Misplaced Pages

#568431

172-641: Baháʼu'lláh , ʻAbdu'l-Bahá , and Shoghi Effendi stated how Spiritual Assemblies should be elected by the Baháʼís, defined their nature and purposes, and described in considerable detail how they should function. Since these institutions are grounded in the Baháʼí authoritative texts, Baháʼís regard them as divine in nature, and contrast the wealth of scriptural guidance with the paucity of scriptural texts on which Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religious institutions are based. The Universal House of Justice has added that among

344-553: A mixed language or a creole —a theory called the Middle English creole hypothesis . Although the great influence of these languages on the vocabulary and grammar of Modern English is widely acknowledged, most specialists in language contact do not consider English to be a true mixed language. English is classified as a Germanic language because it shares innovations with other Germanic languages including Dutch , German , and Swedish . These shared innovations show that

516-644: A 2012 official Eurobarometer poll (conducted when the UK was still a member of the EU), 38 percent of the EU respondents outside the countries where English is an official language said they could speak English well enough to have a conversation in that language. The next most commonly mentioned foreign language, French (which is the most widely known foreign language in the UK and Ireland), could be used in conversation by 12 percent of respondents. A working knowledge of English has become

688-462: A center for activities, and he generously gave financial support for the religion. In the summer of 1848, Bahá’u’lláh attended and hosted a gathering at Badasht in the province of Khorasan , where 84 Bábí disciples met for 22 days. At that conference historic discussions took place between those who wanted to maintain Islamic law (the religious heritage of most early Bábís ) and those who believed

860-658: A distinct language from Modern English and is virtually impossible for 21st-century unstudied English-speakers to understand. Its grammar was similar to that of modern German: nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs had many more inflectional endings and forms , and word order was much freer than in Modern English. Modern English has case forms in pronouns ( he , him , his ) and has a few verb inflections ( speak , speaks , speaking , spoke , spoken ), but Old English had case endings in nouns as well, and verbs had more person and number endings. Its closest relative

1032-720: A divine station thus effectively cleaved him from most Bábís, for it was against the Báb's covenant with his followers which decreed that whensoever "Him whom God shall make manifest" announced himself all Bábís were required to accept him. From this time onwards those who understood the Báb's teachings about the Promised One began to call themselves "Bahá’ís" (meaning the people of Bahá’ , followers of Bahá’u’lláh). Having lost all respect or influence among Bábís who had become Bahá’ís, Mirza Yahya again sought to discredit Baháʼu’lláh with Ottoman authorities, accusing him of agitating against

1204-490: A foreign language, make up the "expanding circle". The distinctions between English as a first language, as a second language, and as a foreign language are often debatable and may change in particular countries over time. For example, in the Netherlands and some other countries of Europe, knowledge of English as a second language is nearly universal, with over 80 percent of the population able to use it, and thus English

1376-442: A friendly and loving manner, condemns and forbids all forms of religious violence, including jihad. Baháʼu'lláh describes in detail the role of true religion as a deterrent to crime, as a force for the maintenance of social order, and as a catalyst for ongoing personal spiritual development, daily communion with God, and needed self-transformation. Baháʼu'lláh forbids asceticism, mendicancy, monasticism, and penance, while affirming

1548-550: A handful of Azalis. Mirza Yahya's intrigue also resulted in his own captivity—because Turkish authorities suspected he was involved in some conspiracy, he was sent to prison in Famagusta , Cyprus with his family, some Azalis, and four Bahá’ís. Leaving Adrianople on 12 August 1868, Bahá’u’lláh and his companions arrived in Acre on 31 August where they were incarcerated in the city's prison citadel. Inhabitants of Acre were told

1720-510: A man glory in this, that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind ." After a short illness, Baháʼu'lláh died on 29 May 1892 in Bahji. He was buried adjacent to the mansion in an existing building which now serves as his shrine . It is a place of pilgrimage for Bahá’ís from all over the world, and is the Qiblih they face for daily obligatory prayers . In 2008

1892-520: A more standard version of English. They have many more speakers of English who acquire English as they grow up through day-to-day use and listening to broadcasting, especially if they attend schools where English is the medium of instruction. Varieties of English learned by non-native speakers born to English-speaking parents may be influenced, especially in their grammar, by the other languages spoken by those learners. Most of those varieties of English include words little used by native speakers of English in

SECTION 10

#1732772578569

2064-482: A name, a minimum number (nine, for “the number of Baha ” refers to the numerical value of the letters of that word, which is nine), and a general responsibility to take care of the welfare of others even as they would take care of their own. While the resulting institution is local, in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Baháʼu'lláh also spoke about the responsibilities of the supreme or Universal House of Justice . In response to

2236-490: A nation: Alaska , Hawaii , and Puerto Rico have their own “national” bodies because they are geographically separated from the lower forty-eight states; Sicily has its own because Shoghi Effendi said major islands also like in the Caribbean should elect independent National Spiritual Assemblies. Like local Spiritual Assemblies, all National Spiritual Assemblies have nine members and are elected annually, usually during

2408-671: A national convention and would vote for the nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly. The 1928 issue of The Baháʼí World listed nine National Spiritual Assemblies: Persia ( Iran ); the United States and Canada; Germany ; Great Britain and Ireland ; India and Burma ; Egypt ; Turkistan ; Caucasus ; and Iraq . Of these, the Iranian body was still the “Central Spiritual Assembly” in Tehran, elected by

2580-695: A number of other Anglic languages, including Scots and the extinct Fingallian dialect and Yola language of Ireland. Like Icelandic and Faroese , the development of English in the British Isles isolated it from the continental Germanic languages and influences, and it has since diverged considerably. English is not mutually intelligible with any continental Germanic language, as it differs in vocabulary , syntax , and phonology . However, some of these, such as Dutch or Frisian, do show strong affinities with English, especially with its earlier stages. Unlike Icelandic and Faroese, which were isolated,

2752-427: A prisoner and an exile... We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the nations; yet they deem us a stirrer up of strife and sedition worthy of bondage and banishment... That all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened; that diversity of religion should cease, and differences of race be annulled—what harm

2924-684: A requirement in a number of occupations and professions such as medicine and computing. English has become so important in scientific publishing that more than 80 percent of all scientific journal articles indexed by Chemical Abstracts in 1998 were written in English, as were 90 percent of all articles in natural science publications by 1996 and 82 percent of articles in humanities publications by 1995. International communities such as international business people may use English as an auxiliary language , with an emphasis on vocabulary suitable for their domain of interest. This has led some scholars to develop

3096-407: A rich inflectional morphology and relatively free word order to a mostly analytic pattern with little inflection and a fairly fixed subject–verb–object word order . Modern English relies more on auxiliary verbs and word order for the expression of complex tenses , aspects and moods , as well as passive constructions , interrogatives , and some negation . The earliest form of English

3268-758: A significant minority speaks English. The countries with the most native English speakers are, in descending order, the United States (at least 231 million), the United Kingdom (60 million), Canada (19 million), Australia (at least 17 million), South Africa (4.8 million), Ireland (4.2 million), and New Zealand (3.7 million). In these countries, children of native speakers learn English from their parents, and local people who speak other languages and new immigrants learn English to communicate in their neighbourhoods and workplaces. The inner-circle countries provide

3440-481: A society characterized by the unity of nations, fellowship of religions, equal rights of all people, and a compassionate, consultative, tolerant, democratic, moral world order". Woven throughout the Báb's teachings are references to " He whom God shall make manifest ", the great Promised One for whom he was preparing the way. In numerous prophesies the Báb stated that the next divine educator would appear shortly after his own expected martyrdom. In one of his major works,

3612-506: A total of 85 local Spiritual Assemblies worldwide. The number has grown ever since; in 2001 there were 11,740 local Spiritual Assemblies worldwide. National Spiritual Assemblies are first mentioned in ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament , but the fact that they would be established circulated for years before the contents of the Will became publicly available in early 1922. In 1909, Hippolyte Dreyfus  [ fr ] wrote extensively about

SECTION 20

#1732772578569

3784-447: A verb ending ( present plural): From the 8th to the 11th centuries, Old English gradually transformed through language contact with Old Norse in some regions. The waves of Norse (Viking) colonisation of northern parts of the British Isles in the 8th and 9th centuries put Old English into intense contact with Old Norse , a North Germanic language. Norse influence was strongest in the north-eastern varieties of Old English spoken in

