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{{Short description|Pilgrimage to several Baháʼí sacred sites in Occupied Palestine}}
{{Short description|Pilgrimage to several Baháʼí sacred sites in Israel}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
[[File:TerracesBenGurion2.jpg|thumb|290px|The [[Shrine of the Báb]] and its [[Terraces (Baháʼí)|terraces]].]]
[[File:TerracesBenGurion2.jpg|thumb|290px|The [[Shrine of the Báb]] and its [[Terraces (Baháʼí)|terraces]].]]
A '''Baháʼí pilgrimage''' currently consists of visiting the holy places in [[Acre,Occupied Palestine|Acre]] and [[Haifa]] at the [[Baháʼí World Centre]] in Northwest [[Occupied Palestine]]. [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼís]] do not have access to other places designated as sites for [[pilgrimage]].<ref name="smith">{{cite encyclopedia |last= Smith |first= Peter |encyclopedia= A concise encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith |title= Pilgrimage |year= 2000 |publisher= Oneworld Publications |location= Oxford |isbn= 1-85168-184-1 |page= 269|url= https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/269 }}</ref><ref>Linda Kay, Davidson; Gitlitz, David (2002). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=YVYkrNhPMQkC Pilgrimage, from the Ganges to Graceland: an Encyclopedia]'' ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara. {{ISBN|1-57607-004-2}}. pp. 48-50.</ref>
A '''Baháʼí pilgrimage''' currently consists of visiting the holy places in [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] and [[Haifa]] at the [[Baháʼí World Centre]] in Northwest [[Israel]]. [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼís]] do not have access to other places designated as sites for [[pilgrimage]].<ref name="smith">{{cite encyclopedia |last= Smith |first= Peter |encyclopedia= A concise encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith |title= Pilgrimage |year= 2000 |publisher= Oneworld Publications |location= Oxford |isbn= 1-85168-184-1 |page= 269|url= https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/269 }}</ref><ref>Linda Kay, Davidson; Gitlitz, David (2002). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=YVYkrNhPMQkC Pilgrimage, from the Ganges to Graceland: an Encyclopedia]'' ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara. {{ISBN|1-57607-004-2}}. pp. 48-50.</ref>


[[Baháʼu'lláh]] decreed pilgrimage in the [[Kitáb-i-Aqdas]] to two places: the [[#House of Baháʼu'lláh, Baghdad|House of Baháʼu'lláh]] in Baghdad, and the [[#House of the Báb, Shiraz|House of the Báb]] in Shiraz. In two separate [[Tablet (religious)|tablet]]s, known as ''Suriy-i-Hajj'', he prescribed specific rites for each of these pilgrimages.<ref name="smith"/> It is obligatory to make the pilgrimage, "if one can afford it and is able to do so, and if no obstacle stands in one's way". Baháʼu'lláh has "exempted women as a mercy on His part", though the [[Universal House of Justice]] has clarified that women are free to perform this pilgrimage.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baháʼuʼlláh |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28181973 |title=The Kitáb-i-aqdas: the Most Holy Book |date=1993 |publisher=Baháʼí Pub. Trust |isbn=0-87743-240-6 |edition=1st |location=Wilmette, Ill. |pages=193 |oclc=28181973}}</ref> Baháʼís are free to choose between the two houses, as either has been deemed sufficient. Later, [[ʻAbdu'l-Bahá]] designated the [[Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh]] at Bahjí (the [[Qiblih]]) as a site of pilgrimage. No rites have been prescribed for this.<ref name="smith"/>
[[Baháʼu'lláh]] decreed pilgrimage in the [[Kitáb-i-Aqdas]] to two places: the [[House of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad|House of Baháʼu'lláh]] in Baghdad, and the [[#House of the Báb, Shiraz|House of the Báb]] in Shiraz. In two separate [[Tablet (religious)|tablet]]s, known as ''Suriy-i-Hajj'', he prescribed specific rites for each of these pilgrimages.<ref name="smith"/> It is obligatory to make the pilgrimage, "if one can afford it and is able to do so, and if no obstacle stands in one's way". Baháʼu'lláh has "exempted women as a mercy on His part", though the [[Universal House of Justice]] has clarified that women are free to perform this pilgrimage.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baháʼuʼlláh |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28181973 |title=The Kitáb-i-aqdas: the Most Holy Book |date=1993 |publisher=Baháʼí Pub. Trust |isbn=0-87743-240-6 |edition=1st |location=Wilmette, Ill. |pages=193 |oclc=28181973}}</ref> Baháʼís are free to choose between the two houses, as either has been deemed sufficient. Later, [[ʻAbdu'l-Bahá]] designated the [[Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh]] at Bahjí (the [[Qiblih]]) as a site of pilgrimage. No rites have been prescribed for this.<ref name="smith"/>


