Shaykh Baha’i, one of the most active Baha’is of the early community of Nayriz, Iran, was a man of letters at heart and served as the secretary of the Baha’i Assembly that had garnered the respect of the local people.
Shaykh Baha’i, Baha’i of Nayriz
He memorized prayers and poems and chanted excerpts during the talks he gave. He studied the Qur’an, the Hadiths (Islamic traditions of the Prophet), and the Baha’i Writings and, as a result, became very knowledgeable about the Qur’anic traditions regarding the Qa’im and the Baha’i proofs demonstrating the Bab and Baha’u’llah’s claims.
His home regularly welcomed outstanding Baha’i teachers such as Tarazu’llah Samandari and Ali Akbar Furutan. Mr. Samandari was the last person living to have seen Baha’u’llah in person. Over decades of travel teaching, he inspired believers by recounting his experiences of seeing the Manifestation of God in the Garden of Ridvan outside of Akka while he was revealing tablets to the believers.
Mr. Furutan was a graduate of the University of Moscow. He founded the Baha’i school in Tehran. Beginning the 1930s, he served on the National Assembly of Iran and knew Shaykh Baha’i who attended the National Conventions as a delegate from Nayriz.
Interview with Hand of the Cause Furutan