Baha'ism compared to Islam?

[arthra]

Salaam:

I think for me becoming a Baha'i resolved a lot of the issues between Christians and Muslims...

For instance (1) the view of many Muslims that Jesus wasn't crucified... or (2) that the Gospel was no longer avaialble to Christians..

If you read the Baha'i Writings you'll find that many of these issues and more have been resolved. Also the Kitab-i-Aqdas, the "Most Holy Book" has abrogated many aspects of Shariah law because there are new ordinances in the Baha'i Dispensation.

So take your time and feel free to explore the references that were already posted here...

- Art

 

[BruceDLimber]

Hi, Frank!
24HourNut wrote:
[D]oes the Bible indicate a specific time frame for this Second Coming of Jesus? Is there some reason to believe it will be in our lifetime?
I realize you were addressing this question to JBF, but as you doubtless know by now, the Baha'i view is that:

• Yes, the Bible did give a specific year for the Return of the Christ Spirit, and
• Yes, it did indeed happen right on time, roughly a century and a half ago!
• So of course it already happened before our lifetimes.

(And of course, JBF disagrees.)
Best regards,
Bruce

 

[BruceDLimber]

FRIENDS, THE SYSTEM SEEMS TO HAVE SNEEZED AND PLACED THIS MESSAGE INTO THE WRONG THREAD, SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO IGNORE IT.


Greetings again!

this is what I was trying to clarify, how could you have entered the Baha'i faith, and by doing so accepted Islam and the holy Qur'an as a Revelation from Allah(swt), even while you did not know anything about the Qur'an or Islam?

Very simple!

Because after thorough investigation and prayer I accepted Baha'u'llah as God's Messenger for this Day!

And because He endorsed Muhammad and Islam, this question ended at that point.

I have to disagree with your statement, however, that Islam is "more perfect" than the other religions: In the Baha'i view, ALL the great religions were perfect as revealed! And any deterioration or corruption in them since then (which has happened to Islam as well as the others) is the direct result of human alteration and corruption, not of any defect in the religion itself.

Peace,

Bruce

 

[Adib]

Also, regarding the "seal of Prophets," we do believe that Muhammad fulfilled that title as in He was the last One to prophesy. We believe that Baha'u'llah is the fulfillment of all prior prophecies leading up to things like the Great Announcement in Islam, and that He is the Promised One of All Ages. This is why He says, "The Prophetic Cycle hath verily ended. The Eternal Truth is now come."

 

[Booko]

Also, regarding the "seal of Prophets," we do believe that Muhammad fulfilled that title as in He was the last One to prophesy. We believe that Baha'u'llah is the fulfillment of all prior prophecies leading up to things like the Great Announcement in Islam, and that He is the Promised One of All Ages. This is why He says, "The Prophetic Cycle hath verily ended. The Eternal Truth is now come."

Quite so, Adib.

To clarify a little after the fact, yes, the Prophetic Cycle has ended, so we believe. But no one should assume that means there will be no more Messengers.

This is the end of one cycle....and the beginning of the next.

 

[Tau]

Islam came only to correct the Jewish denial of Jesus PBUH, and correct the Christian's straying fro mthe monotheistic and Godly path. why do Baha'is believe Allah(swt) revealed a whole nother text? is there any guidance whatsoever in the Baha'i text that wasnt already in the holy Qur'an?

Hardly, the religion of Islam was developed by Muhammed (pbuh) via his writings to give his own people the Arabs a monotheisitic religion of their own, to unite the disparate warring tribes and to end centuries of blood fueding, uniting the region politically into the continent spanning arabic empires that followed.

 

[Popeyesays]

Well, yes there are additions to the Qur'an. Social laws are changed with new decrees on marriage, monogamy, and divorce. New laws of inheritance are set down. Most importantly Baha`u'llah lends acceptance of and honor to Zoroaster, Krshna, and Buddha.

