E.S. Yazdani, Fifth Bahá'í Guardian: A Response to “The Bahá’í Faith 1957–1988: A Survey of Contemporary Developments.” by Smith-Momen
O THOU GLORY OF THE MOST GLORIOUS
Office of Fifth Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith
When the fundamental basis of the Bahá’í Faith is interfered with, the very foundation of the Bahá’í Administration changes. Furthermore, the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh deviates from its divinely established course; the authentic Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, as defined in The Kitáb-i-Ahd, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, and The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, is replaced by a man-made covenant, altering the standards of the Bahá’í Faith; progress and development in the present administration in Haifa as well as in the worldwide community of believers lose their meaning and is no longer relevant. This is true regardless of any period surveyed or comparison made to another time.
This is the case in an article written by Peter Smith and Moojan Momen. The article appeared on Bahá’ì Library Online1, as well as on Academia1, under the title, “The Bahá’í Faith 1957–1988: A Survey of Contemporary Developments.” The authors attempted to show the progress and development in the Bahá’í community from 1957 to 1988 under the direction and guidance of the ex-Hands of the Faith initially, and subsequently by the so-called universal house of justice, where the authors use the term “an elected council.” Smith and Momen summarized their article:
This paper gives a general account of the developments in the Bahá’í Faith over the last three decades. The period began with the Bahá’í Faith as a little-known religion with a hereditary leadership of predominantly Iranian membership but with some spread to the West. At the present time the religion has been transformed into a much better-known religion led by an elected council. It has increased some 20-fold in numbers and is now world-wide in membership. The major structural changes involved as the previous hereditary leadership at the international level was converted into the leadership of an elected council are analysed. The growth and development of the religion over this period are described and some statistical information is given. The central concerns of the religion during this time are described in terms of a number of motifs: polar, legalism, millenarianism, social reformism, universalism, liberalism, and martyrdom and sacrifice. An attempt is made to analyse some of the present problems facing the Bahá’í community, both in terms of the persecutions that it suffers as well as the problems presented by its successful expansion, and to describe the ways in which it copes with these.
In this responding article, I attempt to invalidate the paper entirely, for there is no Bahá’í Faith among the present administration in Haifa, the so-called universal house of justice and its linking administrative bodies throughout the world. Nor do there exist true and faithful believers in the Bahá’í Faith supporting the administration at the Bahá’í World Centre. The author of this article argues that Peter Smith and Moojan Momen's findings are not appropriate to the authentic Bahá’í Faith established by Bahá’u’lláh, nor do they have a bearing on or are connected to the genuine World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, initiated in Baha’u’llahs’ Kitáb-i-Aqdas, defined by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Will and Testament, and implemented by Shoghi Effendi during his Guardianship. This essay will show that the so-called universal house of justice is not the development of the embryonic Universal House of Justice formed by Shoghi Effendi on January 9, 1951. It will also point out that Shoghi Effendi conditioned the appointment of the members of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause on the formation of the Universal House of Justice, and that the excuses issued by the ex-Hands to end the hereditary line of the guardians in the Bahá’ì Dispensation, such as the Branches were all dead or were announced Covenant-breakers; no will by Shoghi Effendi existed; the members of the Institution of the Hands of the Faith, individually and collectively, assumed administrative authority based on being given the title of “Chief Stewards”; and the Will and Testament became Badá’, are not supported by the Bahá’í Writings. Finally, it will conclude that Smith and Momen’s article does not apply to the Bahá’í Faith—although it does, please the members of the bogus universal house of justice and its connected administrative bodies throughout the world and provides false hope in the minds of the less-informed and misguided believers in the worldwide so-called Bahá’í community.
The year 1957 was a turning point in the decline of the Faith’s spiritual growth and showed a sharp decrease in the number of Bahá’í believers throughout the world. In this year, the first Guardian of the Faith ascended to the spiritual world. His death initiated the conditions for the worldwide believers, including the members of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause, to be confronted with the Divine Test: “God verily will test them and sift them.”2 The seed of the Divine Test, planted in the year “Shadád,”3 1310AH, grew, and the whole community of Bahá’ís in the East and the West were subjected to this predicted, divinely conceived, fearful, and shattering trial that Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá foretold of and Shoghi Effendi strongly emphasized would happen:
O Ye People of the World! Bahá’u’lláh in the Hidden Words reveals. Know, verily, that an unforeseen calamity followeth you, and grievous retribution awaiteth you. Think not that which ye have committed hath been effaced in My sight. By My beauty! All your doings hath My pen graven with open characters upon tablets of chrysolite.4
O Thou two servants of His threshold, . . . ‘Abdu’l-Bahá writes in a tablet to two individuals in Persia. Soon the armies of the unfaithful ones will attack, the doubtful papers will be spread [all over the world] and the noises of the wicked ones will rise. One would say: ‘Refer to the Book of God’, another will interpret the unconcealed, unveiled and firm verses and propagate the concealed [Words], and with breath as cold as ice puts out the glowing flame [of the firmness] within the hearts of the sincere ones, and [they] forget the Covenants of the day of Alast5 (this is a partial translation of the below tablet translated by E. S. Yazdani.)
ای دو بنده درگاه الهی، هر چند بجسم در محضر روحانيان حاضر نيستيد و در محفل ربّانيان جالس نه ولی قسم باسم اعظم که کلّ دوستان در شبستان دل و جان با رخی چون بدر تابان در جلوه. چه که حقيقت شاخصه بصورت اصليّه و سيرت روحيّه و کمالات ايمانيّه و نعوت عرفانيّه در خلوتخانه قلوب در جلوه و ظهور است. پس مستبشر باشيد و مبتهج که در اين کور رفيع بچنين فيض بديع موفّق گشتيد و بشکرانه اين نعمت عظمی ثابت بر عهد و پيمان جمال ابهی گرديد و بقوّه الهيّه نفوس ضعيفه را راسخ گردانيد. چه که عنقريب جنود تزلزل هجوم نمايد و اوراق شبهات منتشر گردد و نعاق هر ناعقی بلند شود. يکی حسبنا کتاب اللّه گويد ديگری بتأويل محکمات و ترويج متشابهات پردازد و با نفسی چون ثلج نار موقده قلوب اوليا را خاموش کند و مواثيق عظيمه يوم الست را فراموش کند.5
Shoghi Effendi warns of the consequences of rejecting the validity of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament as well as the revealed Words in a letter to the Eastern believers dated 88 BE:
Woe unto anyone who ignores the counsels of the Pen of the Most High revealed in His Tablets, rejects the blessings and bounties of this glorious Dispensation, considers the mighty Covenant of the Ever-Lasting God to be baseless and vain-imagining, degrades the validity of this great Cause and Its inevitable changing stages, and imagines these transitions as signs of imperfection and decline in the fortune of this indestructible Faith of God, the Most Exalted. How great, how very great is the Cause [of God]! How very severe Its crises. The storm of Its tribulation is violent, and Its Path sharper than the cutting edge of a sword. None is able to withstand this destructive wind but the peaks and high mountains. No one's feet will pass through this straight Path save those who have firm steps. The blaze of Its ordeal is intensive, and the thunderbolt of Its wrath emerges swifter than the flame of fire. People will die except the believers; the believers will die except those who are tested; those who are tested will die except those who are purified; and those who are purified will be in great danger 6 (translated by K. Taimouri).
