Bahaipedia:Reference desk/Archive 4

Scholarship

Hello, I have a 13 year old daughter that would like to send to this school. Tuition however is over my budget. Is there any scholarship programs that I can apply?

Regards, Shiva

Hello, you have left a comment on bahaipedia.org, a reference/wiki for topics related to the Baha'i Faith. You would need to contact the school directly. David (talk) 07:42, 30 July 2022 (PDT)

Hidden words

Allah u Abha my name is Zia and I wonder if the Hidden words of Bahaullah has been translated to Turkish and if so what is the name of it and where it can be found or down loaded? My email is [removed]@lyse.net Thank you very much

You should send a contact request through: https://bahaitr.org/trajedinin-ardindan-yeni-zelanda-bahaileri-birlik-ve-iyilesme-icin-calisiyor/ David (talk) 14:03, 26 September 2022 (PDT)

Hummingbird

In which of the Baha'i writings are hummingbird(s) used as a metaphor?

You can search the Baha'i writings here: https://www.bahai.org/library/ David (talk) 14:03, 26 September 2022 (PDT)

https://bahaipedia.org/%E2%80%98Abdu%E2%80%99l-Jal%C3%ADl_Bey_Sa%E2%80%98ad

‘Abdu’l-Jalíl Bey Sa‘d

Alláh-u-Abhá

Sa‘d appears to be the masculine form of Sa‘ád.

You will find his name given as above in many authoritative Bahá’í sources. The "feminine" form appears in, for example, The Bahá’í World, vol. 9, pp. 597-8.

Mike

Thanks for the note on this Mike. I don't have the background to know if Sa‘ád is incorrect. I can see Sa‘ád used most often, for example in Lights of Fortitude (under section III). It's also spelled that way in Hand of the Cause of God Furútan and Shoghi Effendi Through the Pilgrim’s Eye, and most issues of The Bahá’í World, except one place in vol 13[1]. I'll try and get the opinion of someone more knowledgeable too. David (talk) 01:37, 18 December 2022 (PST)

Source for a quotation by 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the universal language

Hello!

Could you find the source for this quotation, said to come from ‘Abdu'l-Bahá?

“In the coming ages, two languages will be taught in the schools, one the native tongue, the other an international auxiliary language."

Thank you

Janne

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Divine Philosophy, p. 145-146 according to here. You can also find it in Star of the West, top right side of this page. David (talk) 12:17, 19 January 2023 (PST)

volunteer job for non bahai to know bahai faith in 2023

Dear Bahai Center ： ｉwould like to know few information regards to volunteer job for non bahai this year，ｉam looking for a volunteer job which is in urgent need and looking for a 3-12months of volunteering period.

Hello, you will need to reach out to the center or places where you would like to volunteer directly, this is simply a reference website, we do not maintain any connections with the places that you are hoping to reach. Good luck, David (talk) 13:47, 26 April 2023 (PDT)

Women's Rights

Women are not allowed to serve as members of the assembly of the House of Justice. What are Billy Roberts' thoughts about this? I read that there was a reference in a book he had written but I can't locate it or determine a title.

Thank you.

Judith Richards

I'm sorry but that individual is not associated with Bahaipedia, so you will not be able to reach him here. Perhaps he talks about the subject in one of his videos here? I can recommend Falling Into Grace by Justice St Rain, he has a section about this topic in the appendix. Best, David (talk) 12:00, 6 May 2023 (PDT)

Death of Jack McCants

Yesterday, I heard from Cathy McCants that Jack McCants had passed away on Saturday, May 6, 2023. Just to let you know.

Words of the Bab

When the Bab speaks of “the heavens and the earth and all that is between them,” what is He referring to?

