Baháʼu'lláh

A depiction of Mírzá Buzurg, the father of Baháʼu'lláh

Baháʼu'lláh (/bəˈhɑːʊˌlɑː/) was born Mírzá Ḥusayn-ʻAlí Núrí (Persian: میرزا حسین‌علی نوری‎) on 12 November 1817 (Muharram 2, 1233 AH), in Tehran, the capital of Persia, present-day Iran. Baháʼí authors trace his ancestry back to Abraham through Abraham's wife Keturah,[11] to Zoroaster, to Yazdgerd III, the last king of the Sassanid Empire, and also to Jesse.[12][13] According to the Baháʼí author John Able, Baháʼís also consider Baháʼu'lláh to have been "descended doubly, from both Abraham and Sarah, and separately from Abraham and Keturah".[14]

His mother was Khadíjih Khánum, and his father was Mírzá Buzurg. Baháʼu'lláh's father served as vizier to Imám-Virdi Mírzá, the twelfth son of Fath-ʻAli Shah Qajar. Mírzá Buzurg was later appointed governor of Burujird and Lorestan,[15] a position that he was stripped of during a government purge when Muhammad Shah came to power. After the death of his father, Baháʼu'lláh was asked to take a government post by the new vizier Hajji Mirza Aqasi, but declined.[16]

Baháʼu'lláh had three wives. He married his first wife Ásíyih Khánum, the daughter of a nobleman, in Tehran in 1835, when he was 18 and she was 15.[17] She was given the title of The Most Exalted Leaf and Navváb.[18] His second wife was his widowed cousin Fátimih Khánum. The marriage took place in Tehran in 1849 when she was 21 and he was 32.[17] She was known as Mahd-i-ʻUlyá. His third wife was Gawhar Khánum and the marriage occurred in Baghdad sometime before 1863.[17]

He had 14 children, four daughters and ten sons, five of whom he outlived.[19] Baháʼís regard Ásíyih Khánum and her children Mírzá Mihdí, Bahíyyih Khánum and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to be the Baháʼí holy family.[20]

Baháʼu'lláh first heard of the Báb when he was 27, and received a visitor sent by the Báb, Mullá Husayn, telling him of the Báb and his claims. Baháʼu'lláh became a Bábí and helped to spread the new movement, especially in his native province of Núr, where he became recognized as one of its most influential believers.[19][25] His notability as a local gave him many openings, and his trips to teach the religion were met with success, even among some of the religious class. He also helped to protect fellow believers, such as Táhirih, for which he was temporarily imprisoned in Tehran and punished with bastinado or foot whipping.[19] Baháʼu'lláh, in the summer of 1848, also attended the conference of Badasht in the province of Khorasan, where 81 prominent Bábís met for 22 days; at that conference where there was a discussion between those Bábís who wanted to maintain Islamic law and those who believed that the Báb's message began a new dispensation, Baháʼu'lláh took the pro-change side, which eventually won out. It is at this conference that Mírzá Ḥusayn-ʻAlí Núrí took on the title Bahá.[19][26]

When violence started between the Bábís and the Qajar government in the later part of 1848, Baháʼu'lláh tried to reach the besieged Bábís at the Shaykh Tabarsi in Mazandaran, but was arrested and imprisoned before he could get there.[19] The following years until 1850 saw the Bábís being massacred in various provinces after the Báb publicly made his claim of being the Manifestation of God.[19]

After the Báb was executed in 1850, a group of Tehran Bábís, headed by a Bábí known as Azim, who was previously a Shaykhi cleric, plotted an assassination plan against the Shah Nasser-al-Din Shah, in retaliation for the Báb's execution.[27] Baháʼu'lláh condemned the plan; however, any moderating influence that he may have had was diminished in June 1851 when he went into exile to Baghdad at the chief minister's request, returning only after Amir Kabir's fall from power.[19][27] On 15 August 1852, the radical group of Bábís attempted the assassination of the Shah and failed.[19] The group of Bábís linked with the plan, were rounded up and executed, but notwithstanding the assassins' claim that they were working alone, the entire Bábí community was blamed, precipitating violent riots against the Bábí community that were encouraged and orchestrated by the government.[27] During this time many Bábís were killed, and many more, including Baháʼu'lláh, were imprisoned in the Síyáh-Chál ("black pit"), an underground dungeon of Tehran.[28]