3956-535: A while, relations between Bahá’í prisoners, officials, and the local community improved, so conditions of their imprisonment were eased. When visiting Acre in April 1871, Dr. Thomas Chaplin (director of a British-run hospital in Jerusalem) met with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, on behalf of Baháʼu'lláh, in a home the family was living in after being moved out of the citadel. Afterward, the physician sent a letter regarding Baháʼu'lláh to

4128-563: Is Old Frisian , but even some centuries after the Anglo-Saxon migration, Old English retained considerable mutual intelligibility with other Germanic varieties. Even in the 9th and 10th centuries, amidst the Danelaw and other Viking invasions, there is historical evidence that Old Norse and Old English retained considerable mutual intelligibility, although probably the northern dialects of Old English were more similar to Old Norse than

4300-540: Is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family , whose speakers, called Anglophones , originated in early medieval England on the island of Great Britain . The namesake of the language is the Angles , one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to Britain . It is the most spoken language in the world, primarily due to the global influences of the former British Empire (succeeded by

4472-403: Is also undergoing change under the influence of American English, fuelled by the strong presence of American English in the media and the prestige associated with the United States as a world power. As of 2016 , 400 million people spoke English as their first language , and 1.1 billion spoke it as a secondary language. English is the largest language by number of speakers . English

4644-610: Is also widely used in media and literature, and the number of English language books published annually in India is the third largest in the world after the US and UK. However, English is rarely spoken as a first language, numbering only around a couple hundred-thousand people, and less than 5% of the population speak fluent English in India. David Crystal claimed in 2004 that, combining native and non-native speakers, India now has more people who speak or understand English than any other country in

4816-407: Is an official language of countries populated by few descendants of native speakers of English. It has also become by far the most important language of international communication when people who share no native language meet anywhere in the world. The Indian linguist Braj Kachru distinguished countries where English is spoken with a three circles model . In his model, Kachru based his model on

4988-486: Is called Old English or Anglo-Saxon ( c.  450–1150 ). Old English developed from a set of West Germanic dialects, often grouped as Anglo-Frisian or North Sea Germanic , and originally spoken along the coasts of Frisia , Lower Saxony and southern Jutland by Germanic peoples known to the historical record as the Angles , Saxons , and Jutes . From the 5th century, the Anglo-Saxons settled Britain as

5160-403: Is of the same sun, varying only due to differences relating to time and position. Bahá’u’lláh says the guidance of manifestations necessarily differ due to the particular situations and requirements of those they deal with: "The Prophets of God should be regarded as physicians whose task is to foster the well-being of the world and its peoples... Little wonder, then, if the treatment prescribed by

5332-536: Is often arbitrarily defined as beginning with the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066, but it developed further in the period from 1150 to 1500. With the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the now-Norsified Old English language was subject to another wave of intense contact, this time with Old French , in particular Old Norman French , influencing it as a superstrate. The Norman French spoken by

Spiritual Assembly - Misplaced Pages Continue

5504-775: Is pronounced in four syllables: Ba , as in ba t; há , as in ha rd; the apostrophe-like mark after "Bahá" is for the Arabic letter hamza which represents the glottal stop ; u'l as in ol d (the apostrophe represents a contraction and is not pronounced); and láh as in la w. Common transliterations of the name, with or without diacritical marks, include Baha'u'llah, Bahaullah, and Baháʼ Alláh. There are two known photographs of Baháʼu'lláh, both taken in Adrianople. Bahá’ís avoid displaying photographs or imagery of Baháʼu'lláh in public or in their homes, and prefer that others also avoid displaying them in books and websites. One picture

5676-424: Is routinely used to communicate with foreigners and often in higher education. In these countries, although English is not used for government business, its widespread use puts them at the boundary between the "outer circle" and "expanding circle". English is unusual among world languages in how many of its users are not native speakers but speakers of English as a second or foreign language. Many users of English in

5848-422: Is sent by God to a particular period and place as an instrument of divine intervention to help the human race gradually develop its inherent capacities to realize God's plan for humanity. Bahá’ís believe manifestations reflect the light of God's Will and Purpose in this world. Bahá’í writings liken manifestations to perfect mirrors reflecting one sun—though every mirror is distinct, yet the reflection cast by each

6020-584: Is shown to Bahá’ís during visits to the International Archives building as part of an organized Bahá’í pilgrimage; it may also be displayed on certain other highly significant special occasions. The other image was reproduced by William Miller in his 1974 polemic against the Baháʼí Faith. Baháʼu'lláh was born in Tehran, Iran, on 12 November 1817. Baháʼí authors trace his ancestry to Abraham through both his wives Keturah and Sarah , to

6192-517: Is spoken by communities on every continent and on islands in all the major oceans. The countries where English is spoken can be grouped into different categories according to how English is used in each country. The "inner circle" countries with many native speakers of English share an international standard of written English and jointly influence speech norms for English around the world. English does not belong to just one country, and it does not belong solely to descendants of English settlers. English

6364-564: Is the sole or dominant language for historical reasons without being explicitly defined by law (such as in the United States and United Kingdom ). It is a co-official language of the United Nations , the European Union , and many other international and regional organisations. It has also become the de facto lingua franca of diplomacy, science , technology, international trade, logistics, tourism, aviation, entertainment, and

6536-777: Is the third person pronoun group beginning with th- ( they, them, their ) which replaced the Anglo-Saxon pronouns with h- ( hie, him, hera ). Other core Norse loanwords include "give", "get", "sky", "skirt", "egg", and "cake", typically displacing a native Anglo-Saxon equivalent. Old Norse in this era retained considerable mutual intelligibility with some dialects of Old English, particularly northern ones. Englischmen þeyz hy hadde fram þe bygynnyng þre manner speche, Souþeron, Northeron, and Myddel speche in þe myddel of þe lond, ... Noþeles by comyxstion and mellyng, furst wiþ Danes, and afterward wiþ Normans, in menye þe contray longage ys asperyed, and som vseþ strange wlaffyng, chyteryng, harryng, and garryng grisbytting. Although, from

6708-484: Is there in this?... Yet so it shall be; these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the 'Most great Peace' shall come.... Is not this that which Christ foretold?... Yet do We see your kings and rulers lavishing their treasures more freely on means for the destruction of the human race than on that which would conduce to the happiness of mankind... These strifes and this bloodshed and discord must cease, and all men be as one kindred and one family... Let not

6880-613: The Hidden Words , the Kitáb-i-Íqán , and the Kitáb-i-Aqdas . Some teachings are mystical and address the nature of God and the progress of the soul, while others address the needs of society, religious obligations of his followers, or the structure of Bahá’í institutions that would propagate the religion. He viewed humans as fundamentally spiritual beings and called upon individuals to develop divine virtues and further

7052-485: The Augustinian canon Orrm , which highlights the blending of both Old English and Anglo-Norman elements in English for the first time. In Wycliff'e Bible of the 1380s, the verse Matthew 8:20 was written: Foxis han dennes, and briddis of heuene han nestis . Here the plural suffix -n on the verb have is still retained, but none of the case endings on the nouns are present. By the 12th century Middle English

Spiritual Assembly - Misplaced Pages Continue

7224-505: The Commonwealth of Nations ) and the United States . English is the third-most spoken native language , after Standard Chinese and Spanish ; it is also the most widely learned second language in the world, with more second-language speakers than native speakers. English is either the official language or one of the official languages in 59 sovereign states (such as India , Ireland , and Canada ). In some other countries, it

7396-546: The Danelaw area around York, which was the centre of Norse colonisation; today these features are still particularly present in Scots and Northern English . The centre of Norsified English was in the Midlands around Lindsey . After 920 CE, when Lindsey was incorporated into the Anglo-Saxon polity, English spread extensively throughout the region. An element of Norse influence that continues in all English varieties today

7568-552: The European Free Trade Association , Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) set English as their organisation's sole working language even though most members are not countries with a majority of native English speakers. While the European Union (EU) allows member states to designate any of the national languages as an official language of

