Shoghi Effendi

Shoghi Effendi
The last photograph of Shoghi Effendi, taken a few months before his passing.
Native name	حضرت شوقی افندی حضرت ولی امرالله
Born	Shoghí March 1, 1897 'Akká, Ottoman Empire
Died	November 4, 1957 (aged 60) London, United Kingdom
Spouse(s)	Amatu'l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum (m. 1937)
Children	No Issue
Parent(s)	Father: Mírzá Hádí Shírází Mother: Ḍiyá'iyyih Khánum
Media •  Works

Shoghi Effendi Rabbani (March 1, 1897 - November 4, 1957) was a direct descendant of Bahá’u’lláh and the grandson of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. After the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá he was appointed the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith serving as the Head of the Bahá’í community from 1921 until his passing in 1957.

As Guardian Shoghi Effendi was the Head of the international Bahá’í community and the authorized infallible interpreter of Bahá’í scripture. For much of his ministry he almost single-handedly managed the international affairs of the Faith establishing major teaching plans to organize community work and maintaining a prolific correspondence with Bahá’í individuals and institutions to provide personal and administrative guidance.

During his ministry he oversaw the development of the administration of the Bahá’í Faith establishing formal institutions to organize and coordinate internal community affairs and to systematically undertake expansion and consolidation work. He developed institutions at the World Centre of the Faith in Haifa to allow for the Bahá’í community to coordinate in a unified way on the international level and encouraged the Bahá’í community to establish friendly relations and collaborate with external bodies, especially the United Nations.

In addition to his administrative achievements Shoghi Effendi developed and expanded Bahá’í literature in the English language translating several major works of the Central Figures of the Faith, who are the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, into English which remain the standard English language versions. He issued several major messages outlining the purpose of the administrative systems he established and the fundamental spiritual framework of the Faith, translated The Dawn-Breakers which provided the early history of the Faith in the English language, and composed God Passes By which surveyed and interpreted the significance of the major developments of the religion from 1844 to 1944.

He also developed important Bahá’í properties in the Holy Land establishing extensive gardens, constructing the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb, establishing the Arc on Mount Carmel constructing the International Archives Building on it, securing a site for the future construction of a Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, and renovating and expanding the properties at Bahjí.

Biography

Shoghi Effendi, c. 1901.

Early Life

Shoghi Effendi was born in the House of ‘Abdu’lláh Páshá in ‘Akká on March 1, 1897. His parents were Mírzá Hádí Shírází, a relative of the Báb, and Ḍiyá'iyyih Khánum who was a daughter of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He was raised in the household of his grandfather ‘Abdu’l-Bahá who instructed that he was to be referred to with the honorific Effendi even by his own father. The children of the household would attend dawn prayers with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi received a Tablet from Him as a child encouraging him to memorize the prayers of Bahá’u’lláh. In approximately 1902 or 1903 his family visited Beirut and he first met Zia Bagdadi who he became close friends with.

As of February 1907 the family of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had moved to Haifa. Shoghi Effendi began his education when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá established formal classes for the children in His household with an elderly Persian Bahá’í and an Italian lady teaching lessons, and he later enrolled in the College des Freres in Haifa which was run by Jesuits. Around this time he requested a surname from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá who granted the name Rabbání which Shoghi Effendi and his siblings used.

Shoghi Effendi was unhappy at the College des Freres but completed his studies and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had him enrolled in another French Catholic boarding school in Beirut to further his education. Although he lived in Beirut for schooling he was still able to spend time with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as he returned to Haifa during school vacation periods and in 1910 he accompanied ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on a visit to Ramleh in Egypt where he became friends with Ali Yazdi.

In 1911 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá intended for Shoghi Effendi to accompany Him on His visit to North America and Shoghi Effendi accompanied him to Alexandria and then to Naples, Italy, however while in Naples he was diagnosed with trachoma by health officials and sent back to Beirut. Shoghi Effendi was extremely unhappy at the French Catholic school in Beirut and in October 1912 he successfully secured enrolment in a prepatory school affiliated with the Syrian Protestant College (now the American University of Beirut) and graduated from his final year of high school in 1913.

Higher Education

Beirut

Shoghi Effendi during his tenure as a Secretary of‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1919.

In August 1913 Shoghi Effendi moved from Beirut to Ramleh, Egypt, where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was living and served as his secretary until October when he returned to Beirut to begin University studies at the Syrian Protestant College. He enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts degree and began studies in 1913 and he was also active in extracurricular activities participating in drama, serving as secretary of the student union, and competing in declamation contests winning the French language competition in 1913 and 1914.

