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.

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