Sadratu'l-Muntaha: The name of a tree planted by the Arabs in ancient times at the end of a road, to serve as a guide. As a symbol, it denotes the Manifestation of God in His Day.
Sadrih: Literally, ‘Branch’. It is also a reference to Sadratu’l-Muntaha or the Burning Bush and to ‘Him Who taught it’ (i.e. God Himself)
Sahibu’z-Zaman: “Lord of the Age.” One of the titles of the promised Qá’im
Salsabil: Literally “softly flowing”. A fountain of Paradise
Salvan (Siloam): A spring in Mecca.
Sardari: A kind of redingote or long coat, pleated around the waist, closely buttoned up and having a straight collar.
Sarih: Older sister of Baha'u'llah; she remained faithful to His Cause throughout her life and was highly regarded by Him.
Sassanian kings: The kings of the Persian Sassanid dynasty during the third to seventh centuries from whom Baha’u’llah was descended through His father.
Seal of the Prophets: One of the titles of Prophet Muhammad, referring to the approaching close of the Prophetic Cycle.
Servant: A designation usually applied to a male Baha’i signifying recognition of his commitment to conform his life to the precepts of the religion.
Seven Martyrs of Tehran: Seven prominent and distinguished Babis in Tehran, including one of the Bab's uncles, Siyyid ‘Ali, who were arrested in 1850 and executed for their beliefs.
Seven Martyrs of Yazd: Seven Baha’is of the city of Yazd in southern Persia, who were brutally executed at the hands of a mob on May 19, 1891. Baha’u’llah described their unflinching faith as a victory celebrated by the inmates of the highest paradise.
Shah: Literally “king”, especially of Persia.
Shah Bahram: Title of the world savior foretold in Zoroastrian prophecy Who will triumph over evil and bring peace to the earth. Baha’is believe this prophecy was fulfilled with the coming of Baha’u’llah.
Shahid: “Martyr”; the plural of martyr is “Shuhada”
Shaykh: Title of respect given to old men, men of authority, elders, chiefs, professors, or superiors of a dervish order.
Shaykhu’l-Islám: Head of religious court, appointed to every large city by the Sháh
Shaykh Tabarsi: An episode in which 313 Babis defended themselves for some seven months in a hastily constructed fortress near a shrine about fourteen miles south-east of Barfush, October 1848 -May 1849. Vastly superior Government forces were unable to defeat them except by betrayal. Nine of the nineteen Letters of the Living (the first disciples of the Bib) were among the defenders; most lost their-lives, including -Mulla Husayn and Quddus, foremost of the Letters. The Guardian of the Baha'i Faith has characterized the episode as a 'rare phenomenon in the history of modern times'. (God Passes By, p.42)
Sheba: A town in southern Arabia, referred to in Genesis 10:28; I Kings 10; II Chronicles 9. Symbolically it stands for a dwelling, a home.
She-Serpent: Designation Baha’u’llah gave to Mir Muhammad-Husayn, the imam-jum’ih of Isfahan, who instigated the deaths of the two brothers known as the King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs.
Shi’ih , Shi’ah or Shia: One of the two main sects of Islam, distinguished by its spiritual doctrine of the Imamate. It is very dominant in Iran. The problem of succession divides Islam generally into two schools of opinion. According to one view, represented chiefly by the Shi’ihs, the regency is a spiritual matter determined by the Prophet and by those who so succeed Him. According to the other view, that of the Sunnites, the succession goes by popular choice. The Caliph of the Sunnites is the outward and visible Defender of the Faith. According to Shiites, the Shi’ih Imam is divinely ordained and gifted with more than human wisdom and authority. The Shi’ih followers view the descendants of 'Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, as the only rightful successors to Muhammad, and many await the return of the twelfth Imam.
Shiite: A Muslim of the Shia branch of Islam.
Shimran: A district in the northern section of Tihran.
Shiraz: The capital of the Province of Fars in Persia: the place of the Bab's birth and the scene of His Declaration in 1844.
Shrine of Baha'u'llah: The resting place of Baha’u’llah’s mortal remains, located near the city of Acre, Israel. The Shrine is the holiest spot on earth to Baha’is and a place of pilgrimage.
Shrine of the Bab: The resting place of the Bab’s mortal remains, located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel, a sacred site to Baha’is, and a place of pilgrimage.
Sinai: The mountain where God gave the Law to Moses (Qur'an, surih 7:I39 and Exodus 19). Sometimes it is viewed as an emblem of the human heart which is the place of God's descent.
Sirat: Literally, bridge or support; denotes the religion of God.
Siyah-Chal: Persian means “Black Pit”: The underground dungeon in Tihran, Iran where Baha’u’llah was chained and incarcerated for four months in 1852 (August through December), together with fellow Babis and 150 criminals. Here, in indescribable conditions, He received the first intimation of His world Mission.
Siyyid: Literally ‘lord, chief, prince’: an honorific title denoting a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.
Spirit of God: A tide used in the Qur’an and in the Baha’i writings to refer to Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Assemblies: The name of elected Baha’i administrative institutions that operate at the local and national levels of society and are elected according to Baha’i principles. They are responsible for coordinating and directing the affairs of the Baha’i community in their areas of jurisdiction.
Star of the West: The first Western Baha’i magazine, published in North America from 1910 to April 1324.
Sufis: An order of Muhammadan mystics.
Sunni: The larger and more powerful of the two major branches of Islam, which accepts the first four caliphs as the rightful successors of Muhammad and rejects the notion of hereditary successorship to authority over the Muslim community. Before the fall of the Ottoman empire it was represented by the Sultan as the outward and visible Defender of the Faith.
Suratu’l-Haykal: A Tablet of Baha'u'llah, at the end of which followed the Tablets to the Kings, the whole being written in the shape of a five-pointed star, the symbol of man.
Surih of Tawhid: The name of the first surih of the Qur'an; in which the oneness of God is explained.
Surih: A row or course, as of bricks in a wall. A term used exclusively for the chapters of the Qur'an of which there are one hundred and fourteen.
Suriy-i-Muluk: Literally ‘Surih of Kings’: tablet revealed by Baha’u’llah in Adrianople to the kings of the world. In it He boldly proclaims His station as Messenger of God.
Suriy-i-Ra’is: Tablet of Baha’u’llah revealed in Adrianople.
