Who here is Baha'i? I got a question about Prophethood of Baha'ullah?

Okay, now I am just wondering, because you say you are successors to Islam.. but isn't it a core belief in Islam that Mohammad was the last prophet sent by God? And so how come Baha'is believe in Prophets that lived after Mohammad, such as Baha'ullah?

Also, do you see the Qur'an, Torah and Bible as all equally holy? How do you take moral guidance from these books when all of them have often conflicting ideas in morality and other social or religious issues? So for example, do you believe in the Qurans support for capital punishment like stoning people to death for things like adultery? But then Jesus completely forbade doing things like that. So how do you kind of reconcile these 3 holy books and their prophets, when they often have very conflicting view points?

But anyway, my main question is about the prophet thing. What is the Baha'i justification for believing in prophets after Mohammad, when in Islam it says there will be no more prophets?

Also, what is the Baha'i Faith's view on Buddha? Is he considered to be a prophet? Buddha believed in a philosophy but it is a philosophy that doesn't really believe in a "God" in the same way that Abrahamic religions such as Islam and the Baha'i Faith believe in. However Buddha was dedicated in spreading goodness in the world..

I was Baha'i...

Not anymore so i dint know... wish I was still Baha'i but I found evidence that god doesn't exist.

Hello,
i am a Baha'i , well the thing is with the seal of the Prophets is that we do agree that Mohammad was last... but last in the Prophetic cycle. A new cycle has begun with the Manifestations of God Baha'u'llah and the Bab. Here is a wonderful website that can answer your question: http://www.bci.org/islam-bahai/SealProphets.htm

Bah?'u'll?h denies the validity of
this concept of finality both in relation to past Dispensations
and to His own. With regard to Muslims, He wrote in the
Kit?b-i-?q?n that the "people of the Qur'?n ... have allowed
the words 'Seal of the Prophets' to veil their eyes", "to obscure their
understanding, and deprive them of the grace of all His manifold
bounties". He affirms that "this theme hath ... been a sore test
unto all mankind", and laments the fate of "those who, clinging
unto these words, have disbelieved in Him Who is their true
Revealer".

(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 243)

We see the Torah, Qur'an and the Bible all equally holy, we believe that all these books were right and morally understandable for that specific time. Their social laws are conflicting, which is quite normal, because everything, the surrounding changes, but the true essence of love and peace remains. Every Messenger of God comes to help and guide the people for a specific time, so for this day and age, we try to abide by the laws of the Kitab-i-Aqdas ( the Most Holiest Book).


Buddha is seen as a Prophet in the Baha'i faith.

Some referred to the teaching of Buddha. 'Abdu'l-Bah? said: The real teaching of Buddha is the same as the teaching of Jesus Christ. The teachings of all the Prophets are the same in character. Now men have changed the teaching. If you look at the present practice of the Buddhist religion, you will see that there is little of the Reality left. Many worship idols although their teaching forbids it.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 63)

The teaching of Buddha was like a young and beautiful child, and now it has become as an old and decrepit man. Like the aged man it cannot see, it cannot hear, it cannot remember anything. Why go so far back? Consider the laws of the Old Testament: the Jews do not follow Moses as their example nor keep his commands. So it is with many other religions.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 63)

I hope i could help you, if you have anymore questions, feel free to contact me!
have a nice day

My friend, Yahoo questions is probably one of the last places to get a full answer to your question. It would be better to meet Baha'is face to face in your town, or go to authoritative websites such as WNW.bahai.org or WNW.bahai.us.

First, the Baha'i Faith considers the great Founders of Religion as "Manifestations of God." In the Qur'an, where Muhammad is termed the "Seal of the Prophets," Muslim theology has mistakenly taken this to mean that no more Divine Messengers or Manifestations will appear. This is clearly incorrect for two reasons. One is that a mere four verses after the "Seal" verse, the Qur'an promises attainment to the divine Presence. Baha'u'llah demonstrates that the only way to attain to the divine Presence is to recognize the Manifestation of God when He appears (please read the Kitab-i-Iqan [Book of Certitude]). Thus, the Qur'an itself testifies that Muhammad is the Seal of the Prophets but not the last Manifestation. The other point is that every Manifestation - as the perfect embodiment of divine attributes - is both the first and the last. Thus Jesus said He was the Alpha an Omega. Likewise, Muhammad said "I am Adam" (the first) and also the "Seal." Just as Christians have taken "No man comet to the Father but by Me" to mean that Jesus is once and for always the only way, likewise Muslims have taken the Seal verse to mean Muhammad is absolutely the last for all time. Baha'u'llah explains that these are incorrect; rather revelation is progressively revealed in different times and places with the correct prescriptions for the time. In each dispensation, the Manifestation for that time is "the only way," "the first and the last."

Of course there are differences in the teachings of each Holy Book, for each Book was revealed as the prescription for specific "illnesses" or problems relating to an era or to specific peoples. Baha'is recognize the Bilbe, Qur'an and Baha'i Writings as having authenticity, but Baha'is also understand that certain specific secondary prescriptions in the Bible and Qur'an have been superseded by the revelation of Baha'u'llah. You ask about the death penalty. The death penalty is only recommended in the Baha'i teachings for murder and arson. Baha'u'llah states that society may choose to impose either death or perpetual imprisonment, but not less. There is not now, nor has there ever been, stoning in the Baha'i Faith.

It is often easy to look at the harshest parts of the Qur'an and compare them with the gentlest parts of the Bible. The teaching of the Qur'an stopped the pagan Arab practice of burying unwanted girl children alive. It gave women rights in court, in marriage and divorce, that women in Arabia had not had previously. The development and application of Islamic law is convoluted; but from a Baha'i perspective, it has been and is being carried out in direct contravention of the principles of the holy Book in which Muslims say they believe. Baha'i law, on the other hand, is applied gradually and made binding only when unity of thought is attained. Much of Baha'i law is for a state of society that we have not reached.

Baha'is believe that Gautama the Buddha was a Manifestation of God. Baha'is also believe that His original teachings have been attenuated over time (Buddhist scriptures weren't written down until many centuries after the Buddha's time). There are complicated reasons for the possibility that Buddha did not say a lot about God - many of them having to do with the opposition to Him by the priestly caste and the distorted notions of God in the various Indian religions.

Again, I urge you to read for yourself - especially the primary texts of the Baha'i Faith such as the Kitab-i-Iqan.