Chapter 63
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Conflicting writings on holy war as a divine teaching.
Conflicting writings on
holy war as a divine teaching. Compare passage 1 by Shoghi Effendi where holy war is included among "unwarranted practices" in past dispensations with
passages 2 and 3. Note: passage 1 is also used in Chapter 9.
1)
34.5
We should also bear in mind that
the distinguishing character of the Bahá’í Revelation does not solely
consist in the completeness and unquestionable validity of the
Dispensation which the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá have
established. Its excellence lies also in the fact that those elements
which in past Dispensations have, without the least authority from
their Founders, been a source of corruption and of incalculable harm to the Faith of God, have been strictly excluded by the clear text of Bahá’u’lláh’s writings. Those unwarranted practices,
in connection with the sacrament of baptism, of communion, of
confession of sins, of asceticism, of priestly domination, of elaborate
ceremonials, of holy war and of polygamy,
have one and all been rigidly suppressed by the Pen of Bahá’u’lláh;
whilst the rigidity and rigor of certain observances, such as fasting,
which are necessary to the devotional life of the individual, have been
considerably abated.
(From a letter dated 21 March 1930 written by Shoghi Effendi, in The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 19–22)
Full text at: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/compilations/universal-house-of-justice-compilation/universal-house-of-justice-compilation.xhtml?795fc615
2)
We have abolished the law to wage holy war
against each other. God's mercy, hath, verily, encompassed all created
things, if ye do but understand. Aid ye your Lord, the God of Mercy,
with the sword of understanding. Keener indeed is it, and more finely
tempered, than the sword of utterance, were ye but to reflect upon the
words of your Lord. Thus have the hosts of Divine Revelation been sent
down by God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, and thus have the
armies of divine inspiration been made manifest from the Source of
command, as bidden by God, the All-Glorious, the Best-Beloved.
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 21
3)
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
The Prophet said, "A time will come when the people will wage holy war,
and it will be asked, 'Is there any amongst you who has enjoyed the
company of Allah's Apostle?' They will say: 'Yes.' And then victory
will be bestowed upon them. They will wage holy war again, and it will
be asked: 'Is there any among you who has enjoyed the company of the
companions of Allah's Apostle ?' They will say: 'Yes.' And then victory
will be bestowed on them."
-- Hadith, Bukhari Vol 4
4:3. If ye fear that y
4)
The Prophets of God
should be regarded as physicians whose task is to foster the well-being
of the world and its peoples, that, through the spirit of oneness, they
may heal the sickness of a divided humanity. To none is given the right
to question their words or disparage their conduct, for they are the
only ones who can claim to have understood the patient and to have
correctly diagnosed its ailments. No man, however acute his perception,
can ever hope to reach the heights which the wisdom and understanding
of the Divine Physician have attained. Little wonder, then, if the
treatment prescribed by the physician in this day should not be found
to be identical with that which he prescribed before. How could it be
otherwise when the ills affecting the sufferer necessitate at every
stage of his sickness a special remedy? In like manner, every time the
Prophets of God have illumined the world with the resplendent radiance
of the Day Star of Divine knowledge, they have invariably summoned its
peoples to embrace the light of God through such means as best befitted
the exigencies of the age in which they appeared. They were thus able
to scatter the darkness of ignorance, and to shed upon the world the
glory of their own knowledge. It is towards the inmost essence of these
Prophets, therefore, that the eye of every man of discernment must be
directed, inasmuch as their one and only purpose hath always been to
guide the erring, and give peace to the afflicted.... These
are not days of prosperity and triumph. The whole of mankind is in the
grip of manifold ills. Strive, therefore, to save its life through the
wholesome medicine which the almighty hand of the unerring Physician
hath prepared.
And now concerning thy question regarding the nature of religion. Know
thou that they who are truly wise have likened the world unto the human
temple. As the body of man needeth a garment to clothe it, so the body
of mankind must needs be adorned with the mantle of justice and wisdom.
Its robe is the Revelation vouchsafed unto it by God. Whenever this
robe hath fulfilled its purpose, the Almighty will assuredly renew it. For
every age requireth a fresh measure of the light of God. Every Divine
Revelation hath been sent down in a manner that befitted the
circumstances of the age in which it hath appeared.
As to thy question regarding the sayings of the leaders of past
religions. Every wise and praiseworthy man will no doubt eschew such
vain and profitless talk. The incomparable Creator hath created all men
from one same substance, and hath exalted their reality above the rest
of His creatures. Success or failure, gain or loss, must, therefore,
depend upon man's own exertions. The more he striveth, the greater will
be his progress. We fain would hope that the vernal showers of the
bounty of God may cause the flowers of true understanding to spring
from the soil of men's hearts, and may wash them from all earthly
defilements.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 79
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