Hasan M. Balyuzi
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Hasan M. Balyuzi (7 September 1908 – 12 February 1980) was a prominent Iranian member of the
Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...
.Hasan M. Balyuzi, Hand of the Cause of God - the Treasure of All Humanity
by Richard Francis, 1998, Bahai-library.com
He served in administrative institutions of the religion for decades, worked for the BBC, and was a prolific writer. He produced innumerable articles and a series of scholarly books on Muhammad and the central figures of the Bahá'í dispensation: the Bab, Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá. His consecration to serving the Faith, and his deep spirituality led to his being named a Hand of the Cause (of God) in 1957. He established a trust and a library for Bahá'í research and donated his works to it. The library contains more than 10 thousand items and continues to grow.


Biography

Balyuzi was born in
Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...
,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, but he spent most of his life in
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
. Balyuzi was an Afnán, a descendant of the
Báb The Báb (b. ʿAlí Muḥammad; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850), was the messianic founder of Bábism, and one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. He was a merchant from Shiraz in Qajar Iran who, in 1844 at the age of 25, claimed ...
, on both sides of his family. His father became governor of the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...
ports. The family was exiled to India during WWI where he spent from about age 8 through 16, and there was tutored in Persian, Arabic, went to "Bishops College" of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Poona The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pune ( la, Poonen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Pune in the Ecclesiastical province of Mumbai in India. The Poona Diocee consists of the civil districts of Pune, Satara, Solapur, Sangli & Kolhapur city ...
. Later Balyuzi's family moved back to Iran when his father became Minister of the Interior; Balyuzi attended school in Cyprus. His father died in 1921, his mother moved to Shiraz, and
Edward G. Browne Edward Granville Browne FBA (7 February 1862 – 5 January 1926) was a British Iranologist. He published numerous articles and books, mainly in the areas of history and literature. Life Browne was born in Stouts Hill, Uley, Gloucestershire, En ...
assisted in arranging his education in London about a year before his father died. Balyuzi then went on to Beirut and prepared for college. While living in Beirut, Balyuzi met
Shoghi Effendi Shoghí Effendi (; 1 March 1897 – 4 November 1957) was the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, appointed to the role of Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957. He created a series of teaching plans that over ...
at a time he considered himself a Muslim. He found a copy of
Some Answered Questions ''Some Answered Questions'' (abbreviated SAQ; Persian version: ''Mufáviḍát-i-‘Abdu'l-Bahá'') is a compilation of table talks of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá that were collected by Laura Clifford Barney between 1904 and 1906 across several pilgrimages. ...
and read other papers on the religion but remained skeptical. However, as the relationship between himself and Effendi grew he found the need to join the religion at age 17, in November, 1925. He then attended American University of Beirut and advanced with a degree in chemistry and then a Masters of Arts in Diplomatic History along with various sports of student societies. In 1932 he went to Britain where he studied diplomatic history at the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...
and earned a Master of Science degree in 1935. Meanwhile, in 1933-4 Balyuzi wrote an article for a Persian newspaper commenting about politics in Europe and Shoghi Effendi wrote a warning about involvement in politics and this was to have a decisive impact on his life. At
Ridván Riḍván ( ar, رضوان ; Persian transliteration: Rezván, ) is a twelve-day festival in the Baháʼí Faith, commemorating Baháʼu'lláh's declaration that he was a Manifestation of God. In the Baháʼí calendar, it begins at sunset on ...
1933 he was elected as a member of the National
Spiritual Assembly Spiritual Assembly is a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼí Faith. Because the Baháʼí Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level ...
of Great Britain, where he was re-elected until 1958 and served as Vice-Chair and later served as Chair. In 1938 he was the lead actor in a dramatic presentation in a play adaption of the
Seven Valleys ''The Seven Valleys'' ( fa, ''Haft-Vádí'') is a book written in Persian language, Persian by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. ''The Seven Valleys'' follows the structure of the Persian poem ''The Conference of the Birds''. ...
. It was also in 1938 that he began to publish a biographical article on Baháʼu'lláh, followed by the Báb and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, and later these would expand into books. From around 1942 he worked with the Persian Section of the BBC until 1958 presenting programs on Iran and Persian history. Along the way he married Mary Brown and they had five sons. He also traveled the country often giving lectures. In October 1957 he was appointed a
Hand of the Cause of God Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá who died in 2007. Hands of ...
by Shoghi Effendi. He began to write books from 1970 starting with one on
Edward Granville Browne Edward Granville Browne FBA (7 February 1862 – 5 January 1926) was a British Iranologist. He published numerous articles and books, mainly in the areas of history and literature. Life Browne was born in Stouts Hill, Uley, Gloucestershire, ...
. In 1976 he wrote "Muhammad and the Course of Islam" and
Moojan Momen Moojan Momen is a retired physician and historian specializing in Baháʼí studies who has published numerous books and articles about the Baháʼí Faith and Islam, especially Shia Islam, including for Encyclopædia Iranica* * * the British L ...
became his assistant. His books, especially this "Course of Islam" text, have been donated to libraries, and used as part of lectures and in discussions. Balyuzi died in London on 12 February 1980.


