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Brief History
The Ministry of Bahá’u’lláh
1863 – Bahá’u’lláh’s Declaration
While in Baghdad, Bahá’u’lláh won the hearts of most of the city’s citizens
and even local government officials, and the new Faith grew and spread further.
In an effort to remove Him further from Persia, He was exiled again, to Constantinople.
Just before His departure He stayed in a garden just outside Baghdad where
many followers of the Báb and admirers came to bid Him farewell. It was here that
Bahá’u’lláh revealed to His followers that He is the Promised One foretold in the
Báb’s Message, turning an occasion of sadness into a celebration of joyful tidings.
Henceforth, the religion was known as the Bahá’í Faith. The festival of Riḍván,
celebrated by Bahá’ís worldwide each year, commemorates the twelve days Bahá’u’lláh
stayed in the garden outside Baghdad which He gave the name meaning “paradise,”
and during which He made His Declaration.
The Shrine of the Báb in Haifa, Israel, situated on Mount Carmel
1863-1892 – Bahá’u’lláh’s Ministry
Bahá’u’lláh revealed numerous volumes of Sacred Scriptures, outlining His Teachings,
answering theological questions, and establishing the laws and institutions of His
Faith. Bahá’u’lláh is a unique figure in world history in that He establishes in
writing the future pattern of the Organization of His Faith.
1863 – The public proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh’s Mission
After only four-and-a-half months in Constantinople, Bahá’u’lláh was banished further,
to the city of Adrianople. It was during His relatively brief time here that He
wrote many letters to the kings and rulers of the time, informing them of the advent
of the Day of God, calling upon them to answer the summons of the One promised in
the sacred scriptures of all the religions professed by His recipients, and exhorting
them to rule with justice and devote themselves to the reduction of armaments, the
establishment of peace, the elimination of poverty, and tending to the service of
their subjects.
1868 – Bahá’u’lláh’s arrival in the Holy Land
After four-and-a-half years in Adrianople, Bahá’u’lláh, along with about 70 of His
family members and followers, was sentenced by the authorities of the Ottoman empire
to perpetual confinement in the prison city of Acre, in what is now northern Israel.
The order of confinement was never lifted, but due to the growing recognition of
the greatness of His character, Bahá’u’lláh was eventually allowed to move outside
the walls of the city to a nearby estate called Bahjí.
1873 – Bahá’u’lláh revealed the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
Circa 1873, during His confinement in Acre, Bahá’u’lláh revealed His book of laws,
designated by Him as the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the “Most Holy Book” of His Dispensation.
29 May 1892 – The Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh
Bahá’u’lláh passed away and was interred at Bahjí. For Bahá’ís, His Shrine is the
holiest place on earth and a place of pilgrimage. At His instruction, the spiritual
and administrative center of His Faith was permanently fixed in the area of the
two cities of Acre and Haifa in Israel. Bahá’u’lláh left a written will in which
He appointed His eldest Son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as head of the Faith after Him, Center
of His Covenant, perfect exemplar of His Teachings, and the authorized interpreter
of His Writings. The name ‘Abdu’l-Bahá means “Servant of Glory”.
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