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Baha'i Faith
The Baha'i Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahaullah in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Baha'i around the world in more than 200 countries and territories.
205 Questions
Were is bahai faith distributed now?
All over the world. I understand that India, Iran and the United States have significant number of believers, but there are Bahá'Ãs (that is, believers in the Bahá'à Faith) in all other countries as well.
No, Andy Grammer is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church).
Who are thr believers of bahai?
Believers in Baha'u'llah, members of the Baha'i Faith, can be found on every continent, in every country, and many islands and territories. It's global scope is second only to Christianity in the number of communities where Baha'is are located. Baha'is come from all religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, including indigenous peoples.
Why did the bab sacrifice himself?
The Báb was executed by a firing squad consisting of 750 guns. Did he sacrifice himself? Perhaps. He could have kept his mouth - and pen - shut, for a start. He must have known that bringing a new message to mankind (revealed from God, according to Bahá'à belief) would get him into trouble. But revealing, to mankind, the will of God, must have been more important to him than living to an old age.
How do the baha'i people fast for 19 days?
In the Baha'i Faith it is incumbent on all adults between 15 and 70 to fast during their last 19-day calendar month. Fasting consists of taking nothing by mouth between sunrise and sunset of each day. There are a number of reasons given in the Baha'i Book of Laws (Kitab'i-Aqdas) when a Baha'i should not fast. Among these are if one is ill, a physician advises against it, a woman is breast feeding an infant, etc. It is a very practical fast. Its primary purpose is the calling to mind of man's reliance upon God in all things and gratitude to God for all things.
How do Baha'is fast? By not eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset during the nineteen days of the month of Loftiness.
The purpose of fasting is for spiritual renewal and to practice detachment from the physical world. It is a symbolic act. The fast comes immediately before the new year which, for Baha'is, is the first day of spring.
What is the Baha'is most important day of the week?
There is no most important day of the week for a Baha'i, as each day of the week should have time set aside for giving praise to the Creator.
That's easy, relativity.
"The fundamental principle enunciated by Bahá'u'lláh, ... is that Religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is a continuous and progressive process, that all the great religions of the world are divine in origin, ... and that their missions represent successive stages in the spiritual evolution of human society.[Baha'u'llah's] purpose, far from belittling the station of the Prophets gone before Him or of whittling down their teachings, is to restate the basic truths which these teachings enshrine in a manner that would conform to the needs, and be in consonance with the capacity, and be applicable to the problems, the ills and perplexities, of the age in which we live. Sen McGlinn
What is the importance of the number 9 in Baha'i faith?
Well the number nine has a significant value in the Baha'i faith. There are nine major world religions, and Baha'u'llah was the 9th prophet. Also, there are 9 holy days in the Baha'i faith. All Baha'i temples have nine entrances symbolizing that all religions are one.
What is offensive to followers of Baha'i faith?
Showing a lack of respect - which is offensive to anyone.
Why did Baha'i religion start?
That's because Baha'u'llah got a message from God to humans, which he understood was urgent to proclaim to as many people as possible. (At least, that's more or less what Baha'is believe about this.) In fact, that's more or less the reason why many different religions start - the founder has a message for mankind, which he believes is from God.
Each Baha'i temple is unique in its own right, based upon the design of its architect. The only exception is that every temple must be nine-sided.
How did the Baha'is come to be so homophobic?
Members of the Baha'i Faith are not "so" homophobic, nor are they homophobes to begin with. Baha'i law is very specific that ALL persons, without caveat, are to be treated lovingly and equally as fellow children of God. Two other specific laws, however, are that all unmarried persons practice chastity and that sodomy is forbidden (regardless of sexuality). This has created suspected homophobia amongst some homosexuals but it is not a reality within the Baha'i community, which includes homosexuals among its adherents.
What are some historical events that occurred in the Bahai Faith?
23 May 1844 - Declaration of the Bab (the "Gate" in Arabic) in Shiraz, Persia.
9 July 1850 - Execution of the Bab in Tabriz, Iran. (He is now interred upon Mt Carmel, Haifa.)
1863 - Baha'u'llah's declaration that he was the Promised One foretold by the Bab and prophesied in the Scriptures.
