Note: The date of Bahá'u'lláh's first arrival at the Mansion of Bahji is given as September 1879 in Bahá'u'lláh: The King of Glory, p. 362. However, in a Tablet dated 11 Rabí`u'l-Avval 1298 A.H. [11 February 1881], Bahá'u'lláh tells Núri'd- Dín that it had been only a month since He arrived at the Mansion; see Núri'd- Dín's Collection, p. 43. [Memories of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá by Mírzá Habíbu'lláh Afnán p32]

At this time Bahá'u'lláh revealed Lawḥ-i-'Arḍ-i-Bá (Tablet of the Land of Bá). [WOBp136; ABp38]

Conflict:"The Extraordinary Life of 'Abdu'l-Bahá" Slide 40/114 says the visit to Beirut took place in June of 1880.

Mirza Asadu'llah was the first to undertake the organization of a local House of Justice in Iran. He took the initiative to invite eight other prominent believers to form a body, responding to the laws of the Kitáb-i Aqdas , which they referred to as bayt al-'adl (House of Justice) or bayt al-a'zam (the Most Great House).

The organization of this first House of Justice was kept a secret, even from the believers. However, it met sporadically in the home of Mirza Asadu'llah for a couple of years. After consulting with this body, the prominent Bahá'í men who had been invited to attend its meetings would seek to take action as individual Bahá'í teachers that would implement its decisions.

Around 1881, the Tehran House of Justice was reorganized and more members were added. The House adopted a written constitution and pursued its activities with more organization and vigour than before. The constitution mandated, however, that the meetings remain strictly confidential, hidden from the body of the believers. [The Service of Women on the Institutions of the Baha'i Faith]

• The first Trustee of the Huqúqu'lláh was Hájí Sháh-Muhammad-i-Manshádí, or Jináb-i-Sháh Muhammad from Manshád, Yazd who had become a believer in Baghdad. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 25 March, 1985]
• His title was Amínu'l-Bayán (Trustee of the Bayán).
• He made many journeys between Iran and the Holy Land carrying donations and petitions from the friends and returning with Tablets and news.
• See SABF47-48 for the story of the lost coin given as a donation by a very poor woman.
• He was tasked with receiving the casket of the Báb after the location had been discovered by a number of believers. He transferred it to the Mosque of Imámzádih Zayd in Tehran where it was buried beneath the floor of the inner sanctuary of the shrine. It was consequently discovered and moved to a series of private homes in Tehran until 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent for it for the internment. [ISC-1963p32]
• Hájí Sháh-Muhammad was in 'Akká when Áqá Buzurg, entitled Badí', came to confer with Bahá'u'lláh. He and Badí met on Mount Carmel as directed by Bahá'u'lláh.
• He was killed as a result of wounds incurred during an attack during a Kurdish revolt. [RoB3p73]

• See BKG460 for the Siege of Plevna.

See Historical Background of the Lawh-i-Aflákíyyih, Tablet of the Universe from the Research Department dated 10 June 2014. The Research Department suggested scholarly works by William Hatcher, Ian Kluge and Steven Phelps might be of interest to the inquirer.

Other studies on the Tablet on Bahá'í Library Online are:
* `Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablet of the Universe by Harry Liedtke.
* Bahá'í Ontology, Part One:An Initial Reconnaissance by Ian Kluge. (the PDF).
* Bahá'í Ontology, Part Two:Further Explorations by Ian Kluge. (the PDF).
* Bahá'í Teachings on The Universe compiled by Ernie Jones. (the PDF).
* Minimalism:A Bridge between Classical Philosophy and the Bahá'í Revelation by William Hatcher (the abstract). (the PDF).
* The Quantum State Function, Platonic Forms, and the Ethereal Substance: Reflections on the Potential of Philosophy to Contribute to the Harmony of Science and Religion by Vahid Ranjbar. (the PDF).

See also One Physicist's first Look at Abdu'l-Baha's Tablet of the Universe by Vahid Houston Ranjbar.

The wife of Ḥakím Áqá Ján, Ṭúṭí Khánum, was a deeply faithful believer and his son, Mírzá Mihdí Khán, a doctor of medicine like his father, became the personal physician of Náṣiri'd-Dín Sháh.

In 1881, on his deathbed, Ḥakím Áqá Ján was reported to have seen Bahá'u'lláh standing in his room although He was in the Holy Land. In a tablet addressed to his son after his passing, Bahá'u'lláh said that He was with him at the moment of his ascension. [An Account of the Life of Ḥakím Áqá Ján translated by Adobe Masumian]

For more information on the enrolment of Persian Jews see Jewish Identities in Iran: Resistance and Conversion to Islam and the Baha'i Faith by Mehrdad Amanat as well as Arsalan Geula's Iranian Bahá'ís from Jewish Background: A Portrait of an Emerging Bahá'í Community.]

The Universal Postal Congress it held every four years. The 28th Universal Postal Congress will be held in 2025 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Four Extraordinary Congresses have been held to date. The last one was held in Saudi Arabia in 2023 to examine proposals associated with the further opening up of the Union to wider postal sector players, as well as other urgent postal sector issues.

The Universal Postal Union became a specialized agency of the United Nations on 1 July 1948. As such, the UPU contributes to the development of UN policies and activities that have a direct link with its mandate and missions to promote social and economic development.is the world's second oldest international organization. [UPU website]

Within a few days of the arrival of Zillu's-Sultán in Isfahán, a general persecution of Bahá'ís began. [BBRXXXIX, 269–70]

"Many of the laws of the Báb...are carefully designed in a way that testifies that the advent of Him Whom God shall make manifest was impending....The Báb never revealed the words of the (obligatory) prayer itself, thus making the implementation of this law dependent on the arrival of the Promised One." [GH366]

The original Bahá'í obligatory prayer, mentioned in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, involved nine cycles of movement starting with a bow (rak`ah) and was to be said morning, noon, and afternoon. It probably called for three rak`ahs at each time. Bahá'u'lláh revealed the text but did not release it in order to avoid provoking conflict with Muslims. (This prayer was one of the documents in the cases taken by `Abdu'l-Bahá's brothers shortly after the passing of Bahá'u'lláh.) Some time later, after the writing of the Kitab-i-Aqdas but before that of its supplement Questions and Answers, Bahá'u'lláh wrote a second set of obligatory prayers which are in use today. Three alternative forms were provided: a very short prayer to be said between noon and sunset; a somewhat longer prayer to be said in the morning, the afternoon, and the evening; and a long prayer to be said once during twenty-four hours. [Prayer and Worship by John Walbridge]

The concession met with controversy and criticism and became a symbol of the encroachment of European powers and their control over Iran's resources and infrastructure. This lead to the re-negotiation of the contract and the terms of the concession were revised to be somewhat less favourable to the concessionaire. [Colonialism, Nationalism and Jewish Immigration to Palestine: Abdu'l-Baha's Viewpoints Regarding the Middle East by Kamran Ekbal p3; Wikipedia]

Prins, himself a trained minister having studied at the Seminar of Mennonites, also championed the cause of reconciliation between science and religion and was what has been termed "a radical pacificist".

The first edition, while not containing a separate lemma for the Faith, mentions the "Babis" in passing in the article on Persia. From the second edition in 1884, there was mention of the term "Babi" in a quarter-page article. With the publication of each edition, the articles became more informed and for the general public, the Winkler Prins Encyclopedia was probably the most used source of information about the Bahá'í Faith until well after World War II. [Bahaigeschiedenis.nl; Wikipedia]