Baha'ullah
Mirza Hussein-'Ali Nuri (in Persian, میرزا حسینعلی نوری; Tehran, Persia, 12 November 1817-Acre, Ottoman Empire, May 29, 1892) or Bahá'u'lláh (Arabic: بهاء الله, lit. 'glory of God') was a Persian religious in the Middle East who founded Bahaism. The believers of this monotheistic religion consider him and all the previous prophets as the manifestations of God, and him specifically as the manifestation of God in the present age.
Biography
He was the son of Mirzá Buzurg-i-Núrí, a wealthy government minister (he had received this honorary title by royal decree from Fath-Àlí Sháh when the latter was captivated by his calligraphy). A few years later he was appointed minister to Prince Imam Verdi Mirzá, the twelfth son of Fath-Àlí Sháh. His ancestors traced back to the Sasanian kings, and according to the Bahá'í faith also to Abraham and Zoroaster. During his youth, the one who would later be known as Bahá'u'lláh enjoyed a comfortable life and an education centered on horsemanship, calligraphy and classical poetry.
Bahá'u'lláh was married three times. In October 1835, Bahá'u'lláh married Ásíyih Khánum (1820-1896), the daughter of another nobleman, by whom he had seven children, only three of whom reached adulthood: a son, `Abdu'l-Bahá, born 1844; a daughter, Bahíyyih, born in 1846; and another man, Mírzá Mihdí, born in 1848. In 1849 he also married a widowed cousin of his, Fátimih Khánum (1828-1904), with whom he had six children, four of whom survived, one female and three male: Samadiyyih, Muhammad-`Alí, Díyá'u'lláh and Badi'u'lláh. Her third marriage was to Gawhar Khánum in Baghdad, before 1863. Gawhar was probably one of the servants of Bahá'u'lláh's first wife, so it could have been a temporary marriage (Nikāḥ al-Mut'ah) according to Shia law. They had a daughter, Furúghíyyih.
Bahá'u'lláh, after declining the ministerial career before him, chose to devote all his forces to charity, which already in the early 1840s earned him the name "Father of the poor". In 1844 this privileged existence suddenly changed sign: Bahá'u'lláh had become one of the great defenders of Babism. This movement —precursor of Bahaism— made itself felt strongly in Iran, for which reason it brought upon itself the fierce persecution of the clergy, with great influence over the ruling heads of the country. Following the execution of the Báb, founder of Babism, instigated by the newly arrived Prime Minister Amir-Kabir and ratified by the Shiite clergy of Tabriz, Bahá'u'lláh was arrested in Shemiran outside Tehran, to be led away in chains. and on foot, to this city. Some influential courtiers and clerics called for his death sentence, but his life was spared thanks to his personal reputation, his family's social position, and the protests of some Western embassies. He was thrown into a dungeon called the "Black Pit"; (Siyah-Chal, in Persian), with which the authorities were confident that this punishment would end his life. However, that dungeon became the birth of a new revelation of his.
Bahá'u'lláh spent four months in the Black Pit. It was there that, according to his own words, he came to know the scope of his mission.
I was nothing more than a man like others, lying on his bed, when, behold, the Brisas of the All-Glorious embarked upon me and instructed me in the knowledge of all that has been [...] This is not something that proceeds from me, but from Who is the Almighty and the Almighty. And He commanded me to raise the voice between heaven and earth [...].
Bahá'u'lláh left the dungeon to go into exile from his homeland for forty years. His first destination was Baghdad. After a year, Bahá & # 39; u & # 39; lláh set out on the road to the desolate mountains of Kurdistan, where he lived two years of solitary meditation.
In 1856, at the behest of the Babi exiles, Bahá'u'lláh returned to Baghdad. Under his renewed leadership of him, the prestige of the Bábí community began to grow. Bahá'u'lláh's reputation as a spiritual guide spread throughout the city. For this reason, and fearing that his popularity would inflame the spirits of the Babí community in Persia, the Shah's government managed to get the Ottoman authorities to give orders to send him to even more distant lands.
