Bahaism

[beauchamp]

Salamualeikum all!

I am a Baha'i and am wondering if their are any others who are Baha'is in the guild or if anyone would like to know more.

Personally, Im looking for good books to purchase that have been written by Baha'u'llah himself (blessings on his name) or by al-Bab.

Shokran!

[The Wizard]

Baha'ísm, wasn't that the movement that lies in the extension of the Bab movement of the 19th century?

[beauchamp]

Yes, the bab (in arabic, the gateway) led the way for the revelations the Baha'u'llah recived in tehran.

[econ21]

I'm a militant aetheist so unlikely to be a convert, but I would be interested to hear a concise statement of the central beliefs and the origins of Bahaism. I know almost zero about it, but it seems rather an enlightened religion and the one believer I know is a rather impressive person.

[Big_John]

I'm a militant aetheist so unlikely to be a convert, but I would be interested to hear a concise statement of the central beliefs and the origins of Bahaism. I know almost zero about it, but it seems rather an enlightened religion and the one believer I know is a rather impressive person.

hm, the one person i know/knew who is baha'i is probably one of the most annoying people ever. though she is persuing a doctorate at harvard now. so i guess she's kind of impressive in some respect.

one of the more interesting things about baha'i culture to me is the awesome temples they build.

[beauchamp]

Well, I guess im the only one here at the guild then .
Ill tell you all as best I can about baha'ism. The story might be a bit farfetched for some but disreguard the "truths" etc.

In the beggining (1830's) their was a man by the name of "al-bab" or in arabic, "the gate". He was a shi'a mysitc and mullah but eventually branched out in His teachings and founded "Babism". One of His followers was Siyyid Ali-Muhammed, or as He was later to be known as "Baha'u'llah" (the glory of God). The radical Shi'a clerks and Qajar government were concerened that this movement would lead to an innsurection, so they imprisoned Ali-Muhammed and imprisoned Him in the infamous "Tehran Pit of Hell". Their, Ali-Muhammed suffered much pain and torture. During His time in the pit, He recived a revelation from God, telling Him that He was the prophet for our time. Once He was released, He met "al-Bab" and proclaimed He was the manefestation of God, taking the name Baha'u'llah and began to spread the word.

(From Baha'i.org):
The next step was publicly to proclaim the new faith. This began with a visit by the Báb to the center of pilgrimage for the Muslim world, the twin cities of Mecca and Medina in Arabia. On Friday, December 20, 1844, standing with His hand on the door-ring of the Kaaba, the holiest shrine in all the Islamic world, the Báb publicly declared: "I am that Qa'im Whose advent you have been waiting." He also addressed a special "tablet," or letter, to the Sharif of Mecca, guardian of the shrines, in which He made the same claim. On neither occasion, although He was treated with great respect, was any serious attention given to His claims by the authorities of Sunni Islam. Undeterred, the Báb set sail for Persia, where the teaching activities of the Letters of the Living were beginning to raise a storm of excitement among both the clergy and the general public.


From then on, the faith spread and the Qajar and Shi'a's fanatisicm grew. Eventually, "private armies" of ulama in Tabriz and in Tehran began to hunt these early "Baha'is" and persecute them. The movement spread and eventually, large mods of Baha's were rioting against the imprisonment of the Bab and of Baha'u'llah, and with the weak Qajar state, the Bab had the opportuniy to take power and create a sweeping social change.

Instead he refused, which cost him his life, seeing as their were many military innsurectionists and commanders willing to support the Bab.

(From Baha'i.org):
By refusing to force the issue, even at the cost of His own life, the Báb gave conclusive evidence of the peaceable character of His mission and His complete reliance on the spiritual forces which He had said from the beginning were His sole support.


Baha'u'llah was then exiled from the country, so He went on a large missionary mission to help those in need.

(From Baha'i.org)
In April 1863, before leaving Baghdad, Bahá'u'lláh and His companions camped in a garden on the banks of the Tigris River. From 21 April to 2 May, Bahá'u'lláh shared with those Bábis in His company that He was the Promised One foretold by the Báb--foretold, indeed, in all the world's scriptures.

The garden became known as the Garden of Ridvan, which indicates "paradise" in Arabic. The anniversary of the twelve days spent there are celebrated in the Bahá'í world as the most joyous of holidays, known as the Ridvan Festival.

From then on, He traveled and wrote many books but most inportantly wrote the "Kitab-i-Aqdas (the Most Holy Book)" which is a decleration and explination of the faith.

On 29 May 1892, Baha'u'llah passed away, he was laid to rest in an abandoned mansion in Israel I belive (because thats were his shrine is now)

[beauchamp]

Thats most of the history, the only other things I should add is this
-his son, Abdul-baha (servent of the glorious) was his successor, and last of the line. In his lifetime, he established the "house of justice" I think and set up the Baha'is capital in Haifa, Israel.

Now about the faith itself, the core beliefs:

We belive that their is one God, who manifests himself for each age. We belive that all prophets from Zoroaster, Abraham, Jesus, Muhammed, Krishna, Buddha, etc. were all manifestations. Baha'u'llah was the latest manifestaion and the spiritual messenger of our age. We also belive that their will be more prophets as time progresses. We do not belive in churches, or priests. Prayer exists, but is not required. The "temples" Big John was reffering to are acutally "houses of worship" which are just for reverence or meditation. Their is only really one festival and that is the one I meantioned above.

We belive in pacifism, as well as tolerance. The ultimate goal for the Baha'is is to unite the earth under one banner, one language and one faith. Their is a famous quote by Baha'u'llah, "The world is but one nation, and the people it's citizens".

The so called HQ of Baha'ism is in Haifa, Israel. Their, the Bab, Baha'u'llah, and Abdul'baha are buried as well as it is the seat of the "house of justice" and the great library.

So their you have it, I hope my informations good enough. Oh yea, its reffered to as the "Bahai religion" not "Bahai'sm"