29 May 1892 - Baha'u'llah ("Glory of God" in Arabic) passed away and was interred at Bahji, outside the prison city of Akka, Israel. In his will, Baha'u'llah appointed his eldest son, 'Abdu'l-Baha ("Servant of the Glory" in Arabic), as the head of the Faith and authorized interpreter of his teachings.
1893 - First public mention of the Baha'i Faith in North America was made at the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago.
9 July 1907 - The Chicago Baha'i Assembly incorporated, becoming the first Baha'i community in the world to acquire legal status.
1921 - 'Abdu'l-Baha passed away and is interred on Mt Carmel, Haifa. He left a will designating his eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, as His successor and conferred upon him the title of Guardian of the Baha'i Faith.
1953 - The first Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, IL was dedicated and opened to the public for devotions.
1957 - Shoghi Effendi passed away and, with his passing, the line of hereditary leaders of the Baha'i Faith came to an end.
1963 - Following Baha'u'llah's instructions, Baha'is elected the first nine members of the Universal House of Justice, the world governing body of the Baha'i Faith.
How should a bahai woman dress?
There is no special dress code. Bahá'Ãs are basically enjoined not to make a fool of themselves in this respect, but no details are given.
Is Bahai a universalizing or ethnic religion?
The Baha'i Faith is a universalizing religion. What began in Persia (Iran) less than two centuries ago is now second only to Christianity in the number of countries, islands, and territories where the Faith is found. It's scriptures have been translated into more than 700 languages.
The Bab, forerunner of the Baha'i Faith, writes that all religions were potentially universal at birth, but lack of communications and the failure of their believers have restricted their universal nature. He goes on to say that this will not be the case with His Faith that will become universal.
All religions have a universal and eternal spiritual foundation on which for practical reasons, social laws, traditions and dogmas are added. These social aspects are not universal and are subject to change, in the course of time and from one society to another, in the same way as a tree trunk and branches remain in place, whereas the leaves and twigs are renewed every year. Baha'is believe that in the course of history, other religions will arise every thousand years or so, and reformulate the spiritual teachings that are common amongst all religions and and provide new social laws for the needs of that future day and age.
Christianity was restricted to a few believers for 300 years before Constantine adopted it as a state religion. The fact that the Baha'i Faith has had a swift planetary success is linked with the fact that the Baha'i Faith is inclusive of the spiritual teachings of all religious systems, but abandons the outdated dogmas and traditions that are no longer applicable to modern life and which produce division and conflict instead of fostering love and unity, which to Baha'is is the true purpose of religion.
In this way, for the past 160 years, the Baha'is have brought together contending societies in the Middle East and around the world by promoting inter-religious harmony. They firmly believe that if religious strife is not urgently quenched, humanity will not survive.
There's a selection of the texts of Baha'i prayers at the link shown below.
You can see that the first category is called 'obligatory prayers.' These are prayers that go with a particular sequence of actions, such as bending down, turning your head to left and right, facing in the direction of the shrine of Baha'u'llah (near Akka, in Israel).
Then there are lots of prayers for particular occasions. Like the first group, these are 'revealed' prayers: the texts are part of the Baha'i scriptures, just as the Lord's prayer is part of the text of the Bible.
Finally, there's your own individual prayer, in your own words, or if you want to use some other text you can. This shades into musical devotions: for instance if you use a Gregorian chant for your prayer, is that singing or praying?
Is apl.de.ap from Black Eyed Peas a follower of the Baha'i faith?
Although he puts much stress on the education of children, which is in keeping with the tenets of the Baha'i Faith, there is no way to know for certain who is/isn't a member of the Baha'i Faith unless they publicly declare it. Sorry...
Why does Baha'i have a nine point star as its symbol?
Each point of the star represents a manifestation of God - they are... Krishna, Budha, Zoroaster, Abraham, Moses, Christ, Mohamed, The Bab & Baha-u-llah.
Do the baha'i have baby christenings?
No, in the Baha'i Faith it's believed that a child must choose his/her own path to God at the age of spiritual maturity, which is 15 or older. While a child might be raised in a Baha'i home, s/he is familiarized with many other religious belief systems and the Messengers of God who revealed them.