Shoghi Effendi returned to Haifa in late 1914 during the university holiday period and while he was in the Holy Land the First World War broke out resulting in many students dropping out of the College however Shoghi Effendi had returned to Beirut to continue his studies by December. As of 1915 there were thirty-five Bahá’í students at the College and Shoghi Effendi was active in College Bahá’í activities and began engaging in correspondence with many international Bahá’ís during his time at the College.

On June 13, 1917, Shoghi Effendi graduated with his Bachelor of Arts. During his degree subjects he studied were English, Arabic, French, History, Geometry, the Bible, Biology, Trigonometry, Physics, Analytical Geometry, Elementary Mathematical Analysis, Logic, Economics, Rhetoric in Arabic and English, Ethics, Zoology, Psychology, Engineering, Law, Astronomy, Sociology and Chemistry. He enrolled again as a postgraduate student in October 1917 but returned to Haifa in the summer of 1918.

After returning to Haifa Shoghi Effendi served as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s secretary, served as an interpreter when He was greeting pilgrims, and translated some Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá into English with some being published in Star of the West. His responsibilities increased in the winter of 1918 when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s secretary Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb departed the Holy Land, and his workload became detrimental to his health when he suffered several bouts of malaria in the spring of 1919.

Oxford

Shoghi Effendi with J.E. Esslemont during his time at Oxford, 1921.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá arranged for Shoghi Effendi to rest to improve his health and sent him to a sanatorium in the Parisian suburb of Neuilly in France in April 1920 where he received medical care with his health improving. In June, 1920, he submitted an application to study at Oxford University from Neuilly desiring to improve his translation abilities, and he also wrote to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá requesting direction on whether he would be able to study in England or if he was required to return to Haifa.

On July 4, 1920, Shoghi Effendi visited Versailles and on July 5 after arriving back in Neuilly he received approval from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to study in England and advice on how to successfully enroll in Oxford and departed for England two weeks later arriving in London in mid July. He attended a meeting at Lindsay Hall in late July and met many English Bahá’ís including J. E. Esslemont. From London he went to Oxford to pursue his application to the University arriving on July 26, 1920.

Shoghi Effendi began studying under a private tutor in August 1920 well before the start of the university semester in October. His sister Rúhangiz also moved to England around this time and they visited J. E. Esslemont in Bournemouth for a few days in September. In October Shoghi Effendi was accepted into the Non-Collegiate Delegacy which was affiliated with Oxford University. In addition to his studies at the start of the semester he assisted J. E. Esslemont with transliterating Persian words for Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, and he was active in social circles at Oxford playing football and participating in student debates.

In January 1921 Shoghi Effendi was officially enrolled in Balliol College at Oxford University and moved his residence to the College. While studying he used his spare time to translate preparing translations of the Hidden Words and a Tablet of Visitation in January 1921. From March to April was a short vacation period and he visited his sister Rúhangiz in Scotland and then Sussex and spent time playing tennis, which was his favourite sport, with fellow students in Oxford. He also continued translating during the vacation translating several prayers and Tablets. When university resumed in April 1921 he presented papers on the Faith at a student society, most likely the Lotus Club.

From June to October 1921 was Oxfords long vacation period and Shoghi Effendi visited Bahá’ís in London and spent time in Torquay. In August he visited the Bahá’í community of Manchester and some community gatherings were held with a joint letter to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá being composed at the first. He returned to Oxford to continue his studies after the vacation period.

Shoghi Effendi shortly after being appointed as the Guardian, 1921.

Appointment as Guardian

The Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá took place on November 28, 1921. Wellesley Tudor Pole received a cable with the news at 9:30 am on November 29 and summoned Shoghi Effendi to his office. The cable was on his desk when Shoghi Effendi arrived and Shoghi Effendi read the cable and collapsed before Pole arrived in his office to greet him. He stayed with Miss Grand, a London Bahá’í, and was bedridden for a few days. Preparations were made for him and his sister Rúhangiz to return to Haifa accompanied by Lady Blomfield and he stayed with J. E. Esslemont in Bournemouth for a few days in early December while plans were being finalized as passport issues prevented immediate departure. On December 16 they set sail from England for Egypt and they arrived in Haifa by train on December 29.

