Martyrdom & the Baha'i Faith

     In the beginning days of every world religion, the new Faith has been received with eagerness and joy only by a relative few. Most respond with apathy, suspicion, even hatred. The new Faith suffers persecution at the hands of the old, and many believers in God’s infant Faith are called on to sacrifice their lives that God’s teaching for the new Day might be established in the world. The shining examples of these martyrs inspire their fellow believers and the world at large. Their acts of selflessness offer proof of the spiritual power of God’s new message for humanity.

     The Bahá'í Faith, in its brief history, has seen over 20,000 of its brightest lights extinguished by the intolerance of Fundamentalists. Most of these occurred in the early years of the Faith’s existence, and the site of the greatest persecution has been Iran, where the Faith was born. Such luminous and revered figures as Mulla Husayn, Quddus, Vahid, and Tahirih were among the early martyrs.

A Bahá'í Family martyred in Iran
 

     Martyrdom is not a station to be gained through philosophical understanding or physical courage. It is a condition of the spirit, a freedom and transcendence above the material, which the martyrs see as a divine gift. Old and young, male and female, erudite and illiterate—all are represented in the hall of the martyrs of Bahá.
 

The Story of Badí

      Bahá’u’lláh had written a Tablet for the Shah of Iran, which for years remained undelivered. Bahá'u'lláh said the one to carry the Tablet had not yet been created. Aqa Buzurg was a youth of 17, a “handful of dust” who came into the presence of Bahá'u'lláh and became a new creation. Bahá'u'lláh gave him the title Badí – wonderful. Badí traveled on foot all the way from Akka, Israel to Tehran to deliver the Tablet. On his arrival, he was brutally tortured and finally killed. Bahá'u'lláh greatly mourned his loss and named Badí the “Pride of the Martyrs.”

Badí, in chains (Notice the branding irons in the fire.)