Baha u llah, whose name means "The Glory of God" in Arabic, was born on 12 November 1817 in Tehran. The son of a wealthy government minister, Mirza Buzurg-i-Nuri, his given name was Husayn Ali and his family could trace its ancestry back to the great dynasties of Iran`s imperial past. Baha u llah led a princely life as a young man, receiving an education that focused largely on horsemanship, swordsmanship, calligraphy and classic poetry.

In October 1835, Baha u llah married Asiyih Khanum, the daughter of another nobleman. They had three children: a son, Abdul-Baha, born in 1844; a daughter, Bahiyyih, born in 1846; and a son, Mihdi, born in 1848. Baha u llah declined the ministerial career open to him in government, and chose instead to devote his energies to a range of philanthropies which had, by the early 1840s, earned him widespread renown as "Father of the Poor." This privileged existence swiftly eroded after 1844, when Baha u llah became one of the leading advocates of the Babi movement.

Baha u llah only preached the religion of unity. He told that the biggest religion that ever existed was Humanity. He told everybody to live in peace and harmony and to respect every religion. Baha u llah passed from this earthly world in 1892, still nominally a prisoner in Palestine.