Encyclopedia
In the study of comparative religion, an
Abrahamic religion or
Judeo-Abrahamic Faith is any
religion deriving from a common ancient
Semitic tradition and traced by their adherents to
AbrahamAccording to the
Jewish tradition,
Abraham was the first post-
flood person to reject
idolatry through rational analysis , hence he symbolically appears as a fundamental figure for monotheistic religion. In that sense,
Abrahamic religion could be simply called
monotheistic religion, but not all monotheistic religions are Abrahamic. In Islam he is considered as the first monotheist in a world where monotheism was lost and is often referred to as
Ibrahim al-Hanif or Abraham the Monotheist.
The term,
desert monotheism, is sometimes used for a similar purpose of comparison in historical contexts, but not for modern faiths.
It should be noted however, that Amenhotep IV or
Akhenaten, born in 1353 BCE, is the earliest verifiable historical advocate or prophet of monotheism, although many argue that his religion came from Judaism and the religions may be one and the same. Today, around 3.7 billion people are followers of Abrahamic religions.
Introduction
In the
Torah and the
Qur'an, Abraham is described as a patriarch blessed by God , and promised great things. Jews and Christians consider him father of the
people of Israel through his son
Isaac; Muslims regard him as the father of the Arabs through his son
Ishmael. In Christian belief, Abraham is a model of faith, and his intention to obey God by offering up Isaac is seen as a foreshadowing of God's offering of his son,
Jesus. In Islam, Abraham obeyed God by offering up Ishmael and is considered to be one of the most important prophets sent by God.
Overview
All the Abrahamic religions are derived to some extent from
Judaism as practiced in ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah prior to the Babylonian Exile, at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. Many believe that Judaism in Biblical Israel was renovated and reformed to some extent in the 6th century BC by Ezra and other priests returning to Israel from the exile. Samaritanism separated from
Judaism in the next few centuries. Noachide faith, see also Noahide Law, is also based upon the faith of Abraham as revealed in the Torah/Bible, yet Noachide's are not necessarily 'descendants of Abraham, although a Noachide might be of Abrahamic linegage through any of the children of Abraham, because there is no way of tracing this accurately the Noachide is determined by their ancestral connection to Noah, who was Abraham's ancestor. It is taught that Noah, and his son, Shem, who was Abraham's grandfather and also taught Abraham's son Yitzhak/Issac, was also monotheistic, however there is no evidence to show that they attempted to influence any one other than family members regard the elements of their faith. Abraham was the difference as he did gather many people who were not 'blood-relations' to follow the elements of his faith. The
Druze of northern Israel and southern Lebanon hold to Abrahmic faith of the Noachide covenant through their ancestor Yitro/Jethro, the father-in-law of Moshe/Moses .
Christianity originated in
Judea, at the end of the
1st century, as a radically reformed branch of
Judaism, see
Early Christianity; it spread to ancient
Greece and
Rome, and from there to most of
Europe,
Asia, the
Americas, and many other parts of the world. Over the centuries, Christianity split into many separate churches and denominations. A major split in the
5th century separated various Oriental Churches from the Catholic church centered in
Rome. Other major splits were the East-West Schism in the
11th century, separating the
Roman Catholic Church from the
Eastern Orthodox Churches; and the
Protestant Reformation of the
16th century, that gave birth to hundreds of independent Protestant denominations.
Islam originated in the
7th century, in the
Arabian cities of
Mecca and
Medina. Although not a dissident branch of either
Judaism or
Christianity, it explicitly claimed to be a continuation and replacement for them, and echoed many of their principles. According to the Muslim belief, the Qur'an was the final word of God and its message was that of all the prophets. As an example of the similarities between the faiths, Muslims believe in a version of the story of
Genesis and in the lineal descent of the Arabs from Abraham through
Ishmael, who was conceived through Abraham's servant Hagar.
Origins
The origins of
Judaism and the ancestral Abrahamic religion are still obscure. The only source generally agreed by all to be canonical that bears on that question is the Genesis book of the
Hebrew Bible, which according to Rabbinic tradition was written by
God and received by
Moses after the Exodus from
Egypt, sometime in the 2nd millennium BC. According to Genesis, the principles of
Judaism were revealed gradually to a line of
patriarchs from
Adam to
Jacob ; however the religion was only established when
Moses received the
Commandments on
Mount Sinai, and with the institution of priesthood and temple services.
