Chapter 31
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Conflicting writings regarding supreme authority.
Passage 1 states "[the
House was] endowed by Him [Bahá’u’lláh] with supreme authority", which is not true.
According to the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Baha, the Guardian was
appointed as the "sacred head and the distinguished member for life" of
the House, and the House were to "show
their obedience, submissiveness and subordination unto the guardian of
the Cause of God, to turn unto him and be lowly before Him". The
Guardian had no male children he could appoint as his successor, and there
was no provision in the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Baha to appoint
anyone other than the guardian's male children. Also,
the Guardian left no will (which was required of him in the
Kitab-i-Aqdas and in the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Baha), and never addressed why the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Baha has no provision for a scenario where the Guardian had no male children he could appoint as his successor. That's the broader context of how the House, by default, is now the highest body in the faith, following the six-year
Ministry of the Custodians; which is not the same as Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet (Most Great Infallibility),
who is "sanctified from errors and omissions", explicitly endowing the
House with "supreme authority". Keeping in mind the teaching not to
deviate from what Baha'u'llah revealed, not "even to
the extent of a hair's breadth". Also, the House does not provide
"flexibility in all the
affairs of mankind" as stated. It can only address "those things which
have not outwardly been revealed in the Book". "Those
matters of major importance which constitute the foundation of the Law
of God are explicitly recorded in the Text, but subsidiary laws are
left to the House of Justice". Like in Islam, supreme
authority rests with the Manifestations of God, who are the Face of God on earth, and God's Chosen Ones; starting with Baha'u'llah (the pre-existent Root, like Muhammad), followed by Abdu'l-Baha (the pre-existent Branch, like Imam Ali), followed by the pre-existent Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah
when they appear. As indicated in passage 2, "one of the Beauties of
the Most Sublime Paradise" is a symbolic reference to one of the
Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah, who is "the supreme instrument for
the prosperity of the world, and the horizon of assurance unto all
beings". That statement is also consistent with passage 3, where
Baha'u'llah states, "The Prophets and Messengers of God" are the
"supreme moving impulse in the world of being". In passage 4 from the
Aqdas, "a company of Our favoured angels"
is another reference to the Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah, the
first of whom was Abdu'l-Baha, as indicated by him. In the Quran, the Holy Imams
are also referred to as "angels", as indicated by Baha'ullah in the
Tablet of Job. In passage 5 from the Aqdas, "My chosen servants"
is another reference to the Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah, who are "the stars of the heaven of My loving
providence and the lamps of My guidance unto all mankind". They are also the Sure
Handle (Firm Handle) and the Cord of God, like the Holy Imams in the era of Muhammad. Abdu'l-Baha also refers to the Holy Imams as "stars of the heaven of Divine Unity".
1)
55.1
The Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh is unbroken, its all-encompassing power
inviolate. The two unique features which distinguish it from all
religious covenants of the past are unchanged and operative. The
revealed Word, in its original purity, amplified by the divinely guided
interpretations of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, remains immutable,
unadulterated by any man-made creeds or dogmas, unwarrantable
inferences or unauthorized interpretations. The channel of divine
guidance, providing flexibility in all the affairs of mankind, remains
open through that Institution which was founded by Bahá’u’lláh and
endowed by Him with supreme authority and unfailing guidance, and of
which the Master wrote: "Unto this body all things must be referred."...
(From a message dated October 1963 written by the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís of the World)
Full text available at: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/compilations/universal-house-of-justice-compilation/universal-house-of-justice-compilation.xhtml?795fc615
Unto this body all things must be referred. It enacteth all ordinances
and regulations that are not to be found in the explicit Holy Text. By
this body all the difficult problems are to be resolved and the
Guardian of the Cause of God is its sacred head and the distinguished
member for life of that body. Should he not attend in person its
deliberations, he must appoint one to represent him...
