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Baha'u'llah – Mirza Husayn Ali

By , About.com Guide

Born:
November 12, 1817 Tehran, Iran (also known at this time as the Persian Empire)
Died:
May 29, 1892 in Akka, Ottoman Empire (now in Israel)
Conflict with Mirza Yahya Subh-I-Azal:

Mirza Husayn Ali, who becomes known as Baha'u'llah ("Glory of God"), was an early follower of the Bab, joining his mission in 1844. He introduced his younger half-brother, Mirza Yahya Subh-I-Azal, to the movement, and Subh-I-Azal embraced the teachings around 1847.

It was was Subh-I-Azal, however, who was appointed by the Bab to be his successor in the Babi movement. The conflict over leadership eventually culminated in a failed assassination attempt by poisoning on at least one of the brothers, although sources differ as to who did the poisoning and who was poisoned.

Revelation and Exile:

In 1852, Baha'u'llah was one of several Babis arrested after an attempted assassination of the Shah. While in prison, he received a vision that eventually convinced him that he was a Manifestation of God. Because of high birth and political connections, Baba'u'llah was spared from execution. Instead, he was exiled to Baghdad in the Ottoman Empire.

It was not until 1863, however, that he shared his revelation with anyone. This sharing of his revelation is celebrated every year as Ridvan.

"Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest":
Baha'u'llah claimed to be "Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest," a Manifestation of God as predicted by the Bab. The Bab had stated that such a manifestation would not arrive for at least 1500 years, but Baha'u'llah convinced the Babis in fairly short order that it was he whom the Bab had foretold.
Major Initial Teachings:

Like the Bab, Baha'u'llah taught that his appearance marked a new dispensation from God, and that he was revealing new divine decrees meant to be put in place of old ones. Unlike the Bab, however, Baha'u'llah stressed religious tolerance and the commonalities between world religions.

Baha'u'llah also appealed to the world for peace. He wrote letters to both secular and religious leaders around the world praising their individual humanitarian efforts and encouraging them to abandon war.

Relocation to Akka:
Baha'u'llah's growing popularity and presence, coupled with the conflict with his half-brother, led to several forced moves in the 1860s. The final move was to Akka, in the area now known as Israel. It is here that the Baha'i Faith's central organization, the Universal House of Justice, now resides, and it is also location of the tombs for the Bab, Baha'u'llah, and Abdu'l-Baha.
Fate of the Babis:
Subh-I-Azal outlived his order brother, surviving until 1912. While most Babis accepted Baha'u'llah as the next Manifestation and became Baha'is, there are still thousands of Babis today, sometimes called Azalis, who continue to hold that Subh-I-Azal was the correct and legitimate successor of the Bab.
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