According to Baháʼu'lláh, it was during his imprisonment in the Síyáh-Chál that he had several mystical experiences, and received a vision of a maiden from God, through whom he received his mission as a messenger of God and as the one whose coming the Báb had prophesied.[19][28] The confession of the would-be assassin had exonerated the Bábí leaders, and in the context of the continuing mass executions of Babis, the ambassador of Russia requested that Baháʼu'lláh and other persons apparently unconnected with the conspiracy be spared. After he had been in the Síyáh-Chál for four months Baháʼu'lláh was in fact finally released, on condition he left Iran. Declining an offer of refugee status in Russia, he chose exile in Iraq (then part of the Ottoman Empire); in 1853 Baháʼu'lláh and his family, accompanied by a member of the Shah's bodyguard and a representative of the Russian embassy, travelled from Persia, arriving in Baghdad on 8 April 1853.[19][29]

On 10 April 1854, without telling anyone of his intention or destination, Baháʼu'lláh left his family to the care of his brother Mirza Musa and travelled with one companion to the mountains of Kurdistan, northeast of Baghdad, near the city of Sulaymaniyah.[16][32] He later wrote that he left so as to avoid becoming a source of disagreement within the Bábí community, and that his "withdrawal contemplated no return".[32][33]

For two years, Baháʼu'lláh lived alone in the mountains of Kurdistan.[28] He originally lived as a hermit, dressed like a dervish and used the name Darvish Muhammad-i-Irani.[32][34] At one point someone noticed his penmanship, which brought the curiosity of the instructors of the local Sufi orders.[16] As he began to take guests, he became noted for his learning and wisdom. Shaykh ʻUthmán, Shaykh ʻAbdu'r-Rahmán, and Shaykh Ismá'íl, leaders of the Naqshbandíyyih, Qádiríyyih, and Khálidíyyih Orders respectively, began to seek his advice.[35] It was to the second of these that the Four Valleys was written. Baháʼu'lláh wrote several other notable books during this time.[28]

In Baghdad, given the lack of firm and public leadership by Mirza Yahya, the Babi community had fallen into disarray.[16] Some Babis, including Baháʼu'lláh's family, began searching for Baháʼu'lláh, and when news of a man living in the mountains under the name of Darvish Muhammad spread to neighboring areas, Baháʼu'lláh's family begged him to come back to Baghdad.[16] On 19 March 1856, after two years in Kurdistan he returned to Baghdad.[32]

Map of Baháʼu'lláh's banishments

When Baháʼu'lláh returned to Baghdad he saw that the Bábí community had become disheartened and divided.[32] During Baháʼu'lláh's absence, it had become alienated from the religion because Mirza Yahya had continued his policy of militancy and had been unable to provide effective leadership.[32] Mirza Yahya had married the widow of the Báb against the Báb's clear instructions;[16] dispatched followers to the province of Nur for the second attempt on the life of the Shah;[36] and instigated violence against prominent Bábís who had challenged his leadership.[32]

After his return to Baghdad, Baháʼu'lláh tried to revive the Bábí community, mostly through correspondence, writing extensively to give the Bábís a new understanding of the Bábí religion,[32] while keeping his perceived station as the one promised by the Báb and a Manifestation of God hidden. He was soon recognized by the Bábís, as well as government authorities, as the foremost Bábí leader, and there was a growing number of people joining the Bábí movement.[32] He also gained sympathy from government officials and Sunni clerics.[32] Baháʼu'lláh's rising influence in the city, and the revival of the Persian Bábí community, gained the attention of his enemies in Islamic clergy and the Persian government.[5] The Persian government asked the Ottoman government to extradite Baháʼu'lláh to Persia, but the Ottoman government refused and instead chose to move Baháʼu'lláh from the sensitive border region to Constantinople.[32]

On 21 April 1863, Baháʼu'lláh left Baghdad and entered the Najibiyyih gardens, now the location of Baghdad Medical City and known to Baháʼís as the Garden of Ridván. Baháʼu'lláh and those accompanying him stayed in the garden for twelve days before departing for Constantinople.[37] It was during this time that Baháʼu'lláh declared to a small group of his companions his perceived mission and station as a Messenger of God.[28] Baháʼu'lláh declared himself He whom God shall make manifest, a messianic figure in the religion of Bábism. Baháʼu'lláh based this announcement on an experience he had previously while imprisoned in the Síyáh-Chál in Tehran where he is said to have had a vision of the Maid of Heaven. Baháʼís regard this period with great significance and celebrate the twelve days that Baháʼu'lláh spent in this Garden as the festival of Ridván.[37] He referred to the period of messianic secrecy between when he claimed to have seen the Maiden of Heaven in the Síyáh-Chál and his declaration as the ayyam-i butun ("Days of Concealment"). Baháʼu'lláh stated that this period was a "set time of concealment".[38] The declaration in the Garden of Ridván was the beginning of a new phase in the Bábí community which led to the emergence of the Baháʼí Faith as a distinctive movement separate from Bábísm.[39]

