Monday 28 May 2007 GGGG
Thursday 18 October 2007 GGGG
It is Our wish and desire that every one of you may become a source of all goodness unto men, and an example of uprightness to mankind. Beware lest ye prefer yourselves above your neighbors. Fix your gaze upon Him Who is the Temple of God amongst men. He, in truth, hath offered up His life as a ransom for the redemption of the world. He, verily, is the All-Bountiful, the Gracious, the Most High. If any differences arise amongst you, behold Me standing before your face, and overlook the faults of one another for My name's sake and as a token of your love for My manifest and resplendent Cause. We love to see you at all times consorting in amity and concord within the paradise of My good-pleasure, and to inhale from your acts the fragrance of friendliness and unity, of loving-kindness and fellowship. Thus counselleth you the All-Knowing, the Faithful. We shall always be with you; if We inhale the perfume of your fellowship, Our heart will assuredly rejoice, for naught else can satisfy Us. To this beareth witness every man of true understanding.
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 315)
Tuesday 25 September 2007 GGGG
Baha'i world loses most distinguished member
HAIFA, Israel
24 September 2007 (BWNS)
The worldwide Baha'i community has lost its most distinguished member with the death of Dr. Ali-Muhammad Varqa.
He passed away on the evening of 22 September 2007 at his home in Haifa.
In 1955, Dr. Varqa was appointed to the high rank of "Hand of the Cause" by Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Baha'i Faith. Dr. Varqa served in that capacity, on the international level, for 52 years until his passing. He was the last survivor of the 27 Hands of the Cause who were alive when Shoghi Effendi passed away in 1957.
Dr. Varqa came from a well-known Iranian family that has served the Baha'i Faith with distinction for generations. After obtaining a doctorate from the Sorbonne in Paris in 1950, he taught in Iran at the universities of Tabriz and Tehran and served the Baha'i community there in various administrative capacities. In 1979 he moved to Canada, and later established his residence in Haifa to serve at the Baha'i World Center.
He was born in 1911 in Tehran, Iran, and received his name from 'Abdu'l-Baha in memory of his grandfather, who had been killed for being a follower of Baha'u'llah.
Dr. Varqa traveled to many countries as a representative first of Shoghi Effendi, then of the Universal House of Justice, the international governing council of the Baha'i Faith. In that capacity, Dr. Varqa attended the first national conventions held in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Congo, Mauritania, Central African Republic, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Czechoslovakia and Greenland.
Dr. Varqa is survived by three daughters and six siblings. His funeral took place the morning of 24 September, with burial in the Baha'i cemetery in Haifa.
