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.
The Kitáb-i-Íqán is a book written by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. It is the religion's primary theological work and one of many texts that Baháʼís hold sacred. It is considered the second most important book in the Baháʼí writings, with the most important being the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. One Baháʼí scholar states that it can be regarded as the "most influential Quran commentary in Persian outside the Muslim world," because of its international audience.
Subh-i-Azal was an Iranian religious leader of Bābism, appointed as head of the movement by the Bāb just before the latter's execution in 1850. He is known for his later conflict with his half-brother Baháʼu'lláh over leadership of the Bābī community, after which his followers became known as Azalis.
K͟hadíjih-Sulțán Bagum was the wife of the Báb. She is sometimes referred to as K͟hadíjih Bagum, K͟hadíjih Bigum or K͟hadíjih K͟hánum.
Baháʼu'lláh was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born in 1817 to Khadíjih Khánum and Mírzá Buzurg of Nur, a Persian nobleman, and went on to be a leader in the 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.
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.
Mírzá ʻAbbás-i-Núrí, more commonly known as Mírzá Buzurg, was the father of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. Mírzá Buzurg was a nobleman from the Persian province of Núr, and worked for a time in the service of Fatḥ-ʻAlí S͟háh.
Afnán is a term in literature of the Baháʼí Faith referring to maternal relatives of the Báb, and is used as a surname by their descendants.
The Tablets of Baháʼu'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas are selected tablets written by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, and published together as of 1978. The current edition bears the title Fountain of Wisdom: A Collection of Writings from Baháʼu'lláh.
The Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh were nineteen prominent followers of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. The apostles were designated as such by Shoghi Effendi, head of the religion in the earlier half of the 20th century, and the list was included in The Baháʼí World, Vol. III (pp. 80–81).
Mírzá Músá was the only full brother of Baháʼu'lláh, meaning that they shared the same mother and father. He was later named by Shoghi Effendi as one of the nineteen Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh.
Mírzá Muḥammad, or Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl-i-Gulpáygání (1844–1914), was the foremost Baháʼí scholar who helped spread the Baháʼí Faith in Egypt, Turkmenistan, and the United States. He is one of the few Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh who never actually met Baháʼu'lláh. His given name was Muhammad, and he chose the alias Abu'l-Faḍl for himself, but ʻAbdu'l-Bahá frequently addressed him as Abu'l-Fada'il.
Núrayn-i-Nayyirayn are two brothers who were followers of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, a global religion of Persian origin. They were beheaded in 1879 as a result of being Baháʼís. Numerous letters and tablets were written in their honour by Baháʼu'lláh, who gave them the titles which they are commonly known as: the King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs.
Mírzá Maḥmúd-i-Furúg͟hí, also known as Fádil-i-Furúg͟hí, was an eminent follower of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was the only Iranian Baháʼí teacher who was given the chance to meet face to face with a Qajar Shah. He was later identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh.
Ḥájí Mírzá Muḥammad-Taqí, known as Ibn-i-Abhar, was an eminent follower of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was appointed a Hand of the Cause and identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh.
Hájí Mírzá Ḥasan-i-Adíbu'l-ʻUlamá, known as Mírzá Ḥasan or Adíb, was an eminent follower of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was appointed a Hand of the Cause and identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh.
S͟hayk͟h Káẓim-i-Samandar, known as Samandar, was an eminent follower of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to a prominent Baháʼí family of Qazvin of Bábí and Shaykhi background. Favored by Baháʼu'lláh, he was identified as one of his nineteen Apostles.
Hasan M. Balyuzi was a prominent Iranian member of the Baháʼí Faith. He served in administrative institutions of the religion for decades, worked for the BBC, and was a prolific writer. He produced innumerable articles and a series of scholarly books on Muhammad and the central figures of the Bahá'í dispensation: the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. His consecration to serving the Faith, and his deep spirituality led to his being named a Hand of the Cause in 1957. He established a trust and a library for Bahá'í research and donated his works to it. The library contains more than 10 thousand items and continues to grow.
Munírih K͟hánum was the wife of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, a prominent figure in the Baháʼí Faith. She was entitled the Holy Mother. Her memoirs, first published in 1924, are regarded as one of the first published memoirs by a Persian woman in the 20th century.
Mírzá Muḥammad Muṣṭafá al-Baghdádí (1837/8—1910) was a prominent Iraqi adherent of the Baháʼí faith and one of 19 Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh. Mustafá was among the leading Baháʼís in Iraq until he moved to Beirut in the late 1870s, where he coordinated pilgrims going to see Baháʼu'lláh in ʻAkká, and later he was involved with the movement of the Báb's remains to ʻAkká.
