Hasan Muvaqqar Balyuzi was loved and honoured both in his native Iran and his adopted England, and by virtue of his consistent services in the British Baha'i community for nearly fifty years earned a central role in its history.
A student from his youth, he became in the last decade of his life and in the sight of all the Baha'i world, its pre-eminent scholar, yielding place only to Mirza Abu'lFadl, by whose learning Mr. Balyuzi was himself astonished. He seemed, from his earliest years, a mature and balanced person, as though his gentle yet remarkable qualities were his by birth - an innate courtesy and kindliness, an easy yet dignified bearing, a delightful wit and humour, an appreciation of every effort or service offered by others for the Faith, understanding of apparent frailties of behaviour, seeing beyond these to the longings and pain of human souls, quiet perseverance in fulfilling his own responsibilities, untarnished steadfastness in his loyalty to the Covenant of Baha'u'llah, complete and heartfelt obedience to the Central Figures of the Faith and its Guardian, staunch and knowledgeable support of all the institutions of the Administrative Order - these give but an incomplete portrayal of one whose presence conveyed to those who knew him a sense of well-being, tranquillity and hope.
At the moment of his first meeting, in his youth, with Shoghi Effendi, his inmost being was quickened to the reality of the Guardian's servitude at the Holy Threshold, and his sensitive, receptive spirit became, and ever remained, centred upon the greatness and glory of the Revelation of Baha'u'llah. His life can be understood in no other terms than his striving to serve that Revelation, in whatever course events might take, in health or in sickness, to his closing days in this world, when his utmost longing was to lay his head on the threshold of the Most Holy Shrine and offer to the King of Glory with his own hand the gift of his last, heroic labours.
I. Family and Youth
Hasan Balyuzi shared with the Guardian of the Faith descent from the same great-grandfather, Haji Mirza Abu'l-Qasim - one of the two brothers of Khadijih-Bagum, the wife of the Báb -- whose daughter, Fatimih-Sultan-Bagum, was Mr. Balyuzi's paternal grandmother. His paternal grandfather was Muhammad-Hasan, a merchant of a Bushire family, whom Baha'u'llah accepted as of the family of the Báb, and a son of this union was Mirza 'Ali Aqa, later entitled Muvuqqari'd-Dawlih, the father of Hasan Balyuzi. His mother, Munavvar Khanum, traced her descent from both brothers of the wife of the Báb, and thus Mr. Balyuzi's 'illustrious lineage' had a twofold bond with Khadijih-Bagum for whom he had a particular love and esteem.
Abu'l-Qasim Afnan, close relative of Mr. Balyuzi and Custodian of the House of the Báb in Shiraz, has stated that during his pilgrimage the Guardian of the Faith referred to three outstanding members of the Afnan family. The most distinguished was Khadijih Bagum, the wife of the Báb, then Haji Mirza Siyyid 'Ali, the uncle of the Báb and one of the Seven Martyrs of Tihran, while, 'at the present moment', the most distinguished was Hasan Balyuzi, and 'all the Afnan should follow in his footsteps'.
Hasan Balyuzi was born on 7 September 1908 in Shiraz where, at the age of four, he began to acquire his mastery of the English language. Most of his early years, however, were spent in Bushire where his father - diplomat and later Governor of the Persian Gulf Ports and Islands - resided, and he entered school when about five.
When, in the First World War, Bushire was occupied by British Forces, his father was exiled to India where the family lived in Bombay and then for four years in Poona. They were accompanied by two outstanding scholars, friends of his father, who tutored him in Persian, Arabic and history until he entered Bishop's College in Poona, an English high school where he perfected his English. He also learned Urdu, and is remembered as translating , at about the age of nine, for Abbas Dehkan who first met him there.
When his father returned to Tihran after the War to become a member of the Cabinet (Vazir) as Minister of Interior, Hasan attended the Cyrus School, whose headmaster was Prof. Sadiq-A’ lam, later Persian Ambassador in London and Minister of Education. A year or so after his father's death in May 1921, he accompanied his mother to Shiraz, but as educational opportunities for him were lacking at that time, in 1925 his uncle addressed Professor Browne to ask him to take charge of his nephew's education in England, whence Hasan's mother desired to send him.
In his reply 5 May 1925 Browne referred to Hasan's father, “my old friend 'Ali-Muhammad Khan, Muvaqqari'd-Dawlih, whom I became acquainted with about 1885 in London under the name of Mirza 'Ali Aqa and of whom I saw so much in Shiraz in the Spring of 1888”, and added: “I need hardly say how glad I should be to do anything I could for his son. But I am afraid that my health makes it impossible for me to take charge of his education here…” Browne had suffered a severe heart attack some months before and died 5 January 1926.
In recounting this incident Hasan comments: “However I was then not old enough or qualified to enter a university in Britain. Thus it was that I went to Beirut, and to the Preparatory School of the American University there. My journey to England in pursuit of education had to wait for several years when I could come to take up higher studies.”
A ‘Personal Note', written by Mr. Balyuzi in May 1969, continues with an account of his journey to Beirut and his memorable welcome in Haifa, at the age of seventeen, by Shoghi Effendi, the young Guardian of the Baha'i Faith. At that time Hasan knew little about the Faith as a religion, although aware of family relationships with 'Abdu'l-Baha, the visits of distinguished Baha'is such as Mirza Mahmud-i-Zarqani, and social occasions to which their neighbour in Shiraz had invited him. He had, it is true, found Some Answered Questions among his father's books and had begun to read it with the intention of rebuttal, but unable to find fault he was left frustrated although interested. On asking for further books he was given a manuscript of the Tar ikh-i-Jadid. Nonetheless, writes Dr. Moojan Momen: “had it not been for his meeting with Shoghi Effendi, he would probably have recorded himself as a Muslim at the University”, and this is confirmed by Farhang Afnan's comment that “prior to going to Haifa, in his heart of hearts he could not reconcile himself one hundred per cent that there could be any prophet after Muhammad…”
This is Hasan's own description: “My route to Beirut was through the Red Sea, Port Said, Haifa. It was in the latter part of November 1925 and John Ebenezer Esslemont, the immortal author of Baha’u’llah and the New Era, lay mortally ill in the old Pilgrim House. His illness greatly occupied the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith.
“During my stay of one night (November 21st-22nd) on Mount Carmel two eminent Persian Baha'i physicians who were there, Dr. Yunis Khan Afrukhtih and Dr. Arastu Khan Hakim, were called in the early hours of the morning to Dr. Esslemont's bedside. Shoghi Effendi sat up with him through the night.
“The next day I left for Beirut in the company of Dr. Afrukhtih and Dr. Hakim.
“It was that bounty of meeting Shoghi Effendi and all that I saw in him, which confirmed me in the Faith of Baha'u'llah. The course of my life was changed.”
