A Bahá’í pilgrimage currently consists of visiting the holy places in Haifa, ‘Akká, and Bahjí at the World Centre in Northwest Israel. Bahá’ís do not have access to other places designated as sites for pilgrimage.
Bahá’u’lláh decreed pilgrimage in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas to two places: the House of Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad, and the House of the Báb in Shiraz. In two separate Tablets, known as Suriy-i-Hajj, he prescribed specific rites for each of these pilgrimages (lifting the injunction regarding the shaving of one's head for pilgrimage in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas). It is obligatory to make the pilgrimage, "if one can afford it and is able to do so, and if no obstacle stands in one's way". Bahá’ís are free to choose between the two houses, as either has been deemed sufficient. Later, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá designated the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh at Bahjí (the Qiblih) as a site of visitation. No rites have been prescribed for this.
The designated sites for pilgrimage are not accessible to the majority of Bahá’ís, as they are in Iraq and Iran repectively, and thus when Bahá’ís currently refer to pilgrimage, it refers to a nine-day pilgrimage that occurs at the World Centre in Haifa and ‘Akká in Israel. This nine-day pilgrimage does not replace pilgrimage to the designated sites for pilgrimage, and it is intended that pilgrimage to the House of the Báb and the House of Bahá’u’lláh will occur in the future.
House of Bahá’u’lláh, Baghdad[edit]
The House of Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad, also known as the "Most Great House" (Bayt-i-A'zam) and the "House of God," is where Bahá’u’lláh lived in from 1853 to 1863 (except for two years where he left to the mountains of Kurdistan, northeast of Baghdad, near the city of Sulaymaniyah). It is located in the Karkh quarter of Baghdad, near the western bank of the Tigris river. It is designated in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas as a place of pilgrimage and is considered a holy place by Bahá’ís.
During the 1920s the house was confiscated by Shí'ih authorities, who were hostile to the Bahá’í Faith. The Council of the League of Nations upheld the Bahá’ís' claim to the house, but it was never returned to the Bahá’í community. The building was used, in recent years, as a type of seminary, but it was demolished in June, 2013. As with the house of the Báb in Shiraz, photographs are kept showing the details of the building for reconstruction at some future time.
House of the Báb, Shiraz[edit]
In this house in Shiraz, Iran, the Báb declared his mission to Mullá Ḥusayn on 23 May 1844.
In 1942-3 it was damaged by fire in an attack by enemies of the Bahá’í Faith, and in 1955 it was destroyed, but later again restored. In 1979 it was destroyed once more during the Iranian Revolution. In 1981 the site was made into a road and public square. Recently, a Mosque dedicated to the 'Promised One' has been built adjacent to the site.
Current nine-day pilgrimage[edit]
Among the places that Bahá’ís visit on the current nine-day pilgrimage at the World Centre are the following. Please see World Centre buildings for more information about each building.
Bahjí:
Haifa:
‘Akká:
The nine-day pilgrimage is open only to Bahá’ís and their spouses who have applied to go on pilgrimage.
References[edit]
- Allen, Denny (2006). Bahá’í Pilgrimage. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853984875.
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- Bahá’u’lláh (1873). The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0853989990.
- Denis MacEoin (1994). Rituals in Babism and Baha'ism. UK: British Academic Press and Centre of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge. ISBN 1850436541.
- Walbridge, John (1996). Sacred Acts, Sacred Space, Sacred Time. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853984069.
External links[edit]
- Bahá’í Pilgrimage - Bahá’í World Centre
- Photos of the Bahá’í Holy Places in Israel
- Map of Haifa
- Map of ‘Akká
