‘Alí-Muḥammad Varqá

‘Alí-Muḥammad Varqá
Born	January 1, 1912 Tehran, Iran
Died	September 22, 2007 Haifa, Israel
Resting place	Bahá’í cemetery, Haifa
NSA member	Iran 195? - 1964
Hand of the Cause	Asia 1955 - 1979 Americas 1979 - 1983 Holy Land 1983 - 2007
Title(s)	Trustee of Huqúqu'lláh 1955 - 2007
Signature

Dr. ‘Alí-Muḥammad Varqá (January 1, 1912 - September 22, 2007) (Arabic: دكتور علي محمد ورقا) was a Persian Bahá’í who served as a National Spiritual Assembly member, the Trustee of Huqúqu'lláh, and a Hand of the Cause of God. At the time of his passing he was the last surviving Hand of the Cause.

Biography

Varqá was born in 1912 in Tehran, Iran, into a distinguished Iranian Bahá’í Family. His grandfather was an Apostle of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave him the name ‘Alí-Muḥammad after his grandfather. His father Valíyu'lláh Varqá, served as the Trustee of the Ḥuqúqu’lláh and as a Hand of the Cause.

In his childhood Varqá attended the Bahá’í run Tarbiyat school in Tehran, and then attended the Dar ul-Funun Institute for his High School education. After graduating he completed mandatory military service, achieving the rank of 3rd Lieutenant, and he was discharged in 1935. While serving in the military he married Rawhaniyyih Muhtadi and they had three daughters.

After completing his military service Varqá became a school teacher under Iran's Ministry of Education initially working in Tehran but later being transferred to the interior of Iran. In 1940 he was transferred back to Tehran allowing him to assist his father who had been appointed the Trustee of the Ḥuqúqu’lláh the previous year. He also served on the inaugural National Youth Committee of Iran when it was formed in 1941.

In 1946 Varqá was granted a scholarship by the Iranian government to study at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France. He completed a PhD in hydraulics and irrigation in 1950 then returned to Iran settling in Tabriz where he worked as an assistant professor. He later moved to Tehran where he secured a position with the Department of Geology at the University of Tehran and he was later appointed the Professor of Physical Geography and Geomorphology at the newly formed University of Teacher Education in Tehran. He then established a Department of Geology at the Teachers University and served as its head of department until retiring in 1977.

In addition to pursuing his professional career Varqá continued to assist his father in his responsibilities as the Trustee of Ḥuqúqu’lláh after returning to Iran. In 1955 his father passed and he was appointed as a Hand of the Cause and his fathers successor as the Trustee of Huqúqu'lláh by Shoghi Effendi. He was the only living Hand of the Cause appointed by Shoghi Effendi who never met him in person.

Varqá in his youth.

In April 1957 Varqá visited Argentina where he represented the Guardian at the Convention at which the Regional Spiritual Assembly of A.B.C.P.U. was established in Buenos Aires. During the Convention he lit a candle which was from the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh and anointed the attendees with attar of roses from flasks sent by the Guardian. During the Convention he visited the Tomb of May Maxwell with the attendees.

In November 1957 Varqá attended the Conclave of the Hands held in the Holy Land to discuss the future of the Bahá’í community following the passing of Shoghi Effendi the previous month and he signed the joint statement of the Hands on November 25. He was serving on the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran as of 1957 and he returned to Iran to serve on the Assembly and as a Hand of the Cause for Asia after the Conclave. In July 1958 he attended the Intercontinental Teaching Conference in Frankfurt, Germany, where he delivered a talk on the Bahá’í community of Austria, and as of August he was in the Holy Land to spend a few months serving as a Custodian due to many other Hands of the Cause being unable to serve for various reasons.

In 1962 Varqá went to France at the request of the Custodians where he consulted with the National Spiritual Assembly to help strengthen the community, and he also visited Belgium where he attended the countries first National Convention in Brussels, and Luxembourg where he attended the first National Convention in Luxembourg City. In 1963 he attended the First International Convention in the Holy Land and as he was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran he cast a vote in the establishment of the Universal House of Justice. After the establishment of the Universal House of Justice Varqá continued to serve as a Hand of the Cause for Asia living in Iran. In 1966 he served as a Hand of the Cause for the Holy Land for two months to allow Abu’l-Qásim Faizí to travel. In 1967 he spoke at the first Bahá’í Press Conference to be held in India. In 1969 he participated in the Summer School of France.

