Chapter Thirteen:
Miracles in the Bahá'i Faith

Bahá’í Writings teach us that if we wish to discover whether any one of the Messengers was in reality a Prophet of God, we must investigate the facts surrounding His life and history. The "…first point of our investigation will be the education He bestowed upon mankind. If He has been an Educator, if He has really trained a nation or people, causing it to rise from the lowest depths of ignorance to the highest station of knowledge, then we are sure that He was a Prophet. This is a plain and clear method of procedure, proof that is irrefutable. We do not need to seek after other proofs. We do not need to mention miracles, saying that out of rock water gushed forth, for such miracles and statements may be denied and refused by those who hear them."1

The miracles of Bahá’u’lláh may not be mentioned for the above reasons. Also they may be described by some as traditions that are liable to both truth and error. Though if we wish to mention the supernatural acts of Bahá’u’lláh, they are numerous. Many Bahá’ís, after the way of Islam, have also related the great miracles that they had, with their own eyes, seen Bahá’u’lláh perform, and the marvels they had heard.2 They "…are acknowledged in the Orient, and even by some non-Bahá’ís. But these narratives are not decisive proofs and evidences to all; the hearer might perhaps say that this account may not be in accordance with what occurred, for it is known that other sects recount miracles performed by their founders. For instance, the followers of Brahmanism relate miracles. From what evidence may we know that those are false and that these are true? If these are fables, the others also are fables; if these are generally accepted, so also the others are generally accepted. Consequently, these accounts are not satisfactory proofs. Yes, miracles are proofs for the eyewitness only, and even he may regard them not as a miracle but as an enchantment."3 Further, extraordinary feats have also been related of some conjurers.

The purpose is not to deny such miracles; but to point out that they do not constitute decisive proofs, and that they have an inner significance. The miracles of Bahá’u’lláh will be acknowledged if there is fairness in the world; but there are some people who, even if all the proof in the world be adduced before them, still will not judge justly!

Bahá’u’lláh was imprisoned and exiled many times for revealing the Divine teachings based on truth and justice. However, throughout His lifetime, He was intensely active. His energy was unlimited. Scarcely one night was passed in restful sleep. He bore all ordeals, suffered many calamities and difficulties in order "that a manifestation of selflessness and service might become apparent in the world of humanity; that the Most Great Peace should become a reality; that human souls might appear as the angels of heaven; that heavenly miracles would be wrought among men; that human faith should be strengthened and perfected; that the precious, priceless bestowal of God—the human mind—might be developed to its fullest capacity in the temple of the body; and that man might become the reflection and likeness of God, even as it hath been revealed in the Bible, ‘Let us make man in our image."5

‘Abdu’l-Bahá speaks of one of the greatest miracles of Bahá’u’lláh in prison in these words: "And this is one of Bahá’u’lláh’s greatest miracles: that He, a captive, surrounded Himself with panoply and He wielded power. The prison changed into a palace, the jail itself became a Garden of Eden. Such a thing has not occurred in history before; no former age has seen its like: that a man confined to a prison should move about with authority and might; that one in chains should carry the fame of the Cause of God to the high heavens, should win splendid victories in both East and West, and should, by His almighty pen, subdue the world. Such is the distinguishing feature of this supreme Theophany."4

The Writings of Bahá’u’lláh are many. The precepts and teachings they contain are universal, covering every subject. He has revealed scientific explanations ranging throughout all the realms of human inquiry and investigation—astronomy, biology, medical science, etc. He has given expositions of the meanings of the Gospel and other heavenly Books in the Kitáb-i-Iqan (literally, the Book of Certitude). He wrote lengthy Tablets upon civilization, sociology and government. Every subject is considered. His Tablets are matchless in beauty and profundity.

Even His enemies acknowledge the greatness of Bahá’u’lláh, saying He was the miracle of humanity. This was their confession although they did not believe in Him. He was eulogized by Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians and Muslims who denied His claim. They frequently said, "He is matchless, unique." A Christian poet in the Orient wrote, "Do not believe him a manifestation of God, yet his miracles are as great as the sun." Mirza Abu’l-Fadl has mentioned many poems of this kind, and there are numerous others. The testimony of His enemies witnessed that He was the "miracle of mankind," that He "walked in a special pathway of knowledge" and was "peerless in personality." His teachings are universal and the standard for human action. They are not merely theoretical and intended to remain in books. They are the principles of action.6

The forerunner of the Bahá’í Revelation, His Holiness, the Báb predicted the appearance of Bahá’u’lláh as: ‘Him Whom God shall make manifest.’ He describes Bahá’u’lláh thus: "He is, verily, the eternal Truth come from God, and according to the divine judgement given in the Mother Book, He is the most distinguished among the writers of Arabic and most eloquent in His utterance. He is in truth the Supreme Talisman and is endowed with supernatural powers, as set forth in the Mother Book…."7

Not only the central figures of the Bahá’í Faith had miraculous lives. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá mentions qualities in some of the friends that were nothing short of a miracle to those who knew them. Among the most eminent of those who left their homeland to join Bahá’u’lláh was Mirza Hasan, who did a great deal of research and discussion besides his profession. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says that "His speech was laconic, but in itself a kind of miracle."8

Husayn-Aqay-i-Tabrizi was a pioneer who took over the coffee service at the Most Great Prison. He was accomplished, patient, and docile in the face of extreme difficulties. Day and night, over a fourty year period, he faithfully attended friend and stranger alike who thronged the doors of the prison. During all that time he "never offended a soul, nor did anyone, where he was concerned, utter a single complaint. This was truly a miracle, and no one else could have established such a record of service. He was always smiling, attentive as to the tasks committed to his care, known as a man to trust. In the Cause of God he was staunch, proud and true; in times of calamity he was patient and long-suffering."9

The saving grace of God vouchsafed to the Bahá’ís in times of trouble is a miraculous bounty worth mentioning. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states of one such time of great difficulty: "Throughout these years of disturbance and commotion when the world of humanity was physically and spiritually afflicted, the friends of God passed the day in rest, ease and comfort. In the western countries only a few shared in the hardship and affliction of other souls while the mass of the friends and the maid-servants of the Merciful…have been living quietly and peacefully. In the Orient every nation became distracted and every gathering dispersed save the friends of God who remained all protected and sheltered from every trouble and calamity in the Fort of Bahá’u’lláh’s protection. Verily this is a divine miracle—that we helpless, friendless, unprotected, unsupported wanderers in these regions should be saved amidst the fire of oppression and tyranny. This is God’s miracle." 10

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NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 364.

2. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Memorials of the Faithful, p. 50.

3. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 37.

4. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Memorials to the Faithful, p. 27.

5. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 28.

6. ibid., p. 155.

7. Báb, Selections from the Writings of The Báb, p. 45.

8. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Memorials of the Faithful, p. 22.

9. ibid., p. 159.

10. Bahá’í World Faith, pp. 386-7.