Baha'i World Vol 17
SIYYID MUHAMMAD 'AZZAVI
1920-1976
The entire Baha'i world, but the Egyptian community in particular, suffered a grievous
loss in the untimely passing of Dr. Siyyid Muhammad 'Azzavi. His endeavours as an
educator bring to mind the words attributed to Muhammad, the Messenger: 'The ink of the
scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr.'
Dr. ' Azzavi was born in Egypt on 1 April 1920 and received his education there. From
1942 to 1950 he was a teacher of education and psychology at the Men's Teacher Training College
in 'Iraq. He returned to Egypt in 1950 and obtained his Master of Arts degree from the
University of Cairo. Religious prejudice thwarted his efforts to obtain the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy but he qualified for this with distinction in 1969.
His professional pursuits after his return from 'Iraq included serving as Director of the
Office of Translation of the Vice-President of the Republic, acting as assistant to the
Director-General for Statistics, assisting the ministry concerned with the management of
municipal affairs and serving as Director General of the Centre of Information for the
Presidency. He contributed to the modernization of the curriculum of the thousand-year-old
Al-Azhar University and was co-author with Muhammad Khayri Harb of History of Education
and Teaching in the Twentieth Century. He was a gifted translator from English into
Arabic of literary and educational works, combining extraordinary speed with great
accuracy. His efforts in this area included the translation of documents for UNESCO and
association with the Franklin Library project for rendering a thousand standard English
works in Arabic. Methods of language teaching interested him greatly. He prepared television
programmes designed to combat illiteracy, experimented in teaching Arabic to African
students and to persons of widely-ranging ethnic backgrounds and participated in writing
a series of textbooks on teaching Arabic by radio. He was delegated to present modern
methods of teaching Persian at the College of Arts at 'Ayn Shams University. The preparation
of a children's encyclopedia appealed to him in his dual role of father and educator.
Dr. 'Azzavi encountered the Baha'i Faith while living in 'Iraq when he approached Miss
Bahia (Baha'iyyih) Faraju'llah, a fellow teacher of Iranian background, to enquire
whether she would teach him Persian. His interest was immediately aroused and the
comprehensive Baha'i library of the Faraju'llah family was made available to him.
He read avidly and in time accepted the Faith.
Not long after, when the Faraju'llah family departed for the Holy Land as pilgrims, Dr.
'Azzavi asked them to convey his love to the Guardian and beg his prayers that he might one
day be of service to the Cause. In response, Shoghi Effendi requested Dr. 'Azzavi to translate
into Arabic a selection of passages from God Passes By, the Guardian's own incomparable
history of the Faith. Dr. 'Azzavi set to work with great enthusiasm, postponing completion
of his studies for his degree in order to devote full time to this task. He also translated
a number of other works including the Persian Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah , the talks of
'Abdu'l-Baha in Europe, The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah, The Promised Day is Come and
other letters of the Guardian. Some time later when Dr. 'Azzavi made a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land the beloved Guardian referred to him as 'my excellent translator.'
After serving in 'Iraq for eight years, Dr. 'Azzavi returned to Cairo and about a year
later married Miss Huriyyah Jalal. Shortly thereafter he accepted a teaching post in the
Sudan where he served as chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Khartoum and was helpful
in obtaining official registration of the Baha'i burial ground. He then returned to
Egypt where he served on the National Spiritual Assembly of North East Africa, the Local
Spiritual Assembly of Cairo and the National Translation and Publication Committee until
the dissolution of Baha'i institutions in Egypt in 1960.
He was a man of commanding presence, with a keen sense of humour and a gift for storytelling.
He showered love and devotion on his five beautiful children-ornaments of a
remarkable marriage- and with affection and expertise guided their education, an activity
promoted by his own exemplary zeal for learning.
Animated by a spirit of self-sacrifice for the Faith he suffered discrimination in terms of
position, salary and promotion, and ultimately was incarcerated for his beliefs. His Egyptian
roots made it imperative for him to remain in his native land rather than to seek an easier and
more luxurious life in countries of greater freedom and prosperity. One midnight, in 1965,
there came a knock at the door of his home. The police entered and seized every Baha'i
book they could find, and Dr. 'Azzavi and other Baha'is were cast into prison. The
authorities interrogated him at odd hours to break his rest and brought Islamic divines to
dispute with him, but their arguments were swept away like leaves in the autumn wind.
