Bahai Religion
Bahai religion is among the most recent religions, tracing its origin back in 1844 in Persia, present-day Iran. The religion grew from the teachings of a young Iranian, called Bab, who proclaimed that there would be a messenger from God who will be the latest in a line of prophets including Moses, Muhammad, and Jesus. His teachings were based on the progressive revelation, which basically means God does not unfold his plans in entirety but does so through time to time revelations sent to his chosen messengers. Bab taught that he was just a forerunner for the great messenger who will bring God’s message to people.
His teachings were considered blasphemy by the Muslim hierarchy. His ideas contradicted the central point of the Muslim faith that Muhammad was the final prophet of God. This earned him and his followers’ continuous persecution from the Muslims which led to his eventual persecution in 1850. The religion however had taken roots and was gradually gaining a following amid persecution. Two years after Bab’s death a noble Iranian man who had also taken interest in Bab’s teachings was captured and imprisoned. While in prison, he received revelations that he was the promised messenger from God that Bab had proclaimed. He took the name, Baha’u’llah which means “glory of God” and believed that he was the prophet promised to come after Muhammad. Upon his release, word spread fast about his teachings and the Muslim government exiled him to curtail the religion from gaining prominence in Iran.
Exiled to Istanbul, Baha’u’llah started building the foundation of Bhai religion by penning down his teachings. The central teachings of the religion argue that there is only one God in the universe irrespective of how other religions may choose to call their God. He also taught that there should exist harmony between religion and science and therefore encouraged the study of science. He taught the importance of oneness of the entire human race without any form of prejudice, whether racial, national, class, or religion. He insisted on the elimination of the extremes of both wealth and poverty. His followers were known to donate to the poor and never aspiring to grow wealth in extreme amounts. His teachings emphasized the need for equality between men and women and insisted on the essence of compulsory education to all irrespective of gender, class, religious affiliation, or nationality (MacEoin, 2013).
Baha’u’llah put a critical emphasis on how his followers will relate with various entities. For instance, on how an individual will relate with the society, he taught that as humanity emerges from childhood and approaches its collective maturity, the quest for a new understanding between individual, the community al large and institutions of society become even more prevalent. Baha’u’llah taught that humanity belongs to one family and all are citizens of the earth. Understanding this at all points of human interaction is very critical because it affects how people treat each other and how they interrelate. He also came up with a system of administration called the Bahai Administrative order which administers the affairs of the Bahai community through a system of institutions, each sphere having been assigned a certain sphere of action.
For 40 years that Baha’u’llah was in exile, he wrote volumes of books that form the foundation of Bahai faith. Upon his death, he named his eldest son, Abdul’ is’ l-Baha, as the head of the Bahai faith and authorized interpreter of his teachings. Once his father had passed on Abdul’ is’ l-Baha took the reign of leadership and traveled widely across the world teaching the public about Bahai faith and encouraging Bahai followers. In his lifetime, he toured Europe, Africa, in particular Egypt and North America. He became well known for his charitable work and simplistic lifestyle which led to his teachings being considered as part of sacred teachings of the Bahai faith. upon his passing on in 1921, Abdul’ is’ l-Baha designated his grandson Shogi Effendi as the guardian of the Bahai faith. Under shogi Effendi’s stewardship, Bahai religion spread exponentially world over establishing the local and international administrative institutions. Upon his passing on in 1957, the Bahai religion had established itself all over the world with at least 4 million followers. Shogi effendi’s death brought to an end the hereditary leadership of the Bhai faith. In 1963, the universal house of justice which was set up according to the teachings and instructions of Baha’u’llah was elected to guide the affairs of the worldwide Bahai religion. The body consists of nine members who are elected for a term of five years by the members of the Bahai administration bodies located around the world (Brookshaw, 2012).
Today, Bahai religion has a worldwide following of about 7 million people. the persecution of its followers is still prevalent especially in Iran where the Shi’ite Muslims refer to Bahai religion as a heresy to the Islamic religion. The religion’s teachings that more prophets will come and that women should play an active role in society have driven the hostility between Muslims who follow the teachings of the Quran that do not support any of this. They are always under constant accusations for instance of prostitution since their marriage is not recognized and of being spies since their conferences are held in cities such as Israel where the Bahai follower go for pilgrimage.
References
Brookshaw, D. P. (2012). Instructive encouragement: tablets of Baha] ullah and [Abdu] l-Baha to Baha] i women in Iran and India. The Baha’is of Iran (pp. 63-107). Routledge.
MacEoin, D. (2013). Making the invisible visible: introductory books on the Baha’i religion (the Baha’i Faith). Religion, 43(2), 160-177.