Bahá'u'lláh's Early Years
J. E. Esslemont, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, (1923), George Allen & Unwin · Read original
When in Bahá'í history
A retelling for children, based on Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era by J. E. Esslemont (1923), with one detail from Lady Blomfield's The Chosen Highway.
Bahá'u'lláh was born in Tihrán, the capital of Persia, on the twelfth of November, 1817, between dawn and sunrise. His name was Mírzá Ḥusayn-‘Alí. Many years later He took the title Bahá'u'lláh, which means the Glory of God.
His father, Mírzá ‘Abbás of Núr, was a Vazír, a Minister of State who helped to govern the country. The family was wealthy and well known, and many of His relatives had held important posts in the government and the army.
He never went to school or college. What little teaching He had was given at home. Even so, Esslemont wrote of His childhood:
He showed wonderful wisdom and knowledge.
'Abdu'l-Bahá, His son, later said that from the time He was a child He was extremely kind and generous. He loved to be outdoors, in the garden or the fields, and children as well as grown-ups loved to be near Him. By the time He was thirteen or fourteen, people knew Him for His learning.
When He was twenty-two years old, His father died. Now He was the one responsible for His younger brothers and sisters and for the family's large estates.
The government, as was the custom in Persia, wanted Him to take His father's place as a minister. He did not accept. Then the Prime Minister said:
Leave him to himself. Such a position is unworthy of him. He has some higher aim in view.
His daughter, Bahíyyih Khánum, remembered that when she was a little girl, no one was ever turned away from their door, and a meal was set out for everyone who came. The people called Him "The Father of the Poor."
In 1844 the Báb announced His message. Bahá'u'lláh was then in His twenty-seventh year. He boldly took up the new Faith, and He soon became one of its most powerful and fearless teachers.
Bahá'ís celebrate the Birth of Bahá'u'lláh every year. It comes on the day after the Birth of the Báb, and the two are kept together as the Twin Holy Birthdays.
This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "The Birth and Early Life of Bahá'u'lláh".
Cite this story
Esslemont, J. E.. (1923). *Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era*. George Allen & Unwin. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19241/pg19241-images.html
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“Leave him to himself. Such a position is unworthy of him. He has”
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- The Birth and Early Life of Bahá'u'lláh— J. E. Esslemont, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era
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