- 1882-00-00 — Mírzá `Alí-Muhammad Varqá was arrested in Yazd. He is sent to Isfahán where he was imprisoned for a year. [BW18p383]
- 1884-00-00 — Birth of Valíyu'lláh Varqá, Hand of the Cause of God, in Tabríz. [BW18:381-834]
- 1896-05-02 —
The martyrdom of Hand of the Cause of God Varqa ('Dove'), Mírzá 'Ali-Muhammad. (b.1856 in Yazd, d. in Tehran) He and his young son,
Ruhu'lláh, were killed by, Hajib'ud-Dawleh, one of the Qajar courtiers, in fact, the Chief Steward, in the aftermath of the assassination of Nasir'd-Din Shah. Varqá was slashed to death before the eyes of his twelve-year-old son who, still refusing to recant, was strangled. [GPB296; BBRXXIX; SUR77; BW18p384; Bahá'í Encyclopedia Project]
- For the story of their lives see MRHK405–22 and World Order: Winter 1974-1975, Vol. 9 No.2 p29-44 as well as LoF42-49.
- For a Western account of the episode see BBR361–2.
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá named him posthumously as a Hand of the Cause and Shoghi Effendi designated him as one of the Apostles of Bahá-u-lláh. [EB75-97 LoF42-49, BBR361-362, SoBSNBp225-229]
- See Varqá and Son: The Heavenly Doves by Darius Shahrokh.
- See also Bahá'í Chronicles.
- See SoW Vol 12 No 4 (17 May 1921 (Volume 7 pg93) for a photo of Varqá, Ruhu'lláh and their two companions.
- 1912-00-00 — Birth of `Alí Muhammad Varqá, Hand of the Cause of God, in Tihrán.
- 1938-00-00 —
The fourth Trustee of the Huqúqu'lláh was Jináb-i-Valíyu'lláh Varqá, the third son of Varqá the martyr. He was born in Tabriz and after the death of his father and brother he was raised by his grandmother, a fanatical Muslim. At the age of 16 his uncle removed him from the home and taught him the Faith. He attended the American University at Beirut and spent summers with 'Abdu'l-Bahá and accompanied the Master to America and served as His interpreter. He returned to Iran where he served on local and national assemblies and was made a Trustee of the Huqúqu'lláh in 1938 at a time when the observance of the law spread throughout Iran. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 25 March, 1985]
- He was elevated to a Hand of the Cause of God in 1951 and passed away in Tubingen, Germany in 1955 while taking a treatment for an illness. [BW13p831-834]
- 1951-12-24 —
Shoghi Effendi appointed 12 Hands of the Cause of God, the first contingent of Hands to be appointed. BBRSM127; BW12:38–40, 374–5; BW13:333–4; MBW20; PG223-224]
- They were Sutherland Maxwell, Mason Remey, Amelia Collins (she had been appointed in 1946, but her appointment had not been made public), Valíyu'lláh Varqá, Tarázu'lláh Samandarí, 'Alí-Akbar Furútan, Horace Holley, Dorothy Baker, Leroy Ioas, George Townshend, Hermann Grossmann and Ugo Giachery [GBF110–11; MBW20; PP253–4]
- 1955-00-00 —
The fifth Trustee of the Huqúqu'lláh was 'Ali-Muhammad Varqá. He inherited both the Trusteeship and the station of Hand of the Cause of God from his father upon his passing. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 25 March, 1985]
- During his tenure the compilation Huqúqu'lláh was published (1985) by the Universal House of Justice.
- The delegates gathered at the National Convention of the Bahá'ís of the United States in 1984 petitioned the Universal House of Justice to make the Law of the Huqúqu'lláh applicable in their country. (Up to this point the law only applied to Bahá'is of Persian origin.) The Universal House of Justice replied that it was not yet time for such a measure but did agree to make more information available in preparation for such a time. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 3 January, 1985, AWH30]
- Friends in Austria and the United States published codifications on the Law of the Huqúqu'lláh. To the benefit of the believers everywhere the Research Department at the World Centre was asked to prepare a brief history and a Codification. This information was sent to all national assemblies in the Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 25 March, 1987.