7740-663: The Internet . English accounts for at least 70% of total speakers of the Germanic language branch, and as of 2021 , Ethnologue estimated that there were over 1.5 billion speakers worldwide. Old English emerged from a group of West Germanic dialects spoken by the Anglo-Saxons . Late Old English borrowed some grammar and core vocabulary from Old Norse , a North Germanic language . Then, Middle English borrowed vocabulary extensively from French dialects , which are

7912-767: The Low Saxon and Frisian languages . English is an Indo-European language and belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages . Old English originated from a Germanic tribal and linguistic continuum along the Frisian North Sea coast, whose languages gradually evolved into the Anglic languages in the British Isles , and into the Frisian languages and Low German /Low Saxon on

8084-468: The Mansion of Bahjí , just outside Acre. Baháʼu'lláh devoted his time to writing numerous volumes detailing his teachings, including his vision for a united world , the need for ethical actions, and many prayers . In 1890, Cambridge orientalist Edward Granville Browne was able to interview Baháʼu'lláh in Bahji. After this meeting he wrote his famous pen-portrait of Baháʼu'lláh: In the corner where

8256-622: The Naqshbandíyyih , Qádiríyyih , and Khálidíyyih Orders respectively, began to seek his advice. It was to the second of these that Bahá’u’lláh's book the Four Valleys was written. During Bahá’u’lláh's absence from the Baghdad Bábí community, Mirza Yahya's true nature became increasingly clear. The public respect and morale of Bábís soon disintegrated as Yahya failed to give spiritual guidance or to demonstrate in daily living

8428-572: The Ottoman Empire . Upon settling in Baghdad, Baháʼu'lláh began dispatching communications and teachers to encourage and revive flagging spirits of persecuted followers of the Báb in Persia. Over time, a number of Bábís moved to Baghdad to be close to Bahá’u’lláh. One of these was Mirza Yahya , later known as Subh-i-Azal, a half-brother 13 years younger than Bahá’u’lláh, who followed him into

8600-714: The Ridván Festival (April 21-May 2). All Baháʼí elections occur in an atmosphere of prayer where nominations, campaigning, and all discussion of persons is forbidden. The members of the National Spiritual Assemblies collectively serve as the electoral college for electing the Universal House of Justice , the supreme governing body of the Baháʼí Faith, which was first formed in 1963. Bah%C3%A1%CA%BCu%27ll%C3%A1h Baháʼu'lláh (born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí ; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892)

8772-525: The Tehran body served to coordinate both local and national Baháʼí activities. It is not known what name the body was organized under. The development of a Baháʼí community in the United States in the 1890s necessitated the creation of local Baháʼí consultative bodies there. In 1899 the Baháʼís of Chicago elected a local council based on their awareness of the provisions of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (which

SECTION 50

#1732772578569

8944-604: The United Nations at the end of World War II , English had become pre-eminent and is now the main worldwide language of diplomacy and international relations. It is one of six official languages of the United Nations. Many other worldwide international organisations, including the International Olympic Committee , specify English as a working language or official language of the organisation. Many regional international organisations such as

9116-563: The Zoroaster , to David 's father Jesse , and to Yazdegerd III , the last king of the Sasanian Empire . His mother was Khadíjih Khánum, his father Mírzá ʻAbbás Núrí, known as Mírzá Buzurg, served as vizier to Imám-Virdi Mírzá, the twelfth son of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar . Baháʼu'lláh married Ásíyih Khánum , the daughter of a nobleman, in Tehran in 1835 when he was 18 and she was 15. In his early twenties Baháʼu'lláh declined

9288-573: The oneness of God's manifestations, and the essential oneness of religion. Thus, Bahá’ís see Bahá’u’lláh as fulfilling prophecies of Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Zoroastrian, Hindu, and Buddhist scriptures. Baháʼu'lláh calls upon every Bahá’í to live a righteous, healthy, productive life, characterized by good manners and moral virtues such as truthfulness, integrity, trustworthiness, patience, courtesy, hospitality, fidelity, purity, chastity, moderation, forbearance, justice and fairness. He encourages believers to associate with those of all faiths in

9460-518: The palatalisation of consonants that were velar consonants in Proto-Germanic (see Phonological history of Old English § Palatalization ). The earliest varieties of an English language, collectively known as Old English or "Anglo-Saxon", evolved from a group of North Sea Germanic dialects brought to Britain in the 5th century. Old English dialects were later influenced by Old Norse -speaking Viking invaders and settlers , starting in

9632-523: The "intense fear and suspicion" of the Iranian monarch and his advisors. The Persian government asked the Ottoman government to extradite Baháʼu'lláh back to Persia, but the latter refused. The Persians then pressed the Ottomans to remove Baháʼu'lláh from Baghdad which was near Iran's border. The result was an invitation in April 1863 from Sultan ʻAbdu'l-ʻAzíz himself inviting Baháʼu'lláh to reside in

9804-564: The "outer circle" countries are countries such as the Philippines , Jamaica , India , Pakistan , Singapore , Malaysia and Nigeria with a much smaller proportion of native speakers of English but much use of English as a second language for education, government, or domestic business, and its routine use for school instruction and official interactions with the government. Those countries have millions of native speakers of dialect continua ranging from an English-based creole to

9976-617: The 8th and 9th centuries. Middle English began in the late 11th century after the Norman Conquest of England, when a considerable amount of Old French vocabulary was incorporated into English over some three centuries. Early Modern English began in the late 15th century with the start of the Great Vowel Shift and the Renaissance trend of borrowing further Latin and Greek words and roots, concurrent with

10148-608: The Angles. English may have a small amount of substrate influence from Common Brittonic, and a number of possible Brittonicisms in English have been proposed, but whether most of these supposed Brittonicisms are actually a direct result of Brittonic substrate influence is disputed. Old English was divided into four dialects: the Anglian dialects ( Mercian and Northumbrian ) and the Saxon dialects ( Kentish and West Saxon ). Through

10320-532: The Bahai Temple Unity, which held annual conventions, appointed committees to publish Baháʼí literature , coordinate the spread of the Baháʼí Faith across North America, and review Baháʼí publications for their accuracy. By the time of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's passing in November 1921, the Bahai Temple Unity functioned as a “national” Baháʼí coordinating body. In the same March 5, 1922 letter to the Baháʼís of

10492-474: The Baháʼí Faith locally, fostering projects for the social and economic development of the region, and enrolling new members of the religion. Spiritual Assemblies appoint individuals, task forces, and committees to carry out many of their functions. National Spiritual Assemblies have a similar mandate at the national level: they coordinate publishing and distribution of Baháʼí literature , direct relations with national organizations and governmental agencies, oversee

SECTION 60

#1732772578569

10664-506: The Baháʼís of that community; it was not until 1934 that a national Baháʼí membership list could be drawn up that allowed the election of delegates and convening of a fully representative national convention. It is possible that the Turkistan and Caucasus bodies were preliminary as well. By 1953 the number of National Spiritual Assemblies worldwide had increased to 12; in 1963, 56; by 1968, 81, by 1988, 148; by 2001, 182. An important part of

10836-524: The British Empire in the 1950s and 1960s, former colonies often did not reject English but rather continued to use it as independent countries setting their own language policies. For example, the view of the English language among many Indians has gone from associating it with colonialism to associating it with economic progress, and English continues to be an official language of India. English

11008-475: The Báb had inaugurated a new religious dispensation. Baháʼu'lláh influenced agreement around the latter point of view. It was at Badasht that Mírzá Ḥusayn-ʻAlí Núrí assumed the name Bahá’ and also gave new spiritual names to all other attendees; thereafter the Báb addressed tablets to them by those names. When Táhirih , the most prominent female disciple of the Báb, was arrested after the conference, Baháʼu'lláh intervened to protect her. Subsequently, he himself

11180-534: The Báb himself was executed by firing squad in Tabriz at the age of 30. In his teachings the Báb identifies himself as the first of two Manifestations of God whom the Creator was sending to usher in the enduring peace that is to signify humanity's attainment of maturity—when all people will live in unity as one human family. Baháʼís hold that the Báb's teachings lay the groundwork "for the eventual establishment of