Bahíyyih Khánum, the sister of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, had already read the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and knew Shoghi Effendi had been appointed as the Guardian however she decided to delay informing him of the appointment and he stayed in the House of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for grieving for three days before being presented with the Will and Testament. He initially felt he could not accept the appointment and fell ill for several days however his mother encouraged him not to reject it. On January 7, 1922, the Will and Testament was read publicly for the first time. Throughout January he spent time with pilgrims who had recently arrived in the Holy Land and oversaw the translation of the Will and Testament into English by Emogene Hoagg and Ruha Khanum.

Early Ministry: The 1920’s

Opening of Ministry: 1922-1923

Shoghi Effendi soon faced serious challenges in his leadership of the community. On January 30, 1922, supporters of Mírzá Muhammad ‘Alí, his great-uncle and the Arch-Breaker of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, forcibly seized the keys to the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh from the caretaker of the Shrine preventing the Bahá’í community from visiting the Shrine and ‘Alí's son distributed letters in America calling for the Bahá’í community to recognize Mírzá Muhammad ‘Alí as its leader. Also in early 1922 the Bahá’ís were evicted from the House of Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad and Shoghi Effendi quickly initiated attempts to re-obtain ownership of the property with efforts continuing into the 1930’s.

In February 1922 Shoghi Effendi summoned senior Bahá’ís from across the entire global community to the Holy Land for a conference to consult on the future of the Faith with representatives from the United States, Burma, France, Germany, and England being invited. Bahá’ís from Iran and India were also invited but were unable to travel to Haifa in time for the conference. Initially consultation was focused on the establishment of the Universal House of Justice however Shoghi Effendi concluded that the administration of the Faith needed to be further developed with Local and National bodies being established and achieving a certain level of functionality first and he tasked the attendees with developing the administration in their respective countries.

In April 1922 Shoghi Effendi appointed nine Bahá’ís to serve as a Spiritual Assembly for Haifa and entrusted them with assisting Bahíyyih Khánum with overseeing the administration of the Bahá’í community as he departed Haifa for Europe on April 5 in order to recuperate from the pressures of his new role. He went to Germany accompanied by a cousin where he received medical treatment and then went to Interlaken, Switzerland, where he rented a small room with an elderly Swiss mountain guide. He spent his days in Switzerland undertaking long walks through mountain passes and mountain climbing. Regarding this period he later remarked to Leroy Ioas:

”I didn’t want to be the Guardian of the Cause. In the first place, I didn’t think that I was worthy. Next place, I didn’t want to face these responsibilities . . . I didn’t want to be the Guardian. I knew what it meant. I knew that my life as a human being was over. I didn’t want it and I didn’t want to face it.
So remember, I left the Holy Land, and I went up into the mountains of Switzerland, and I fought with myself until I conquered myself. Then I came back and I turned myself over to God and I was the Guardian.

After six months Bahíyyih Khánum became concerned with Shoghi Effendi’s absence and sent his mother and another relative to ask him to return to the Holy Land and he arrived in Haifa on December 15, 1922. He resumed his duties meeting with and hosting pilgrim’s, holding regular meetings in the House of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for the community in the Holy Land, and engaging in prolific correspondence, however he quickly found the large volume of correspondence difficult to manage and in January 1923 he sent a request for a volunteer to serve as his secretary to the English community. He also began developing the Shrine of the Báb installing a light over the door to the shrine in early 1923.

Shoghi Effendi in Switzerland.

In March, 1923, Shoghi Effendi issued instructions outlining the basic method for the election of a National Spiritual Assembly and national Bahá’í communities began establishing Assemblies with the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles being the first body Shoghi Effendi recognized as being an official Assembly. Some Bahá’ís became opposed to his decisions and leadership of the community around this time and he became ill due to stress and departed the Holy Land for Switzerland again in June 1923.

Shoghi Effendi's 1923 trip was the last time he cut all contact with the Holy Land during an absence and he returned to Haifa in November 1923. In 1924 Shoghi Effendi invited J.E. Esslemont to live in Haifa and he arrived on November 21 that year, began taking Persian lessons, and by December he was fluent enough that he was assisting Shoghi Effendi in translating the Tablet of Ahmad and he began serving as Shoghi Effendi’s secretary, however in November the following year Esslemont passed away leaving Shoghi Effendi without a secretary.

Early Administrative Developments: 1925-1928

In 1925 Shoghi Effendi gave instructions for the establishment of the International Bahá’í Bureau in Geneva, Switzerland, which he intended to facilitate communications between different international Bahá’í communities as an auxiliary to the World Centre in Haifa, and he attempted to establish an international secretariat in Haifa in 1926 but was unsuccessful due to a lack of human resources. In February 1926 he began correspondence with George Townshend who was able to begin assisting him with translation work.