Establishments in his memory


Afnan Library

He left instructions that an Afnan Library Trust for Baháʼí Faith research be established and contributed his own library of materials to it. The library, located in Sandy near
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, opened in 2015 with over 10,000 items on diverse topics and had received further donations of materials. Moojan Momen is one of the Afnan Library's trustees.


Memorial Lectures of the Association of Baháʼí Studies

A memorial lecture series was named after him held by the Association of Baháʼí Studies for North America.Call for 2014 Hasan M. Balyuzi Memorial Lectureship Nominations
by Robert Stockman, Wilmette Institute, October 30, 2013
Previous Hasan M. Balyuzi lecturers: * 2016: Farzam Arbab * 2015: Nazila Ghanea * 2014: Vahid Rafati * 2013: Layli Miller-Muro * 2012: Shapour Rassekh * 2011: Nader Saiedi * 2010: Julio Savi * 2009: Otto Don Rogers * 2008: Houshmand Fatheazam * 2007: Will van den Hoonaard * 2006: Janet Khan * 2005: John Hatcher * 2004: Ali Nakhjavani * 2003: Suheil Bushrui * 2002:
Udo Schaefer Udo Schaefer (October 19, 1926 – August 30, 2019) was a German lawyer and a theologian of the Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity ...
* 2001:
Fariborz Sahba Fariborz Sahba ( fa, فريبرز صهبا, born 1948 Mashhad) is an Iranian-American architect, now living between Canada and the United States. Education Sahba has a master degree from the Faculty of Fine Arts from the University of Tehran ...
and
Hossein Amanat Hossein Amanat ( fa, حسین امانت, born 1942) is an Iranian-Canadian architect. He is best known for being the architect of the Shahyad Tower (renamed as Azadi Tower after the 1979 revolution) in Tehran, Iran, the Baháʼí Arc buildin ...
* 2000: Bahiyyih Nakhjavani * 1999: Richard Thomas * 1998: William S. Hatcher * 1997: Dorothy Nelson * 1996: Ross Woodman * 1995: Amin Banani * 1994:
David Ruhe The Universal House of Justice ( fa, بیت‌العدل اعظم) is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate on ...
* 1993: Abbas Amanat * 1991: David Hofman * 1990:
Helen Elsie Austin Helen Elsie Austin (May 10, 1908– Oct 26, 2004), known as H. Elsie Austin as an adult, was an American attorney, civil rights leader, and diplomat from the Midwest. From 1960 to 1970, she served for 10 years with the United States Information A ...
* 1988:
Moojan Momen Moojan Momen is a retired physician and historian specializing in Baháʼí studies who has published numerous books and articles about the Baháʼí Faith and Islam, especially Shia Islam, including for Encyclopædia Iranica* * * the British L ...
* 1986:
Adib Taherzadeh Adib Taherzadeh (29 April 1921 in Yazd, Iran – January 26, 2000) was a Baháʼí author who also served as a member of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Baháʼís, between 1988 and 2000. Biography Taherzadeh was ...
* 1985: Dorothy Freeman * 1984: David Hofman * 1983:
Firuz Kazemzadeh Firuz Kazemzadeh ( fa, فیروز کاظم‌زاده; October 27, 1924 – May 17, 2017) was a Russian-born American historian who was professor emeritus of history at Yale University. Biography Firuz Kazemzadeh was born in Moscow to an Iranian f ...
* 1982: Gayle Morrison * 1981: Douglas Martin, Glenford Mitchell * 1980: Abbas Afnan, Muhammad Afnan


Works

* * * * * * * * *


References

* ;Specific


External links


Afnan Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balyuzi, Hasan M. 1908 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Bahá'ís Alumni of the London School of Economics Converts to the Bahá'í Faith from Shia Islam Hands of the Cause Iranian Bahá'ís Iranian emigrants to the United Kingdom People from Shiraz