Baha'u'llah sends his daughter to Subh-i-Azal

'Izziyya Khanum, Baháʼu'lláh's half-sister, in her book Tanbih al-Naimin (The Awakening of the Sleepers), commonly called Risala-i-Amma (The Aunt's Epistle) refers to this event, which occurred during the Babi exiles' residence in Baghdad, as the "اعجب" (most amazing or strangest event).

The key details of the account are as follows:

The Offer and First Refusal:

• 'Izziyya Khanum relates the story as told by Baha'u'llah's wife (identified in the text as the mother of Aqa Muhammad Ali).
• Baha'u'llah instructed his wife to dress their daughter, Sultan Khanum, in fine clothing and take her to his brother, Subh-i-Azal.
• Baha'u'llah's wife was to "offer this maiden (kaniz) to him [Azal] and ask him to accept her".
• When Azal heard Baha'u'llah's message, he became upset and refused to accept her.
• Azal stated that the girl was like his own daughter and was no different from his own children. He rejected the offer, saying that "such a command has not been revealed".

The Second Attempt and Final Refusal:

• Baha'u'llah's wife returned and informed him of Azal's rejection.
• Baha'u'llah "reflected for a while" and then instructed his wife to return the daughter to Azal once more.
• Baha'u'llah asked her to tell Azal: "Do not put a hand of rejection on my chest and accept my request".
• This time, Baha'u'llah proposed that Azal accept Sultan Khanum as a kaniz for Azal's son, Aqa Ahmad (Ahmad Bahaj).
• Azal again refused, saying that the girl and Mirza Ahmad (his son) were "the same to me and both are my own children".
• Azal instructed Baha'u'llah's wife to go back and tell Baha'u'llah "not to insist or exaggerate because God is not satisfied".
• Baha'u'llah's wife then returned and reported the final refusal, after which Baha'u'llah fell silent.

'Izziyya Khanum considered it strange and unfortunate that Baha'u'llah, who allegedly preferred a groundless allegation against Subh-i-Azal, would himself offer his daughter as a Kaniz to his brother or his nephew.

Above accounts originated from sources hostile to Baháʼu'lláh. Now, read the following Tablet of Baháʼu'lláh, which was provisionally translated by Adib Masumian (a Baháʼí Scholar).

Once We [Baha'u'llah] had entered Iraq and a number of days passed, We were joined by My brother [Subh-i-Azal], and he remained with Us for a period of months that hath been mentioned in Tablets. He sought from Us a wife; We procured for him what quelled his carnal desire, and he dwelled comfortably in the land.

Though We sent for believing women to be dispatched from other lands to appear before thee, whereafter thou didst enjoy intimacy with them and abide in conspicuous comfort, ...

Although, moreover, thou didst seek from Me what would gratify thy passion, till eventually thou didst gather around thyself a number of maidens and sustain thyself with them, ...

O My brother! How many a night didst thou repose on thy bed with thy wives while I personally protected thee, ...

(Baha'u'llah, Lawh-i-Mirza Rida-Quli)

https://adibmasumian.com/translations/lawh-i-mirza-rida-quli/

Palabra and Watchtower: How Baha’is and Jehovah’s Witnesses Use Publications to Spread Their Cult

Palabra Publications (Baha'i) and Watchtower Publications (Jehovah’s Witnesses) both serve as central tools for religious teaching, study, and community life in their respective "faiths". While they produce materials used for instruction and spiritual growth in different religions, there are notable similarities in their publications.

