Events

The Bahá'í Faith is a world religion whose

purpose is to unite all the races and

peoples in one universal Cause and

one common Faith.

Bahá'ís are followers of Bahá'u'lláh,

Who they believe is the

Promised One of all Ages.

"That which the Lord hath ordained as

the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument

for the healing of all the world is the union of all

its peoples in one universal Cause,

one common Faith."

ALL PEOPLES 

ONE COMMON FAITH

Bahá'u'lláh teaches us that God is
unknowable in His Essence.
This means that we should not make
images of God in our mind, thinking of
Him, for example, as a man.
In general, that which has been created
cannot understand its creator.
God is the Creator of all things and the
reason behind our creation is love.
Bahá'u'lláh teaches us that God loved
us, and we were created from this love.

GOD,

THE UNKNOWABLE

CREATOR

"O SON OF MAN!

I loved thy creation, hence I created thee.

Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may

name thy name and fill thy soul with

the spirit of life."

THE ETERNAL COVENANT

The way this love flows to us is

through His Eternal Covenant.

God never leaves us alone and

without Guidance; when

humanity moves away from God

and forgets His Teachings, a

Manifestation of God appears and

makes God's Will and Purpose

known to us.

MANIFESTATION OF GOD

The Manifestations of God reveal
the Word and Will of God and to listen
to Them is to respond to the Call of God.

The Manifestations of God are like
perfect Mirrors that reflect the Light of
God in all its Splendor. And all these
Mirrors reflect the same Light.

While God is beyond our reach,
these perfect Beings come to us from
time to time, live among us, give us
guidance, and fill us with the energy we
need to progress, materially and
spiritually.

Bahá'u'lláh says:

"This is the Day in which God's most

excellent favors have been poured out
upon men, the Day in which His most

mighty grace hath been infused into

all created things. It is incumbent upon all

the peoples of the world to reconcile their

differences, and, with perfect unity and

peace, abide beneath the shadow of the

Tree of His care and loving-kindness."

THE PLIGHT OF

HUMANITY

The Promise of this Day

Although we differ from one another

physically and emotionally, and have

different talents and capacities, we all

spring from the same root; we all belong

to the same human family.

When a feeling of hatred begins to

take shape in our hearts, we should

immediately replace it with

a feeling of love.

THE AIM OF

THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH IS

TO UNIFY HUMANITY

Although the oneness of humanity is an

undeniable truth, the peoples of the world are

so far from it that unifying them is no easy task.

When someone joins the Bahá'í Community they

participate with the rest of us in our efforts to

build and maintain unity.

So many passages in the Bahá'í Writings teach us

how to walk in the ways of unity and how to help

others take the same path.

THE ONENESS OF

HUMANITY

"Bahá'u'lláh has drawn the circle

of unity, He has made a design for

the uniting of all the peoples, and for

the gathering of them all under the

shelter of the tent of universal unity.

This is the work of the Divine

Bounty, and we must all strive with

heart and soul until we have the

reality of unity in our midst,

and as we work, so will strength

be given unto us."

A DIVINE DESIGN

FOR UNITY

BAHÁ'U'LLÁH,

MANIFESTATION OF GOD

Bahá'u'lláh was born in 1817 in Tehran, the capital of Iran.
From His early childhood, He showed signs of greatness.
He received some instruction at home, but He did not attend
school, for He was endowed with innate knowledge from God.

THE LIFE OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH

Bahá'u'lláh came from a noble family; when He was a young man

He was offered a high position in the court of the King, but refused it -

dedicating His time instead to helping the oppressed, the sick and

the poor and to championing the cause of justice.

BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 

HIS SUFFERING & INFLUENCE

Bahá'u'lláh's sufferings began the moment He arose to proclaim

the Cause of God He lived a life of exile, imprisonment

and persecution; He was put in chains in a dark and dismal

dungeon in Tehran.

He was exiled four
times from land to
land until finally
being sent to the
Prison City of Akká
in the Ottoman
Empire. Nothing
could be done to stop
Bahá'u'lláh's
growing influence.

