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Hasan Balyuzi

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(Redirected from Hasan M. Balyuzi)
Hasan Balyuzi
BornSeptember 7, 1908
Shiraz, Iran
DiedFebruary 12, 1980
NSA memberBritish Isles
1933 - 1960
Custodian1957 - 1959
1962 - 1963
Title(s)Hand of the Cause
Europe
1957
1959 - 1962
1963 - 1980
Holy Land
1957 - 1959
1962 - 1963
Spouse(s)Mary "Molly" Brown (1916 - 1992)[1], m. 1941
ChildrenHushang, Robert, Felix, Richard, Simeon
ParentsFather: Mirzá ‘Alí Áqá
Mother: Munavvar Khánum
Signature

Ḥasan Muvaqqar Balyúzí (September 7, 1908 - February 12, 1980) was a Persian Bahá’í who studied and settled in England, contributing significantly to the development of early British Bahá’í institutions, and he was appointed as a Hand of the Cause of God in 1957. He wrote several important books about the history of the Bahá’í Faith. In his career he worked for the BBC.

Biography[edit]

Early life and education[edit]

Balyúzí was born in Shiraz in 1908. He was descended from Hájí Mírzá Abú'l-Qásim, a relative of the Báb, through his father who was Mirzá ‘Alí Áqá entitled Muvaqqari'd-Dawlih. His mother was named Munavvar Khanum and was also a distant relation of the Báb.[2] He was raised in Bushehr where his father worked as a diplomat however during the First World War British Forces occupied the area and Balyúzí's father was exiled to India where the family lived in Bombay and then Poona for four years and he attended high school at Bishop's College in Poona learning Urdu. At the end of the war the family returned to Iran settling in Tehran where his father became Minister of the Interior and he attended Cyrus School.[3]

In 1921 Balyúzí's father passed away and in 1925 his uncle asked Edward Granville Browne if he could arrange for him to study in England and Browne agreed, although he passed before Balyúzí made it to England. As Balyúzí did not have the necessary qualifications to study in England he moved to Beirut to attend Preparatory School at the American University of Beirut. In November 1925 he went on pilgrimage from Beirut at the age of seventeen and met Shoghi Effendi and was confirmed as a Bahá’í, having previously been unable to reconcile with the idea of a Manifestation of God after Muhammad.[3] In 1930 he made a visit back to Shiraz and he was invited to give a speech about visiting the Holy Land and meeting Shoghi Effendi however news spread about his talk and enemies of the Faith started a riot before he could deliver his speech. A police investigation concluded the attack was unprovoked by the Bahá’ís and the incident resulted in the authorities having an improved opinion of the Faith.[4]

Balyúzí studied in Beirut until 1932 initially pursuing a Chemistry degree and then transferring to a Master of Arts in Diplomatic History and he played football and tennis and participated in the Dramatic Society, Debating Society, and Bahá’í Society at the University during his studies. He requested permission from Shoghi Effendi for Bahá’í students to go on pilgrimage during their Easter holidays and Shoghi Effendi advised small groups to come during any university holidays. In February 1932 he went on pilgrimage with Abu’l-Qásim Faizí and they were among the first to be able to visit the Mansion of Bahji which had been renovated after being secured from Mírzá Muhammad ‘Alí who had allowed it to fall into disrepair.[5]

Service in England[edit]

In September 1932 Balyúzí moved to London where he enrolled in the London School of Economics as a post-graduate student and he was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles in 1933. In 1934 he published a newspaper article on the political situation in Europe but was admonished by the Guardian for engaging in political activity,[5] however he received praise when he wrote to Shoghi Effendi that he had made the decision not to pursue a diplomatic or political career and he also received approval to pursue purely administrative work with the League of Nations.[6] He graduated with a Masters of Science in Economics specializing in the relations of the European Powers to the Persian Gulf States in 1935. He began a PhD on British public opinion on Franco-German Relations after WWI but the start of WWII prompted him to abandon a PhD.[5]

Balyúzí and Molly, who he married, at a Summer School in the late 30's.

