Editing Baháʼí Faith (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of the Baháʼí Faith}}
[[File:Shrine Bab North West.jpg|left|alt=A domed building|thumb|upright|[[Shrine of the Báb]] in [[Haifa]], Israel]]
<!-- BEGIN TIMELINE -->
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|+ [[Baháʼí timeline]]
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|valign="top" align="right">|1817
|Baháʼu'lláh was born in Tehran, Iran
----
|-
|valign="top" align="right">|1819
|The Báb was born in Shiraz, Iran
----
|-
|valign="top" align="right">|1844
|The Báb declares his mission in Shiraz, Iran
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|-
|valign="top" align="right">|1850
|The Báb is publicly executed in Tabriz, Iran
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|-
|valign="top" align="right">|1852
|Thousands of Bábís are executed
|-
|align="right">|
|Baháʼu'lláh is imprisoned and forced into exile
----
|-
|valign="top" align="right">|1863
|Baháʼu'lláh first announces his claim to divine revelation in Baghdad, Iraq.
|-
|align="right">|
|He is forced to leave Baghdad for Istanbul, then Adrianople
----
|-
|valign="top" align="right">|1868
|Baháʼu'lláh is forced into harsher confinement in ʻ[[Akká]],
----
|-
|valign="top" align="right">|1892
|Baháʼu'lláh dies near ʻAkká
|-
|align="right">|
|His Will appointed ʻAbdu'l-Bahá as successor
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|-
|valign="top" align="right">|1908
|ʻAbdu'l-Bahá is released from prison
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|-
|valign="top" align="right">|1921
|ʻAbdu'l-Bahá dies in Haifa
|-
|align="right">|
|His Will appointed Shoghi Effendi as Guardian
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|-
|valign="top" align="right">|1957
|Shoghi Effendi dies in England
----
|-
|valign="top" align="right">|1963
|The Universal House of Justice is first elected
|}
<!-- END TIMELINE -->
The Baháʼí Faith traces its beginnings to the religion of the [[Báb]] and the [[Shaykhism|Shaykhi]] movement that immediately preceded it. The Báb was a merchant who began preaching in 1844 that he was the bearer of a new revelation from God, but was rejected by the generality of [[Islamic clergy]] in Iran, ending in his public execution in 1850 for the crime of heresy.{{sfn|Hartz|2009|p=11}} The Báb taught that God would soon send a new messenger, and Baháʼís consider Baháʼu'lláh to be that person.{{sfn|A.V.|2017}} Although they are distinct movements, the Báb is so interwoven into Baháʼí theology and history that Baháʼís celebrate his birth, death, and declaration as [[Baháʼí Holy Days|holy days]], and consider him one of their three central figures (along with Baháʼu'lláh and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá). A historical account of the Bábí movement (''[[The Dawn-Breakers]]'') is considered one of three books that every Baháʼí should "master" and read "over and over again".<ref>From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer dated 9 June 1932{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}</ref>

The Baháʼí community was mostly confined to the [[Qajar dynasty|Iranian]] and [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] empires until after the death of Baháʼu'lláh in 1892; at that time, he had followers in 13 countries of Asia and Africa.{{sfn|Taherzadeh|1987|p=125}} Under the leadership of his son, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, the religion gained a footing in Europe and America, and was consolidated in Iran, where it still suffers intense persecution.{{sfn|Affolter|2005}} ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's death in 1921 marks the end of what Baháʼís call the "heroic age" of the religion.{{sfn|Smith|2008|p=56}}

=== Báb ===
{{Main|Báb}}
On the evening of 22 May 1844, Siyyid ʻAlí-Muhammad of Shiraz gained his first convert and took on the title of "the [[Báb]]" ({{lang|ar|الباب}} "Gate"), referring to his later claim to the status of [[Mahdi]] of [[Shia Islam|Shiʻa Islam]].{{sfn|Affolter|2005}} His followers were known as [[Bábism|Bábís]]. As the Báb's teachings spread, which the Islamic clergy saw as blasphemous, his followers came under increased persecution and torture.{{sfn|Daume|Watson|1992}} The conflicts escalated in several places to military sieges by the [[Naser al-Din Shah Qajar|Shah]]'s army. The Báb himself was imprisoned and eventually executed in 1850.{{sfn|MacEoin|2009|p=414}}