The designated sites for pilgrimage are not accessible to the majority of Baháʼís, as they are in [[Iraq]] and [[Iran]] respectively, and thus when Baháʼís currently refer to pilgrimage, it refers to a nine-day pilgrimage that occurs at the Baháʼí World Centre in [[Haifa]] and [[Acre, Israel|Akká]] in Israel.<ref name="smith"/> This nine-day pilgrimage does not replace pilgrimage to the designated sites for pilgrimage, and it is intended that pilgrimage to the House of the Báb and the House of Baháʼu'lláh will occur in the future.
The designated sites for pilgrimage are not accessible to the majority of Baháʼís, as they are in [[Iraq]] and [[Iran]] respectively, and thus when Baháʼís currently refer to pilgrimage, it refers to a nine-day pilgrimage that occurs at the Baháʼí World Centre in [[Haifa]] and [[Acre, Israel|Akká]] in Israel.<ref name="smith"/> This nine-day pilgrimage does not replace pilgrimage to the designated sites for pilgrimage, and it is intended that pilgrimage to the House of the Báb and the House of Baháʼu'lláh will occur in the future.
== Demolished pilgrimage sites ==

==House of Baháʼu'lláh, Baghdad==
===House of Baháʼu'lláh, Baghdad===
{{Main|Bayt-i-'Aẓam}}
[[File:Baghdad-view-1855.png|thumb|right|250px|A view of Baghdad in 1855]]
⚫
===House of the Báb, Shiraz===<!-- This section is linked from [[Bábism]] -->
The '''House of Baháʼu'lláh in Baghdad''', also known as the "Most Great House" (Bayt-i-Aʻzam) and the "House of God," is where [[Baháʼu'lláh]] lived from 1853 to 1863 (except for two years when he left to the mountains of Kurdistan, northeast of Baghdad, near the city of [[Sulaymaniyah]]). It was located in the [[Kadhimiya]] district of [[Baghdad]], near the western bank of the [[Tigris]] river.<ref>[http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/docs/vol8/House.htm The House of Baha'u'llah]</ref> It is designated in the [[Kitáb-i-Aqdas]] as a place of pilgrimage and is considered a holy place by Baháʼís.<ref name="smith3">{{cite encyclopedia |last= Smith |first= Peter |encyclopedia= A concise encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith |title= Baghdad: the House of Baháʼu'lláh |year= 2000 |publisher= Oneworld Publications |location= Oxford |isbn= 1-85168-184-1 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/66 66–67] |url= https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/66 }}</ref>
{{Main|Báb's house}}

In 1922<ref>[[Baháʼí International Community]]. ''[http://bic.org/time-line/house_of_bahaullah_seized_league_of_nations_requested_to_act_and_intervenes House of Baha'u'llah seized]''.</ref> the house was confiscated by [[Shia]] authorities, who were hostile to the Baháʼí Faith. The Council of the [[League of Nations]] upheld the Baháʼí's claim to the house, but it has not yet been returned to the Baháʼí community.<ref name="smith3"/><ref>{{Cite book| first = Arnold J. | last = Toynbee | title = Survey of International Affairs 1934 | location = London | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1935 | pages = 120–122}}</ref>

The house was destroyed in June 2013, under circumstances that are currently unclear.<ref name=bwns-jun282013>{{cite news|title=Sacred site in Baghdad destroyed|url=http://news.bahai.org/story/961|access-date=28 June 2013|newspaper=Baháʼí World News Service|date=28 June 2013}}</ref> The [[Universal House of Justice]] sent a letter to all the [[National Spiritual Assemblies]] on 27 June informing them of the house's destruction.
{{Clear}}