Baháʼu'lláh travelled from Baghdad to Constantinople between 3 May and 17 August 1863, accompanied by a large group including family members and followers. During the trip, he was treated with respect in the towns he visited, and when he reached Constantinople, he was treated as a government guest.[39] Why the Ottoman authorities did not permit his extradition to Persia, but instead invited him to come to Constantinople, is unclear. The reason may have been political because Baháʼu'lláh was viewed as a person of influence. After three and a half months in Constantinople, he was ordered to depart for Adrianople. The reason for this further move is also unclear. It may have been due to pressure from the Persian ambassador, combined with Baháʼu'lláh's refusal to work with the Ottoman authorities.[39]

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ín Adrianople with his brothers and companions of Baháʼu'lláh. He is third from the left in the front row.

From 1 to 12 December 1863, Baháʼu'lláh and his family travelled to Adrianople. Unlike his travel to Constantinople, this journey was in the nature of an exile.[39] Baháʼu'lláh stayed in Adrianople for four and a half years, and was the clear leader of the newly established Bábí community there.[39][40] Baháʼu'lláh's growing preeminence in the Bábí community and in the city at large led to a final breach between Baháʼu'lláh and Mirza Yahya.[39] In 1865, Mirza Yahya was accused of plotting to kill Baháʼu'lláh.[41] In contemporary accounts, Mirza Yahya is reported to have tried to have Baháʼu'lláh assassinated by a local barber. The barber, Muhammad ʻAlí of Isfahán, apparently refused and spread word of the danger around the community. Baháʼu'lláh is reported to have counseled "on all patience, quietude and gentleness".[42] This pattern was repeated when, according to the personal account of Ustád Muhammad-ʻAlíy-i Salmání, Mirza Yahya attempted to persuade him likewise to murder Baháʼu'lláh in the bath.[43] Eventually Mirza Yahya attempted to poison Baháʼu'lláh, an act that left him gravely ill for a time, and left him with a shaking hand for the rest of his life.[41][44][45][46][47]

After this event in 1866, Baháʼu'lláh made his claim to be He whom God shall make manifest public,[30] as well as making a formal written announcement to Mirza Yahya referring to his followers for the first time as the "people of Bahá".[41] After his public announcement, Baháʼu'lláh secluded himself in his house and instructed the Bábís to choose between himself and Mirza Yahya. Baháʼu'lláh's claims threatened Mirza Yahya's position as leader of the religion since it would mean little to be leader of the Bábís if Him whom God shall make manifest were to appear and start a new religion.[16] Mirza Yahya responded by making his own claims, but his attempt to preserve the traditional Bábísm was largely unpopular, and his followers became the minority.[30]

In 1867, Mirza Yahya challenged Baháʼu'lláh to a test of the divine will in a local mosque in Adrianople, such that "God would strike down the impostor." Baháʼu'lláh agreed, and went to the Sultan Selim mosque at the appointed time, but Mirza Yahya lost credibility when he failed to show up.[41][48][49] Eventually Baháʼu'lláh was recognized by the vast majority of Bábís as "He whom God shall make manifest" and his followers began calling themselves Baháʼís.[16]

The house where Baháʼu'lláh stayed in Adrianople

During his time in Adrianople, Baháʼu'lláh wrote a great deal. One of the main themes during this time was the proclamation of his claimed mission; he instructed some of his followers to take his claims to Bábís in Iran and Iraq who had not heard of his statements, as well as asking the Baháʼís to be united and detached from the world.[50] He also started to write about distinctive Baháʼí beliefs and practices.

