Bahá’i Communities Commemorated 134th Anniversary of the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh (The Glory of God) on 29 May, 2026 i. e. 13 ‘Azamat, 183 B. E.
Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, passed away on 29 May, 1892. This holy day is commemorated by Bahá’is all over the world and is known as ‘The Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh’. The final resting place of Bahá’u’lláh, the Shrine of Baha’u’llah, is located in Bahji (in present day Israel), and is the Point of Adoration to which Bahá’is turn when reciting their Obligatory Prayer.
The Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh is a major Holy Day in the Bahá’í Faith commemorating the passing of its Prophet-Founder on May 29, 1892. It is a solemn occasion where Bahá’ís gather at about 11.00 pm of 28th May 2026, special prayer services commence and culminate at 3 am of 29th of May 2026 — the exact time of His passing — to pray and chant the Tablet of Visitation.
The event is observed annually on 13 Azamat according to the Bahá’í calendar (which falls on May 28 or 29). Bahá’ís typically rise before dawn to hold devotional programs.
Bahá’u’lláh passed away in the Mansion of Bahji near ‘Akká, in present-day northern Israel. His final resting place is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and serves as the focal point to which Bahá’ís turn during their obligatory prayers.
Bahá’u’lláh’s Ascension followed four decades of exile and imprisonment imposed by the Persian and Ottoman empires for promulgating principles such as universal peace, the equality of sexes, and the oneness of humanity.
Following His passing in 1892, vast crowds—including Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Druze—mourned His death together, praising His contributions to humanity.
The Bahá’í Faith began with the mission entrusted by God to two Divine Messengers—the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. Today, the distinctive unity of the Faith They founded stems from explicit instructions given by Bahá’u’lláh that have assured the continuity of guidance following His passing. This line of succession, referred to as the Covenant, went from Bahá’u’lláh to His Son ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and then from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to His grandson, Shoghi Effendi, and the Universal House of Justice, ordained by Bahá’u’lláh.
A Bahá’í accepts the divine authority of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh and of these appointed successors.
“These holy Manifestations have been as the coming of springtime in the world… For each spring is the time of a new creation”
~ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
The Báb (1819-1850) is the Herald of the Bahá’í Faith. In the middle of the 19th century, He announced that He was the bearer of a message destined to transform humanity’s spiritual life. His mission was to prepare the way for the coming of a second Messenger from God, greater than Himself, who would usher in an age of peace and justice.
Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892)—the yu“Glory of God”—is the Promised One foretold by the Báb and all of the Divine Messengers of the past. Bahá’u’lláh delivered a new Revelation from God to humanity. Thousands of verses, letters and books flowed from His pen. In His Writings, He outlined a framework for the development of a global civilization which takes into account both the spiritual and material dimensions of human life. For this, He endured 40 years of imprisonment, torture and exile.
In His Will, Bahá’u’lláh appointed His oldest son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (1844-1921)
as the authorized interpreter of His teachings and Head of the Faith. Throughout the East and West, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá became known as an ambassador of peace, an exemplary human being, and the leading exponent of a new Faith.
Appointed Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, His eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi (1897-1957) spent 36 years systematically nurturing the development, deepening the understanding, and strengthening the unity of the Bahá’í community, as it increasingly grew to reflect the diversity of the entire human race.
The Bahá’í Faith began with the mission entrusted by God to two Divine Messengers—the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. Today, the distinctive unity of the Faith They founded stems from explicit instructions given by Bahá’u’lláh that have assured the continuity of guidance following His passing. This line of succession, referred to as the Covenant, went from Bahá’u’lláh to His Son ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and then from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to His grandson, Shoghi Effendi, and the Universal House of Justice, ordained by Bahá’u’lláh.
A Bahá’í accepts the divine authority of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh and of these appointed successors.