- In 1991 the Central Office of Huqúqu'lláh was established in the Holy Land under the direction of the Chief Trustee in anticipation of the worldwide application of the law. Subsequently regional and national boards were established. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 26 November, 1991]
- With the publication of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas in English in 1992 the law of the Huqúqu'lláh became universally applicable.
- In 2005 an International Board of Trustees of the Huqúqu'lláh was established to guide the regional and national boards. Three members appointed to the Board were Sally Foo, Ramin Khadem, and Grant Kvalheim. Their term of office was to be determined. [Ridván 2005]
- The last Hand of the Cause of Cause and Trustee of the Huqúqu'lláh, Alí Muhammad Varqá, passed away in Haifa on the 22nd of September, 2007. [BWNS579]
- 1955-11-12 —
Hand of the Cause of God Valíyu'lláh Varqá passed away in Stuttgart.
- For his obituary see BW13:831–834.
- Shoghi Effendi had appointed him among the first contingent on the 24th of December, 1951. [MoCxxiii]
- 1955-11-16 — 'Alí Muhammad Varqá was appointed a Hand of the Cause to succeed his father. [GBF111; MBW91]
- 1967-00-00 — The beginning of the publication of a magazine for the Bahá'í children of Iran called Varqā. The magazine was published regularly each month until 1979 and was supported by subscribers all over the country and abroad. It played a significant role in the educational and intellectual life of Persian Bahá'í children for more than a decade. After the 1979 revolution, the magazine has continued to be published in India.
[BAHAISM v. The Bahai Community in Iran by V. Rafati]
- 1991-11-26 — The Office of Ḥuqúqu'lláh had been established in the Holy Land under the direction of the Chief Trustee of Ḥuqúqu'lláh, the Hand of the Cause of God 'Alí-Muḥammad Varqá, in anticipation of the worldwide application of the Law of Ḥuqúqu'lláh the following Riḍván. Concurrent with this development were the steps being taken by Dr. Varqá to organize regional and national Boards of Trustees of Ḥuqúqu'lláh, following the example of the Board that had been already functioning in the United States. [Adapted from the Message of the Universal House of Justice dated 26 November, 1991.]
- 2005-04-20 — "... the time is propitious to bring into being an International Board of Trustees of Huqúqu'lláh to guide and supervise the work of Regional and National Boards of Trustees of Huqúqu'lláh throughout the world. It will operate in close collaboration with the Chief Trustee, the Hand of the Cause of God Dr. 'Alí-Muhammad Varqá, and will be able to benefit from his knowledge and counsel in carrying out its duties. The three members now appointed to the International Board of Trustees are Sally Foo, Ramin Khadem, and Grant Kvalheim." [Message from the Universal House of Justice, Ridván 2005]
- 2007-09-22 —
The passing of Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Ali-Muhammad Varqa (b.1911 or 1912) at his home in Haifa. Mr Varqa received his name from 'Abdu'l-Bahá in memory of his grandfather, who had been killed for being a follower of Bahá'u'lláh. He was the last survivor of the 27 Hands of the Cause who were alive when Shoghi Effendi passed away in 1957. [BWNS579; One Country]
- He had been appointed Hand of the Cause on the 15th of March, 1955 after the passing of his father Hand of the Cause of God Jináb-i-Valíyu'lláh Varqá, [MoVxxiv]
- He was appointed as the last Trustee of the Huqúqulláh, a position also held by his father. During his tenure, the Huqúqulláh expanded its base from a few Iranian believers to include every believer in the world in 1992.
- He lived in Iran but happened to be away during the revolution in 1979 and never returned. He was accepted as a refugee in Canada and lived there for several years before being called to service at the World Centre.
- For a short biography see LoF183-187.
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