"To be a Baha'i simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood."
— 'Abdu'l-Baha

There are 6 million Bahá'ís in the world, in 235 countries The religion is one of the youngest of the world's major religions
Founded in Iran 1844 by Mirza Hoseyn Ali Nuri (Baha Ullah) born in 1817 belonging to one of Persia's most noble and privileged families Baha Ullah stands in Arabic for “Glory of God”. Baha Ullah proclaimed himself to be the divine one foretold by the Bab, who as Mirza Ali Mohammed of Shiraz founded the Babi religion out of the Shi'ite branch of Islam one of the three cornerstones of the Bahai faith.
The Bab had foretold that a messenger would soon arrive from God, who would be the latest in a line of prophets including Moses, Muhammad and Jesus Christ

Another important figure in the Bahai Faith is Abd ul Baha (Servant of the Glory), eldest son of Baha Ullah and the interpreter of his divine teachings
Abdu'l-Bahá was born in 1844 in Teheran, on the same night that the Bab declared his mission. He grew up mostly before his father declared his mission, but claims to have recognized his father's greatness at an early age.

History
Mirza Ali, at an early age allied himself with the somewhat shaky school of Shiite Muslims through their leader Say Kazoo Ratite, whom he met on a pilgrimage to Karbala (in modern Iraq). He was particularly encouraged by Sayyid Kazim's disciple Mullah Husayn to proclaim himself as the Bab. The Bab was considered to be the spokesperson of the 12th and last Imam, religious head of the Shias.

On May 23, 1844, he wrote the Qayyum al asma on the 'Surah' of Joseph from the Holy Quran. Mirza Ali's proclamation as Bab suited the Shaykhi belief of the coming of Mahdi but angered other Islamic religious leaders.
He collected 18 disciples and together with himself constituted the holy number of 19 and called it Huruf-al-hayy (letters of the living). In his six-year career as the Bab, Mirza Ali had to face numerous persecutions and opposition from the members of the religious class, who were averse to the idea of being ruled by an outsider. The person of the Bab was considered superior to all mullahs. He was suspected of fomenting insurrection and his disciples were charged with bloody uprisings.
He was expelled from Shiraz and later arrested in Teheran.

His disciples formally declared their separation from Islam in 1848. Mirza Ali was executed in 1848 as the Mullahs considered him to be a dangerous man. Towards the end of his career, he gave up the title of Bab and proclaimed to be the Imam himself. Later he assumed the title of qaim (the Supreme Imam) and still later, 'Nuqtah' (or the point). Finally he declared himself to be a divine manifestation.
He wrote the Bayan, which contains the divine revelations. His disciples gave him different names the last one Haqq-ta-ala (Truth Almighty) The Bahais simply consider him to be the Bab. He is one of the three founders of the Bahai faith.

As Persia was then mainly a Muslim country the Bahá'í faith developed as the fulfilment of Shi'a Islamic prophecies.

Basic beliefs and rules of activities
== love all the world
== love humanity and try to serve it
== work for universal peace and universal brotherhood.
== central idea of the faith is unity. It preaches unity of religions and unity of mankind.
== Bahá'ís seek to remove barriers of race, gender, and belief.
== all people should work together for the common benefit of humanity
== God is agnostic
== Zoroaster, the Buddha, Jesus Christ and Muhammad and others are manifestations of God
== God is transcendant and can't be known directly.
== God is known through the lives and teachings of his great prophets, the most recent of whom was Baha'u'llah.
== All human beings have a soul that lives for ever.
== All humans are members of a single race to be soon united in a single global community.
== All human beings are different, but equal; no inequality between races or sexes.
== All religions have the same spiritual foundation, despite apparent differences.
== Bahá'ís accept the divine nature of the missions of Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, the Buddha, Jesus and the Prophet Muhammad. They believe each one was a further stage in the revelation of God. Other prophets and Manifestations are also accepted.
== Bahá'ís see themselves as a people with a mission to bring harmony and unity in the world, and this is reflected in their spiritual practice.
== Main purpose of life for Bahá'ís is to know and love God. Prayer, fasting and meditation are the main ways of achieving this and for making spiritual progress.
== Bahá'ís believe that prayer is like a conversation with God in contrast to meditation, which is like a conversation with one's inner spirit.
== God progressively reveals more about his will to successive generations
== Baha'u'llah taught that God intervenes throughout human history at different times to reveal more of himself through his Divine Messengers, or Manifestations of God.

Holy Places
Before His passing, Baha'u'llah indicated that the world center for the Faith He had founded would be in the Haifa/Akkra in the north of Israel. The region today is the spiritual and administrative heart of the Baha'i Faith.
The final resting places of both Baha'u'llah and the Bab are there. The gold-domed Shrine of the Bab sits on the slopes of Mount Carmel in Haifa while the majestic Shrine of Baha'u'llah is located just across the bay at Bahji, outside of Akkra. Situated in the heart of magnificent gardens, these two spots are the most holy places in the Baha'i world.

Social work
Bahais in every locality plan to construct a house of worship around which institutions such as orphanage, old age homes, and a hospital should be established. Their chief places of worship are in Wilmette, Illinois, USA; Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Kampala, Uganda; Sydney, Australia; Panama City, Panama. There is also a Bahai temple in New Delhi, India. It is commonly known as the Lotus Temple, thanks to its shape.

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