House of Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad

When Bahá’u’lláh was exiled to Baghdad, He lived in a the “Most Great House” (Bayt-i-Azam). As recently as 2013, the Universal House of Justice, in a letter to the the Bahai World, that it had been destroyed. The letter said;

“With shattered hearts, we have received news of the destruction of the Most Great House— the House of Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad. While the precise circumstances attending this outrageous violation are as yet unclear, its immediate consequence is without doubt, and must be emphatically stated: The peoples of the world have been robbed of a sanctuary of incalculable sacredness.

So deplorable an act, coming on the eve of the unprecedented worldwide convocation of Bahá’u’lláh’s young followers and their friends, calls to mind that mysterious interplay of crisis and victory through which His indestructible, irrepressible, inexorable purpose will finally be consummated.”

It was in the courtyard of this House that the Shia Kurds, who came to cause trouble, were invited in by Bahá’u’lláh (read the story here). It was also outside this House that the large number of residents of Baghdad had gathered or rather rushed forward from all directions, both friends and strangers, lamenting, crying and grief-stricken, as Bahá’u’lláh was leaving this House as He had, once again been banished.

The picture below shows the floor plan of the second floor of the House.

Floor plan of House of Bahaullah in Baghdad.

 

The blue dot with the dashed lines, show (as the best of my knowledge) where spot from which the picture below is taken. In the picture below, you will see numbers 1, 2 and 3. These correspond to the numbers in the floor plan. Number 1 is where the staircase to the upper floor is. Number 2 is the hallway leading to the room of `Abdu’l-Bahá and number 3 is the bannister in front of the room in which the Blessed Beauty occupied.

House of Bahaullah in Baghdad (after restoration in 1930-ties). The picture is taken from the inner courtyard (where the blue dot is placed on the floor plan).

Number 4 on the image depicting the floor plan of the House, is where they most likely stored their censers. Censer is a type of vessel that is commonly used to burn incents but they vary greatly in size, shape, design and are used for various purposes. It is likely that the censers in the House of Bahá’u’lláh were used for heating or for boiling or keeping boiled water (for tea) hot. Unfortunately, I don’t know much more about what kind and type was used in this House.