Shining Lamp: Abu’l-Qásim Faizi (c. 1906–1980)
With much dread, Abu’l-Qásim Faizi walked to school every day. It was the early 1900s, and his one-room school in Qum, Iran, was an awful place. The harsh teachers whipped students on the soles of their feet as punishment.
Fortunately, Faizi—as he later became known—had a happy home. Around his teens, his life changed dramatically when his family moved to Tíhran, where he went to the Tarbíyat Bahá’í School. The kind teachers inspired him, and he became a Bahá’í.
After high school, Faizi attended the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He traveled to Haifa, Israel, several times to visit Shoghi Effendi, who led the Bahá’í Faith at the time. Shoghi Effendi welcomed Faizi like a brother. He urged Faizi to be different from others and not to become attached to material things. Faizi loved those visits and once wrote to a friend, “I cannot tear myself away from here.”
Selfless Sacrifice
Faizi earned his degree in education in 1933, and he hoped to teach at the Tarbíyat School. But due to religious prejudice, the Muslim government closed all of Iran’s Bahá’í schools. Faizi got a high-paying job with an oil company, but he longed be of greater service to humanity. He quit his job and moved to Najafábád, Iran, to teach about 400 Bahá’í children. He set up classes in homes and went from house to house, teaching students with encouragement and enthusiasm.
Faizi lived simply and spent his money on school supplies. He bought blank booklets, and in each one, he wrote a prayer in beautiful calligraphy. Bahá’ís were not allowed to publish Bahá’í books, so older students made handwritten copies. Faizi stayed in Najafábád for over four years, training kids and teachers. He said they were “years full of spiritual fulfillment, discipline, and benefit.” In 1939, he married his wife, Gloria, whom he had met in Beirut.
“Path of Servitude”
When Shoghi Effendi asked Bahá’ís to leave Iran to share the Bahá’í teachings, Faizi and Gloria moved to the small island nation of Bahrain. Faizi worked as a teacher. They were the only Bahá’ís there for years, until Faizi won people’s hearts with kindness, and a Bahá’í community grew. In 1957, Shoghi Effendi honored him as a Hand of the Cause of God.*
When Shoghi Effendi passed away soon afterward, Faizi moved to Haifa to help guide the global Bahá’í community. He served as a Persian and English translator and wrote books and articles about the Faith, as well as novels. Gloria and their two children joined him later.
The Universal House of Justice—the governing body of the international Bahá’í community—was elected in 1963. Faizi traveled to dozens of countries at its request, giving talks and advising the Bahá’ís. He said, “Servitude is the only path of success we can ever tread ...The path of servitude gives us a way to explore our own hearts and souls ...”
On November 19, 1980, Faizi passed away in Haifa. The Universal House of Justice praised his “SHINING EXAMPLE” and assured prayers for “HIS NOBLE RADIANT SOUL.”
*A Hand of the Cause of God served the Bahá’í community in significant ways, including encouraging others in teaching and protecting the Faith.
Shining Lamp55 Bahá’í Faith544 Bahá’ís in History209 Discover552 Shining Lamps123 Iran68 Education58 Teaching27 Prejudice144 Discrimination12 Writing52 Service305 Knowledge46