"This is the
Day Spring of the revelation of God...This is the Dawning-Place of the cause of
God..." ~ Bahá'u'lláh (R-30) |
Ninteen years after the Báb's declaration, Mírzá
Husayn-'Alí, announced that He was the Divine Teacher for this Day promised by the
Báb. He was born to a noble family in Tehran, Persia in 1817 but gave up the life
of political nobility and became a Báb'i. Mírzá Husayn-'Alí's title was Bahá'u'lláh, meaning "the Glory of
God." Those who recognized His exalted station were filled with new spiritual
radiance. The followers of Bahá'u'lláh are called Bahá'ís (D-39).
As more people embraced the Bahá'í
Faith, many rulers of the Middle East again became alarmed, although Baha'u'llah said
"I have never aspired after worldly leadership. My sole purpose hath been to
hand down unto men that which I was bidden to deliver by God...." The Sháh
of Persia banished Baha'u'llah and His family from their native home and later convinced
the Sultán of the Ottoman empire to send them to the far reaches of Turkey. Yet,
throughout Their exile, the message of Bahá'u'lláh was embraced by many, and He continued to reveal the thousands of letters,
tablets, and books which make up the Bahá'í Sacred Writings (D-40).
In 1868, after spending five years
under government control in Turkey, the Holy Family and some Bahá'ís were forced
to sail to 'Akká, Israel, the prison colony of the Ottoman Empire (D-41).
'Akká
|
He lived 40 years
in exile from His home in Tehran to Baghdád, Constantinople, Adrianople, and the
prison city of 'Akká, at the hands of Ottoman leaders (T-22). |