The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá delineates the following duties of the guardian of the Cause: 1) appointing his successor during his lifetime, 2) appointing the members of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause, and 3) being the head of the Universal House of Justice for life. Further, the Will and Testament does not provide any administrative duty for the members of Institution of the Hands, either individually or collectively. These members are always under the direction and guidance of the guardian of the Faith. The members of this Institution must elect nine people, among themselves, to be at the service of the guardian and assent to the guardian’s choice of successor. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states:
The Hands of the Cause of God must elect from their own number nine persons that shall at all times be occupied in the important services in the work of the guardian* of the Cause of God. The election of these nine must be carried either unanimously or by majority from the company of the Hands of the Cause of God and these, whether unanimously or by a majority vote, must give their assent to the choice of the one whom the guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as his successor. This assent must be given in such wise as the assenting and dissenting voices may not be distinguished (i.e., secret ballot).7
* In a publication of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá found online in the Baha'i Reference Library (https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/will-testament-abdul-baha/), the word “guardian” is spelled with a capital “G.” The 1944 publication of the Will and Testament spells “guardian” with a lowercase “g” throughout the document; guardian is never capitalized. The correct spelling is with a lowercase “g.” The word “guardian” with a small “g” refers to the guardians in the course of the Dispensation of the Bahá’í Faith. The Haifa administration continuously tries to confuse the believers that there was only one guardian: Shoghi Effendi. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in one of His tablet’s states to the effect, “They use every trick to destroy the Cause …” This is one of them.
O friends! The Hands of the Cause of God must be nominated and appointed by the guardian of the Cause of God. All must be under his shadow and obey his command. Should any, within or without the company of the Hands of the Cause of God disobey and seek division, the wrath of God and His vengeance will be upon him, for he will have caused a breach in the true Faith of God.8
Shoghi Effendi in a letter dated November 27, 1929, provides the conditions for the appointment of the members of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause: They were to be appointed after the establishment of the Universal House of Justice, and their appointment was dependent on the formation of the House. He states:
O ye beloved of the Lord! Appointment of the Hands of the Cause, authorization and enforcement of the sacred revealed laws of the Faith, enactment of the secondary laws which are not explicitly recorded in God's Book [The Kitab-i-Aqdas ], convocation of the International Bahá’í Conference, linking the Bahá’í Community to various societies such as, scientific, cultural, religious, and of human welfare; all are dependent and conditioned by the establishment of the Universal House of Justice in the neighbourhood of the sacred Shrines, in the Holy Land. For this exalted body is the source of all activities and execution of the affairs of the Bahá’ís. Also, it is an aid and the focal point that this humble servant [Shoghi Effendi] needs to turn to.9
ای احبای آلهی تعین ایادی امرالله و تنفیذ احکام مقدسه شریعت الله و تشریع قوانین متفرعه از منصوصات کتاب الله و انعقاد موتمر بین المللی پیروان امر حضرت بهاءالله و ارتباط جامعه بهائی بانجمنهای متفرعه علمیه ادبیه و دینیه و اجتماعیه کل به تشکیل و استقرار بیت عدل اعظم الهی در ارض اقدس در جوار بقاع مرتفعه منوره علیا منوط و معلق. زیرا این معهد اعلی سرچشمه اقدامات و اجراآت کلیه بهائیان است و معین و مرجع این عبد ناتوان.9
Shoghi Effendi formed the International Bahá’í Council (IBC) on January 9, 1951, and sent the following cablegram to the worldwide community of believers in the Bahá’í Faith:
Proclaim National Assemblies of East and West weighty epoch-making decision of formation of first International Bahá'í Council, forerunner of supreme administrative institution destined to emerge in fullness of time within precincts beneath shadow of World Spiritual Centre of Faith already established in twin cities of ‘Akk’a and Haifa (underline added). Fulfilment of prophecies uttered by Founder of Faith and Centre of His Covenant culminating in establishment of Jewish State, signalizing birth after lapse of two thousand years of an independent nation in the Holy Land, the swift unfoldment of historic undertaking associated with construction of superstructure of the Bab’s Sepulchre on Mount Carmel, the present adequate maturity of nine vigorously functioning national administrative institutions throughout the Bahá’í world, combine to induct me to arrive at this historic decision making most significant milestone in evolution of administrative order of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in course of last thirty years. Nascent Institution now created is invested with threefold function: first, to forge link with authorities of newly emerged State; second, to assist me to discharge responsibilities involved erection of mighty superstructure of the Bab’s Holy Shrine; third, to conduct negotiations related to matters of personal status with civil authorities. To these will be added further functions in course of evolution of this first embryonic International Institution, making its development into officially recognised Bahá’í Court, its transformation into duly elected body, its efflorescence into Universal House of Justice, (underline added) and its final fruition through erection of manifold auxiliary institutions constituting the World Administrative Centre destined to arise and function and remain permanently established in close neighbourhood of Twin Holy Shrines. Hail with thankful, joyous heart at long last the constitution of International Council which history will acclaim as the greatest event shedding lustre upon second epoch of Formative Age of Bahá’í Dispensation potentially unsurpassed by any enterprise undertaken since inception of Administrative Order of Faith on morrow of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Ascension, ranking second only to glorious immortal events associated with ministries of the Three Central Figures of Faith in course of First Age of most glorious Dispensation of the five thousand century Bahá’í cycle (underline added). Advice publicise announcement through Public Relations Committee.10
On March 2, 1951, Shoghi Effendi sent another cablegram to the Bahá’í world. In this cablegram, he appointed Charles Mason Remey as the President of the embryo of the Universal House of Justice. The cable reads:
Greatly welcome assistance of the newly formed International Council, particularly its president, Mason Remey (underline added), and its Vice President, Amelia Collins, through contact with authorities designed to spread the fame, consolidate the foundation and widen the scope of influence emanating from the twin spiritual, administrative World Centres permanently fixed in the Holy Land constituting the midmost heart of the entire planet.11
Shoghi Effendi in a letter dated March 8, 1952, writes:
The enlargement of the International Bahá’í Council. Present membership now comprises: Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih, chosen liaison between me and the Council. Hands of the Cause, Mason Remey, Amelia Collins, Ugo Giachery, Leroy Ioas, President, Vice-President, member at large, Secretary-General, respectively. Jessie Revell, Ethel Revell, Lotfullah Hakim, Treasurer, Western and Eastern assistant Secretaries.12
From these verses, it is easily recognized and concluded that Shoghi Effendi established the Universal House of Justice with the presidency of Charles Mason Remey in accordance with the verses contained in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament. Briefly, Shoghi Effendi did the following:
· He conditioned the appointment of the Hands of the Faith to take place after the formation of the Universal House of Justice.
· He appointed the Hands of the Cause in late 1951 and early 1952. The existence of the embryonic Universal House of Justice enabled him to appoint the Hands of the Faith as promised in his November 27, 1927, letter.
· He, in fact, before the appointment of the Hands, formed the Universal House of Justice in embryo on January 9, 1951, “which history will acclaim as the greatest event shedding lustre upon second epoch of Formative Age of Bahá’í Dispensation potentially unsurpassed by any enterprise undertaken since inception of Administrative Order of Faith on morrow of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Ascension, ranking second only to glorious immortal events associated with ministries of the Three Central Figures of Faith in course of First Age of most glorious Dispensation of the five thousand century Bahá’í cycle.”13
Shoghi Effendi clearly indicated the name of his successor in a manner that he had the authority to choose: By appointing Mason Remey as the Head of the embryonic Universal House of Justice, he was potentially naming the second Guardian of the Faith. The Hands of the Cause failed to elect nine persons among themselves to be at the service of Shoghi Effendi and give their assent to his choice of Mason Remey as his successor. It must be remembered that the Hands of the Faith had adequate time, from late 1951 to November 4, 1957, to elect nine persons among themselves to assent to Shoghi Effendi’s choice of guardian, Mason Remey. They neglected and failed to do this important duty.