Dr. Momen has supplemented this account with notes taken during various conversations with Mr. Balyuzi:
“He was taken to the house of the Master and put into a drawing-room all by himself. He did not know what was going to happen. Suddenly Shoghi Effendi entered the room. Balyuzi rose and wanted to kiss his hand [as was the Persian custom], but Shoghi Effendi would not allow this and instead embraced him. Then Shoghi Effendi sat him down and talked with him for more than an hour. What particularly impressed Hasan was the way in which Shoghi Effendi would answer a problem or a question by drawing the answer out of the questioner.
“And so it was that his Faith was confirmed and when he went on to Beirut and at the University he was asked his religion for the official forms, he said "Baha'i".”
In the words of Mrs. Balyuzi, “Hasan was so struck by the kindness and courtesy of the Guardian, at such an anxious time, to a boy of seventeen, that from that time he became confirmed in the Faith.”
Hasan spent seven years, 1925-1932, in Beirut, reading for a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry after a preparatory year, and then turning to a study of Diplomatic History for an M.A. “He took a full part in University life,' writes Mrs. Balyuzi, “playing football and tennis, and engaging in the activities of the Dramatic Society, the Debating Society and of course the Baha'i Society.”
In his brief time with the Guardian he had accepted the Faith of Baha'u'llah with his whole heart and at once became one of its most active supporters. According to the Hand of the Cause Abu'l-Qasim Faizi, the “beloved Guardian encouraged the Persian youths [to] continue their studies in the American University of Beirut, rather than going straight from Persia to the European countries... Gradually it became a centre of attraction”, the “number of Baha'i students increased, and this large community needed a brotherly leadership. This mantle suited” Hasan Balyuzi, who had been one of the first of the Baha'i students there. “With great wisdom and heartfelt affiliation to the Cause of God'”, he gathered the students together, arranged weekly programmes in the home of the Iqbal family, encouraged every student to prepare a talk in English on an aspect of the Faith, and reported to Shoghi Effendi the details of an annual meeting. He also sought permission from the Guardian for the Baha'i students to visit Haifa during their Easter holiday, and Mr. Faizi recalled that Shoghi Effendi advised them to come in small groups at Easter and other holidays as well.
It was Hassan who planned the prayers and readings whenever his and Mr. Faizi's group met the Guardian. “That was the happiest period of our lives when dear Hasan put all of us on a path conducive to the approval and appreciation of the beloved Guardian.” And after he had departed to study in London, “he kept us happy and uplifted us by his beautiful letters” .
In February 1932, because of work on his thesis at Easter, he obtained permission to visit Haifa in the mid-term break. He was accompanied by his brother and Mr. Faizi, “and Hasan believed that it was the first occasion on which pilgrimage had included a visit to the newly-restored Mansion of Bahji. He never met Shoghi Effendi again”. (Moojan Momen)
II. The British Isles
In September 1932, following his studies in Beirut “Hasan came to London
armed with a letter of recommendation from his professor”, Dr. Roger H. Soltan,
to Prof. Harold Laski at the London School of Economics, and was accepted as a
post-graduate student. He read Diplomatic History, with special reference to
the relations of the European Powers to the Persian Gulf States, and in 1935
received his M.Sc.(Econ.). He pursued his studies in the field of British
Public Opinion on Franco-German Relations after World War I, but his thesis for
a doctorate was delayed by the difficulty of finding a suitable supervisor and
the outbreak of the Second World War cut short his university career.
Within months of his arrival in London, Hasan was elected at Ridvan 1933 to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the British Isles and also to the London Spiritual Assembly. Administration was little past its infancy in Britain at the time of Hasan's arrival. An editorial note in Unfolding Destiny, a collection of the Guardian's letters to the British Baha'i Community, states that from the end of 1930 until early 1934 only five or six short meetings a year were recorded in the “scanty Minutes of the National Assembly” and no records exist of messages from the Guardian.
It was at this juncture that Hasan was faced with a decision that would change the pattern of his life. He had published in a Persian newspaper an article on the current political situation in Europe, but on 8 February 1934 the Guardian addressed him through his secretary, expressing astonishment, after his own “repeated and emphatic warnings to the friends that they should refrain from participating whether directly or indirectly in any political activity...“ We cannot know what thoughts and emotions may have disquieted this young scholar, standing at the threshold of a beckoning career, but the nature of his reply to the Guardian is attested in a long and significant letter from Shoghi Effendi dated 2 March:
“... He was much impressed by your immediate response…, and he has deeply appreciated the firm decision you have taken not to enter any political or diplomatic career. He is fully conscious of the sacrifices you have accepted to undergo for the sake of maintaining the integrity of the Teachings. For the field of work which your parents wanted you to enter was one in which you had great possibilities of progress, and you might have even had a chance to attain the position which your father had occupied in the ministry. But you can be certain that the example you have set before the friends by refusing to meddle in any sort of political activity is one which all of them will appreciate and through which they will be encouraged to suffer even greater sacrifices. The Cause, indeed, can progress only through the continued and whole-hearted sacrifices of the believers. And it is on young, intelligent and well-educated Baha'is like yourself that has been laid the chief responsibility of demonstrating to the friends and to the non-believers alike, that the spirit of heroism, of loyalty and of unqualified devotion to the Faith is more than ever animating the faithful and is moulding and shaping their lives ... And I am sure you fully realize that nothing short of such an attitude can effectively maintain the unity of the Faith and insure the stability and the efficient working of its new-born institutions.” (through his secretary)
A plan then in Hasan's mind, to work in the offices of the League of Nations in Geneva , was fully approved by Shoghi Effendi provided the work would be “purely administrative”, but his closing advice was to retain his membership “both in the N.S.A. and in the London Assembly. Your cooperation has been greatly appreciated by all our English friends, and it is hoped that this will encourage you to continue working with them.” (through his secretary)
Many years later, when Hasan's handsome inheritance of properties and wealth in Iran offered him every comfort and ease of living in that country, he explained to Dr. Iraj Ayman why he did not take this up. “I am only interested in serving the Cause wherever the beloved Guardian wants me to serve and I am not a bit interested in all that belongs to me in Iran.” For a quarter of a century he would devote himself to the progress of the Faith in the British Isles, until his responsibilities as a Hand of the Cause would call him to wider fields.
Already by 1935 his presence in London was “a tremendous and unique help to the friends” and he had “indeed, contributed a valuable share towards the expansion and consolidation of the Movement not only in London but in some other parts of England as well.” (secretary of the Guardian, probably writing personally)
In rapid succession during the few years before the outbreak of war in September 1939, a teaching campaign throughout England was inaugurated (1936), the first official Baha'i Summer School was held, the Baha'i Journal was initiated, an annual mid-winter National Teaching Conference began, the Publishing Trust was established and issued its first two publications in 1938, a monthly magazine, New World Order, was founded (1939), and the long-sought legal incorporation of the N.S.A. was achieved in August 1939, Hasan being one of the nine signatories as a “research student”. In all of these national activities Hasan took an active part, not only as an officer of the N.S.A., but often as Convention chairman, Summer School organizer and teacher, a member of the Reviewing Committee, an active participant at Teaching Conference, a contributor to New World Order, and a travelling teacher in England both north and south. At the same time he was a member of the London Assembly and the London Baha'i Youth Group which earned the congratulations of the Guardian for its “splendid achievements” and he was “acclaimed as a first-rate speaker”.