Good question, but I'm afraid it's probably a little beyond the scope of this project. Can you find a Baha'i forum to ask on? You can try facebook or reddit, both places have active discussion groups. There is a related discussion here for example. David (talk) 18:45, 16 May 2023 (PDT)

Hi

Dear Baha’i friends Allah Abha I’m a Baha’i living in US. I like to travel to Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries in next few months. Since I don’t know about these countries I was thinking to find a guide, someone who is Baha’i and has a car and is able to show my around. If you can helms to find someone, please help me thank you. [removed]@yahoo.com

Hi Baha'i friend, you are unlikely to find anyone reading this page who can help you. You should reach out to the National Spiritual Assemblies for the countries where you want to go directly, and also probably the US NSA could help too, see list page for a listing of national communities: https://www.bahai.org/national-communities David (talk) 11:45, 21 June 2023 (PDT)

Contacting Baha'is in Hamburg

Hello, How can I contact the Baha'i Community or Baha'is in Hamburg? Thank you.

Hello, I would start here: https://www.bahai.de/ David (talk) 09:21, 14 July 2023 (PDT)

Who is the Deputy Trustee or Representative of Ḥuqúqu’lláh for the U.S.

Who is the Deputy Trustee or Representative of Ḥuqúqu’lláh for the U.S.

Sorry to say that I've no idea! You should probably direct your query to the US National Spiritual Assembly; you could use their website contact form. Dragfyre (talk) 11:18, 25 January 2025 (+08)

Universal House of Justice

Why are men and not women allowed to be appointed to serve at the Universal House of Justice?

As originally conceived, the Universal House of Justice is part of only one half of the Baha'i administrative system, which other systems refer to as the rulers. The other part is that of the learned. These two are complementary, in the same way that men and women complement each other in society. As originally conceived, both men and women could be appointed to the "learned", and only men elected to the "rulers" (they are elected by both men and women). Since the beloved Guardian passed without leaving a successor, it appears that the top institution of the Faith is dominated by men, when in reality it is only one half of the equation. Ernobe (talk) 05:22, 11 August 2023 (PDT)

Ernobe's answer is entirely correct, although I realized it might not give a satisfying answer to the original question, which specifically addresses the question of women serving as part of the Universal House of Justice (which is elected, not appointed, as already mentioned). I'll try to address this here.

As noted in our article on Gender equality, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá specifically stated that the membership of the Universal House of Justice is confined to men; in various tablets he explains that the reason is "for a wisdom of the Lord God's which will erelong be made manifest as clearly as the sun at high noon". The Guardian states that this is an explanation that Bahá’ís must accept with faith in the Master and the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, while acknowledging that it will not be sufficient to allay the concerns of everyone (e.g. ardent feminists). The "explicit text of the Law of God" mentioned by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá appears to include paragraph 52 of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, (https://www.bahai.org/r/530558575) in which Bahá’u’lláh addresses the "Men of Justice"; this and other similar language are interpreted as limiting the membership of the Universal House of Justice to men. Notably, the same restrictions do not apply to other Bahá’í institutions; for example, local and national elected institutions are open to women. Women may also be appointed as Assistants, Auxiliary Board Members, Counsellors, and members of the International Teaching Centre; all of these function as institutions of the "learned", which Ernobe mentioned above.

As said, this explanation is unlikely to satisfy everyone, but it is the explanation that we have been given. Bahá’u’lláh's appointed interpreter has assured us that not only would its wisdom become clear, but that women would eventually be privileged over men in certain ways:

“ When the women attain to the ultimate degree of progress, then according to the exigency of the time and place and their great capacity, they shall obtain extraordinary privileges. ” — 'Abdu'l-Bahá: Paris Talks, 1961, U.K. edition, pp. 182-184, in Lights of Guidance, no. 2075

Most of what I've written above uses references that can be found on the Bahai9 article Women and the Universal House of Justice. Dragfyre (talk) 11:14, 25 January 2025 (+08)

nature

- Why do we have a responsibility to do something about the environmental and climate crisis according to religion?