The Báb (1819-1850) is
the Herald of the Bahá’í Faith. In the middle of the 19th century, He announced that He was the bearer of a message destined to transform humanity’s spiritual life. His mission was to prepare the way for the coming of a second Messenger from God, greater than Himself, who would usher in an age of peace and justice.
Bahá’u’lláh
—the “Glory of God”—is the Promised One foretold by the Báb and all of the Divine Messengers of the past. Bahá’u’lláh delivered a new Revelation from God to humanity. Thousands of verses, letters and books flowed from His pen. In His Writings, He outlined a framework for the development of a global civilization which takes into account both the spiritual and material dimensions of human life. For this, He endured 40 years of imprisonment, torture and exile.
In His Will, Bahá’u’lláh appointed His oldest son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, (844-1921) as the authorized interpreter of His teachings and Head of the Faith. Throughout the East and West, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá became known as an ambassador of peace, an exemplary human being, and the leading exponent of a new Faith.
Appointed Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, His eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi (1897-1957)
spent 36 years systematically nurturing the development, deepening the understanding, and strengthening the unity of the Bahá’í community, as it increasingly grew to reflect the diversity of the entire human race.
The development of the Bahá’í Faith worldwide is today guided by the Universal House of Justice. In His book of laws, Bahá’u’lláh instructed the Universal House of Justice to exert a positive influence on the welfare of humankind, promote education, peace and global prosperity, and safeguard human honour and the position of religion.
The *Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh* is a major Bahá’í Holy Day that commemorates the passing of Bahá’u’lláh (The Glory of God) the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith.
May 29, 1892, at age 75 in Bahjí, near ‘Akká, in present-day Bahá’ís believe the crucial need facing humanity is to find a unifying vision of the future of society and of the nature and purpose of life. Such a vision unfolds in the writings of Bahá’u’lláh..
Bahá’ís believe His spirit was “released from earthly limitations by ascending to a higher realm,” not that He died in the ordinary sense.
A solemn holy day of prayer, scripture readings, and reflection. Work and school are suspended.
His life leading up to it Bahá’u’lláh spent 40 years as a prisoner and exile. He was banished from Persia to Baghdad, Constantinople, Adrianople, and finally to the prison city of ‘Akká. His last years were in the Mansion of Bahjí, where He passed away while still technically a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire.
The *Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh at Bahjí is now the holiest spot on earth for Bahá’ís. It’s the Qiblih, the point of adoration Bahá’ís turn toward for obligatory prayer.
The Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh marks the passing of the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith. celebrated annually by Bahá’í Communities worldwide, this solemn holy day commemorates His life and teachings of global unity, serving as a time for prayer, reflection, and community devotion.A press release for this observance should be respectful, educational, and focused on the universal themes of peace.
Highlighting how millions of people from diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds participate in local, regional, and national observances.
On May 29, 1892, shortly before dawn began to break, Bahá’u’lláh (Glory of God) – {Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith} was seventy-five years old passed on from this mortal life and His spirith was finally “released from the toils of a life crowded with tribulations.”
(Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 221).
He was surrounded only by family members and a small but loyal band of followers. His body was laid to rest, reverently and without any extravagant ceremony, in one of the buildings of the property in Bahji, outside of Akka, Israel, where He had spent the last twelve years of His life. He died a prisoner, a captive of one of the many governments that had persecuted Him for the past forty years and exiled Him from Tehran to Baghdad to Constantinople to Adrianople to Akka and finally to Bahji…”
(Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 99).
Methinks, the spiritual commotion set up in the world of dust had caused all the worlds of God to tremble…. My inner and outer tongue are powerless to portray the condition we were in…. In the midst of the prevailing confusion a multitude of the inhabitants of ‘Akká and of the neighboring villages, that had thronged the fields surrounding the Mansion, could be seen weeping, beating upon their heads, and crying aloud their grief.
(Shoghi Effendi,u God Passes By, p. 222).
As the Guardian indicated, the commemoration of the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh should be held, if feasible, at 3:00 am on 29 May and that of the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at 1:00 am on 28 November. These times should be measured according to standard time in each area. If daylight saving time is being used in the country, the commemorations should continue to be observed according to standard time.
(Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies, 15 March 1992)
As per newly implemented Bahá’í Calendar, the Commemoration of the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh should be held, if feasible, at 3:00 am on 28 May 2026 and that of the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at 1:00 am on 28 November 2026.
At the age of 27, Bahá’u’lláh became a follower of the Báb, a Persian merchant who began preaching that God would soon send a new Prophet similar to Jesus. The Báb and many of His followers were executed by the Ottoman authorities for their beliefs. Bahá’u’lláh was exiled for the same reason, despite this, in 1863 He declared that He was the expected Prophet the Báb spoke of. Since then, Bahá’ís have seen Bahá’u’lláh to be a Manifestation of God.
Bahá’u’lláh was imprisoned by Ottoman authorities, first in Edirne, and then in the prison city of Acre, (present-day Israel), where He spent His final 24 years of life.
On May 9, 1892, Bahá’u’lláh contracted a fever which became progressively worse, and resulted in His death. Just after sunset on the day He passed away, Bahá’u’lláh was buried in a simple room in a house next to the Mansion of Bahjí in Arce, where he resided. His burial place is a destination of pilgrimage for His followers, and the Bahá’í World Centre sits in Haifa. Bahá’u’lláh named ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as His successor and head of the Bahá’í Faith. This was the first time in history that the Founder of a world religion had named His successor in a written irrefutable text.
This is the holiest place on earth for Bahá’ís, where they turn to in prayer each day. Pilgrims come from all corners of the globe to pay their respects to Bahá’u’lláh and to rededicate their lives to the noble purposes that He set before humanity.
Nine days later His Will was unsealed. It designated ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as His successor and head of the Bahá’í Faith — the first time in history that the Founder of a world religion had made explicitly clear whom people should follow after His death. This declaration of a successor is the pivotal provision of what is known to Bahá’ís as the “Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh.” It has enabled the Bahá’í Faith to remain united around one central authority.
But while Bahá’u’lláh spent the last forty years of His life as a prisoner, His captivity in no wise prevented Him from proclaiming His message even to the most powerful of individuals on the planet. One of the most notable features of Bahá’u’lláh’s revelation is the fact that He sent personal tablets and letters to a number of kings and rulers who reigned during His ministry, even those who were responsible for His imprisonment. Among these rulers was Nasiri’d-Din Shah, the ruler of the Persian empire; Sultan Abdu’l-Aziz of Turkey; Napoleon III of France; the king of Prussia, and the first German emperor William I; Francis Joseph, who served as both the emperor of Austria and the king of Hungary; Nicolaevitch Alexander II, the all-powerful Czar of Russia; and even Pope Pius IX, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and the sovereign of the Papal States in Italy.
Although outwardly a lowly and desolate prisoner, Bahá’u’lláh addressed these rulers with the majesty and authority invested in Him by God. Bahá’u’lláh wrote:
Lay not aside the fear of God, O kings of the earth, and beware that ye transgress not the bounds which the Almighty hath fixed. Observe the injunctions laid upon you in His Book, and take good heed not to overstep their limits. Be vigilant, that ye may not do injustice to anyone, be it to the extent of a grain of mustard seed. Tread ye the path of justice, for this, verily, is the straight path.