He has been described in those early years by several who knew him. “He was young, attractive and very courteous…” “Nobody was more patient, considerate, informative and humorous… He was both gentle and wise… His temperament was quiet and conciliatory.” “…. on a boy of nine his absolute calm, and the love that poured out when he spoke… made an indelible impression… One grew up under his patience, kindliness, wisdom and love…” (Ursula Samandari, Louis Ross-Enfield and Hugh McKinley in that order)
As war loomed on the horizon, Shoghi Effendi expressed his delight “with the work which is being so energetically conducted, … and particularly by their national elected representatives whose magnificent efforts, courage and perseverance deserve the highest praise . . .' (10 February 1939) The Guardian's love and concern for the English Baha'is was never more evident than during the years of the Second World War, as his more than threescore messages during these years attest. The friends, for their part, prosecuted their teaching campaign with increasing vigour and in ever-widening circles despite “the unprecedented calamities and confusion that now afflict their country”. (Shoghi Effendi, 22 November 1940)
We are indebted to Mrs. Balylizi and Abbas Dehkan, whom he invited to join the B.B.C., for a description of his professional work, which included a great deal of original writing of special features such as talks on English writers and history, translating English poetry and short stories, giving talks on current affairs, translating and announcing routine news bulletins (later taken over by junior staff), writing plays and performing in them, assisting in productions of Shakespeare, and presenting a series of English by Radio. He resigned from the B.B.C. in 1958, but continued for some years with particular assignments.
A three-month tour of duty in Iran in 1956 for the B. B. C. enabled him to attend to family affairs in and near Shiraz after the death of his mother, visit Isfahan and stay a few days in Tihran where, as chairman of the British National Assembly, he made contact with its sister Assembly in Iran. It was his first visit since he had left his homeland as a youth, and it was to be his last.
Dr. Iraj Ayman has given the following fascinating glimpse of Hasan in his professional career. Among his colleagues were several distinguished Iranian scholars and writers, men such as Mujtaba Minuvi, Masud Farzad and Gulchin. He himself produced more than a thousand radio programmes on Iran and its history and literature, and some of his translations of English literature have become part of modern Persian literature. He contributed to the development of the Persian language, as well, by coining many words now commonly used in Iran in the translation of modern terms, and he also “made new and different uses of old words to convey new meanings”. Indeed, “his style, his mastery of and his special approach to Persian were unique and highly appreciated” by Iranian writers.
It was during this period that Hasan wrote ‘A Guide to the Administrative Order’ (1941) and gave invaluable assistance to the editor of The Chosen Highway by Lady Blomfield, whose death on 31 December 1939 had “robbed the Cause in England” of her “ready and invaluable support”. (Shoghi Effendi through his secretary, 18 February 1940)
In June 1941 Hasan and Mary (Molly) Brown were married in the Baha'i Centre in Torquay. The daughter of Kathleen Brown (later, Lady Hornell), who was one of England's most steadfast and active Baha'is, Molly had been a member of the Sadler's Wells Ballet before marriage. Their first son, Hushang, was born in Evesham in 1942 and during the next years there were four other sons, Robert, Felix, Richard and Simeon. “A girl has not been born into our family for two hundred years,” Hasan told Alma Gregory.
Molly had many gifts and, on a number of occasions, assisted Hasan in the production of dramatic scripts about the Faith which he or Mary Basil Hall had written, creating “performances of moving distinction”. (Hugh McKinley) And “when he and Molly and their children came to Summer School they brought a joyous atmosphere”. (Ursula Samandari)
No doubt Hasan recognized the unequal share which fell to Molly, as she gave herself to the care and rearing of their young family. “So gifted herself, she devoted her life to enable others to express their gifts.” (ibid.) But it was a willing choice, for Molly preferred, she has said, her role at home to a more public one. It can truly be said that they sustained and complemented each other throughout the nearly forty years of marriage. A friend who visited them in 1979 was “much touched by the love and consideration which they showed for each other. I realized that he could not do his vastly important work without her devoted care.” (O. Z. Whitehead) And after his passing Molly described herself as fortified “against any and every pressure” by “his love, forethought, wisdom and discernment”.
Hasan, for his part, deeply cherished his sons, prayed for their spiritual progress, took pride in their scholarly achievements, but was prevented by his work schedule with the B.B.C. and his Baha'i responsibilities from spending much time with them. “What was I to do?” was his sad lament shortly before his death.
In 1942 Hasan became chairman of the N.S.A., a post to which he was elected annually for seventeen years (excluding 1943-1944). “Who that ever served on the N.S.A. with him can ever forget his unending, loving patience, his deep sympathy and his profound wisdom and his lovable hilarity?... Who can ever forget the lunch, tea and supper breaks of N.S.A. meetings with beloved Hasan entertaining us with his light-hearted stories and anecdotes? . . . He was such a perfect chairman,” wrote Ursula Samandari, “that I could never believe the British Community could be the same” when, in 1960, he retired from membership. And Philip Hainsworth has added: “… I can remember only the joy of those meetings, an eagerness and excitement which I never seem to have recaptured”; Hasan was “a very great gentle man who influenced my Baha'i life in a way he probably never suspected”.
Although the most demanding of Hasan's time and energy, his N.S.A. service was by no means all he was doing. Over the years he was often chairman of the Annual Convention and of the London Spiritual Assembly. When special committees were formed, whether to formulate publishing policy (1942) or plan press publicity for the completion of the exterior of the Baha'i Temple in Wilmette (1943), or prepare a history of the Faith in the British Isles for the 1944 Centenary, or examine how to promote the Six Year Plan (1944), Hasan was secretary or member. He accepted whatever needed doing, for years addressing and dispatching the Baha'i Journal to the national community. And always he spoke, at Summer Schools, the annual Teaching Conferences, public meetings and firesides. “I was once chairman at Summer School when he spoke about 'Abdu'l-Baha; there was not a dry-eyed member of the audience.” (Ursula Samandari)
Indeed, the record of his services on national committees, from 1943 to 1960, and often for several years, is daunting to the reader. Reviewing, New World Order, Literature (secretary), Archives (eleven years), National Contacts and Public Relations, National Scripts, Summer School Management and Programme, Assembly Development, Persian, Consolidation, National Centenary (1953, chairman), Visual Aids, European and Asian Teaching (chairman for four years), Installation and Maintenance plus Reception Committees for the Haziratu’l-Quds (1955-1956), Haziratu’l-Quds (1956-1957) - the very names elicit memories of the development of the British Baha'i community.
