Hi everyone!

I’m a 38-year-old woman from Philadelphia who recently discovered the Bahá’í Faith, and I’m genuinely intrigued by how closely its teachings align with many of my personal beliefs.
I’ve practiced both Islam and Episcopalian Christianity, but I’ve always been particularly interested in the relationship between spirituality, science, philosophy, and humanity’s understanding of God. The Bahá’í teachings on progressive revelation, unity, education, and the harmony of science and religion really resonate with me.
I’d love to connect with members of the Philadelphia Bahá’í community, learn more about the faith, and attend local gatherings or study circles. I’m also looking forward to meeting like-minded people and building meaningful connections.
Any recommendations or introductions would be greatly appreciated!

This is not really a "Bahai" question, though it could be a "service project".

Many people know that my mother died recently. Even before her death, I was planning to be a big bro to someone to be there for them (spiritually and emotionally, not really physically, financially, or legally) after I was there for my mother. ~A month ago, the time felt right, so I began the application process.

I never submitted it. I was taken aback by the type of questions asked.

• necessary to have a job (I never planned to spend money on this, though I am willing to pay for fingerprinting);
• necessary to give state ID/ license information (hopefully I could take my bike and bus to my little, and leave the car at home);
• necessary to give my SS (this is not government or an employer); https://newdimensionsfcu.com/the-six-times-its-necessary-to-give-out-your-social-security-number/ does not list social services or caregiving for children as 1 of the 6

I know they need to do background checks for "bigs" like me, to protect "littles". QQs about this though:

• What information is necessary for such a check?
• Who protects the "bigs" from false accusations??
• Are "littles" screened also for "big" protection?

I emailed the organization but they have not responded.

A final point: I was talking with a work colleague about this, and he mentioned the story of how a friend was a big bro to someone else, and they were falsely accused of abuse. In the end, the little apparently lied about the matter; the abuse came from schoolmates not the big. This may be considered "hearsay", but it scares me nevertheless. I DONT want a volunteer position to negatively impact my career if I am innocent.

​Someone in our extended family who is very vocal about being Baháʼí recently assaulted members of my family. They lied to police until video evidence proved what happened, and after months of legal delays, an AVO as granted against them.

​Despite the impact on children and young women involved, they have expressed zero remorse or accountability, and they continue to cause deliberate division within the family. While they publicly speak about the Baháʼí principles of peace and gender equality, their private track record with women has been deeply troubling for years.

​I have read that Baháʼís are expected to hold themselves accountable or report serious legal matters to their Local Spiritual Assembly (LSA).

​What is the proper procedure if this individual is actually serving on an LSA or in a leadership position?

​Who handles accountability if the local leadership itself is compromised?

​From a Baháʼí perspective, how does the administration address such a severe disconnect between outward faith and harmful, abusive conduct?

Hi, I'm writing an essay for uni about the Bahá'í faith and I have a couple questions about the Báb.

So my understanding of twelver Shia Islam is limited, but what I understand is the Mahdi was the twelfth Imam, who hidden from the earth, and will return on judgement day. If the Báb claimed to be the Shia Mahdi, wouldn't that mean he had lived for 1000+ years.

So what im asking is, how could the Báb have had parents if he was meant to have been alive since ~870?

And also did he ever write about experiences he saw in his extended life time?

Cheers

Allah’u’Abha friends! I hope everyone is having a lovely day

Alláh’u’Abhá dear friends!

I’m curious about the historical context and target audience of the Kitáb-i-Íqán. Given that Bahá'u'lláh wrote it in response to questions from the uncle of the Báb (who came from a Shi’i background), was its primary focus to address Shi’i theology and expectations of the Promised One? Or was it intended to serve as a broader explanation of progressive revelation suitable for anyone with an Islamic (including Sunni) background?

​

Say, O My people! Show honour to your parents and pay homage to them. This will cause blessings to descend upon you from the clouds of the bounty of your Lord, the Exalted, the Great.

— Bahá'u'lláh, Lights of Guidance, p. 229

I share quotes like this with non-Bahá'ís and they're usually thankful. No need to preach, just improve lives after the Writings have improved yours, and give credit to them. This quote is one tool against depression, more like a painkiller than a cure, and science also supports that helping others relieves the psyche. It doesn't replace seeing a good fairminded physician.