The compilation at https://bahai-library.com/compilation_conservation_resources may be of interest. As per the document, "Nature is held in high regard. Bahá'u'lláh states that the contemplation of nature creates an awareness of the "signs"[1] and "tokens" [2] of God and constitutes proof of His existence." Mention is also made of the interaction between the material and spiritual and the happiness of humanity being dependent on the progress of the material world. Brettz9 (talk) 20:21, 24 January 2025 (PST)

- What are the causes of the current environmental and climate crisis according to religion?

This would be a great question to ask on r/bahai or on one of the Baha'i facebook groups. David (talk) 20:51, 22 September 2023 (PDT)

Mention is also made in the document that "man's negligence contributes to the decline of the "present-day Order" [20] and impacts on the environment in a practical way". Brettz9 (talk) 20:21, 24 January 2025 (PST)

use of images of the sacred shrines

Allah'u'Abha, I'm trying to find guidance from the institutions of the Faith on respectful use of images of the sacred Shrines of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh, particularly in video or multimedia presentations. More specifically the use of text on an image that has a shrine or part of a shrine on it. I know not to put text over the image of the shrine, but unsure if the text could be at the bottom or corner over greenery or a black stripe at the bottom of the video or image. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

I'm not aware of any specific guidance about that, the closest I could find is specific to the central figures: https://bahai9.com/wiki/Portrayal_of_holy_figures_in_art and https://bahai9.com/wiki/%27Abdu%27l-Bah%C3%A1#Use_of_media_and_'Abdu'l-Bah%C3%A1 David (talk) 19:59, 22 October 2023 (PDT)

My Surname Is Bahadi

Hi, I am Abdellah Bahadi and as you can see my Surname is Bahadi, which Is really close to Baha'i. I am from Morocco and my origins are Berbers. My questione Is: are there some possibilities that my anchestor was a Baha'i that moved to Morocco in the Mountains?

Greetings Mr. Bahadi :) What an interesting question. I'm not at all familiar with Berber languages but given your question, I went and looked it up. (Today I can say I learned how to read Berber dictionaries, lol.)

From what I can tell, "Bahadi" is a form of "Baheddi" (Moroccan Amazigh transliteration) or "Bahadde" (Algerian Touareg translit.) that's well attested in several sources, including Haddadou (2003), Recueil de prenoms berberes, and Basset (1940), Dictionnaire abrégé touareg-français de noms propres. Unfortunately, I haven't found any clues about the origins or meaning of the name—just that it is a name.

The root of the name is BHD, which, importantly, differs for the Arabic root of the word "Bahá" (BH), which is where the name "Bahá'í" comes from ("follower of Bahá", or "follower of Glory", in this case referring to the followers of Bahá'u'lláh). Because the roots of the two words differ, I'd assume that that would make it less likely that the two names are related.

Regarding the possibility of ancestors: since the Bahá'í Faith was only becoming firmly established in Egypt as of the 1890s, I feel like it would be unlikely that Bahá'ís—or the name "Baha'i"—would have become so common in both Morocco and Algeria that "Baha'i" had already had time to change into "Bahadde/Baheddi" by the time the 1940 dictionary was written. And in fact, our article on Morocco states that the first Bahá'ís known in that country only arrived in the Tangier International Zone in 1953. Bahá'ís had visited Algeria earlier in the 20th century, but it seems as though they didn't stay. There was also a Bahá'í community in Tunisia in the early 20th century, but that still seems a little far and a little too short to have such an impact on two Berber dialects.

I hope you can find out more about your name. I'd assume it would be best to speak to someone who's very knowledgeable in historical linguistics of Moroccan Berber languages. Best of luck with your research! Dragfyre (talk) 02:13, 16 November 2023 (PST)

Pioneering

I would like to know the list of countries which need pioneers.

Thanks, Firooz

Hi Firooz, this is an individual project, for that information you will need to contact your National Spiritual Assembly. David (talk) 12:15, 7 January 2024 (PST)

Contact for Dr Barnes?

