The history of the Baha’i Faith is linked with the history of Islam. It was born in the Muslim land of Persia in the eighteenth century. In 1844, Sayyid Ali Muhammad, a Persian Sayyid, claimed a revelation from God. The Muslims were waiting for the coming of a promised messianic figure known as the Qa’im or the Imam Mahdi from the lineage of the prophet Muhammad. Sayyid Ali Muhammad, who appeared with the title of The Bab, meaning the gate of God, claimed to be that person and began a new dispensation, revealing a new book called the Bayan in Arabic and Persian and a new law abrogating the law of Islam. Sayyid Ali Muhammad went to Mecca in 1844 where he performed the pilgrimage and announced his claim to the people and the sherif of Mecca. Sayyid Ali Muhammad foretold the coming of a greater person after him ‘he whom God will make manifest’. This person would bring a revelation far surpassing that of Sayyid Ali Muhammad.

The Muslims expected the coming of another person after the Qa’im or the Imam Mahdi. He was to be the return of Christ or Imam Husayn. According to Muslim traditions this person was to be a follower of the Qa’im or Imam Mahdi. One of the earliest followers of the Bab was a Persian youth from the sons of an Iranian government minister known as Husayn Ali. Husayn Ali preached the revelation of the Bab in Persia. The Bab was martyred in 1850. In 1852, Husayn Ali, who had been named by the bab as Baha’u'llah received a revelation from God while he was in prison. Later, Baha’u'llah was exiled to Iraq where he claimed that he had received a new revelation from God and that he was the person foretold by Sayyid Ali Muhammad. Baha’u'llah was called to Istanbul by the Ottoman government and from there sent to prison in Edirne. From Edirne, he was sent to the great prison city of Acre in Palestine. Baha’u'llah wrote letters to the world leaders of his time, inviting them towards peace and consultation. He revealed a new law abrogating the revelation of the Bab and a new Book known as the Kitab-i Aqdas. He passed away in Palestine in 1892.

Baha’u'llah’s eldest son, Abbas, known as Abdu’l Baha, was his designated successor. Another son was also appointed to succeed Abdu’l Baha, known as Muhammad Ali. Abdu’l Baha lived in Palestine and traveled to America and Europe to preach the message of Baha’u'llah. Muhammad Ali opposed Abdu’l Baha after the passing away of Baha’u'llah and caused great harm to the cause of Baha’u'llah. Therefore, he was not capable of succeeding Abdu’l Baha any more. In his Will & Testemant, Abdu’l Baha appointed his grandson Shoghi as his successor.  Abdu’l Baha passed on in 1921 after providing plenty of guidance regarding the revelation of Baha’u'llah. In his Will & Testament, Abdu’l Baha also gave guidance regarding the future course of the Baha’i administration and especially the Universal House of Justice Baha’u'llah had established in his teachings. According to the Will & Testament, there were two important things for the guidance of the Baha’is; The Kitab-i Aqdas and the Universal House of Justice. The Will & Testament also stated that Shoghi was the guardian of the cause of God and during his lifetime he must appoint his successor. If his eldest son was not capable of succeeding him he should appoint somebody from the descendants of Baha’u'llah, known as the aghsan.

Shoghi was a student at Oxford University. He had great mastery of the English language and translated the writings of Baha’u'llah into English. He also embarked on global projects for propagating the message of Baha’u'llah to all corners of the world. During his time, the Baha’i Faith spread to many countries. In 1951 Shoghi set up the Universal House of Justice of Baha’u'llah in its initial stage, known as the International Baha’i Council. He said it would evolve into a Baha’i World Court, then an elected International Tribunal and finally an elected Universal House of Justice. As he had no children, he appointed the adopted son of Abdu’l Baha, Charles Mason Remey, as its president. According to the Will & Testament if the guardian could not appoint his eldest son he was supposed to appoint another descendant of Baha’u'llah. Mason Remey was a descendant of Baha’u'llah because he had been adopted by Abdu’l Baha, the son of Baha’u'llah. Shoghi passed away in 1957 in London.