11352-530: The Báb stated: "Well is it with him who fixeth his gaze upon the Order of Baháʼu'lláh, and rendereth thanks unto his Lord." Events leading up to and after the execution of the Báb were tumultuous for Bábís. As Muslim leaders incited fanatic mobs to violence against them, many Bábís—while refusing to take offensive steps against attackers—did take actions to defend themselves, but commonly ended-up being slaughtered. On 15 August 1852, two Bábí youth, in retaliation for

11524-478: The Báb's prophecies regarding "Him whom God shall make manifest". The "inseparable" nature and unity of the twin revelations of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh are why Bahá’ís consider both faiths as forming one complete religious entity, and the reason the 1844 declaration of the Báb is considered the starting date of the Bahá’í Faith. When it was proven beyond any doubt that Baháʼu'lláh was innocent of involvement with

11696-469: The Báb. Bahá’u’lláh made that declaration to Yahya in early March 1866 through a tablet penned in Bahá’u’lláh's own handwriting and read aloud to Yahya by Bahá’u’lláh's amanuensis. Besides unequivocally proclaiming his spiritual station, Bahá’u’lláh called upon Yahya "to recognize and support him as the Báb had explicitly instructed him to do." Mirza Yahya's response was to counter that he, not Bahá’u’lláh,

11868-549: The Bábí Faith and even accompanied him on some early journeys on its behalf. After their father's death, Yahya's education and care were largely overseen by Bahá’u’lláh. During Baha’u’llah's imprisonment in the Síyáh-Chál Yahya went into hiding, but after Bahá’u’lláh's exile to Iraq Yahya left Iran in disguise and made his way to Baghdad. For a time, Yahya served as Bahá’u’lláh's secretary in Baghdad, but envy for

12040-445: The Bábí Faith or the lives of Bábís over which he was now claiming a high position. To bolster his effort, Yahya simultaneously sought to discredit Bahá’u’lláh by spreading false rumors and accusations about him, which stirred up feelings among Bábís in the Baghdad community. Declining to dispute with Yahya or do anything to "endanger the unity and survival of the already demoralized Bábí community", Bahá’u’lláh entrusted his family to

12212-499: The Bábís. Having given his younger sibling ample guidance and opportunities to live as a Bábí should, and having repeatedly forgiven him for things he had done in the past, Bahá’u’lláh decided the time had come to formally declare to Mirza Yahya that he was God's latest manifestation, the Promised One of the Báb, "Him whom God shall make manifest" —because doing so would require him to obey Bahá’u’lláh if Yahya were to remain faithful to

12384-564: The Chicago Baháʼís to elect their body every five years, they were usually elected annually or even semi-annually. The number of members varied from five to nineteen (except in New York City, where ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, in 1911, said they should elect twenty-seven members in order to be inclusive of and to foster unity between that city's diverse Baháʼí groups). They were male only until ʻAbdu'l-Bahá said, in 1911, that women should be elected to

12556-468: The Creator's attributes have been—and will forever be—only possible to the extent that these are shared by special Beings he and the Báb describe as Manifestations of God . Rather than simply being great thinkers with a better perspective on life than others, manifestations are spiritual entities specially created by God with capacities infinitely superior to ordinary humans. Existing in spiritual realms prior to birth in this physical life, each manifestation

12728-547: The Early Modern period includes the works of William Shakespeare and the translation of the Bible commissioned by King James I . Even after the vowel shift the language still sounded different from Modern English: for example, the consonant clusters /kn ɡn sw/ in knight , gnat , and sword were still pronounced. Many of the grammatical features that a modern reader of Shakespeare might find quaint or archaic represent

12900-655: The English Language , which introduced standard spellings of words and usage norms. In 1828, Noah Webster published the American Dictionary of the English language to try to establish a norm for speaking and writing American English that was independent of the British standard. Within Britain, non-standard or lower class dialect features were increasingly stigmatised, leading to the quick spread of

13072-557: The English-speaking inner circle countries outside Britain helped level dialect distinctions and produce koineised forms of English in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. The majority of immigrants to the United States without British ancestry rapidly adopted English after arrival. Now the majority of the United States population are monolingual English speakers. English has ceased to be an "English language" in

13244-517: The Ottoman capital Constantinople (now Istanbul ). On 22 April 1863, Baháʼu'lláh left his house in Baghdad for the banks of the Tigris River and crossed to enter the verdant Najibiyyih garden-park on the other side, which a Baghdad admirer had offered for his use. There Baháʼu'lláh stayed for twelve days with family members and a few close followers chosen to accompany him. Upon arrival in

13416-657: The Ottoman government move him farther away. He spent months in Constantinople where the authorities became hostile to his religious claims and put him under house arrest in Edirne for four years, followed by two years of harsh confinement in the prison-city of Acre . His restrictions were gradually eased until his final years were spent in relative freedom in the area surrounding Acre. Baháʼu'lláh wrote at least 1,500 letters, some book-length, that have been translated into at least 802 languages. Some notable examples include

13588-440: The Promised One prophesied in every major religion of the past—the divine teacher God vowed to send to usher in humanity's Golden Age. Bahá’u’lláh's claim to being several ' messiahs ' converging in one person is understood by Bahá’ís as being a spiritual symbolic fulfillment rather than a literal fulfilment of messianic and eschatological prophecies of past faiths. This understanding is based upon Bahá’u’lláh's teachings regarding

13760-554: The Roman economy and administration collapsed . By the 7th century, this Germanic language of the Anglo-Saxons became dominant in Britain , replacing the languages of Roman Britain (43–409): Common Brittonic , a Celtic language , and British Latin , brought to Britain by the Roman occupation. At this time, these dialects generally resisted influence from the then-local Brittonic and Latin languages. England and English (originally Ænglaland and Ænglisc ) are both named after

13932-553: The Shah of Persia. Yahya's utter failings as a religious leader led most Bábís to reject his claims. When rumors of a ‘saint’ living in Sulaymaniyyih reached Bábí friends in Baghdad they suspected it was Bahá’u’lláh and asked one of his relatives to locate and beg him to return to help the community. Acceding to their urgent requests, to which Yahya even added an appeal, Bahá’u’lláh returned to Baghdad on 19 March 1856. Over

14104-542: The Sultan's prime minister. Other travelers included at least two dozen companions who requested Bahá’u’lláh's permission to accompany him. Though not included in the Sultan's invitation, Mirza Yahya joined the group en route. After fifteen weeks Bahá’u’lláh arrived in the Ottoman capital on 16 August 1863. He was welcomed by various government ministers of the Sultan, and by prominent personalities who paid their respects. The Persian ambassador also sent emissaries to greet him

14276-515: The Turkish government. Yahya's actions provoked a government investigation, which cleared Baháʼu’lláh—but fearing religious issues might stir up future disorder, the Ottomans decided to imprison both Baháʼu'lláh and Mirza Yahya in far-flung outposts of their empire. In July 1868 a royal decree condemned Bahá’u’lláh and his family to perpetual imprisonment in the pestilential penal colony of Acre; banished with them were most Bahá’ís in Adrianople, and

14448-494: The Union, in practice English is the main working language of EU organisations. Although in most countries English is not an official language, it is currently the language most often taught as a foreign language . In the countries of the EU, English is the most widely spoken foreign language in nineteen of the twenty-five member states where it is not an official language (that is, the countries other than Ireland and Malta ). In

14620-735: The United States; and in Bombay , British Raj India; Cairo , Khedivate of Egypt ; Acre , Ottoman Syria ; Baku , Tbilisi , Ashgabat and Samarqand in the Russian Empire ; and Mashhad , Abadih , Qazvin , and Tabriz , Persia . Consultative bodies also existed for the Jewish and Zoroastrian Baháʼís in Tehran and for the women of a few Baháʼí communities. Because efforts to organize local Baháʼí consultative bodies remained informal, few additional ones had formed by 1921 (notable exceptions being Cleveland, Ohio , and London ), and some of

14792-540: The affairs of government.... This same designation hath been universally adopted throughout Iran." For this reason, Baháʼí local and national governing bodies are designated “Spiritual Assemblies” to this day. The first decade of the twentieth century saw the proliferation of local Baháʼí governing bodies. Often unaware of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's guidance, they had a variety of titles in English and Persian , such as “Council Board, “Board of Consultation,” “House of Spirituality,” and "Executive Committee." Unaware ʻAbdu'l-Bahá had told

