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Covenant-breaker
Covenant-breaker is a term used in the Baháʼí Faith to refer to a person who has been excommunicated from the Baháʼí community for breaking the Covenant of Baháʼu'lláh, meaning actively promoting schism in the religion or otherwise opposing the legitimacy of the chain of succession of leadership. Excommunication among Baháʼís is rare and not used for transgressions of community standards, intellectual dissent, or conversion to other religions. Instead, it is the most severe punishment, reserved for suppressing organized dissent that threatens the unity of believers. Currently, the Universal House of Justice has the sole authority to declare a person a Covenant-breaker, and once identified, all Baháʼís are expected to shun them, even if they are family members. According to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, Covenant-breaking is a contagious disease. The Baháʼí writings forbid association with Covenant-breakers and Baháʼís are urged to avoid their literature, thus providing a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baháʼu'lláh's Family
Baháʼu'lláh was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born in 1817 to Khadíjih Khánum and Mírzá Buzurg of Nur (in the province of Mazandaran), a Persian people, Persian nobleman, and went on to be a leader in the Bábism, Bábí movement, and then established the Baháʼí Faith in 1863. Baháʼu'lláh's family consists of his three wives and the children of those wives. Titles of descendants One of Baháʼu'lláh's titles is Sadratu'l-Muntahá, which translates from Arabic as ''the tree beyond which there is no passing'' (a quote from Qurʼan 53:14). In this connection, Baháʼu'lláh Persian names, entitled his descendants with terms relating to the Sadratu'l-Muntahá. His male descendants were given the title of Aghsán, Ag͟hsán (Arabic language, Arabic for "Branches") which in singular form is "''G͟husn''". In particular, four of his sons were given specific "branch" titles: * ʻAbdu'l-Bahá: ''G͟huṣn-i-Aʻẓam'' ( "The Most Great Branch"). * Mírzá Muhamma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Covenant Of Baháʼu'lláh
In the Baháʼí Faith there are two covenants, deemed the 'greater' and 'lesser'. The greater covenant refers to an agreement of progressive revelation: that God will send messengers about every thousand years, and it is humanity's duty to recognize them and respond to their teachings. The lesser covenant is the agreement between the faith's founder, Baháʼu'lláh, and his followers, regarding the succession of leadership and the maintenance of unity. Succession in the Baháʼí covenant was explicit and in written form, providing a clear chain of authority that led Baháʼís to follow ʻAbdu'l-Bahá as the authorized interpreter of Baháʼí scripture after Baháʼu'lláh's death, and the one who would lead the community. Baháʼu'lláh outlined the Universal House of Justice, a nine-member institution that could legislate on religious matters, and hinted at an appointed role for his descendants, both of which were elaborated upon by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá when he appointed Shoghi E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Excommunication
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members of the congregation, and of receiving the sacraments. It is practiced by all of the ancient churches (such as the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodox churches and the Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox churches) as well as by other Christian denominations; however, it is also used more generally to refer to similar types of institutional religious exclusionary practices and shunning among other religious groups. The Amish have also been known to excommunicate members that were either seen or known for breaking rules, or questioning the church, a practice known as shunning. Jehovah's Witnesses use the term disfellowship to refer to their form of excommunication. The word ''excommunication'' means putting a specific indiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendi (; ;1896 or 1897 – 4 November 1957) was Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1922 until his death in 1957. As the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, he was charged with guiding the development of the Baháʼí Faith, including the creation of its global administrative structure and the prosecution of Baháʼí teaching plans, a series of teaching plans that oversaw the expansion of the religion to a number of new countries. As the authorized interpreter of the Baháʼí writings, Baháʼí Writings his translations of the primary written works of the Faith's central figures, provided unity of understanding about essential teachings of the Faith and safeguarded its followers from division. Upon his death in 1957, leadership passed to the Hands of the Cause, and in 1963 the Baháʼís of the world elected the Universal House of Justice, an institution which had been described and planned by Baháʼu’llah. Effendi, an Afnán, was born Shoghí Rabbání i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb (March 21, 1890 – April 20, 1958) was a Persian- American author and Baháʼí who served as 'Abdu'l-Bahá's secretary and interpreter from 1912 to 1919. He co-founded the New History Society and the Caravan of East and West in New York and was excommunicated from the Baháʼí Faith in 1939 by Shoghi Effendi. Biography Early life Born a Baháʼí in Sedeh, Isfahan Province, Persia (now Iran), Sohrab's father 'Abdu'l-Baghi was a descendant of Muhammad. 'Abdu'l-Baghi was the chief dyer of the town. Both sides of Sohrab's family, his mother and his father, claimed descent from Imam Husayn, grandson of Muhammad. His mother died when Sohrab was a few months old, while she herself was still a teenager, and he was taken to live with his maternal grandmother in Isfahan. New History Society By 1911, he had founded an organization called the Persian-American Educational Society. Later that year he sailed to Europe "in the interests of his work". Sohrab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Mason Remey
