Bahaipedia:Today's featured individual/October
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Today is Friday, August 1, 2025; it is now 06:40 UTC
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- October 1
Yankee Leong (c. November 19, 1899 - June 17, 1986) was the first individual to declare his belief in Bahá’u’lláh in Malaysia and worked tirelessly to help the faith grow in the region. He was born to a poor family in Malaya, on the Malaysian Peninsula and had an took an intense interest in religion and his studies. Yankee declared in the Bahá’í Faith on December 19, 1953 in Seremban. After his deceleration he made it his priority to establish several Local Spiritual Assemblies in the region, and wrote letters introducing many to the Faith. Seven years after he declared he was invited by John Fozdar to teach in Brunei and Sarawak, and through his help the Faith began to grow in that region.
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- October 2
Varqá was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh and was referred to by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as a Hand of the Cause of God and identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. Bahá’u’lláh wrote a tablet addressed to Varqá regarding the high station of the King and Beloved of Martyrs. "His executioner, Hajibu'd Dawlih, was particularly enraged with his prisoners, and brought out Varqá and Rúhu'lláh into an inner room. Varqá's calm reply to questioning further maddened his captors. The executioner plunged a dagger into the chest of Varqá saying 'How are you?' to which Varqá repllied 'Feeling better than you'. Hajibu'd Dawlih then asked him which should die first, him or his son Rúhu'lláh, to which Varqá replied 'It is the same to me.'"
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- October 3
Hají Ákhúnd was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh, Hand of the Cause, and Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. He was living in Mashhad when he accepted the message of The Báb, this caused him to be immediately expelled from the city and the college he was attending. He eventually settled in Tihrán where he accepted Bahá’u’lláh and became a Bahá’í. It is recorded that when there was an outburst against the Bahá’ís in Tihrán, he would wrap his cloak around himself and sit waiting for the guards to come and arrest him.
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- October 4
Mírzá Mahmúd was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh and the only Iranian Bahá’í teacher who was given the chance to meet face to face with a Qajar Shah. He was later identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. During his life the Islamic divines of Dúghábád caused the governor of the district to have Mírzá Mahmúd arrested for being a Bahá’í. He was sent in chains to Mashhad where from his prison-cell he managed to secretly send a letter to Nasiri'd-Din Shah, who issued an order for his release. The clerics of Mashhad managed to have him exiled, rather than set free, to a remote corner of Khorasan named Kalát.
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- October 5
Charles Dunning was a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh named for pioneering to the Orkney Islands. Dunning was born, it would seem, to uphold the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh at the inception of its second century and to serve as a soldier of courage and fortitude in the greatest spiritual crusade of mankind's history. His pioneering road opened in March 1948 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He perceived that Belfast would "make great strides" should it come to understand the Bahá’í teachings. Within ten weeks he was arranging the first public meetings, to which George Townshend and his son Brian came from Dublin to speak.
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- October 6
Varqá was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh and was referred to by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as a Hand of the Cause of God and identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. Bahá’u’lláh wrote a tablet addressed to Varqá regarding the high station of the King and Beloved of Martyrs. "His executioner, Hajibu'd Dawlih, was particularly enraged with his prisoners, and brought out Varqá and Rúhu'lláh into an inner room. Varqá's calm reply to questioning further maddened his captors. The executioner plunged a dagger into the chest of Varqá saying 'How are you?' to which Varqá repllied 'Feeling better than you'. Hajibu'd Dawlih then asked him which should die first, him or his son Rúhu'lláh, to which Varqá replied 'It is the same to me.'"
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- October 7
Edward Browne was a British orientalist who published many books and articles on the Bábí and Bahá’í religions. Browne was born in Uley near Dursley in Gloucestershire on February 7, 1862 and is best known to modern Bahá’ís for his description of his meeting with Bahá’u’lláh. Browne's scholarly reputation has endured until the present. His mastery of Iranian culture and thought has been equaled by few Westerners before or since, and his scholarship, as well as the eloquence and grace of his literary style, have given his works permanent value, even after great changes in scholarly methodology. The Iranians, despite their early suspicion about his interest in the Bábís, accepted him as a loyal friend for his scholarship, his political support, and his sympathetic understanding of their culture and literature.
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- October 8
Hají Ákhúnd was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh, Hand of the Cause, and Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. He was living in Mashhad when he accepted the message of The Báb, this caused him to be immediately expelled from the city and the college he was attending. He eventually settled in Tihrán where he accepted Bahá’u’lláh and became a Bahá’í. It is recorded that when there was an outburst against the Bahá’ís in Tihrán, he would wrap his cloak around himself and sit waiting for the guards to come and arrest him.