Core Similarities

• Teaching and Deepening: Both publishers produce course materials, study guides, and compilations specifically designed for structured studies, group deepening, and individual learning—aimed at strengthening doctrinal understanding and encouraging faith-based action.^1^5
• Use of Scriptural Texts: Their books heavily feature original scripture, attributed quotations, and interpretive commentary; Baha’i materials focus on the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and the Universal House of Justice, while JWs focus on the Bible and interpretations from the Governing Body.^5
• Community Focus: Many books are designed for organized religious activities including group learning, youth programs, and foundational religious training. Both are key resources during missionary or teaching campaigns and for systematic religious outreach.^2^5
• Progressive Study Frameworks: Both religions deploy structured study series—Palabra’s institute courses (such as the Ruhi sequence) and Watchtower's series of study books and their flagship magazine, "The Watchtower"—to create consistent doctrinal understanding among members.^2

Publication Styles

• Identical Elements:
  • Didactic, clear, and accessible language is a hallmark of both publishers, with materials often organized in lesson or chapter formats with discussion questions and points for reflection.
  • Visual aids (charts, simple illustrations), indexes, and practical application sections are commonly used in both traditions.^1

Use in Religious Teaching

• Ruhi Books (Palabra): Used extensively in institute training, by youth groups, and in community classes—aimed at both nurturing believers and sharing beliefs with outsiders. Materials are often modular and encourage interactive participation and personal interpretation.^4
• JW Books (Watchtower): Used in formal study sessions, at meetings in Kingdom Halls, for home-based Bible studies, and during door-to-door ministry. Publications generally aim for doctrinal uniformity and often include direct instructions for how to teach others.^5

Book Content Similarities

• Both feature:
  • Collections of foundational texts or messages (e.g., compilations from Bahá’í leaders or JW Governing Body)
  • Educational series intended for graded progression, often starting from basic doctrine to deeper theology.
  • Targeted materials for specific audiences (youth, children, families, newly interested individuals).^1^5

Why I Am Not a Baha'i? A Personal Reckoning by a Christian exBahai

Introduction: Tearing Down the Facade

This document is not a gentle critique or a dispassionate academic review. It is a personal and theological indictment, a final reckoning with a religion that sells a polished, saccharine image of peace and unity to a gullible world. Behind that carefully marketed facade lies a grim reality of doctrinal hypocrisy, intellectual dishonesty, and spiritual bankruptcy. For decades, I dedicated my life and my intellect to this Faith, only to discover that its foundations are built on sand and its promises are hollow. This is not a story of doubt; it is a declaration of my complete and irrevocable rejection of the Baha'i Faith, and a detailed explanation of the reasons why.

1. The Founder's Flawed Pedestal: Baha'u'llah vs. Christ

1.1. Setting the Stage: The Failure of Divine Comparison

The life and character of a founder are the ultimate tests of their claims. This is not a trivial matter; it is the strategic cornerstone of any faith. For a man like Mirza Husayn 'Ali, who took the title Baha'u'llah and claimed to be nothing less than a supreme Manifestation of God—the Father returned, the fulfillment of all prophecy—the comparison to figures like Jesus Christ is not merely fair; it is the only comparison that matters. To make such an audacious claim is to invite the most scrupulous examination. I undertook that examination, and what I found was a man whose life was utterly lacking in the divine qualities he so grandiosely claimed for himself.

1.2. An Empty Claim to Divinity

With a sense of scathing derision, one must observe that Baha'u'llah's life bears none of the hallmarks that define Christ’s ministry and give it transcendent power. He claimed to be God, stating baldly, "I, verily, am God" and "there is no God but him." Yet where is the evidence? Where are the miracles? Where are the selfless healings, the gentle compassion for the masses, the ultimate sacrifice of a life given for the salvation of humanity?

Instead, we find a man who lived like a king, sustained by the funds of his followers, allowing them to prostrate themselves at his feet and circumambulate him as if he were a holy shrine. How can a supposed “Manifestation of God,” who referred to himself as “the wronged one” more than 170 times in his writings, demonstrate none of the divine power or redemptive love so radiantly displayed by his predecessors? The contrast is not merely stark; it is damning.

1.3. Prophetic Gymnastics

The Baha'i Faith attempts to validate its founder’s station by citing biblical prophecies, but this effort amounts to little more than desperate interpretive gymnastics. The prophecies used are either laughably vague or twisted through forced and inaccurate logic to fit a pre-determined conclusion.