In the late 1930's Balyúzí was central to several developments in the evolution of the British Bahá’í community serving on both the National Spiritual Assembly and Local Spiritual Assembly of London. His services included often serving as chairman of the National Convention, helping organize Summer Schools with the first being held in 1936, serving on the Reviewing Committee of the Publishing Trust established in 1938, contributing to the New World Order monthly magazine which began publication in 1939, and serving as a travel teacher in the north and south of England.[7]

In 1940 Balyúzí received a position with the newly established Persian Section of the B.B.C. and moved to Evesham where the section broadcast from until August 1942 when it was moved to London.[7] In June 1941 he married English Bahá’í Molly Brown , daughter of Kathleen Hornell, and in 1942 they had their first son Hushang and went on to have four more sons, prompting Balyúzí to remark that a girl had not been born into his family for two hundred years. In 1942 he was elected as chairman of the British National Assembly for the first time.[8] During the British Six Year Plan from 1944 to 1950 Balyúzí chaired Teaching Conferences and traveled extensively to teach the Faith visiting Northampton, Torquay, Exeter, and Leeds.[9]

In 1953 Shoghi Effendi gave Britain the responsibility of organizing the Kampala Intercontinental Teaching Conference in Uganda and Balyúzí visited Uganda to participate in the Convention that year and he also attended the Stockholm Intercontinental Conference later the same year. He served on five national committees concurrently during the Ten Year Crusade launched in 1953 up until 1957.[10] In 1956 Shoghi Effendi gave him the responsibility of chairing the Convention at which the National Spiritual Assembly of Central and East Africa was formed in Kampala, Uganda,[11] and the same year the BBC gave him a three-month assignment in Iran which allowed him to visit Shiraz where his mother had recently passed away and also Isfahan and Tehran. It was his last visit to Iran.[7]

Service as a Hand of the Cause[edit]

In October 1957 Shoghi Effendi appointed Balyúzí in the last contingent of Hands of the Cause of God and he passed away only one month later while visiting London. Balyúzí was summoned to the hotel the same day Shoghi Effendi passed and helped select a gravesite and organize the funeral.[12] He then traveled to the Holy Land to participate in the Conclave of the Hands held to determine the future of the Faith and it was decided that nine Hands should be elected to serve as Custodians and head the Faith temporarily with Balyúzí being elected as one of the nine.[13]

Balyúzí (right) at the Funeral of the Guardian, 1957.

Balyúzí returned to London to settle his affairs after the Conclave so that he could move to Haifa to serve and he resigned from the BBC in 1958,[7] however he was unable to finalize the move and at the 1958 Conclave of the Hands he consulted on trying to find a solution to personal circumstances which prevented him from making a permanent move. He resigned as Custodian in 1959 although he was able to spend weeks to months at a time in Haifa assisting the Custodians particularly in the preparation of the International Archives Building.[13] In 1960 he began to be affected by ill health and in February that year he resigned from the British National Assembly to devote himself to the development of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause.[14]

Balyúzí was able to travel abroad extensively during the Ministry of the Custodians conducting ten Auxiliary Board conferences across Europe from 1958 to 1964, attending the Frankfurt Intercontinental Teaching Conference in Germany in 1958, attending the laying of the cornerstone of the House of Worship in Germany in 1960, and representing the Custodians at the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Ecuador and the National Spiritual Assembly of Peru in 1961. In May 1961 he traveled across Canada visiting Native American communities.[15]

In 1962 Balyúzí represented the Custodians at the establishments of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Holland and Denmark,[16] and after the passing of Amelia Collins in 1962 the Hands of the Cause appointed him to serve in her place as a Custodian as nine were required for legal purposes.[17] In 1963 he attended the First International Convention in Haifa at which the Universal House of Justice was established, marking the disbandment of the Custodians, and he also attended the First Bahá’í World Congress held at the Royal Albert Hall in London at which he gave the closing address of the first day.[16] In June 1964 he attended two sessions of the European Conference of the Hands of the Cause in London which was the last Bahá’í conference he attended.[16]