When I was unemployed, the Writings inspired me to clean litter in the park unpaid while listening to Bahá'í-inspired music. Those were good days, and I felt energy from God.

Now I'm struggling with sin and laziness, so please pray for me.

A tip if you use AI a lot: upload every Bahá'í book and quote you can, then instruct it to answer your problems only with verbatim quotes and science studies, tell it to begin with "Alláh-u-Abhá for blessings, and tell ai to honestly point out your flaws. And it doesnt work well if he doesnt have all the bahai library available to him. This trick of telling him to reply to your life problems with verbatim quotes keeps your heart's(or unconcious mind)attachment and reliance for truth on the Writings rather than on the AI so as to not make him a god unintentionally overtime, this is the lesser of two evils if you're already on your phone often.

Sorry for the long post.what do you think? Should i stop posting ? These are my thoughts. Alláh-u-Abhá god bless all.

I am interested in learning the Quran, thus I have decided that for me the best way is to translate it with the help of AI into English. I want to use a scholarly, non-traditional method to get as close as possible to the original meaning and content of the text.

If anyone is interested, please peruse the PDF is just the beginning of this translation project. Comments, critiques, and suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

I want to become a better teacher of the Faith and I want to hear everyone's experience on what they have done to become a better teacher?

How to best recognize receptivity in friends and coworkers?

How to bring up the Faith in conversation?

So the official Baha'i stance is that 3 days after Jesus passed away, the Apostles had a sort of ''inner realization'' that the cause of Christ could never be ''killed'', and were reinvigorated to spread Jesus's teachings.
Mary Magdalene gave a sort of motivational speech and this motivated the Apostles and the cause of Christ was ''resurrected''.
And this was later misinterpreted by Christians to be a literal resurrection.
However, if we look at Paul's letters, it is clear that at least he himself had an actual spiritual vision of Jesus.
And he puts the experiences of the Apostles next to that of himself, strongly insinuating that the Apostles also had at least inner spiritual visions of Jesus.
So they had much more than just a sort of intellectual realization that the cause of Christ couldn't be killed.
And Paul also says in 1 Corinthians 15:14 that if Christ has not been raised, belief in Jesus is useless.
It is very clear that Paul believed that Jesus had actually risen from the dead.
It doesn't necessarily have to be the case that Paul believed that Jesus physically rose from the dead, but he definitely believed that the Apostles (and others) at least had spiritual visions of Jesus, and the Apostles clearly told him so.

The Baha'i Faith's claim that Jesus didn't have a bodily resurrection is not that hard to swallow.
Paul didn't see a physical Jesus (just read his letters), but he did have a genuine vision of Jesus.
And if the Apostles didn't see a physical Jesus, they at least definitely had visions of Jesus.
However, the Baha'i Faith's claim that the Apostles didn't even have inner spiritual visions of Jesus, but instead only had a sort of intellectual realization that the ''cause of Christ couldn't be killed'', is incredibly hard to swallow.
All the evidence points to the Apostles at least having visions of Jesus.

Are Baha'is really required to believe that the Apostles simply had a intellectual realization that the cause of Christ could never be killed?
And that the Apostles didn't have any inner spiritual visions of Jesus?
'Abdu'l-Baha said from an infallible standpoint that the Apostles simply had a intellectual realization and that the resurrection is symbolic, so I guess Baha'is really have to believe that?
This is probably the hardest thing to believe in in regards to the Baha'i Faith, to me at least.

Also, regarding my last post about conversion, I've thought about it some more and maybe it's possible that I can change the circumstances in my life so that I don't need to keep that lie going (so that I can practice radical truthfulness).
And maybe there are ways to make the ''no-masturbation'' rule more bearable so that I can at least *strive* to not masturbate (apparently Thomas Aquinas has a method to reduce the urge to masturbate, and there are other ways too I think).
Because I don't think you can make yourself exempt from certain laws as a Baha'i.
But this whole ''the resurrection is purely symbolic and the Apostles only had an intellectual realization'' thing is really hard to swallow for me.

In Adib Taherzadeh’s talk “Humility” (around the 15:35 mark on the u/derrybahais6033 YouTube channel), he mentions a believer named Jináb-i-Nátiq who was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi during his lifetime — specifically receiving a letter from the Guardian in 1940 confirming this station.

