Baha'u'llah is the title given to the founder of the Baha'i Faith. It is an Arabic word, which means, The Glory of God. Baha'u'llah was born on November 12, 1817 and the anniversary of his birthday is celebrated in Baha'i communities in T&T and throughout the world.Baha'u'llah was born in Tehran, Persia (now Iran) and was given the name Mirza Husayn Ali. His father was a nobleman, who held a high-ranking position in the court of the shah (king). From an early age Baha'u'llah showed signs of greatness and displayed extraordinary knowledge and wisdom. Baha'u'llah became a follower of the Bab, who was the previous manifestation of God. For this he was persecuted and in 1852 was thrown into a filthy, underground dungeon in Teheran called the Back Pit. A heavy (50kg) chain was placed around his neck, the scars of which remained with him for the rest of his life. It was in this terrible place that he had a dream in which he realised that he was the manifestation of God for this age.
After four months he was released and banished from Persia. He and his family were forced to walk bare footed through the snow covered mountains to Baghdad. Then in 1863 He declared his mission openly for the first time, a mission which was to bring laws and teachings relevant to the time in which we live and to establish world unity through love.He was later banished further, in a vain attempt by the clergy and government authorities to stop his influence from spreading. He was first sent to Constantinople in Turkey (now Istanbul) and then to Adrianople, and finally to the prison City of Akka in Palestine, where it was hoped that his teachings and influence would finally be crushed, but this was not to be.Baha'u'llah was later permitted to live just outside of Akka in a place called Bahji. There he died and was buried in 1892. His grave is considered by the Baha'is to be a shrine and thousands of pilgrims, who are Baha'is from all over the world, visit it every year.The birthday of Baha'u'llah will be celebrated in Baha'i communities throughout T&T today. This day is considered a holy day.Happy Holy Day to all the Baha'is of T&T.