In 1964 Balyúzí retired from public life due to his financial situation, ill health, and struggles coping with the stress associated with serving as a Hand. He stopped attending Bahá’í gatherings, opening or answering mail, or receiving visitors although as an exception he did occasionally provide advice to National Assembly and Auxiliary Board members. In 1965 he dedicated himself to researching and writing on the history of the Bábí and Bahá’í Faiths which was his main pursuit for the rest of his life. He collaborated with his relative Abu’l-Qasim Afnán and from 1972 utilized Moojan Momen as a research assistant.[18]

In October 1979 Balyúzí was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack however he recovered well enough to be able to visit the grave of the Guardian on November 4 and on November 26 he gave a talk on the Power of the Covenant at the British Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds at his request. He intended to go on a final pilgrimage and deliver a leather-bound copy of his book Bahá’u’lláh: The King of Glory to the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh however he passed away due to a stroke on February 12, 1980, and his son Robert delivered the work on his behalf. He was buried next to the grave of the Guardian on February 15, 1980.[19]

The Universal House of Justice sent the following cable after his passing:

WITH BROKEN HEARTS ANNOUNCE PASSING DEARLY LOVED HAND CAUSE HASAN BALYUZI. ENTIRE BAHAI WORLD ROBBED ONE OF ITS MOST POWERFUL DEFENDERS MOST RESOURCEFUL HISTORIANS. HIS ILLUSTRIOUS LINEAGE HIS DEVOTED LABOURS DIVINE VINEYARD HIS OUTSTANDING LITERARY WORKS COMBINE IN IMMORTALIZING HIS HONOURED NAME IN ANNALS BELOVED FAITH. CALL ON FRIENDS EVERYWHERE HOLD MEMORIAL GATHER INGS. PRAYING SHRINES HIS EXEMPLARY ACHIEVEMENTS HIS STEADFASTNESS PATIENCE HUMILITY HIS OUTSTANDING SCHOLARLY PURSUITS WILL INSPIRE MANY DEVOTED WORKERS AMONG RISING GENERATIONS FOLLOW HIS GLORIOUS FOOTSTEPS.

Publications[edit]

English[edit]

Persian[edit]

English titles of Persian works[edit]

  • The Story of Three Sisters
  • Half Brothers
  • Words in English Derived from Persian

Talks[edit]

References[edit]

Bahai.media has a related page: Category:Hasan Balyúzí
Bahai.works has a related page: Author:Hasan Balyuzi
Bahai.works has a related page: Audio:Hasan Balyuzi

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/173688220/mary-balyuzi
  2. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 636. View as PDF.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 637. View as PDF.
  4. ↑ Ahang Rabbani, The Genesis of the Babi-Baha'i Faiths in Shiraz and Fars Brill: Boston, 2008, pp 240-43
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 638. View as PDF.
  6. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 639. View as PDF.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 640. View as PDF.
  8. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 641. View as PDF.
  9. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 643. View as PDF.
  10. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 643. View as PDF.
  11. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 644. View as PDF.
  12. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 644. View as PDF.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 645. View as PDF.
  14. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 647. View as PDF.
  15. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 646. View as PDF.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 648. View as PDF.
  17. ↑ Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá’í World Centre. ISBN 0-85398-350-X., pp 361-362
  18. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1994). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 19 (1983-1986), Pg(s) 650. View as PDF.
  19. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1994). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 19 (1983-1986), Pg(s) 651. View as PDF.
  20. ↑ Collins, W. P. (1990). Bibliography of English-Language Works on the Babi and Baha'i Faiths 1844-1985. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-315-1., p 62
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