HIS EXILE AND

IMPRISONMENT

"Remember My days during thy days, and My distress

and banishment in this remote prison. And be thou so

steadfast in My love that thy heart shall not waver, even if

the swords of the enemies rain blows upon thee and all the

heavens and the earth arise against thee."

THE MOST GREAT PRISON

"The Ancient Beauty hath consented to be bound with

chains that mankind may be released from its bondage, and

hath accepted to be made a prisoner within this most

mighty Stronghold that the whole world may attain unto

true liberty. He hath drained to its dregs the cup of sorrow,

that all the peoples of the earth may attain unto abiding joy,

and be filled with gladness. This is of the mercy of your

Lord, the Compassionate, the Most Merciful. We have

accepted to be abased, O believers in the Unity of God, that

ye may be exalted, and have suffered manifold afflictions,

that ye might prosper and flourish. He Who hath come to

build anew the whole world, behold, how they that have

joined partners with God have forced Him to dwell within

the most desolate of cities!"

THE LIGHT OF TRUTH

Every effort was made by two powerful courts,

those of the King of Iran and the Ottoman

Emperor, to oppose Bahá'u'lláh and His Teachings

but the light of Truth is not easily extinguished.

In spite of constant persecution, Bahá'u'lláh

continued to reveal the Word of God for

more than 40 years.

Several years before Bahá'u'lláh proclaimed His Mission,

God sent a special Messenger to announce His coming.

For six years He taught ceaselessly that the appearance

of the new Manifestation of God was near and prepared

the way for His coming.

He told the people that they were witnessing the dawn

of a new Age, the dawn of the Promised Day of God.

THE BÁB, THE GATE

Thousands upon thousands of people accepted

the Message of the Báb and began to follow His Teachings.

But the government of Iran and the powerful clergy

who ruled over the masses rose against Him.

HIS SUFFERING &

INFLUENCE

TWO PRAYERS OF THE BÁB:

His followers were persecuted and

large numbers were put to death.

The Báb Himself at the age of 31

was martyred by a regiment of

soldiers who, at the orders of the

government, suspended Him in

a public square and opened fire

on Him.

"Say: God sufficeth all things above

all things, and nothing in the heavens

or in the earth but God sufficeth.

Verily, He is in Himself the Knower,

the Sustainer, the Omnipotent."

"Is there any Remover

of difficulties save God?

Say: Praised be God! He is God!

All are His servants, and

all abide by His bidding!"

MARTYRDOM OF THE BÁB

`ABDU'L-BAHÁ,

CENTER OF THE COVENANT

The idea most central to our

lives as Bahá'ís is that we have

entered into a Covenant with

Bahá'u'lláh.
In all other religions, after the

passing of the Manifestation, His

followers had thousands of

disputes among themselves and,

as a result, split the religion into

many sects.
Bahá'u'lláh has protected His

Faith against such division by

endowing it with a unique

power, the power of the

Covenant.

He had been raised by

Bahá'u'lláh Himself, had

recognized His Station even

as a child, and had shared the

sufferings of His Father.

`Abdu'l-Bahá lived on this earth

for 77 years. He was born on

the same night the Báb declared

His Mission in 1844 and passed

away in November 1921.

Before His passing He stated in the clearest terms,
in His written Will, that after Him, all Bahá'ís should
turn to `Abdu'l-Bahá.

SOLE INTERPRETER &

PERFECT EXEMPLAR

After the passing of His Father,

the responsibility for the Bahá'í

community fell on His shoulders,

and He labored day and night to

spread the Faith throughout

the East and the West.

`Abdu'l-Bahá reminds us of our

Covenant with Bahá'u'lláh and we

will not allow the unity of

His followers to be broken.

United as a worldwide community

we will labor until the oneness of

humankind has been firmly

established.

