The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Baháʼí Faith.
Baháʼí Faith – relatively new religion teaching the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people, established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th-century Middle East and now estimated to have a worldwide following of 5–8 million adherents, known as Baháʼís.
Beliefs and practices
editBaháʼí teachings
edit- God in the Baháʼí Faith
- Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion – the Baháʼí belief that many of the world's different religions were revealed by God as part of one gradually unfolding plan
- Progressive revelation (Baháʼí) – the Baháʼí belief that God progressively reveals the truth through successive Manifestations of God
- Baháʼí Faith and Zoroastrianism
- Baháʼí Faith and Hinduism
- Baháʼí Faith and Buddhism
- Muhammad in the Baháʼí Faith
- Manifestation of God (Baháʼí Faith) – individuals whom Baháʼís believe were sent by God to establish religious teachings appropriate for their time and place, such as the Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad
- Baháʼí Faith on life after death
- Baháʼí cosmology
- Faith in the Baháʼí Faith
- Baháʼí views on sin
- Martyrdom in the Baháʼí Faith
- Aniconism in the Baháʼí Faith – the Baháʼí prohibition on images of God or those seen as Manifestations of God
- Covenant of Baháʼu'lláh
- Baháʼí views on science
Baháʼí social principles
edit- Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity – the Baháʼí teaching that humanity is fundamentally one and should achieve a state of unity in diversity
- Baháʼí Faith and gender equality
- Baháʼí Faith and education
- Baháʼí Faith and auxiliary language – the Baháʼí teaching that the world should adopt a worldwide auxiliary language in addition to people's various languages to facilitate the unity of humanity
- Socioeconomic development and the Baháʼí Faith
Baháʼí laws
editBaháʼí laws – practices that are religiously binding for Baháʼís
- Prayer in the Baháʼí Faith – Baháʼí teachings on prayer, including both daily obligatory prayer and devotional prayer (general prayer)
- Nineteen Day Feasta gathering of a local Baháʼí community that occurs on the first day of each month of the Baháʼí calendar
- Huqúqu'lláh – the Baháʼí obligation to give to the Baháʼí funds, which support the activities of Baháʼí communities
- Nineteen Day Fast – a period of fasting that Baháʼís observe from sunrise to sunset for 19 days once each year
- Baháʼí marriage
- Baháʼí views on homosexuality
- Baháʼí pilgrimage
History
editHistory of the Baháʼí Faith – events from 1863 to the present that had their background in two earlier movements in the nineteenth century, Shaykhism and Bábism
- Shaykhism – a Shi'a Islamic religious movement founded by Shaykh Ahmad (1753–1826)
- Bábism – a religion founded by the Báb in 1844 that Baháʼís see as a predecessor to the Baháʼí Faith; see Outline of Bábism
- Baháʼí–Azali split – the split of the followers of Bábism into Baháʼís, who accepted Baháʼu'lláh as a figure prophesied in the teachings of Bábism, and Azalis, who followed Subh-i-Azal
- Baháʼí prophecies
- Attempted schisms in the Baháʼí Faith
- ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's journeys to the West
- World Unity Conference
- Baháʼí World Congress
- Baháʼí teaching plans
- Baháʼí radio
- Persecution of Baháʼís
- Baháʼí Faith by country – estimated numbers of Baháʼís globally, by country, and by continent, with links to full articles on the Baháʼí Faith in individual countries and continents
Important figures
editCentral figures
edit- The Báb – the founder of the Bábism, seen by Baháʼís as the predecessor to their religion
- Baháʼu'lláh – the founder of the Baháʼí Faith
- ʻAbdu'l-Bahá – the appointed successor of Baháʼu'lláh
Other influential figures
editGroups
edit- Afnán – the maternal relatives of the Báb
- Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh – nineteen eminent early followers of Baháʼu'lláh
- Baháʼu'lláh's family
- Hands of the Cause – a select group of Baháʼís, appointed for life, whose main function was to propagate and protect the Baháʼí Faith
- Knights of Baháʼu'lláh – a title given by Shoghi Effendi to Baháʼís who brought the Baháʼí Faith to new countries and territories
Notable individuals
edit- Shoghi Effendi – the appointed head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957, entitled the Guardian
- Badíʻ – the 17-year-old who delivered Baháʼu'lláh's tablet to the Shah and was subsequently killed
- Nabíl-i-Aʻzam – the author of the account of early Bábí and Baháʼí history called The Dawn-breakers
- Mishkín-Qalam – a calligrapher who lived during the lifetime of Baháʼu'lláh, and designer of the Greatest Name
- Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl – a Baháʼí scholar who travelled broadly and authored several books about the Baháʼí Faith
- Martha Root – a prominent travelling teacher of the Baháʼí Faith in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
- Rúhíyyih Khánum – the wife of Shoghi Effendi, who was appointed a Hand of the Cause
Texts and scriptures
editBy the Báb
edit- Persian Bayán – one of the principal scriptural writings of the Báb, the founder of Bábism, which is also revered in the Baháʼí Faith
- Arabic Bayán – one of the principal scriptural writings of the Báb, the founder of Bábism, which is also revered in the Baháʼí Faith
- Selections from the Writings of the Báb – a book of excerpts from notable works of the Báb, compiled by the Universal House of Justice, the highest authority in the Baháʼí Faith
By Baháʼu'lláh
editList of writings of Baháʼu'lláh
- Epistle to the Son of the Wolf – the last major work of Baháʼu'lláh, written soon before his death in 1892
- Four Valleys – a mystical treatise written in Persian
- Gems of Divine Mysteries – a long epistle in Arabic
- Gleanings from the Writings of Baháʼu'lláh – a compilation of Baháʼu'lláh's writings selected by Shoghi Effendi
- Kitáb-i-Aqdas – a central book of the Baháʼí Faith which lays out the Baháʼí laws
- Kitáb-i-Íqán – the primary theological work of the Baháʼí Faith
- Hidden Words – a collection of short poetic utterances, 71 in Arabic and 82 in Persian
- The Seven Valleys – a mystical treatise written in Persian
- Summons of the Lord of Hosts – a collection of Baháʼu'lláh's writings that were written to the kings and rulers of the world
- Tabernacle of Unity – a collection of several of Baháʼu'lláh's writings first published in July 2006
- Tablets of Baháʼu'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas – a collection of Baháʼu'lláh's writings from later in his life that have been published together since 1978
By ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
edit- Paris Talks – a book transcribed from talks given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá while in Paris
- The Secret of Divine Civilization – a book written in 1875 by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, addressed to the rulers and the people of Persia
- Some Answered Questions – contains questions posed by Laura Clifford Barney (between 1904 and 1906) and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's answers
- Tablets of the Divine Plan – 14 letters (tablets) written between September 1916 and March 1917 by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to Baháʼís in the United States and Canada
- Tablet to Dr. Forel – a letter of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, written in reply to questions asked by Auguste-Henri Forel, a Swiss myrmecologist, neuroanatomist and psychiatrist
- Tablet to The Hague – a letter which ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote to the Central Organisation for Durable Peace in The Hague, The Netherlands on 17 December 1919
- Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá – A seminal document, written in three stages by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
By Shoghi Effendi
edit- The Advent of Divine Justice – a letter to the Baháʼís of the United States and Canada, dated December 25, 1938
- God Passes By – an account of the first century of Baháʼí history (beginning with the declaration of the Báb in 1844)
- Promised Day is Come – a book-length letter written for Baháʼís in the Western world, dated 1941
By the Universal House of Justice
editOrganizations
editBaháʼí administration
edit- International Baháʼí Council – the precursor to the Universal House of Justice that existed from 1951–1963
- Universal House of Justice – the supreme governing institution of the Baháʼí Faith, first elected in 1963
- Spiritual Assemblies – a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼí Faith
- Institution of the Counsellors
- Baháʼí International Community
Other Baháʼí organizations
editPlaces
edit- Síyáh-Chál
- Garden of Ridván, Baghdad
- Báb's house
- Baháʼí World Centre
- Baháʼí World Centre buildings
- Shrine of the Báb
- Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh
- Qiblih – the point towards which Baháʼís face during their daily obligatory prayers
- Shrine of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
- Terraces (Baháʼí)
- Baháʼí World Centre buildings
- Baháʼí House of Worship – a place of worship of the Baháʼí Faith, also known as a Baháʼí temple
- Haziratu'l-Quds – a Baháʼí administrative centre often used for Baháʼí gatherings, also known as a Baháʼí centre