Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh

The Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh were nineteen eminent early followers of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. The apostles were designated as such by Shoghi Effendi, head of the religion in the earlier half of the 20th century, and the list was included in The Bahá'í World, Vol. III (pp. 80–81).

These individuals played a vital role in the development of Bahá'u'lláh's Faith, consolidating its adherents and bringing its teachings around the world. To Bahá'ís, they filled a similar role as the sons of Jacob, the apostles of Jesus, Muhammad's companions, or the Báb's Letters of the Living.

Many of the stories of the Apostles are well known to Bahá'ís. The names of the apostles were:

`Abdu'l-Bahá addresses the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada in the Tablets of the Divine Plan with the phrase: "O ye Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh!" He goes on to encourage them to "strive ye with heart and soul so that ye may reach this lofty and exalted position".

He outlines certain conditions for this attainment, namely firmness in the Covenant of God, fellowship and love amongst the believers, and continually travelling to all parts of the continent, "nay, rather, to all parts of the world". [1]

Shoghi Effendi referred to Martha Root as "that unique and great-hearted apostle of Bahá'u'lláh", but she is not considered one of the nineteen Apostles designated as such by Shoghi Effendi. (Baha'i Administration, p. 112)

This picture of the Apostles was taken from Balyuzi's book on pg. 262. Individual photos can be seen on each respective biographical page, links to them are in the side box on the right-hand side of this page.

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