Eventually he was freed. He started a publishing house which he hoped might develop
into an important instrument of service of the new world order. He revised his translation of
God Passes By, remarking that his understanding of the text had changed profoundly in the
course of his experience of twenty-five years as a Baha'i.
In 1976, Dr. 'Azzavi accepted an invitation to lecture at the Baha'i Summer School in Iran
where the friends derived great benefit from his knowledge of the Qur'an and Baha'i literature.
He visited the House of Baha'u'llah in Tehran and the House where the Bab declared
His mission in Shiraz. This journey, so abounding in confirmations, marked the culmination
of a distinguished career of service to the Cause of Baha'u'llah. Notified of Dr. 'Azzavi's death
on 14 November 1976, the Universal House of Justice cabled:
DEEPLY GRIEVED PASSING MUHAMMAD AZZAVI HIS DEDICATION CAUSE HIS STEADFASTNESS HIS
SCHOLARLY WORK UNFORGETTABLE STOP FERVENTLY PRAYING SHRINES PROGRESS HIS SOUL
ABHA KINGDOM ASSURE HIS WIFE CHILDREN FRIENDS DEEP LOVING SYMPATHY.
BAHIA FARAJU'LLAH GULICK
SIYYID MUHAMMAD 'AZZAVI
1920-1976
The entire Baha'i world, but the Egyptian community in particular, suffered a grievous
loss in the untimely passing of Dr. Siyyid Muhammad 'Azzavi. His endeavours as an
educator bring to mind the words attributed to Muhammad, the Messenger: 'The ink of the
scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr.'
Dr. ' Azzavi was born in Egypt on 1 April 1920 and received his education there. From
1942 to 1950 he was a teacher of education and psychology at the Men's Teacher Training College
in 'Iraq. He returned to Egypt in 1950 and obtained his Master of Arts degree from the
University of Cairo. Religious prejudice thwarted his efforts to obtain the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy but he qualified for this with distinction in 1969.
His professional pursuits after his return from 'Iraq included serving as Director of the
Office of Translation of the Vice-President of the Republic, acting as assistant to the
Director-General for Statistics, assisting the ministry concerned with the management of
municipal affairs and serving as Director General of the Centre of Information for the
Presidency. He contributed to the modernization of the curriculum of the thousand-year-old
Al-Azhar University and was co-author with Muhammad Khayri Harb of History of Education
and Teaching in the Twentieth Century. He was a gifted translator from English into
Arabic of literary and educational works, combining extraordinary speed with great
accuracy. His efforts in this area included the translation of documents for UNESCO and
association with the Franklin Library project for rendering a thousand standard English
works in Arabic. Methods of language teaching interested him greatly. He prepared television
programmes designed to combat illiteracy, experimented in teaching Arabic to African
students and to persons of widely-ranging ethnic backgrounds and participated in writing
a series of textbooks on teaching Arabic by radio. He was delegated to present modern
methods of teaching Persian at the College of Arts at 'Ayn Shams University. The preparation
of a children's encyclopedia appealed to him in his dual role of father and educator.
Dr. 'Azzavi encountered the Baha'i Faith while living in 'Iraq when he approached Miss
Bahia (Baha'iyyih) Faraju'llah, a fellow teacher of Iranian background, to enquire
whether she would teach him Persian. His interest was immediately aroused and the
comprehensive Baha'i library of the Faraju'llah family was made available to him.
He read avidly and in time accepted the Faith.
Not long after, when the Faraju'llah family departed for the Holy Land as pilgrims, Dr.
'Azzavi asked them to convey his love to the Guardian and beg his prayers that he might one
day be of service to the Cause. In response, Shoghi Effendi requested Dr. 'Azzavi to translate
into Arabic a selection of passages from God Passes By, the Guardian's own incomparable
history of the Faith. Dr. 'Azzavi set to work with great enthusiasm, postponing completion
of his studies for his degree in order to devote full time to this task. He also translated
a number of other works including the Persian Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah , the talks of
'Abdu'l-Baha in Europe, The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah, The Promised Day is Come and
other letters of the Guardian. Some time later when Dr. 'Azzavi made a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land the beloved Guardian referred to him as 'my excellent translator.'
After serving in 'Iraq for eight years, Dr. 'Azzavi returned to Cairo and about a year
later married Miss Huriyyah Jalal. Shortly thereafter he accepted a teaching post in the
Sudan where he served as chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Khartoum and was helpful
in obtaining official registration of the Baha'i burial ground. He then returned to
Egypt where he served on the National Spiritual Assembly of North East Africa, the Local
Spiritual Assembly of Cairo and the National Translation and Publication Committee until
the dissolution of Baha'i institutions in Egypt in 1960.