Although listed as a member of the newly appointed Persian Committee only for four years (between 1950 and 1956), Hassan was always in close touch with the young Persians who came to Britain for education. “It is clear that he exerted a most beneficial influence on all the Persian friends. He was beloved by them and he encouraged their participation in Baha'i activities.” (Ursula Samandari) At Summer Schools, which he regularly attended, “he would either conduct sessions in Persian or would brief Persian friends after each session. On a number of occasions he mentioned that the frequency and amount of references to him by Persian believers exceeded those of the N.S.A. “Once I asked him how he could attend to all these different and almost contradictory engagements. He pointed to his chair and desk in the corner of the room in the old apartment” where they were living and said, "many nights I sit there all night and do not go to bed". I specially verified this with Molly and Lady Hornell… I asked him how he could subject himself to such continuous hardship and he replied, “whenever I think of what our beloved Guardian is doing for us I am ashamed of how little we are doing in response and sleep escapes my eyes”. (Iraj Ayman)
An English believer of early days remembered: “I used to go with him and other Persian students on picnics ... We had great times together. He was always witty with inborn gentleness, that shone from his eyes.” (Louis Ross-Enfield) And a Persian Baha'i, Habib Hazari, who came to England in 1950 has described what he must have meant to them all: “I was showered by his kindness, generosity and affection.” About 1951 “I wrote to the Guardian and said, ‘His inspiration in serving the Faith is this verse of the Aqdas: “Observe My commandments for the love of My beauty.”... He is kind to everyone, and is the best and closest friend and counsellor to the Baha'i friends…’ A few weeks later I received a letter from Dr. Hakim, including "What you have said about the Afnan, Hasan Muvaqqar Balyuzi, was also noted by the Guardian, who said, 'Write [to Habib): ‘Yes, you are right.’ Then he said: 'I pray for him, he can be sure.'''
As early as Ridvan 1943 the Guardian directed the thoughts of the British Baha'is to the Centenary of the Declaration of the Báb. He was anxious that “the British Baha'is should ... demonstrate to the public and to their fellow believers, the vitality of their community and the marked advancement it has made of late.” (through his secretary, 17 June 1943) Hasan was chairman of the Centenary Committee and secretary of the committee which produced The Centenary of a World Faith, subtitled 'The History of the Baha'i Faith and Its Development in the British Isles.' It was “most excellently gotten out and not only well written but calculated to arouse the interest of the reader and impress him with the true stature of our World Faith”. (Shoghi Effendi through his secretary, 12 August 1944)
During the week-long programme opened by Sir Ronald Storrs at the Centenary Exhibition, a review of Baha'i history in dramatized form was presented by Hasan, who was also one of the speakers at the large public meeting on 23 May. The “patient efforts and sacrifices of the members of the N.S.A., and all those who contributed to the marked success of the Centenary celebrations ... brought happiness to his often heavily over-burdened heart,” wrote the Guardian's secretary in the same letter.
It was during the historic Convention of that week that the delegates resolved to inaugurate a Six Year Plan for teaching and turned to the Guardian to fix the goal. His reply on 25 May signalized a great new phase for the British community:
WELCOME SPONTANEOUS DECISION. ADVISE FORMATION NINETEEN SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES SPREAD OVER ENGLAND WALES SCOTLAND NORTHERN IRELAND AND EIRE...
At that time there were no believers in the British Isles beyond England except George Townshend!
Throughout the Six Year Plan Hasan's administrative burdens were in no way lessened; indeed, the claims on the N.S.A. and its officers multiplied as the Plan progressed and the challenge to the community intensified. At the Teaching Conference of February 1946, a turning-point for the Plan when the nine goal towns of the Initial Phase were chosen, the N.S.A. session lifted the friends to a “realm of dedication and spiritual resolution, which was immeasurably reinforced by Hasan Balyuzi's inspired message”. There are reports of his speaking in Northampton, Torquay, Exeter, Leeds, and he is on the 'honour roll' of travelling teachers, participating fully in the Summer Schools which were so crucial to winning the Plan, and chairing the 1949 Teaching Conference, attended by Mrs. Amelia Collins, when “the very room seemed to vibrate with the power of the Cause”. And then, following a year of deep anxiety, at the victory Convention of 1950 “our dear, perennial Hasan Balyuzi read the cable, and so the whole tone of Convention was set”. HEART FLOODED JOY were the Guardian's opening words; it was a moment no one present will ever forget.
Never one to pause in his compelling vision of the ultimate triumph of the Faith, the Guardian in this same message called on the British community to “BRACE ITSELF EMBARK AFTER ONE YEAR RESPITE YET ANOTHER HISTORIC UNDERTAKING”, and he sketched the outlines of the Two Year Plan or African Campaign. It was the first stage in the Divine Plan in which several National Assemblies would march together, and the British N.S.A.'s trust was to be “the consultative body for all African territories” with whom “the other National Assemblies should keep in close touch...” The time was indeed short until the centenary in 1953 of the birth of Baha'u'llah's prophetic mission in the Siyah-Chal. Yet despite the brevity of the Two Year Plan it was laden with unimagined significances, first indicated by Shoghi Effendi on 16 January 1951 when in four score words he unveiled the events of the next thirty years and far beyond.
The African Teaching Conference, in which 123 African Baha'is of some thirty tribes participated with many other believers, was the first of four Intercontinental Conferences convened in 1953. It was the British N.S.A.'s responsibility to plan it, in co-operation with the five other National Assemblies of the Plan, and its chairman's responsibility to convene it. In the event, Hasan and John and Dorothy Ferraby, all N.S.A. officers, attended this unique Conference which, with the three to follow, launched the “FATELADEN, SOUL-STIRRING, DECADE-LONG, WORLDEMBRACING SPIRITUAL CRUSADE” known as the Ten Year Plan. It was Hasan's first mission overseas, during which he presided over all sessions, spoke at the public meeting in Makerere University College, and participated in the two consultations of the N.S.A. representatives with the Hands of the Cause.
Once again the Guardian, in his long cablegram to the 1953 British Baha'i Convention, after warmly congratulating the delegates “ON MAGNIFICENT VICTORIES ACHIEVED AFRICAN CONTINENT EXCEEDING HIGHEST HOPES”, announced his forward plans for the “TRIUMPHANT RICHLY BLESSED BRITISH NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY [to] PARTICIPATE ELEVEN SISTER NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES EAST WEST IMPENDING WORLD SPIRITUAL CRUSADE...” Their fourteen areas of responsibility beyond their “ISLAND HOME” were breathtaking, but without hesitation the Convention pledged “TOTAL DEDICATION CONSECRATION UNWAVERING SERVICE CONFIDENT DIVINE HOSTS WILL REINFORCE OUR EFFORTS IN PROPORTION OUR STEADFASTNESS COVENANT.”
We are grateful to the Hand of the Cause Dr. Ugo Giachery for a description of Hasan at this time:
“The first time I met him was in 1953 at the Stockholm Conference; he was young, elegant, soft-spoken, gentle and graceful. His luxuriant black hair enhanced the handsomeness of his countenance; to me he appeared the embodiment of the perfect Persian aristocrat. His linguistic ability was truly superb... In Stockholm he was happy and exuberant, and Angeline and I became his good friends.”