Throughout 1926 he encouraged American pilgrims to stimulate support for the Unified Plan of action developed by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada emphasizing the importance of unity as many members of the community had written to him to criticize the plan and other Bahá’ís, and at the end of May he began another break from his duties in Switzerland remaining there until October 15, although he continued correspondence while absent from the Holy Land.

At the close of 1926 Ethel Rosenberg arrived in the Holy Land and began serving as Shoghi Effendi’s secretary assisting him with his workload into the following year. In May 1927 he issued a document he entitled a Declaration of Trust for a National Spiritual Assembly which outlined the basic functions of a National Spiritual Assembly, formally developing the Administrative Order. In October 1927 he traveled to Switzerland for respite shortly after announcing that former prominent Bahá’í ‘Abdu’l-Husayn Ávárih was collaborating with the religious authorities of Iran to persecute the community. Shoghi Effendi returned to the Holy Land at the start of November.

The Mansion of Bahji in a state of disrepair, 1929.

Crisis and Victory: 1928-1929

A major community issue which confronted Shoghi Effendi in 1928 was escalating persecution in the Soviet Union with the Ishqabad Temple being confiscated from the community by the government. Several letters by Shoghi Effendi covering topics including the persecution of the Faith in Russia and Persia and the basic duties and procedures to be followed by National and Local Spiritual Assemblies were published in the compilation Bahá’í Administration in 1928. He visited England in mid-1929 and in September 1929 he sailed to Cape Town, South Africa, and returned to the Holy Land through Africa traveling to Cairo, Egypt, overland as he wanted to see and experience the continent.

A major victory for Shoghi Effendi in 1929 was securing control of the Mansion of Bahji and the Shrine of Baha’u’llah. Mírzá Muhammad ‘Alí granted him control of the property as it had fallen into disrepair and requested that he renovate it. He restored it over the next two years and secured full legal ownership. He also successfully secured permission for the Baha’i community of Haifa to administer its internal religious affairs such as administering marriages the same year.

In late 1929 Shoghi Effendi began planning for a major international conference in the Holy Land to facilitate consultation on the formation of more National Spiritual Assemblies to prepare for the establishment of the Universal House of Justice, however in December he became aware that some senior Bahá’ís intended to utilize the conference to establish the Universal House of Justice immediately and canceled his plans. He felt some of the Bahá’ís wanted the body established in the hopes of being elected to it to allow them to exert personal authority within the community and did not refer to the Universal House of Justice or openly pursue its establishment for the next twenty years, instead directing the community to develop the Administrative Order and expand the Faith.

The Early 1930’s

Shoghi Effendi made several notable achievements in developing the literature of the Faith in 1930 completing his English translation of the Kitab-i-Iqan by April that year. Throughout the year he made progress on finalizing his translation of The Dawn-Breakers, a historical narrative composed by Nabil-i-A’zam, with the assistance of George Townshend and he sent Australian photographer Effie Baker to Iran that year to photograph the Holy sites in the country for inclusion in the publication.

He continued working on Dawn-Breakers into 1931 and consulted with visiting pilgrims on which of Baker’s photographs should be included in the work. As had become his custom he spent October to November that year in Europe to recuperate. In early 1932 the Dawn-Breakers was published completing two years of intensive work from Shoghi Effendi to translate and adapt Nabil’s original manuscript, and in 1934 he completed a compilation of translated excerpts from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh which he had published as Gleanings.

Persecution of the Faith escalated in Iran from 1934 onward with Bahá’í schools and centres being closed down, and Bahá’ís working in the government service and serving in the military being removed from their positions and arrested and Shoghi Effendi oversaw efforts to alleviate the persecution. Conditions in Germany also deteriorated with the rise of the Nazi party with Bahá’í activity being outlawed in 1936. In addition to guiding the community through persecution in Iran, Germany, and the Soviet Union, and his translation and publication work Shoghi Effendi also developed the properties of the Faith in the Holy Land throughout the early 1930’s and in 1935 his plans for securing a large strip of land on Mount Carmel, which is now the Terraces of the Shrine of the Bab, were shared with the American community.

In August 1935 Shoghi Effendi decided that the administration of the Faith in the west had developed to the extent that he advised the National Spiritual Assembly of the US and Canada that several laws of the Faith such as fasting, obligatory prayer, not drinking alcohol, and some others were to now be considered a requirement for western Bahá’ís.