Between the death of Shoghi Effendi on November 4, 1957, and the proclamation of Mason Remey in Ridvan 1960 [see Appendix A], Mason Remey sent numerous correspondences to the Hands of the Cause such as the First Appeal, then another appeal, and the Last Appeal. Mason Remey asked the Hands to reconsider their stand, which was against the continuation of the Institution of Guardianship in the Bahá’í Faith. With no response from them, Mason Remey finally sent his proclamation as Shoghi Effendi’s successor and the second Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith in Ridvan 1960. At this point, the Hands of the Faith and the rest of the believers had two choices—either accept Mason Remey as the second Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith and be faithful to the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh or reject him as the second Guardian and break the authentic Covenant.
The members of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause of God together with the rest of the community of believers chose the second alternative based on the following groundless excuses, among others: Shoghi Effendi did not have children and all the Branches, sons of Baha’u’llah were dead or had been declared Covenant Breakers; Shoghi Effendi had not left a will announcing his successor; and the will of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was “Badá’.” In brief: Indeed, if Shoghi Effendi and Mary Maxwell did not have any sons or children, and the Branches all were dead or had been declared Covenant-breakers, this could not limit or prevent Shoghi Effendi from appointing “another branch” as his successor. He could appoint any believer in Bahá’u’lláh to fill his position as the second Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith.
Since the believers and the loved ones [of God], Bahá’u’lláh reveals, are like unto branches and leaves of this Holy Tree [Bahá’u’lláh], therefore, whatever befalls upon the original Stock will also befall upon branches, twigs, and leaves.14
On this very same subject, Bahá’u’lláh, in The Kitáb-i-Badí’ reveals-
مذهب نقطه بیان این است که ذکر میشود: اصل ظهور را شجره میفرمایند، و بعد مظاهر آن ظهور کل را از اغصان و افنان و اوراق و اثمار شجره ظهور. چنانچه مشاهده می شود مثلا خود نقطه اولی ( حضرت باب) – روح ماسوا فدا – شجره ظهور الهیه بوده، و متدینین به دین او جمیع از اوراق و اغصان و افنان و اثمار او محصوب می شوند15
Under the requirements of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the guardian of the Faith is not required to appoint his successor in a will.
O ye beloved of the lord, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states, “It is incumbent upon the guardian of the Cause of God, to appoint in his own lifetime him that shall become his successor, that differences may not arise after his passing. He that is appointed must manifest in himself detachment from all worldly things, must be the essence of purity, must show in himself the fear of God, knowledge, wisdom and learning. Thus, should the first-born of the guardian of the Cause of God not manifest in himself the truth of the words:–“The child is the secret essence of its sire,” that is, should he not inherit of the spiritual within him (the guardian of the Cause of God) and his glorious lineage not be matched with a goodly character, then must he, the guardian of the Cause of God) choose another branch to succeed him.16(underline added)
After Shoghi Effendi’s funeral in London on November 9, 1957, the members of the Hands of the Faith, including the president of the International Bahá’í Council, Mason Remey in the capacity of a Hand, held their first conclave in the Mansion of Bahjí in Acre, Israel, on November 25, 1957. Twenty-six out of twenty-seven Hands joined the conclave. “Upon Rúhíyyih Khánum’s insistence no minutes of written records were kept of proceedings of the Conclave.”17 Individual notes taken by participants were collected at the end of each day and ordered to be burnt. “A policy was established,” writes Rúhíyyih Khánum, “that no notes of individual Hands would be taken from out of that hall, but would be gathered and burned at the end of the day by one of the Hands. As our consultations were full, free and frank, the notes—in discussions involving more than twenty people, where each one had to wait his turn— were obviously far too pertinent to risk individual opinions leaving that room. Any carelessness, any gossip or speculation at such a juncture could have divided the Hands from each other and split the Bahá’í Faith.”18 None of the Hands left a diary, apart from Mason Remey to our knowledge. His detailed testimony of events recorded away from the meetings was published by him alone in four or five volumes under the title, “Daily Observations of the Bahá’í Faith Made to the Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land.” Mason Remey placed copies of his “Daily Observations” in selected libraries throughout the world, such as the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, and the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. In Daily Observations, Mason Remey records the following, which took place during that first conclave:
Following prayers and some mention of the Guardianship to the effect that no will or testament had been found in the safe or in the desk of Shoghi Effendi, Dr. Muhajir, the youngest of the Persian Hands, sprang to his feet proposing that the Will and Testament of the Master ‘Abdu’l Baha be pronounced BADAH and that the Guardianship be ended forever and closed forever. This was immediately seconded and carried enthusiastically and supported by all the Persian Hands who spoke to the point, supporting the putting aside for a thousand years (until the coming of the next Manifestation) the institution of the Guardianship—allowing that this next coming Manifestation might then possibly see fit to reestablish the Guardianship if he thought best in a thousand years from this present date—but as far as this dispensation was concerned that there should be no more Guardianship. [That is, no more guardians.] Each of the Persian Hands spoke supporting this motion—each repeating practically verbatim the same argument so one could understand at first thought that they had talked it up and decided it all beforehand. This entire matter was so quickly done and its passage pressed and accomplished so quickly that it was very apparent that at some time during those night hours these Persian Hands at Bahjí had consulted together and made a covenant amongst themselves and had made this arrangement to pronounce the Guardianship BADAH [correct spelling Badá’] and thus railroad the matter through and carry the day. Furthermore, Rúhíyyih Khanum concurred with this majority, so their point was carried by the majority.19
This is how the motion of Badá’ was stated by one of the Hands of the Faith in the first conclave and supported, initially, by the Persian Hands and later the other Hands—except for Mason Remey, who opposed the motion but was silenced based on parliamentary rules. My intention is not to elucidate on other matters recorded by Mason Remey regarding the proceedings of the conclaves. My intention here is to show that the motion of Badá’ was initiated by the erring Hands to cover up their plan to end the Institution of Guardianship in the Dispensation of the Bahá’í Faith. They needed an excuse to justify their actions to terminate the Guardianship and declare that there would be no other guardians after the first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi.
There are two meanings for Badá’— colloquially and wrongfully, it means a change of opinion: choosing one over another. In the Dehkhodá Dictionary, لغت نامه دهخداBadá’ is defined as “Manifestation of a cause or an opinion before its concealment.” And the basis for its discussion hinges on this: Is Badá’ permissible for God, namely, He establishes a cause and then dispenses that cause? The learnt ones are of the opinion that Badá’ “is blasphemy and infidelity to God.” On the other hand, “example of such cases had been noticed. To explain, they have asserted that people have made a conception of a cause or an opinion that it is different from that found in God’s preserved Tablet, and thus, they are not aware of it. When reality and truth are manifested and wide open, people consider it as Badá’. In the Mo’in Dictionary, لغت نامه معین Badá’ is defined as to appear, to be visible. In Shi’a Islam, Badá’ means a cause that appears from God that contrasts with people’s expectations. In Badá’, God dissolves what was expected and establishes a new cause. He is knowledgeable about both, and a change of opinion resulted from a weakness in decision making. The Islamic learnt ones, however, do not see this latter concept as permissible and correct in the realm of the Almighty God.
There are two parties on the issue of Badá’. On one side stands the inviolability of Almighty God, represented by His Manifestation for this age, Bahá’u’lláh, who reflects the names and attributes of God. If it is assumed that the Hands of the Faith were correct, then God was mistaken in the revelation of Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament, a divinely conceived document that Shoghi Effendi describes in this way:
In the first view, it becomes necessary to believe that God was not perfect and manifested His imperfection by ending the Institution of Guardianship so there would be no more guardians during the Bahá’í Dispensation. If imperfection and shortcomings exist in the realm of God, it means removing the names and attributes from God, and there is no longer God. God forbid; this is impossible. Therefore, Badá’ has nothing to do with God or His Manifestation. The Holy Words are revealed to guide mankind to development, progress, and the straight path, NOT to put the world of humanity in a state of confusion, disagreement, and waywardness.