Hasan carried great responsibilities in the World Crusade for, apart from his chairmanship of the N.S.A. during the first seven years, he served on five national committees including chairmanship (1953-1957) of the European and Asian Teaching Committee which had under its wing the Knights of Baha'u'llah opening seven European goals and consolidation of the Faith in Eire and Hong Kong. Barbara Lewis, its secretary, recalls Hasan's chairmanship:
“I remember… how much I learnt about Baha'i affairs, and how to handle them, from his loving and wise direction of the Committee... He was, I felt, a man of great stature, and of outstanding qualities, and these he brought to bear in his guidance to the Committee during consultation about the well-being of those Knights of Baha'u'llah with whom we were concerned ... His has been a lasting influence on me throughout the thirty years I've been a Baha'i.”
One ought to remember as well his young family of five sons, the eldest eleven when the Ten Year Plan began. And for almost seventeen years he accepted into his home and care his young relative, Farhang Afnan. “From the moment when I first saw him [September 1951), I was enraptured by his kindness, gentleness and understanding. As time passed, I came to realise more and more what a unique person he was ... He was like a many faceted precious jewel.”
The first year of the Crusade elicited an expression of the Guardian's pride in the British community's “RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS”; all their overseas goals had been filled and their Local Assemblies at home maintained. At the same time a strenuous search was being pursued for a National Haziratu’l-Quds in London. Over thirty properties were considered and many viewed before success, hailed by the Guardian as a “HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENT”. (16 October 1954) Hasan and two Hands of the Cause, Dr. Grossmann and Mr. Ioas, spoke during the Teaching Conference and Dedication held on 15 January 1955.
Hasan's next mission overseas occurred at Ridvan 1956 when as N.S.A. chairman he convened in Kampala, Uganda, the first Convention of the Baha'is of Central and East Africa, meeting for the election of their own Regional Spiritual Assembly only five years after the inception of the African Campaign. “My heart brims with joy and my soul is uplifted with thankfulness”, were the Guardian's words as he greeted the four African Conventions, paying a “warm and heartfelt tribute” to all who had contributed to “so colossal an enterprise”, including the members of the six National Assemblies supporting the work, and appealing to them “not to abandon these fledgling African Baha'i communities…”
Hasan performed other services in Kampala, including an introductory talk for the viewing of the cloak of Baha'u'llah, a press interview and radio broadcast. The following week-end in Leicester he described to the British Convention the exciting events of the African Convention, the “staunchness and devotion” of the African Baha'is, the tremendous sacrifices of the pioneers, and some of the challenging problems confronting the new Regional Assembly. He had promised to raise their cry for assistance, and this he did most movingly in Leicester.
Ever since the appointment of the first contingent of the Hands of the Cause in December 1951, the British Baha'is had received the blessing and guidance of their own “DEARLY LOVED MUCH ADMIRED GREATLY GIFTED OUTSTANDING HAND CAUSE GEORGE TOWNSHEND”, thus extolled by the Guardian on the occasion of his death in March 1957. It was only five months later, in his last major letter to the National Assembly, that intriguing reference was made to their “future Hands”, a puzzle soon resolved in his message to the Baha'i world, October 1957, in which eight more Hands were appointed. They included the chairman and secretary of the British National Assembly, Hasan Balyuzi, “representing the Afnan”, and John Ferraby. In reply to the N.S.A.'s cable of gratitude came these final words of the beloved Guardian to the British friends: “CONFIDENT BRITISH COMMUNITY RICHLY DESERVES NEW HONOUR. SHOGHI. (11 October 1957)
III. The Hand of the Cause
The following afternoon Hasan and Dr. Giachery accompanied her “to inspect possible sites for the grave... within an hour's journey from London”. At twilight they found the spot we know, “then proceeded to the undertaker's, to choose a suitable casket for the precious remains of the beloved Guardian”.
Stunned, bewildered, overwhelmed at this discovery that no Will had been left, no heir appointed, the Hands had no choice but to accept the fate which had befallen them. As “Chief Stewards” they must guide the Baha'is of the world for almost six years in the knowledge that they were bereft of infallible divine guidance until the Universal House of Justice could be brought into being. For a week, in session in the Mansion, they considered this situation. During this time the two Hands of the Cause, Hasan Balyuzi and Abu'l-Qasim Faizi, alternated in translating their consultations, in itself a wearying task for men already bowed by the events just past. The outcome of their deliberations was reported in a Proclamation which outlined a number of actions including the constitution of “a body of nine Hands to serve at the Baha'i World Centre” whom they later designated “the Custodians of the Baha'i World Faith”; among the nine was Hasan Balyuzi.
The imprint of these three weeks on Hasan has been noted by Dr. Giachery, referring to his elevation to the rank of a Hand of the Cause of God. “His exultation, alas, was of very short duration. Twenty days later, the sudden demise of Shoghi Effendi dealt him a deadly blow, from which he never recovered.” It was expected that Hasan, after settling his affairs in London, would come to Haifa to pursue this new and weighty responsibility, and preparation was made for him to share a room near the gate of the Master's House with his dear and old friend, Abu'l-Qasim Faizi, but at the last minute he was unable to return. He consulted his fellow Hands at the 1958 Conclave, hoping to find a solution to personal problems which prevented his service. It would seem that no path opened, for his replacement was announced in November 1959, but he continued as an alternate Hand in the Holy Land, spending weeks, sometimes months, in Haifa. Perhaps his outstanding contribution was in the preparation of archives for removal to the International Archives Building, when he assisted Ruhiyyih Khanum for several months in 1959 and 1961.
Though work may have filled their days in Haifa, nights at the Eastern Pilgrim House were lightened by Hasan's humour. He would quote a Persian expression and then laugh and laugh, Mr. Furutan recalled; while Mrs. Furutan described him as “such a delightful man”, recounting stories of Persia at table; he was “really wonderful”.
He also attended the annual Conclaves of the Hands of the Cause at the World Centre, including the one in 1963 which opened in Haifa in April before the election of the Universal House of Justice and closed in London in the week following the World Congress. As in 1957 he translated a great part of the sessions.
From the hour of his appointment as Hand of the Cause, he devoted his energies to the successful consummation of the Guardian's Crusade, then nearly half-way to its close. “There is much that only the future can reveal,” he wrote on his return from the first Conclave. “But still through this dark night of our souls, there beams powerful and luminous as ever, the floodlight of the Guardian's guidance… He has left us all that we need to carry us to the ‘Most Great Jubilee’ , and beyond to the day where once again the gates of Divine guidance will be opened and the Universal House of Justice… will come to be.” And he added this sentence, truly a key to his motivation as a Baha'i, frequently mentioned by him and observed by others over the years: “If only we live the words of the Master's prayer, Make me as dust in the pathway of Thy loved ones, our victory is secure.” (Baha'i Journal, January 1958)
Within a week after receipt in Britain of the Proclamation of the Hands, Hasan met representatives from all Local Assemblies and major national committees in the Haziratu'l-Quds to explain the situation in the Faith, and did so again in January at the Annual Teaching Conference in Leeds when his talk “was moving beyond the power of words to describe”. (Baha'i Journal, February 1958) He attended the opening of the Baha'i Centre in Leicester in mid-February, spoke at weekend schools in Manchester, Cambridge and Brighton, and was elected an officer of Convention at Ridvan and once again to the National Spiritual Assembly.