He was a man of commanding presence, with a keen sense of humour and a gift for storytelling.
He showered love and devotion on his five beautiful children-ornaments of a
remarkable marriage- and with affection and expertise guided their education, an activity
promoted by his own exemplary zeal for learning.
Animated by a spirit of self-sacrifice for the Faith he suffered discrimination in terms of
position, salary and promotion, and ultimately was incarcerated for his beliefs. His Egyptian
roots made it imperative for him to remain in his native land rather than to seek an easier and
more luxurious life in countries of greater freedom and prosperity. One midnight, in 1965,
there came a knock at the door of his home. The police entered and seized every Baha'i
book they could find, and Dr. 'Azzavi and other Baha'is were cast into prison. The
authorities interrogated him at odd hours to break his rest and brought Islamic divines to
dispute with him, but their arguments were swept away like leaves in the autumn wind.
Eventually he was freed. He started a publishing house which he hoped might develop
into an important instrument of service of the new world order. He revised his translation of
God Passes By, remarking that his understanding of the text had changed profoundly in the
course of his experience of twenty-five years as a Baha'i.
In 1976, Dr. 'Azzavi accepted an invitation to lecture at the Baha'i Summer School in Iran
where the friends derived great benefit from his knowledge of the Qur'an and Baha'i literature.
He visited the House of Baha'u'llah in Tehran and the House where the Bab declared
His mission in Shiraz. This journey, so abounding in confirmations, marked the culmination
of a distinguished career of service to the Cause of Baha'u'llah. Notified of Dr. 'Azzavi's death
on 14 November 1976, the Universal House of Justice cabled:
DEEPLY GRIEVED PASSING MUHAMMAD AZZAVI HIS DEDICATION CAUSE HIS STEADFASTNESS HIS
SCHOLARLY WORK UNFORGETTABLE STOP FERVENTLY PRAYING SHRINES PROGRESS HIS SOUL
ABHA KINGDOM ASSURE HIS WIFE CHILDREN FRIENDS DEEP LOVING SYMPATHY.
BAHIA FARAJU'LLAH GULICK
Baha'i World Vol 17
SIYYID MUHAMMAD 'AZZAVI
1920-1976
The entire Baha'i world, but the Egyptian community in particular, suffered a grievous
loss in the untimely passing of Dr. Siyyid Muhammad 'Azzavi. His endeavours as an
educator bring to mind the words attributed to Muhammad, the Messenger: 'The ink of the
scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr.'
Dr. ' Azzavi was born in Egypt on 1 April 1920 and received his education there. From
1942 to 1950 he was a teacher of education and psychology at the Men's Teacher Training College
in 'Iraq. He returned to Egypt in 1950 and obtained his Master of Arts degree from the
University of Cairo. Religious prejudice thwarted his efforts to obtain the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy but he qualified for this with distinction in 1969.
His professional pursuits after his return from 'Iraq included serving as Director of the
Office of Translation of the Vice-President of the Republic, acting as assistant to the
Director-General for Statistics, assisting the ministry concerned with the management of
municipal affairs and serving as Director General of the Centre of Information for the
Presidency. He contributed to the modernization of the curriculum of the thousand-year-old
Al-Azhar University and was co-author with Muhammad Khayri Harb of History of Education
and Teaching in the Twentieth Century. He was a gifted translator from English into
Arabic of literary and educational works, combining extraordinary speed with great
accuracy. His efforts in this area included the translation of documents for UNESCO and
association with the Franklin Library project for rendering a thousand standard English
works in Arabic. Methods of language teaching interested him greatly. He prepared television
programmes designed to combat illiteracy, experimented in teaching Arabic to African
students and to persons of widely-ranging ethnic backgrounds and participated in writing
a series of textbooks on teaching Arabic by radio. He was delegated to present modern
methods of teaching Persian at the College of Arts at 'Ayn Shams University. The preparation
of a children's encyclopedia appealed to him in his dual role of father and educator.
Dr. 'Azzavi encountered the Baha'i Faith while living in 'Iraq when he approached Miss
Bahia (Baha'iyyih) Faraju'llah, a fellow teacher of Iranian background, to enquire
whether she would teach him Persian. His interest was immediately aroused and the
comprehensive Baha'i library of the Faraju'llah family was made available to him.
He read avidly and in time accepted the Faith.