O friend of mine! Bahá’u’lláh reveals. The Word of God is the king of words, and its pervasive influence is incalculable. It hath ever dominated and will continue to dominate the realm of being. The Great Being Saith: The Word is the master key for the whole world, in as much as through its potency the doors of the hearts of men, which, in reality are the door of heaven, are unlocked. No sooner had but a glimmer of its effulgent splendour shone forth upon the mirror of love than the blessed word “I am the Best-Beloved” was reflected therein. It is an ocean inexhaustible in riches, comprehending all things. Everything which can be perceived is but an emanation there from. High, immeasurably high is this sublime station, in whose shadow moveth the essence of loftiness and splendour, wrapped in praise and adoration.21
On the other side stand the believers and the Hands of the Faith appointed by Shoghi Effendi in late 1951 and early 1952 to protect and propagate the Cause of God, under the direction and guidance of the Guardian of the Faith and his successor. This group of Hands did not want the Guardianship to continue as they failed to elect nine persons among themselves to be at the service of the Guardian Shoghi Effendi and give assent to his choice of successor according to the terms of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament. The Hands of the Cause had more than six years, from the time of their appointments in late 1951 to the ascension of the first Guardian on November 4, 1957, to do just that. Was it a deliberate failure to act? Did they not know their required duty?
After the death of Shoghi Effendi, the Hands took over the management of the Bahá’í Faith community throughout the world and manifested their intention of Badá’, first in secret in the first Conclave held November 25, 1957, and later openly by informing the believers of their intention of Badá’, that is, breaking the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh as revealed in the Kitáb-í-Ahd and the Will and Testament.
Badá’ is the manifestation of one or a group of the people’s inner intention to satisfy their ego and gain self-pleasure to stand against the will of the Almighty God, revealed by His Manifestation.
There are verses in the Writings announcing and emphasizing that there shall not be Badá’ during the Bahá’í Dispensation of the stated promises:
The believers of the East, in the company of the believers of the West, Shoghi Effendi states, “will erect the mighty stronghold of the Universal House of Justice despite the opposition by the relentless enemies of the Faith. [‘from within and from without.’] When they successfully achieve this objective, the greatest wish of our Lord will be fulfilled.22
قصر مشید بیت العدل عمومی را علی رؤس الاشها و رغما لکل عدو لدود و معاند جسور مرتفع سازند و بر اجرای اعظم نوایای مقدسه رب عزیز موفق و فائز گردند."22
Whatsoever is revealed from the Pen of High is certain to happen and accruing, and the decree of Badá’ will then lifted therefrom. 23
" آنچه از قلم اعلی نازل گشته محتوم است و واقع و حکم بداء از آن مرفوع"23
O People of the earth! Know verily and truthfully and inform any doubtful and precarious person that whatever the Pen of High has specified will ultimately appear and be manifested as the sun in the middle of the day.24
" ای اهل زمین بحق الیقین بدانید و هر متردد متوقفی را آگاه و پر انتفاه گردانید که آنچرا قلم اعلی تصریح فرموده کالشمس فی قطب الزوال بالمال نمایان و پدید گردد".24
The word Badá’ in the above quotations and in other passages of the Writings are Divine confirmation that man is not able to permanently “disconnect the Channels within through which the channels of the Holy Spirit of the Cause pour forth.”25 The current separation of the misguided believers from the Centre of the Covenant must be considered temporary in this Formative Age of the Bahá’í Faith and part of a process for the birth and establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth, foretold by His Holiness Christ over two thousand years ago. “We should feel truly thankful,” Shoghi Effendi states,
for such futile attempts to undermine our beloved Faith—attempts that protrude their ugly face from time to time, seem for a while able to create a breach in the ranks of the faithful, recede finally into the obscurity of oblivion, and are thought of no more. Such incidents we should regard as the interposition of Providence, designed to fortify our faith, to clarify our vision and to deepen our understanding of the essentials of His Divine Revelation.26
On the subject of Badá’, Mason Remey in Daily Observations, Volume 1, writes:
The Persians use the word “BADAH” [Badá’] to signify the Failure of the Promise or Word of God as given by the Manifestation or Prophet of God sent to the world. They say that even God changes His plan and intent at times and that under such a condition we creatures upon earth must accept this change upon His part and change our ideas to meet the circumstances.
The great danger in the propagation of this theory of BADAH is lest we creatures ourselves desire to do something that is not in accord with the command of God, and then in order to carry out our own ideas (we) say that God’s plan has gone bad, all thus to excuse and give credence to our own desires by thus maintaining that God has changed His plan, which theory when accepted deceives us and many others too that God was wrong and we are right.
BADAH is a very dangerous stand for those to take who wish something other than God’s plan—thus BADAH is their last refuge.27
The Hands of the Faith, after denying the continuation of the Guardianship in their first conclave on November 25, 1957, established their version of a covenant in contrast to the firm and undisputed revealed Words. They replaced the divinely conceived Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh and imposed their own creation on the believers—to accept and “cling” to the Hands of the Faith. The Hands of the Faith, following their destruction of the embryonic Universal House of Justice, formed a man-made elected body of nine persons that budded into a universal house of justice, a body without a Head, that is, a living guardian. It is a false institution whose authenticity is removed and its validity rejected. In a letter written in the summer of 1925, Shoghi Effendi stated,
Any institution that is not established in accordance with the Divine Order, not in conformity with the principles and the conditions recorded in the Holy Writings, as it is required for this august institution, consequently such an institution is void of credential, deprived of spiritual station, and forbidden to have any right to legislate and enact laws and ordinances which are not explicitly recorded in the Holy Writings. It also lacks the essential qualities and Divine confirmation.28
The present administration in Haifa, the so-called universal house of justice and its linking administrative bodies throughout the world, is illegal because the believers and supporters of it do not fulfill the stated requirements revealed in the Writings; therefore, it cannot be considered Bahá’í. There are essential requirements for a person to be called a Bahá’í: they must accept and believe that the Bab and Bahá’u’lláh are the Promised Ones of all ages, that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is the successor to Bahá’u’lláh, and that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is the Centre of His Covenant. Furthermore, a Bahá’í accepts and believes without reservation every clause of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament including the continuation of Guardianship and all the Writings revealed by the three Central Figures of the Faith, The Bab, Bahá’u’lláh, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and a Bahá’í possesses goodly qualities and acts with high moral standards among the people of the world. Our actions should reflect the divine virtues that Bahá’u’lláh desired for the believers. In the first verse of the Most Holy Book, The Kitáb-i-Aghdas, Bahá’u’lláh states:
The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is the recognition of Him Who is the Dayspring of His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws, Who representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His Cause and the world of creation. Whoso achieveth this duty hath attained unto all good; and whoso is deprived thereof hath gone astray, though he be the author of every righteous deed. It behoveth everyone who reacheth this most sublime station, this summit of transcendent glory, to observe every ordinance of Him Who is the Desire of the world. These twin duties are inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other. Thus, hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Source of Divine inspiration.29
‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Will and Testament states:
He that obeyeth him not, [the guardian of the Faith] hath not obeyed God; he that turpeth away from him, [the guardian of the Faith] hath turned away from God and he that denieth him, [the guardian of the Faith] hath denied the True One. Beware lest anyone falsely interpret these words and like unto them that have broken the Covenant after the Day of Ascension (of Bahá’u’lláh) advance a pretext, raise the standard of revolt, wax stubborn and open wide the door of false interpretation. To none is given the right to put forth his own opinion or express his particular conviction. All must seek guidance and turn unto the Center of the Cause [the Guardian of the Faith] and the [Universal] House of Justice. And he that turneth unto whatsoever else is indeed in grievous error.30
In brief, the article written by Smith and Momen is not related to the authentic Bahá’í Faith because the fundamental principles of the Faith had been changed by an erring group of ex- Hands of the Faith and later supported by their created body in 1963, the so-called universal house of justice. The Hands replaced the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, as detailed in the Kitáb-i-Aghdas, the Kitáb-i- Ahd, and the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, with their own covenant, which they made with the believers after the ascension of the first Guardian of the Faith. They voided the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and convinced the believers that they must “cling” to them and their creation of a bogus universal house of justice. They further convinced the believers that the recipient of Huqu’u’lláh is the so-called universal house of justice, not the guardian of the Faith, a fact that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá makes clear in His Will: “It is to be offered through the guardian of the Cause of God, that it may be expended for the diffusion of the Fragrances of God and the exaltation of His Word, for benevolent pursuits and for the common weal.”31 The ex-Hands also coaxed the believers into accepting that the excommunication of a person and returning the same to the community was the prerogative of the ex-Hands initially and, subsequently, the so-called universal house of justice. These are but some of their infidelities.