Meanwhile, a Conference of the European Hands with their two Auxiliary Boards (the Protection Board but recently formed) was held in Berne in February 1958. For Hasan it was the first of ten such Conferences he attended between 1958 and June 1964, always contributing much wise and practical advice and sharing chairmanship with his fellow Hands. Concerning these Conferences, which often included members of the European National Spiritual Assemblies, the International Baha'i Council noted their “immense value to the work on that continent… the experience of a number of Baha'i institutions consulting together in this way for the service of the Cause and their mutual help, is unforgettably moving.” (Baha'i Journal , November 1961) Two of the Conferences coincided with greater events: the Frankfurt International Teaching Conference in July 1958 and the laying of the cornerstone of the European Temple in November 1960. Hasan participated in both events, so intimately related to the vision and instructions of the Guardian.
“His love for the Guardian was extraordinary,” Mr. Furutan has said of his fellow Hand. “He was always speaking of him, quoting him. His main theme, when I was with him, was the Guardian.” And so it was at the close of the Frankfurt Conference when Hasan, with the other Hands of the Cause, bade farewell to the believers. “What more can I say? There are many things I do not know, but one thing I do know. Now is the time to show our faithfulness to our beloved Guardian.”
Hasan's personal relationship with Auxiliary Board members in the British Isles, as a European Hand of the Cause, must also be mentioned. From the experience of two such members, it can be said that he was prompt and business-like in replying to their reports, shared these with his fellow Hands and took action as needed, dealt with their needs whether financial or for guidance, always encouraged them, trusted their judgement, and wrote in an unassuming spirit, at times signing himself “Gratefully and lovingly in His Fellowship”.
Yet another aspect of Hasan's international service was his journey in April 1961 to Ecuador and Peru, where he represented the World Centre at the first Conventions of their national Baha'i communities. A report from Peru expressed gratitude for his “patient explanations, his dignified, loving manner and wonderful sense of humour…” (Baha'i News, no. 364, p. 4) Following the first elections of these National Spiritual Assemblies, Hasan went north to cross Canada during May. Here, in addition to meeting the friends, he visited a number of Indian Reserves, including Indians of Ontario, the Poorman Reserve in Saskatchewan where he was honoured by a pow-wow, the Muscowpetung Reserve, the Peigan Reserve in Alberta, and Indians of British Columbia. His talks were “simple and direct”, appealing “to the hearts of the many who came to hear him”. (ibid . no. 366, p. 9) Later he described these meetings as “very wonderful”, commending to British Baha'is the initiative of individuals upon whom “so much depends”, and expressing his confidence in the rapid acceptance of the Faith by Indians.
Again in 1962 Han attended first National Conventions, this time in Holland and Denmark, as representative of the World Centre.
Were one to analyse, year by year, Hasan's travels to three continents in his first six years as a Hand of the Cause, and couple his schedule with one detailing his continuous activities within the British Isles in accordance with his habitual pattern in past decades, his perseverance in service to the Guardian's Crusade would stand out brilliantly. Records show his attendance at the annual Teaching Conferences of 1959, 1960 and 1962; his visits in June and July 1960 to Bangor (Northern Ireland), Edinburgh and Manchester and his meeting with Baha'is of the Southern Region; his stirring review at the 1960 Convention of British Baha'i history as bearing on present responsibilities; his course on the Covenant at the Harlech Summer School of 1960 when, with the Hand of the Cause Adelbert Muhlschlegel “their radiant personalities filled our days”; his address for the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Master's visit to England at the National Celebration in London , September 1961, sharing the platform with the Hand of the Cause Leroy Ioas; a similar Celebration in Edinburgh in January 1963 of 'Abdu'l-Baha's visit there, addressed by Hasan and Dr. Muhlschlegel; and a number of important messages which he wrote to the British Baha'is in these years.
Sadly, by 1960 the problem of recurring ill health frequently appears. For four months, March to June 1962, he was unable to meet the National Assembly as was his wont, following his resignation from this body in February 1960 in order better to contribute to the development of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause of God, one of the goals of the Ten Year Crusade. In August 1962 he entered hospital for an operation on his right shoulder, and from 1963 he had to contend repeatedly with various kinds of illness and injury which greatly taxed his strength. Yet some of his finest contributions occurred in these years.
Hasan had served for twenty-seven continuous years as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly and for seventeen years as its chairman, seven of these during the exacting claims of the World Crusade. To the regret but with the affection and gratitude of his fellow members, “who felt truly bereft at losing him”, he had withdrawn from the Assembly, offering however to consult with them as a Hand whenever he was in England. This he did when his health permitted, often discussing ten or twelve subjects at a meeting, or when absent sending his suggestions. In addition, he was ever ready to guide and advise the Assembly officers between meetings. In its 1962 report to Convention, the N.S.A. wrote that it “has had the benefit of numerous consultations with Hasan Balyuzi and is deeply grateful to him for keeping so closely in touch with the work of the British Community”. Their close association with him is also mentioned in 1964, 1966, 1967 and 1969.
Counsellor Betty Reed, who became National Secretary in January 1961, has written: “For there were two aspects of Hasan's assistance; one was his constant help to the National Assembly, and the other his invaluable guidance and advice to the Officers ... He followed the work of the National Assembly carefully, and went to considerable trouble to help keep the Assembly on course… Hasan had taught us to study every single word in Shoghi Effendi's letters… and the National Assembly continued to give the same close attention to the letters of the Universal House of Justice, which was reflected in the Assembly's direction of the Nine Year Plan…” Mrs. Reed cites, in particular, as does John Long, then Chairman of the N.S.A., Hasan's guidance during the imprisonment of Baha'is in Morocco, when “the Officers were constantly in touch” with him, as well as his encouragement to give priority to pioneering overseas despite needs on the Home Front and this was done both for Europe in 1960 and Australia in 1961. And she continues. “… reflections over the last thirteen years of travel in Europe have convinced me of the great debt the British Community owes to Hasan Balyuzi. We came through the Six Year Plan, the Africa Campaign, the Ten Year Crusade, and the Nine Year Plan in one steady, continuous upward curve, never doubting that goals set by the beloved Guardian or the Universal House of Justice could be won - we didn't talk about the Power of Baha'u’llah, we just experienced it, thought it a natural Baha'i phenomenon, and that we had learned from Hasan.'”.