Compose your differences, and reduce your armaments, that the burden of your expenditures may be lightened, and that your minds and hearts may be tranquillized. Heal the dissensions that divide you, and ye will no longer be in need of any armaments except what the protection of your cities and territories demandeth. Fear ye God, and take heed not to outstrip the bounds of moderation, and be numbered among the extravagant.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 250).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the vast majority of the rulers to whom Bahá’u’lláh sent tablets, many of which were at the apex of their material power and influence, failed to heed His warnings and summarily dismissed His injunctions. But one by one, Bahá’u’lláh’s prophesies began to be realized. Násiri’d-Dín Sháh was “dramatically assassinated,” Persia became occupied by various national forces during World War I, and the Qajar dynasty was ousted in 1925; following Sultan Abdu’l-Aziz’s rule “the Ottoman empire was dissolved, the Sultanate was abolished, a republic was proclaimed, and a rulership that had endured above six centuries was ended”; Napoleon III was “ignominiously defeated in the Battle of Sedan (1870), marking the greatest military capitulation recorded in modern history, lost his kingdom and spent the remaining years of his life in exile”; William I sustained two attempts on his life, and after his passing revolution broke out and resulted in the complete dissolution of the Prussian empire; Francis Joseph “was so engulfed by misfortunes and tragedies that his reign came to be regarded as one unsurpassed by any other reign in the calamities it inflicted upon the nation” and the Austro-Hungarian empire ended after World War I; Nicolaevitch Alexander II “suffered several attempts on his life, and at last died at the hand of an assassin,” but not before his repressive rule initiated a revolution which “swept away on a bloody tide the empire of the Czars, brought in its wake war, disease and famine, and established a militant proletariat which massacred the nobility, persecuted the clergy, drove away the intellectuals, disendowed the state religion, executed the Czar with his consort and his family, and extinguished the dynasty of the Romanoffs”; and finally Pope Pius IX “was compelled to surrender, in distressing circumstances, to the besieging forces of King Victor Emmanuel, and to submit himself to be depossessed of the Papal States and of Rome itself. The loss of ‘the Eternal City,’ over which the Papal flag had flown for one thousand years, and the humiliation of the religious orders under his jurisdiction, added mental anguish to his physical infirmities and embittered the last years of his life.”
(Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 219-232).
In Persia, Bahá’u’lláh was imprisoned between the months of August and December 1852 in the Siyah-Chal (Black Pit), an
underground dungeon, which was one of the most notorious dungeons in Tehran. Bahá’u’lláh claimed that here He had a
vision of a Maid of Heaven, through whom He received His mission as a Messenger of God and as the One whose coming
the Báb
had prophesied.
Bahá’u’lláh’s passing followed nearly 40 years of exile from His native Iran, first in Baghdad and later in Turkey before His
incarceration in Acre in 1868.
Bahá’u’lláh revealed more than 100 volumes of divinely inspired mystical writings, ethical and social teachings, and laws and
ordinances. He also addressed the kings and rulers of His day, including the Shah of Persia, the Sultan of Turkey, Pope Pius
IX, Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany, Queen Victoria, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, Napoleon III, and the heads of
governments as mentioned above, in the West, informing them of the Revelation He bore. He exhorted them to govern their subjects with justice
and compassion, and He warned them that if they did not, power would pass from their hands.
The Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh is one of nine holy days during the year on which Bahá’ís suspend work.
The Baháʼí Faith calls on humanity to acknowledge its essential oneness and work towards global peace through grassroots and international collaborative efforts.
Throughout history, God has sent to humanity a series of divine Educators—known as Manifestations of God—whose teachings have provided the basis for the advancement of civilization. These Manifestations have included Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, and Muḥammad. Bahá’u’lláh, the latest of these Messengers, explained that the religions of the world come from the same Source and are in essence successive chapters of one religion from God.
If the learned and worldly-wise men of this age were to allow mankind to inhale the fragrance of fellowship and love, every understanding heart would apprehend the meaning of true liberty, and discover the secret of undisturbed peace and absolute composure.
~ Bahá’u’lláh.
The Bahá’í Faith is established in more than 100,000 localities in virtually every country and territory around the world.
Bahá’ís believe the crucial need facing humanity is to find a unifying vision of the future of society and of the nature and purpose of life. Such a vision unfolds in the writings of Bahá’u’lláh.
Compiled by:-
Jaya Raju Thota
Greater Visakhapatnam
Andhra Pradesh
India
Author: Sanjeevni Today
Reporter