Hello, I am sending this message on behalf of my Classmates. Dr Kiser Barnes taught us Law in 1986 at the University of Ife(now Obafemi Awolowo University) in Nigeria. We are now trying to desperately reconnect with him. He was a great teacher who made an obviously lasting impression on us. I will greatly appreciate it if you can let me have his contact details. Thank you very much Professor Bayo Adaralegbe

I'm very sorry to say that I've no idea how to contact him :( As he is an American Bahá’í, you might try contacting the US National Spiritual Assembly; you could use their website contact form. Dragfyre (talk) 11:48, 25 January 2025 (+08)

What are the component of Cluster Refection Meeting?

Our article on this is not very good it seems. You will need to search for reflection meeting on the Baha'i library and see what you find, for example here. For something more precise, you can contact the Baha'i administration in your area, they should be able to help answer that. David (talk) 12:19, 7 January 2024 (PST)

Burial

If a Baha’i dies at sea on a cruise ship, what are guidelines for burial?

If it is possible to reach land, it seems that the body should be buried there in the nearest suitable place. The Writings of Bahá’u’lláh do not mention death and burial at sea, and the Universal House of Justice has not yet legislated on this possibility. The following is a relevant quote with a citation. Dragfyre (talk) 11:57, 25 January 2025 (+08)

“ The laws of burial as revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitab-i-Aqdas do not refer to the occurrence of death at sea. Until such time as the Universal House of Justice legislates on these matters, the friends when faced with such incidents should be guided by whatever civil or maritime law is applicable under the circumstances. Should land be reached, however, obviously the body must be buried on land in the nearest suitable place." ” — From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual, quoted in a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of New Zealand, October 20, 1974, in Lights of Guidance, no. 643

Feast

If people who are not yet Bahá’ís present at a Nineteen Day Feast, should the business portion always be suspended?

Wonderful question! The Universal House of Justice weighed in a 2009 letter, excerpted below. Dragfyre (talk) 10:30, 25 January 2025 (+08)

“ The Nineteen Day Feast is an institution of the Cause, which serves, in part, as a means for the Bahá’í community to address its affairs in a full and frank manner, without fear of creating misunderstandings among those unfamiliar with its purpose. It is for this reason that participation is limited to members of the Bahá’í community.

In general, the believers are discouraged from inviting those who are not Bahá’ís to the commemoration of the Feast. However, friends of the Faith do sometimes appear unexpectedly, and they are not to be turned away. Courtesy and the spirit of fellowship require that they be warmly received. In this light, unanticipated visitors, who were by and large infrequent in the past, have been welcome to join the devotional and social portions of the Feast, but either they were asked to absent themselves during the administrative portion or that segment of the programme would be eliminated entirely.

Now, with the Plan’s framework for action well established in so many places, growing numbers enjoy ready access to Bahá’í community life through the core activities, and there is greatly increased likelihood that those who are close to the Faith will learn about the Nineteen Day Feast and appear at its celebration. The House of Justice has decided that, in such instances, rather than eliminating the administrative portion completely or asking the visitors to withdraw, those conducting the programme can modify this part of the Feast to accommodate the guests. The sharing of local and national news and information about social events, as well as consultation on topics of general interest, such as the teaching work, service projects, the Fund, and so on, can take place as usual, while discussion of sensitive or problematic issues related to these or other topics can be set aside for another time when the friends can express themselves freely without being inhibited by the presence of visitors.

A similar approach to the administrative portion may be adopted when the Feast is celebrated in the home of a family with some members who are not Bahá’ís. As part of planning these occasions, careful thought must be given, on the one hand, to the requisites of hospitality and love, and, on the other, to those of confidentiality and unfettered discussion on important and sensitive subjects. The Local Assembly, in consultation with the believers who have such relatives, should endeavour to find a satisfactory way to resolve each situation that arises.

” — The Universal House of Justice, from a letter dated 17 May 2009 of to all National Spiritual Assemblies