Consider the claim that a biblical prophecy of a figure coming "from Assyria" is fulfilled by Baha'u'llah because his journey took him to Baghdad, a city merely located in what was the ancient kingdom of Assyria. This is not fulfillment; it is a crude and dishonest retrofitting of scripture. It is a method of "truth investigation" where the conclusion is decided in advance, and any scrap of text, no matter how tenuous, is bent to support it. Such shoddy proofs fail to provide any credible support for his claims and reveal an intellectual foundation built on convenience rather than integrity.

2. A House Divided: The Chaos of the Holy Family

2.1. Setting the Stage: The Family as a Litmus Test

The state of a spiritual leader’s family is the most potent litmus test of their teachings. A man who preaches unity and harmony to the world but cannot inspire it within his own home is a fraud. By this simple, elemental measure, Baha'u'llah’s family life was a catastrophic failure. The chaos, infighting, and generational schism that defined his household fundamentally undermine the entire Baha'i claim to be a source of unity for mankind. How can a faith that could not unite one family dare to claim it can unite the world?

2.2. A Legacy of Dysfunction

The pristine image of a “holy family” dissolves under the slightest scrutiny, revealing a legacy of bitter and enduring chaos.

• Polygamy: Baha'u'llah was a polygamist. This is not an anti-Baha'i smear; it is a fact. He had multiple wives, including Gawhar Khanum, whom he married in Baghdad, and later, in his old age, a fourth wife named Jamaliyya. The modern Baha'i attempt to sanitize this fact does not change its reality.
• Child Mortality and Neglect: At least six of his fourteen children died in early childhood. One must ask, with grim irony, why a divine figure with a direct line to God was unable to heal his own offspring. More damning is his abandonment of his family for a two-year withdrawal to Kurdistan. During this period of self-imposed exile, his infant son died for lack of medical care—a death directly attributable to his father’s neglect.
• A Failed Covenant: The ultimate irony of Baha'u'llah’s ministry is the complete and utter failure of his own Covenant within his family. His own sons, Muhammad 'Ali, Badi'u'llah, and Diya'u'llah, could not abide by his succession plan. In the end, "almost the entire family of Baha’u’llah," including his two surviving wives and his children, turned against his appointed successor, 'Abdu'l-Baha. The very people who knew him best rejected the core of his final command.
• Generational Disunity: This disunity did not end there. It became a permanent, generational feature of the Faith. Baha'u'llah’s descendants were systematically declared “Covenant-breakers” and excommunicated. This pathological obsession with purity continued under his grandson, Shoghi Effendi, who expelled nearly all of his own relatives, including his parents, siblings, and cousins, from the Faith. The history of the Baha’i “holy family” is a relentless chronicle of schism and shunning.

3. A Canon of Control: Deconstructing Baha'i Writings

3.1. Setting the Stage: The Pen as a Weapon of Control

Sacred scripture should be a source of liberation, grace, and spiritual truth. It ought to elevate the human soul. Upon close and honest inspection, however, the writings of Baha'u'llah reveal themselves to be a vast and questionable collection of oppressive legalism, blatant hypocrisy, and narcissistic self-obsession. His pen was not a tool of salvation; it was a weapon of control.

3.2. A Litany of Literary and Theological Flaws

The Baha'i canon is riddled with flaws that disqualify it from any claim to divine origin.

