`Alí-Muhammad Varqá

`Alí-Muhammad Varqá (1911 – September 22, 2007) (Arabic: دكتور علي محمد ورقا‎) was a prominent adherent of the Bahá'í Faith. He was the longest surviving Hand of the Cause of God, an appointed position in the Bahá'í Faith whose main function is to propagate and protect the religion on the international level. Varqá was born in 1911 in Tehran, Iran to a well-known Iranian Bahá'í family. His grandfather, from whom he received his name was an Apostle of Bahá'u'lláh and his father, Valíyu'lláh Varqá, was also a Hand of the Cause. Varqá moved to Paris and studied at the Sorbonne, where he obtained a doctorate in 1950. He then returned to Iran and taught at the universities of Tehran and Tabriz. During this time he also served in various...