The Baha'i Faith: An Introduction

by Gloria Faizi

Genres: Religion, Baha I, Spirituality

121 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book highly informative. Since I was relatively unfamiliar with the Bahai faith before my reading of the book, I was happy to take this up and learn. I knew before that Bahai was somehow an amalgam of all the major religions of the world. What I did not realize was that the Bahai's have their own "Jesus" type character and their own sacred writings.

In essence, the Bahai faith removes all of the contrary obstacles within every religion and essentially says that every religion is one in the same. Each religion with its corresponding holy man was a messenger from God that delivered a message appropriate to the time. The Bahai prophet is allegedly a messenger to this present age.

The faith's principle goal is the unity of the human race. To achieve this goal, the Bahais have a framework for a world government, which would essentially usher in world peace. This is one of the differences between it and Christianity. Although, Christianity has a message of peace and love, it is primarily pointing to the eventual goal of heaven and perpetual communion with the divine. This Bahai text barely touched on the concept of heaven. The Bahai faith would also need to explain away such passages of scripture as "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." I am assuming that a Bahai would say that this was the message the people of the time needed. I, however, find this explanation a bit too convenient.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book does what it says on the tin, it does provide an introduction to Baha'i. However, it doesn't do it in a way that gives you an overview of the religion on an intellectual and historical basis. It gives you an overview on the evangelical basis in which it tries to convince you how great the religion is. Also, it misrepresents an Einstein quote very early on. There are some beautiful passages here and there but there are probably better books about Baha'i out there.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This brief introduction to the Bahai Faith serves as an excellent overview for the completely uninitiated.

[Richard · Rating 1 out of 5]

drivel.

[R-mig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gloria Faizi's "The Baha'i Faith" offers an insightful exploration of this spiritual tradition, shedding light on its principles, history, and teachings. As a first-time reader about the Baha'i Faith, the book assisted me in figuring out glimpses of similarities between the Faith itself and major world religions, including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism (which I will articulate later in my review).

Faizi articulates core Baha'i tenets such as the oneness of God, the unity of humanity, and the concept of progressive revelation. She graciously and effectively communicates the solid standing of the Faith starting with Bab, Baha’u’llah, and Abdu'l-Bahá, three of whom have been significant figures in the Baha'i Faith. This reminds me of Christianity and Islam, where Jesus and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him), respectively, rightfully continued the work that had been set before them. All three faiths relied on a great Teacher, whose coming had been prophesized, to come and guide the people. Some would eventually open their eyes to Them, while others would deny and persecute Them, for they would not agree with their "unorthodox", "infidel", or "heretic" ways of messages and standards.
Here are other groundbreaking similarities. Throughout history, Jesus, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and the leaders of the Baha'i Faith have endured imprisonment, persecution, and torture for their beliefs and teachings. Jesus was condemned and crucified for his radical messages of love and justice. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) faced severe opposition from the Quraysh tribe, resulting in physical violence, social ostracism, and a prolonged boycott. Similarly, Baha'i leaders, including Baha'u'llah, faced imprisonment and exile due to their teachings on unity and social reform, which were ironically neglected by kings, religious leaders, and such prominent individuals. These experiences reflect the often-tumultuous relationship between revolutionary spiritual movements and established societal norms. They also come to show that some faiths could be drawn through parallel lines, having only a handful of differences to set them apart.

Serving as an effective threshold, the book also educated me on the inclusion, oneness, and equality that persists in the Baha'i Faith, notions that are not as clearly found in the other religions I have mentioned above. For instance, the Baha'i emphasis on the equality of men and women is stressed even in marriage. Meanwhile, other religions distinctly differentiate between these two, creating a gap that sometimes brings about an abundance of problems within a society or even a small household, leading to marital captivity or perhaps other tragic consequences.

Reading about the values of the Baha'i faith helped me establish links with Buddhism and Hinduism, as well; relating the former to compassion, service, unity of humanity, and focus on personal transformation, while linking the latter to moral and ethical living, spiritual progression, unity in diversity (the Truth is one concept), in addition to community and service.

I urge you to read this book or any other book pertaining to the Baha'i Faith. You may find unique characteristics of interest to you, such as their holidays, special names for months and their divisions, or simply educate yourself on a unique Faith that mostly goes unnoticed because of the domination of other faiths human beings unfortunately deem as more important.

[Rodeweeks · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Baha'i faith have some impressive beliefs and practices. I especially like the idea of the Universal House of Justice, how they vote, how they find solutions for problems. Nice little introduction

[Dave Maddock · Rating 2 out of 5]

I first heard about the Baha'i Faith through my experience with Esperanto. (The two have some ideological overlap and Baha'is believe in a coming universal language, hence many have learned Esperanto.) However, I picked up this little book because I met a Baha'i at a dinner party and wanted to know a bit about it. At just over 100 pages with equal parts exposition and selections from their founding writings, it was exactly what I was looking for. It is divided into three parts. Part One tells the history of the Faith. Part Two explains its primary tenets. Part Three describes how its institutions operate.

Now, regarding the Faith itself: meh. While I readily acknowledge that the doctrines of this religion are an improvement in some ways over other religions, it has some serious problems. The primary idea of the Baha'i Faith is that all major religious traditions contain true divine revelation and any disharmony between them results from two possibilities. Either (1) the invalid tenet was applicable only for that time and place or (2) it is due to human error. Each "dispensation" of divine revelation supposedly exhibits tell-tale signs which enable one to identify frauds.

There's a lot I could say about the problems with this view, but I don't think it is quite fair to critique a world view based on a tiny introduction. If I ever read on (which I probably won't), the key texts are The Book of Certitude and Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah. Which reminds me, the English translations of these works (made in the 1930's by the 3rd Guardian of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi) are done in the style of the King James Bible. This is ridiculous, annoying, and pretentious.

[Subi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book hard to read BUT it's special to me because Dash Crofts, of Seals and Crofts gave it to me at a concert. He wrote a note in it saying he saw a light in my eyes and wanted me to have it. The concert was probably at Merriweather Post Pavilion in the 70's, I went to so many it's hard to remember. I was a few rows back from the stage. I am a spiritual person and connect mostly with nature. I tend to call birds "feathered priests" so the Baha'i Faith was a bit much for me.

[Mohamed Shedou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written book. It definitely makes you want to read more about this religion, which has many similarities with Islam. At some point, I wasn't sure if the beauty is that of the faith itself or of the presentation of the writer who knows how to select the most attractive aspects of her faith. In any case, the book succeeded in stimulating both my respect and curiosity.

[Nicho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise and clear summation of the history and values of the Baha'i Faith. Almost entirely cites leaders such as the prophet Bab to explain values, which makes sense considering he is the prophet of that religion.