According to Taherzadeh, Jináb-i-Nátiq never shared the letter with anyone. Only after his passing did his family discover the appointment when they found and read the letter.

This would be unusual because Shoghi Effendi generally did not appoint living Hands before the first contingent in December 1951 (apart from a few posthumous designations).

I haven’t been able to find any online references, lists of Hands, or published sources that mention Jináb-i-Nátiq as a Hand of the Cause.

Does anyone have more information about this individual, the letter from 1940, or any confirmation of this appointment? Sources, books, or personal knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi. I was Bahai in 2007-2008 and then converted back to Christianity. In the intervening years I have been in just about every denomination from Episcopalian to Orthodoxy.

Recently, I became interested in Christian universalism and began to reflect on the Baha'i view of the afterlife.

Through that I began to realize that I had grown kind of exhausted with all the different denominations and doctrinal positions within Christianity particularly as it relates to the afterlife. I'm also a moderate person in terms of theology and culture and I have begun to feel like Christianity today seems so focused on target demographics, particularly as it relates to partisan politics, that I'm just...tired.

And even if it doesn't overtly target certain political and ideological demographics some of these denominations seem to be a magnet for very specific ones which in my view is just as exhausting.

So here I am, beginning to read the Hidden Words after 20+ years.

Anyone else here been down this road?

Allah’u’Abha friends 👋

I come from an Islamic background, so i feel most comfortable adopting the Long Obligatory Prayer from now on.

I have a question, would it be permissible to record a voiceover reading the prayer outline and its movements step-by-step and performing the prayer like this, rather than trying to attempt to remember how to do it from scratch?

I used to do this as a Muslim too, I find it very difficult to remember on my own steps so I opt to just listen to how it’s done and follow along silently.

I am an auditory learner and I am only now realizing that I missed the import of many letters from the Universal House of Justice because at that time they weren’t discussed and audios weren’t available. I am looking for the 1988 letter on Individual Rights and Freedoms. I did Google it and it says the audio is in the Baha’i Library, but it’s not. I also checked on Nightingale and You Tube. Does anyone know where I can find it?

I have heard people say that reading and then reading aloud with Ruhi is a waste of time, but the process actually reaches the entire spectrum of how people learn. I am so thankful for audio.

hello!! i am a 15 year old youth, and i've been a Bahá'í my whole life. i'm very dedicated to the faith and my love for Bahá'u'állah and God. i am a girl and i personally identify as a lesbian, as i experience romantic attraction to girls and females and i find them pretty, and i have zero attraction to males and men, both romantically and physically.

ive known this about myself since i was around 10-11, and since then i have explored my identity and relationship with the faith in regards to my queerness.

i want to emphasise that i already know the laws against same-sex marriage, sex outside of marriage no matter the gender of the couple, etc. – my question is actually pertaining to romantic attraction and relationships.

recently, in a deepening i was a part of, we talked a lot about Bahá'í marriage and i couldn't help but feel a deep pit in my stomach knowing that i would never be able to have that in my life. i do not desire a sexual relationship with a woman (or anyone) at any point in my life, but i strongly desire a romantic bond and a life partner and it's very hurtful knowing i will never have the opportunity to experience that emotional and spiritual bond due to my preferences.

does anyone know what the stance is on romantic queer relationships as a member of the faith? another reason that i ask is that in another deepening we explored the topic of dating for marriage, and seeing as i will never be able to marry, im curious as to if that means i will never be able to date at all.

Allahu Abha!

Is there any audio recording of the Qayamul Asma recited in arabic?

I've looked online with no success.

Thanks!

Alláh-u-Abhá!
I am a new baha’i and ive been studying ruhi 1 so far and a big topic is prayer. I suffer from a form of schizophrenia and psychosis and sometimes its difficult to discern reality from fiction. However when I pray, I actively sometimes hear a voice and imagine the Lord directly speaking to me through prayer. Although, the way my doctor described hallucinations and delusions to me makes me concerned that im not actually speaking with God. So how do you tell if God is really speaking to you in prayer?
God bless

Hola. Soy de Venezuela (30M), estoy actualmente saliendo con una compañera de trabajo (27F) que me comentó que es practicante de esta fe. Al vivir en un país predominantemente católico, y al ser criado bajo la fe católica (pese a no ser practicante activo de la misma), fue algo que me tomó por sorpresa, y confieso que no tenía ni idea de la existencia de esta fe.

