Mullá Abu'l-Hasan-i-Ardikání (‎, surnamed Amín-i-Iláhí; 18311928), better known as Hájí Amín, was an eminent follower of

Baháʼu'lláh Baháʼu'lláh (, born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was an Iranian religious leader who founded the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Iran and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Báb ...

, founder of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

. Amín served as the trustee of

Huqúqu'lláh Ḥuqúqu'lláh (, "Right of God") is a voluntary wealth tax paid by adherents of the Baháʼí Faith to support the work of the religion. Individuals following the practice calculate 19% of their discretionary income (after-tax income minus essen ...

, was posthumously 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 o ...

Shoghi Effendi Shoghí Effendi (; ;1896 or 1897 – 4 November 1957) was Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1922 until his death in 1957. As the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, he was charged with guiding the development of the Baháʼí Faith, in ...

, and identified as one of the nineteen

Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh The Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh were nineteen prominent followers of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. The apostles were designated as such by Shoghi Effendi, head of the religion in the earlier half of the 20th century, and the ...

Background

At seventeen he married into a family of Bábís of the town of Ardikán, near

Yazd Yazd (; ) is a city in the Central District of Yazd County, Yazd province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. At the 2016 census, its population was 529,673. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is rec ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. When news of the declaration of Baháʼu'lláh came, he accepted immediately and travelled throughout the

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...

teaching the new message. He was a literate man, and earned his living by trading and writing for the illiterate as he travelled. He was known to collect letters that people wished to forward to Baháʼu'lláh, and also distributed tablets of Baháʼu'lláh where people received them. He made his way to 'Akká, and became the first Baháʼí from outside of the city to see Baháʼu'lláh, returning on several occasions. When Haji Shah-Muhammad Manshadi was killed in 1880, Amín became the trustee of the

. Hájí Amín lived a long life, and was Trustee of the

��Right of God”—a certain Baháʼí fundduring the ministries of Baháʼu'lláh and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and during part of the ministry of Shoghi Effendi. During his long and turbulent life he was a source of inspiration and loving guidance for all the believers. He often visited their homes and urged them to become detached from the things of the world and to follow the path of modesty in all aspects of life. In 1891, he was imprisoned for three years in Tihran and

Qazvin Qazvin (; ; ) is a city in the Central District (Qazvin County), Central District of Qazvin County, Qazvin province, Qazvin province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the largest city in the provi ...

, and during the time of

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian: , ;, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás (, ), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Bahá’í Faith, who designated him to be his successor and head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 un ...

he continued his travels, visiting 'Akká and

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

on many occasions. In old age he settled down in Tihran.

References

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External links

Biography
by

Moojan Momen Moojan Momen (b. 1950) 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 ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Amin-i-Ilahi 1831 births 1928 deaths Hands of the Cause Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh Iranian Bahá'ís 19th-century Bahá'ís 20th-century Bahá'ís