-- Abdu'l-Baha, The Will and Testament, p. 14
2)
"We will now mention unto thee Trustworthiness and the station thereof
in the estimation of God, thy Lord, the Lord of the Mighty Throne. One
day of days We repaired unto Our Green Island. Upon Our arrival, We
beheld its streams flowing, and its trees luxuriant, and the sunlight
playing in their midst. Turning Our face to the right, We beheld what
the pen is powerless to describe; nor can it set forth that which the
eye of the Lord of Mankind witnessed in that most sanctified, that most
sublime, that blest, and most exalted Spot. Turning, then, to the left
We gazed on one of the Beauties of the Most Sublime Paradise, standing
on a pillar of light, and calling aloud saying: `O inmates of earth and
heaven! Behold ye My beauty, and My radiance, and My revelation, and My
effulgence. By God, the True One! I am Trustworthiness and the
revelation thereof, and the beauty thereof. I will recompense whosoever
will cleave unto Me, and recognize My rank and station, and hold fast
unto My hem. I am the most great ornament of the people of Bahá, and
the vesture of glory unto all who are in the kingdom of creation. I am
the supreme instrument for the prosperity of the world, and the horizon
of assurance unto all beings.' Thus have We sent down for thee that
which will draw men nigh unto the Lord of creation."
This Wronged One hath, at all times, summoned the peoples of the world
unto that which will exalt them, and draw them nigh unto God. From the
Most Sublime Horizon there hath shone forth that which leaveth no room
unto any one for vacillation, repudiation or denial. The wayward,
however, have failed to profit therefrom; nay, it shall only increase
their loss.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 136-137
3)
The Prophets and Messengers of God have been sent down for the sole
purpose of guiding mankind to the straight Path of Truth... All things
must needs have a cause, a motive power, an animating principle. These
souls and symbols of detachment have provided, and will continue to
provide, the supreme moving impulse in the world of being.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 156-157
Such revelation is confined to His Prophets and chosen Ones,
inasmuch as none mightier than they hath come to exist in the world of
being. This truth all recognize, and bear witness thereto. These
Prophets and chosen Ones of God are the recipients and revealers of all
the unchangeable attributes and names of God. They are the mirrors that
truly and faithfully reflect the light of God. Whatsoever is applicable
to them is in reality applicable to God, Himself, Who is both the
Visible and the Invisible. The knowledge of Him, Who is the Origin of
all things, and attainment unto Him, are impossible save through
knowledge of, and attainment unto, these luminous Beings who proceed
from the Sun of Truth. By attaining, therefore, to the presence of
these holy Luminaries, the "Presence of God" Himself is attained. From
their knowledge, the knowledge of God is revealed, and from the light
of their countenance, the splendour of the Face of God is made manifest.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 141
4)
Say: Let not your hearts be perturbed, O people, when the glory of My
Presence is withdrawn, and the ocean of My utterance is stilled. In My
presence amongst you there is a wisdom, and in My absence there is yet
another, inscrutable to all but God, the Incomparable, the All-Knowing.
Verily, We behold you from Our realm of glory, and shall aid whosoever
will arise for the triumph of Our Cause with the hosts of the Concourse
on high and a company of Our favoured angels.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 38
The Blessed Beauty, in unmistakable language, hath made this promise in
His Book: 'We behold you from Our realm of glory, and shall aid
whosoever will arise for the triumph of Our Cause with the hosts of the
Concourse on high and a company of Our favoured angels.'[1]
[1 Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, LXXII ]
God be thanked, that promised aid [Abdu'l-Baha] hath been vouchsafed, as is plain for all to see, and it shineth forth as clear as the sun in the heavens.
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 270
5)
Assist ye, O My people, My chosen servants who have arisen to make
mention of Me among My creatures and to exalt My Word throughout My
realm. These, truly, are the stars of the heaven of My loving
providence and the lamps of My guidance unto all mankind. But he whose
words conflict with that which hath been sent down in My Holy Tablets
is not of Me. Beware lest ye follow any impious pretender. These
Tablets are embellished with the seal of Him Who causeth the dawn to
appear, Who lifteth up His voice between the heavens and the earth. Lay
hold on this Sure Handle and on the Cord of My mighty and unassailable Cause.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 61
.. for 1000 years there shall arise no Sun [Independent Prophet]. All the appearances will be beneath the shadow of the Most Great Appearance [Baha'u'llah, the Independent Prophet]: they will be as stars of guidance [Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Baha'u'llah]. All of them shall gather around this Fountain of Life; all of them will become illumined with the rays of this Sun;
all of them will receive a share and a portion from this great Sea; all
of them will become vivified with this soul-imparting breeze;..
-- Compilations, Baha'i Scriptures, p. 283
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