Charles Mason Remey (15 May 1874 – 4 February 1974) was a prominent member of the early American Baháʼí community, and served in several important administrative capacities. He is well-known for an attempted schism of 1960, in which he claimed leadership and was rejected by the overwhelming majority of Baháʼís, who regard him as a Covenant-breaker. Remey came from a distinguished naval family of Washington, D.C., and was among the first Baháʼís of the United States. He was a contemporary of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, one of the faith's three central figures, and traveled around the world as a teacher of the faith. As an architect, he designed the Houses of Worship in Kampala and Sydney, both dedicated in 1961, as well as the International Archives building in Haifa. In 1951 he was appointed by Shoghi Effendi as the president of the International Baháʼí Council, and later as a Hand of the Cause. When Shoghi Effendi died in 1957, Remey and the other Hands signed a declaration ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abd Al-Hosayn Ayati
Abd al Ḥosayn Ayati (1871—1953), known to Baháʼís as Avarih, was an Iranian convert to the Baháʼí Faith, who later converted back to Islam and wrote several polemic works against his former religion. He is regarded in Baháʼí circles as an apostate. In his later years he served as a secondary school teacher while writing poetry and history, and was regarded as a competent orator. During his 18 years as a Baháʼí, Ayati was a missionary to Turkestan, the Caucasus, the Ottoman Empire, and Egypt. During this time he associated with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and wrote a two-volume history of the Baháʼí Faith, ''al-Kawākeb al-dorrīya'' (1914), which was translated to Arabic in 1924. His main polemic writing refuting the Baháʼí Faith was the three-volume ''Kašf al-ḥīal'' (1928-31). He has a total of seventeen published titles on various subjects, such as the history of Yazd ''Ātaškada-ye yazdān'' (1928), and commentaries and translations of the Qur'an. Early life Aya ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruth White (Baháʼí Author)
Ruth (Berkeley) White was an early American Baháʼí who became known for challenging the ''Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá'', one of the founding documents behind the Baháʼí administration. She was designated a Covenant-breaker by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's successor, Shoghi Effendi. White met ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in 1912 in America, and again in 1920 when she went on pilgrimage to Haifa. When ʻAbdu'l-Bahá died in 1921, he left a will that designated Shoghi Effendi as the one that Baháʼís should turn to for guidance. It was this appointment that she opposed, and she went on to claim that the will was forged. Her claim was based in part on her belief that ʻAbdu'l-Bahá would never advocate for a hierarchy, much less the establishment of a "papacy". During her time of opposition, White wrote several letters to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States and Canada objecting to Shoghi Effendi and the idea of Spiritual Assemblies. She wrote a letter to the Un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the Middle East, where it has faced Persecution of Baháʼís, ongoing persecution since its inception. The religion has 5-8 million adherents (known as Baháʼís) spread throughout most of the world's countries and territories. The Baháʼí Faith has three central figures: the Báb (1819–1850), executed for heresy, who taught that a prophet similar to Jesus and Muhammad would soon appear; Baháʼu'lláh (1817–1892), who claimed to be said prophet in 1863 and who had to endure both exile and imprisonment; and his son, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (1844–1921), who made teaching trips to Europe and the United States after his release from confinement in 1908. After ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's death ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Munib Shahid
Munib Jalal Shahid (; 1908–1973) was Chairman of Hematology and Oncology at the Faculty of Medicine of the American University of Beirut. He built the hematology laboratory at the Faculty of Medicine, a development that increased research output significantly. The Dr. Munib Shahid Award is presented annually at the American University of Beirut to the fourth year medical student demonstrating the best performance in internal medicine and a mature character. Munib Shahid was born in 1908 in Acre, Palestine to a prominent Baháʼí lineage. He was the great-grandson of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder-prophet of the Baháʼí Faith. His parents were Jalal, an Afnán, and Rúḥá, a daughter of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. His paternal grandfather was Muhammad-Hasan, titled " King of the Martyrs". In 1944, he married Serene Husseini according to the Muslim rites. She was related to the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, an enemy of the Baháʼís. Shoghi Effendi, Munib's cousin and then head of the Bah� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bahíyyih Khánum
Bahíyyih Khánum (1846 – 15 July 1932) was the only daughter of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, and Ásíyih Khánum. She was born in 1846 with the given name Fatimih Sultan, and was entitled "Varaqiy-i-'Ulyá" or "Greatest Holy Leaf". Brought up through the trying times her family lived through, in adulthood she served the interests of the religion and was even occasionally trusted with running the affairs of the religion. Greatly favoured by Bahá'u'lláh, she is seen within the Baháʼí Faith as one of the greatest women to have lived. According to Baháʼís, every Progressive revelation (Baháʼí), dispensation has one particular holy woman or "immortal heroine". In the time of Jesus it was the Virgin Mary, the time of Muhammad it was his daughter Fatima Zahra and during the Báb's dispensation it was Táhirih. Baháʼís believe that Bahíyyih Khánum is the outstanding heroine of the Baháʼí dispensation. During the lifetime of her father Tehra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
