According to available biographical information all of these men, no women, were appointed Hands for their great service to the Baha'i Faith, although most are intellectuals none had academic training in religious studies or theology that I have been able to discover. Yet, they formed a tight bloc to end the Guardianship.
this section lists the Persian Hands of the Cause of God that ruled that the Guardianship was Bada' (changed and over until the next manifestation). Listing their professional and educational backgrounds:
Hasan Balyuzi:
He spent seven years studying in Beirut, 1925-1932, first a preparatory year, then a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, and eventually a Master's of Arts in Diplomatic History. He was active in university life, participating in football and tennis as well as activities of the Dramatic Society, the Debating Society, and the Bahá'í Society. It was a happy time in his life, a large number of students participated in the activities of the Bahá'í Faith, often visiting the Guardian during vacations and the summers.
After completing his studies at American University, he went to the London School of Economics for post-graduate work. He studied Diplomatic History, with special references to the relations of the European Powers to the Persian Gulf States. He received his Master of Science degree in 1935; he then studied British Public Opinion on Franco-German Relations after World War I for his doctorate, but was delayed by the difficulty of finding a suitable supervisor and the outbreak of World War II.
http://bahai-library.com/francis_balyuzi_biography
Abu'l-Qásim Faizi or Fayḍí (1906–1980)
was a Persian Bahá'í. He studied at the American University of Beirut.
He married Gloria `Alá'í in 1939. Together they pioneered to Iraq and Bahrain. Shoghi Effendi called him the 'sprititual conqueror' of Arabia, and appointed him Hand of the Cause of Godin 1957.
degree in English Literature and Education
http://bahai-library.com/macias_faizi_biography#2
medical doctor, known for mass conversions in under-developed countries such as Equador, Phillipines, Indonesia, India (where Baha'i statistics are not verifiable and seem very inflated)
Ali Muhammad Varqa
He had degrees in economics and history from Tehran University, and a doctorate from the Sorbonne in hydraulics and irrigation in Iran. Known as a educator, born into a Baha'i family. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2640706.ece
Shu'a'u'llah `Ala'i
He himself studied accountancy, after which he pursued a distinguished career in various fields of government service, becoming chief controller of army finances (with the rank of general). http://bahaikipedia.org/Shu'%C3%A1'u'll%C3%A1h_%E2%80%98Al%C3%A1'%C3%AD
Jalal Khadih
Education Unknown
Dhikru'llah Khadem
Education Unknown
Musa Banani
Education Unknown, died in Uganda
Valiyu'llah Varqa
"After my marriage I took employment in the Russian Embassy as a secretary, but when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was about to leave for America I left for 'Akká with His permission and had the great honor of attending Him on His historic journey. After my return to Ṭihrán, I was employed as First Secretary Translator by the Turkish Embassy. My daytime was spent working at the office and at night I was happy to serve on the Spiritual Assembly and on various Bahá’í committees. At both the Embassies I had made it a condition with them not to require me to do anything concerned with politics. After many years of service, however, i was asked to do a service which slightly touched on politics, whereupon I tendered my resignation.
"For the last twelve years I have had the inestimable honor to serve as the Trustee of Ḥuqúqu'lláh, having been appointed by the beloved Guardian, and it is my utmost wish that I may may be able during these last days of my life to render befitting service to our Holy Cause and give satisfaction to our beloved Guardian."
http://bahaikipedia.org/Val%C3%ADyu'll%C3%A1h_Varq%C3%A1
Ali-Akbar Furutan
`Alí-Akbar Furútan (29 April 1905—26 November 2003) was a prominent Iranian Bahá'í educator and author who was given the rank of Hand of the Cause in 1951.
A native of Sabzivár in what was, at the time, Iran's Khurásán, `Alí-Akbar Furútan was still a child when he witnessed the persecution of his family and others for their beliefs. Seeking safety, the family moved in 1914 from Sabzivár to Ashkhabad in Turkestan, which was then a part of Tsarist Russia. In 1926, nine years after the Russian Revolution, 21-year-old Furútan won a scholarship to the University of Moscow, where he studied education and child psychology.[1] Within four years, as a result of his Bahá'í activities, he was expelled from the Soviet Union and, in 1930, returned to Iran.
After he returned to Iran, he and his wife helped administer the Tarbiyat School for Boys,[2] which was later closed by the Pahlavi government.[3]
Later, `Alí-Akbar Furútan was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran in 1934, serving as its secretary until 1957. In December 1951 he was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi.[1] From 1959 to 1963 he served as one of the nine Custodians at the Bahá'í World Centre inHaifa, Israel.[1]
Throughout his life, `Alí-Akbar Furútan taught Bahá'í classes for children and youth, and he published many works in the area of child spiritual and material education.[1]
`Ali-Akbar Furútan died in Haifa five months before his 99th birthday.[2