14964-555: The age of 33, during a governmental attempt to exterminate the movement, Baháʼu'lláh narrowly escaped death, his properties were confiscated, and he was banished from Iran. Just before leaving, while imprisoned in the Síyáh-Chál dungeon, Baháʼu'lláh claimed to receive revelations from God marking the beginning of his divine mission. After settling in Iraq, Baháʼu'lláh again attracted the ire of Iranian authorities, and they requested that

15136-404: The attempt against the Shah's life, the Shah finally agreed to free him but decreed that Baháʼu'lláh would be permanently banished from Persia. Dispossessed of his extensive properties and wealth, in the exceptionally severe winter of January 1853 Baháʼu'lláh with family members undertook a three-month journey to Baghdad , thus beginning what became exile for the rest of his life in territories of

15308-407: The base from which English spreads to other countries in the world. Estimates of the numbers of second language and foreign-language English speakers vary greatly from 470 million to more than 1 billion, depending on how proficiency is defined. Linguist David Crystal estimates that non-native speakers now outnumber native speakers by a ratio of 3 to 1. In Kachru's three-circles model,

15480-453: The basis for the required controlled natural languages Seaspeak and Airspeak, used as international languages of seafaring and aviation. English used to have parity with French and German in scientific research, but now it dominates that field. It achieved parity with French as a language of diplomacy at the Treaty of Versailles negotiations in 1919. By the time of the foundation of

15652-565: The bath. Salmani was so outraged he said his immediate thought was to kill Yahya—he hesitated only because he knew doing that would displease Bahá’u’lláh. Agitated, he informed Bahá’u’lláh's faithful brother Mirza Musa of the incident, who advised him to ignore it, saying Yahya had thought of this for years. Still upset, Salmani told ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’u’lláh's eldest son, about the matter, who told him not to speak of it to others. Salmani finally informed Bahá’u’lláh, who likewise said he should not mention it to anyone. Until this incident, because Yahya

15824-400: The beginning, Englishmen had three manners of speaking, southern, northern and midlands speech in the middle of the country, ... Nevertheless, through intermingling and mixing, first with Danes and then with Normans, amongst many the country language has arisen, and some use strange stammering, chattering, snarling, and grating gnashing. John Trevisa , c.  1385 Middle English

15996-414: The capital. As a consequence, less than four months after arriving in Constantinople, the prime minister suggested the Sultan banish Baháʼu'lláh and his companions to Adrianople (now Edirne ), which the ruler promptly approved. On 12 December 1863, Baháʼu'lláh arrived in Adrianople with his family and other companions. His presence there, which lasted four and a half years, became a significant period for

16168-507: The care of his brother Mirza Musa and without notice left Baghdad on 10 April 1854 for mountains in the north near Sulaymaniyyih in Kurdistan . He later wrote that he withdrew to avoid becoming a source of disagreement within the Bábí community. Initially living as a hermit in those mountains, Bahá’u’lláh dressed as a dervish and used the name Darvish Muhammad-i-Irani. In Sulaymaniyyih

16340-638: The consensus of educated English speakers around the world, without any oversight by any government or international organisation. American listeners readily understand most British broadcasting, and British listeners readily understand most American broadcasting. Most English speakers around the world can understand radio programmes, television programmes, and films from many parts of the English-speaking world. Both standard and non-standard varieties of English can include both formal or informal styles, distinguished by word choice and syntax and use both technical and non-technical registers. The settlement history of

16512-701: The continent. The Frisian languages, which together with the Anglic languages form the Anglo-Frisian languages , are the closest living relatives of English. Low German/Low Saxon is also closely related, and sometimes English, the Frisian languages, and Low German are grouped together as the North Sea Germanic languages, though this grouping remains debated. Old English evolved into Middle English , which in turn evolved into Modern English. Particular dialects of Old and Middle English also developed into

16684-461: The custom. Bahá’u’lláh's response was that he knew of the practice "but had no demands to make of anyone nor did he require favors from them; therefore there was no reason" for him to call upon anyone. Bahá’u’lláh's independence and detachment from the situation was used by the Persian ambassador to maliciously misrepresent Bahá’u’lláh before the Ottoman court, and to press for his banishment from

16856-406: The day after his arrival. At the time, it was customary for prominent government guests such as Bahá’u’lláh to "call on the prime minister and other high-ranking officials", during which the guests would seek favors, broker deals, and secure various forms of official support for themselves. When Bahá’u’lláh did not return any visits, Kamal Pasha, a former Ottoman prime minister, even reminded him of

17028-476: The development of English was influenced by a long series of invasions of the British Isles by other peoples and languages, particularly Old Norse and French dialects . These left a profound mark of their own on the language, so that English shows some similarities in vocabulary and grammar with many languages outside its linguistic clades —but it is not mutually intelligible with any of those languages either. Some scholars have argued that English can be considered

17200-494: The development of a united world community, Baha’u’llah emphasizes the importance of eliminating religious and racial prejudices and avoiding extreme nationalism. Further, he stipulates the rights of all minorities must be safeguarded and their development nurtured. A condition described as absolutely necessary for the realization of global peace is complete equality between women and men worldwide. Bahá’u’lláh states that in God's sight

17372-476: The distinct characteristics of Early Modern English. In the 1611 King James Version of the Bible, written in Early Modern English, Matthew 8:20 says, "The Foxes haue holes and the birds of the ayre haue nests." This exemplifies the loss of case and its effects on sentence structure (replacement with subject–verb–object word order, and the use of of instead of the non-possessive genitive), and

17544-538: The divan met the wall sat a wondrous and venerable figure... The face of him on whom I gazed I can never forget, though I cannot describe it. Those piercing eyes seemed to read one's very soul; power and authority sat on that ample brow... No need to ask in whose presence I stood, as I bowed myself before one who is the object of a devotion and love which kings might envy and emperors sigh for in vain! A mild dignified voice bade me be seated, and then continued:— " Praise be to God that thou hast attained!... Thou hast come to see

17716-401: The early period of Old English were written using a runic script . By the 6th century, a Latin alphabet was adopted, written with half-uncial letterforms . It included the runic letters wynn ⟨ ƿ ⟩ and thorn ⟨ þ ⟩ , and the modified Latin letters eth ⟨ ð ⟩ , and ash ⟨ æ ⟩ . Old English is essentially

17888-550: The editor of The Times , which was printed on 5 October 1871. Eventually, after the Sultan's death, Baháʼu'lláh was allowed to leave the city to visit nearby places, and to then reside in areas outside Acre. From 1877 to 1879, Baháʼu'lláh lived in Mazra'ih , a house a few miles north of the prison city. Though formally still a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire, the final years of Baháʼu'lláh's life (1879–1892) were spent in

18060-551: The educational reforms of King Alfred in the 9th century and the influence of the kingdom of Wessex , the West Saxon dialect became the standard written variety . The epic poem Beowulf is written in West Saxon, and the earliest English poem, Cædmon's Hymn , is written in Northumbrian. Modern English developed mainly from Mercian, but the Scots language developed from Northumbrian. A few short inscriptions from

18232-695: The elite in England eventually developed into the Anglo-Norman language . Because Norman was spoken primarily by the elites and nobles, while the lower classes continued speaking English, the main influence of Norman was the introduction of a wide range of loanwords related to politics, legislation and prestigious social domains. Middle English also greatly simplified the inflectional system, probably in order to reconcile Old Norse and Old English, which were inflectionally different but morphologically similar. The distinction between nominative and accusative cases

18404-408: The expanding circle use it to communicate with other people from the expanding circle, so that interaction with native speakers of English plays no part in their decision to use the language. Non-native varieties of English are widely used for international communication, and speakers of one such variety often encounter features of other varieties. Very often today a conversation in English anywhere in

18576-623: The further unfoldment of his mission among Bábís, and for the general proclamation of his cause. Over the next two years, writings which flowed from Bahá’u’lláh were broadly shared with Bábís in Iran. Bahá’u’lláh dispatched several trusted followers to Iran, and most of the Bábís came to recognize him as the leader of their faith. Emboldened by lack of persecution against Bábís, Mirza Yahya "decided to emerge from his self-imposed seclusion" to again pursue leadership ambitions which his envy of Bahá’u’lláh had kept burning. Convinced that Bahá’u’lláh's death

