Leaders of bahai faith

Answer 1

There is no 'leader'. There is a prophet who has passed away, whose name was Baha'u'llah which means the "Glory of God." After he passed away, he willed that His son, Abdu'l-Baha be the "Center of the Covenant." His name means 'Servant of Baha' and he lived his life to serve the faith. After he passed away, in his will he appointed his grandson as the Guardian of the faith. He established the Baha'i administration, which today deals with all the affairs of the Baha'is. At the very top of the administraton is the Universal house of Justice, which are a group of nine men who are elected. They assist Baha'is around the world. They are based in Haifa, Israel. On the national level, there are National Spiritual Assemblies, which are groups of 9 individuals who are also elected. They run the affairs of the Baha'is in each country. Regional Councils run the affairs of each state and finally there are the Local Spiritual Assemblies, which administer the affairs on a local base. They each constitute 9 members, male and female, except for the Universal House of Justice which is all male. Bahai's do not have sects, and we do not follow a single leader.

Answer 2

There are no 'leaders' in the Baha'i Faith. Each community annually elects a nine-member Local Spiritual Assembly, which has the responsibility to oversee the administrative and spiritual affairs of the community after monthly consultation with the community at large as to what those affairs might (e.g., distribution of treasury funds, outreach projects, etc.). At the national level, members vote annually for the nine-member National Spiritual Assembly. International affairs are administered by the elected nine-member Universal House of Justice located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel.

Answer 3

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There are councils of nine members who are elected and function on the local, national/regional and international levels of the Baha'i community. They are called Local Spiritual Assemblies, National Spiritual Assemblies, and the Universal House of Justice. These councils provide guidance and make decisions for the community. They do not have authority to interpret scriptures or lay down doctrines. The individual members of the councils have no special status.

There are also individuals (Counsellors, Auxiliary Board members etc,) who are appointed to five year terms with the responsibility to educate and encourage the Baha'i community, and these do act as individuals, but they do not have any power to make decisions for the community.

Neither the councils, their individual members, nor the individuals mentioned later, stand as intermediaries between the individual believers and God. They do not even stand in the role as prayer leaders of the community of believers. They are merely administrators or educators. Their role and responsibilities are defined in Baha'i scripture so none can infringe on any other. The Baha'i Faith is the first religion to have its administrative outlined and defined by the Prophet-Founder in the revealed scripture. Baha'is regard the Universal House of Justice as infallible because Baha'u'llah stated that it would be.

Answer 4

There are no clergy in the Baha'i Faith and no leaders of worship, as congregational prayer is forbidden. It is incumbent on every individual Baha'i to pray daily but it should be from the heart and not because someone else tells you what to pray. There are many, many prayers from which to choose in the Baha'i prayer books.

Answer 5

The Bahá'í Faith has elected institutions, of nine people in each case. At the highest (international) level is the Universal House of Justice. At the national levels they are usually called National Spiritual Assemblies, and at the local level, Local Spiritual Assemblies. Elections are every year (every 5 years at the international level).