⚫
==House of the Báb, Shiraz==<!-- This section is linked from [[Bábism]] -->

[[File:Houseofthebab2008.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Location of the House of the Báb, Shiraz, Iran as it appeared in 2008.]]
[[File:House-bab.jpg|thumb|right|250px|House of the Báb, Shiraz, Iran]]
In this house in [[Shiraz, Iran]], the [[Báb]] declared his mission to [[Mullá Husayn]] on 23 May 1844.<ref name="smith2">{{cite encyclopedia |last= Smith |first= Peter |encyclopedia= A concise encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith |title= Shiraz: the House of the Báb |year= 2000 |publisher= Oneworld Publications |location= Oxford |isbn= 1-85168-184-1 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/314 314] |url= https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/314 }}</ref>

In 1942-3 it was damaged by fire in an attack by enemies of the [[Baháʼí Faith]], and in 1955 it was destroyed, but later again restored. In 1979 it was destroyed once more during the [[Iranian Revolution]]. In 1981 the site was made into a road and public square.<ref name="smith2"/>
{{Clear}}

==Current nine-day pilgrimage==<!-- This section is linked from [[Abrahamic religion]] -->
==Current nine-day pilgrimage==<!-- This section is linked from [[Abrahamic religion]] -->
[[File:BahaiHaifaAkka.png|thumb|250px|Baháʼí pilgrimage locations]]
[[File:BahaiHaifaAkka.png|thumb|250px|Baháʼí pilgrimage locations]]
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The nine-day pilgrimage is open only to Baháʼís and their spouses who have applied to go on pilgrimage.<ref name="wip"/><ref>{{Cite web| url = https://bahai.bwc.org//pilgrimage/main/faq.asp#q17 | title = Baháʼí pilgrimage Frequently Asked Questions and Answers | access-date = 2008-08-10 | year = 2007 | publisher = Baháʼí World Centre | author = Baháʼí World Centre}}</ref> Due to limited space at the Baháʼí holy sites, a maximum of 500 Baháʼís at one time are allowed to visit Haifa. Baháʼís have to wait up to six years to come and are only allowed to visit again after another five-year wait.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Saul|first=Jonathan|date=2006-11-27|title=World's Baha'i connect with past in Israel|language=en|agency=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-bahai-idUSL225076120061127|access-date=2020-11-29}}</ref>
The nine-day pilgrimage is open only to Baháʼís and their spouses who have applied to go on pilgrimage.<ref name="wip"/><ref>{{Cite web| url = https://bahai.bwc.org//pilgrimage/main/faq.asp#q17 | title = Baháʼí pilgrimage Frequently Asked Questions and Answers | access-date = 2008-08-10 | year = 2007 | publisher = Baháʼí World Centre | author = Baháʼí World Centre}}</ref> Due to limited space at the Baháʼí holy sites, a maximum of 500 Baháʼís at one time are allowed to visit Haifa. Baháʼís have to wait up to six years to come and are only allowed to visit again after another five-year wait.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Saul|first=Jonathan|date=2006-11-27|title=World's Baha'i connect with past in Israel|language=en|agency=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-bahai-idUSL225076120061127|access-date=2020-11-29}}</ref>


== Future pilgrimage sites ==
{{Main|Shrine of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá}}
A new shrine in [[Acre, Israel]] is under construction since 2019, where the remains of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá will be reinterred. This place will serve as a pilgrimage site for the Baháʼís in the future.

== See also ==
*[[Montréal Bahá'í Shrine]]
==Notes==
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

Latest revision as of 13:16, 6 December 2024

The Shrine of the Báb and its terraces.

