The Bahá’í Faith

1. The Bahá’í Faith “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.” Bahá’u’lláh

2. 1817 - Tihrán, Persia Bahá’u’lláh was born on 12 November 1817. This is His father, a minister of the Sháh of Persia.

3. 1844 - Shiráz, Persia The Báb declares that He is the Herald of the Promised One of all religions.

4. 1850 - Tabríz, Persia The Báb is martyred after years of imprisonment. This is His Shrine in Haifa, Israel.

5. Persecution From the beginning the Bahá’ís of Persia have been persecuted by the Muslims. This is the martyrdom of Táhirih in 1850.

6. 1863 - Baghdád, Iraq On 21 April 1863 Bahá’u’lláh declares in the Garden of Ridván that He is the Promised One of all religions.

7. 1863-1892: Banishment Bahá’u’lláhwas banished successively to Istanbul, Edirne and ‘Akká.

8. The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh Bahá’u’lláh revealed one hundred books, like the Hidden Words, the Book of Certitude, and the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.

9. 1892 - Bahjí, Israel Bahá’u’lláh passed away on 29 May 1892. This is His Shrine, near ‘Akká.

10. 1892-1921: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was the eldest son of Bahá’u’lláh, and was appointed by Him as His successor and Centre of the Covenant.

11. 1912-1913: Travels of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abdu’l-Bahá travelled to Europe and the United States to proclaim the message of Bahá’u’lláh.

12. 1921-1957: Shoghi Effendi When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed away in 1921, He appointed His grandson Shoghi Effendi as the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith.

13. 1963: Haifa, Israel On 21 April 1963 the first Universal House of Justice was elected.

14. The Bahá’í Worldcentre This is the Seat of the Universal House of Justice on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel.

15. AdministrativeOrder a p p o i n t e d e l e c t e d

16. Growth Nowadays the Bahá’í Faith is spread worldwide. There are now more than six million Bahá’ís in more than 200 countries.

17. Houses of Worship At the moment there is one House of Worship on each continent. This one stood in Ishqabád, Central Asia, until 1963.

18. Wilmette, Illinois

19. Sydney, Australia

20. Kampala, Uganda

21. Langenhain, Germany

22. Panama-city, Panama

23. Apia, Western Samoa

24. New Delhi, India

25. Bahá’í Principles • Unity of God • Unity of religions • Unity of humankind

26. Progressive Revelation The Messengers of all religions were sent by one and the same God. Their message is meant for a specific time and place.

27. Unity in Diversity ‘The well-being of mankind, its peace and security are unattainable, unless and until its unity is firmly established.’ Bahá’u’lláh

28. The elimination of all prejudices The Bahá’í Faith denounces all religious, racial, political and national prejudices.

29. Equality of man and woman ‘As long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibilities, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs.’ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

30. Universal education ‘Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures.’ Bahá’u’lláh

31. Social economic projects In many developing countries there are Bahá’í projects in the fields of literacy, agriculture, health, etc.

32. World auxiliary language A world language will be either made or chosen from the existing languages and will be taught at the schools of all countries.

33. Consultation ‘The shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions.’ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

34. Prayer and Meditation Every morning and evening Bahá’ís say prayers and read from the writings of Bahá’u’lláh.

35. Life after Death ‘Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of God.’ Bahá’u’lláh

36. World Peace ‘These fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and ‘the Most Great Peace’ shall come.’ Bahá’u’lláh

37. Who’s writing the future? ‘Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead.’ Bahá’u’lláh