Archaeologists so far have found no direct evidence to support or refute the Genesis story on the origins of Judaism; in fact, there are no surviving texts of the
Hebrew Bible older than the
Dead Sea Scrolls . However, archaeology has shown that peoples speaking various
Semitic languages and with similar polytheistic religions were living in
Canaan and surrounding areas by the 3rd millennium BC. Some of their gods are mentioned in the Bible, and the supreme god of the Semitic pantheon, El, is believed by some scholars to be the God of the Biblical patriarchs. There exist a number of inscriptions that some scholars believe to confirm the Biblical record, such as the
Tel Dan Stele.
One school of thought has argued, however, that monotheism in fact began with
Akhenaten, the heretical pharaoh of
Egypt in the fourteenth century B.C. Akhenaten's innovations, however, were completely eradicated in Egypt after his death, leaving no resonance except for their possible survival in the neighboring Israelite monarchy, which began its rule under Egyptian cultural hegemony.
Patriarchs
There are six notable figures in the Bible prior to Abraham:
Adam and Eve, their two sons
Cain and
Abel, Enoch, and his great-grandson,
Noah, who, according to the story, saved his own family and all animal life in
Noah's Ark. It is uncertain whether any of them left any recorded
moral code: some Christian churches maintain faith in ancient books like the Book of Enoch — and
Genesis mentions the Noahide Laws given by God to the family of Noah. For the most part, these 'patriarchs' serve as good role models of behavior, without a more specific indication of how one interprets their actions in any
religion.
In the
Book of Genesis, Abraham is specifically instructed to leave the historical
Mesopotamian city of
Ur so that God will "make of you a great nation". Burton Visotzky, an ethicist, wrote
Genesis of Ethics to explore the detailed implications of these adventures for a modern ethics.
According to the Bible, the patriarch
Abraham had eight sons by three wives: one by his wife's servant Hagar, one by his wife Sarah, and six by another wife Keturah. Moses, Jesus, Muhammad,
Bahá'u'lláh, and other prominent figures all claim to be descendants of Abraham through one of these sons.
Jews see Abraham as the progenitor of the people of
Israel, through his descendants
Isaac and
Jacob. Christians view Abraham as an important exemplar of faith, and a spiritual, as well as a physical, ancestor of
Jesus — a Jew considered the Son of God through whom God promised to bless all the families of the earth. In addition, Muslims refer to Christians and Jews, among others, as People of the Book . They see Abraham as one of the most important of the many prophets sent by God. Thus Abraham represents for some, a point of commonality whom they seek to emphasize by means of this terminology.
So, rather than being the sole "founding figure", Abraham is more correctly described as the first figure in
Genesis who is clearly not of direct divine origin, such as Adam and Eve are claimed to be; is accepted by three major monotheistic faiths as playing some major role in the founding of their common
civilization; and is not claimed as the male genetic forebear of all humans on the
Earth .
Islam and Judaism also treat Adam and Noah as minor prophets, and recognize that there were possibly other prophets who are unknown today.
The Supreme Deity
Judaism and Islam worship a Supreme Deity which they conceive strictly monotheistically as one being; Christianity agrees, but the Christian God is at the same time an indivisible
Trinity, a view not shared by the other religions. It should be noted that a sizable minority of Christians and Christian denominations do not support the belief in the doctrine of the Trinity, stating that the Trinity idea was founded in Roman religious culture, probably due to Rome's absorption of some
Zoroastrian and some Pagan ideology as part of their homogenized culture, and was not part of the original, primitive Christianity.
Judaism
Jewish theology is based on the
Hebrew Bible, where the nature and commandments of God are revealed through the writings of
Moses, the
Torah is a Hebrew [i] word meaning "teaching [i]," "instruction [i]," or "law [i]". ...
, and the writings of the prophets, psalmists and other ancient canonized scriptures, together with the Torah known as the
Tanakh. Additionally, it usually has a basis in its Oral Law, as recorded in the Mishnah and Gemora which form the
Talmud.