Launch of the Divine Plan & Marriage

Rúḥíyyih Khánum, the wife of Shoghi Effendi.

In 1936 Shoghi Effendi established a formal framework for the expansion and consolidation of the Faith when he issued a Seven Year Plan to the Bahá’í community of North America. This marked the beginning of Shoghi Effendi’s aim to have the community actively make efforts to achieve the goals set by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Tablets of the Divine Plan. He set several goals specific to North America which the community was to try and achieve by 1944. During 1936 he also pursued the firm establishment of the World Centre of the Faith encouraging all National Spiritual Assemblies to establish Palestinian Branchs in order to purchase land in Haifa and ‘Akka.

In January 1937 the Maxwell family arrived in the Holy Land, remaining for an extended period, and on March 25, 1937, Shoghi Effendi married their daughter Mary having previously met her while she was on pilgrimage twice. Only their parents and three of Shoghi Effendi's siblings were aware the wedding was to take place in advance. He and Mary exchanged rings at the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh and a simple ceremony was then held in the room of Bahíyyih Khánum with Shoghi Effendi's parents signing a marriage certificate. After their marriage Shoghi Effendi granted Mary the Persian name Rúhíyyih. He resumed his heavy workload as usual after their marriage, and began personally tutoring his wife in secretarial duties.

From 1929 and throughout the 1930's Shoghi Effendi had issued several major messages outlining an overall vision for the development of the Bahá’í community which were collectively published in the collection World Order of Bahá’u’lláh in 1938 and serve as a blueprint for the community's Administrative functioning and also outline the fundamental theology of the Faith.

The War Years

During the late 1930’s the political situation in the Holy Land began to deteriorate with conflict breaking out between the Arab population and the British authorities with a conflict known as the Great Revolt taking place from 1936 to 1939. Shoghi Effendi disbanded the Spiritual Assembly of Haifa in 1938, and moved to Europe in the spring remaining there for most of the year. He composed Advent of Divine Justice while in Europe, which largely concerned the oncoming Second World War, and issued it to the North American community in December.

Shoghi Effendi had returned to the Holy Land by December 1939 and he began construction of the graves of Mirza Mihdi and Navvab on Mount Carmel, and they were completed with the remains being reinterred in February 1940. He also completed his translation of Epistle to the Son of the Wolf during this period.

In March 1940 Shoghi Effendi needed to visit England for personal reasons and he traveled to Italy with his wife settling in Genoa where they made efforts to secure visas to enter England. They were joined by his father in law, William Sutherland Maxwell, and traveled to Paris, France, around May and Germany invaded France while they were there. They secured permission to enter England on June 2, 1940, and sailed to Southampton from St. Malo one day before St. Malo was occupied by the Germans.

The war prevented them from returning to Haifa through Europe and they sailed to Cape Town, South Africa, on July 28, 1940 and Shoghi Effendi and Ruhiyyih undertook an overland journey across Africa driving to Juba, Sudan, from South Africa. During their journey to Sudan they passed through Zimbabwe and then the Belgian Congo. Shoghi Effendi had been unable to visit the Congo during his 1929 trip through Africa and made an effort to secure a visa during this journey as he specifically wanted to see the country. From Juba they sailed to Khartoum via the Nile, and arrived back in the Holy Land on December 27, 1940, with Ruhiyyih’s father William joining them and establishing his residence in Haifa.

As of 1941 Ruhiyyih Khanum had become Shoghi Effendi’s primary secretary, and her father William assisted him in designing the architecture of the World Center most notably designing the superstructure for the Shrine of the Bab in 1942. Around this time Shoghi Effendi allowed for a children’s school to be established in the House of ‘Abbud at the request of the Akka District Commissioner and refused to accept payment in return.

From late 1942 and throughout 1943 Shoghi Effendi worked on the composition of the historical book God Passes By to commemorate the Centenary of the Declaration of the Bab the following year. He consulted two hundred reference books in the composition of the work, sometimes working for up to sixteen hours in a day to consult references and produce the manuscript. Immediately after completing the book in 1944 he began composition of an equivalent work in Persian. God Passes By was the only book Shoghi Effendi composed and it was the last literary work he undertook for several years.

The American Seven Year Plan concluded in 1944 and that year the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles decided to adopt a similar mode of functioning requesting Shoghi Effendi send them specific goals for a Six Year Plan which he provided.