A UNIFIED WORLD COMMUNITY

SHOGHI EFFENDI,

THE GUARDIAN

In His Will and Testament, `Abdu'l-Bahá
named His grandson the Guardian of the Faith
and after His passing, Shoghi Effendi became
the authorized interpreter of the Teachings.

For 36 years, he continued the work of
His Grandfather, clarifying the Words
of the Manifestation and firmly
establishing His Faith.

THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE

OF JUSTICE

The Bahá'ís of the world elected the

Universal House of Justice, as envisioned by Bahá'u'lláh

and clearly described by `Abdu'l-Bahá and the Guardian.

The Universal House of Justice is the supreme institution

of the Faith to which all the Bahá'ís of the world now turn.

"the lamps of My loving providence

among My servants, and the keys of

My mercy for My creatures."

"Observe My commandments, for the

love of My beauty."

THE MANIFESTATIONS

OF GOD BRING LAWS

TO HUMANITY

PRAYER

Spiritual Sustenance

"I bear witness, O my God,

that Thou hast created me to know

Thee and to worship Thee.

I testify, at this moment,

to my powerlessness and to

Thy might, to my poverty and to

Thy wealth. There is none other God

but Thee, the Help in Peril,

the Self-Subsisting."

"O COMPANION OF MY THRONE!

Hear no evil, and see no evil, abase not thyself, neither

sigh and weep. Speak no evil, that thou mayest not hear it

spoken unto thee, and magnify not the faults of others that

thine own faults may not appear great; and wish not the

abasement of anyone, that thine own abasement be not

exposed. Live then the days of thy life, that are less than a

fleeting moment, with thy mind stainless, thy heart

unsullied, thy thoughts pure, and thy nature sanctified, so

that, free and content, thou mayest put away this mortal

frame, and repair unto the mystic paradise and abide in the

eternal kingdom for evermore."

BACKBITING FORBIDDEN

"O SON OF SPIRIT!

I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to

poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase

thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee

being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone

beside Me? Out of the clay of love I molded thee, how

dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight

unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within

thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting."

PROHIBITION OF

ALCOHOL & DRUGS

"The first duty of the beloved of God and the

maid-servants of the Merciful is this: They must strive

by all possible means to educate both sexes, male and

female; girls like boys; there is no difference whatsoever

between them. The ignorance of both is blameworthy,

and negligence in both cases is reprovable. `Are they who

know and they who do not know equal?"

EDUCATION

OF ALL CHILDREN

INSTITUTION

COMMUNITY

INDIVIDUAL

BUILDING A WORLD

CIVILIZATION

First Participant 

Individual

It is the duty of an individual Bahá'í to remain firm in

the Covenant, to strive daily to bring his or her life in line with

Bahá'u'lláh's Teachings, and to serve humanity,

always conscious of the fact that life does not end with death

and that one's relation with God is eternal.

After death, our souls become free and continue to progress

towards God for all eternity.

Human beings were not created

to exist alone. We live in

communities and must work

together to build the new

civilization.

The community closest to us is

the local one which consists of the

Bahá'ís of our village or town.

It is in the local community where

we learn to cooperate with one

another, to grow together and

become united.

SECOND PARTICIPANT 

Community

Bahá'u'lláh has brought His own

Administrative Order, which means that

He has told us what institutions we must

create, how they should function, and how

humanity should be governed.

There are no priests or clergy in

the Bahá'í Faith, and it is the Local

Spiritual Assembly that guides the affairs

of the local community.

A Local Spiritual Assembly consists of

nine members elected in a prayerful

atmosphere by secret ballot by all the adult

believers in the community.

THIRD PARTICIPANT 

Institutions

"O God! Refresh and Gladden my spirit.

Purify my heart. Illumine my powers.

I lay all my affairs in Thy hand.

Thou art my Guide and my Refuge.

I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved;

I will be a happy and joyful being.

O God! I will no longer be full of anxiety,

nor will I let trouble harass me.

I will not dwell on the unpleasant things of life.

O God! Thou art more friend to me than I am to

myself. I dedicate myself to Thee O Lord."