The ex-Hands of the Faith and the present administration in Haifa are fulfilling the truth and reality of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s verse in the Will and Testament: “How often hath grievous error been disguised in the garb of truth, that it might sow the seeds of doubt in the hearts of men!”32 And the verses found in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, “Erelong shall clamorous voices be raised in most lands.”33 Or with the words, “They that have violated the Covenant of God by breaking His Covenant [among His commandments], and have turned back on their heels, these have erred grievously in the sight of God, the All-Possessing, the Most-High.”34
Smith and Momen's article does not survey the progress and development of the Bahá’í Faith for the stated period of 1957–1988, but their survey does fully relate to a sect created by the ex-Hands of the Faith and supported by the present administration in Haifa: the so-called universal house of justice and the connected administrative bodies throughout the world, established since the first Guardian’s ascension on November 4, 1957.
How appropriate is the poem composed by Hafez of Shiraz in Persia in the fourteenth century:
ای مگس عرصه سیمرغ نه جولانگه توست عرض خود می بری و زحمت ما میداری
تو به تقصیر خود افتادی از این در محروم از که مینالی و فریاد «چرا» میداری؟
حافظ از پادشهان، پایه به خدمت طلبند سعی نابرده چه امید عطا میداری؟35
O fly! Phoenix’s path is not your air,
You ruin your name, and us you tire and wear,
Through your own deeds, you are now poor and bare,
From complaints and your cries, I beg you, us spare,
Even kings, through their service fill their chair,
Hope for nothing, if you will not do your share.35
(“Listen Fly!” is replaced by “O Fly!)
I would like to quote a tablet by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent to Mulá Bahrám Bahman of the land of Yá (Yazd), which the writer translated, describing the spiritual station of the faithful ones and the violator of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh:
He is God!
Your honourable, Mulá Bahrám Bahman
Land of Ya (Yazd)
O who are standing guard at the threshold of thy Lord!
Thy efficacious communication, meaning the melody of the nightingale of the rose garden, was received and caused gladness among the companions. In truth, I say, it was a wave that emanated from the sea of God’s affection and a basket of jewels of divine knowledge, gems of meanings, and a shining record. It was full brightness on the darkness of sadness and, like blessing rain on darkened dust. Reading thy letter brought much joy, and its re-reading was delightful. Thank God for the engagement of that spiritual community in spreading the holy breeze and being busy, day and night, in the service at God’s holy threshold. Today, steadfastness and firmness in the life-giving Covenant of God is the lighting flame in the world. Praise be to God, for the believers are standing firm [in the Covenant] like an edifice on a solid foundation; no quaking can shake them, and at no time, can they stumble. But, like a rigid barrier of iron, they stand tall against the violent storm of the divine test, and in facing the owl of the bad omen and doubts, they are the eagle of the high sky.
[On the contrary], the wicked crowd is like a spider web, and their foundation is based on loose dirt as dwellings on sand. Their life-giving wine is phantom, and their food is the fruit of the tree of Zaqqǔm.36 On the day of judgment, their life is lifeless, and their refuge is the centre of sedition. They are like children living in their fantasy world and are in deep sleep as if without life. Like foolish ones, they are proud of earthenware, not priceless pearl, and like dung beetles, are intoxicated by the offensive smell, not by the fragrance of rose-garden. They are the least of the worms, dwell at the lowest of the earth, not the birds of high heaven. They are bats of darkness, not radiating light of the bright horizon. At every moment, they raise excuses and, like crows of ill-omen, make their nest in the autumn season. With blind eyes, they cry, where is the light? and with deaf ears, raise their denying voice, saying, where is the melody of the birds? They dwell underground but desire to see the bright moon and are suspended in the well of doubts but seeking audiences to interpret the [revealed] Words. They are lost in the wilderness of doubtfulness and ignorance but see themselves on the highway of truth and think walking on the shore of certitude. They are Covenant Breakers but consider themselves the centre of horizons and are the destroyers of the Covenant yet regard themselves as the founder of it. Alas, it is deplorable that jealousy caused them to become captive in twisted rope and bearer of firewood for the flame of God's wrath.
Then, O my true friend and my spiritual companion! Be steadfast and have firm steps, and like a brave lion, challenge the seditious ones, and as the eagle of the heaven of the Covenant, scatter these unfaithful crows from the garden of the Cause.
May the glory of El-Abha be upon you.37
هوالأبهی
جناب ملّا بهرام بهمن علیه بهآء اللّه الأبهی
ارض یا
ای پاسبان آستان یزدان نامۀ بلیغ یعنی گلبانگ بلبل گلشن واصل گشت و سبب شادمانی یاران انجمن شد براستی میگویم که موجی از بحر محبّت اللّه بود و درجی از گوهر معرفت اللّه لآلی معانی بود و دراری درّی ظلمات هموم را روشنی پرسطوع بود و غبار اکدار را امطار مواهب بیشمار از قرائتش کمال سرور حاصل گشت و از تلاوتش نهایت حبور حاصل شد حمد خدا را که آن انجمن رحمانی مشغول بنفحات مقدّسۀ ربّانی است و شب و روز در عبودیّت آستان مقدّس قائم امروز شعلۀ جهانافروز ثبوت و رسوخ بر پیمان حیّ قیّوم است حمد خدا را که آن یاران چون بنیان سختبنیاد ثابت و برقرارند از هیچ زلازلی نلرزند و در هیچ موقعی نلغزند بلکه سیل شدید امتحانرا سدّی از زبر حدیدند و بوم شوم شبهاترا عقاب اوج رفیع آن قوم پرلوم را بنیان نسج عنکبوت است و بنیاد بر خاک سست چون اوهن بیوت شرابشان سراب است و غذائشان از شجرۀ زقّوم یوم الحساب حیاتشان ممات است و ملجأشان مصدر آفات کودکانند نوهوس و خفتگانند منقطع النّفس چون ابلهان مغرور خزفند نه صدف پرگهر و چون جعل سرمست بوی گلخنند نه رایحۀ گلشن معطّر کرم مهینند و در اسفل زمین مکین نه طیور علّیّین خفّاش ظلمتند نه نورپاش افق مبین هر دم بهانهئی آرند و چون زاغان جفا در گلخن خزان لانه و آشیانه نمایند با چشم کور فریاد این النّور بلند کنند و با گوش کر نعرۀ منکر این نغمات الطّیور زنند در طبقۀ پسین زمینند و مشاهدۀ مه تابان خواهند و در حفرۀ شبهات سرنگونند استماع آیات بیّنات جویند گمگشتۀ بادیۀ ارتیابند خود را در شاهراه یقین شمرند و سرگشتۀ مفازی جهلند و خویش را در شاطی بحر یقین دانند ناقض میثاقند خود را قطب آفاق خوانند هادم پیمانند خویش را بانی ایوان دانند زهی حسرت و افسوس که از حسد اسیر حبل مسد شدند و نار غضب را حمّال حطب گشتند پس تو ای دوست حقیقی و یار روحانی کمر محکم کن و قدم ثابت دار و چون شیر دژم روبهان پرستم را حملهئی نما و چون عقاب اوج پیمان این زاغان پرعدوانرا از میدان بگریزان و البهآء علیک ع ع36
O Lord, my God! Assist Thy loved ones to be firm in Thy Faith, to walk in Thy ways, to be steadfast in Thy Cause. Give them Thy grace to withstand the onslaught of self and passion, to follow the light of Divine Guidance. Thou art the Powerful, the Gracious, the Self-Subsisting, the Bestower, the Compassionate, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful.38
With Loving Bahá’ì Greetings,
E. S. Yazdani,
5th Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith,
Sydney-Australia,
April 10, 2025.