In April 1863, before leaving Baghdad, Bahá'u'lláh and his companions were camping in a garden on the banks of the Tigris. From the 21st of that month until the 2nd of May, Bahá'u'lláh announced to his closest followers that he was the Promised One foretold by the Báb and, according to Bahá'í beliefs, also fulfilled the prophecies of the sacred texts of other religions in this regard.
The Baha'is call this garden "Ridvan", an Arabic word meaning "paradise. The anniversaries of the twelve days that elapsed there, known as "the Feast of Ridvan", constitute the most important celebration of the Baha'i calendar.
On May 3, 1863, surrounded by his family and a few chosen companions, Bahá'u'lláh left Baghdad for Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. At that time, Bahá'u'lláh was already a figure enjoying enormous popular prestige and affection.
After four months in Istanbul, Bahá'u'lláh was sent prisoner to Adrianople (present-day Edirne), where he arrived on December 2, 1863. During the five years he remained in that city, the reputation of Bahá'u'lláh grew, arousing interest among some circles of scholars, diplomats and high officials of the administration.
Around September 1867 he began writing a series of letters addressed to the leaders of the time, including Emperor Napoleon III, Queen Victoria, Kaiser Wilhelm I, Tsar Alexander II of Russia, Emperor Franz Joseph I, Pope Pius IX, the Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz I and Shah Naseredin of Persia.
In them, Bahá'u'lláh openly proclaims that he is the messenger prophesied by the Báb and speaks of the advent of a new age. But first of all, he warns that the world's social order was about to undergo catastrophic upheavals without parallel. In order to alleviate them, he recommended that the rulers of the world act in accordance with justice. He appealed to these great rulers to reduce their arsenals and establish a certain association of nations. To achieve a lasting peace there was only one remedy: to act jointly against the war.
At the continual instigation of the Persian embassy, the Turkish government decided to get rid of Bahá'u'lláh by sending him to the prison-fortress of Acre, which at that time was a remote corner to which soldiers were usually sent. murderers, highwaymen and political dissidents.
Bahá'u'lláh and his family arrived in Acre on August 31, 1868 in what would be the final stretch of his long exile. The subsequent 24 years were to pass between Acre and its surroundings. At first Bahá'u'lláh and his companions were confined to the prison compound. Later they were allowed to move to a house within the walled city where they lived in cramped conditions. Given their reputation as dangerous heretics, their presence was the subject of public animosity. Even his sons had to flee to avoid being stoned.
As time passed, the spirit of Bahá'u'lláh and his teachings managed to make a dent in the midst of so much hostility, to the point that some of the governors and clerics of the city became devoted admirers of his. As happened in Baghdad and Adrianople, the moral stature of Bahá'u'lláh was earning respect, affection and even a position of social pre-eminence.
Acre was also the place where Bahá'u'lláh composed his capital work, better known among Baha'is by its Persian name, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas ( The most sacred book). It briefly describes the essential laws and principles that his followers must follow; Likewise, the master lines of the Baha'i administration are traced in the work.
In the late 1870s, Bahá'u'lláh was freed to move to live outside the walled compound, where his followers could visit him in relative peace and safety. Bahá'u'lláh took up residence for him in an abandoned mansion, known as Bahjí, in whose retirement he was able to devote his days to writing.
Bahá'u'lláh died a natural death on May 29, 1892. His remains were interred in a garden room near the mansion. For Baha'is this is the holiest place on Earth.
Photograph of Bahá'u'lláh
Baha'is prefer not to view the photo of Bahá'u'lláh publicly, in fact, a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a believer says "There is no objection to believers looking at the photograph of Bahá'u'lláh, but they should do so with the utmost reverence, and should not allow it to be openly displayed to the public, even in their homes", so it is offensive and heartbreaking for believers to see any photo so that it is not as indicated in some of the writings. A letter in English about a photo of Bahá'u'lláh written by the Department of Public Information of the Universal House of Justice also mentions that it is disturbing for Bahá'is to see that a picture of Bahá'u& #39;lláh is treated disrespectfully.
A copy of one of the photos of Bahá'u'lláh in Adrianople can be seen at the Bahá'í World Center, where the Bahá'í religious authorities believe that the image can be treated and viewed with due reverence and I respect.
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