This Supreme Being is referred to in the Hebrew Bible in
several ways, such as
Elohim,
Adonai or by the four Hebrew letters "Y-H-V -H" , which observant Jews do not pronounce as a word. The Hebrew words
Eloheynu and
HaShem , as well as the English names "Lord" and "God", are also used in modern day Judaism. The latter is sometimes written "G-d" in reference to the taboo against pronouncing the tetragrammaton.
The word "Elohim" has the Hebrew plural ending "-im", which some Biblical scholars have taken as support for the general notion that the ancient Hebrews were polytheists in the time of the patriarchs; however, as the word itself is used with singular verbs, this hypothesis is not accepted by most Jews. Jews point out other words in Hebrew that are used in the same manner according to the rule of
Hebrew Grammar, and denotes respect, majesty and deliberation, similar to the royal plural in English and ancient Egyptian, and the use of the plural form
"vous" for individuals of higher standing in modern French. Jewish Biblical scholars and historical commentary on the passage also suggest that Elohim in the plural form points to God in conjunction with the heavenly court, i.e. the
angels.
Christianity
Christians believe that the God worshipped by the faithful Hebrew people of the pre-Christian era has always revealed himself as he did through Jesus Christ; but this was never obvious until the Word of the Lord, the revelation of God, became flesh and dwelt among us . Also, despite the fact that the Angel of the Lord spoke to the Patriarchs, revealing God to them, it has always been only by the Spirit of God granting them understanding, that men have been able to perceive afterward that they had been visited by God himself. After Jesus was raised from the dead—according to Christian scriptures—this ancient Hebrew witness of how God reveals himself as
Messiah came to be seen in a very different light. It was then that Jesus' followers began to speak widely of him as God himself , although this had already been revealed to certain individuals during his Ministry, for example, the Samaritan woman in Shechem, and his closest apostles.
This belief was gradually developed into the modern formulation of the
Trinity, which is the doctrine that God is a single holy God , but that there is a real threeness in God's single being that has always been evident but not understood. This mysterious threeness has been described as, for want of better terms,
hypostases in the Greek language , and as "persons" in English. In the traditional Christian conception, God the Father has only ever been revealed through his eternal Word , and his Spirit .
Trinitarian theology is developed from the Christian
Bible . As it was further elaborated by the early Church fathers, it was later codified by the Ecumenical councils at
Nicaea and Chalcedon. Another famous formulation is called the Athanasian Creed. Some Trinitarian churches, however, do not accept the Chalcedon council at all, in part because it claimed to have excommunicated them. These are known as 'non-Chalcedonian', or Oriental Orthodox Churches.
This "trinitarian monotheism" has been rejected by several Christian denominations and Christian-based religions, such as Arianism and
Unitarianism. Strict unitarian Christians believe that God the Father is the only divine being, but the others believe that Jesus is a created deity. Another minority viewpoint is that the personality expressed in earthly mainifestation as Jesus is in fact that of the one-and-only God; this belief system is usually described as Oneness Pentecostal and is largely found in
North America.
Islam
Allah is the standard Arabic translation for the word "God." Islamic tradition also describes the 99 Names of God.
See also: Islamic concept of GodMuslims believe that the Jewish God is the same as their God and that Jesus is a divinely inspired prophet, but not God. Thus, both the
Torah and the
Gospels are believed to be based upon divine revelation, but Muslims believe them to have been corrupted . Muslims revere the
Qur'an as the final uncorrupted word of God brought through the last prophet,
Muhammad, and
Islam is viewed as a final correction of Judaism and Christianity.
Bahá'í Faith
The belief in the Oneness of God is central to the Bahá'í Faith. According to Bahá'í doctrine, God is one being, and has created all the creatures and forces in the universe. He is also imagined by Bahá'ís as omnipotent and omniscient. In order to educate humanity, Bahá'ís believe that God sends his messengers to humanity. These messsengers are known in Bahá'í literature as "Manifestations of God," the most recent of whom Bahá'ís believe was
Bahá'u'lláh. According to Bahá'í doctrine, these Manifestations reveal the nature and will of God in their teachings and through sacred texts, which include the Torah, the Christian Bible, the Qur'án, the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the
Book of Certitude, and
Buddhist scriptures . Bahá'ís maintain that the older texts contain allegories that should be interpreted in view of the most recent revelations. However, Bahá'í doctrine teaches that the Supreme Deity is too great to be fully understood by humans.
