# Haziratu'l-Quds

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-19 — 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: Moojan Momen, Haziratu'l-Quds, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> Haziratu'l-Quds
> 
> Moojan Momen
> 
> 1995
> 
> Haziratu'l-Quds. Designation given to the building
> 
> that acts as the center of Bahá'í administrative activity on a local, regional, or national level.
> 
> The term Haziratu'l-Quds literally means the "sacred fold" or the "enclosure
> 
> of sanctity" (the correct plural form would be Haza'iru'l-Quds although
> 
> this is rarely used). It has its origins in Islamic mysticism where it
> 
> designates a divine station. Bahá'u'lláh also uses it in this sense when
> 
> he refers to it, for example, as a place wherein the call of God is raised
> 
> (AQA 5:67). `Abdu'l-Bahá also uses the term but again not with its current
> 
> meaning; he uses the term in connection with the Shrine of the Bab, for
> 
> example (Faydi 112-13).
> 
> Although in general, Shoghi Effendi used the American Bahá'í community
> 
> as his main instrument for the development of the Bahá'í administration,
> 
> in the case of the Haziratu'l-Quds, he directed his instructions about
> 
> this institution to the Bahá'ís of the East in the first instance (perhaps
> 
> because the American Bahá'ís already had a heavy financial commitment in
> 
> the construction of the Wilmette Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, q.v.,
> 
> and would not have been able to take on another capital-intensive project).
> 
> In a letter to the Bahá'ís of Iran and the East in 1925, Shoghi Effendi
> 
> states that the setting up of a location as a center for the Faith is of
> 
> vital importance and should be done, even in areas where there is danger
> 
> for the Faith and even if it means that it has to be underground. This
> 
> center, to be called the Haziratu'l-Quds, should be for general meetings
> 
> for prayer and reciting of scripture, for meetings of the spiritual assembly,
> 
> for meetings for teaching the Bahá'í Faith, and for Nineteen Day Feasts
> 
> (q.v.). He states that it is desirable that the Haziratu'l-Quds be on the
> 
> same site as the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar (AVK 4:371). In later
> 
> letters, Shoghi Effendi recommended that the Haziratu'l-Quds become the
> 
> central focus of all administrative activities, including the work of committees.
> 
> A Haziratu'l-Quds can be either purchased or rented.
> 
> Shoghi Effendi states that the Haziratu'l-Quds should consist of the
> 
> following components: the secretariat, the treasury, the archives, the
> 
> library, the publishing office, the assembly hall, the council chamber,
> 
> and the pilgrims' hostel. He considered that the functions of the Haziratu'l-Quds
> 
> would be complementary to those of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar
> 
> and envisioned that: "From the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar . . . the
> 
> representatives of Bahá'í communities, both local and national, together
> 
> with the members of their respective committees, will, as they gather daily
> 
> within its walls at the hour of dawn, derive the necessary inspiration
> 
> that will enable them to discharge, in the course of their day-to-day exertions
> 
> in the Haziratu'l-Quds--the scene of their administrative activities--their
> 
> duties and responsibilities as befits the chosen stewards of His Faith"
> 
> (GPB 339-340).
> 
> Shoghi Effendi states that, unlike the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar,
> 
> it is permitted to have pictures and other art in the Haziratu'l-Quds;
> 
> it is also permissible to hold theatrical performances, provided these
> 
> conform to Bahá'í standards and are, preferably, on Bahá'í themes. He encourages
> 
> the use of the building for youth activities (Muntakhabat
> 
> 452-3); it could also be used for lectures, conferences, and other social
> 
> and educational activities. Although these communal functions may be necessary
> 
> in the early stages of the development of a Bahá'í community, because other
> 
> facilities are not available, Shoghi Effendi considered that eventually
> 
> the Haziratu'l-Quds should only be used for administrative purposes (LG
> 
> 913:271).
> 
> From the time of the receipt of Shoghi Effendi's letter of 1925, the
> 
> acquisition of a Haziratu'l-Quds became one of the main goals of many Bahá'í
> 
> communities in the East. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, most of
> 
> the larger local Bahá'í communities in the East, and particularly in Iran,
> 
> acquired or built a Haziratu'l-Quds. Among the earliest were: the Haziratu'l-Quds
> 
> in Tehran, a large domed building in a prominent position in the city,
> 
> begun in 1932 and completed in 1947; Iraq, completed in 1939; Cairo, completed
> 
> in 1944; New Delhi, purchased in about 1944; Wilmette, Illinois, probably
> 
> the first Haziratu'l-Quds in the West, dedicated in 1940; and Sydney, purchased
> 
> in 1944.
> 
> From 1944 onwards, the acquisition of a national Haziratu'l-Quds became
> 
> part of the process of establishing all new national spiritual assemblies
> 
> (MBW 93). In recent years, a large number of regional and local Haziratu'l-Quds
> 
> have been built or acquired, particularly in areas where large numbers
> 
> of people have become Bahá'ís. Between 1986 and 1992, for example, some
> 
> 5 national, 50 district, and 334 local Haziratu'l-Quds were acquired throughout
> 
> the world (Six Year Plan 124-25). Not every local Bahá'í center
> 
> should, however, be designated a Haziratu'l-Quds; Shoghi Effendi instructed
> 
> that some of the simple huts that were being used in Africa in the 1950s,
> 
> should be designated as "Bahá'í Centers" until such time as a more dignified
> 
> structure could be erected (UD 301).
> 
> Bibliography. GPB 339-40. DG 93:34-5. LG 912-922:271-74.
> 
> BW 8:96-97; 9:18-23 and photographs on pp. 29, 35, 38, 43, 47-50. AVK 4:371-73.
> 
> Shoghi Effendi, Muntakhabat-i Tawqi`at Mubarakih Tehran:
> 
> Lanjnih Milli Nashr Athar, 105 B.E./1949, pp. 451-454. Wendi
> 
> Momen, Basic Bahá'í Dictionary 98-100. The Six Year Plan,
> 
> Haifa: Bahá'í World Centre, 1993. Muhammad Ali Faydi,
> 
> Malikiy-i-Karmil,
> 
> New Delhi:Bahá'í Publishing Trust, n.d.; Compilation on Haziratu'l-Quds
> 
> prepared by Roger Dahl.
> 
> METADATA
> 
> Views18307 views since posted 1999; last edit 2024-06-30 10:51 UTC;
> 
> previous at archive.org.../momen_encyclopedia_haziratulquds;
> URLs changed in 2010, see archive.org.../bahai-library.org
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> Shortlink: bahai-library.com/437
> Citation: ris/437
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> — *Haziratu'l-Quds (Used by permission of the curator)*