Shu‘á‘u’lláh ‘Alá’í

Shu‘á‘u’lláh ‘Alá’í
Born	November 16, 1889 Tihran, Iran
Died	November 16, 1984 Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
NSA member	Iran 1934 - 1964
Title(s)	Hand of the Cause Asia 1952 - 1978 Europe 1978 - 1981 Americas 1981 - 1984
Signature

Shu‘á‘u’lláh ‘Alá’í (November 16, 1889 - November 16, 1984) was a Hand of the Cause of God appointed by Shoghi Effendi in 1952. He was a prominent finance official in Iran, and served on the Local Spiritual Assemblies of Tehran and Tajrish and the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran prior to being appointed a Hand of the Cause.

Biography

Early Life

Shu’á’u’lláh was born in Tehran in 1889. His father was Siyyid Muhammad Nazimu’l-Hukama and his mother was Khadíjih, also known as Bíbí Ján, a relative of early Bábí Mírzá Aḥmad-i-Azghandí. When he was seven his father received a Tablet from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which Shu‘á‘u’lláh memorized. Shu‘á‘u’lláh studied under a private tutor until he was ten when he began attending the Tarbiyat school, a Bahá’í school in Tehran. When he was eighteen he was appointed to a committee responsible for organizing Bahá’í meetings in Tehran. After school he studied medicine, but switched to studying accounting, and he became a financial officer with the Police Department when he was nineteen. When he was twenty-three he married Furúghíyyih, who he eventually had five children with.

Shu‘á‘u’lláh ‘Alá’í in the 1950s.

Career & Service to the Faith in Iran

In 1913 Shu‘á‘u’lláh was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tehran, and he served on the body until 1943. In 1914 he was appointed treasurer of Iran's Ministry of Justice and served in the position until 1919. He also served as a financial officer for Iran's army, eventually becoming chief financial officer and achieving the rank of General. In 1923 he was sent to Europe on a Government assignment, and visited the Holy Land during his travels. Shoghi Effendi was not residing in the Holy Land at the time, but Shu‘á‘u’lláh was able to meet with Bahíyyih Khánum.

In 1927 he became an inaugural member of the board of directors of what eventually became the Central Bank of Iran. In 1934 he was elected as an inaugural member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran. In 1944 he pioneered to Tajrish, a village near Tehran, and was elected to its Local Spiritual Assembly.

Shu‘á‘u’lláh made a second visit to the Holy Land with his wife in 1952, and on February 29th, 1952, he was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi and began travelling internationally to undertake his responsibilities.

Service as Hand of the Cause

In 1953 Shu‘á‘u’lláh attended four Intercontinental Teaching Conferences held to open the Ten Year Crusade in Kampala, Wilmette, New Delhi and Stockholm. He also visited Bahá’í communities in the United States, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, India, Pakistan and across North Africa and the Middle East. While in the United States he was responsible for visiting Local Spiritual Assemblies from the Pacific Northwest to the Atlantic coast. In 1956 he toured Asia, visiting India, Ceylon, Indonesia and Malaya, and attended the first Southeast Asia Teaching Conference.

Shu‘á‘u’lláh ‘Alá’í in later years.

In December 1959 he visited India spending Dec 2 to 7 in Mumbai during which he gave four talks on the Ten Year Crusade, held a youth fireside, and met with the Local Spiritual Assembly twice before departing to visit Hong Kong and Japan. On December 9 he met with the Bahá’í community of Macau, and from January 16 to 18, 1960, he was in Vietnam and visited Saigon, Nha-Be, and Phuoc Long.

He represented the Universal House of Justice at Bahá’í events across the world during the 1960's and managed the properties of the Faith, such as the Holy sites, within Iran. In the 1970's he mainly focused on protecting the Faith in Iran, but also continued to travel. He visited the Holy Land to consult with the International Teaching Centre in 1977 and 1978 and moved to France in late 1978.

In 1981 Shu‘á‘u’lláh moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, in the United States where he passed away in 1984 surrounded by close members of his family and devoted friends. Upon his death, the Universal House of Justice cabled all National Spiritual Assemblies with the following message:

“ GRIEVED ANNOUNCE PASSING HANDCAUSE SHUAULLAH ALAI 16 NOVEMBER THUS ENDING MORE THAN SEVENTY YEARS UNINTERRUPTED DEDICATED SERVICES THRESHOLD BAHAULLAH. HE WAS TOWER STRENGTH CRADLE FAITH WHERE HE SERVED EMINENTLY DEVOTEDLY IN ITS EMERGING ADMINISTRATIVE INSTITUTIONS SINCE THEIR INCEPTION. HIS MEMBERSHIP MANY DECADES NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FREQUENTLY AS CHAIRMAN BEARS WITNESS TRUST BAHAIS IRAN PLACED HIS NOBLE PERSON. HIS EXEMPLARY COURAGE REPRESENTING INTERESTS FAITH HIGH PLACES HIS INTEGRITY PERFORMING OFFICIAL DUTIES ENHANCED PRESTIGE BELOVED FAITH HE SO DILIGENTLY SINCERELY CHAMPIONED ENTIRE LIFE. HIS MANIFOLD ACHIEVEMENTS CROWNED HONOUR APPOINTMENT HAND CAUSE 29 FEBRUARY 1952. THIS ENABLED HIM EXTEND SERVICES FAITH INTERNATIONAL ARENA. SUPPLICATING SACRED THRESHOLD PROGRESS RADIANT SOUL ABHA KINGDOM. ADVISE HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERINGS BAHAI WORLD INCLUDING ALL MASHRIQULADHKARS. ”

Talks

• 1973 - Speaking with ‘Alí-Muhammad Varqá

References

Bahai.media has a related page: Category:Shu‘á‘u’lláh ‘Alá’í

• Harper 335-8.
• Obituary article published in Baha'i World, vol. 19, pp.593-5.
• Shu‘á‘u’lláh ‘Alá'í at Find a Grave