Religious scriptures
All these religions rely on a body of scriptures, some of which are considered to be the word of God — hence sacred and unquestionable — and some which are the work of religious men, revered mainly by tradition and to the extent that they are considered to have been divinely inspired, if not dictated, by the divine being.
Judaism
The sacred scriptures of Judaism are comprised of the
Tanakh, a Hebrew acronym that stands for
Torah is a Hebrew [i] word meaning "teaching [i]," "instruction [i]," or "law [i]". ...
,
Nevi'im , and
Ketuvim . These are complemented by and supplemented with various originally oral traditions:
Midrash, the
Mishnah, the
Talmud, and collected rabbinical writings. The Hebrew text of the Tanakh, and the Torah in particular, is considered holy, down to the last letter: transcribing is done with painstaking care. An error in a single letter, ornamentation or symbol of the over 300,000 stylized letters which make up the Hebrew Torah text renders a Torah scroll unfit for use, hence a Torah scribe is a specialist skill and takes considerable time to write and check.
Christianity
The sacred scriptures of most Christian sects are the Old Testament, which is largely the same as the
Hebrew Bible, and the
New Testament, which comprises four accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus and several writings by the apostles and early Fathers such as
Paul. They are usually considered to be
divinely inspired in some sense and together comprise the
Christian Bible. Thus Christians consider the fundamental teachings of the Old Testament, in particular the
Ten Commandments, as valid, although most reject the Sabbath; however they believe that the coming of Jesus as the messiah and savior of mankind as predicted in the Old Testament, and the fact that Jesus was raised Jewish and became a teacher of Judaism, would shed light on the true relationship between God and mankind — by restoring the emphasis of universal love and compassion above the other commandments, by de-emphasising the more "legalistic" and material precepts of
Mosaic Law . Many Christians believe that the link between Old and New Testaments in the Bible means that Judaism has been superseded by Christianity as the "new Israel" — and some hold that Jesus' teachings described Israel not as a geographic place but as an association with God and promise of salvation in heaven.
The vast majority of Christian religions derive their beliefs from the conclusions reached by the Council of Nicea in 325, in a document known as the
Nicene Creed. This describes the beliefs that
God became human on earth, born as
Jesus pursuant to the Old Testament scriptures, was crucified by humanity, died and was buried, only to be resurrected on the third day, then to rise and enter the Kingdom of Heaven and "sit at the right hand of" God. Christians generally believe that faith in
Jesus is the only way to achieve salvation and to enter into
heaven, and that salvation is a gift given by the grace of God.
Unlike the Jews and Muslims, Christians generally do not consider a single version of their Bible as holy to the exclusion of the others, and accept good translations and re-translations as being just as valid, in principle, as the original. They recognize that the Gospels were passed on by oral tradition only to be set to paper decades after the death of Jesus, and that the extant versions are only copies of those originals. Indeed, the version of the Bible considered to be most valid has varied considerably: the Greek
Septuagint, the
Latin Vulgate, the
English King James Version, and the
Russian Synodal Bible have been authoritative to different communities at different times. In particular, Christians usually consult the
Hebrew version of the Old Testament when preparing new translations, although some believe that the Septuagint should be preferred, as it was the Bible of the
Early Christian Church, and because they believe its translators probably knew Biblical Hebrew better than any person living today. Not surprisingly, many variant readings of the
Dead Sea Scrolls are confirmed by the Septuagint — indicating that significant changes to the Masoretic Hebrew text occurred
after the Council of Jamnia . In the same sense that the Jewish mystics viewed the
Torah as something living and existing prior to any written text, so too do Christians view the Bible and Jesus himself as God's "
Word" , that transcends written documents.
The sacred scriptures of the Christian Bible are complemented by a large body of writings by individual Christians and councils of Christian leaders. Some Christian churches and denominations consider certain additional writings to be binding; other Christian groups consider only the Bible to be binding. The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses the Old and New Testaments , but also believes
The Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, the
Doctrine and Covenants, and other writings by past and current prophets to be sacred scripture.
