Bahá’u’lláh’s Life: The Most Holy Book
“My commandments are the lamps of My loving providence among My servants, and the keys of My mercy for My creatures.”
—Bahá’u’lláh
Dive deep into the ocean, and you’ll find thousands of fish gliding along the salty currents. The water carries oxygen for their gills to breathe and nutrients to help their food grow. Fish and all sea creatures rely on their habitat for everything they need to thrive.
Bahá’u’lláh said that the laws of God are like the ocean, and we are like fish. Every Messenger of God brings new laws to guide and encourage us in our spiritual and moral growth. The teachings of Jesus are in the Bible. The Qur’án, the holy book of Islam, reveals teachings by the Prophet Muhammad. Bahá’ís follow the teachings revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, including those in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Most Holy Book.
Bahá’u’lláh announced His station as a Messenger of God in 1863. Bahá’ís wrote to Him with questions about the laws of the Faith, but the time wasn’t right for Him to share them.
In 1868, Bahá’u’lláh was banished to the prison-city of ‘Akká, in what is now Israel. At first, He spent over two years confined to a prison cell. Then Bahá’u’lláh and His family were moved and placed under house arrest. They lived in several homes in ‘Akká before finally crowding into a small house. There, in 1873, five years after His arrival in ‘Akká, Bahá’u’lláh revealed His laws in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.
Bahá’u’lláh shares laws about prayer and the Bahá’í Fast, which starts at age 15. He gives us guidance about education, marriage, and family life. And He reveals laws that will keep the Bahá’í Faith united and establish a peaceful society. Shoghi Effendi, Bahá’u’lláh’s great-grandson, called the Kitáb-i-Aqdas “unique and incomparable among the world’s sacred Scriptures.”
Bahá’u’lláh encouraged Bahá’ís to practice the Bahá’í laws with caution and wisdom. He said that the Kitáb-i-Aqdas is not “a mere code of laws.” It is the Mother Book of the Faith. Its laws are “the breath of life unto all created things.” They are “the highest means for the maintenance of order in the world and the security of its peoples.”
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Images: © Bahá’í International Community
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