Baha’is celebrate birth of Baha’u’llah |12 November 2009

Baha’u’llah – an Arabic title meaning “the glory of God" – was born on November 12, 1817, in Tehran. He was the son of a wealthy government minister, Mirza Buzurg-i-Nuri and his given birth name was Husayn-’Ali. Baha’u’llah led a princely life as a young man, receiving an education that focused largely on horsemanship, swordsmanship and calligraphy.

In the past, God’s messengers have, for the most part, presented their messages to humanity by speaking or preaching; these outpourings have been recorded by others, sometimes during the prophet’s life, sometimes later from the memory of his followers.

The founder of the Baha’i faith, however, himself took up pen and paper and wrote down for humanity the revelation he received, or dictated his message to believers who served as secretaries.

Baha’u’llah addressed not only those timeless theological and philosophical questions that have plagued humanity since antiquity – such as: Who is God? What is goodness? and Why are we here? – but also the questions that have preoccupied 20th century thinkers – what motivates human nature? Is real peace indeed possible? Does God still care for humanity?

From his words, the worldwide Baha’i community of Baha’u’llah draws its inspiration, discovers its moral bearing and derives creative energy.

As all past prophets, Baha’u’llah suffered harshly at the hands of the clergy opposing his message. In 1852 he was imprisoned in the most notorious dungeon in Tehran, known as the "Black Pit".

It was once used as an underground reservoir for a public bath, and its only outlet was a single passage down three steep flights of stone steps. Prisoners huddled in their own bodily wastes, languishing in the pit’s black gloom, subterranean cold and stench-ridden atmosphere.

In this grim setting, the rarest and most cherished of religious events was once again played out: mortal man, outwardly human in other respects, was summoned by God to bring to humanity a new religious revelation. As Baha’u’llah sat with his feet in stocks and a 100-pound iron chain around his neck, he received a vision of God's will for humanity.

The event is comparable to those great moments of the ancient past when God revealed Himself to His earlier messengers – when Moses stood before the Burning Bush; when the Buddha received enlightenment under the bodhi tree; when the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, descended upon Jesus; or when the archangel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad.

Baha’u’llah’s experience in the Black Pit set in motion a process of religious revelation which, over the next 40 years, led to the production of thousands of books, tablets and letters – today forming the core of the sacred scripture of the Baha’i faith.

In those writings, he outlined a framework for the reconstruction of human society at all levels: spiritual, moral, economic, political and philosophical. Baha’u’llahs teachings indeed encompass guidance for the complete solution to the present sufferings of humanity.

On his release from the Black Pit, Baha’u’llah was banished from his native land and began 40 years of exile and persecution.

He was sent first to neighbouring Baghdad, but after about a year he left for the mountainous wilderness of Kurdistan, where he lived entirely alone for two years. The time was spent reflecting on the implications of the task to which he had been called.

The period is reminiscent of the periods of seclusion undertaken by the founders of the world's other great faiths, calling to mind the wanderings of 40 days and nights spent by Christ in the desert, and Muhammad's retreat in the cave on Mount Hira.

In April 1863, Baha’u’llah was again banished from Baghdad but before leaving he officially revealed to those in his company that he was the Promised One foretold by the Bab, the forerunner of the Baha’i faith as likewise prophesised in all the world's religious scriptures.

He was then exiled to Constantinople and imprisoned along with his family and selected companions. In spite of the imprisonment and intense persecution, abuse and massacres, including the murder of 30,000 Babis, the Baha’i faith continued to swell into thousands.

This further infuriated the clergy, and Baha’u’llah was further banned to Adrianople and lastly the prison city of Acre in Israel. It was in Acre that Baha’u’llah’s most important work was written.

Known more commonly among Baha’is by its Persian name, the Kitab-i-Aqdas (the Most Holy Book), it outlines the essential laws and principles that are to be observed by his followers and lays the groundwork for the Baha’i administration.

In the late 1870s, Baha’u’llah was given the freedom to move outside the city's walls, and his followers were able to meet him in relative peace and freedom. He took up residence in an abandoned mansion and was able to further devote himself to writing. On May 29, 1892, Baha’u’llah passed away. His remains were laid to rest in a mansion in Bahji, which for Baha’is is the most holy place on earth.