Baháʼís see the Báb as the forerunner of the Baháʼí Faith, because the Báb's writings introduced the concept of "[[He whom God shall make manifest]]", a messianic figure whose coming, according to Baháʼís, was announced in the scriptures of all of the world's great religions, and whom Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, claimed to be.{{sfn|Daume|Watson|1992}} The Báb's tomb, located on [[Mount Carmel]] in [[Haifa]], Israel, is an important place of [[Baháʼí pilgrimage|pilgrimage for Baháʼís]]. The remains of the Báb were brought secretly from Iran to the Holy Land and eventually interred in the tomb built for them in a spot specifically designated by Baháʼu'lláh.{{sfn|Hartz|2009|pp=75–76}} The writings of the Báb are considered inspired scripture by Baháʼís, though having been superseded by the laws and teachings of Baháʼu'lláh.{{sfn|Smith|2008|p=101}} The main written works translated into English of the Báb are compiled in ''[[Selections from the Writings of the Báb]]'' (1976) out of the estimated 135 works.{{sfn|Smith|2008|p=102}}{{sfn|Universal House of Justice|2002}}

=== Baháʼu'lláh ===
{{Main|Baháʼu'lláh}}
[[File:Bahá'u'lláh (Mírzá Ḥusayn-`Alí Núrí) in 1868.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Baháʼu'lláh]], the founder of the Baháʼí Faith]] <!-- Baháʼu'lláh is the founder of this religion, so this image is relevant. Do not remove it from this article. -->
Mírzá Husayn ʻAlí Núrí was one of the early followers of the Báb,{{sfn|MacEoin|2009|p=498}} and later took the title of Baháʼu'lláh.{{sfn|Warburg|2006|p=145}} In August 1852, a few Bábís made a failed attempt to assassinate the [[Shah]], [[Naser al-Din Shah Qajar]].<ref name="Religio 12-1">{{Cite journal |last=Momen |first=Moojan |author-link=Moojan Momen |title=Millennialism and Violence: The Attempted Assassination of Nasir al-Din Shah of Iran by the Babis in 1852 |journal=Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=57–82 |date=August 2008 |jstor=10.1525/nr.2008.12.1.57 |doi=10.1525/nr.2008.12.1.57|quote=The actual attempt on the shah’s life was made by three individuals who appear to have been very ill-prepared for their task, having only pistols loaded with grape-shot unlikely to kill anyone. }}<!-- access-date = Sep 6, 2022 --></ref>{{sfn|Warburg|2006|p=146}} The Shah responded by ordering the killing and in some cases torturing of about 50 Bábís in Tehran.{{sfn|Warburg|2006|p=146}} Further bloodshed spread throughout the country and hundreds were reported in period newspapers by October, and tens of thousands by the end of December.<ref>{{*}}{{Cite news| title=Persia – The Journal de Constantinople| newspaper=The Guardian| location=London, UK| page=2| date=3 Nov 1852| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10893156/hundreds_of_babis_executed_babibahai/| access-date=Sep 6, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}
<br/>{{*}}{{Cite news| title=Persia| newspaper=The Sun| location=Baltimore, MD| page=1| date=17 November 1852| url=http://www.newspapers.com/clip/871886/hundreds_of_babis_killed_following/| access-date=Sep 6, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}
<br/>{{*}}{{Cite news| title=Turkey| newspaper=London Standard|location=London, UK|page=3|date=20 December 1852| url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results?basicsearch=%22babs%20was%20awful%2C%20and%20that%2020%2C000%20or%2030%2C000%22&phrasesearch=%22babs%20was%20awful%2C%20and%20that%2020%2C000%20or%2030%2C000%22&sortorder=score&o=date&d=asc| access-date=Sep 6, 2022 |via=BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk}}{{subscription required}}</ref> Baháʼu'lláh was not involved in the assassination attempt but was imprisoned in Tehran until his release was arranged four months later by the [[Russia]]n ambassador, after which he joined other Bábís in exile in Baghdad.{{sfn|Warburg|2006|pp=146–147}}

Shortly thereafter he was expelled from Iran and traveled to [[Baghdad]], in the Ottoman Empire.{{sfn|Hutter|2005|pp=737–740}} In Baghdad, his leadership revived the persecuted followers of the Báb in Iran, so Iranian authorities requested his removal, which instigated a summons to Constantinople (now [[Istanbul]]) from the Ottoman Sultan. In 1863, at the time of his removal from Baghdad, Baháʼu'lláh first announced his claim of prophethood to his family and followers, which he said came to him years earlier while in a [[Síyáh-Chál|dungeon of Tehran]].{{sfn|Hutter|2005|pp=737–740}} From the time of the initial exile from Iran, tensions grew between him and [[Subh-i-Azal]], the appointed leader of the Bábís, who did not recognize Baháʼu'lláh's claim. Throughout the rest of his life Baháʼu'lláh gained the allegiance of almost all of the Bábís, who came to be known as Baháʼís, while a remnant of Bábís became known as [[Azalis]], and are regarded by Bahá'ís as equivalent to apostates.{{sfn|Hartz|2009|pp=48, 51}}

He spent less than four months in Constantinople. After receiving chastising letters from Baháʼu'lláh, Ottoman authorities turned against him and put him under house arrest in Adrianople (now [[Edirne]]), where he remained for four years, until a royal decree of 1868 banished all Bábís to either [[Cyprus]] or [[Acre, Palestine|ʻAkká]].

