Hands of the Cause

The Hands of the Cause of God are a select group of Bahá'ís, appointed for life, whose main function is to propagate and protect the Bahá'í Faith on the international level.

According to The Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá, they are to be nominated and appointed by the Guardian of the Cause of God and are to be under his direction and obey his command.(pp. 12,13)

The title is no longer given out. As of June 2006 there is only one living Hand of the Cause - Dr. Varqá. The work of the Hands of the Cause is now carried out by the Continental Counsellers and the Auxiliary Boards.

There were fifty Hands of the Cause in all, four named by Bahá'u'lláh, four by `Abdu'l-Bahá and forty-two by Shoghi Effendi (including ten posthumously). Twenty-seven Hands were alive when Shoghi Effendi died in 1957.

The most complete list of the Hands available is from "The Bahá'í World: Vol XIV". The Universal House of Justice has confirmed that this list may not be complete, and that a study of the letters and archives may reveal others named to this station.

Appointments

Note: Orthography of some names below is not correct. Accented and underscored characters were not transcribed.

Appointed by Bahá'u'lláh

• Hají Mullá `Alí-Akbar (1842-1910), known as Hají Ákhúnd
• Hájí Mírzá Muhammad-Taqí (d.1917), known as Ibn-i-Abhar
• Mírzá Muhammad-Hasan (1848-1919), known as Adíb
• Mírzá `Ali-Muhammad (d.1928), known as Ibn-i-Asdaq

Appointed by `Abdu'l-Bahá

• Aqa Muhammad-i-Qa'ini (1829-1892), known as Nabíl-i-Akbar
• Mirza 'Alí-Muhammad Varqá (d. 1896), the father of Rúhu'lláh
• Mulla Sadiq-i-Muqaddas, entitled Ismu'llahu'l-Asdaq
• Shaykh Muhammad-Riday-i-Yazdi

Appointed posthumously by Shoghi Effendi

• John Ebenezer Esslemont (1874-1925)
• Hájí Amín (1817-1928)
• Keith Ramsom-Kehler (1876-1933)
• Martha Root (1872-1939)
• Hyde Dunn (1855-1941)
• Siyyid Mustafá Rúmí (d. 1942)
• Abdu'l-Jalil Bey Sa'd (d. 1942)
• Muhammed Taqiy-i-Isfahani (d. 1946)
• Roy C. Wilhelm (1875-1951)
• Louis George Gregory (1874-1951)

First contingent, appointed 24 December 1951 by Shoghi Effendi

• Dorothy Beecher Baker (1898-1954)
• Amelia Engelder Collins (1873-1962)
• `Alí-Akbar Furútan (1905-2003)
• Ugo Giachery (1896-1989)
• Hermann Grossmann (1899-1968)
• Horace Hotchkiss Holley (1887-1960)
• Leroy C. Ioas (1896-1965)
• William Sutherland Maxwell (1874-1952)
• Taráz'u'lláh Samandarí (1874-1968)
• Valíyu'lláh Varqá (1884-1955)
• George Townshend (1876-1957)
• Charles Mason Remey (1874-1974)

Second contingent, appointed 29 February 1952 by Shoghi Effendi

• Siegfried Schopflocher (1877-1953)
• Shu'á'u'lláh `Alá'í (1889-1984)
• Músá Banání (1886-1971)
• Clara Dunn (1869-1960)
• Dhikru'lláh Khádim (1904-1986)
• Adelbert Mühlschlegel (1897-1980)
• Corinne Knight True (1861-1961)

Appointed by Shoghi Effendi [year of appointment]

• Amatu'l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum (1910-2000) [1952]
• Jalál Kháḍih (1897-1990) [1953] (also transliterated Jalal Khazeh)
• Paul Edmond Haney (1909-1982) [1954]
• `Alí-Muhammad Varqá (b.1912) [1955]
• Agnes Baldwin Alexander (1875-1971) [1957]

Last contingent, appointed 2 October 1957 by Shoghi Effendi

• Hasan Muvaqqar Balyúzí (1908-1980)
• Abu'l-Qásim Faizi (1906-1980)
• John Graham Ferraby (1914-1973)
• Harold Collis Featherstone (1913-1990)
• Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir (1923-1979)
• Enoch Olinga (1926-1979)
• John Aldham Robarts (1901-1991)
• William Sears (1911-1992)

See also

• Letters of the Living

• Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh

• Disciples of `Abdu'l-Bahá

• Institution of the Counsellors

References

• Bahá'u'lláh [1873] (1992). The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-85398-999-0.

• Bahá'u'lláh [1873-92] (1994). Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-174-4.

• Effendi, Shoghi (1974). Bahá'í Administration. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-166-3.

• Effendi, Shoghi (1976). Principles of Bahá'í Administration, 4th ed., London, UK: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-900125-13-6.
• Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá'í World Centre. ISBN 0-85398-350-X.

• Harper, Barron (1997). Lights of Fortitude, Paperback, Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-413-1.

External links

• Hands of the Cause of God - links to biographies

• Fadil-i-Mazandarani - House of Justice message of 1998 concerning the status and rank of Fadil-i-Mazandarani.

• The Guardian Announces Appointment of Hands of the Cause - Announcement of the first contingent of 12 Hands in 1951.

• Second Appointment of Hands of the Cause - Announcement of the second contingent, appointing 7 new hands in 1952.

• A Tribute to the Hands of the Cause of God - History, appointments, and other details.

• Video recording of Leroy Ioas, Dorothy Baker, and William Sears in 1944

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