The teachings of the Bahá ' í Faith state that the nature of the afterlife is beyond the nature of those living, just as an unborn fetus cannot understand the nature of the world outside of the womb.

In Bahá ' í belief, souls in the afterlife will continue to retain their individuality and consciousness and will be able to recognize and communicate spiritually with other souls whom they have made deep profound friendships with, such as their spouses.

The Bahá ' í writings also state there are distinctions between souls in the afterlife, and that souls will recognize the worth of their own deeds and understand the consequences of their actions.

* Feast of Kamál ( Perfection ); First day of the eighth month of the Bahá ' í calendar.

( Bahá ' í Faith )

* The ninth day of Ridván ( Bahá ' í Faith )

* Feast of Jamál (" Beauty "), the first day of the third month of the Bahá ' í calendar.

( Bahá ' í Faith )

* Ridván begins at sunset ( Bahá ' í Faith )

* 1863 – Bahá ' u ' lláh, the founder of the Bahá ' í Faith, declares his mission as " He whom God shall make manifest ".

* 1960 – Founding of the Orthodox Bahá ' í Faith in Washington, D. C.

* 1963 – The Universal House of Justice of the Bahá ' í Faith is elected for the first time.

( Bahá ' í Faith )

‘ Abdu ’ l-Bahá (‎; 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921 ), born ‘ Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá ' u ' lláh, the founder of the Bahá ' í Faith.

In 1892, ` Abdu ' l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá ' í Faith.

During his youth he was " shaped " by his father and was regarded as an outstanding member of the Bahá ’ í exile community.

With his father's death in 1892, and his appointment as head of the Bahá ’ í faith, there was much opposition against him, including virtually all his family members.

Notwithstanding this, practically all of the worldwide Bahá ’ í community accepted his leadership.

His journeys to the West, and his " Tablets of the Divine Plan " spread the Bahá ' í message beyond its middle-eastern roots, and his Will and Testament laid the foundation for the current " Bahá ' í administrative order.

Many of his writings, prayers and letters are extant, and his discourses with the Western Bahá ' ís emphasize the growth of the faith by the late 1890s.

After Bahá ' u ' lláh died on 29 May 1892, the Will and Testament of Bahá ' u ' lláh named ` Abdu ' l-Bahá as Centre of the Covenant, successor and interpreter of Bahá ' u ' lláh's writings.

The Bahá ' í writings describe a single, personal, inaccessible, omniscient, omnipresent, imperishable, and almighty God who is the creator of all things in the universe.

While it is the core text on laws of the religion, it is not the exclusive source of laws in the religion, nor of Bahá ' u ' lláh's own writings, and complimentarily the reader is told explicitly to not view the text as a " mere code of laws ".

There are many references to Mary Magdalene in the sacred writings of the Bahá ' í Faith, where she enjoys an exalted status as a heroine of faith and the " archetypal woman of all cycles ".

The Bahá ' í writings also expand upon the scarce references to her life in the canonical Gospels, with a wide array of extra-canonical stories about her and sayings which are not recorded in any other extant historical sources.

According to Bahá ' í writings, there will not be another messenger for many hundreds of years.

In his lifetime, Shoghi Effendi translated into English many of the writings of the Báb, Bahá ' u ' lláh and ` Abdu ' l-Bahá, including the Hidden Words in 1929, the Kitáb-i-Íqán in 1931, Gleanings in 1935 and Epistle to the Son of the Wolf in 1941.

His significance is not just that of a translator, but he was also the designated and authoritative interpreter of the Bahá ' í writings.

His translations therefore are a guideline for all future translations of the Bahá ' í writings.

The vast majority of his writings were in the style of letters with Bahá ' ís from all parts of the globe.

He also was concerned with matters dealing with Bahá ' í belief and practice — as Guardian he was empowered to interpret the writings of Bahá ' u ' lláh and ` Abdu ' l-Bahá, and these were authoritative and binding, as specified in ` Abdu ' l-Bahá's will.

The teaching, however, does not equal unity with uniformity, but instead the Bahá ' í writings advocate for the principle of unity in diversity where the variety in the human race is valued.

The institution was defined in the writings of Bahá ' u ' lláh and ` Abdu ' l-Bahá, Bahá ' u ' lláh's successor, and was officially established in 1963 as the culmination of the Ten Year Crusade, an international Bahá ' í teaching plan.

The institution has also collected and published extracts from the writings of the Báb, Bahá ' u ' lláh and ` Abdu ' l-Bahá.

The institution's responsibilities are also expanded on and referred to in several other of Bahá ' u ' lláh's writings including in his Tablets of Bahá ' u ' lláh.

In those writings Bahá ' u ' lláh writes that the Universal House of Justice would assume authority over the religion, and would consider matters that had not been covered by himself ; he stated that the members of the institution would be assured of divine inspiration, and have the regard for all peoples and safe-guard their honour.

Bahá ' í teachings state that God is too great for humans to fully comprehend, or to create a complete and accurate image of, by themselves.

The Bahá ' í teachings state that the attributes which are applied to God are used to translate Godliness into human terms and also to help individuals concentrate on their own attributes in worshipping God to develop their potentialities on their spiritual path.

Severe measures are directed toward religious sects that have not been able to establish official ties of state recognition, especially Baptists, Pentecostals, Seventh-day Adventists, Hare Krishna, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Bahá ' ís.

The Bahá ' í teachings state that since all humans have been created in the image of God, God does not make any distinction between people regardless of race, colour or religion.

Bahá ' í teachings state that God is too great for humans to fully comprehend, or to create a complete and accurate image of, by themselves.

Some sources state that the Báb did this at the suggestion of Bahá ' u ' lláh.

The Bahá ' í writings state that it was Ishmael, and not Isaac, who was the son that Abraham almost sacrificed.

However, the Bahá ' í writings also state that the name is unimportant as either could be used: the importance is that both were symbols of sacrifice.

The United Nations responded to the Iranian government's accusations by stating that there has been no evidence of Iran's claims and that the Bahá ' í community in Iran professes its allegiance to the state.

The fact that the Bahá ' í world headquarters ( established by the founder of the Bahá ' í Faith in the 19th century, in what was then Ottoman-controlled Palestine ) is situated in what is now the state of Israel, allows the Iranian government to charge the Bahá ' ís with " espionage on behalf of Zionism ," in particular when caught communicating with or sending monetary contributions to the Bahá ' í headquarters.

There is disagreement over the amount of time Sayyid Mírzá ` Alí-Muhammad stayed in Karbila ' and the frequency of him attending Sayyid Káz &# 803 ; im's lectures ; Bahá ' í sources state that the Báb only occasionally attended the meetings, while sources more critical to the Bahá ' í Faith state that he stayed in Karbila for a year or two and learned the Shayki teachings.

* Bahá ' í sources state that the Báb went on pilgrimage to Iraq for 7 months, to the cities of Najaf and Karbila.

In the Bahá ' í teachings, the kingdom of God is seen both as a state of individual being, and the state of the world.

The Bahá ' í teachings also state as people perform good deeds they become closer to God spiritually, so that the can attain eternal life and enter the kingdom of God while alive.

Some sources state that the Báb did this at the suggestion of Bahá ' u ' lláh.