Endnotes
1. Smith, P. and Momen, M. (1989). The Bahá’í, Faith 1957–1988: A Survey of Contemporary Developments. Baha'i Library Online. https://bahai-library.com/momen_smith_developments_1957-1988 and Academia The_Bahai_Faith_1957_1988_A_Survey_of_Co (1).pdf
2. Bahá’u’lláh (1961). Kitáb-i-Iqán, Bahá’ì Publishing Trust, London, 163.
3. Shadád”-شداد has an Arabic numerical value of 310. When this number is added to 1000, it corresponds with 1310 AH, the year Bahá’u’lláh left the contingent word.
4. Bahá’u’lláh (1986/2004). The Hidden Words. Oxford: Oneworld, translated by Shoghi Effendi, Persian section, Item 63, 93.
5. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Makateeb, Vol. 8, عبدالبهاء مکاتیب جلد 8 ص 82
6. Shoghi Effendi, Tawqì’at-i-Mubákih, Bahá’ì-Verlag, Germany. Letter Dated 88 BE to the Eastern Believers, 7–8.
7. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (1944/1922). The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Issued by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ìs of the United State of America and Canada. Illinois: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 12.
8. The Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Bahá, 12.
9. Shoghi Effendi, Tawqì’at-i-Mubákih. Includes Letters dated 1927–1939.
10. Shoghi Effendi, The Messages to the Bahá’í World. USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1971, 7.
11. The Messages to the Bahá’í World, 8.
12. The Messages to the Bahá’í World, 22.
13. The Messages to the Bahá’í World, 7.
14. مجموعه الواح مبارکه حضرت بهاءالله ،چاپ مصرقاهره ص 343
15. Bahá’u’lláh (2008), Kitab-i-Bad’. Bahá’í-Verlag, Germany, 38.
16. The Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Bahá, 12.
17. Mason Remey, Daily Observation, Mason Remey, 114–117 BE, Vol 2, 5.
18. Rúhíyyih Khánum (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957–1963, The Bahá’ì World Centre, 10.
19. Mason Remey, Daily Observations, 114–117 BE, Vol 2, 5.
20. Shoghi Effendi (1955). The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, USA, 144.
21. Bahá’u’lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, Bahá'í Reference Library, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.
https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/tablets-bahaullah/5#430671214.
22. Shoghi Effendi, Tawqì’at-i-Mubákih. Includes Letters dated 1922-1926, Letter of Summer 1925, 239–240.
23. Shoghi Effendi, Tawqì’at-i-Mubákih. Includes Letters dated 1922-1926, Letter of September 24, 1924, 198.
24. Shoghi Effendi, Tawqì’at-i-Mubákih. Includes Letters dated 1922-1926, 67.
25. Shoghi Effendi, Tawqì’at-i-Mubákih. Includes Letters dated 1927-1939, Letter November 27, 1927, 67.
26. Shoghi Effendi, World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1971, 3.
27. Mason Remey, Daily Observation, Vol. 1, 5.
28. Shoghi Effendi, Tawqì’at-i-Mubákih, translated by Kamran Taimouri. Includes Letters dated 1922–1926, 239–240.
29. Bahá’u’lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, UHJ: Bahá’í World Centre, Verse 1, 19.
30. The Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Bahá, 25.
31. The Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Bahá, 15.
32. The Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Bahá, 12.
33. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Verse 37, 32.
34. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Verse 2, 20.
35. Khajeh Shamsuddin Mohammad Hafiz Shirazi, Divan-i-Khajeh Hafez Shirazi, translated by Enteshárát Jáveedán, 3rd Printing, 240.
36. According to the Ábádis dictionary, Zaqqǔm is the name of a plant with bitter fruit, bad smell, and bad taste. It grows in Tihamah, تهامه and the infields are familiar with this tree. Wikipedia defines the word as a tree that grows at the bottom of hell, and its fruit is poisonous and very bitter.
The expression of the Tree of Zaqqǔm is repeated three times in the Holy Quran: two times as the tree of Zaqqǔm and once as its fruit, Zaqqǔm. These verses are in Chapters 37, 44, and 56: Is this ˹bliss˺ a better accommodation or the tree of Zaqqûm? (37:62); Surely ˹the fruit of˺ the tree of Zaqqûm (44:43); and Will certainly eat from ˹the fruit of the trees of Zaqqûm (56:52). The Noble Quran, Quran.com. https://quran.com/search?page=1&query=%20tree%20Zaqq%C7%94m. The tree of Zaqqǔm is symbolic of the forces of darkness, which appear at the time of God's Manifestation in the contingent world. This force of darkness works against the Tree of Life, manifested by God’s Messengers to mankind. The clergies in any dispensation are the source of these oppositions to the Messengers of God. These wicked people are symbolized as the tree of Zaqqǔm, which provides people with the poisonous fruits of their ill intention to redirect the masses away from the sweet melody of God’s Manifestation, who is between the world of man and the world of the Creating God or the mirror reflecting God’s attributes to mankind. Following the death of the Manifestations of God, different kinds of people appear, breaking the Lesser Covenant of God and pushing people further away from the chain of the appointed successors of the Founders. For instance, consider Mìrzá Yahyá, known as Subh-i-Azal during the life of the founder of the Bahá’ì Faith; or Mìrzá Mohamad Ali during the time of ‘Abdu’l-Baha; and most recently, the opposition of the ex-Hands of the Faith headed by Rúhíyyih Khánum, “the arch-violator” to the Guardianship of Mason Remey. All are like the tree of Zaqqǔm, feeding their follower with lies, deception, and sweet words on the surface but, in essence, are bitter and poisonous to the spiritual lives of their followers. Further, the bogus universal house of justice is indeed the tree of Zaqqǔm in today’s world, for their followers as well as the people of the world.
37. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Makátyb, Jeld 1, translated by E S Yazdani, 341–343.
38. The Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Bahá, 15.
Appendix A
Mason Remey’s PROCLAMATION was first sent to the Hands
of the Faith in the Holy Land before it was sent through the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá’ís of The United States of America to the Annual
Convention of Bahá’ís assembled at Wilmette, Illinois, RIDVÁN 117 Bahá’í Era. The
following letter to Charles Wolcott, Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly,
explains this matter:
WASHINGTON D.C.
8 April 1960
Mr. Charles Wolcott, the Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States
356 Sheridan Road, Wilmette,
Illinois
Dear Charles,
Enclosed, I send you my Proclamation of My Guardianship of the Bahá’í Faith.
This declaration explains itself. I send this to you to be read before the
Bahá’í Convention, which will shortly convene at Wilmette.
I am pleased to have your letter of April 8, 1960, extending to me the
invitation of your National Assembly to be present with you at your coming
Annual National Convention.
I have been preparing a Proclamation communication addressed to the convention,
a copy of which I enclose with this letter, asking that it be read to the
delegates seated. This document will explain itself.
