failed to unite in the past, because the adherents of each have regarded the Founder of their own community as the one supreme authority, and His law as the divine law.
We live in a world, however, where from time immemorial obedience to the commands of the Prophets has been the exception rather than the rule; where love of self has been a more prevalent motive than love of God …
On no subject are the Bahá’í teaching more imperative and uncompromising than on the requirement to abstain from faultfinding.
What is the cause of this sudden awakening throughout the world?
Like all the other Prophets, Bahá’u’lláh states His own Mission in the most unmistakable terms.
After the Báb’s martyrdom, His remains, with those of His devoted companion, were thrown on the edge of the moat outside the city wall.
Bahá’u’lláh says in the Tablet of Tarazát:— Verily, Honesty is the door of tranquillity to all in the world, and the sign of glory from the presence of the Merciful One.
In 1904 and 1907 commissions were appointed by the Turkish Government to inquire into the charges against ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and lying witnesses gave evidence against Him.
About a year after coming to Baghdád, He departed alone into the wilderness of Sulaymáníyyih, taking with Him nothing but a change of clothes.
“Ye are all fruits of one tree, the leaves of one branch, the flowers of one garden.”
Having glanced at the principal causes of war and how they may be avoided, we may now proceed to examine certain constructive proposals made by Bahá’u’lláh with a view to achieving the Most Great Peace.
Another proposal frequently and powerfully advocated by Bahá’u’lláh was that a Universal League of Nations should be formed for the maintenance of international peace.
In a letter to the Central Organization for a Durable Peace, written in 1919, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:— Among the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is voluntary sharing of one’s property with others among mankind.
A remarkable instance of the foresight of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was supplied during the months immediately preceding the war.
After His release, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá continued the same holy life of ceaseless activity in teaching, correspondence, ministering to the poor and the sick, with merely the change from Akká to Haifa and from Haifa to Alexandria …
When woman’s point of view receives due consideration and woman’s will is allowed adequate expression in the arrangement of social affairs …
One of the most important instructions of Bahá’u’lláh in regard to the economic question is that all must engage in useful work.
The Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are very numerous and are mostly in the form of letter to believers and inquirers.
The Writings of the Báb were voluminous, and the rapidity with which, without study or premeditation, He composed elaborate commentaries, profound expositions or eloquent prayers was regarded as one of the proofs of His divine inspiration.
Esslemont's short account of the Báb's early life: born in Shíráz in 1819, raised by a maternal uncle, a merchant from the age of fifteen, and noted as a youth for His piety and nobility of character.
From that time onwards, He became His father’s closest companion and, as it were, protector.
Esslemont's account of Bahá'u'lláh's birth in Tihrán on 12 November 1817, His wisdom and generosity as a youth, His refusal of His father's post in the Ministry, and His acceptance of the Báb's Cause in 1844.
Esslemont's account of the Báb's birth in Shíráz on 20 October 1819, His upbringing by a merchant uncle after His father's death, and a youth noted for piety, nobility of character and faithful observance of prayer.
In April 1863, before His exile to Constantinople, Bahá'u'lláh spent twelve days in the Garden of Najíb Páshá outside Baghdád, and there announced that He was the One whose coming the Báb had foretold.
In 1912, on the Feast of Naw-Rúz in Alexandria, Egypt, 'Abdu'l-Bahá explained the meaning of the blessed days appointed in every dispensation — days for rejoicing together, for unity, and for leaving "tangible philanthropic or ideal traces" reaching all mankind.
How the Nineteen Day Feast, held on the first day of each Bahá'í month, came to combine prayer and reading from the Holy Writings, consultation with the Spiritual Assembly, and fellowship.
Bahá'u'lláh entered the Garden of Riḍván outside Baghdád on April 22, 1863. The river overflowed, and His family could not join Him there until the ninth day, which Bahá'ís now keep as a Holy Day.
At noon on May 3, 1863, the twelfth day of the Festival of Riḍván, Bahá'u'lláh rode out of the Garden of Riḍván and set out from Baghdád for Constantinople, as crowds of believers and others lamented His departure.
Bahá'u'lláh was born in Tihrán in 1817. As a youth He was wise, kind and generous, turned down His father's post in the government, and was later called the Father of the Poor.
The Báb was born in Shíráz in 1819 and raised by His uncle. As a young merchant He was known for His good character and for never failing in His prayers.
When Bahá'u'lláh was ordered to leave Baghdád, He stayed for twelve days in a garden of roses by the Tigris, and there told His followers that He was the Promised One the Báb had foretold.
At Naw-Rúz in Alexandria in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said that a holy day should bring people together and leave behind something good that reaches everyone, not only Bahá'ís.
