‘Alí-Akbar Furútan (April 29, 1905 - November 26, 2003) was one of the most beloved figures in the Bahá’í world, he influenced thousands of lives through his warmth, humor and wisdom. He carried the rank of Hand of the Cause of God and at the time of his passing was one of only two surviving members of that company. Mr. Furútan was born in Sabzivárí, Iran on April 29, 1905 to Muhamad-Alíy-i-Sabzivárí and Sughrá Furútan. Partly because of the harassment and threats his father received after becoming a Bahá’í, the family moved to Ashkhabad, Russian Turkestan (now part of Turkmenistan), where there was an established Bahá’í community and young ‘Alí could attend a Bahá’í school for boys. Through his years of school and university, he took an active part in the work of the Bahá’í communities of Ashkabad, Baku, Moscow, and elsewhere in Russia. As a young man, Mr. Furútan won a scholarship to the University of Moscow, from which he obtained degrees in education and psychology. Following his graduation in 1930, he was expelled from the Soviet Union in the wave of the government persecution of religion. Despite the circumstances of his departure from the Soviet Union, though, he retained to the end of his life a deep love for the people of that region. After his return to Iran, he married Ataie Azíz-Khurásání in 1931. The two moved to Sayán, where he established two Bahá’í schools - one for girls and one for boys - which enrolled 700 students. He played an even more significant role in the work and administration of the Iranian Bahá’í community, moving to Tehran upon being elected to the National Spiritual Assembly in 1933. He also served on the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tehran, and was often secretary of both bodies. During Mr. Furútans first pilgrimage to Haifa in 1941, Shoghi Effendi commended him on the excellence of his work on both Assemblies and said, your services are now local and national, and they will become international in the future.[1] After his relocation to Tehran, Mr. Furútan was appointed as principle of the Tabíyat School for Boys, only to see it and other Bahá’í schools close soon after by order of the Pahlavi government at the instigation of fanatical Islamic elements in the country. In 1946 the Iranian Radio and Broadcasting Service invited him to give a series of lectures on childrens education, the text of which were published as Essays on Education and subsequently in English as Mothers, Fathers and Children. he also wrote other books on the Faith, including books for children, which have been translated into several languages. His memoirs, titled Hakáyat-i-Dil (The Story of My Heart), were published in Persian and English. Of his appointment as a Hand of the Cause in 1951 he wrote, [it was] a momentous transformation in my spiritual life and said, I have never been able to offer enough gratitude at the Holy Threshold for bestowing on me such an honor.[1] Though the beginning of the Ten Year Crusade in 1953 brought a substantial increase in his duties for the Faith, he bore them with love and humility. During that year he traveled constantly and attended all four of the Intercontinental Bahá’í Conferences. His 24 years as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran came to a close in 1957, when, after the passing of Shoghi Effendi, he was one of the nine Hands of the Cause selected to reside in the Holy Land, pending the election of the Universal House of Justice. He remained a resident in the Holy Land following the House of Justices election in 1963 until his death, but continued to travel extensively. He undertook trips in countries throughout Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Europe, both to spread the teachings of the Faith and to offer encouragement and counsel to Bahá’í communities. It was with particular joy that he finally returned to Russia in 1990 to witness the re-formation of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Moscow after a lapse of 60 years. He also returned the following year, this time for the election for the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Soviet Union. He died at the age of 98 of natural causes, but despite his advanced age maintained to the end a demanding schedule of activities, including his regular meetings with the thousands of pilgrims who visit the Bahá’í World Centre every year. Mr. Furútan would greet the pilgrims and give inspiring talks that drew on his decades of services to the Bahá’í Faith. It seemed a particularly fitting conclusion for a long life of service to humankind that his death should have occurred at the close of one such meeting, where he had just addressed assembled Bahá’í pilgrims. His passing occurred on the Day of the Covenant - a poignant moment for a man whose life was so consecrated to promoting and defending the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh. The Universal House of Justice sent a message to the Bahá’í world on 27 November 2003 announcing his passing and recalling his illustrious life and services: “ With profound feelings of loss, we announce the passing, yesterday evening, on the Day of the Covenant, of the dearly loved Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan. Having addressed the assembled pilgrims as was his practice, he paused to exchange a few words
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 11:59:18 +0000