Ni‘mat ‘Alá’í

Ni‘mat ‘Alá’í
Born	1890 Tihran, Iran
Died	December, 1968 England
Spouse(s)	Qudsiyyih m. 1925
Children	Suhayl, & five others.

Ni‘mat’u’lláh ‘Alá’í (1890 - December, 1968) was a Persian Bahá’í who pioneered in the Middle East and to the Pacific.

Biography

‘Alá’í was born in Tihran in 1890. His father was Muhammad Nazimu’l-Hukama. When he was sixteen he began working in the government service. In his youth ‘Alá’í corresponded with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi receiving Tablets and letters in reply and he was an active member of the Tihran community assisting the Local Spiritual Assembly and often serving as a delegate to the National Convention of Iran and he also served on several committees of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran. In 1925 he married Qudsiyyih whose father was Amín-i-Amín, and they had six children together.

In 1945 ‘Alá’í resigned from his government position and pioneered to Afghanistan with his family however after nine months he was deported back to Iran with his belongings being seized. After returning to Iran a special provision was passed in parliament to allow him to return to his government position. In 1953 when the Ten Year Crusade began he was suffering from arthritis however despite this he volunteered to pioneer and moved to Western Samoa in 1955 joining his son Suhayl who had already settled there and he helped establish the Local Spiritual Assembly of Apia.

In 1958 ‘Alá’í pioneered to Hastings, New Zealand, a city with no Bahá’ís and he successfully established a small group and in 1963 he returned to Iran. He suffered a heart attack at some point and moved to Oxford, England, to receive medical treatment which allowed his youngest daughters to receive an education in England. In December 1968 he began to make preparations to pioneer to American Samoa however he fell ill and passed before he could make the journey.

The Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message to his brother Shu‘á‘u’lláh after his passing:

GRIEVED LOSS BELOVED BROTHER NIMAT STAUNCH SUPPORTER VALIANT PROMOTER FAITH HIS STEADFASTNESS DEVOTED SERVICES CRADLE FAITH PIONEERING FIELD UNFORGETTABLE WORTHY EMULATION STOP PRAYING SHRINES SPIRITUAL PROGRESS HIS RADIANT SOUL STOP CONVEY MEMBERS FAM ILY LOVING SYMPATHY.