Baha'i Faith

Outside the Fold

البهائية

Overview

A religion that originated in Persia in 1844 CE when Siyyid Ali-Muhammad (the Bab) claimed to be a new prophet. His successor, Baha'u'llah (1817–1892 CE), claimed to be the prophet foretold by the Bab and the fulfillment of the prophecies of all major world religions. The Baha'i Faith is today an independent world religion with its own scriptures, laws, and global administrative structure headquartered in Haifa, Israel. It is explicitly NOT Islam.

Key Beliefs

  • Progressive revelation — God sends successive prophets including the Bab and Baha'u'llah after Muhammad ﷺ
  • Unity of world religions — all major religions are valid paths
  • Equality of men and women in all matters
  • World government and universal peace as religious goals

Scholarly Evaluation

Not Islam and never claimed to be a sect of Islam. The Baha'i Faith is a distinct world religion that originated by denying the finality of prophethood in Islam (Khatam al-Nubuwwah). It has its own scriptures, calendar, and laws. Declaring it a 'Muslim sect' would be inaccurate — it is an entirely separate religion that emerged from an Islamic context. Unanimous scholarly consensus across all Muslim groups.

Key Figures

  • Siyyid Ali-Muhammad (the Bab) (1819–1850 CE)
  • Baha'u'llah (1817–1892 CE)

Sources

  • Al-Quran 33:40 (Khatam al-Nabiyyin)
  • Baha'i World Faith (Baha'u'llah — their own scripture explicitly distinguishes from Islam)

Founder

Siyyid Ali-Muhammad (the Bab)

Founded

1260h (1844 CE)