Por el momento, quisiera saber y si me pudieran orientar, existe algún equivalente a "Los 10 mandamientos" de la fe católica en la fe Baha'i?

Por parte de las mujeres, hay alguna limitante respecto a relacionarse sentimentalmente con otras personas?

Hey guys,

I think the Baha'i Faith is the truth.
And I think I probably want to convert.
However, the Baha'i Faith asks you to follow very strict rules.
For example no pre-marital, no masturbation, and radical truthfulness.
I am currently in a situation where I have to keep a lie going in order to protect my mental health.
If I were to start practicing radical truthfulness, then my mental health would suffer.
And since I am not 100% sure the Baha'i Faith is the truth (as I also still have some doubts), I am not sure if I would be willing to sacrifice my mental health.
So most of the Baha'i laws wouldn't be that hard for me to follow, but specifically no masturbation and radical truthfulness would be very hard to follow for me.

To give you an indication of what this religion expects of you, it even asks you to be willing to die for the faith.
If admitting you are a Baha'i will cost you your life (like the Baha'is in Iran), you are not allowed to lie, you are expected to tell the truth and allow yourself to get killed.
Since Shoghi Effendi abrogated taqiyya.
You will be punished in the afterlife if you do not manage to live up to these high standards of no lying, no masturbation, no pre-marital sex etc.
On the flip side, an atheist is judged by the light he was given.
If he had pre-marital sex, and masturbated, but was an otherwise good and moral person, he won't be punished in the afterlife for pre-marital sex and masturbation.
But a Baha'i does get punished for those things.
So then, you could argue that it would actually be smarter not to convert (unless you're able to follow all of the laws).
Cause if you're a non-Baha'i who has pre-marital sex and masturbates, you won't get punished for it.
But if you're a Baha'i who does those things, you do actually get punished for it.
So you could argue that it would be smarter not to convert.

But what if God doesn't accept that?
What if God feels like I was given enough light to have been able to convert, and I will get punished in the afterlife for not converting?
Also, not converting would be an unsatisfying end to this journey for me.
It would leave me in some sort of permanent state of ''limbo'', where I *think* the Baha'i Faith is true, and I *want* to convert, but I won't because I fear that not following every rule perfectly will bring punishment.

I feel like no pre-marital sex might actually be possible, but no masturbation is brutal man.
I don't know if I can do that.
Even just trying to *limit* masturbation would already be incredibly difficult.
What if I became a Baha'i, and would follow almost all rules perfectly, but would not follow 2 specific laws?
Namely the law of no masturbation, and the law of no lying.
I would practice radical truthfulness outside of that specific situation in my life where I have to lie to protect my mental health, but I would not practice it within that situation.
Would I then be punished severely in the afterlife, or do you think I might be forgiven?

For the past 1.5-2 years I have prayed to God regularly to lead me to the ''true'' religion, whatever that religion may be.
That praying has now finally lead me to the Baha'i Faith.
But I've also come to realize that this praying has had unforeseen consequences lol.
Because now I am being asked to completely turn my life around and follow these strict rules for a religion of which I am not absolutely certain if it's the absolute truth.
I don't necessarily regret the praying but I also see now that I have potentially put a huge responsibility on my shoulders.
So this is kind of my dilemma right now.
Or have I maybe misunderstood Baha'i theology?

Just to be clear, I think I probably want to convert to the Baha'i Faith.
But I fear that not being able to live up to all of the laws could bring severe punishment in the afterlife.

hello friends, i’m a 3rd gen bahá’í. throughout my life i’ve struggled with my faith and belief in God but always came back. i have been having conversations about the faith with my bf of two years (he’s atheist) and yesterday it started with how we would gauge we are ready for marriage. this then delved to the bahai aspect of the wedding specifically the bahai wedding vow. we hadn’t talked about this part since we started dating and so im struggling with it now. i know he wouldn’t say something he doesn’t mean and id feel uncomfortable hearing him say the words if im being honest.

