Please introduce yourself and tell us how you turned to the heretical sect of Bahaism?
My name is Pedram Navaii Nobari. I was born in 1986; we have lived in Tabriz since I was born. My grandfather had already abandoned Islam before the Islamic revolution and had turned to the heretical sect of Bahaism, so my father followed his father’s beliefs and I, too, was a Baha’i because my parents were so.
Did you have any questions about the founder of Bahaism or their beliefs, to which you struggled to find an answer since childhood?
Baha’s body is buried in Israel, and today the Qibla direction of Baha’is is towards Israel. They say prayers facing that direction; and ever since childhood, the key question which constantly popped up in my head was what the Muslim Qibla had been before Baha was even born.
Do you know anything of what Baha’ullah, the so-called prophet-founder of Baha’ism, said?
Yes, for example, Baha’ullah used to utter “ana al-hagh”, meaning I am the absolute truth, and it sounded strange to me how the founder of this sect can make such a big claim, while people greater than him had never ever done so. The only absolute truth is the all-knowing and wisest God. Another example is that they’d say the Tablet of Ahmad is the masterpiece of Baha’ullah, while it was full of spelling and stylistic mistakes; which is itself another reason why this tablet is not divine. If a word is divine and sent by God or through someone whom God and the fourteen infallibles approve, it must be free of such faults.
Have you ever tried to find an answer to your questions?
Yes, I struggled with these questions in my head and I was looking for some answer to feel at peace; it was an important issue after all, which had to be resolved. When I raised these questions with my Shia friends, they would easily give answers, and then I found out how wrong those beliefs were. Honestly, their words were totally convincing. Those friends had a major role in finding the answers to those questions.
What did you conclude after finding your answers, what decision did you finally make?
Finding the answers to these questions was such a sweet experience to me. After all, as born Bahais, we knew nothing about this heretical sect; I had only followed in the footsteps of my parents and grandfather. When I found out that this religious sect is wrongful and heretical, I decided to embrace Shia Islam in Laylat al Qadr in a mosque in Tabriz and I was so blissful. It was so delightful and heartening to me that I had found the true and right path and was going to live just as God had asked me to from then on.
Any advice that might be helpful to Baha’is and the supporters of this heretical sect?
If they put aside prejudices, open their eyes, do in-depth research and study the rich texts and teachings of Shia Islam, they’ll know that this sect is superstitious and then they’ll embrace true Islam Shiism. But the first step is to put aside blind prejudices.
How about the answers to questions about God, religion, etc. that you raised with both
Baha’i and Shia scholars? Which one did you find better, more reasonable and convincing?
Bahaism gave me just the same answer over and over again, that intentions are the only thing that matter, which was not convincing at all. But the answers I received from Muslims were accurate, reasonable and convincing.