Year of Faith

I’m a little bit behind in posting this, so let’s get to it!

Origins

The Baha’i Faith was founded in Iran in the 19th century by Mirza Hoseyn ‘Ali Nuri, who became known as Baha’u'llah. In much the same way that Christianity was born out of Judaism, the Baha’i faith has its roots in Shi’ite Islam. In 1844, Mirza ‘Ali Mohammad of Shiraz proclaimed the appearance of a new messenger of God who would overturn old beliefs and customs to usher in a new era. He identified himself as the forerunner of this prophet and assumed the title of “the Bab”, meaning ‘gateway’.

The Bab’s teachings spread throughout modern-day Iran, provoking strong opposition from the Shi’ite Muslim clergy and the government. The Bab was arrested and, after several years in prison, was executed by firing squad in 1850. Large-scale persecutions of his adherents followed and the end cost was nearly 20,000 lives.

One of the Bab’s earliest and most ardent disciples was a man named Mirza Hoseyn ‘Ali Nuri. When he turned his back on his social standing and joined the Babis, he assumed the name of Baha’u'llah. He was arrested in 1852 and sent to jail in Tehran. During his imprisonment, he came to the realization that he was the prophet whose coming had been predicted by the Bab.

After being released in 1853, he was exiled to Baghdad, where his leadership revived the Babi community. In 1863, shortly before being forcibly moved by the Ottoman government to Constantinople, Baha’u'llah declared to his fellow Babis that he was the messenger of God that had been foretold by the Bab. An overwhelming majority of Babis acknowledged his claim and from then on became known as Baha’is.

Core Beliefs

Member of the Baha’i faith subscribe to three fundamental beliefs: The unity of God, the unity of religion, and the unity of mankind.

Baha’is believe in a single God, the creator of all things, including all creatures and forces in existence. The existence of God is thought to be eternal. Though directly inaccessible, God is nevertheless seen as aware of his creation, with a will and purpose. Baha’i faithful believe that God expresses this will in many ways, such as through a series of divine messengers called Manifestations of God.

Baha’i teachings state that God is too great for humans to fully comprehend. This resonates with the Christian belief that God has a plan for all of us and humans cannot understand it. In the Baha’i religion God is often referred to by titles such as the All-Powerful, or the All-Loving. There is also substantial emphasis on monotheism, which means a rejection of such concepts as the Trinity.

Baha’i faithful are accepting of the validity of most of the worlds’ religions. Their founders and central figures are seen as Manifestations of God. Certain general principles such as charity are seen to be universal and consistent across all religions. Baha’is do not expect a new Manifestation of God to appear any earlier than a thousand years after Baha’u'llah’s revelation in the 19th century.

Followers of the Baha’i faith believe that human beings have a soul, and that this provides the species with a unique capacity to recognize God. Every human is seen to have a duty to become aware of God through his messengers and to conform to their teachings. Bahá’ís believe that the soul becomes closer to God through recognition, obedience, service to humanity, regular prayer, and spiritual practice. When someone dies, their soul passes into the next world, where their spiritual development in the physical world becomes a basis for judgment and advancement. Heaven and Hell are taught to be spiritual states of nearness or distance from God.

Other Information

One of the most prominent holy symbols in the Baha’i faith is the nine-pointed star seen to the left here with calligraphy of the Greatest Name in the center. Much like the number five was important to Discordians, the number nine carries special meaning to Baha’is. Most Baha’i temples will have nine sides to reflect the importance of this.

Other minor beliefs include the desire to eliminate the extremes of wealth and poverty as well as obedience to one’s government and non-involvement in partisan politics. The political belief confused me until Sara pointed out that partisanship is a pretty big problem if you’re trying to unite mankind.

Science and religion are seen as complementary practices of explaining the world. Done properly, these two viewpoints should never be in conflict.

Finally, members of the Baha’i faith are seen as heretics by most Shi’ite Muslims. This dates back to when the members of the Baha’i faith split off from Islam.
How we will Practice

For the month of March we will be observing the following practices:

• We will recite one of three obligatory prayers each day, after washing the hands and face, while standing and facing east towards the Shrine of Baha’u'llah. The prayer should also be said in private, between the hours of noon and sunset.
• We will be observing the prohibition on gossip.
• We will be observing a nineteen-day sunrise-to-sunset fast for the holy month of Ala from March 2 through March 20. This is going to be the hard one.
• We will be celebrating Naw-rúz, the Baha’i New Year on March 21st.
• We will not drink alcohol or take drugs, unless by prescription.
• We will be observing a ban on gambling, although I think really I’m the only gambler.

The nineteen-day fast is already causing interesting changes in our daily behaviour. Over the course of the month I hope to post short articles on items from my research into the religion as well as my reactions to how things are going.