SILENCE STARTED CREEPING ON US

Bahai house of worship at Samoa a country in Oceania     On the 9th of July 1850 (Friday, 28th Sha'ban, 1266 A.H.), the Bab Himself, who was then in His thirty-first year, fell a victim to the fanatical fury (extreme wild and violent anger) of His persecutors. With a devoted young follower named Aqa Muhammad 'Ali, who had passionately begged to be allowed to share His martyrdom, He was led to the scaffold (a raised wooden platform used formerly for public execution of people) in the old barrack square (a drilled ground) of Tabriz (most populated city in northwest Iran). About 2 hours before noon the two were suspended by ropes under their armpits in such a way that the head of Muhammad 'Ali rested against the breast of his beloved Master. A regiment (permanent unit of an Army) of Armenian soldiers was drawn up and received the order to fire. Promptly (with no delay) the volleys (number of bullets) rang out, but when the smoke cleared, it was found that the Bab and His compa...

Bahai House of Worship at Colombia.          In consequence of these declarations of the Bab and the alarming rapidity with which people of all classes, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, were eagerly responding to His teaching, attempts at suppression became more and more ruthless and determined. Houses were pillaged (robbery with violence) and destroyed. Women were seized and carried off. In Tihran, Fars, Mazindaran, and other places great numbers of the believers were put to death. Many were beheaded (execute by cutting off ones head), hanged, blown from the mouths of cannon, burned or chopped to pieces. Despite all attempts at repression (suppression), however, the movement progressed. Nay (or rather), through this very oppression the assurance of the believers increased, for thereby many of the prophecies concerning the coming of the Mihdi were literally fulfilled. Thus in a tradition recorded by Jabir, which the Shi'ihs regard as authentic (genuine), we...

Bahai house of worship at Panama.          The hostility (opposition) aroused by the claim of Babhood was redoubled when the young reformer proceeded to declare that He was Himself Mihdi/Mahdi (in popular Muslim belief, a spiritual leader who will rule before the end of the world and restore religion and justice) whose coming Muhammad had foretold. The Shi'ihs identified this Mihdi with the 12th Imam ( The Imam of the Shi'ihs is the divinely ordained successor of the Prophet whom all the faithful must obey. Eleven persons successively held the office of Imam, the first being 'Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet. The majority of the Shi'ihs hold that the 12th Imam, called by them the Imam Mihdi, disappeared as a child into an underground passage in A.H. 329, and that in the fullness of time he will come forth, overthrow the infidels (unbelievers) and inaugurate an era of blessedness) who, according to their beliefs, had mysteriously disappeared from the...

Bahai house of worship at Santiago, Chile.     The first 18 disciples of the Bab (with Himself as 19th) became known as "LETTERS OF THE LIVING." These disciples He sent to different parts of Persia and Turkistan to spread the news of His advent. Meantime He Himself set out on a pilgrimage to Mecca, where He arrived in December 1844, and there openly declared His mission. On his return to Bushihr(City in Iran) great excitement was caused by the announcement of His Babhood. The first of His eloquence (powerful speech), the wonder of His rapid and inspired writings, His extraordinary wisdom and knowledge, His courage and zeal(energy) as a reformer, aroused the greatest enthusiasm among His followers, but excited a corresponding degree of alarm and enmity among the orthodox Muslims. The Shi'ih doctors vehemently (forcefully) denounced (criticized and attacked) Him, and persuaded the Governor of Fars(Governor of Fars Province in Iran), named Husayn Khan, a fanatica...

Bahai house of worship at Papua New Guinea

Bahai house of worship at Sydney, Australia

"Verily the oppressor hath slain the Beloved of the worlds that he might thereby quench the Light of God amidst His creatures and withhold mankind from the Stream of Celestial Life in the days of his Lord, the Gracious, the Bountiful. "- BAHA'U'LLAH, Tablet to Ra'is . BIRTHPLACE OF THE NEW REVELATION.      Shrine of Bab    Persia, the birthplace of the Baha'i Revelation, has occupied a unique place in the history of the world. In the days of her early greatness she was a veritable queen among nations, unrivalled in civilization, in power and in splendour. She gave to the world great kings and statesmen, prophets and poets, philosophers and artists. Zoroaster, Cyrus and Darius, Hafiz and Firdawsi, Sa'di and 'Umar Khayyam are but a few of her many famous sons. Her craftsmen were unsurpassed in skill; her carpets were matchless, her steel blades unequalled, her pottery world-famous. In all parts of the Near and Middle East she has left traces of her forme...

The First Bahai House of Worship Ashkabad Turkministan.     The endeavour in the following chapters will be to set forth, as far as possible, fairly and without prejudice, the salient features of the history and more especially of the teachings of the Baha'i Cause, so that readers may be enabled to form an intelligent judgement as to their importance, and perhaps be induced to search into the subject more deeply for themselves.     Search after truth, however, important though it be, is not the whole aim and end of life. The truth is no dead thing, to be placed in a museum when found - to be labelled, classified, catalogued, exhibited and left there, dry and sterile. It is something vital which must take root in men's hearts and bear fruit in their lives ere they reap the full reward of their search.     The real object, therefore, in spreading the knowledge of a prophetic revelation is that those who become convinced of its truth may proceed to practise it...

    Baha'i house of worship at Kampala, Uganda      There are, of course, difficulties in the way of the student who seeks to get at the truth about this Cause. Like all great moral and spiritual reformations, the Baha'i Faith has been grossly misrepresented. About the terrible persecutions and sufferings of Baha'u'llah and His followers, both friends and enemies are in entire agreement. About the value of the Movement, however, and the character of its Founders, the statements of the believers and the accounts of the deniers are utterly at variance. It is just as in the times of Christ. Concerning the crucifixion of Jesus and the persecution and martyrdom of His followers both Christian and Jewish historians are in agreement, but whereas the believers say that Christ fulfilled and developed the teachings of Moses and the Prophets, the deniers declare that He broke the laws and ordinances and was worthy of death.      In religion, as in science, t...

Bahai house of worship at Kenya     Baha'u'llah asked no one to accept His statements and His tokens blindly. On the contrary, He put in the very forefront of His teachings emphatic warnings against blind acceptance of authority, and urged all to open their eyes and ears, and use their own judgement, independently and fearlessly, in order to ascertain the truth. He enjoined the fullest investigation and never concealed Himself, offering, as the supreme proofs of His prophethood, His words and works and their effects in transforming the lives and characters of men. The tests He proposed are the same as those laid down by His great predecessors. Moses said:-      " When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him."- Deut. xviii, 22.     Christ put His test just as plainly, an...