1. Uninspired Prose: The Baha'i claim that Baha'u'llah's ability to produce a vast quantity of "revealed" text is a unique miracle is ludicrous. Many other 19th-century figures, such as Joseph Smith and Mary Baker Eddy, produced similarly vast and stylistically complex works. Baha'u'llah was a man from a noble family with a good education; the claim that his writings are a supernatural feat is an easily debunked marketing ploy.
2. Narcissistic Focus: His writings are pathologically self-referential. He talked incessantly about his own problems and referred to himself as “the wronged one” more than 170 times. This is not the voice of God; it is the voice of a man obsessed with his own grievances.
3. Absence of Grace: In stark contrast to the Gospels, the Baha'i writings offer no gospel of salvation through grace. It is a regression to a system of pure works, where adherence to ordinances is paramount. As the writings state, "whoso is deprived thereof [observing ordinances] hath gone astray, though he be the author of every righteous deed." Faith and good deeds are worthless without rigid obedience to the law.
4. Oppressive Legalism: The legalism of the Baha'i Faith is, in a word, outstanding. It is a religion of minute regulations governing nearly every aspect of life. This stands in stark opposition to the Christian gospel. Christ, as Paul writes, set humanity free so that we would not "be subject again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1). To return to such legalism is to be "severed from Christ" (Galatians 5:4). This endless prescription of rules is the unmistakable hallmark of a controlling, false religion designed to dominate its followers, not to free them.
5. Rampant Hypocrisy: Baha'u'llah failed to live by his own standards, a fatal flaw in any spiritual leader. The ultimate example is the hypocrisy of abandoning his wife and children to poverty and death in Kurdistan, a direct contradiction to the principles of family unity he would later write about. On a smaller but no less telling scale, his writings show a clear aversion to smoking, yet it is admitted that "for certain reasons, He smoked a little." He also forbade religious dissimulation (taqiyyah), yet both he and his successor outwardly conformed to Islamic practices, attending mosques and presenting themselves as Muslims to avoid conflict with authorities in Palestine. This is the very definition of hypocrisy.
6. A Dangerous World Order: The Baha'i vision of a future world government is not a blueprint for peace but for a global theocracy. It imagines a "world federal system... ruling the whole earth and exercising unchallengeable authority." This is a plan for the absolute fusion of church and state on a planetary scale, a chilling prospect for anyone who values freedom.
7. Systemic Inequality: For all its talk of equality, the Baha'i Faith enshrines female inferiority at the highest level. It is an unchangeable law that "membership on the Universal House of Justice is confined to men." This is not equality; it is a permanent, divinely sanctioned glass ceiling.
8. An Incoherent Theology: The theology is a mess of contradictions. Followers are told to worship an unknowable God, yet Baha'u'llah repeatedly makes claims of absolute divinity for himself, such as "verily, I am God" and that his followers should see in him "nothing but God." It is a system that demands belief in contradictory propositions simultaneously.
9. Irrational and Cruel Laws: Beyond the sheer volume of laws, many are simply irrational, while others, like the institutionalized practice of shunning family members deemed “Covenant-breakers,” inflict extreme and lasting emotional pain on followers.
10. Veiled Threats: The writings are not all peace and love. They contain chilling threats against those who might challenge the authority of the Faith. The Kitab-i-Aqdas warns any imposter that "God will, assuredly, send down one who will deal mercilessly with him. Terrible, indeed, is God in punishing!" This is the language of intimidation, not divine love.

4. The Polished Cage: The Cultish Nature of the Organization

4.1. Setting the Stage: A Blueprint for a Cult

A religion's principles are meaningless until they are expressed in its behavior. The organizational structure and social dynamics of the Baha'i community reveal its true nature. In practice, the Baha'i Faith operates not as an open and evolving world religion, but as a high-control group, a polished cage with all the classic, destructive tendencies of a cult.

4.2. An Inventory of Cult-like Behaviors

A brief inventory of the Baha'i administration's methods reveals a disturbing pattern of manipulation and control.

