The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar

The Mashriqu’l-Adhkar...

is more than a building, more than an idea, more than a House of Worship, more than a gathering of devoted followers of any religion. The Mashriqu’l-Adhkar is a source of action.

"Although to outward seeming the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar is a material structure, yet it hath a spiritual effect. It forgeth bonds of unity from heart to heart; it is a collective center for men's souls."

'Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 95


The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar is one of the most vital institutions in the world, and it hath many subsidiary branches. Although it has a House of Worship, it is also connected with a hospital, a drug dispensary, a traveler’s hospice, a school for orphans, and a university for advanced studies. Every Mashriqu'l-Adhkar is connected with these five things.

'Abdu'l Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 99


The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar (meaning the Dawning-place of the Praise of God) is a complex which will, in the future, comprise of a House of Worship and a number of dependencies dedicated to social, humanitarian, educational, and scientific pursuits.

At present Bahá'ís are focusing on creating and developing the social and spiritual institutions of community life rather than on the construction of physical buildings, but in the future every local Bahá'í community in city, town or village will have its own Mashriqu'l-Adhkar.

The Bahá'í House of Worship

The House of Worship is a building contained within the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar.

"…the central House of Bahá'í worship, enshrined within the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar,…"

Shoghi Effendi, Baha'i Administration, p. 185


O people of the world! Build ye houses of worship throughout the lands in the name of Him Who is the Lord of all religions. Make them as perfect as is possible in the world of being, and adorn them with that which befitteth them, not with images and effigies. Then, with radiance and joy, celebrate therein the praise of your Lord, the Most Compassionate. Verily, by His remembrance the eye is cheered and the heart is filled with light.

Baha'u'llah, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, pp. 29-30, para 31


The first House of Worship was built in Russia, in the city of Ashkhabad in Central Asia. It was completed around 1908 but later damaged by an earthquake and finally demolished in 1963.

The first House of Worship in the West was completed in 1953, in Wilmette, just north of Chicago, USA. Other Bahá’í Houses of Worship have been built in Kampala, Uganda; Sydney, Australia; Frankfurt, Germany; Panama City, Panama; Apia, Western Samoa; and in New Delhi, India. Yet another is soon to be built in Santiago, Chile.

Each House of Worsip has its own distinctive design, and yet conforms to a set of architectural requirements that give a unifying theme. All Bahá'í Houses of Worship must have, nine entrances and a central dome. The nine entrances symbolize the nine religions still practiced in the world and all Houses of Worship are open to people of every religion.

Take a few moments and watch an animated streaming video of the future House of Worship in Santiago, Chile

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