18748-497: The garden Bahá’u’lláh declared to his companions that he was " Him whom God shall make manifest ", the one promised by the Báb, and announced that his mission as God's latest manifestation in this world had commenced. Bahá’u’lláh left the Riḍván garden on 3 May 1863 and proceeded with his family to Constantinople as guests of the Ottoman government, accompanied by a mounted government escort arranged for their protection by 'Ali Pasha,

18920-419: The growing admiration Bábís showed Bahá’u’lláh led Yahya to seek leadership of the Bábí religion. Attempting to elevate himself among Bábís, Yahya and a few supporters referenced a letter the Báb had written a few years earlier when Yahya was still a teenager, naming Yahya to nominal leadership pending the appearance of "Him whom God shall make manifest". Yahya claimed the letter meant he was actually appointed

19092-721: The growing economic and cultural influence of the United States and its status as a superpower following the Second World War has, along with worldwide broadcasting in English by the BBC and other broadcasters, caused the language to spread across the planet much faster. In the 21st century, English is more widely spoken and written than any language has ever been. As Modern English developed, explicit norms for standard usage were published, and spread through official media such as public education and state-sponsored publications. In 1755, Samuel Johnson published his A Dictionary of

19264-407: The head of a noted theological seminary happened to meet Bahá’u’lláh and invited him to visit. There a student noticed Bahá’u’lláh's exquisite penmanship, which raised the curiosity of leading instructors. As he responded to their queries on complex religious themes, Bahá’u’lláh quickly gained admiration for his learning and wisdom. Shaykh ʻUthmán, Shaykh ʻAbdu'r-Rahmán, and Shaykh Ismáʼíl, leaders of

19436-479: The history of English was Early Modern English (1500–1700). Early Modern English was characterised by the Great Vowel Shift (1350–1700), inflectional simplification, and linguistic standardisation. The Great Vowel Shift affected the stressed long vowels of Middle English. It was a chain shift , meaning that each shift triggered a subsequent shift in the vowel system. Mid and open vowels were raised , and close vowels were broken into diphthongs . For example,

19608-407: The history of how English spread in different countries, how users acquire English, and the range of uses English has in each country. The three circles change membership over time. Countries with large communities of native speakers of English (the inner circle) include Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand, where the majority speaks English, and South Africa, where

19780-456: The human race must, and will, embrace its final circle of unity, that of the planet itself. Bahá’u’lláh links this "process of progressive Revelation " to God's eternal covenant —the promise that every divine teacher makes with his followers regarding the next manifestation whom the Creator will send to guide them. Prophecies pertaining to this great covenant are found in scriptures of all religions, with every manifestation prophesying about

19952-423: The importance of working in some trade or profession to benefit oneself and others. Bahá’ís are urged to be exemplary, honest, loyal and conscientious citizens wherever they may reside, and to eschew pride, strife, slander and backbiting in all circumstances. Baháʼu'lláh's core message to his followers is to make every effort to serve humanity, and to collaborate with like-minded individuals in all efforts to advance

20124-403: The inner-circle countries, and they may show grammatical and phonological differences from inner-circle varieties as well. The standard English of the inner-circle countries is often taken as a norm for use of English in the outer-circle countries. In the three-circles model, countries such as Poland, China, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Indonesia, Egypt, and other countries where English is taught as

20296-531: The introduction of loanwords from French ( ayre ) and word replacements ( bird originally meaning "nestling" had replaced OE fugol ). By the late 18th century, the British Empire had spread English through its colonies and geopolitical dominance. Commerce, science and technology, diplomacy, art, and formal education all contributed to English becoming the first truly global language. English also facilitated worldwide international communication. English

20468-475: The introduction of the printing press to London. This era notably culminated in the King James Bible and the works of William Shakespeare . The printing press greatly standardised English spelling, which has remained largely unchanged since then, despite a wide variety of later sound shifts in English dialects. Modern English has spread around the world since the 17th century as a consequence of

20640-418: The killings of the Báb and his leading disciples, made an attempt to assassinate the Iranian king. As Nasiri'd-Din Shah passed along a public road the two blocked the monarch to fire birdshot at him. The king escaped without serious injury, but the incident led to an outburst of persecution against Bábís far exceeding past events. Though investigations found the offending pair acted alone, a "reign of terror"

20812-431: The languages have descended from a single common ancestor called Proto-Germanic . Some shared features of Germanic languages include the division of verbs into strong and weak classes, the use of modal verbs , and the sound changes affecting Proto-Indo-European consonants, known as Grimm's and Verner's laws . English is classified as an Anglo-Frisian language because Frisian and English share other features, such as

20984-642: The life of privilege offered by his aristocratic lineage, instead devoting his time and resources to a range of charitable works that earned him renown as "the Father of the Poor". The Báb , a 24-year-old merchant from Shiraz , stirred Persia with his claim in May 1844, to not only be the promised redeemer of Islam (the Qa’im or Mahdi ), but a new prophet of God similar to Moses , Jesus , and Muhammad . His original name

21156-469: The light of God through such means as best befitted the exigencies of the age in which they appeared." Bahá’ís perceive each major world religion as part of one God-ordained holistic educational process which has spiritually and socially enabled human civilization itself to progress—as people have learned to embrace ever-widening circles of unity which have successively involved ever more diverse families, tribes, city-states, and then nations. Inevitably,

21328-479: The local governing bodies existing in the United States; their exclusion from local bodies continued in Iran until the 1950s, because of Iranian cultural conventions. In the period of 1900 - 1911, consultative bodies are known to have existed in Kenosha, Wisconsin , Boston, Massachusetts , Washington, D.C. , Spokane, Washington , northern Hudson County , New Jersey , the greater San Francisco area, California, in

21500-567: The lofty standards taught by the Báb. His actions to discredit Bahá’u’lláh, and any who admired him, grew. At the same time Yahya used the Bábí Faith to benefit himself materially and to try to augment his delusory standing, employing means towards those ends which shamefully contradicted statements by the Báb. He also engaged in criminal activities, including persuading several followers to murder other Bábís whom Yahya viewed as potential adversaries, or as supporters of such imagined rivals. Yahya even took steps to initiate another attempt to assassinate

21672-401: The material and spiritual advancement of society. Baháʼu'lláh died in 1892 near Acre. His burial place is a destination for pilgrimage by his followers, known as Bahá’ís, who now reside in 236 countries and territories and number between 5 and 8 million. Baháʼís regard Baháʼu'lláh as a Manifestation of God in succession to others like Buddha, Jesus, or Muhammad. Baháʼu'lláh's given name

21844-470: The mother of the Shah and authorities seeking to curry favor with the king sought ways to justify executing him. Bahá’u’lláh relates that during imprisonment in the Síyáh-Chál he had several mystical experiences, in which he received his mission as a manifestation of God, the Promised One heralded by the Báb. Bahá’ís view this dawning of Bahá’u'lláh's spiritual mission as the beginning of fulfillment of

22016-461: The new prisoners were enemies of the state, of God, and his religion, and association with them was strictly forbidden. The first years in ‘Akká were under very harsh conditions with many Bahá’ís becoming sick (three eventually died). June 1870 witnessed the tragic death of Baháʼu'lláh's 22-year-old son Mirzá Mihdí who fell through an unguarded skylight as he paced on the roof of the prison one evening while engrossed in prayer and meditation . After

22188-785: The next 7 years, Bahá’u’lláh undertook to transform the Bábí community. Through personal example, as well as encouragement and constant interaction with Bábís, Bahá’u’lláh "restored the community to the moral and spiritual level it had attained during the Báb's lifetime". Growing numbers were drawn to join the reinvigorated Bábí movement. As Bahá’u’lláh's renown as a spiritual guide and Bábí leader grew, Mirza Yahya remained withdrawn. The spread of Bahá’u’lláh's reputation in Baghdad and surrounding areas, along with increased dissemination of his writings, attracted "[p]rinces, scholars, mystics, and government officials" to meet him, many "prominent in Persian public life." This development unnerved antithetical elements among Iran's Islamic clergy, and again raised