Throughout the 1940’s in addition to losing the support of his family Shoghi Effendi had directed the Baha’i community of the Holy Land to leave the region and settle elsewhere, and by 1946 the only support he had for the functioning of the World Center were William S. Maxwell who attended to all banking, mailing letters and issuing cables, and personal matters, Ruhiyyih Khanum who served as his Secretary, and two other Baha’is one of whom was almost eighty years old.

Family Disunity

In addition to the external hostility of the Second World War internal hostility within the family of Shoghi Effendi came to a head in 1941. As early as the 1920’s some Eastern pilgrims had observed that the family of Shoghi Effendi showed a lack of respect towards his station including openly mocking and criticizing his decisions, with his brother in law Nayyir Afnán criticizing his leadership of the community to pilgrims when he was not present. Members of his family had also established affiliations with political elements of the Arab community in the Holy Land, and a relative who was serving in a high post in the Iraqi government had refused to resign from his position at Shoghi Effendi’s request in the late 1930’s.

Shoghi Effendi had kept the disunity within his family private, including when his cousin Ruhi Afnan made an unsanctioned tour of the United States Baha’i community, however matters came to a head throughout the 1940's and from 1941 to 1945 he declared his siblings, cousins, and aunts as Covenant-breakers formally expelling them from the community for various reasons. He sent Ruhiyyih Khanum to attempt to reconcile Ruhi Afnan with the community at some point but he rejected the invitation. In the case of his brother Husayn Shoghi Effendi spent eight months attempting to mediate the situation before expelling him but his efforts were unsuccessful with his family remaining expelled from the Faith.

After the War

Teaching Plans & Construction

Shortly after the end of World War II, in 1946 or 1947, Shoghi Effendi and Ruhiyyih Khanum visited Scotland so that Ruhiyyih could connect with her Scottish ancestry. They spent time in Loch Lomond, Gleneagles, Stirling, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen.

The Shrine of the Bab under construction.

Shoghi Effendi began launching efforts to dramatically increase the level of activity across the Baha’i world after the end of the war, expanding the scope of the systematic pursuit of the Divine Plan. In 1946 he developed and launched a second Seven Year Plan for the United States and Canada, a Forty-Five Month Plan for Iran, and encouraged the communities of India, Pakistan, and Burma to develop their own goals. In 1947 he gave systematic plans of action to the communities of Iraq, Australia, and New Zealand, and in 1948 plans were developed for Canada, Egypt, Germany, and Austria.

The United Nations was formed following the end of the Second World War and Shoghi Effendi directed the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States to develop a relationship with the body and the Bahá’í International Community was established for this purpose in 1948. In April 1948 Shoghi Effendi began overseeing the construction of the superstructure of the Shrine of the Bab, a major undertaking which had been a goal set by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and throughout the late 1940’s he spent much of his time inspecting and working on improving the Gardens in Haifa.

Shoghi Effendi oversaw another stage of development of the Administrative Order of the Faith in the late 1940’s issuing instructions for the establishment of an independent National Spiritual Assembly of Canada in 1948 and Regional Spiritual Assemblies for Central and South America In 1950.

Violence broke out in the Holy Land in the wake of the establishment of Israel in the late 1940’s and the majority of his expelled family fled to Lebanon with many speculating as to whether Shoghi Effendi would also leave the Holy Land due to being of an eastern background however he remained in Israel. In January 1949 he had a short fifteen minute private audience with Prime Minister Ben Gurion of Israel and briefly outlined the nature of the Faith and his station and he sent him a copy of God Passes By afterwards.

In 1950 the British Six Year Plan and Iranian Forty-Five Month Plan concluded and rather than setting additional goals for Britain and Iran Shoghi Effendi began developing a teaching plan focused on establishing the Faith on the continent of Africa giving the National Assemblies of Iran and the British Isles responsibility for sending pioneers to goal posts. In August 1950 he sent a request to the American community requesting African American Bahá’ís pioneer to Africa to support the teaching work and several African Americans had pioneered before the Africa Plan officially launched in 1951.

Shoghi Effendi surveying Mount Carmel.

Administrative Development

In late 1950 Shoghi Effendi began to formally develop the administrative structure of the Bahá’í World Center in order to have a framework to assist him in managing the international affairs of the community. In November 1950, during a sojourn in Switzerland, he sent cables summoning several Bahá’ís to the Holy Land. As of January 1951 all those who had been invited had arrived in the Holy Land and Shoghi Effendi announced he was establishing a new administrative body, the International Bahá’í Council, to which they were all appointed. When he announced the bodies formation to the international community he described it as the forerunner to the Universal House of Justice representing the first time he had referred to the formation of the body since 1929.