Islam
Islam's holiest book is the
Qur'an, comprised of 114 suras . However,
Muslims also believe in the religious texts of
Judaism and
Christianity in their original forms and not the current versions which they believe to be corrupted. According to the Qur'an itself, these were revealed from God and through the Archangel
Gabriel to the Prophet
Muhammad on separate occasions, and preserved as such by his disciples, until they were compiled into a single book several decades after his death. With the exception of Al Fatihah , which is always the first Surah, the longer Surahs appear at the beginning of the
Qur'an while shorter ones appear at the end.
The Qur'an includes several stories from the Jewish Bible , and mentions Jesus many times as a divinely inspired prophet. However the detailed precepts of the Tanakh and of the New Testament are not adopted outright; they are replaced by the new commandments revealed directly by God to Muhammad and codified in the Qur'an.
Like the Jews with the Torah, Muslims consider the original
Arabic text of the Qur'an as uncorrupted and holy to the last letter, and any translations are considered to be interpretations of the meaning of the Qur'an, as only the original Arabic text is considered to be the divine scripture.
Like the Rabbinic Oral Law to the Hebrew Bible, the Qur'an is complemented by the
Hadith, a set of books by later authors that record the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. The Hadith interpret and elaborate Qur'anic precepts. There is no consensus within Islam on the authority of the Hadith collections, but Islamic scholars have categorized each Hadith at one of the following levels of authenticity or isnad: genuine , fair , or weak . Amongst Shia Muslims, no hadith is regarded as Sahih, and hadith in general are only accepted if there is no disagreement with the Qur'an.
By the ninth century, six collections of Hadiths were accepted as reliable to Sunni Muslims. Shia Muslims however, refer to an alternate tradition of authenticated Hadiths.
The Sunni Collections:
- al-Bukhari
- Muslim b. al-Hajjaj
- Abu Da'ud
- al-Tirmidhi
- al-Nasa'i
- Ibn Maja .
The Hadith and the life story of Muhammad form the Sunnah, a scriptural supplement to the Qur'an. The legal opinions of Islamic jurists provides another source for the daily practice and interpretation of Islamic tradition.
Baha'i Faith
Baha'is recognize the Holy Bible, Jewish texts, the Qu'ran, and Buddhist texts, among others, as Holy Books and Scripts inspired by God. Internally, Baha'is follow the teachings in the Kitab-i-Aqdas , the Kitab-i-Iqan , and dozens of other writings by Baha'u'llah. Books and tablets by Abdu'l-Baha, the prophets son, are also held in high regard.
Rastafari movement
Some
Rastafarians use the
King James Version of the Bible as their main scripture, while many others disdain it. A great many nowadays make special efforts to study the Orthodox
Amharic version. Rastas often claim that the Bible only has half of God's Word, and that the other half is written in the heart of mankind. The teachings of
Marcus Garvey and the Holy Piby are among other important documents, as are the writings and speeches of Emperor
Haile Selassie I.
The coming
Main article: MillennialismIn the major Abrahamic religions, there exists the expectation of an individual who will herald the
end of the world, and/or bring about the Kingdom of God on Earth, in other words the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Judaism awaits the coming of the Jewish Messiah . The Jewish Messiah is not a "God" but a mortal man who by his holiness is worthy of that description, and will make his appearance only during an era of peace and holiness. Christianity awaits the Second Coming of Christ. Islam awaits both the second coming of Jesus and the coming of Mahdi . The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes that both Mahdi and Second Coming of Christ were fulfilled in
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Conversely, members of the
Bahá'í Faith believe that these were fulfilled in the person of
Bahá'u'lláh. Rastafari awaits the return of Haile Selassie.
Afterlife
Most Abrahamic religions agree that a human being comprises the body, which dies, and the soul, which need not do so. The soul, capable of remaining alive beyond human death, carries the essence of that person with it, and God will judge that persons life accordingly after they die. The importance of this, the focus on it, and the precise criteria and end result differs between religions.
Reincarnation and transmigration tend not to feature prominently in Abrahamic religions. Although as a rule they all look to some form of afterlife, Christianity and Islam support a continuation of life, usually viewed as eternal, rather than reincarnation and transmigration which are a return to this Earth or some other plane to live a complete new life cycle over again. Kabbalic Judaism, however, accepts the concept of returning in new births through a process called gilgul neshamot, but this is not Torah-derived, and is usually studied only among scholars and mystics within the faith. It is a mainstream belief of Hassidic Jews and many Orthodox Jews.
