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The Kitáb-i-Aqdas is the central religious text of the Baháʼí Faith, written by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the religion, in 1873. Though it is the main source of Baháʼí laws and practices, much of the content deals with other matters, like foundational principles of the religion, the establishment of Baháʼí institutions, mysticism, ethics, social principles, and prophecies. In Baha'i literature it is described as "the Mother-Book" of the Baháʼí teachings, and the "Charter of the future world civilization".
The Persian Bayán is one of the principal scriptural writings of the Báb, the founder of Bábi religion, written in Persian. The Báb also wrote a shorter book in Arabic, known as the Arabic Bayán.
Sayyid Kāẓim bin Qāsim al-Ḥusaynī ar-Rashtī (1793–1843), mostly known as Siyyid Kázim Rashtí, was the son of Siyyid Qasim of Rasht, a town in northern Iran. He was appointed as the successor of Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i, and led the Shaykhí movement until his death.
Riḍván is a twelve-day festival in the Baháʼí Faith, commemorating Baháʼu'lláh's declaration that he was a Manifestation of God. In the Baháʼí calendar, it begins at sunset on the 13th of Jalál, which translates to the 20th or 21st of April, depending on the date of the March equinox. On the first, ninth and twelfth days of Ridván, work and school should be suspended.
The following is a basic timeline of the Bábí and Baháʼí religions emphasizing dates that are relatively well known. For a more comprehensive chronology of the timeline, see the references at the bottom.
The Conference of Badasht was an instrumental meeting of the leading Bábís in Iran during June–July 1848.
An Azali or Azali Bábí is a follower of the monotheistic religion of Subh-i-Azal and the Báb. Early followers of the Báb were known as Bábís; however, in the 1860s a split occurred after which the vast majority of Bábís followed Mirza Husayn ʻAli, known as Baháʼu'lláh, and became known as Baháʼís, while the minority who followed Subh-i-Azal, Baháʼu'lláh's half-brother, came to be called as Azalis.
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The teachings of the Baháʼí Faith regard Buddhism as a religion founded by a Manifestation of God, and Baháʼu'lláh as the expected Maitreya Buddha. The authenticity of the current canon of Buddhist scriptures is seen as uncertain. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of Baháʼís from Buddhist background.
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Ḥájí Mírzá Muḥammad Karím Khán-i-Kirmání (1810–1873), was a Shaykhi-Shia scholar. He was the third leader of Kermani Shaykhi community. After the death of his mentor, Sayyid Kazim Rashti, Kermani dedicated himself to the promotion of the teachings of Shaykh Ahmad and Sayyid Kazim. He is believed to be among the first Shaykhi scholars to have rejected the messianic claims of the Báb. He wrote a dozen of anti-Babi books, one such being Risāla izhāq al-bāṭil fī radd al-bābiyya.
Ibrahim George Kheiralla, born in the Sidon Eyalet of Beirut of the Ottoman Empire, was a co-founder of the first American Baháʼí Faith community, along with Anton Haddad. He was born to a Christian family in a village on Mount Lebanon in 1849 and later studied medicine at the Syrian Protestant College in Beirut.
Moojan Momen is a retired physician and historian specializing in Baháʼí studies who has published numerous books and articles about the Baháʼí Faith and Islam, especially Shia Islam, including for Encyclopædia Iranica the British Library, and is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
References
- ↑ Momen, Moojan (2009) [Originally published as The Phenomenon of Religion in 1999]. Understanding Religion: A Thematic Approach. Oxford, UK: Oneworld Publications. pp. 304–5. ISBN 978-1-85168-599-8. OL 25434252M.
- ↑ Kohn, Sherab Chodzin (2009). A Life of the Buddha . Shambhala Publications. ISBN 0834822512. pp. 5-6.
- ↑ Meier, John (1994). Mentor, Message, and Miracles (A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Vol. 2) . Vol. 2. Anchor Bible. ISBN 0-385-46992-6.
- ↑ Abel, A. "Baḥīrā". Encyclopaedia of Islam . Brill. Brill Online, 2007
- 1 2 Smith, Peter (2000). "Shaykhism". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 312. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
- ↑ Smith, Peter (2000). "The Bahai View of the Bab". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 58-59. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.