A community inspired by the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh

The Bahá’í Faith

What is the Bahá’í Faith?

“Throughout history, God has sent to humanity a series of divine Educators — known as Manifestations of God — whose teachings have provided the basis for the advancement of civilization.”

“These Manifestations have included Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, and Muḥammad. Bahá’u’lláh, the latest of these Messengers, explained that the religions of the world come from the same Source and are in essence successive chapters of one religion from God.”

Today the Bahá’í Faith is established in more than 100,000 localities in virtually every country and territory of the world.

The Báb (1819 – 1850)

In the middle of the nineteenth century — one of the most turbulent periods in the world’s history — a young merchant in Persia announced that He was the bearer of a message destined to transform the spiritual and social life of humanity. He took the name “the Báb,” meaning “the Gate” in Arabic.

With His call for spiritual and moral reformation, and His attention to improving the position of women and the lot of the poor, the Báb’s prescription for renewal was revolutionary. His mission, lasting only six years, was to prepare the way for the coming of a Manifestation of God who would usher in the age of peace and justice promised in all the world’s religions: Bahá’u’lláh. In 1850, the Báb was publicly executed in Tabriz.

“His life is one of the most magnificent examples of courage which it has been the privilege of mankind to behold.”

Bahá’u’lláh (1817 – 1892)

Born in Tehran, Iran on 12 November 1817, Mirza Husayn-‘Alí — later known as Bahá’u’lláh, “the Glory of God” — enjoyed all the advantages conferred by noble birth. As a young man, rather than pursuing a government career, He chose to devote His energies to the care of the poor.

Following the execution of the Báb and the systematic persecution of His followers, Bahá’u’lláh was falsely charged in 1852 and cast into a subterranean dungeon in Tehran known as the Black Pit. It was there, in conditions of extreme suffering, that He received the first intimations of His Revelation.

“During the days I lay in the prison of Tihran, though the galling weight of the chains and the stench-filled air allowed Me but little sleep, still in those infrequent moments of slumber I felt as if something flowed from the crown of My head over My breast, even as a mighty torrent that precipitateth itself upon the earth from the summit of a lofty mountain…”

Released and exiled from His native Iran, Bahá’u’lláh was sent first to Baghdad, where He composed three of His most renowned works — the Hidden Words, the Seven Valleys, and the Book of Certitude (Kitáb-i-Íqán). In April 1863, in a garden on the banks of the Tigris which He named Ridván (“Paradise”), He declared to His companions that He was the One foretold by the Báb, the Messenger of God promised in all the world’s scriptures.

Successive banishments followed — to Constantinople, to Adrianople, and finally, in August 1868, to the Ottoman prison-city of ‘Akká in the Holy Land. There, despite confinement, He revealed His most important work, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (the Most Holy Book), and addressed letters to the kings and rulers of His age, summoning them to justice and to a collective peace. Bahá’u’lláh endured forty years of imprisonment, torture and exile. He passed away on 29 May 1892.

“I have never aspired after worldly leadership. My sole purpose hath been to hand down unto men that which I was bidden to deliver by God…”

“Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings… now present us with the highest and purest form of religious teaching…” — Count Leo Tolstoy

‘Abdu’l-Bahá (1844 – 1921)

In the early years of the twentieth century, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá — the eldest Son of Bahá’u’lláh — was the Bahá’í Faith’s leading exponent, renowned as a champion of social justice and an ambassador for international peace. In His Writings, Bahá’u’lláh designated ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as His successor and Head of the Faith — the first time in history that the Founder of a world religion had named His successor in a written, irrefutable text.

After His release from a lifetime of imprisonment, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá set out on a series of journeys which took Him to Egypt, Europe and North America, presenting with brilliant simplicity Bahá’u’lláh’s prescription for the spiritual and social renewal of humanity.

Quotations and biography adapted from bahai.org — The Life of Bahá’u’lláh, The Báb, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

Bahá’ís of Alicante

A history shared with Spain

The history of the Bahá’í Faith in Spain began in 1946, when Virginia Orbison, an enthusiastic American Bahá’í, moved to the country to share the message of Bahá’u’lláh during a difficult period for the nation.

The early Assemblies

Administrative structure began to emerge shortly afterwards. The first Local Spiritual Assembly was elected in Madrid in 1948. Growth was rapid:

• · 1949 — Barcelona
• · 1954 — Terrassa, Murcia, Montgat, Mallorca
• · 1956 — Alicante and Cartagena
• · 1957 — Valencia, and an Iberian Regional Spiritual Assembly is established for Spain and Portugal
• · 1962 — The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Spain is elected for the first time

In 1968 the Bahá’í Community of Spain was registered with the Ministry of Justice as a recognized religious entity. Today there are around forty Local Spiritual Assemblies across Spain.

Here in Alicante, today

The Bahá’í Community of Alicante has been active in the province for decades. Its members gather for prayer, study and the spiritual education of people of all ages. Alongside friends and neighbours — of every background and tradition — we contribute to a pattern of community life inspired by Bahá’u’lláh’s vision of a prosperous, just and unified world.

The community has collaborated regularly with other organizations to promote interfaith dialogue in the province — a contribution explicitly noted by the Bahá’í Community of Spain among the places where Bahá’ís have been particularly active in this work.

The Bahá’í community in Spanish society

At the national level, the Bahá’í community participates in public life through interfaith dialogue, social action, education, and the Office of Public Affairs of the National Spiritual Assembly, whose work addresses governance, human rights, migration and intercultural coexistence, and the role of religion in society. Bahá’ís in Alicante take part in this wider effort.

Bahá’í Holy Days — in particular Naw-Rúz (the Bahá’í new year) and the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh — have for decades been occasions open to friends, neighbours and local authorities.

Historical details verified at bahai.es — Historia, Evolución de la estructura administrativa, and Presencia en la sociedad española.

Contact

Get in touch

We would be glad to answer questions about the Bahá’í Faith or about community life in Alicante.

Other channels

For enquiries to the Bahá’í Community of Spain, write to informacion@bahai.es or use the form at bahai.es/contacto.

For general information about the Bahá’í Faith, visit bahai.org, the official website of the worldwide Bahá’í community.