Following the death of Shoghi, the greatest violation took place in the Baha’i Faith which also happened in Islam following the death of the prophet Muhammad. Just as the majority of the Muslims claimed that the prophet Muhammad had not appointed a successor, the Baha’is began to claim that Shoghi had not appointed anybody to succeed him. Soon they took over the Baha’i administration and planned to dismantle the International Baha’i Council set up by Shoghi and elect a Universal House of Justice of their own. Mason Remey traveled to America from his headquarters in Palestine after this violation and informed the world Baha’i community of what was happening. He confirmed that he was the new guardian of the Baha’i Faith. According to the Will & Testament only the guardian could be the head of the Universal House of Justice and as Shoghi had appointed Mason Remey to be the head of the International Baha’i Council, the forerunner of the Universal House of Justice, Mason was the new guardian of the Baha’i Faith. Mason Remey continued teaching the Baha’i Faith in America. He also  set up another International Baha’i Council, known as the second International Baha’i Council. He appointed Joel Bray Marrrengella as its president. He later traveled to Italy. In Italy, he adopted Joseph Pepe as his son. He later did away with the second International Baha’i Council and asked Joel to hand over all its papers to him. However, Joel defied Mason and set himself up as the guardian of the Baha’i Faith instead of Mason. Mason intended to appoint his adopted son, Joseph Pepé, to succeed him. However, seeing the terrible experience Mason went through during his life, Pepé did not wish to take that role upon himself. He asked Mason to appoint another believer known as Donald Harvey as his successor. This was, however, against the Will & Testament of Abdu’l Baha which required that the guardian should be a descendant of Baha’u'llah. Donald Harvey was not a descendant of Baha’u'llah, while Joseph Pepé was. Although Mason wrote a statement appointing Donald, he wrote that it was a spiritual line of succession. He also willed everything tangible and intangible to his son Joseph Pepé, which also includes the guardianship. Mason passed away in 1974.

Following Mason’s death, the Baha’is were divided regarding the guardianship. While the majority believed there was no guardian of the Baha’i Faith, some believed that Joel was the current guardian while others believed that it was Donald. Dr. Leland Jensen was a Baha’i who served under Mason Remey and had also participated in Shoghi’s global projects for preaching the Baha’i Faith. In 1969, Dr Jensen claimed that he was the seventh angel foretold in the Book of Revelation of the Bible. Abdu’l Baha had explained that the seventh angel mentioned in the Book of Revelations was a man who would appear in the future during whose time the Kingdom of God would be established. Dr. Leland Jensen claimed that he was that person. Dr. Jensen clarified the confusion regarding the guardianship of the Baha’i Faith. He explained that Baha’u'llah was of the line of King David and that the guardianship would continue in his descendants forever according to God’s promise to King David contained in Psalms 89. Based on this argument, only Pepé could be the guardian of the Baha’i Faith. Dr Jensen also re-established the Second International Baha’i Council in 1991. Pepé passed on in 1994.

After Pepé passed away, the Baha’i community again were in confusion. They were not aware who the new guardian was. Pepé had adopted Neal Chase, thus appointing him to be his successor. Neal Chase, the current guardian of the Baha’i Faith, is physically a descendant of King David as well as being a descendant of Baha’u'llah through adoption by Pepé.

Today, the Universal House of Justice exists in the Rocky Mountains of America. The Baha’i Centres under the Provisions of the Covenant, which means those centres that acknowledge the Universal House of Justice of Baha’u'llah in the Rockies with its guardian, Neal Chase, exist in many different countries, including the UK, Russia, India and Dubai. The majority of Baha’is, however, do not recognize the Universal House of Justice and its president. The World Baha’i Faith which has its headquarters in Haifa, Israel, do not believe in the existence of a guardian and have their own Universal House of Justice without a guardian, in Haifa, Israel. Joel is still believed by a group of Baha’is to be the guardian and Donald Harvey’s successor Jacques Soghomonian is held by others to be the guardian. Rex King was also another Baha’i who made his own group claiming to be a regent guardian after Mason Remey. He believed that Shoghi was the only true guardian. After him, there were only regent guardians such as Mason and himself. This would continue until a blood-descendant of Baha’u'llah would arise in the future to assume the guardianship of the Baha’i Faith. There are many other Baha’i groups with their own interpretations of the baha’i Faith.