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- October 9
May Bolles Maxwell (1870-1940) was an early American Bahá’í, is best known as the mother of Rúhíyyih Khanum, and the wife of William Sutherland Maxwell. She was among the first group of pilgrims to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in February 1899. She was also an early participant at Green Acre, the first Bahá’í training facility in the United States. In 1927 she was a member of the joint National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada.
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- October 10
Ṭáhirih an influential poet and theologian of the Bábí faith in Iran. As a prominent Bábí she is highly regarded by Bahá’ís, and often mentioned in Bahá’í literature as an example of courage in the struggle for women's rights. Ṭáhirih also holds a unique theological importance; as she is explained by the Báb to be the spiritual return of Fátimih, daughter of Prophet Muḥammad, and one of the fourteen Shi‘i infallibles. In 1848 Bahá’u’lláh made arrangements for Ṭáhirih to leave Tehran and attend a conference of Bábí leaders in Badasht. She is perhaps best remembered for appearing in public without her veil in the course of this conference signalling that the Islamic Sharia law was abrogated and superseded by Bábí law. It was at the Badasht conference that she was given the title Ṭáhirih by Bahá’u’lláh, which means "the Pure One".
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- October 11
Varqá was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh and was referred to by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as a Hand of the Cause of God and identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. Bahá’u’lláh wrote a tablet addressed to Varqá regarding the high station of the King and Beloved of Martyrs. "His executioner, Hajibu'd Dawlih, was particularly enraged with his prisoners, and brought out Varqá and Rúhu'lláh into an inner room. Varqá's calm reply to questioning further maddened his captors. The executioner plunged a dagger into the chest of Varqá saying 'How are you?' to which Varqá repllied 'Feeling better than you'. Hajibu'd Dawlih then asked him which should die first, him or his son Rúhu'lláh, to which Varqá replied 'It is the same to me.'"
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- October 12
Hají Ákhúnd was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh, Hand of the Cause, and Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. He was living in Mashhad when he accepted the message of The Báb, this caused him to be immediately expelled from the city and the college he was attending. He eventually settled in Tihrán where he accepted Bahá’u’lláh and became a Bahá’í. It is recorded that when there was an outburst against the Bahá’ís in Tihrán, he would wrap his cloak around himself and sit waiting for the guards to come and arrest him.
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- October 13
Martha Root was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá’í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá’í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously. Known by her numerous visits with Heads of State and other public figures. Of special importance was her efforts with Queen Marie of Romania, considered the first Monarch to accept Bahá’u’lláh. Introduced to the Faith in 1909 by meeting Roy C. Wilhem she spent several months researching the religion and met several members of the Bahá’í community, including Thornton Chase and Arthur Agnew in Chicago, and she, later in that year, declared her faith in the Bahá’í teachings. During this time, she kept on writing and in 1909 she wrote a detailed article for the Pittsburgh Post about the history and teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. She also participated in the first annual Bahá’í convention, which took place in Chicago in 1911.
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- October 14
Edward Browne was a British orientalist who published many books and articles on the Bábí and Bahá’í religions. Browne was born in Uley near Dursley in Gloucestershire on February 7, 1862 and is best known to modern Bahá’ís for his description of his meeting with Bahá’u’lláh. Browne's scholarly reputation has endured until the present. His mastery of Iranian culture and thought has been equaled by few Westerners before or since, and his scholarship, as well as the eloquence and grace of his literary style, have given his works permanent value, even after great changes in scholarly methodology. The Iranians, despite their early suspicion about his interest in the Bábís, accepted him as a loyal friend for his scholarship, his political support, and his sympathetic understanding of their culture and literature.
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- October 15
Mírzá Músá surnamed Áqáy-i-Kalím was the only true brother of Bahá’u’lláh. He was later identified by Shoghi Effendi as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. The life of Mírzá Músá was so inextricably bound up with that of Bahá’u’lláh himself, that his life and background mirror the life and travels of Bahá’u’lláh. He was an integral part of correspondence between Bahá’u’lláh and the Bahá’ís. He experienced the same imprisonment, exile, assaults, and degrading circumstances that were given to the small band of family members associated with Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Bahá’u’lláh used Mírzá Músá as an example to show his respect for the law. In the history of the Bahá’í cause, Mírzá Músá stands out as a loyal and faithful follower until the end of his life.
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- October 16
Martha Root was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá’í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá’í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously. Known by her numerous visits with Heads of State and other public figures. Of special importance was her efforts with Queen Marie of Romania, considered the first Monarch to accept Bahá’u’lláh. Introduced to the Faith in 1909 by meeting Roy C. Wilhem she spent several months researching the religion and met several members of the Bahá’í community, including Thornton Chase and Arthur Agnew in Chicago, and she, later in that year, declared her faith in the Bahá’í teachings. During this time, she kept on writing and in 1909 she wrote a detailed article for the Pittsburgh Post about the history and teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. She also participated in the first annual Bahá’í convention, which took place in Chicago in 1911.