If it be the wish of the convention that I go the Wilmette at this time to meet
with the Bahá’ís of America and further proclaim, declare, and explain my
status for life as commander in chief of Bahá’í affairs of the world as I was
appointed to do by our late Beloved Guardian as the Second Guardian of the
Bahá’í Faith, I will be very pleased indeed to meet the convention.
Should the convention wish this, let them send three believers of their choice
to Washington, bringing me their invitation to come to them – these three
representatives of the convention to usher me to the convention in waiting for
me. The importance, solemnity, and the dignity of the occasion in the Bahá’í
Faith demands this formality.
I will be prepared to receive those three friends at the home of my sister,
Miss Remey, at 2101 Connecticut Avenue, Northwest, Washington D.C. This
delegation of three will let me know when and where I can get word to them on
their arrival in Washington and they will make all arrangements for my
traveling to Wilmette and for my stay while I am there as the guest of the
National Assembly of the Bahá’ís of this country.
Faithfully yours,
In El Abha
Mason Remey, Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith
Washington, D. C.
United States of America
Ridván 117 BAHÁ’Í ERA
BELOVED FRIENDS:
Believers have questioned me
as to my status as President of the Bahá'í International Council, appointed by the
Beloved Guardian Shoghi Effendi, the First Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith. I take
the means of this proclamation to the coming annual national convention to tell
all Bahá'ís exactly what my position and status is in the Faith.
The Bahá'í people the world around know that the Beloved Guardian singled me,
Mason Remey, out from amongst all of the Believers upon earth to occupy the
position of President of the Bahá'í International Council. This is the only
position suggestive of authority that Shoghi Effendi ever bestowed upon anyone,
the only special and specific appointment of authority to any man ever made by
him.
The Beloved Guardian declared the Bahá'í International Council to be the
forerunner of and the first step toward the establishment of the Universal
House of Justice, and furthermore, that the Bahá'í International Council was
the embryo of The Universal House of Justice, which embryo would eventually
develop into the Universal House of Justice.
Although all Bahá'ís know that I, Mason Remey, am the President of the Bahá'í
International Council by the appointment of the Beloved Guardian Shoghi
Effendi, yet many of you may not know me personally. I have been living at
Haifa much of the time during these past ten years. My visits to America being
in the summers when I have done but little travelling among the Bahá'í
communities, so personally I may be a stranger to the many recently registered
in the Faith. Therefore, I will tell you something about myself.
My forebearers were early American Colonials of New England in the north and
Virginia in the south. I was brought up in the Christian Faith as taught by the
Episcopal Church. The members of this church, as you know, although always
orthodox, may be anything from Catholic upon one hand to Protestant on the
other. While this church is usually classed as Protestant, its Prayer Book
proclaims it to be "The Holy Catholic Apostolic Church." My
inheritance was from the Catholic interpretation of Christianity rather than
from the Protestant attitude.
To the average American, The Catholic Church usually means Roman Catholic, but
there are other Catholic communions. In The Holy Land, that is now my home and
has been for these past ten years, the Ministry of Religions of Israel lists
eleven different Catholic communions in that country – Roman, Anglican,
Russian, Armenian, Greek, Greek Orthodox, Coptic, etc. The Anglican Catholic
Persuasion corresponds to the so-called High Episcopal Church in America.
With this Catholic background it was the most logical and natural thing in the world
for me to accept the Bahá'í message without question, as I did when I heard it
in 1899–1900 from May Ellis Bolles (later Mrs. Sutherland Maxwell), because the
Holy Catholic Apostolic Church teaches the Second Coming of Christ – the Christ
to come manifesting as the Lord of Creation – the Prince of Peace – coming to
establish "His Kingdom upon Earth as it is in Heaven."
From New England on the north and Virginia on the south, my forebears came into
the middle west where I was born in 1874 at a town on the Mississippi River,
two hundred and ten miles from Chicago, not far distant from the geographic
center of the United States, this land that our Beloved Guardian has called
"The Cradle of the Administration of the Bahá'í Faith." Thus, do I
introduce myself to those of you who may know me but by name only.
As I travel about through the Bahá'í world, the friends ask me many questions
about the life of the believers in Israel, and in particular about the Hands of
the Faith in The Holy Land? The Bahá'í people are just curious to know about
things transpiring there and of how the problems of the Faith are being handled.
There is some general information that I can give them that is in no way
confidential, but I am not mentioning anything of a confidential nature to any
Bahá'í because as is well known in Bahá'í circles that from the first of the
conclaves of the Hands, the majority of the Hands of the Faith were united in
the opinion that absolutely nothing said or done in these conclaves be
divulged, disclosed, or revealed to any of the Bahá'ís outside of the body of
the twenty- seven Hands. However, each Hand of the Faith is not only allowed
but urged to express herself or himself with perfect freedom within the four
walls of the chamber in which the Hands are gathered. It is the duty enjoined
upon each of the Hands to express her or his own convictions to the Hands when
seated in conclave.†
I as the President of the International Council was one of those things that
every Bahá'í knows but just never happened to be talked about nor even
mentioned in any of the conclaves or in the conferences of the Hands of the
Faith; therefore, as this subject was never mentioned, I, having promised the
Hands never to divulge any of their discussions, proceedings, or decisions, am
not breaking faith with them now by explaining to the believers about this
subject of my Presidentship of the International Council, a subject that was
never even mentioned nor brought up for discussion by the Hands of the Faith in
any conference that I ever attended or know anything about.
Before going into the subject of my Presidency of the International Council and
the stand that I take in the cause and explain in this letter, I would preface
my statement by giving in a few words a picture of the set-up of things in
Haifa under the regime of the Beloved Guardian, when all the members of the
International Council including the resident Hands lived there and served the
Guardian daily. Each of us council members was given instructions by Shoghi
Effendi of what he wanted us to do, and we reported to him as these various
services were underway and completed. The sole authority of all these
operations rested in the instructions given to each direct from the Guardian
himself; thus, as a council, a functioning body, we never undertook any
services of any nature whatsoever.
After the appointment of the International Council, many times one of the
members would come to me saying, "Mason, you are the President of the
Council, get yourself busy, call a meeting, you are the President of the
Council, you should take the initiative to organize this body and do
something." To which my response was always, "The Guardian of the
Faith appointed the Bahá’í International Council, and He will tell me what I
should do and when I should call the Council into action."
The First Guardian of the Faith left this world without giving me any orders or
instructions whatsoever regarding the International Council. The Beloved
Guardian gave me no authority to do anything about the Universal Council during
his lifetime, for while He was living, He was the Guardian of the Faith, and as
infallibility then was vested in him and in him only, my position was then only
that of I myself holding a potential responsibility. But with the death of
Shoghi Effendi, He no longer being the centre upon earth of infallibility, I became the acting President
of the International Council in my own right as President of this body, thus, I
came into active command of the council. Therefore, I am now but assuming the
powers that came to me automatically upon the death of Shoghi Effendi and that
have been mine exclusively of all others upon earth since the death of the
First Guardian of the Faith.
This is the authority I am now exercising when I refuse to recognize any
interference from anyone in the affairs of the International Council. This
means from anyone at all, person or persons.
The Hands of the Faith can only function as protectors of the Faith when they
are serving under the direction and following the commands of the infallible
Guardian of the Faith. They have no authority vested in themselves as Hands of
the Faith to act in their own capacity nor in any other capacity, save under
the direction of the living Guardian of the Faith.
The Beloved Guardian chose me to be the President of the Bahá'í International
Council, that is, according to his explanation, the President of the Embryonic
Universal House of Justice. Therefore, I am the President of the Embryonic
Universal House of Justice. When this August body becomes the Universal House
of Justice, if such being during my lifetime, I will then be the President of
the First Universal House of Justice of the Bahá'í Dispensation.