Counsellor Dorothy Ferraby, also an officer of the National Spiritual Assembly for many years until she joined her husband, the Hand of the Cause John Ferraby, in Haifa in 1960, came to the same conclusion after more than a quarter of a century in joint service with Hasan: “We worked together, he as chairman and I as secretary of the Youth Group. Later we worked together closely and harmoniously on the London Assembly and the National Assembly… In all my association with him he was a tremendous support, a wise guide and counsellor about whatever we were involved in. Nobody will ever be able to estimate how much the Faith in England owes to him.”
Indeed, for many years he was “rained under”, in his own words, by the sheer volume of his correspondence, not only with institutions of the Faith but with the many believers who turned to him whether in the pursuit of their services to Baha'u'llah, or in test, difficulty or sorrow. His understanding, wise counsel and sympathy knew no bounds.
For most Baha is their last sight of Hasan Balyuzi was in 1963, for after the World Congress in the Royal Albert Hall he rarely went among them. The beloved Guardian's Crusade seemed to have taken all his strength. Few will forget his closing address in the first session of the Congress and his opening triumphant words from the Master, O Baha’u’llah, What hast Thou done? O Baha’u’llah, May my life be sacrificed for Thee! In the compass of this one talk he recalled the entire history of the Faith, held out the vision of even greater crusades to come, and closed by extolling the Crusade whose victory the World Congress celebrated as most precious of all, for it was “launched by our beloved Shoghi Effendi”.
IV. Scholar and Writer
From the time of his appointment as a Hand of the Cause in October 1957
Hasan had devoted himself to this high calling, bearing as well until Ridvan
1960 a great and continuous responsibility as chairman of the National
Spiritual Assembly during the intensive activities of the Ten Year Crusade.
With his fellow Hands he had borne the crushing blow of the death of the
Guardian, followed by the heart-numbing shock that he had left no heir. He had
served for the first two years thereafter as one of the nine Custodians of the
Faith at the World Centre, and had travelled to Haifa whenever the claims of
his family permitted. He had made other trips to Haifa to assist with the
development of the International Archives, and had attended the annual
Conclaves of the Hands at Bahji. He had participated as a Hand in the European
Conferences with Board members and National Spiritual Assemblies, unstintingly
sharing his knowledge and wisdom and guiding, with other Hands, the proceedings
of these important gatherings. He had represented the World Centre in 1961 and
1962 at the first Conventions in Ecuador, Peru, Holland and Denmark, and had
travelled across Canada especially visiting Indian Reserves. He had been
present in 1963 at the first World Convention in Haifa and in London a few days
later had addressed the opening session of the World Congress. He had continued
to pour out his love and guidance to the British Baha'i Community and had
consulted frequently with their National Assembly.
But these six crowded years had taken their toll. Exhausted, beset by dire financial problems, suffering almost continuous physical pain and mental and spiritual stress, always sensitive to the sufferings of others and to negative influences affecting the Faith, he could no longer endure the problems with which as a Hand of the Cause, he was perpetually assailed. His only recourse in the period following the World Congress was to close the door on such problems, attend no more gatherings whether in Britain, Europe or Haifa, leave his letters unanswered and at times unopened, and receive but few of those who sought to meet him. [1] Such a drastic course, although any other was beyond his strength, filled his mind with forebodings of guilt for his wasted days and abdication of his responsibilities as a Hand. Yet, all unrecognized, another path was about to open before him, another way of service as a Hand which the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha had delineated: “to promote learning…”
As long ago as June 1938 his short biography of Baha'u'llah had been published, attracting the attention of Shoghi Effendi who expressed his hope “that the two companion essays on the Bab and the Master… will be soon completed… , as he feels they can be of a valuable help to the friends in their teaching work”. (Unfolding Destiny , p. 122)
Hasan has described how he “set about organizing an outline for a book on the life of 'Abdu'l-Baha” and why this project was halted and “not resumed until more than a score of years had passed”. (Foreword to 'Abdu'l-Baha) It was in 1960 that he took up this work again with the idea of a trilogy on the three Central Figures of the Faith. His original booklet, surely a literary gem, was amplified with an invaluable essay on the Manifestations of God and published at Ridvan 1963 as Baha’u’llah, the first of his trilogy. Perforce the project had suffered postponement in those overburdened years as the World Crusade drew to a close, and even after the Crusade had ended and his yearning to write his biography of the Master filled him with a kind of desperation, it was not until 1965 that he turned his full attention to writing.
His last decade would see the publication of five major literary works in English and he would leave as well several manuscripts for posthumous publication. He had found at last, after those testing months when he felt himself burned out and impotent, yet never yielding his trust in Baha'u'llah's mercy and succour, a career for which all his study, experience and devotion had prepared him. From 1965 onwards his labours were ceaseless and his achievements enriched the literature of the Faith, inspired youthful Baha'i scholars, and increased the knowledge of all who turned to his books.
Although he lived with pain to the end - angina, hiatus hernia and high blood pressure in his last five years - ill health endowed him with the need for retirement from public activities and gave him the privacy a writer requires. In 1971 and 1973, upon receiving signed copies of 'Abdu'l-Baha and the Báb, respectively, the Universal House of Justice addressed to Hasan two letters in which he “took great pleasure”, being “enormously grateful” for their support and encouragement. (Molly BalyUzi through their son Robert) “Your book is a splendid addition to the literature of the Cause”, they wrote, “and eloquent testimony to your wisdom in concentrating on such scholarly activity.” (5 December 1971) And later, “We sincerely hope that nothing will prevent you from continuing your invaluable and devoted labours, whose results are of such infinite value in increasing the knowledge and deepening the understanding of the believers.” (22 April 1973)
Hasan has stated that the delay in completing the trilogy was the result of his strong conviction “that Professor Edward Granville Browne's connections with the Faith of the Báb and Baha'u'llah had to be explored and explained”. His first conception was to include this in his life of 'Abdu'l-Baha, but realizing “that a diversion of that magnitude was inappropriate” he prepared this material for separate publication, rewriting it three times, and it was published in 1970. The importance of this scholarly work, proving its value from the first, may well be fully recognized only in future, for, in the words of the Universal House of Justice, it “will surely go a long way to fulfil the beloved Guardian's expressed wish that ‘... the mind of the intellectual world be freed of these wrong conceptions’". (8 October 1969)
In 1977 Hasan completed a Persian manuscript on the same theme, of greater length, quoting the text of the Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Baha, and copied in his own handwriting. (Its publication has been postponed because of recent events in Iran.)
Hasan's method of writing, he has said, was to work on two or three books at the same time, thereby relieving the fatigue of long hours of concentration on a single manuscript. Often it was his habit to continue far into the night, and so he would turn for refreshment from writing, to research, to reading for background. It is probable that his mind dwelt on the work in hand almost constantly. He was meticulous in assembling his materials, was known to spend three days in the determination of a single date, and gave most careful thought to the transliteration of Persian, Arabic and Turkish names whose pronunciation could vary according to region. All his books were submitted in his own handwriting, and even quotations were copied by hand to ensure that his choice of deletions would be followed.