In December 1951 he established another major institution of the Faith when he appointed the first contingent of living Hands of the Cause of God and he appointed a second contingent in February 1952. Hands of the Cause and members of the Council assisted Shoghi Effendi in securing land surrounding Bahji throughout 1952.

Having further developed the administrative framework of the Faith during 1952 Shoghi Effendi began developing plans for the Ten Year Crusade and announced Intercontinental Conferences to be held across the world throughout 1953 to launch the teaching plan which would encompass the entire world and unify all national Bahá’í communities under one plan. The Hands of the Cause represented him at the Intercontinental Conferences sharing his goals with the community.

The Ten Year Crusade

In 1953 the Ten Year Crusade began. A major feature of the Plan were the goal or virgin territories, places with no Bahá’í residents, which Shoghi Effendi had tasked the community with settling. He established the title of Knight of Bahá’u’lláh which was to be granted to those who settled in goal territories. At the World Center Shoghi Effendi personally oversaw the construction of the superstructure of the Shrine of the Bab and other construction projects in the early part of the Crusade, and in 1954 he began work on a codification of the laws contained in the Kitab-i-Aqdas.

In April 1954 Shoghi Effendi had an audience with President Izthak Ben-Zvi of Israel at the President's request with the President visiting Shoghi Effendi representing the first visit by a Head of State to the World Centre and Shoghi Effendi took him on a tour through the Gardens on to the Shrine of the Bab. Shoghi Effendi also instituted another major development in the Administration of the Faith in April 1954 establishing Auxiliary Boards for each continent, which consisted of individuals appointed by the Hands of the Cause to assist them in their work to protect and propagate the Faith.

In January 1955 Shoghi Effendi, having completed the construction of the superstructure of the Shrine of the Bab, began construction work on a building to house the International Archives of the Faith on Mount Carmel, and early in the year he approved a design for a Temple to be constructed in Tehran, Iran, which he planned to be constructed by 1963.

Plans for a Temple in Iran were abandoned as during 1955 a wave of intense persecution broke out in the country with the community's properties being seized by the authorities, Baha’i homes being looted and destroyed across the country, and several Baha’is being martyred. Shoghi Effendi marshaled the international community, directing Local and National Assemblies to protest the situation directly to the Shah of Iran and the Bahá’í International Community to lodge an appeal with the United Nations. These efforts resulted in open violence against the community ceasing although overall persecution continued.

In 1956 four National Spiritual Assemblies were established to administrate Bahá’í communities across Africa at the direction of Shoghi Effendi representing the success of the plan to establish the Faith on the continent he had launched in 1950.

Shoghi Effendi with Leroy Ioas (left) in April, 1957.

Final Year

In the spring of 1957 Shoghi Effendi spent three weeks dedicated to working on the codification of the Kitab-i-Aqdas but remarked to his wife that he did not think it was likely he would complete it. Around Ridvan that year he completed the construction of the exterior of the International Archives Building although the interior still required furnishing.

Throughout the year Shoghi Effendi planned another set of Intercontinental Conferences to take place throughout 1958 to mark the midpoint of the Ten Year Crusade and he assigned Hands of the Cause and members of the International Council to represent him at each Conference. In early October 1957 he appointed another contingent of Hands of the Cause of God and issued a message in which he referred to the Hands as the Chief Stewards of Bahá’u’lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth.

At the end of October 1957 Shoghi Effendi traveled to England with his wife to source materials for the interior of the International Archives Building arriving on October 20 and settling in London. Seven days after arriving they both fell ill with Asiatic influenza however despite being severely ill Shoghi Effendi continued working intensively mapping and recording the progress of the Crusade. He intended to return to Haifa but was advised by a doctor he required rest and he passed away on November 4, 1957.

Ruhiyyih Khanum and the other Hands of the Cause organized his Funeral and he was buried in New Southgate Cemetery in London on November 9. After his passing the Hands of the Cause elected nine Custodians to temporarily head the Bahá’í community and they oversaw the conclusion of the Ten Year Crusade which culminated with the establishment of the Universal House of Justice in 1963.

Publications

For a more extensive list see Writings of Shoghi Effendi.

