A Lost History of the Baha’i Faith

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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

  1. 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

  1. 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

  1. 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

  1. 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
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A Lost History of the Baha'i Faith

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