Loading…
"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
Loading…
"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
By Adib Taherzadeh · 1974 · George Ronald
Modern era (1957–present) · in copyright
Comprehensive historical study of Bahá'u'lláh's Tablets and ministry.
About Adib Taherzadeh
Iranian-Irish Bahá'í scholar and Universal House of Justice member. *The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh* (4 vols.) is his comprehensive historical study of Bahá'u'lláh's Tablets and ministry.
1921–2000 · Member, Universal House of Justice
Stories by era covered
Featured figures
“making it impossible to gain any impression of Him.”
“completely oblivious of myself and all creation.”
“towards the Most Mighty Branch.”
“the ornament of them that are nigh unto God.”
“taking down the Bahá'í Scriptures with faultless care.”
Stories of Bahá'u'lláh
Secondary RetellingAli-Akbar Furutan · 1986
Stories Told by 'Abdu'l-Bahá
Primary SourceVarious Compilers · 2000
Mahmúd's Diary: The Diary of Mírzá Maḥmúd-i-Zarqání
Primary SourceMírzá Maḥmúd-i-Zarqání · 1998
bahaistories.com archive
Secondary RetellingVarious · 2024
The Priceless Pearl
Secondary RetellingRúhíyyih Khánum · 1969
The Summons of the Lord of Hosts
Primary SourceBahá'u'lláh · 2002
Believers who came into the presence of Bahá'u'lláh found they could not look steadily at His face. One pilgrim spilt his tea without noticing, and a Cambridge scholar wrote that he could never forget it.
After Bahá'u'lláh's ascension, 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked the chronicler Nabíl to select passages from Bahá'u'lláh's Writings to form the Tablet of Visitation, the text now recited in the Shrines of Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb.
'Údí Khammár built the Mansion of Bahjí for his own family. After an epidemic, 'Abdu'l-Bahá rented it for Bahá'u'lláh, who lived there from 1879 until His ascension in 1892.
In Adrianople, years before His ascension, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Ghuṣn, the Tablet of the Branch, which praises the station of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and calls Him "the Limb of the Law of God" and "the Trust of God."
Mullá Zaynu'l-'Ábidín, once the leading cleric of Najaf-Ábád, became a follower of the Báb and of Bahá'u'lláh, who named him Zaynu'l-Muqarrabín. His careful copies of Bahá'u'lláh's Tablets became a standard for checking published texts.
Ḥájí Abu'l-Ḥasan of Ardikán was the first pilgrim to see Bahá'u'lláh in 'Akká. From 1881 until his death in 1928 he served as Trustee of the Ḥuqúqu'lláh, travelling among the believers and keeping nothing for himself.
In Baghdád in 1862 an uncle of the Báb brought Bahá'u'lláh a list of questions about the promised Qá'im. In two days and two nights Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Kitáb-i-Íqán in reply, and the uncle's doubts were dispelled.
Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Haykal in Adrianople and recast it in 'Akká, joining to it His messages to Pope Pius IX, Napoleon III, Czar Alexander II, Queen Victoria and Náṣiri'd-Dín Sháh, and had the whole written in the shape of a pentacle.
In a Tablet revealed in answer to a believer's questions, Bahá'u'lláh set out nine of His teachings for the rulers and peoples of the world, each called an Ishráq, a Splendour.
On the death of the Ottoman Foreign Minister Fu'ád Páshá in 1869, Bahá'u'lláh, a prisoner in 'Akká, foretold the fall of the Grand Vizier and of Sultán 'Abdu'l-'Azíz. When the Sultán was deposed and killed in 1876, the fulfilled prophecy led the scholar Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl to accept the Faith.
About 1873, still a prisoner in 'Akká and living in the house of 'Údí Khammár, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Most Holy Book, which sets out the laws and institutions of His Faith.
Toward the end of 1871, while still a prisoner in 'Akká, Bahá'u'lláh answered a letter from a devoted believer in Persia with the Fire Tablet, in which He laments His sufferings and then replies to Himself as the Tongue of Grandeur.
Years later, the wife of the Báb told Munírih Khánum of the dreams that came before their marriage, of His hours of prayer, and of the night Mullá Ḥusayn came to their home in Shíráz.
Khadíjih Bagum, the wife of the Báb, told Munírih Khánum how His uncles and aunts revered Him before His Declaration, and how He called the papers He asked for each evening the Book of the accounts of all the peoples of the world.
Bahá'u'lláh wrote His Will, the Kitáb-i-'Ahd, in His own hand and entrusted it to 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His last illness. On the ninth day after His ascension it was read aloud, naming the Most Mighty Branch as the One to whom all must turn.
When His house in Baghdád could not hold all who came to bid Him farewell, Bahá'u'lláh crossed the Tigris to the Najíbíyyih garden, later called the Garden of Riḍván, and there on 22 April 1863 declared His station to His companions.
Bahá'u'lláh entered the Garden of Riḍván on 22 April 1863. That same day the Tigris overflowed, and the rest of His family could not join Him until the ninth day, which Bahá'ís now keep as a Holy Day.
When the scholar Nabíl-i-Akbar came on pilgrimage to 'Akká around 1873–74, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Tablet of Wisdom in his honour. In it He answers Nabíl's question about the origin of creation, speaks of the sages of Greece, and counsels him on how to teach.
Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl headed a religious college in Ṭihrán when he first met the Bahá'ís. After months of argument he accepted the Faith in 1876, lost his post, was twice imprisoned, and spent the rest of his life teaching and defending the Cause.
