# In Memoriam: Muhammad Afnan (1930-2017)

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-18 — 1 clipping.*

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Anonymous, In Memoriam: Muhammad Afnan (1930-2017), bahai-library.com.
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> 
> In Memoriam
> 
> Dr. Muhammad Afnan
> 
> 1930 – 2017
> 
> Dr Muhammad Afnan was an ardent supporter, active
> collaborator and much-appreciated adviser for the Irfan Colloquium
> and its publications. After a very fruitful life spent in the various
> fields of service, he took his flight to the Abha Kingdom in August
> 2017 and Irfan Colloquium missed a most valuable collaborator. He
> and his wife, Dr Mehry Kiani-Afnan, were regularly participating in
> the annual sessions of the Irfan Colloquium held in Louhelen Bahá’í
> School in Michigan and both of them making presentations on
> scholarly studies in the Bahá’í Writings, particularly Writings of the
> 340                                               Lights of Irfán vol. 19
> 
> Bab. Dr Afnan was deeply loved and highly respected by the
> participants in the Irfan Colloquium gatherings as a gentle, wise,
> loving and richly informed of the Bábí and Bahá’í literature. He was a
> direct descendant, fifth generation, from Khál-i-Akbar, the oldest
> maternal uncle of the Báb, who was honoured to be the recipient of
> the Kitáb-i-ˆqán from the pen of Bahá’u’lláh. Dr Afnan was born in
> Yazd, Iran, in 1930 and lived there until he moved to Tehran as a
> young man to receive his university education, getting a doctorate
> degree in veterinary medicine and bacteriology.
> 
> Dr Afnan served as a professor at the Department of Veterinary
> Medicine in the Tehran University. He also served on the Local
> Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Tehran for some 15 years,
> serving as its secretary for 10 years. In 1978, he and his family moved
> to Norway to settle there as Bahá’í pioneers. Shortly after the
> outbreak of the Islamic Revolution in January 1979, they were denied
> residency permit in Norway. At the same time, he was advised not to
> return to Iran because of his prominence in the Bahá’í
> administration. In the ensuing persecutions, seven of the eight other
> members of the Assembly on which he had served were arrested and
> executed. Afnan family moved to Canada, settling in the town of
> Dundas, where they helped form the Local Spiritual Assembly and
> became active and much-loved members of the community. Dr Afnan
> worked as a researcher at the cancer clinic at McMaster University
> for 8 years, gaining the respect of his colleagues through his unique
> combination of great knowledge and great humility.
> 
> Dr Afnan through extensive personal study and research, which he
> started in his youth, became a distinguished scholar of the Bahá’í
> writings and one of the handful of experts in the area of the Writings
> of the Báb. He authored numerous articles and essays on a wide range
> of Bahá’í subjects over the years that were recently published in two
> volumes
> 
> Dr Afnan was one of the main faculty members of the Institute
> of Advanced Baha’i Studies in Iran. Since Bahá’í institutions were
> banned by the order of Islamic government authorities in Iran, Dr
> Afnan, assisted by his dear wife, established the Institute for Baha’i
> Studies in the Persian language in Dundas. This Institute, over the
> years, published a large volume of books and booklets on various
> Bahá’í subjects and encouraged and assisted Persian Baha'i scholars.
> In Memoriam                                                         341
> 
> In 1989, Dr Muhammad and Dr Mehry Afnan were invited to move
> to Haifa, Israel, where they both served in the Research Department
> at the Bahá’í World Centre for the next thirteen years.
> 
> Upon returning to Canada in 2002, they settled in Mississauga and
> once again became enthusiastically involved in Bahá’ activities. They
> had the opportunity to serve at the World Centre once more when
> they were invited to work on a special project for three months in
> 2013.
> 
> Dr Afnan made a number of valuable presentations at the annual
> sessions of Irfan Colloquium based on his vast knowledge and
> studies. His research-based articles and commentaries are published in
> various volumes of Safini-yi Irfan.
> 
> The Universal House of Justice expressed recognition and
> appreciation for lifelong services of Dr Afnan in the following
> message e-mailed to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of
> Canada:
> 
> We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of dearly
> loved Muhammad Afnan, devoted servant of the Ancient
> Beauty and an esteemed scion of the noble family of the
> Blessed Báb. His exemplary services to the Cause over many
> decades—in the administration of the Faith in Iran, in the
> enrichment of Bahá’í scholarship, and, in particular, in the
> study of the Writings of the Báb—were distinguished by
> diligence, wisdom, and surpassing humility. Serving at the
> Bahá’í World Centre, he made invaluable and lasting
> contributions to the work of the Research Department.
> 
> We offer our loving sympathy to his dear wife, Mehri, their
> children, and other family members and assure them of our
> ardent supplications at the Sacred Threshold for the progress
> of his illumined soul in all the worlds of God and for the
> consolation of their hearts.
> 
> — The Universal House of Justice
>
> — *In Memoriam: Muhammad Afnan (1930-2017) (Used by permission of the curator)*