The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2244 page)

(1897–1957)
. Guardian (
val
) of the
Bah
’
Faith
(1922–57), eldest grandson of
‘Abdu’l-Bah
, and his appointed successor. He effectively established the modern system of Bah
’
administration with its locally and nationally elected Spiritual Assemblies (1922–3) and its separate branch of advisory leaders (from 1951). He instituted a series of plans for the expansion of the religion which eventually extended to most parts of the world. By his own voluminous writings, he provided authoritative interpretations of Bah
’
scripture and doctrine. His main writings include his early letters on
Bah
’
Administration
(1922–9), his delineation of the goals and characteristics of the
World Order of Bah
’u’ll
h
(1929–36), and his interpretative history of
B
b