Ali Muhammad Varqa

`Ali-Muhammad Varqa (Arabic: دكتور علي محمد ورقا‎;‎ 1911 – September 22, 2007) was a prominent adherent of the Baha'i Faith. He was the longest surviving Hand of the Cause of God, an appointed position in the Baha'i Faith whose main function is to propagate and protect the religion on the international level.

Varqa was born in 1911 in Tehran, Iran to a well-known Iranian Baha'i family. His grandfather, from whom he received his name was an Apostle of Baha'u'llah and his father, Valiyu'llah Varqa, was also a Hand of the Cause.

Varqa 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 administrative capacities in the Baha'i community of Iran.

After his father's death, Varqa was appointed as a Hand of the Cause by Shoghi Effendi on November 15, 1955. He served in that capacity for 52 years until his death in 2007, and was the last surviving Hand of the Cause. As part of his role, he travelled to many countries, and attended the first Baha'i national conventions of many countries including Belgium and Central African Republic. He also served as the trustee of Huququ'llah since 1955, a role which his father also held.

In 1979, he moved to Canada and later moved to Haifa, Israel where the Baha'i World Centre is located. He died on September 22, 2007 in Haifa and was buried in the Baha'i cemetery there.