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- October 17
Varqá was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh and was referred to by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as a Hand of the Cause of God and identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. Bahá’u’lláh wrote a tablet addressed to Varqá regarding the high station of the King and Beloved of Martyrs. "His executioner, Hajibu'd Dawlih, was particularly enraged with his prisoners, and brought out Varqá and Rúhu'lláh into an inner room. Varqá's calm reply to questioning further maddened his captors. The executioner plunged a dagger into the chest of Varqá saying 'How are you?' to which Varqá repllied 'Feeling better than you'. Hajibu'd Dawlih then asked him which should die first, him or his son Rúhu'lláh, to which Varqá replied 'It is the same to me.'"
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- October 18
Hají Ákhúnd was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh, Hand of the Cause, and Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. He was living in Mashhad when he accepted the message of The Báb, this caused him to be immediately expelled from the city and the college he was attending. He eventually settled in Tihrán where he accepted Bahá’u’lláh and became a Bahá’í. It is recorded that when there was an outburst against the Bahá’ís in Tihrán, he would wrap his cloak around himself and sit waiting for the guards to come and arrest him.
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- October 19
Shaykh Ahmad (1753 - 1826) was the founder of a 19th century Shi'i school in the Persian and Ottoman empires, whose followers are known as Shaykhís. He was a native of the Al-Ahsa region (Eastern Arabian Peninsula), educated in Bahrain and the theological centers of Najaf and Karbilá in Iraq. Spending the last twenty years of his life in Iran, he received the protection and patronage of princes of the Qajar dynasty. At about age forty, began to study in earnest in the Shi'i centres of religious scholarship such as Karbala and Najaf. He attained sufficient recognition in such circles to be declared a mujtahid, an interpreter of Islamic Law. He contended with Sufi and Neo-Platonist scholars, and attained a positive reputation among their detractors. Most interestingly, he declared that all knowledge and sciences were contained (in essential form) within the Qur'an, and that to excel in the sciences, all knowledge must be gleaned from the Qur'an.
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- October 20
The Báb (Persian: سيد علی محمد) (October 20, 1819 – July 9, 1850) was a prophet and founder of the Bábí religion. He was a merchant from Shíráz, who at the age of twenty-five revealed Himself to be the promised Qá'im (or Mihdí). After His declaration He took the title of Báb (Arabic: باب) meaning "Gate." He composed hundreds of letters and books (often termed tablets) in which He stated His mission and defined his teachings, which constituted a new sharí'ah or religious law. His movement eventually acquired tens of thousands of supporters, was virulently opposed by Iran's Shí'í clergy, and was bloodily suppressed by the Iranian government. Thousands of His followers, termed Bábís, died. The Báb was executed by firing squad on July 9, 1850, in the city of Tabríz.
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- October 21
Varqá was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh and was referred to by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as a Hand of the Cause of God and identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. Bahá’u’lláh wrote a tablet addressed to Varqá regarding the high station of the King and Beloved of Martyrs. "His executioner, Hajibu'd Dawlih, was particularly enraged with his prisoners, and brought out Varqá and Rúhu'lláh into an inner room. Varqá's calm reply to questioning further maddened his captors. The executioner plunged a dagger into the chest of Varqá saying 'How are you?' to which Varqá repllied 'Feeling better than you'. Hajibu'd Dawlih then asked him which should die first, him or his son Rúhu'lláh, to which Varqá replied 'It is the same to me.'"
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- October 22
Siyyid Kázim (Arabic: سيد كاظم بن قاسم الحسيني الرﺷتي) (1793-1843) was the son of Sayyid Qasim of Rasht, a town in northern Iran. He was appointed as the successor of Shaykh Ahmad, and led the Shaykhí movement until his death. He came from a family of well known merchants. He was a Mullah who, through study of the Islamic writing told his students about the coming of the Mahdi and the "Masih" (the return of Christ) and taught them how to recognize them. After his death in 1843, many of his students spread out around Asia, Europe and Africa for the search.
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- October 23
Martha Root was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá’í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá’í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously. Known by her numerous visits with Heads of State and other public figures. Of special importance was her efforts with Queen Marie of Romania, considered the first Monarch to accept Bahá’u’lláh. Introduced to the Faith in 1909 by meeting Roy C. Wilhem she spent several months researching the religion and met several members of the Bahá’í community, including Thornton Chase and Arthur Agnew in Chicago, and she, later in that year, declared her faith in the Bahá’í teachings. During this time, she kept on writing and in 1909 she wrote a detailed article for the Pittsburgh Post about the history and teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. She also participated in the first annual Bahá’í convention, which took place in Chicago in 1911.