Also the means of a world peace administration is laid out quite clearly, with prevention of schisms within the Baha`i Faith.

Regards,
Scott

 

[Adib]

Quite so, Adib.

To clarify a little after the fact, yes, the Prophetic Cycle has ended, so we believe. But no one should assume that means there will be no more Messengers.

This is the end of one cycle....and the beginning of the next.

Yep, more specifically the end of the Adamic cycle and the beginning of the Baha'i one, which is surely not the last. I don't have 15 posts so I can't post external links, but do a Google search on "Baha'i Cycle" and check out the first result for more information; there's a nice little outline there that explains it all.

And also, Salaam, I highly recommend the Book of Certitude to you. Most Muslims who read it are absolutely taken aback, and there is such a wealth of knowledge to be found in it, especially since almost everything quoted is from the Qur'an itself.
In the 70s, a mullah named Muhammad Movahed - one of the most erudite Muslim scholars of that time - decided to read a Baha'i book to see what "unholy rituals and nonsense" we believed in. He read the Book of Certitude, became absolutely infatuated with it, read a few more Baha'i books, converted, and brought 19 other mullahs with him before he was martyred.

With regard to the gems it holds: another ex-mullah during the time of `Abdu'l-Baha named Mirza `Abu'l-Fadl (his name epitomized his knowledge of Islam - he held a position at Al-Azhar) was said to have read the Book of Certitude "over 100 times, but I still have not learned all I can from it." Yet another ex-Muslim nobleman named Ishraq-Khavari wrote a total of over 8,000 pages (4 Persian volumes, I believe) on The Book of Certitude, as a sort of study guide/commentary sort of work. A 275-page book that's been elaborated on in over 8,000 surely must be worth perusing.

 

[Popeyesays]

Adib,

"

1. Universal Cycles and the coming of Manifestations of God. `Abdu'l-Baha describes vast "Universal Cycles," stretching over hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions) of years, at the end of which "great events" take place as a result of which all traces of the previous cycle are obliterated and a new cycle begins. Within each Universal Cycle, many Manifestations of God (q.v.) appear, each linked to a cycle. Thus each of the religions founded by one of these Manifestations goes through a period of growth, reaches its zenith or maturity, and then declines. When the decline is complete and the religion is no longer capable of guiding humanity spiritually, another Manifestation comes (PUP 93-96).
At the heart of each Universal Cycle, `Abdu'l-Baha states that there appears a Manifestation of God whom he names the "great and universal Manifestation." The appearance of this Universal Manifestation marks the maturity of the Universal Cycle. All the Manifestations that appear after the Universal Manifestation "arise under his shadow" and all the previous Manifestations in that cycle were sent in anticipation of his advent. `Abdu'l-Baha asserts that we are now in the Universal Cycle beginning with Adam and that Baha'u'llah is its Universal Manifestation (Foundations of World Unity 54). Thus the Manifestations that have appeared before Baha'u'llah can be considered to have been part of a cycle leading up to Baha'u'llah, a cycle called the Adamic Cycle (or Cycle of Prophecy) which lasted about six thousand years, and the Manifestations that will appear after Baha'u'llah are part of the Baha'i Cycle (or Cycle of Fulfillment, CF 80). This Baha'i Cycle initiated by Baha'u'llah, during which many further Manifestations of God will arise and lasting about five hundred thousand years, should not be confused with the Dispensation of Baha'u'llah, which is expected to be a period of a thousand years or more during which the specific teachings given by Baha'u'llah will hold sway until the coming of the next Manifestation of God. The Bab is seen as being at the interface between the Adamic and Baha'i Cycles--at one and the same time the conclusion of the first and the start of the second (GPB 54). Hence each individual Manifestation of God has his own individual cycle, in which his religion grows, matures, and declines; is part of a larger cycle, either the Adamic Cycle or the Baha'i Cycle; and these larger cycles are in turn set within the overall Universal Cycle. Although time is thus in some ways cyclical, the cycles that occur within each Universal Cycle do not result in a return to the initial point. Rather there is also an element of progression. Each Manifestation of God has the function of guiding humanity in its social and spiritual evolution (see "Progressive Revelation"). "

Encyclopedia Article: Ages and Cycles
This one?