22360-431: The next one, and even others, to come. As for their responsibility in this covenant, the followers of each religion have the duty to carefully investigate, with an open mind, whether a person claiming to be the promised new messenger of their faith does, or does not, spiritually fulfill relevant prophecies. In announcing his claim to be the promised manifestation heralded by the Báb, Baháʼu'lláh also declared his station as

22532-585: The ones in the United States had lapsed. Upon assuming the Guardianship of the Baháʼí Faith, Shoghi Effendi read ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament and made establishment of local spiritual assemblies an early priority. His second general letter to the Baháʼís of the world, dated March 5, 1922, referred to the “vital necessity of having a local Spiritual Assembly in every locality where the number of adult declared believers exceeds nine.” The letter also quoted extensively from Baháʼu'lláh and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá about

22704-458: The passage, Mírzá Asadu'lláh Isfahání, a prominent Baháʼí teacher, organized an unofficial Baháʼí consultative body in Tehran, Iran, about 1878. The first official Baháʼí consultative body was organized under ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's direction by Hand of the Cause Hají Ákhúnd in Tehran in 1897; by 1899 it was an elected body. Because of the difficulties in Iran caused by persecution of the Baháʼí Faith,

22876-527: The physician in this day should not be found to be identical with that which he prescribed before. How could it be otherwise when the ills affecting the sufferer necessitate at every stage of his sickness a special remedy? In like manner, every time the Prophets of God have illumined the world with the resplendent radiance of the Day Star of Divine knowledge, they have invariably summoned its peoples to embrace

23048-426: The prestige varieties among the middle classes. In modern English, the loss of grammatical case is almost complete (it is now only found in pronouns, such as he and him , she and her , who and whom ), and SVO word order is mostly fixed. Some changes, such as the use of do-support , have become universalised. (Earlier English did not use the word "do" as a general auxiliary as Modern English does; at first it

23220-427: The process of unifying the world in ways pleasing to God. Bahá'u’lláh repeatedly states his message is for all peoples, and that the purpose of his teachings is to build a new world in which humanity advances as a whole. He clearly proclaims the principle of the oneness of mankind, urging heads of state to join in resolving existing disputes to achieve peace and to safeguard it through collective security. To promote

23392-399: The process was the establishment of “regional” National Spiritual Assemblies; thus in 1951 all of South America elected a single National Spiritual Assembly, but by 1963 nearly every nation on that continent had its own. National Spiritual Assemblies are still being formed as areas of the world achieve religious freedom. Some National Spiritual Assemblies have been formed in areas smaller than

23564-415: The purposes and duties of Spiritual Assemblies. The result was a rapid proliferation of local Spiritual Assemblies; a 1928 list had the following: Australia, 6; Brazil, 1; Burma, 3; Canada, 2; China, 1; Egypt, 1; England, 4; France, 1; India, 4; Japan, 1; Korea, 1; Lebanon, 1; New Zealand, 1; Palestine, 1; Iran, 5; Russia, 1; South Africa, 1; Switzerland, 1; Syria, 1; Turkey, 1; and the United States, 47, for

23736-678: The reign of Henry V . Around 1430, the Court of Chancery in Westminster began using English in its official documents , and a new standard form of Middle English, known as Chancery Standard , developed from the dialects of London and the East Midlands . In 1476, William Caxton introduced the printing press to England and began publishing the first printed books in London, expanding the influence of this form of English. Literature from

23908-555: The responsibilities of Local Spiritual Assemblies are to be “channels of divine guidance, planners of the teaching work, developers of human resources, builders of communities, and loving shepherds of the multitudes.” On a practical level, they organize local Baháʼí communities by maintaining a local Baháʼí Fund, owning the local Baháʼí center (if one exists), organizing Baháʼí events, counseling Baháʼís about personal difficulties, assisting with Baháʼí marriages and funerals, providing educational programs to adults and children, publicizing

24080-533: The role of the national House of Justice (as it would have been known then) in his The Universal Religion: Bahaism, Its Rise and Social Import. In that year, also, the Baháʼís of the United States and Canada elected a nine-member “Executive Committee” for the Bahai Temple Unity, a continental consultative body formed to build the Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois , a suburb of Chicago. Subsequently,

24252-468: The sense of belonging only to people who are ethnically English . Use of English is growing country-by-country internally and for international communication. Most people learn English for practical rather than ideological reasons. Many speakers of English in Africa have become part of an "Afro-Saxon" language community that unites Africans from different countries. As decolonisation proceeded throughout

24424-398: The sexes are equal; neither is superior to the other. To realize such equality, Baháʼí teachings envisage the implementation of far-reaching societal changes everywhere —including mandates to end discriminatory practices against females and greater emphasis on education for girls to ensure women fulfill their potential in all fields of human endeavor. English language English

24596-404: The shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, along with other Baháʼí holy places in Acre and Haifa, were added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites . The Baháʼí concept of God is monotheistic . God is a single uncreated imperishable entity that is the absolute and ultimate source of all existence. Baháʼu'lláh unequivocally teaches "the existence and oneness of a personal God, unknowable, inaccessible,

24768-632: The source of all Revelation , eternal , omniscient , omnipresent and almighty ". Bahá’u’lláh asserted that the Creator cannot be grasped by creation—for anything made can never comprehend its maker. Nevertheless, Baháʼu'lláh said that the Creator bestowed upon humans' capacity to recognize the maker's existence, and the ability to develop spiritually through awareness of God's infinite superlative attributes and by striving to emulate those qualities as best as one can in life —virtues such as love, mercy, kindness, generosity, justice, etc. Bahá’u’lláh explains human knowledge of God's existence and awareness of

24940-483: The source of approximately 28% of Modern English words , and from Latin , which is the source of an additional 28% . As such, though most of its total vocabulary comes from Romance languages , Modern English's grammar, phonology, and most commonly used words in everyday use keep it genealogically classified under the Germanic branch. It exists on a dialect continuum with Scots and is then most closely related to

25112-474: The southern dialects. Theoretically, as late as the 900s AD, a commoner from certain (northern) parts of England could hold a conversation with a commoner from certain parts of Scandinavia. Research continues into the details of the myriad tribes in peoples in England and Scandinavia and the mutual contacts between them. The translation of Matthew 8:20 from 1000 shows examples of case endings ( nominative plural, accusative plural, genitive singular) and

25284-455: The study of English as an auxiliary language. The trademarked Globish uses a relatively small subset of English vocabulary (about 1500 words, designed to represent the highest use in international business English) in combination with the standard English grammar. Other examples include Simple English . The increased use of the English language globally has had an effect on other languages, leading to some English words being assimilated into

25456-491: The successor or vicegerent of the Báb. Knowledgeable Bábís promptly rejected Yahya's bold claim, because the referenced letter indicated no such status, and due to the fact that other writings of the Báb specifically "eliminated the institution of successorship, or vicegerency" from his religion. The Báb also decreed no one's words would be binding upon believers until the advent of the Promised One. Others questioned Yahya's motives, considering he had never done anything to protect

25628-466: The tablet—this news brought great joy to the Báb when Mullá Husayn wrote him about it. Bahá’u’lláh received the tablet when he was 27, he immediately acknowledged the truth of the Báb's message and arose to share it with others. In his native province of Núr Bahá’u’lláh's notability as a prominent local provided numerous opportunities to teach the Bábí Faith, and his trips attracted many to the new religion, including Muslim clerics. His Tehran home became

25800-473: The word bite was originally pronounced as the word beet is today, and the second vowel in the word about was pronounced as the word boot is today. The Great Vowel Shift explains many irregularities in spelling since English retains many spellings from Middle English, and it also explains why English vowel letters have very different pronunciations from the same letters in other languages. English began to rise in prestige, relative to Norman French, during

25972-566: The word Baháʼ. For example, a nine-pointed star or nine-sided temples are references to the numerical value of Baháʼ according to a system of numerology (b=2, h=5, á=1, ʼ=1), the word Baháʼí indicates a follower of Baháʼ, and his son ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (Servant of Baháʼ) chose his title to demonstrate servitude toward Baháʼu'lláh. In the 1930s, Baháʼís adopted a standardized system of transliterating Arabic that renders Arabic faithfully into Roman script . The vowels without diacritical marks are short, and those with diacritical marks are long. His name