Not long after, when the Faraju'llah family departed for the Holy Land as pilgrims, Dr.
'Azzavi asked them to convey his love to the Guardian and beg his prayers that he might one
day be of service to the Cause. In response, Shoghi Effendi requested Dr. 'Azzavi to translate
into Arabic a selection of passages from God Passes By, the Guardian's own incomparable
history of the Faith. Dr. 'Azzavi set to work with great enthusiasm, postponing completion
of his studies for his degree in order to devote full time to this task. He also translated
a number of other works including the Persian Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah , the talks of
'Abdu'l-Baha in Europe, The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah, The Promised Day is Come and
other letters of the Guardian. Some time later when Dr. 'Azzavi made a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land the beloved Guardian referred to him as 'my excellent translator.'
After serving in 'Iraq for eight years, Dr. 'Azzavi returned to Cairo and about a year
later married Miss Huriyyah Jalal. Shortly thereafter he accepted a teaching post in the
Sudan where he served as chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Khartoum and was helpful
in obtaining official registration of the Baha'i burial ground. He then returned to
Egypt where he served on the National Spiritual Assembly of North East Africa, the Local
Spiritual Assembly of Cairo and the National Translation and Publication Committee until
the dissolution of Baha'i institutions in Egypt in 1960.
He was a man of commanding presence, with a keen sense of humour and a gift for storytelling.
He showered love and devotion on his five beautiful children-ornaments of a
remarkable marriage- and with affection and expertise guided their education, an activity
promoted by his own exemplary zeal for learning.
Animated by a spirit of self-sacrifice for the Faith he suffered discrimination in terms of
position, salary and promotion, and ultimately was incarcerated for his beliefs. His Egyptian
roots made it imperative for him to remain in his native land rather than to seek an easier and
more luxurious life in countries of greater freedom and prosperity. One midnight, in 1965,
there came a knock at the door of his home. The police entered and seized every Baha'i
book they could find, and Dr. 'Azzavi and other Baha'is were cast into prison. The
authorities interrogated him at odd hours to break his rest and brought Islamic divines to
dispute with him, but their arguments were swept away like leaves in the autumn wind.
Eventually he was freed. He started a publishing house which he hoped might develop
into an important instrument of service of the new world order. He revised his translation of
God Passes By, remarking that his understanding of the text had changed profoundly in the
course of his experience of twenty-five years as a Baha'i.
In 1976, Dr. 'Azzavi accepted an invitation to lecture at the Baha'i Summer School in Iran
where the friends derived great benefit from his knowledge of the Qur'an and Baha'i literature.
He visited the House of Baha'u'llah in Tehran and the House where the Bab declared
His mission in Shiraz. This journey, so abounding in confirmations, marked the culmination
of a distinguished career of service to the Cause of Baha'u'llah. Notified of Dr. 'Azzavi's death
on 14 November 1976, the Universal House of Justice cabled:
DEEPLY GRIEVED PASSING MUHAMMAD AZZAVI HIS DEDICATION CAUSE HIS STEADFASTNESS HIS
SCHOLARLY WORK UNFORGETTABLE STOP FERVENTLY PRAYING SHRINES PROGRESS HIS SOUL
ABHA KINGDOM ASSURE HIS WIFE CHILDREN FRIENDS DEEP LOVING SYMPATHY.
BAHIA FARAJU'LLAH GULICK
SIYYID MUHAMMAD 'AZZAVI
1920-1976
The entire Baha'i world, but the Egyptian community in particular, suffered a grievous
loss in the untimely passing of Dr. Siyyid Muhammad 'Azzavi. His endeavours as an
educator bring to mind the words attributed to Muhammad, the Messenger: 'The ink of the
scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr.'
Dr. ' Azzavi was born in Egypt on 1 April 1920 and received his education there. From
1942 to 1950 he was a teacher of education and psychology at the Men's Teacher Training College
in 'Iraq. He returned to Egypt in 1950 and obtained his Master of Arts degree from the
University of Cairo. Religious prejudice thwarted his efforts to obtain the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy but he qualified for this with distinction in 1969.
