History of the House of Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad

7 July 2013

To the Bahá’ís of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

A century and a half ago, Bahá’u’lláh departed His House in Baghdad for the Najíbíyyih Garden, where He would, for the first time, openly disclose His prophetic mission. He left behind Him an edifice of surpassing sacredness that had sheltered Him for seven years. This sanctified residence, to which the Blessed Beauty would never return, was styled by Him the “Most Great House”; designated, along with the House of the Báb in Shiraz, as the place of Bahá’í pilgrimage; and addressed, by the Supreme Pen, in these stirring words:

“I testify that thou art the scene of His transcendent glory, His most holy habitation. Out of thee hath gone forth the Breath of the All-Glorious, a Breath that hath breathed over all created things, and filled with joy the breasts of the devout that dwell in the mansions of Paradise.”

Yet, in His own lifetime, the House in Baghdad was subjected to mistreatment, and ownership of the building was temporarily wrested from His followers. Bahá’u’lláh foretold, in poignant terms, the further degradation that would befall His House:

“This is not the first humiliation inflicted upon My House. In days gone by the hand of the oppressor hath heaped indignities upon it. Verily, it shall be so abased in the days to come as to cause tears to flow from every discerning eye. Thus have We unfolded to thee things hidden beyond the veil, inscrutable to all save God, the Almighty, the All-Praised.”

Events over the last one hundred and fifty years have borne out that to which Bahá’u’lláh had thus alluded. The House in Baghdad was acquired for His use about twenty-five years after its construction, which is thought to have occurred in 1830. By the early 1900s, it had fallen into total disrepair. When conditions were propitious, ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá arranged for it to be fully rebuilt, from the foundation upwards. As this work was nearing completion, efforts to seize the building by those opposing the Faith intensified, culminating in a wholly spurious claim to ownership that was unjustly endorsed by the courts. Again, the Most Great House was taken from the Bahá’ís.

Message to the 114 Youth Conferences throughout the world

1 July 2013

To the participants in the forthcoming 114 youth conferences throughout the world

Dearly loved Friends,

When the exalted figure of the Báb, aged just twenty-five, arose to deliver His revolutionizing message to the world, many among those who accepted and spread His teachings were young, even younger than the Báb Himself. Their heroism, immortalized in all its dazzling intensity in The Dawn-Breakers, will illumine the annals of human history for centuries to come. Thus began a pattern in which every generation of youth, drawing inspiration from the same divine impulse to cast the world anew, has seized the opportunity to contribute to the latest stage in the unfolding process that is to transform the life of humankind. It is a pattern that has suffered no interruption from the time of the Báb to this present hour.

The lifelong exertion and sacrifice of your spiritual forebears did much to establish the Faith in diverse lands and to hasten the appearance of a global community of purpose. Though the tasks that lie before you are not the same as theirs, the responsibilities with which you are entrusted are no less vital. After many a decade, the world-embracing labours of this far-flung community to obtain a more adequate understanding of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh and to apply the principles it enshrines have culminated in the emergence of a potent framework for action, refined through experience. You are fortunate to be familiar with its methods and approaches now so well established. Through perseverance in their implementation, many of you will already have seen for yourselves signs of the society-building power of the divine teachings. At the conference you attend, you are being invited to consider the contribution that can be made by any young person who wishes to answer Bahá’u’lláh’s summons and help to release that power. To assist you, a number of themes have been identified for you to explore, beginning with looking at your current time of life.

Across the world are to be gathered, in scores of youth conferences sharing the same aim, tens of thousands who have much in common. Although your realities are shaped by a broad diversity of circumstances, yet a desire to bring about constructive change and a capacity for meaningful service, both characteristic of your stage of life, are neither limited to any race or nationality, nor dependent upon material means. This bright period of youth you share is experienced by all—but it is brief, and buffeted by numerous social forces. How important it is, then, to strive to be among those who, in the words of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, “plucked the fruit of life”.

Regarding the Eleventh International Bahá’í Convention and the ongoing persecution of the Bahá’í community in Iran

10 May 2013

To the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in Iran

Dearly loved Friends,

The arrival in the Holy Land of over a thousand delegates representing Bahá’í national communities throughout the world to attend the Eleventh International Bahá’í Convention was characterized by such enthusiasm and majesty as to bring tears of joy. The gathering of these servants of Bahá’u’lláh—men and women from different ethnic and racial backgrounds—reflected the diversity of the human race itself, demonstrated a new phase in the penetration of the Faith in local communities and among multitudinous peoples of all continents, and told of the confirmations of the Concourse on high and the results of the untiring efforts of the followers of the Blessed Beauty to build the Kingdom of God on earth. The election of the members of the Universal House of Justice took place in an atmosphere of purity, spirituality, amity, and love, devoid of the corruption often associated with elections in this material world. In each of the sessions, in the course of the consultations about the worldwide accomplishments of the Bahá’í community, the discernible effects of the spiritual forces released by your sacrifices were evident. A beautiful bouquet of roses kept the memory of the beloved friends in the Cradle of the Faith ever fresh in everyone’s mind. On the second day of the Convention, having listened to expressions of your earnest love for the Blessed Beauty and your dedication to the progress of His Cause, a group of delegates from Africa sang an inspiring song as a tribute to you. As the delegates visited the Holy Shrines, they offered heartfelt prayers on your behalf, and throughout the Convention, their remembrance of you evoked in their hearts these sentiments expressed by the Master: “Gathered in fellowship are we, in the holy court are we, dwellers of Paradise are we; would that thou wert here, would that thou wert here!”