• Marketing and Deception The public-facing principles of the Faith are a "carefully crafted marketing plan" designed to appeal to Western sensibilities. This is coupled with deceptive terminology to obscure the religion’s true nature: proselytizing is called “teaching,” missionaries are “pioneers,” and censorship is "review." It is a lexicon of misdirection.
• Information Control The Faith practices systematic information control. All Baha'i authors must submit their work for official “review” before publication, ensuring adherence to the party line. When it comes to outside criticism, the official guidance is explicit: "ignore them entirely." Believers are actively discouraged from reading any material critical of the Faith, creating an intellectual echo chamber.
• Paranoia and Surveillance There is an "excessive paranoia" about the “protection of the Faith.” This manifests in institutions like the "Committee of Vigilance," tasked with watching for internal enemies. Members are tracked by number in computer programs like the SRP (Statistical Report Program), a global database of believer activity. This is the architecture of a surveillance state.
• Shunning and Exclusion The practice of shunning those declared "Covenant-breakers" is a core cultish behavior. These individuals are treated as carriers of a "spiritual disease," and association with them is forbidden. This cruel doctrine has torn families apart with a brutality that must be seen to be believed. In one documented case, after Husayn Ghani was expelled, his "Baha’i relatives, including his mother, cut off all communication with him." A faith that compels a mother to shun her own son has abandoned any claim to compassion.
• Intolerance of Dissent There is zero tolerance for dissent. The system demands absolute, unquestioning obedience to the administrative order. Believers are told they are not in a position to judge their leaders and that rejection of an administrative command is equivalent to a rejection of Baha'u'llah himself. Those who persist in expressing an independent conscience are ultimately excommunicated and shunned.
• Administrative Obsession Baha'i life is dominated by administration. It is "mostly admin work," focused on meetings, statistics, and institutional promotion, with little emphasis on genuine spiritual development. The electoral system itself is a sham; with campaigning forbidden, "nobody elected has any accountability." It is an entirely top-down power structure masquerading as a democracy.
• Financial Demands The organization is relentless in its requests for money. This financial extraction began with Baha'u'llah living "like a king" off his followers' funds and continues today. The payment of Huququ'llah (the "Right of God") is a primary obligation, and believers are constantly solicited for massive contributions, such as the call for "$74,000,000" for the Mount Carmel construction projects.

5. The Personal Toll: My Scars from the "Faith of Unity"

5.1. Setting the Stage: The Human Cost of a False Ideology

Beyond all the theological arguments, the historical fallacies, and the organizational critiques lies the most important evidence of all: the deep and lasting personal damage this religion inflicted upon my soul. This is not theory; this is my testimony. This is the lived experience behind the smiling Baha'i facade—a story of spiritual abuse in the name of the “Most Great Peace.”

5.2. A Testimony of Spiritual Abuse

I came to the Faith seeking truth and love, but what I found was an environment devoid of both. My years as a Baha'i were marked by constant, subtle judgment from those who saw themselves as more righteous, more obedient, more "on fire" with the Cause. I was subjected to endless accusations if I questioned the official narrative or expressed an independent thought. This created a pervasive feeling of inadequacy, a spiritual sickness that left me drained and depressed.

The threat of exclusion was a constant weapon. One wrong step, one association with the "wrong" people, one unapproved idea, and you could find yourself isolated, cast out from the community that was supposed to be your spiritual family. I was manipulated through guilt trips—that I wasn't teaching enough, giving enough, or sacrificing enough for the Plans that never seemed to bear fruit. I lived in a state of perpetual cognitive dissonance, trying to reconcile the lofty promises of a new world order with the petty, controlling reality I experienced every day. The greatest of these were the failed promises—the grand prophecies of "entry by troops" and the arrival of the Lesser Peace by the year 2000, which came and went, leaving behind only the hollow silence of disillusionment.

Would a religion that treats me this way be from God?

A Declaration of Freedom

My rejection of the Baha'i Faith is total and is rooted in evidence that is overwhelming and undeniable. It is a house built on the flawed pedestal of a self-obsessed founder, haunted by the chaos of his own divided family, and governed by a canon of controlling, hypocritical writings. It operates as a polished cult that inflicts deep and lasting harm on its followers, demanding conformity at the cost of conscience. To leave this system was not to lose my faith, but to reclaim my intellectual and spiritual freedom. It was a declaration of liberation from a destructive and hollow ideology, and I have never looked back.