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history
- October 24
Mírzá Mahmúd was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh and the only Iranian Bahá’í teacher who was given the chance to meet face to face with a Qajar Shah. He was later identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. During his life the Islamic divines of Dúghábád caused the governor of the district to have Mírzá Mahmúd arrested for being a Bahá’í. He was sent in chains to Mashhad where from his prison-cell he managed to secretly send a letter to Nasiri'd-Din Shah, who issued an order for his release. The clerics of Mashhad managed to have him exiled, rather than set free, to a remote corner of Khorasan named Kalát.
view -
talk -
history
- October 25
Varqá was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh and was referred to by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as a Hand of the Cause of God and identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. Bahá’u’lláh wrote a tablet addressed to Varqá regarding the high station of the King and Beloved of Martyrs. "His executioner, Hajibu'd Dawlih, was particularly enraged with his prisoners, and brought out Varqá and Rúhu'lláh into an inner room. Varqá's calm reply to questioning further maddened his captors. The executioner plunged a dagger into the chest of Varqá saying 'How are you?' to which Varqá repllied 'Feeling better than you'. Hajibu'd Dawlih then asked him which should die first, him or his son Rúhu'lláh, to which Varqá replied 'It is the same to me.'"
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- October 26
May Bolles Maxwell (1870-1940) was an early American Bahá’í, is best known as the mother of Rúhíyyih Khánum, and the wife of William Sutherland Maxwell. She was among the first group of pilgrims to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in February 1899. She was also an early participant at Green Acre, the first Bahá’í training facility in the United States. In 1927 she was a member of the joint National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada.
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history
- October 27
Mírzá Músá surnamed Áqáy-i-Kalím was the only true brother of Bahá’u’lláh. He was later identified by Shoghi Effendi as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. The life of Mírzá Músá was so inextricably bound up with that of Bahá’u’lláh himself, that his life and background mirror the life and travels of Bahá’u’lláh. He was an integral part of correspondence between Bahá’u’lláh and the Bahá’ís. He experienced the same imprisonment, exile, assaults, and degrading circumstances that were given to the small band of family members associated with Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Bahá’u’lláh used Mírzá Músá as an example to show his respect for the law. In the history of the Bahá’í cause, Mírzá Músá stands out as a loyal and faithful follower until the end.
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- October 28
‘Alí-Muhammad Varqá was the longest surviving Hand of the Cause of God, and was also and the trustee of Huqúqu'lláh. He was born in 1912 in Tehran, Iran to a distinguished Iranian Bahá’í Family. His grandfather, from whom he received his name was an Apostle of Bahá’u’lláh and his father Valíyu'lláh Varqá, was also the trustee of the Huqúqu'lláh and a Hand of the Cause. Dr. Varqa traveled to many countries as a representative first of Shoghi Effendi, then of the Universal House of Justice. Dr. Varqa is survived by three daughters and six siblings.
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- October 29
Siyyid Kázim (Arabic: سيد كاظم بن قاسم الحسيني الرﺷتي) (1793-1843) was the son of Sayyid Qasim of Rasht, a town in northern Iran. He was appointed as the successor of Shaykh Ahmad, and led the Shaykhí movement until his death. He came from a family of well known merchants. He was a Mullah who, through study of the Islamic writing told his students about the coming of the Mahdi and the "Masih" (the return of Christ) and taught them how to recognize them. After his death in 1843, many of his students spread out around Asia, Europe and Africa for the search.
view -
talk -
history
- October 30
Varqá was an eminent follower of Bahá’u’lláh and was referred to by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as a Hand of the Cause of God and identified as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. Bahá’u’lláh wrote a tablet addressed to Varqá regarding the high station of the King and Beloved of Martyrs. "His executioner, Hajibu'd Dawlih, was particularly enraged with his prisoners, and brought out Varqá and Rúhu'lláh into an inner room. Varqá's calm reply to questioning further maddened his captors. The executioner plunged a dagger into the chest of Varqá saying 'How are you?' to which Varqá repllied 'Feeling better than you'. Hajibu'd Dawlih then asked him which should die first, him or his son Rúhu'lláh, to which Varqá replied 'It is the same to me.'"
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talk -
history
- October 31
Martha Root was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá’í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá’í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously. Known by her numerous visits with Heads of State and other public figures. Of special importance was her efforts with Queen Marie of Romania, considered the first Monarch to accept Bahá’u’lláh. Introduced to the Faith in 1909 by meeting Roy C. Wilhem she spent several months researching the religion and met several members of the Bahá’í community, including Thornton Chase and Arthur Agnew in Chicago, and she, later in that year, declared her faith in the Bahá’í teachings. During this time, she kept on writing and in 1909 she wrote a detailed article for the Pittsburgh Post about the history and teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. She also participated in the first annual Bahá’í convention, which took place in Chicago in 1911.
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history
Today's featured individual archive
January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
Today is Friday, August 1, 2025; it is now 06:40 UTC
