Hidáyatu’lláh Aḥmadíyyih

Hidáyatu’lláh Aḥmadíyyih
Born	July 11, 1933 Tizirjan, Iran
Died	August 26, 1990 Mexico
NSA member	Belize 1967 - 1968
ABM	Americas 1968 - 1976
Counsellor	Central America 1976 - 1980 Americas 1980 - 1990
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Dr. Hidáyatu’lláh Aḥmadíyyih (July 11, 1933 - August 26, 1990) was a Bahá'í who served on the Continental Boards of Central America and the Americas. He was also the author of a short overview on the Faith which is commonly known as the red teaching book. In his career he had a medical practice in Belize.

Biography

Aḥmadíyyih was born into a Bahá’í family in the village of Tizirjan near Yazd in Iran in 1933. While his parents were Bahá’ís he was not taught about the Faith in his youth as they feared he would be persecuted for his beliefs if he spoke about them while attending school.

In 1944 the Aḥmadíyyih family moved to the town of Bam in Kirman and another Bahá’í family encouraged the children of the family to attend Bahá’í children's classes. Aḥmadíyyih studied the Faith from this point and became a Bahá’í in 1949 when he was sixteen after reading about the Seven Martyrs of Tehran. He wrote to Shoghi Effendi in his youth to ask about teaching and received a reply written on his behalf which emphasized pioneering as the most important service Persian youth could undertake.

Aḥmadíyyih attempted to pioneer within Iran in the early 1950's but found himself unable to finalize arrangements and decided to undertake higher education instead enrolling in the University of Shiraz to study medicine. He graduated with a medical degree in 1960 and in 1961 he moved to the United States to undertake postgraduate studies graduating as a pediatrician in 1966. During his postgraduate courses he lived in several cities in Tennessee and served on the Local Spiritual Assemblies of St. Louis, Missouri, and Nashville.

In 1966 Aḥmadíyyih pioneered to British Honduras (now Belize) arriving in December and he was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Belize City after arriving and then to National Spiritual Assembly of Belize as Chairman when it was founded in 1967. He was appointed as an Auxiliary Board member, stepping down from the National and Local Assembly, in 1968. He was unable to secure permission to work in Belize until 1968 when he was employed by the Belize City Hospital.

In August 1968 the first Teacher Training Institute of the British Honduras was held in Belize City at Aḥmadíyyih's home. In April 1970 he attended the National Convention of Guatemala, and after the Convention he traveled near one thousand kilometers across the country to teach the Faith with over a hundred people declaring as a result. In August 1970 he visited Trinidad where he spoke at the Bahá'í Center in Diego Martin and went on a teaching trip to Shanty Town, during which six people declared, and in the evening gave a talk in Arima. The next day he visited the Bahá'ís of San Fernando and the day after he returned to Shanty Town for another teaching trip. In total his three day visit resulted in thirty-five declarations. He also visited Colombia, San Andres, Providencia Island, Peru, Brazil, Guyana, Paraguay, and Bolivia on an extensive teaching trip throughout 1970.

Aḥmadíyyih undertook a second lengthy teaching trip in 1974 traveling across the Caribbean to Antigua, Barbados, Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Nevis, Panama, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, and St. Vincent. He was appointed as a Continental Counsellor for Central America by the Universal House of Justice in 1976 and retired from practicing medicine in 1978 to have more time to serve the Faith traveling across Central America and the Caribbean that year to stimulate communities. In September 1978 he visited the United States and consulted with the National Spiritual Assembly and National Teaching Committee helping instigate teaching efforts which resulted in over three hundred Local Spiritual Assemblies being formed over eight weeks. From December 1978 to February 1979 he toured Canada.

In 1980 the Universal House of Justice merged the Continental Boards in America to form the single Continental Board for the Americas and appointed Aḥmadíyyih to the new body for a five year term. He was appointed for a second five year term in 1985 and traveled extensively across the Americas while serving as Counselor. He passed away close to the end of his second term in 1990 after falling while attempting to cross a bridge which was under repairs at night in order to return to Belize from Mexico.

The Universal House of Justice sent a message to the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Americas after his passing and advised that Memorial services should be held in the Panama and Wilmette Houses of Worship.