In 1970 Varqá participated in sessions at a Conference convened by the Continental Board of Counsellors for Western Asia which was held in Iran, and in 1971 he visited Africa to represent the Universal House of Justice at the establishment of the National Spiritual Assembly of Congo & Gabon. In October 1975 he spoke at the Persian National Teaching Conference in Tehran, and in December he helped inaugurate an Inter-Assembly Conference for Western Asia in Tehran which gathered members of ten National Spiritual Assemblies, and many Auxiliary Board members and assistants. In August 1976 he attended an International Teaching Conference held in Paris during which he spoke at the dedication of a new Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, and in September he visited the grave of Shoghi Effendi as part of a party accompanying His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II of Western Samoa, the first Bahá’í Head of State. In 1977 he represented the Universal House of Justice at the establishment of the National Spiritual Assembly of the French Antilles in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Varqá relaxing in the Garden of Ridvan in later years.

In late 1978 Varqá began a tour of Europe and he was in Luxembourg when the Iranian Revolution began in 1979 with the Bahá’í World Centre and the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran advising him not to return to Iran. He was able to settle in Canada being accepted as a refugee. During 1979 he attended the National Convention of Brazil.

In August 1980 Varqá attended an event called the Gathering established as an annual conference by William Sears for National Spiritual Assembly and Auxiliary Board members in Hope Township, Ontario, and in November he visited communities in Alberta and British Columbia. In 1981 he attended the first Bahá’í Convention for the Windward Islands. In September 1982 he attended a conference held in Montreal to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the passing of Bahíyyih Khánum.

In May 1983 the Universal House of Justice invited Varqá to serve as a Hand of the Cause in the Holy Land due to the passing of Paul Haney however he was not required to actually move his residence to the Holy Land. In August he attended the first International Youth Conference held in Canada, and in November he spoke at the Association for Bahá’í Studies Conference held in Ottawa. In August 1985 he attended the Association for Bahá’í Studies Conference in London, Ontario, Canada, and a Youth Conference in Peru.

In January 1987 Varqá participated in a Conference on Ḥuqúqu’lláh in the Holy Land which gathered five of his Deputy Trustees, representatives of the International Teaching Center, representatives of the World Center Finance Department, and the Universal House of Justice which resulted in the decision being made to prepare a codification of the law of Ḥuqúqu’lláh for international distribution. In 1989 he began developing the structure of Deputies and Representatives of Ḥuqúqu’lláh for the management of Ḥuqúqu’lláh at the request of the Universal House of Justice. In 1991 he directed the establishment of the Office of Ḥuqúqu’lláh in the Holy Land which was to assume responsibility of managing Ḥuqúqu’lláh when the law was made applicable to the whole Bahá’í community in 1992 and he also undertook efforts to establish regional and national Boards of Trustees of Ḥuqúqu’lláh.

In 1994 he visited Ljubljana, Slovenia, to represent the Universal House of Justice at the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Slovenia and Croatia. In 1995 he represented the Universal House of Justice at the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Sicily and that year he also moved his residence to the Holy Land.

In 2005 the Universal House of Justice established an International Board of Trustees of Ḥuqúqu’lláh to assist Varqá in overseeing the Regional and National Boards of Ḥuqúqu’lláh. He passed away in his residence in Haifa in 2007. He was the last living Hand of the Cause and was survived by three daughters and six siblings. His funeral took place on the morning of September 24, with burial in the Bahá’í cemetery in Haifa.

Talks

• 1973 - Speaking with Shu'á'u'lláh ‘Alá'í
• 1992 - Talk at 1992 World Congress
• 2001 - Talk at the Opening of the Terraces

References

Bahai.media has a related page: ‘Alí-Muhammad Varqá

• Baha'i world loses most distinguished member. Bahá’í World News Service, September 24, 2007.
• Taherzadeh, Adib (1987). The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, vol. 4. George Ronald. ISBN 0853982708.

• Harper, Barron (1997). Lights of Fortitude (Paperback ed.). Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853984131.