It was in or near the Ottoman penal colony of ʻAkká, in Palestine, that Baháʼu'lláh spent the remainder of his life. After initially strict and harsh confinement, he was allowed to live in a home near ʻAkká, while still officially a prisoner of that city.{{sfn|Iranica-Baha'-Allah|1988}} He died there in 1892. Baháʼís regard his resting place at [[Mansion of Bahjí|Bahjí]] as the [[Qiblih]] to which they turn in prayer each day.{{sfn|Smith|2008|pp=20–21, 28}}

He produced over 18,000 works in his lifetime, in both Arabic and Persian, of which only 8% have been translated into English.{{sfn|Stockman|2013|p=2}} During the period in Adrianople, he began declaring his mission as a Messenger of God in letters to the world's religious and secular rulers, including [[Pope Pius IX]], [[Napoleon III]], and [[Queen Victoria]].{{sfn|Berry|2004}}

=== ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ===
{{Main|ʻAbdu'l-Bahá}}
[[File:‘Abdu’l-Bahá portrait.jpg|thumb|250px|[[ʻAbdu'l-Bahá]], the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh]]

ʻAbbás Effendi was Baháʼu'lláh's eldest son, who chose for himself the title of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ("Servant of Bahá"). His father left a [[Tablets of Baháʼu'lláh#Kitáb-i-ʻAhd (Book of the Covenant)|will]] that appointed ʻAbdu'l-Bahá as the leader of the Baháʼí community.{{sfn|Hartz|2009|pp=73–76}} ʻAbdu'l-Bahá had shared his father's long exile and imprisonment, which continued until ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's own release as a result of the [[Young Turk Revolution]] in 1908. Following his release, he led a life of travelling, speaking, teaching, and maintaining correspondence with communities of believers and individuals, expounding the principles of the Baháʼí Faith.{{sfn|Hutter|2005|pp=737–740}} Bahá'ís consider ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to be a perfect exemplar of the Baháʼí teachings.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stockman |first=Robert H. |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780429027772 |title=The World of the Bahá'í Faith |date=2021-11-26 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-02777-2 |edition=1 |location=London |language=en |doi=10.4324/9780429027772}}</ref>

As of 2020, there are over 38,000 extant documents containing the words of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, which are of widely varying lengths.{{sfn|Yazdani|2022}} Only a fraction of these documents have been translated into English.{{update after|2022|7|27}}{{sfn|Universal House of Justice|2002}} Among the more well known are ''[[The Secret of Divine Civilization]]'', ''[[Some Answered Questions]]'', the ''[[Tablet to Dr. Forel|Tablet to Auguste-Henri Forel]]'', the ''[[Tablets of the Divine Plan]]'', and the ''[[Tablet to The Hague]]''.{{sfn|Yazdani|2022}} Additionally notes taken of a number of his talks were published in various volumes like ''[[Paris Talks]]'' during his [[ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's journeys to the West|journeys to the West]].

=== Shoghi Effendi ===
{{Main|Shoghi Effendi}}

Baháʼu'lláh's ''[[Kitáb-i-Aqdas]]'' and ''The [[Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá]]'' are foundational documents of the Baháʼí administrative order. Baháʼu'lláh established the elected [[Universal House of Justice]], and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá established the appointed hereditary Guardianship and clarified the relationship between the two institutions.{{sfn|Smith|2008|pp=55–57}} In his Will, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá appointed Shoghi Effendi, his eldest grandson, as the first Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith. Shoghi Effendi served for 36 years as the head of the religion until his death in 1957.{{sfn|Smith|2008|p=55}}

Throughout his lifetime, Shoghi Effendi translated [[Baháʼí texts]]; developed global plans for the expansion of the Baháʼí community; developed the [[Baháʼí World Centre]]; carried on a voluminous correspondence with communities and individuals around the world; and built the administrative structure of the religion, preparing the community for the election of the Universal House of Justice.{{sfn|Hutter|2005|pp=737–740}} 