26144-410: The work of local spiritual assemblies, and (in some countries) Regional Councils, set local Baháʼí jurisdictional boundaries, provide various educational services and programs, and set the overall tone and direction of the national community. The origin of the institution of the local Spiritual Assembly originates from Baháʼu'lláh 's book of laws, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas : The passage gives the institution

26316-785: The world may include no native speakers of English at all, even while including speakers from several different countries. This is particularly true of the shared vocabulary of mathematics and the sciences. English is a pluricentric language , which means that no one national authority sets the standard for use of the language. Spoken English, including English used in broadcasting, generally follows national pronunciation standards that are established by custom rather than by regulation. International broadcasters are usually identifiable as coming from one country rather than another through their accents , but newsreader scripts are also composed largely in international standard written English . The norms of standard written English are maintained purely by

26488-467: The world that called for the election of local Spiritual Assemblies, Shoghi Effendi called on them to “indirectly” elect National Spiritual Assemblies. He also enumerated committees that a National Spiritual Assembly should have in order to carry out its responsibilities. “Indirect” election referred to the process, mentioned in the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, of the Baháʼís electing one or more delegates from each locality, who would represent them at

26660-532: The world today for their Spiritual Assembly meetings. In 1902 ʻAbdu'l-Bahá sent a very important tablet to the Chicago governing body where he said "let the designation of that body be 'Spiritual Assembly'—this for the reason that, were it to use the term 'House of Justice', the government might hereafter come to suppose that it was acting as a court of law, or concerning itself in political matters, or that, at some indeterminate future time, it would involve itself in

26832-539: The world, but the number of English speakers in India is uncertain, with most scholars concluding that the United States still has more speakers of English than India. Modern English, sometimes described as the first global lingua franca , is also regarded as the first world language . English is the world's most widely used language in newspaper publishing, book publishing, international telecommunications, scientific publishing, international trade, mass entertainment, and diplomacy. English is, by international treaty,

27004-438: The worldwide influence of the British Empire and the United States. Through all types of printed and electronic media in these countries, English has become the leading language of international discourse and the lingua franca in many regions and professional contexts such as science, navigation , and law. Its modern grammar is the result of a gradual change from a dependent-marking pattern typical of Indo-European with

27176-415: Was Ḥusayn-ʻAlí , and as the son of a nobleman in the province of Núr , he was known as Mírzá Ḥusayn-ʻAlí Núrí ( Persian : میرزا حسین‌علی نوری ). In 1848 he took the title Baháʼ (بهاء), Arabic for "glory" or "splendour", or Baháʼu'lláh ( / b ə ˈ h ɑː ʔ ʊ l ɑː / , Arabic : بَهاءُالله ), as a glorification of God. Many symbols and phrases of the Baháʼí Faith derive their significance from

27348-427: Was Yahya's subsequent attempt on Bahá’u’lláh's life that brought about "an unprecedented commotion in the community". It involved Ustad Muhammad-‘Aliy-i-Salmani, a traditional barber who served as Bahá’u’lláh's bath attendant. Salmani reported that Yahya suddenly began to show kindness to him, then one day insinuated it would be "a great service" to their religion if he assassinated Bahá’u’lláh while attending to him in

27520-400: Was a half-brother whom Bahá’u’lláh always treated with kindness and care, most in the Bábí community also showed Yahya respect, even if they did not accept his claims to a special religious status. However, when Salmani was unable to keep silent and openly related to others what Yahya had asked of him, Yahya's actions and intentions—so contrary to the Báb's teachings—incited great turmoil amidst

27692-405: Was adopted in parts of North America, parts of Africa, Oceania, and many other regions. When they obtained political independence, some of the newly independent states that had multiple indigenous languages opted to continue using English as the official language to avoid the political and other difficulties inherent in promoting any one indigenous language above the others. In the 20th century

27864-591: Was an Iranian religious leader who founded the Baháʼí Faith . He was born to an aristocratic family in Iran and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Bábi Faith . In 1863, in Iraq , he first announced his claim to a revelation from God and spent the rest of his life in further imprisonment in the Ottoman Empire . His teachings revolved around the principles of unity and religious renewal, ranging from moral and spiritual progress to world governance. Baháʼu'lláh

28036-524: Was circulated in provisional English translation as a typescript as early as 1900). The New York Baháʼís elected a “Board of Counsel” in December 1900. In 1901 the Chicago body was reorganized and re-elected and took the name “House of Justice of Bahais of Chicago, Ills.” In response, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá revealed three tablets of encouragement and guidance to the body, including prayers to say at the beginning and end of their meetings, prayers that Baháʼís use around

28208-518: Was fully developed, integrating both Norse and French features; it continued to be spoken until the transition to early Modern English around 1500. Middle English literature includes Geoffrey Chaucer 's The Canterbury Tales , and Thomas Malory 's Le Morte d'Arthur . In the Middle English period, the use of regional dialects in writing proliferated, and dialect traits were even used for effect by authors such as Chaucer. The next period in

28380-505: Was lost except in personal pronouns, the instrumental case was dropped, and the use of the genitive case was limited to indicating possession . The inflectional system regularised many irregular inflectional forms, and gradually simplified the system of agreement, making word order less flexible. The transition from Old to Middle English can be placed during the writing of the Ormulum . The oldest Middle English texts that were written by

28552-438: Was necessary for his own advancement, Yahya's first effort towards that end involved personally poisoning Bahá’u’lláh when he invited him for tea. His doing so caused a severe month-long illness that left Bahá’u’lláh with a tremor in his hand for the rest of his life. Though Bahá’u’lláh advised those who knew not to speak of what had happened, awareness of the incident grew, giving rise to strong agitation among Bábís. However, it

28724-533: Was only used in question constructions, and even then was not obligatory. Now, do-support with the verb have is becoming increasingly standardised.) The use of progressive forms in -ing , appears to be spreading to new constructions, and forms such as had been being built are becoming more common. Regularisation of irregular forms also slowly continues (e.g. dreamed instead of dreamt ), and analytical alternatives to inflectional forms are becoming more common (e.g. more polite instead of politer ). British English

28896-538: Was raised with no formal education but was well-read and devoutly religious. His family was considerably wealthy, and at the age of 22 he turned down a position in the government, instead managing family properties and donating time and money to charities. At the age of 27 he accepted the claim of the Báb and became one of the most outspoken supporters of the new religious movement which advocated, among other things, abrogation of Islamic law, which attracted heavy opposition. At

29068-440: Was temporarily confined and punished with bastinado . The Bábí Faith quickly spread across Persia, attracting large numbers of adherents. This provoked widespread opposition from both Islamic clerics fearful of losing congregants and associated benefits, and from civil authorities afraid of the growing influence of the Bábí community, resulting in thousands of Bábís being killed in relentless campaigns of persecution. In July 1850

29240-434: Was the promised manifestation mentioned by the Báb. This step by Yahya promptly resulted in almost all Bábís in Adrianople, who were already devoted to Bahá’u’lláh, deciding to have nothing further to do with Yahya or his few supporters. As news of this development reached Bábís in Persia and Iraq, and surviving Bábí members of the Báb's family, their response in support of Bahá’u’lláh was the same. Mirza Yahya's effort to claim

29412-435: Was unleashed, killing at least 10,000 Bábís that same year as government ministers vied with one another to collectively punish known or suspected Bábís, including Bahá’u’lláh. Well known for his support of the Bábí cause, Baháʼu'lláh was arrested and incarcerated in the subterranean Síyáh-Chál of Tehran, where he was bound in heavy chains that left life-long scars. Baháʼu'lláh was confined to that dungeon for four months, as

29584-541: Was ʿAlí Muḥammad, and later assumed the title of the Báb ( lit.   ' the gate ' ), indicating his position as a spiritual "gate to divine knowledge", and to a still greater God-sent educator whose imminent appearance he was preparing the way for. Soon after declaring his spiritual mission to Mullá Husayn , the Báb sent him to Tehran to deliver a special tablet to one whom God would guide him to. After learning about Baháʼu'lláh through an acquaintance, Mullá Husayn felt compelled to arrange for Baháʼu'lláh to receive

#568431