The Hands of the Cause of God

Fifty people in the history of the Bahá'í Faith were designated as Hands of the Cause of God. Thirty-six served as Hands while alive and fourteen were granted the station posthumously. Only Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi had authority to designate Hands. They have been the highest-ranking helpers of the Central Authority of the Faith, and for five and one-half harrowing years kept the Faith intact during the transition between the Guardianship and the election of the first Universal House of Justice. The master summed up the Hands' duties thus: "...to diffuse the Divine Fragrances, to edify the souls of men, to promote learning, to improve the character of all men and to be, at all times and under all conditions, sanctified and detached from earthly things."
Appointed by Bahá'u'lláh, 1886 - 1889
The Blessed Beauty chose four men to assist with special tasks related to spreading the Faith and consolidating the Bahá'í community:


Ibn-i-Abhar (Mízá Muhammad-Taqí)

Ibn-i-Asdaq (Mírzá 'Alí-Muhammad)

Hájí Ákhúnd (Mullá 'Alí-Akbar-Sháh-mírzádí)

Hájí Mírzá Hasan-i-Adib
All four were fearless teachers of the Bahá'í Faith, suffering imprisonment and other persecutions for the Cause. After Bahá'u'lláh's passing, 'Abdu'l-Bahá called on those Hands to organize a Central Spritual Assembly in Tehran, Iran, and to help strengthen the friends in the Covenant.

Eulogized as Hands by 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
In His book Memorials of the Faithful, the Master named four additional men posthumously as Hands:


Ismu'lláhu'l-Asdaq (Mullá Sádiq-i-Muqaddas-i-Khurásáni)

Nabíl-i-Akbar (Muhammad-i-Qa'iní)

Shaykh Muhammad-Ridáy-i-Yazdí

Varqá (Mírzá 'Alí-Muhammad)
All four were fearless teachers of the Bahá'í Faith, suffering imprisonment and other persecutions. Varqá attained martyrdom.

Eulogized as Hands by Shoghi Effendi, 1928 - 1954
In various letters, the Guardian paid tribute to ten people after their deaths as Hands of the Cause:


Hájí Amín (Abu'l-Hasan-i-Ardikání) (Iran)

John E. Esselmont (Britain)

Keith Ransom-Kehler (U.S., Iran)

Martha L. Root (U.S.)

Mustafáy-i-Rúmí (Iraq, India, Burma)

'Abdu'l-Jalíl Bey Sa'ad (Egypt)

Muhammad Taqí Isfahání (Iran)

Louis G. Gregory (U.S.)

Roy C. Wilhelm (U.S.)

J. H. Hyde Dunn (Britain, U.S., Australia)
Appointed by Shoghi Effendi, 1951 - 1957
Under the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Guardian appointed thirty-two hands of the Cause to be leaders in propogation of the Bahá'í Teachings and, starting in 1957, also in defense of the Covenant. Amelia Collins' 1946 appointment as a Hand was not made public until 1951. Twenty-seven appointments were announced in three contingents. Five died within the Guardian's lifetime; new Hands were named to replace each of them.

First contingent, 1951


Dorothy Beecher Baker (U.S.)

Amelia E. Collins (U.S.)

'Alí-Akbar Furútan (Iran, Russia, Holy Land)

Ugo Giachery (Italy, U.S., Monaco, Samoa)

Hermann Grossmann (Germany)

Horace H. Holley (U.S.)

Leroy C. Ioas (U.S., Holy Land)

W. Sutherland Maxwell (Canada, Holy Land)

C. Mason Remey (U.S., Holy Land)

Tarázu'lláh Samandarí (Iran)

George Townshend (Ireland)

Valíyu'lláh Varqá (Iran)
Second contingent, 1952


Shu'á'u'lláh 'Alá'í (Iran, France, U.S.)

Músá Banání (Iran, Uganda)

Clara Dunn (Britain, U.S., Australia)

Zikrullah Khadem (Iran, U.S.)

Adelbert Mühlshlegel (Germany, Switzerland, Greece)

Siegfried Schopflocher (Germany, Canada)

Corinne Knight True (U.S.)
Individual appointments, 1952 - 1957


Amatu'l Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum (Canada, Holy Land)

Jalál Kházeh (Iran)

Paul E. Haney (U.S., Holy Land)

'Alí-Muhammad Varqá (Iran, Canada, Holy Land)

Agnes B. Alexander (Hawaii, Japan)
Third contingent, 1957


Hasan M. Balyúzí (Iran, Britain)

Abu'l-Qásim Faizi (Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Holy Land)

H. Collis Featherstone (Australia)

John G. Ferraby (Britain)

Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir (Iran, Indonesia)

Enoch Olinga (Uganda, Cameroon)

John Robarts (Canada)

William Sears (U.S., South Africa)
Pivotal Developments

November 1957: The Guardian suddenly passed away without naming a successor or leaving a will. Soon the Hands of the Cause of God assumed custodianship of the Faith's global affairs until election of the Universal House of Justice. The Hands stayed faithful to this duty--with one exception.

April 1960: In the most traumatic breach of the Covenant in recent times, Charles Mason Remey declared that he was the second Guardian. As empowered by the Will of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Hands of the Cause rejected Remey's claim and, in July, expelled him from the Faith.

November 1961: A conclave of the Hands of the Cause issued a call for the first election of the Universal House of Justice to be held during Ridván 1963. The Hands asked to be exempted from election.

1963 - 1964: The Universal House of Justice issued statements that neither a second Guardian nor any more Hands of the Cause of God could be appointed.

1968 and 1973: Ensuring that all the Hands' functions are carried out into the future, the Universal House of Justice created the Institution of the Counselors. First, a Board of Counselors was formed on each continent, then the International Teaching Center was established in Haifa as a central authority for this institution.

At present: The last living Hand of the Cause of God is 'Alí Muhammad Varqá, who also serves as Trustee of Huqúqu'lláh. He is also the only third-generation Hand of the Cause.

Sources: Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá; A Basic Bahá'í Chronology, Glenn Cameron; Lights of Fortitude, Barron Harper. This article was originally printed in The American Bahá'í, January 19, 2004, as part of a memoriam for the Hand of the Cause of God 'Alí Akbar Furútan, who passed away on November 26, 2003. Reprinted with permission.