In Baghdád, after His return from Sulaymáníyyih, Bahá'u'lláh answered the mystical questions of Shaykh Muḥyi'd-Dín, a Ṣúfí judge of Khániqayn, with the Seven Valleys, which describes the soul's journey toward God in seven stages.
In Baghdád, about 1858, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Hidden Words as He paced the banks of the Tigris in meditation. He described the book as the inner essence of what had been revealed to the Prophets of old.
About two years before His passing, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Kalimát-i-Firdawsíyyih, the Words of Paradise, in honour of Ḥájí Mírzá Ḥaydar-'Alí. Its "leaves" set out counsels on the fear of God, religion, justice, unity, education and peace.
Two brothers of Iṣfáhán, later titled the King and the Beloved of Martyrs by Bahá'u'lláh, built a prosperous business, gave generously to the poor and to Bahá'u'lláh's exiled companions, and were renowned for their honesty.
In Haifa in 1891, after nine days of silence that followed the martyrdom of seven believers in Yazd, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Lawḥ-i-Dunyá, a Tablet that sets out principles for the peace and betterment of the world.
At Naw-Rúz 1863 Bahá'u'lláh camped with His companions in a field outside Baghdád. On the fifth day He revealed the Tablet of the Holy Mariner, then had the tents folded; a month later He entered the Garden of Riḍván.
Bahá'u'lláh crossed the Tigris to the Garden of Riḍván on 22 April 1863 with three of His sons. The river overflowed that day, and the rest of His family joined Him only on the ninth day, 30 April.
Returning to Baghdád from Kurdistán in 1856, Bahá'u'lláh found the Bábí community dispirited and divided. Through His counsels and His writings He restored its faith and reformed its conduct.
To avoid becoming a cause of discord among the Bábís of Baghdád, Bahá'u'lláh withdrew to the mountains of Kurdistán. For two years He lived there as Darvísh Muḥammad, and the people of the region came to revere and love Him.
From 'Akká Bahá'u'lláh wrote to Pope Pius IX, announcing the return of Christ and bidding him leave his palaces and sell his ornaments in the path of God. In 1870 Italian troops seized Rome and the Pope's temporal rule ended.
From the barracks in 'Akká, Bahá'u'lláh wrote to Czar Alexander II of Russia, summoning him to proclaim His Cause and recalling that a Russian minister had helped Him when He lay in chains in Ṭihrán. The Czar did not heed it.
After leaving the Garden of Riḍván on 3 May 1863, Bahá'u'lláh travelled with His family and twenty-six companions across eastern Anatolia to Constantinople. Officials and villagers welcomed Him along the way, and His companions served Him on foot.
In the Garden of Riḍván, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Ṣabr, the Tablet of Patience, in honour of Ḥájí Muḥammad-Taqí, a survivor of Nayríz whom He named Ayyúb (Job). It praised the steadfast and prepared the believers of 'Iráq for His departure.
The last illness and ascension of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí on 29 May 1892, His farewell to the friends, His burial, and the reading of the Kitáb-i-'Ahd nine days later.
In the Lawḥ-i-Aqdas, the Tablet to the Christians, Bahá'u'lláh tells the followers of Christ that the Father has come, and calls on their bishops, priests and monks to recognize Him.
In Adrianople Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Mulúk, His first address to the kings of the world as a body, calling them to rule with justice, to settle their differences and to reduce their armaments.
Aḥmad of Yazd lived near Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád and later set out to reach Him in Adrianople. In Constantinople he received the Tablet of Aḥmad, and instead of going on, he returned to Persia to teach.
During His last visit to Haifa in 1891, Bahá'u'lláh pitched His tent near the Carmelite monastery on Mount Carmel and revealed the Tablet of Carmel, which is considered the charter of the Bahá'í World Centre.
At Naw-Rúz 1863, in His tent outside Baghdád, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Tablet of the Holy Mariner. His companions were filled with sorrow when they heard it, and the next day He was told He must go to Constantinople.
When the philosopher Nabíl-i-Akbar visited 'Akká around 1873-74, Bahá'u'lláh revealed for him the Tablet of Wisdom, which speaks of the origin of creation and of the ancient sages who learned from the Prophets.
Napoleon III left Bahá'u'lláh's first Tablet unanswered. The second, sent from 'Akká in 1869, warned that his empire would pass from his hands. In 1870 he was defeated at Sedan and taken prisoner, and his empire fell.
Around 1869, while a prisoner in 'Akká, Bahá'u'lláh revealed a Tablet to Pope Pius IX, calling him to leave his palaces and abandon his kingdom unto the kings. In 1870 the Pope lost his temporal rule.
From the prison of 'Akká Bahá'u'lláh wrote to Queen Victoria, praising her for forbidding the slave trade and for entrusting counsel to the people's representatives, and calling on the rulers of the earth to hold fast to the Lesser Peace.
The calligrapher Mishkín-Qalam, sent by Bahá'u'lláh from Adrianople to Constantinople, was arrested through the Persian ambassador's slanders and held for about nine years at Famagusta in Cyprus before he was freed and went to 'Akká.
Shaykh Maḥmúd, a religious leader of 'Akká, went to the barracks to kill Bahá'u'lláh and was twice turned back by messages that read his intentions. After a dream recalled a childhood prophecy, he returned and became a devoted believer.
Aḥmad of Yazd set out from Baghdád to reach Bahá'u'lláh in Adrianople. In Constantinople he received the Tablet revealed for him, and instead of going on he returned to Persia to teach.
See also: all sources · editorial process · library stats