In 1937, Shoghi Effendi launched a [[Baháʼí teaching plans#1st Seven Year Plan (1937–1944)|seven-year plan]] for the Baháʼís of North America, followed by another in 1946. In 1953, he launched the first international plan, the [[Ten Year Crusade|Ten Year World Crusade]]. This plan included extremely ambitious goals for the expansion of Baháʼí communities and institutions, the translation of Baháʼí texts into several new languages, and the sending of [[Baháʼí teaching plans#Pioneering|Baháʼí pioneers]] into previously unreached nations.{{sfn|Smith|2008|p=64}} He announced in letters during the Ten Year Crusade that it would be followed by other plans under the direction of the Universal House of Justice, which was elected in 1963 at the culmination of the Ten Year Crusade.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stockman |first=Robert H. |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780429027772 |title=The World of the Bahá'í Faith |date=2021-11-26 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-02777-2 |edition=1 |location=London |language=en |doi=10.4324/9780429027772}}</ref> 

Shoghi Effendi died unexpectedly after a brief illness on 4 November 1957 in London, England, under conditions that did not allow for a successor to be appointed.{{sfn|Smith|2008|pp=58–69}}{{sfn|Smith|2022a}} He is buried in [[New Southgate Cemetery]] in Barnet, London. 

=== Universal House of Justice ===
{{Main|Universal House of Justice}}
[[File:Seat of the House of Justice.jpg|thumb|The [[Universal House of Justice]] on [[Mount Carmel]], [[Haifa]], Israel]]
Since 1963, the Universal House of Justice has been the elected head of the Baháʼí Faith. The general functions of this body are defined through the writings of Baháʼu'lláh and clarified in the writings of Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. These functions include teaching and education, implementing Baháʼí laws, addressing social issues, and caring for the weak and the poor.{{sfn|Iranica-Bayt-al-'adl|1989}}

Starting with the Nine Year Plan that began in 1964, the Universal House of Justice has directed the work of the Baháʼí community through a series of [[Baháʼí teaching plans|multi-year international plans]].{{sfn|Smith|Momen|1989}}{{sfn|Hartz|2009|p=107}} Starting with the Nine-Year Plan that began in 1964, the Baháʼí leadership sought to continue the expansion of the religion but also to "consolidate" new members, meaning increase their knowledge of the [[Baháʼí teachings]].{{sfn|Fozdar|2015}} In this vein, in the 1970s, the [[Ruhi Institute]] was founded by [[Baháʼí Faith in Colombia|Baháʼís in Colombia]] to offer short courses on Baháʼí beliefs, ranging in length from a weekend to nine days.{{sfn|Fozdar|2015}} The associated Ruhi Foundation, whose purpose was to systematically "consolidate" new Baháʼís, was registered in 1992, and since the late 1990s the courses of the Ruhi Institute have been the dominant way of teaching the Baháʼí Faith around the world.{{sfn|Fozdar|2015}} By 2013 there were over 300 Baháʼí training institutes around the world and 100,000 people participating in courses.{{sfn|Stockman|2013|pp=193–194}} The courses of the Ruhi Institute train communities to self-organize classes for the spiritual education of children and youth, among other activities.{{sfn|Stockman|2013|pp=193–194}} Additional lines of action the Universal House of Justice has encouraged for the contemporary Baháʼí community include [[Socioeconomic development and the Baháʼí Faith|social action]] and participation in the prevalent discourses of society.{{sfn|Stockman|2013|p=203}}

Annually, on 21 April, the Universal House of Justice sends a '[[Ridván]]' message to the worldwide Baháʼí community,{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=297|ps=: "Ridván"}} that updates Baháʼís on current developments and provides further guidance for the year to come.{{efn|All Ridván messages can be found at [http://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages Bahai.org].}}

At local, regional, and national levels, Baháʼís elect members to nine-person [[Spiritual Assembly|Spiritual Assemblies]], which run the affairs of the religion. There are also [[Institution of the Counsellors|appointed individuals]] working at various levels, including locally and internationally, which perform the function of propagating the teachings and protecting the community. The latter do not serve as clergy, which the Baháʼí Faith does not have.{{sfn|Daume|Watson|1992}}{{sfn|Smith|2008|p=160}} The [[Universal House of Justice]] remains the supreme governing body of the Baháʼí Faith, and its 9 members are elected every five years by the members of all National Spiritual Assemblies.{{sfn|Warburg|2001|p=20}} Any male Baháʼí, 18 years or older, is eligible to be elected to the Universal House of Justice; all other positions are open to male and female Baháʼís.{{sfn|Smith|2008|p=205}}