The Progressive Tradition of Baha’u’llah’s Forgotten Family
In the mid 1800s, a Persian nobleman in exile claimed to be a new messenger of God. He called himself Baha’u’llah (“The Glory of God”) and taught that all nations, races, and religions should come together to build a global civilization of peace and justice for all. Baha’u’llah’s progressive teachings have inspired millions of people around the world. But his own family was torn apart by schism and authoritarian interpretations of the religion. Most of his descendants are remembered today as heretics or have been forgotten by Baha’is. This book tells the story of the Baha’i faith through the eyes of some of the children and grandchildren of its founder, and others who knew Baha’u’llah personally. Despite their sincere belief, they were excommunicated and shunned by their own relatives and fellow believers after the prophet’s death. They called themselves Unitarian Baha’is and stood for a broad-minded faith based on reason and individual freedom of conscience. Shua Ullah Behai, the eldest grandson of Baha’u’llah, led a Unitarian Baha’i denomination in the United States and compiled an introduction to the Baha’i faith in the 1940s. This historically significant manuscript was preserved by the author’s niece and is published for the first time in this annotated volume.
Contents
ANoteon MiddleEasternandBaha’iTerminology xiii ForewordbyMalihaandNegarBahai xvii PrefacebyEric Stetson xxxiii
1.The OriginoftheBaha’iMovement—byKamarBahai 1
2.TheCulturaland ReligiousPrecursorsofBaha’ism 7 byShuaUllahBehai
3.ABriefBiographyofBaha’u’llah—byMohammedAli 27
Bahai
4.Baha’i Principles—byShuaUllahBehai 37
5.StoriesofBaha’iMartyrs—CompiledbyShuaUllah 57
Behai
6.SelectionsfromtheWritingsofBaha’u’llah 67
CompiledbyShuaUllahBehai
7.TributestoBaha’u’llahandHisMission—Compiled 97
By ShuaUllahBehai
8.TheTeachingsandWillofAbdu’l-Baha—byShua n9
UllahBehai
9.ATributetoAbdu’l-BahaandDoubtsAboutHisWill141byKamar Bahai
10.TheStationofGhusn-i-AkbarMohammedAliBahai 147 byShuaUllahBehai
- Message to the Believers in America—by Mohammed Ali and Badi Ullah Bahai 153 12.Message upon the Passing of ‘Abdu’l-Baha
By Mohammed Ali Bahai 161
- On the Baha’i Vision of World Civilization: A Message
to the Mankind—by Mohammed Ali Bahai 163
14.OnReligiousConflict,FreedomandUnity:AMessageto 175 PeopleofUnderstanding—byMohammedAliBahai
15.AnInterviewwithGhusn-i-Akbar—byShuaUllah 179
BehaiandMohammedAliBahai
16.Autobiography—byMohammedAliBahai 183
17.Will and Testament—byMohammedAliBahai 227
18.TheFuneralofMohammedAliBahai—byShuaUllah251Behai
19.ATributetoMohammedAliEffendiandObituary 255 byKamarBahai
20.A TributetoGhusn-i-At’harZiaUllahEffendi 261 byShuaUllahBehai
21 . Some NotableBaha’is—byShuaUllahBehai 265
22 . Khadimu’llah’sEpistle—byAqaJanKashani 297
- EventsAftertheDepartureofBaha’u’llah 309
By MohammedJawadGazvini
24.LettersAbouttheSonsofBaha’u’llah—byRosamond 329.
D.O.O.Templeton
25.Autobiography—byIbrahimG.Kheiralla 343
26.ArgumentsAgainst‘Abdu’l-Baha—byIbrahimG. 361
Kheiralla
- UnitarianBaha’iOrganizationsandTeachings 369 byIbrahimG.Kheiralla
28.BriefBaha’iHistoryandTestimony—byMajdeddin383binMoussa Irani
29.AgainstWar:AnOpenLettertoWorldLeaders 389
byMajdeddinbinMoussaIrani
30.Memoirs—byShuaUllahBehai 395
31.TheImportanceofUnity:MessagestotheBaha’is417 byBadiUllahBahai
32.The Baha’iFaithunderShoghiEffendi Rabbani423 byShuaUllahBehai
33.Statementson the DisputeBetweentheBaha’iFamily437byKamar Bahai
34.MousaBahaiandtheRotaryClubofHaifa 449
Compiledfrom RotaryPublications
35.MessagesinBehaiQuarterlyMagazine—byShua 455
UllahBehai
36.AddresstoanOccidentalGathering—byShuaUllah 473
Behai
37.AReminiscence:ThePurpose,Conditionand 483 PotentialoftheBaha’iFaith—byShuaUllahBehai
Epilogueby EricStetson 491
AppendixA:ListofWritingsofBaha’u’llah—byShua 543
UllahBehai
AppendixB:FamiliesofBaha’u’llahandtheBab 547
| Title: A Lost History of the Baha’i Faith |
| Year: 2014 |
| Author: Shua Ullah Behai |
| Published By: Eric Stetson |
| Download: |