His professional pursuits after his return from 'Iraq included serving as Director of the
Office of Translation of the Vice-President of the Republic, acting as assistant to the
Director-General for Statistics, assisting the ministry concerned with the management of
municipal affairs and serving as Director General of the Centre of Information for the
Presidency. He contributed to the modernization of the curriculum of the thousand-year-old
Al-Azhar University and was co-author with Muhammad Khayri Harb of History of Education
and Teaching in the Twentieth Century. He was a gifted translator from English into
Arabic of literary and educational works, combining extraordinary speed with great
accuracy. His efforts in this area included the translation of documents for UNESCO and
association with the Franklin Library project for rendering a thousand standard English
works in Arabic. Methods of language teaching interested him greatly. He prepared television
programmes designed to combat illiteracy, experimented in teaching Arabic to African
students and to persons of widely-ranging ethnic backgrounds and participated in writing
a series of textbooks on teaching Arabic by radio. He was delegated to present modern
methods of teaching Persian at the College of Arts at 'Ayn Shams University. The preparation
of a children's encyclopedia appealed to him in his dual role of father and educator.
Dr. 'Azzavi encountered the Baha'i Faith while living in 'Iraq when he approached Miss
Bahia (Baha'iyyih) Faraju'llah, a fellow teacher of Iranian background, to enquire
whether she would teach him Persian. His interest was immediately aroused and the
comprehensive Baha'i library of the Faraju'llah family was made available to him.
He read avidly and in time accepted the Faith.
Not long after, when the Faraju'llah family departed for the Holy Land as pilgrims, Dr.
'Azzavi asked them to convey his love to the Guardian and beg his prayers that he might one
day be of service to the Cause. In response, Shoghi Effendi requested Dr. 'Azzavi to translate
into Arabic a selection of passages from God Passes By, the Guardian's own incomparable
history of the Faith. Dr. 'Azzavi set to work with great enthusiasm, postponing completion
of his studies for his degree in order to devote full time to this task. He also translated
a number of other works including the Persian Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah , the talks of
'Abdu'l-Baha in Europe, The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah, The Promised Day is Come and
other letters of the Guardian. Some time later when Dr. 'Azzavi made a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land the beloved Guardian referred to him as 'my excellent translator.'
After serving in 'Iraq for eight years, Dr. 'Azzavi returned to Cairo and about a year
later married Miss Huriyyah Jalal. Shortly thereafter he accepted a teaching post in the
Sudan where he served as chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Khartoum and was helpful
in obtaining official registration of the Baha'i burial ground. He then returned to
Egypt where he served on the National Spiritual Assembly of North East Africa, the Local
Spiritual Assembly of Cairo and the National Translation and Publication Committee until
the dissolution of Baha'i institutions in Egypt in 1960.
He was a man of commanding presence, with a keen sense of humour and a gift for storytelling.
He showered love and devotion on his five beautiful children-ornaments of a
remarkable marriage- and with affection and expertise guided their education, an activity
promoted by his own exemplary zeal for learning.
Animated by a spirit of self-sacrifice for the Faith he suffered discrimination in terms of
position, salary and promotion, and ultimately was incarcerated for his beliefs. His Egyptian
roots made it imperative for him to remain in his native land rather than to seek an easier and
more luxurious life in countries of greater freedom and prosperity. One midnight, in 1965,
there came a knock at the door of his home. The police entered and seized every Baha'i
book they could find, and Dr. 'Azzavi and other Baha'is were cast into prison. The
authorities interrogated him at odd hours to break his rest and brought Islamic divines to
dispute with him, but their arguments were swept away like leaves in the autumn wind.
Eventually he was freed. He started a publishing house which he hoped might develop
into an important instrument of service of the new world order. He revised his translation of
God Passes By, remarking that his understanding of the text had changed profoundly in the
course of his experience of twenty-five years as a Baha'i.
In 1976, Dr. 'Azzavi accepted an invitation to lecture at the Baha'i Summer School in Iran
where the friends derived great benefit from his knowledge of the Qur'an and Baha'i literature.
He visited the House of Baha'u'llah in Tehran and the House where the Bab declared
His mission in Shiraz. This journey, so abounding in confirmations, marked the culmination
of a distinguished career of service to the Cause of Baha'u'llah. Notified of Dr. 'Azzavi's death
on 14 November 1976, the Universal House of Justice cabled:
DEEPLY GRIEVED PASSING MUHAMMAD AZZAVI HIS DEDICATION CAUSE HIS STEADFASTNESS HIS
SCHOLARLY WORK UNFORGETTABLE STOP FERVENTLY PRAYING SHRINES PROGRESS HIS SOUL
ABHA KINGDOM ASSURE HIS WIFE CHILDREN FRIENDS DEEP LOVING SYMPATHY.
BAHIA FARAJU'LLAH GULICK
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