From the very beginning he had the invaluable assistance of his cousin, Abu'l-Qasim Afnan, Custodian of the House of the Báb, whose “very generous aid in my research” Hasan acknowledged in his book on E. G. Browne. His diligence in obtaining and delivering materials to Hasan for each of his books is beyond all praise, as illustrated by this extract from a 1974 letter from Hasan: 'Afnan has brought me masses of photostats and original documents… there is enough material to make the book on the Báb double its present size, and for a massive book on the Life of Baha'u'llah.”
In his later years it was Hasan 's dream to have a research assistant, one who could spend part of each day with him. This was not to be, but instead from 1972 a young scholar and medical student, Moojan Momen, served him with great devotion in such time as he could spare. His “assiduous and able research” was acknowledged by Hasan with profound gratitude in his preface to Baha'u'llah, The King of Glory; his “help and assistance to me have been of inestimable value”. By appointing him one of his three Literary Executors and Trustees of the Afnan Library, Hasan demonstrated his confidence in Dr. Momen.
Hasan's knowledge of the Faith, of Persian history, literature and culture, of nineteenth and twentieth-century Iran and its leading figures, and of current developments in the world, whether political, artistic or literary, was remarkable. Here are a few passages from a letter from Dr. Iraj Ayman: although “not personally known to the rank and file of the friends in Iran… [he] was much better known and respected amongst upper class intelligentsia, especially scholars and intellectuals either educated in England or engaged in Iranian studies. He was regarded as an authority… a leading scholar… Sitting in London he was more informed and well-versed in Persian studies than any other scholar I knew…, His fluency in Persian, English, Arabic and French as well as familiarity with some other languages had made him… unique amongst orientalists… If he is not yet openly acknowledged as a leading figure in contemporary Persian literature it is only because he was a well-known and active Baha'i…”
Even while engaged in his English writing, three of his books in Persian were published in Iran: The Story of Three Sisters (the Brontes), Half-Brothers (a collection of short stories translated from English), and Words in English Derived from Persian, in which “he traced the roots of more than seven hundred English words”. (Iraj Ayman; titles translated by Mr. Balyuzi)
“You know better than I”, wrote Farhang Afnan, “what an encyclopaedic mind he had… Whatever statement he made, he could substantiate it by not one but several independent and reputable sources.” And the Hand of the Cause A. A. Furutan has said, “Even when I met him in London at the end of his life, he was speaking of Iranians who were writing against the Faith, and I saw how wide was his knowledge of books published. But he made no mention of his own writings - so humble, modest and brilliant he was.”
Some have wondered why, after his trilogy was completed in 1973 and despite his plan for four volumes presenting the life and times of Baha'u'llah in their historical setting both in Iran and in the world at large, he should first write a volume entitled Muhammad and the Course of Islam (1976). The closing paragraph of this book shows how essential it was as a bridge to the “vast study” he was contemplating. More than this, an understanding of Islam based on full recognition of “the God-given mission of Muhammad” and free of sectarian bias, he felt to be an essential background for study of the Baha'i Faith. And so he “produced a monumental work on Islam which will eclipse most of the books written on this subject” (Professor Zeine N. Zeine) – “a subject which has never really received from western scholars and writers the objective and accurate treatment it deserves”. (The Hand of the Cause Abu'l-Qasim Faizi)
In the spring of 1979, when Hasan was striving to complete the first volume of his ambitious project, he said to a visitor, “I hope that I will live long enough to finish it.” (0. Z. Whitehead) It had been a daunting undertaking during the previous four years as his materials accumulated and he laboured with utmost care to bring into being this great and unique work. No other comprehensive biography of Baha'u'llah, whether in English or Persian, has so far been achieved. The writer recalls the enthusiastic comment of the Hand of the Cause Paul Haney in April 1980, on reading the published Baha'u'llah, The King of Glory: It's “great, really great… There will never be anything like it.”
To study the work of Hasan Balyuzi is to realize his central motivation: to promote the highest interests of the Revelation of Baha'u'llah, and to do so with truth and dignity in a manner befitting its indescribably high station. That he did not complete all he had in mind is a loss for which we have no compensation. But, in the words of the Hand of the Cause Dr. Ugo Giachery, his “gem-like books will remain among the most outstanding writings to enlighten the paths of seekers for centuries to come”.
A year after Hasan's passing, a brief but moving essay by him entitled Khadijih Bagum, The Wife of the Báb, was published to commemorate this first anniversary, and in a foreword his son Robert described “his legacy to the Baha'i World”, his own books and documents as the nucleus of the Afnan Library which, when established, should be open “to all students and scholars wishing to research the history of the Faith”. It was “his most dear wish: that his work should continue and that the study of the history of the Faith should grow to its recognition as a major scholastic discipline”. Already this hope has been recognized in the Hasan Balyuzi Lectureship founded in 1980 by the Canadian Association for Baha'i Studies, for which distinguished Baha'is have addressed the Annual Conferences of the past four years.
During the last months of Hasan's life, following a time in hospital in October 1979 after a heart attack, he seemed to become the Hasan we remembered, frail but as one rejuvenated. He had already written the major part of the second volume of his great project and was working on the third. On 4 November he had visited, after long absence, the grave of the beloved Guardian and a photograph at its gate records his happiness. On 26 November, having expressed a wish to do so, he spoke to Baha'i friends at the Haziratu'l-Quds on a theme close to his heart – “The Power of the Covenant” - hoping “to be with you more often, my great privilege”. (This beautiful talk is recorded on tape.)
He had also conceived, with utmost longing, a plan to carry to the Threshold of the Shrine of Baha'u'llah a leather-bound copy of his labour of love and praise for the One to Whom he had dedicated his life so long before. The first copy reached England early in February 1980, but instead of seeing it with his own eyes he had it delivered for this special binding. He was never to see it, for on 12 February, as the result of a stroke in the morning hours, he passed away quietly in his sleep. It fell to his son Robert to complete this precious mission in March, which he performed in deep humility, and now the volume is preserved in the International Baha'i Archives.
On 15 February in the chapel of the New Southgate Cemetery, and then beside his grave near that of his beloved Guardian, large numbers of his family and friends paid their final tribute. “His life of service and spiritual obedience and sacrifices remains an effulgent example to emulate .. Dear, dear Hasan… In time, all humanity will treasure your memory."[2]
There are certain pillars which have been established as the unshakeable supports of the Faith of God. The mightiest of these is learning and the use of the mind, the expansion of consciousness, and insight into the realities of the universe and the hidden mysteries of Almighty God. ('Abdu'l-Baha) [3]
- Marion Hofman (The Baha’i World 1979-1983)
[1] He did, however, continue to guide the National Spiritual Assembly and Board members and attended two sessions of the European Conference of the Hands with their Boards in London, June 1964
[2] This and the previous quotations by the Hand of the Cause Dr. Ugo
Giachery are from an Appreciation, 23 October 1983.
[3] Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha
