Bahá'u'lláh - Exile

  

		"This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past,  eternal in the future." - Bahá'u'lláh

  
Upon His release [from the "Black Pit"], Bahá'u'lláh was banished from His native land, the beginning of forty years of exile, imprisonment, and persecution. He was sent first to neighboring Baghdad. After about a year, He left for the mountainous wilderness of Kurdistan, where He lived entirely alone for two years. The time was spent reflecting on the implications of the task to which He had been called. The period is reminiscent of the periods of seclusion undertaken by the Founders of the world's other great Faiths, calling to mind the wanderings of Buddha, the forty days and nights spent by Christ in the desert, and Muhammad's retreat in the cave on Mt. Hira.

In 1856, at the urging of the exiled Bábís, Bahá'u'lláh returned to Baghdad. Under His renewed leadership, the stature of the Bábí community grew and Bahá'u'lláh's reputation as a spiritual leader spread throughout the city. Fearing that Bahá'u'lláh's acclaim would re-ignite popular enthusiasm for the movement in Persia, the Shah's government successfully pressed the Ottoman authorities to send him farther into exile.

In April 1863, before leaving Baghdad, Bahá'u'lláh and His companions camped in a garden on the banks of the Tigris River. From 21 April to 2 May, Bahá'u'lláh shared with those Bábís in His company that He was the Promised One foretold by the Báb--foretold, indeed, in all the world's scriptures.

The garden became known as the Garden of Ridvan, which indicates "paradise" in Arabic. The anniversary of the twelve days spent there are celebrated in the Bahá'í world as the most joyous of holidays, known as the Ridvan Festival.

On 3 May 1863, Bahá'u'lláh rode out of Baghdad, on His way to Constantinople, the imperial capital, accompanied by His family and selected companions. He had become an immensely popular and cherished figure. Eyewitnesses described the departure in moving terms, noting the tears of many scholars, government officials and onlookers and the honor paid to Him by the authorities.

When He first arrived in Acre, Bahá'u'lláh and His family were confined to this prison on the shore of the Mediterranean. For more information on these barracks, please click here.

Into this environment, Bahá'u'lláh and His family arrived on 31 August 1868, the final stage in His long exile. He was to spend the rest of His life, 24 more years, in Acre and its environs. At first confined to a prison in the barracks, Bahá'u'lláh and His companions were later moved to a cramped house within the city's walls. The exiles, widely depicted as dangerous heretics, faced animosity from the city's other residents. Even the children, when they ventured outside, were pursued and pelted with stones. As time passed, however, the spirit of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings penetrated the bigotry and indifference. Even several of the town's governors and clergy, after examining the teachings of the Faith, became devoted admirers. As in Baghdad and Adrianople, Bahá'u'lláh's moral stature gradually won the respect, admiration and, even, leadership of the community at large. It was in Acre that Bahá'u'lláh's most important work was written. Known more commonly among Bahá'ís by its Persian name, the Kitab-i-Aqdas (the Most Holy Book), it outlines the essential laws and principles that are to be observed by His followers, and lays the groundwork for Bahá'í administration.

In the late 1870s, Bahá'u'lláh was given the freedom to move outside the city's walls and His followers were able to meet with Him in relative peace and freedom. He took up residence in an abandoned mansion and was able to further devote Himself to writing. On 29 May 1892, Bahá'u'lláh passed away. His remains were laid to rest in a garden room adjoining the restored mansion, which is known as Bahji. For Bahá'ís, this spot is the most holy place on earth. Excerpted from The Bahá'ís, a publication of the Bahá'í International Community.