Also, while in Adrianople, Baháʼu'lláh proclaimed the Baháʼí Faith further by addressing tablets to the kings and rulers of the world asking them to accept his revelation, renounce their material possessions, work together to settle disputes, and endeavour toward the betterment of the world and its peoples. His first letter was sent to Sultan Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire and his ministers, which was followed by the Tablet of the Kings which was a general address to all rulers.[50] In that latter letter, the rulers of the earth were asked to listen to Baháʼu'lláh's call, and cast away their material possessions, and since they were given the reins of government that they should rule with justice and protect the rights of the downtrodden. He also told the rulers to reduce their armaments and reconcile their differences.[50] The Christian monarchs were also asked to be faithful to Jesus' call to follow the promised "Spirit of Truth".[50]

Later when Baháʼu'lláh was in Acre, he continued writing letters to the leaders of the world including:[51]

• Pope Pius IX
• Napoleon III, Emperor of France
• Alexander II, Tsar of Russia
• Wilhelm I, King in Prussia
• Queen Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland
• Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria-Hungary
• Sultan ʻAbdu'l-ʻAzíz of the Ottoman Empire
• Násiri'd-Dín Sháh of the Persian Empire
• Rulers of America and the Presidents of the republics therein

Prison in Acre in which Baháʼu'lláh was imprisoned

With the Bábí community now irrevocably divided, the followers of Mirza Yahya tried to discredit Baháʼu'lláh to the Ottoman authorities, accusing him of causing agitation against the government.[52] While an investigation cleared Baháʼu'lláh, it did bring to the attention of the government that Baháʼu'lláh and Mirza Yahya were propagating religious claims, and, fearing that this might cause future disorder, they decided to again exile the 'Bábí' leaders.[52] A royal command was issued in July 1868 condemning the Bábís to perpetual imprisonment and isolation in far-flung outposts of the Ottoman Empire – Famagusta, Cyprus for Mirza Yahya and his followers, and Acre, in Ottoman Palestine, for Baháʼu'lláh and his followers.[52]

The Baháʼís, including Baháʼu'lláh and his family, left Adrianople on 12 August 1868, and, after a journey by land and sea through Gallipoli and Egypt, arrived in Acre on 31 August and were confined in the barracks of the city's citadel.[52] The inhabitants of Acre were told that the new prisoners were enemies of the state, of God and his religion, and that association with them was strictly forbidden. The first years in Acre imposed very harsh conditions with many becoming sick, and eventually three Baháʼís dying.[52] Dr. Thomas Chaplin, director of a British Hospital in Jerusalem[53] visited Baháʼu'lláh in April 1871 and sent a letter to the editor printed in The Times in October.[54] This seems to be the first extended commentary on Baháʼu'lláh in western newspapers.[55] It was also a very trying time for Baháʼu'lláh, whose son, Mirzá Mihdí, died in June 1870 at the age of twenty-two when he fell through a skylight while pacing back and forth in prayer and meditation. After some time, relations between the prisoners and officials and the local community improved, so that the conditions of the imprisonment were eased and eventually, after the Sultan's death, Baháʼu'lláh was allowed to leave the city and visit nearby places. From 1877 until 1879 Baháʼu'lláh lived in the house of Mazra'ih.[52]

Baháʼu'lláh wrote that all the "Manifestations of God" are, in a sense, the same person and speak of past and future manifestations in the first-person. Baháʼís view Baháʼu'lláh as the "Promised One" of older world religions:[3] the "Spirit of Truth" or Comforter predicted by Jesus in his farewell discourse of John 14–17 and the return of Christ "in the glory of the Father", the return of the Kalki avatar of Hinduism, the appearance of the Maitreya Buddha,[62] the return of the Third Imam, or the return of Jesus (Isa) expected in Islam.[63]

He stated that his claims to being several messiahs converging in one person were the symbolic, rather than literal, fulfilment of the messianic and eschatological prophecies found in the literature of the major religions.[3] Baháʼu'lláh's eschatological claims constitute six distinctive messianic identifications:

Baháʼu'lláh wrote in many styles including cases where he speaks as if he was instructed by God to bring a message; in other cases he writes in the first-person as God speaking, garnering some criticism that he was claiming to be God incarnated.[64][65][66] Denis MacEoin states "...it is difficult to avoid the suspicion that he [Baha'u'llah] himself made much more radical claims than this in parts of his later writings. The following statements are, I think, explicit enough to serve as examples: 'he who speaks in the most great prison (i.e. Acre) is the Creator of all things and the one who brought all names into being'."[67] However, the understanding among Baháʼís is that writing in the voice of God is a literary style and represents a message coming through Baháʼu'lláh.[59]

Baháʼu'lláh is believed to be a descendant of a long line of kings in Persia through Yazdgerd III, the last monarch of the Sasanian Dynasty;[12] he also asserted to be a descendant of Abraham through his third wife Keturah.[68]