The First to Believe: Stories of Divine Love

Shoghi Effendi called *The Dawn-Breakers* "not merely a narrative but a book of meditation." This course takes that instruction seriously. Over 18 lessons, students read the entire book — all 26 chapters plus the introduction and epilogue — guided by lectures, discussion questions, and review materials that unlock the text's hidden depths. The first four lessons prepare the student: *why* mastery of this book matters (the Guardian's commission), *who* wrote it and how (provenance), *what obstacles* stand between you and the text (pronunciation, terminology, geography), and *what you need to know* about Shia Islam to understand the world the Bab entered. Then the narrative begins — from the forerunners Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kazim through the Declaration of the Bab, the Letters of the Living, the great upheavals, the martyrdom of the Bab, and the imprisonment of Baha'u'llah in the Siyah-Chal. This is the largest course in the Ocean University catalog. It is designed for students who are ready to commit to a sustained engagement with one of the most extraordinary books in religious literature.