Judaism
Judaism's views on the afterlife are quite diverse. This can be attributed to the fact that even though there clearly are traditions in the
Hebrew Bible of an afterlife , Judaism focuses on this life and how to lead a holy life to please God, rather than future reward, and its attitude can be mostly summed up by the rabbinical observation that at the start of Genesis God clothed the naked , at the end of Deuteronomy He buried the dead , the Children of Israel mourned for 40 days, then got on with their lives.
There is general agreement that there is some sort of reward for the righteous in Gan ‘Edhen and punishment in Ge-Hinnom. Popularly it is claimed that the maximum time of punishment for all but the most evil is one year. The mystically inclined also claim the souls may be reincarnated, through Gilgul. Alone of the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism believes that the good of all the nations will get to heaven, one of the reasons Judaism does not normally proselytize.
Islam
Islam prescribes a literal Hell for those who disobey God and commit gross sin. While sinners are punished with fire, there are also many other forms of punishment described, depending on the sin committed. Those who worship and remember God are promised eternal abode in Paradise. In Islam, Heaven is divided into seven levels , however the heavens are not equated directly with Paradise. Paradise itself is divided into many levels, as is Hell, with higher levels of Paradise being the reward of those who have been more virtuous, and lower levels of Hell for those who have been more sinful. For example, the highest levels might contain the Prophets, those killed for believing, those who help orphans, and those who never tell a lie .
Upon repentance to God, many sins can be forgiven as God is said to be the most Merciful. Additionally, those who ultimately believe in God, but have led sinful lives, may be punished for a time, and then ultimately released into Paradise. If anyone dies in a state of Shirk he will stay forever in Hell; it is said that anyone with "one atom of faith" will eventually reach Heaven.
It is also believed, that when someone just touches Paradise, they'll stay there, and can't go to hell.
Worship
Worship, ceremonies, and religion-related customs differ substantially
between the various Abrahamic religions. Among the few similarities are a
seven-day cycle in which one day is nominally reserved for worship, prayer,
or other religious activities; this custom is related to the Biblical story
of Genesis, where God created the universe in six days, and rested in the
seventh. Islam, which has Friday as a day for special congregational
prayers, does not subscribe to the 'resting day' concept.
Jewish men are required to pray three times daily and four times daily on the Sabbath and most Jewish holidays, and five times on Yom Kippur. Before the destruction of the
Temple, Jewish priests offered sacrifices there; afterwards, the practice was stopped. Jewish women's prayer obligations vary by sect; traditionally , women do not read from the
Torah and are only required to say certain parts of these services twice daily. Conservative Judaism,
Reform Judaism, and the Reconstructionist movement have different views.
Christianity does not have any sacrificial rites as such, but its
entire theology is based upon the concept of the sacrifice by God of his son
Jesus so that his blood might atone for mankind's sins. However, offerings to Christian Churches and charity to poor are highly encouraged and take the place of sacrifice. Additionally, self-sacrifice in the form of lent, penitence and humbleness, in the name of Christ and according to his commandments , is considered a form of sacrifice that appeals God.
The followers of
Islam, Muslims, are supposed to pray five times daily
towards the direction of what is considered to be the holiest site in Islam, the
Kaaba in
Mecca. The abled Muslims are obliged to fast in the month of
Ramadan.They are also urged to undertake a
pilgrimage, known as the
Hajj, to
Mecca at least once in one's
life. During this pilgrimage, the Muslims spend several days in prayer,
repenting and most notably, circumambulating the
Kaaba among millions of other Muslims. At the end of
the
Hajj, sheep and other permissible animals are slaughtered to
commemorate the moment when God replaced Abraham's son,
Ishmael with
a sheep preventing his sacrifice. The meat from these animals is then distributed around the world to
needy Muslims, neighbors and relatives.
Baha'is do not have a strict worship regimen but do, however, follow guidelines for prayer passed on by Baha'u'llah and Abdu'l Baha. Baha'is are to perform ablutions before prayer and to recite at least one of three obligatory prayers daily. Prayer is supposed to be a private activity during which Baha'is are advised to face the Qiblih . A Baha'i pilgrimage was laid out by Baha'u'llah, but political conditions in Iraq and Iran prevent most Baha'is from visiting these locations. Originally, Baha'is were to