Regards,
Scott

 

[Adib]

Indeed Scott, that's the one!

 

[Steinninn]

may I ask, was the reason many of you chose the Baha'i faith over Islam, as Scott stated? and you felt that you needed a new explanation about God, or were there other reasons for acceptbign the Baha'i faith? What I am meanign to ask is, have many of ou accepted the Baha'i faith first, and acknowledged Islam by doign so, or have any of you studied the Qur'an prior to accepting the Baha'i faith?

and I'm sorry Arthra for typing this in the wrogn forum, I'll be sure to keep this in mind. thanks again.

The reasons for the similarities is because it comes from the same god. I see it as the next chapter in the same book.

I was a christian when I became Baha'i. I had studdied Islam, but was hesitating for a few reasons. The fact that the quaran is written by god trough mohammed, that mohammed is the last prophet, and others.

I was very happy to find out about the Baha'i faith because I was also questioning some things in christianity. Regecting mohammed as a prophet, praying to Jesus, the fact that there are so many different christian churches, and others.

Baha'i seems to me like the next locical step for the human race.

 

[well-wisher]

Hi Salaam,
>>>> the unity concept I understood from the beginning to be the Baha'i faith's foundation, but the unity that the Baha'i aith teaches is the same exact unity that Islam teaches, save that the Prophets PBUT were "manifestations of God" as opposed to "servants of God". and discluding the little bit of acceptance of Buddhism and Hinduism which I have learned about, I don't know to which extent, but this is all according to Baha'i websites and not the teachings itself for me. >>>>

I am fascinated reading your inquires and comments, and efforts of the Baha'i posters to inform you of the refreshing features of the Baha'i Revelation.
Its the "divine unity" doctrine that caught my attention - since it took awhile especially for me - coming from a Christian background to appreciate (what God allowed me to discover) some hidden principles embedded in this holy verse. Baha'u'llah,unfurls once more, like the "Channels of God's All-Pervasive Grace" Who preceeded Him, that banner, inscribed on it, the words
"God doeth what He pleaseth". It is God's wish to distinguish the Seen from the Hidden, the Last
from the First. God wishes to continue the process of cultivating the realities hidden in man and insure that the words He imparts will not depart the mouth of generations forever & ever.
If He wishes to have populations pay spiritual importance to a rock - no one on earth
can resist it. If He wishes to exalt the humble shepherd Abu Dharr, instead of the Caliph Abu-Bakar -- that is the sway of His Judgement.He talked to Moses, guilty of homicide, to guide the Jews, He annointed a Carpenter to represent the Spirit,an orphan,the Prophet Muhammad, the "Sun of Batha" to unify tribes and empires.
And in this much blest Dispensation,He manifested, The First, as prophesied by the Last, to Inaugurate the "World Commonwealth" and to proclaim the "Great Announcement" to His dominion as promised by the "Quran". Who will prevent God from fulfilling what He promised to puny mortals (that we are)? Who will tie His Hands that He may not exercise His Sovereignty ?

One of the the prayers revealed by Baha'u'llah that I love to recite starts with this
paragraph .
"All praise O my God be to Thee
Who art the Source of All-glory and majesty,
of greatness and honor,
of sovereignty and dominion,
of loftiness and grace
of awe and power .
Whomsover Thou willest,Thou causeth to draw nigh unto Thy Most Great Ocean and
whomsover Thou desirest, Thou conferrest the honor of recognizing Thy Most Ancient Name.
Of all who are in heaven and on earth --none can withstand the operation of Thy sovereign
will. ......"

I wish you well in your search for the hidden meanings of "Divine Unity",
well-wisher



Main and foremost
this holy verse.