Return

Return or the Return of the Prophets refers to the Baha'i teaching that the Prophets and Messengers of past dispensations, along with their most eminent companions and followers, return to life in each new dispensation.

This term originates from, Shí'í Islam where the original Arabic term is لرجعة, or al rj`at. While Shí'íhs and many other religious groups with similar doctrines, see return as a literal concept whereby people from the past physically return after their death, Bahá’u’lláh teaches that the return meant is a return of archetypal roles and spiritual attributes rather than of the physical body or specific soul of a deceased person.

Return of Prophets

In many previous dispensations, there have been prophecies which spoke of the return of Prophets from the past. In Judaism it is expected that the Prophet Elijah would return to herald the coming of the Messiah, while Christians and Muslims look forward to the return of Christ. These returns were generally foreseen as the literal return of the pas Prophets in the same Physical body They had occupied before, or as a rebirth or reincarnation. In the Kitáb-i-Íqán, Bahá'u'lláh addressed the concerns of some that the apparent prophecies regarding return were not fulfilled by the Báb and Himself.

In the Íqán, Baha'u'llah explains that the return prophesied did not refer to a literal physical return, but the return of qualities and attributes. He explains that the Manifestations of God are so united in their inner nature, that each is, in a sense a return of all who have come before:

References

• Bahá'u'lláh (1950). Kitáb-i-Íqán. Wilmette, IL: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. pp. 49–51, 151–159.
• Momen, Moojan (1995). "Baha'u'llah's prophetology: Archetypal patterns in the lives of the founders of the world religions". Bahá'í Studies Review. Vol. 5. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help)