Needs of the Bahá’í World Centre at the Current Time

Wanted: Shoe and Clothing Preservationists for the World Centre. Must Have a High Tolerance for Historical Footprints and Fabric Stains!

Finally I’m going to say a few words to you to indicate some of the pressing needs at the Bahá'í World Centre (BWC). This is not a recruiting meeting. I don’t expect any of you to come to serve there. None of you seem qualified for any of these positions, but I want you to know so you can talk to others about some of the things we need.

One of the pressing needs at the BWC, is for people with expertise in the science of conservation. How best to conserve documents and artefacts? For example the shoes of Bahá'u'lláh. What happens to them after 500 years? Conservation is a science that is concerned with things like slow-rate chemical processes that can occur over hundreds of years.

How do we conserve the texts, the ink and the paper upon which the original texts are written? This is the science of conservation. Bahá’ís who have done a degree in chemistry and don’t know what to do with it, can go on and do a graduate program in conservation. For example, the University of Canberra has a good program. They can then serve at the Bahá’í World Centre, we need them there and in a number of other places as time goes by.

One of our greatest needs is for archivists, experts in archival science. We have a pressing need for more Bahá’ís who have archival experience to help us in running our own archives at the World Centre, and in future the archives in major places such as Wilmette, here in Sydney, and in Frankfurt. If you want to have nightmares, start thinking about the records of the National Assemblies in the Pacific Islands. Because the National Spiritual Assemblies (NSAs) in the Pacific Islands don’t have the facilities to maintain their minute books and basic correspondence of what happened. For example, how was the NSA of Fiji formed and what happened over the years? So we have pressing needs for archival skills, and as there are good programs in Australia so you might encourage people going in that direction to think about it.

We need Bahá’ís with library science skills. We are scouring the world for qualified librarians. Our BWC library has a number of authorised positions and it’s about half filled at the moment because we cannot find qualified Bahá’í librarians.

There is an on going need for accountants and financial analysts and, in some cases, people with investment skills.

There is a great need at the BWC for executive secretaries, better described as Executive Aides. Typically, the direction in which we are going is that each member of the House of Justice and each member of the International Teaching Centre has and will have an Executive Aide who will, in turn, direct 1 or 2 more staff. At present I have a Secretary Aide who is a high level person and she has an Assistant Secretary. And I can see that expanding a little bit in the future. So we need people who are executive secretaries, somewhat like a company secretary. Someone who has a level of maturity in decision-making and good understanding and that’s probably something we will need more and more.

We need people in property management because we have over 100 apartments where we keep our staff, because it is cheaper for us to own these properties than rent them. Also we will have property acquisitions as the BWC expands and develops in time to come.

Lawyers are always a need. We have a small legal office of 2 lawyers, both of whom happen to be from Australia. We will need to expand that. It defends us when we are sued, which is reasonably common because everyone has the idea that we must be incredibly rich from having beautiful marble buildings. In addition, occasionally someone says something in the newspaper that they shouldn’t say, and we need to do something about it.

We also have very complex legal issues to negotiate with the State of Israel with our Status Agreement which gives us various rights in terms of taxation and importation and visas and the like. More and more, our legal office at the BWC is called upon to give advice to the House of Justice in response to National Assemblies. The NSAs write to us about Privacy Acts and matters like that and we have to respond to various issues that they raise. So our legal office has a range of things to deal with and that will require lawyers. Particularly lawyers who are not only smart but also are devoted believers with the degree of discipline to work with the House of Justice.

I have pretty much finished what I wanted to say and if you’re still alive I’m willing to take any questions or any discussion you may want to raise.

(The Need for Bahá'ís of Capacity and Expertise by Peter J. Khan - 2002)

https://bahai-library.com/khan_bahais_capacity_expertise#7