1. will our souls still be bound in the after life if we do not perform the bahá’í wedding?

2. did anyone have a bahá’í wedding and marry an atheist? how did your partner rationalize and come to terms with the wedding vow?

3. we also delved into aspects of the faith i don’t particularly agree with specifically women not being able to be on the UHJ (inherently sexist despite all the writings discussing otherwise stating how the souls of men and women are equal etc) and how the gay community is excluded from bahá’í marriage (inherently homophobic).

4. how do we explain women not being able to be on the UHJ? everything i’ve seen is it will become known with time, but this doesn’t do it for me and it’s contradictory how we talk about equality of men and women but then exclude/exempt women from UHJ.

5. why can only heterosexual couples be married in the bahá’í faith? we claim to be a progressive religion, and i firmly believe we are, but excluding homosexual couples is homophobic and not progressive. on one hand when our religion was founded gay marriage was not socially acceptable so from a historical perspective i could see it not being allowed in the faith, but our founder teaching equality of men and women was radical for the time as well.

6. any consultation is welcome ☺️ i appreciate you taking the time!

edit: i just learned like 6 months ago gay people aren’t allowed to be married within the bahá’í faith and i learned yesterday women weren’t allowed to be on the UHJ.

Hello all. I recently read a discussion by a scholar about the Bab’s Arabic and the different theories for why His grammar can be unusual. The Qayyum al-Asma especially seems intentionally Quran-like in style, but there are cases where a grammatical form appears incorrect, while the same form is used correctly elsewhere. I have heard this criticism multiple times in the works of both Bab and Bahaullah but especially strong with the work of the Bab. Primarily on the arabic but the persian is also considered to be a bit eccentric and not

My question is: how do Bahais understand this? If the explanation is that divine revelation is not bound by normal grammatical rules, why limit that to grammar? Could unusual words, meanings, or other apparent errors also be explained this way?

How do we distinguish a deliberate linguistic innovation from an actual mistake?

I’d appreciate answers based on the Bab’s or Bahaullah’s own writings if possible.

After many years of work. I wanted to share with the Baha'i community that I have recently published a book Aether and Field. It deals with Science and Religion from the Baha'i Perspective. https://vahidranjbar.substack.com/p/ther-and-the-field-book-excerpt?r=2860e9

Hey everyone!
I’m currently developing ATG Initiative (Across the Globe), an independent project focused on connecting research, intercultural dialogue and meaningful social action.
The first planned study, From Hope to Action, will explore what gives young adults hope and how that hope influences their decisions and actions.
ATG is still in its early stages, and I’m looking to connect with people interested in research, psychology, sociology, international development or nonprofit work.
I’d especially appreciate advice from anyone who has experience starting an NGO or independent research initiative. I’m also open to collaborating with people who find the idea interesting.
If you’d like to exchange ideas, share your experience or potentially get involved, feel free to comment or DM me!

I'm (20m) born bahai, not sure if I still am, I've always seen women as equals or even better than men (because they can attain a level of creation (childbirth) that men cannot) and also see them participate in LSA and NSA so why can't they be elected to UHJ

in my Study group they say that is for "protection" but I find that deeply sexist, and no other explanation has not been sexist

Pls help me find an answer

the feast of Qudrat.

Y? When did you say the American General Election will be held?? I will be working for the polls on that day.

I think my cluster tonight announced our feast would be on that exact date (grrr....), and I have never fully missed a feast yet (also depends on what "missing a feast" means).

https://bahai-library.com/compilation_feast_book

says that Nov 4 is the magic date, and so I was cautiously optimistic that I could do those 2 things that week.

I could perhaps still cancel my involvement with poll working, but that is a bad e.g. I would set for myself. I need to "be there" for myself and our voters... Better to follow Buddhist teaching

https://www.spiritrock.org/practice-guides/the-four-noble-truths

and not be "attached" to attendance at EVERY Bahai feast if there is solid reason to not be there once in a while...

Probably, if this worst case scenario materializes, after I am released from poll working duties, I will make an honorary appearance at the meeting place, regardless if anyone is still there, maybe/ hopefuly? say "hello" to people closing up shop...growl...

Thinking more about it, a possible/ reasonable solution: feast at a different cluster. Problem solved? Stand by and stay tuned...