Therefore, inasmuch as the Beloved Guardian in His Infallibility has thus
placed me in command of the Faith to protect and to guard the Faith, I can do
nothing but assume my place that he has given me with all of the
responsibilities, perquisites, and emoluments that go with this position; therefore,
by his infallible orders I now alone after him command the Cause and guard its
integrity.
The delay until now of my calling the attention of the believers to the
provisions for the protection and the guarding of the Cause, made some years
ago by our Beloved Guardian when He appointed me to be the President of the
Bahá'í International Council, has given the Hands of the Faith and the
believers of the Faith ample time to discover for themselves, had that been
possible for them to have discovered my unique position in the Faith. But until
now no one other than I have discovered that such authority was vested in me by
Our Beloved Guardian. To the moment of my sending out into the Bahá'í world of
this proclamation, I have taken no one into this confidence – I have stood
single and alone in all the world guarding the Faith.
That I was to occupy this august position in the Bahá'í Faith that the Beloved
Guardian has chosen me to occupy, I have definitely known for the past twelve
years more or less, without ever mentioning it to anyone until very recently,
when privately and in secret, I made this declaration to the Hands of the Faith
in the Holy Land. In this proclamation statement to you, I am now declaring my
position of command in the cause to the Believers here in America, "The
Cradle of the Administration of The Bahá'í Faith," and through this
convention to all the Bahá'í World.
In this time of confusion of thought and purpose that so threatens the Bahá'í
world, now is the propitious moment for me to make the announcement that I do
in this writ. I cannot delay it any longer. All these plans of the Hands of the
Faith for 1963 that are so absorbing and confusing to the people of the Faith
must be dropped and stopped immediately. I am the only one who can command this
situation, so I have arisen to do so, for I alone in all this world have been
given the authority and the power to accomplish this.
Be it understood. I, of myself make no claims for myself. I am but telling and
reminding the Hands of the Faith and the Bahá'ís of all the world of the
responsibilities that the Beloved Guardian placed upon me as President of the
Bahá'í International Council.
It is well known throughout the Bahá'í world and accepted by all Bahá'ís that
the protection of the Faith and the propagation of the Faith are special and
particular functions of the Hands of the Faith; they, working and serving under
the direction of the Guardian of the Faith. It is from and through the
Guardianship that infallibility is vested and that the Hands of the Faith
receive their orders.
The Program for 1960 as announced by the Hands of the Faith in their message to
the Bahá'í world of November 4, 1959, signed by twenty-two of the Hands, as
well as the same program announced in their former messages, so flagrantly
violates and puts to naught the Will and Testament, the Guardianship, and the
Administration of the Faith that the Beloved Guardian so laboriously and
painstakingly built up during his long ministry, that I can no longer condone
such actions upon the part of the Hands of the Faith. I have remained silent
now for over two years, hoping that they would give up this destructive
propagandizing, but all to no effect, so now it is necessary that I call a halt
upon their activities.
I now command the Hands of the Faith to stop all of their preparations for 1963,
and furthermore, I command all believers both as individual Bahá'ís and as
assemblies of Bahá'ís to immediately cease cooperating with and giving support
to this fallacious program for 1963.
I have delayed as long as I dare delay before issuing this command to the
Bahá'í world – I, hoping that the Hands of the Faith would see for themselves
that the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was being violated and that they
would of themselves abandon their stand. I, standing single and alone against
the entire Bahá'í world but confirmed and steadfast in my assurance of
ultimately saving the cause from this calamity. My assurance is based upon the
authority that the Beloved Guardian gave me as President of the Council, the
authority enabling me to act and assume command of the Bahá'ís that came to me
at his death.
It is meet, right, and timely that I should make this announcement in this
convention of Bahá'ís of America, which land the Beloved Guardian called the
"Cradle of the Administration." I make this call here and now,
standing single and alone before you but fully confident of your support and
cooperation in all Bahá'í matters, for you understand the Administration of the
Faith and that I guard it from all violation and harm.
Because the Beloved Guardian called America the Cradle of the Bahá'í
Administration, the American Bahá'ís have a very special and particular
responsibility to which I am calling them now at this particular time.
I expect the friends in this convention to consider with prayer and with
thought this declaration addressed to them, that is a declaration to the entire
Bahá'í world. I expect them to accept me without question as their
Commander-in-Chief in all Bahá'í matters and to follow me so long as I live,
for I am the Guardian of the Faith – the Infallible Guardian of the Bahá'í
Faith.
The line of the Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith is unbroken, for I have been
the Guardian of the Faith since the death of the Beloved Guardian Shoghi
Effendi.
At their earliest convenience,
the National Assembly of the United States should communicate with me so that I
can arrange to receive them. Since they are the first amongst the National
Assemblies to be called into spiritual action by me, their responsibilities are
very great, for I am calling this American National Assembly first from all
other National Assemblies of the world to support me in my command of the
Bahá'í Cause.
Dearly Beloved Friends, seated in convention in the land of the Cradle of the
Administration of the Faith, this is all that I have to tell you now at this
time.
With much love to you.
Faithfully In El Abhá,
MASON R., GUARDIAN OF THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH
† A Conclave, according to the Oxford
Dictionary, is "Any meeting for secret consultation."
STATEMENT
BY
MASON REMEY, GUARDIAN OF THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH
At the first Bahjí Conclave, the Hands of the
Cause took over the management of the affairs of the Bahá’í Faith. This was
followed by their repudiation of the Administration Guardianship of the Faith.
This violation of the Guardianship that is the heart of the Administration of
the Bahá’í Faith, is condemned by the Second Guardian of the Faith, and all who
follow this violation of the Bahá'í Faith are pronounced by him to be violators
of the Faith, for thus by this action have they severed themselves from the
Bahá’í Religious Faith.
One of the first actions of these violating Hands of the Cause in this first
conclave was to decree that no recorded or written records be taken of things
transpiring in their conclaves. At the same time, by a universally passed
resolution, all were to hold in secrecy everything that transpired in those
conclaves.
The Second Guardian of the Faith, then in occultation in the capacity of a Hand
of the Cause and President of the Bahá'í International Council, sat with the
Hands in this conclave. He knew at that time that this violation of the
Guardianship was being perpetrated but hoping to rectify this condition through friendly
argument and pacific methods, he agreed with the others to keep in strict
secret with them from the Bahá'í world all things that passed between the Hands
of the Faith in their conclaves and conferences. For he hoped to be able to
show them their errors and thus save them from their violation of the Faith.
Thus, two and a half years or thereabouts of time passed, the while he was
telling the Hands of their violation and begging them to reconsider their stand
against the Guardianship – but all to fail in the end in this endeavor.
Through his forbearance, the Second Guardian of the Faith kept this pact of
secrecy with the Hands of the Cause as long as it was possible to keep it,
hoping that they would have a change of heart, cast aside their violations of
the Faith, and welcome the advent of the Second Guardian of the Faith. But when
He, the Second Guardian of the Faith, found that the violations of the Hands
were at the point of causing irreparable damage to the Bahá’í Faith – then he
had to break with the Hands of the Faith. It was then necessary for him to make
his advent as Guardian of the Faith in order to save the Faith.
Therefore, when he announced to the Bahá'í World, Ridván 117 B.E., that the Beloved
First Guardian of the Faith had during his lifetime appointed him, Mason Remey,
the Second Guardian of the Faith, he – for the preservation of the Faith –
broke all connections with the violating Hands of the Faith. And now for the
safety of the Faith, he is telling and explaining to the Bahá'í world the
things that the Hands of the Faith have been perpetrating against the Faith;
namely, their attempt to do away with the Administrative-Guardianship of the
Faith, the foundation of which was given to the First Guardian of the Faith and
to the Bahá’í world in the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá upon which
foundation Shoghi Effendi inaugurated the Administration that the Hands of the
Cause are violating.
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