A Baháʼí pilgrimage currently consists of visiting the holy places in Acre and Haifa at the Baháʼí World Centre in Northwest Israel. Baháʼís do not have access to other places designated as sites for pilgrimage.[1][2]

Baháʼu'lláh decreed pilgrimage in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas to two places: the House of Baháʼu'lláh in Baghdad, and the House of the Báb in Shiraz. In two separate tablets, known as Suriy-i-Hajj, he prescribed specific rites for each of these pilgrimages.[1] It is obligatory to make the pilgrimage, "if one can afford it and is able to do so, and if no obstacle stands in one's way". Baháʼu'lláh has "exempted women as a mercy on His part", though the Universal House of Justice has clarified that women are free to perform this pilgrimage.[3] Baháʼís are free to choose between the two houses, as either has been deemed sufficient. Later, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá designated the Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh at Bahjí (the Qiblih) as a site of pilgrimage. No rites have been prescribed for this.[1]

The designated sites for pilgrimage are not accessible to the majority of Baháʼís, as they are in Iraq and Iran respectively, and thus when Baháʼís currently refer to pilgrimage, it refers to a nine-day pilgrimage that occurs at the Baháʼí World Centre in Haifa and Akká in Israel.[1] This nine-day pilgrimage does not replace pilgrimage to the designated sites for pilgrimage, and it is intended that pilgrimage to the House of the Báb and the House of Baháʼu'lláh will occur in the future.

Demolished pilgrimage sites

[edit]

House of Baháʼu'lláh, Baghdad

[edit]
Main article: Bayt-i-'Aẓam

House of the Báb, Shiraz

[edit]
Main article: Báb's house

Current nine-day pilgrimage

[edit]
Baháʼí pilgrimage locations

The places that Baháʼís visit on the current nine-day pilgrimage at the Baháʼí World Centre include the following.[4] (Baháʼí World Centre buildings contains additional information.)

Bahjí:

Haifa:

Akká:

The nine-day pilgrimage is open only to Baháʼís and their spouses who have applied to go on pilgrimage.[4][24] Due to limited space at the Baháʼí holy sites, a maximum of 500 Baháʼís at one time are allowed to visit Haifa. Baháʼís have to wait up to six years to come and are only allowed to visit again after another five-year wait.[25]

Future pilgrimage sites

[edit]
Main article: Shrine of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá

A new shrine in Acre, Israel is under construction since 2019, where the remains of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá will be reinterred. This place will serve as a pilgrimage site for the Baháʼís in the future.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Smith, Peter (2000). "Pilgrimage". A concise encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. p. 269. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
  2. ^ Linda Kay, Davidson; Gitlitz, David (2002). Pilgrimage, from the Ganges to Graceland: an Encyclopedia ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara. ISBN 1-57607-004-2. pp. 48-50.
  3. ^ Baháʼuʼlláh (1993). The Kitáb-i-aqdas: the Most Holy Book (1st ed.). Wilmette, Ill.: Baháʼí Pub. Trust. p. 193. ISBN 0-87743-240-6. OCLC 28181973.
  4. ^ a b Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "What is pilgrimage?". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  5. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  6. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "Mansion of Bahjí". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  7. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "Shrine of the Báb". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  8. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "Mount Carmel". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  9. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "Universal House of Justice". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  10. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "International Teaching Centre". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  11. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "Centre of the Study of the Texts". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  12. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "International Archives". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  13. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "Monument Gardens". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  14. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "Site of the Future Mashriqu'l-Adkhar". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  15. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "House of the Master". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  16. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "Resting place of Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khanum". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  17. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "Haifa Pilgrim House". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  18. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "10 Haparsim Street". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  19. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "4 Haparsim Street". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  20. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "Ridván garden". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  21. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "House of ʻAbbúd". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  22. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "House of ʻAbdu'lláh Páshá". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  23. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "Mansion of Mazrai'h". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  24. ^ Baháʼí World Centre (2007). "Baháʼí pilgrimage Frequently Asked Questions and Answers". Baháʼí World Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  25. ^ Saul, Jonathan (27 November 2006). "World's Baha'i connect with past in Israel". Reuters. Retrieved 29 November 2020.

References

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
  • Akerdahl, Per-Olof (2000), "Pilgrimage and Religious Identity in the Bahá'í Faith", Lights of Irfan, vol. 1, Wilmette, IL: Irfan Colloquia, pp. 1–20
[edit]
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