A religion, founded in 1863 by Bahá'u'lláh. The believers (known as Bahá'Ãs) believe that Bahá'u'lláh was a messenger of God, i.e., sent by God, and that the Bahá'à Faith simply is the continuation of many other religions (whose founders were also sent by God, according to the Bahá'à Faith).
For a more detailed summary, see the Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahá'Ã_Faith. Another source of information is www.bahai.org.
What is the difference between Mormons and the Baha'i religion?
They have numerous differences starting with their respective historical backgrounds (Christian North America vs Shiah Iran).
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aka Mormonism or LDS church, presents itself as a re-revelation of Christianity. The Baha'i Faith presents itself as a new and independent religion, not an offshoot of any existent religion, the unity of which was promised in all Scriptures.
- While Mormonism has 'democratized' the priesthood by ordaining most male believers. The effect is to give ordinary believers a greater voice and responsibility. The Baha'i Faith has abrogated need for clergy now that humanity has intellectually/spiritually evolved. Baha'i communities are administered by elected "Local Spiritual Assemblies," consisting of nine men and women, which in turn report to elected National Spiritual Assemblies. The Universal House of Justice on Mount Carmel in Haifa (also nine elected members) oversees the Faith globally.
- The Baha'i Faith teaches that throughout the history of man God has sent Messengers/Manifestations of God with teachings specific to that time, place and people (ie., Abraham, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Zoroaster, and Muhammad). Adam is viewed as the first Messenger known to man since the keeping of records. It is believed that, in accordance with the Bible's prophecy that once the Bible ("Book of God") was brought to all people, the Promised One of the Ages would appear. Baha'is believe that to have been in 1844. The LDS Church teaches that Jesus Christ is the literal Son of God the Father and the prophets of the Old and New Testaments were his mortal prophets. The LDS also teach that while the Bible contains many of the writings of prophets, not all the writings of all the prophets are contained in it and that, in fact, there were prophets teaching of Christ in the western hemisphere from shortly after the Tower of Babel until a few hundred years after Christ. The LDS also teach that prophets have been called again in the "latter-days".
- The Baha'i writings describe a single, personal, omniscient, omnipresent, imperishable, and almighty God who is the creator of all things in the universe. Their concept of God is an unknowable essence who created all and interacts with mankind through the Manifestations of God and lesser prophets (e.g., Isaiah, John the Baptist, et.al). God's glory is such that personal knowledge would be like a mortal trying to literally connect with the sun above. Man being created in the "image" of God refers to the soul, which is also an unknowable essence. The LDS teach that God is an omnipotent, omniscient, physical being and that humanity is literally created in his image - humans look like the Father but not perfect and glorified. The LDS also teach that the Father has a body of flesh and bone, the Son likewise, but the Holy Ghost is a personage of Spirit - thus rather than following the dominant Christian creeds of a three-in-one God, they see the Trinity as one in purpose but still three separate beings, with the Son and the Spirit subject to and subordinate to the Father. In contrast to the Bahai who view God as accessible through devout prayer, Mormons also see God as very accessible and continuing to provide direct revelation to prophets and to individuals who pray to him rather than inaccessible and only occasionally sending messengers.
- The canonical texts of the Baha'i Faith are the writings of the Báb (the Gate), Bahá'u'lláh (Glory of God), 'Abdu'l-Bahá (Servant of the Glory), Shoghi Effendi, the Universal House of Justice, and the authenticated talks of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Writings by Baha'u'llah are considered as the Word of God. The LDS accept the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly and also accept the Book of Mormon as the word of God.
They have some things in common. They have their roots in the 19th century. They were both persecuted (but the same is true of most early religions). Their followers have a strong family life and do not drink alcohol or use recreational drugs. Both communities have a strong organizational structure, based on scripture, to which almost all of the believers adhere (i.e., splinter groups are numerically much smaller than the mainstream group).
The Bahá'à fast is the last month before the Bahá'à New Year (Naw Ruz). In the Bahá'à calendar, months are only 19 days long, and Naw Ruz is currently celebrated on March 21, so the Bahá'à fast is from March 2 to March 20.
Is the bahai faith christian or Muslim?
It is neither Christian nor Muslim. It is a separate religion, with its own beliefs, its own customs, and its own Holy Writings.