Books

• 1944 - God Passes By

Major Messages

• 1929 - The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh
• 1930 - The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh: Further Considerations
• 1931 - The Goal of a New World Order
• 1932 - Bahiyyih Khanum: Eulogy for the Greatest Holy Leaf
• 1932 - The Golden Age of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh
• 1933 - America and the Most Great Peace
• 1934 - The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh
• 1936 - The Unfoldment of World Civilization
• 1939 - The Advent of Divine Justice
• 1941 - The Promised Day Is Come
• 1947 - The Challenging Requirements of the Present Hour

Compilations

• 1928 - Bahá’í Administration (reissued as expanded edition in 1941)
• 1938 - The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh
• 1947 - Messages to America, 1932-1946
• 1958 - Messages to the Bahá’í World, 1950-1957
• 1965 - Messages to Canada
• 1965 - Citadel of Faith: Messages to America, 1947-1957
• 1973 - Directives from the Guardian
• 1976 - High Endeavors: Messages to Alaska
• 1981 - Unfolding Destiny: The Messages from the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith to the Bahá’í Community of the British Isles
• 1982 - Arohanui: Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand
• 1982 - The Light of Divine Guidance: Letters from the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith to Individual Believers in Germany and Austria Volume 1
• 1985 - The Light of Divine Guidance: Letters from the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith to Individual Believers in Germany and Austria Volume 2
• 1995 - Messages of Shoghi Effendi to the Indian Subcontinent
• 1997 - Messages to the Antipodes (revised edition released in 2021).
• 2002 - This Decisive Hour: Messages from Shoghi Effendi to the North American Bahá’ís 1932-1946
• 2009 - Dear Co-worker: Messages from Shoghi Effendi to the Benelux Countries
• 2018 - Afire with the Vision: Messages from Shoghi Effendi to Latin America

Translations

• 1923 - Prayers of Bahá'u'lláh
• 1923 - Prayers and Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
• 1924 - The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh (revised edition published in 1932)
• 1925 - The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
• 1931 - The Kitáb-i-Íqán
• 1932 - The Dawn-Breakers by Nabíl-i-A‘ẓam
• 1935 - Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh
• 1938 - Prayers and Meditations by Bahá'u'lláh
• 1941 - Epistle to the Son of the Wolf by Bahá'u'lláh
• 1973 - Synopsis and Codification of the Laws and Ordinances of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (completed by the Bahá’í World Centre using Shoghi Effendi's notes)

Teaching Plans

The following were teaching plans inaugurated or supported by Shoghi Effendi:

• 1937 - 1944: First American Seven Year Plan
• 1938 - 1944: Indian Six Year Plan (not inaugurated by Shoghi Effendi but he established a teaching fund to support the work of the Plan)
• 1944 - 1950: British Six Year Plan
• 1946 - 1953: Second American Seven Year Plan
• 1946 - 1950: Indian Four & a Half Year Plan
• 1946 - 1950: Persian Forty-Five Month Plan
• 1946 - 1950: Persian Women's Four Year Plan
• 1947 - 1953: Australian Six Year Plan
• 1948 - 1953: Canadian Five Year Plan
• 1948 - 1953: Egyptian Five Year Plan
• 1948 - 1953: German Five Year Plan
• 1950 - 1953: The African Campaign
• 1950 - 1953: Iraqi Three Year Plan
• 1951 - 1953: British Two Year Plan
• 1951 - 1953: Indian Nineteen Month Plan
• 1951 - 1953: South American Two Year Plan
• 1952 - 1953: Central American One Year Plan
• 1953 - 1963: The Ten Year Crusade

References

• Giachery, Ugo (1973). Shoghi Effendi - Reflections. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-050-0.

• Khadem, Riaz (1999). Shoghi Effendi in Oxford. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-423-9.

• Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá’í World Centre. ISBN 0-85398-350-X.

• Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (1969). The Priceless Pearl (Hardcover ed.). London, UK: Bahá’í Publishing Trust: 2000. ISBN 1-870989-91-0.

• Effendi, Shoghi (1974). Bahá’í Administration. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-166-3.
• Richard St. Barbe Baker (1985) [1970]. My Life, My Trees (2nd ed.). Forres: Findhorn. ISBN 0-905249-63-1.
• Khadem, Riaz (1999). Shoghi Effendi in Oxford. Oxford: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-423-9.

See also

• Administration
• Universal House of Justice
• World Centre

External links

• The work and life of Shoghi Effendi
• Writings of Shoghi Effendi in English
• Biography of Shoghi Effendi
• Directions to the Resting Place of Shoghi Effendi
• Writings of Shoghi Effendi in Persian, and Arabic