Baha'ism

Practices

Pilgrimage

Baha’ Allah mandated a hajj ‘pilgrimage’ for Baha’i men66 which involves visiting either the house of the Bab in Shiraz or the house of Baha’ Allah in Baghdad and performing a number of rites. Given the difficulties Baha’is face in the Muslim world, the hajj is not currently being performed.67 ‘Abdu’l-Baha included visitation without rites to the tomb of Baha’ Allah as an obligatory pilgrimage for those who are able and can afford it.68

The nine-day or three-day pilgrimage to Haifa, which involves visiting the tomb of Baha’ Allah as well as buildings and shrines associated with the holy figures of the faith, is the form of pilgrimage with which most Baha’is are familiar. Strictly speaking either nine-day or three-day pilgrimages could be performed at any time, although Baha’i authorities in Haifa regulate the pilgrimage season and permission is required. Consequently, the waiting list for the nine-day pilgrimage is long and Baha’is may put their names down many years in advance.69

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References

66Women are exempt but may observe it if they so choose.

67Bahá’u’lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, 1992) 30.

68Bahá’u’lláh, “Synopsis and Codification of the Laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas”, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas 61.

69For one Baha’i’s personal account of pilgrimage see: Heady, Kathleen, A Spiritual Travelogue, 21 Dec. 2002, .

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