Eleven persons successively held the office of Imam, the first being 'Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet.

The majority of the _Sh_i'ihs hold that the twelfth Imam, called by them the Imam Mihdi, disappeared as a child into an underground passage in 329 A.H., and that in the fullness of time he will come forth, overthrow the infidels and inaugurate an era of blessedness.
10 Friday, 28th _Sh_a'ban, 1266 A.H.
11 Pronounced with the accent on the second and fourth syllables, the first syllable being almost mute and both l's distinctly sounded.
12 2nd of Muharram, 1233 A.H.
13 This was early in the year 1853, or nine years after the Bab's Declaration, thus fulfilling certain prophecies of the Bab concerning "the year nine." 14 Pronounced Rizwan.
15 Author of an early history of the Faith, The Dawn-Breakers, Nabil was a participant in some of the scenes he describes and was personally acquainted with many of the early believers.
16 The Aqdas, Kitab-i-Aqdas, The Book of Aqdas, and The Most Holy Book all refer to the same book.
17 In order to bury two of those who died, Baha'u'llah gave His own carpet to be sold for the expenses of their burial, but instead of using this money for that purpose the soldiers appropriate it, and thrust the bodies into a hole in the ground.
18 Jamal-i-Mubarak (lit.

Blessed Beauty) was a title frequently applied to Baha'u'llah by His followers and friends.
19 When asked whether Baha'u'llah had made a special study of Western writings and founded His teachings in accordance with them 'Abdu'l-Baha said that the books of Baha'u'llah, written and printed as long ago as the 1870's, contained the ideals now so familiar to the West, although at that time these ideas had not been printed or thought of in the West.
20 Thursday, 5th Jamadi I, 1260 A.H.
21 The tradition is quoted in a Tablet of Baha'u'llah; see Chapter 5 of this book.
22 It is interesting to compare this story with that of the birth of John the Baptist; see St.Luke's Gospel, Chapter I.
23 In 1969, 139 independent states and 173 significant territories and islands.

(See Epilogue) 24 On the subject of Intercessory Prayer, see Chapter 11.
25 See pp.

261-263 and 272-273 for further elucidations of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice.
26 For further particulars see 'Abdu'l-Baha's published addresses, especially those given in the United States of America.
27 A battle of the Italo-Turkish War which broke out on September 29, 1911.
28 It is of interest that Zamenhof's daughter, Lydia, became an active Baha'i.
29 1868 to 1870.
30 The author wrote this passage in 1919-1920.
31 The same considerations apply to the United Nations Organization.
32 See also section on Treatment of Criminals, pp.