Once every Bahá'í month the friends gather for the Nineteen Day Feast. They pray and read from the Holy Books, talk over the work of their community, and then spend time together.
When Bahá'u'lláh went to the Garden of Riḍván, the river overflowed, and His family could not join Him there until the ninth day.
Bahá'u'lláh was being sent far away from Baghdád, yet in His last days there He showed great joy, and crowds, even the Governor, came to honor Him before He rode away.
J. E. Esslemont describes the nineteen-day Fast of the month of 'Alá', whose reality he calls severance from all save God, and quotes 'Abdu'l-Bahá's words that fasting is a symbol and that moderation is necessary.
Dr J. E. Esslemont, who had been 'Abdu'l-Bahá's guest in Haifa, describes His peaceful passing and a funeral attended by about ten thousand people of many faiths, which he saw as proof that His life's work had not been in vain.
J. E. Esslemont tells how 'Abdu'l-Bahá arranged for Bahá'u'lláh to leave the prison-city of 'Akká for the countryside, how He lived simply at Bahjí, and how He passed away there on 29 May 1892.
Esslemont records that the Báb composed His voluminous Writings with great rapidity, without study or premeditation. He went on writing while confined in the mountain fortresses of Máh-Kú and Chihríq, and in His Writings He called Himself a dew-drop from a limitless ocean.
After nine years within the walls of 'Akká, Bahá'u'lláh was persuaded to move to the country, first to Mazra'ih and then to the mansion of Bahjí, where, though still nominally a prisoner, He was honoured by officials and visitors.
When Bahá'u'lláh was twenty-two His father, a minister of state, died, and the Government wished Him to take His father's post. He declined, and the Prime Minister said, "Leave Him to Himself."
J. E. Esslemont describes the young Báb as noted for beauty, charm of manner, piety and nobility of character, faithful in prayer and fasting, and living in the spirit of the Prophet's teachings as well as the letter.
In December 1844 the Báb reached Mecca on pilgrimage with Quddús and there openly declared His mission. On His return to Persia the news stirred both devotion and fierce opposition, and His years of imprisonment and exile began.
When Bahá'u'lláh was summoned from Baghdád in 1863, His followers were dismayed. Esslemont records that during the twelve days in the Garden of Riḍván He showed the greatest joy, dignity and power, and His followers became happy and enthusiastic.
A doctor at a Bournemouth sanatorium first met the Bahá'í teachings in December 1914 and set out to write a book about them. 'Abdu'l-Bahá corrected part of the manuscript, and Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era appeared in 1923.
In 1904 and 1907 Ottoman commissions came to 'Akká to investigate false charges against 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He declared Himself ready for any sentence, refused an offer of escape, and went on with His daily life until the 1908 revolution set Him free.
In Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, Dr. J. E. Esslemont told English-speaking readers how the Báb and a young follower were suspended in the barrack square of Tabríz, survived the first volley, and were killed by a second regiment.
A Scottish doctor who learned of the Bahá'í teachings in 1914 wrote a book about them and brought it to 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Haifa. The Master discussed it with him and later corrected part of it. It became Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era.
In Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, J. E. Esslemont describes the close of the Bahá'í year: the intercalary days of hospitality and giving, the nineteen-day Fast, and then Naw-Rúz at the March equinox.
The Báb inaugurated a new calendar of nineteen months, named after the attributes of God. In the Bayán He made the last month the month of fasting, set Naw-Rúz at its close, and designated Naw-Rúz the Day of God.
On 22 April 1863 Bahá'u'lláh was ferried across the Tigris to the Garden of Riḍván. That same day the river overflowed, and His family could not join Him there until the ninth day.
When Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned in Ṭihrán in 1852, His family was left destitute, and they shared His winter exile to Baghdád. In 1863 a flooded river kept them from joining Him in the Garden of Riḍván until the ninth day.
During His years of strict confinement in 'Akká, 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited the sick in their homes, brought doctors and medicine to the poor, and gave the city's poor warm clothing each winter, whatever their religion.
Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned in the barracks of 'Akká. 'Abdu'l-Bahá recalled how, in later years at Bahjí, governors and generals humbly asked to be received by Him, and how all bore witness that He was no prisoner, but a King of Kings.
Summoned to Constantinople, Bahá'u'lláh spent twelve days in the Garden of Riḍván while a caravan was prepared. Then He set out with members of His family and twenty-six disciples on a journey of three to four months.
In the twelve days before He left Baghdád for Constantinople, Bahá'u'lláh showed, in Esslemont's words, the greatest joy, dignity and power, and the notables of the city, even the Governor, came to honor Him.
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