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| 1888 - 1968 |
Lutfu'llah Hakim was born into a family of distinguished Jewish medical doctors, his great-grandfather and his grandfather having served as physicians at the court of the Shahs of Persia.
Hakim Masih, the grandfather of Lutfu'llah Hakim, accompanied Muhammad Shah as court physician on his pilgrimage to Karbila, 'Iraq. While stopping in Baghdad, Hakim Masih heard about the illustrious Tahirih and hastened to meet her discourse he was overwhelmed with admiration and wonder and openly exclaimed: "Not amongst women nor even amongst men have I ever seen such an erudite person; she is unique in knowledge, wisdom and eloquence." He could not ignore the interest she had awakened and day and night he searched and investigated, desiring to discover and understand the source of power and inspiration on which this unusual and noble woman drew.
The opportunity to further his understanding arose when he was summoned to a prison in Tihran to attend the sick child of one of the believers who had been imprisoned for his faith. Even after the child's complete recovery he would visit the prison to meet the father and son, chained and living under the most cruel conditions. Often he preferred to spend hours in the presence of Ismu'llah, the imprisoned believer, and neglected his clinic. The explanations that were given in answer to his sincere questions were accepted with the utmost love and reverence, and he became the first Jew in the world to embrace the Cause. When news of his acceptance reached Baha'u'llah, a Tablet was revealed by the Exalted Pen in honour of Hakim Masih. This was followed by other Tablets which are unfortunately now lost to us, the paper having deteriorated through being hidden underground by the wife of Hakim Masih to avoid the persecution that would have resulted from their being found in the family's possession.
Hakim Masih had only one son, Hakim Sulayman, whose youngest child was Lutfu'llah Hakim. When his father and mother passed away, his elder brother, Dr. Arastu Khan, took him under his care and protection. Lutfu'llah grew to be a very sincere and staunch Baha'i.
In 1920, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked Lutfu'lláh Hakím to accompany Shoghi Effendi to England. Dr. Hakim was in Haifa when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed away in November 1921. In 1924 he returned to Persia and in 1950 he moved again to England. Later the Guardian summoned him to the World Centre and he was appointed to the first International Bahá’í Council in 1951. He was later elected to the first Universal House of Justice in 1963.
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