Baha'u'llah and all Baha'is are Covenant Breakers!

Baha'u'llah

by N. Wahid Azal

The following is a legal argument and not a theological one, although it has theological implications.
According to all Bayani sources as well as documentation dispersed between several official non-Baha'i MSS collections (i.e. Browne CUL, British Museum Library, Oxford Bodleian Library, Princeton University MSS collections, Bibliotheque National of France, etc), after a lengthy correspondence of a year where he had elevated him in rank, in April 1850 the Bab officially appointed Mirza Yahya Nuri Subh-i-Azal (d. 1912) as his undisputed successor and mirror. In doing so, and as all the Bayani sources indicate, the Bab widely communicated his nomination to all the Babi leaders of the time and they in turn communicated it to the rank and file of the Babis. One of the original pieces of documentation in the handwriting of the Bab himself appointing Subh-i-Azal still exists and has been published several times in facsimile, beginning by E.G. Browne in his edition and translation of Tarikh-i-Jadid.

In the batch of communications from that April-May 1850 period, the Bab likewise sent a short missive to Mirza Husayn 'Ali Nuri Baha'ullah (d. 1892) instructing him to protect Subh-i-Azal as his sole duty until his death. This missive (whose original in the handwriting of the Bab also exists and is addressed to '238', i.e. Husayn 'Ali) states as follows:

From the element of the Most Splendorous (az ʿunṣur-i-abhāʾ), namely Yaḥyā [i.e. Ṣubḥ-i-Azal], the written tablets (alvāḥ-i-mastūrih), which hath disclosed from the simple substance of ecstatic spiritual attraction, were perused, thanks be the discloser of majesty, majestic and tremendous be he! Exercise a perfect watchfulness over the spirit and vitality (rūḥ va irtivāh) of that considered one [i.e. Ṣubḥ-i-Azal] so that the fierce simoom winds (aryāḥ-i-mushriqa) do not settle upon the heart of that inhabitant; and, in writing and dictation, the means of joy and delight in the acme of perfection should be facilitated for his sake such that he, absolutely, never ever beholds any grief or sorrow, neither secretly nor openly. And take the utmost care of him and his treasured works (āthār-i-makhzūna) until your own time arrives (tā vaqt-i-khud), for God is with the patient! (my trans.)

Nowhere in this communication does it appear that the Bab is speaking to a superior. He is in fact quite emphatically addressing someone who he deems to be a spiritual inferior which he instructs regarding his own successor (who happens to be the addressees younger step-brother).
According to all Bayani sources, as well as those remaining pieces of text from the Baghdad period, for 13-14 years Mirza Husayn Ali Nuri Baha'ullah himself unequivocally upheld (in private and in public) the wording and the spirit of the Bab's nomination and appointment of his younger brother as being unimpeachable. Mullā Muḥammad Jaʿfar Narāqī (d. 1871) confirms:

…in his [earlier] professed declarations of servitude [towards Ṣubḥ-i-Azal], [Bahā’u’llāh] would make the cap of pride and boastful vainglory reach the summit of the heavens…” (my trans.)

According to the explicit text of the Persian Bayan, a divine revelation and its dispensation must reach its stage of maturity until another revelation comes to abrogate it. Moreover, within the Persian Bayan the Bab also states that the Bayan's promised one may appear either in 1511 or 2001 years from his own time. Elsewhere the Bab anticipates a series of mirrors and successors within the Bayan whose number total 19:

…as long as the sun shines all will be illumined by its radiance; and afterwards if one like him should arise then you will be guided by one similar to him, and you will be illumined by the radiance of God until it reaches/concludes with the unity (wāḥid)… (my trans)

In the same text quoted above, the Bab anticipates that such successors or mirrors will arise once every 66 years (which spans a period of 1254 years, i.e. 66 x 19). This clearly underscores that the Bab did not anticipate a future universal manifestation like himself before the completion of this cycle. In other writings, the Bab indicates that the Babi promised one will in the future be born to human parents, will have a childhood and go to school before his or her revelation. The original of this aforementioned document also exist and has been published.

Now, depending on the calculation, Baha'ullah was two, nearly three years older than the Bab (the Bayanis calculate the year of the Bab's birth as 1820 and not 1819 as the Baha'is do). In 1850 Baha'ullah would have been roughly 33 years old and in 1863 he would have been around 46. At the time of his apparent declaration, whether taken in Baghdad or later in Edirne, the dispensation of the Bayan would have been in its most formative stage of a mere 13-17 years old (calculating BE from Naw-Ruz, March 1850 per the Bab's diary). There was no Bayani state in existence at the time per the anticipation of the Bayan. None of the Bayani regulations that required the existence of a Bayani state had been implimented in 1863-7, or since. Most of the remaining writings of the Bab which had not been destroyed by the Qajar state and 'ulama were still in 1863-7 being collected, collated and transcribed in copies. None had been printed yet as the Bab unequivocally antipated in the Persian as well as the Arabic Bayans. Nor had the shrines to the 18 Letters of the Living or to the Bab himself been erected. In short, none of the requirements for the coming of new revelation and dispensation superceding the Bayan existed in 1863-7.

Per the documentary evidence this unequivocally indicates that Baha'ullah had no business declaring himself to be the promised one of the Bayan and to inaugurate a new dispensation superceding it. As such Baha'ullah was not the promised one of the Bayan and hence his assertion regarding the establishment of a covenant has no legal bases and so is legally null and void. When key conditions for the reformulation and/or amendment to an original contract do not exist, or have otherwise not been fulfilled in any form or manner, under any jurisprudence of contract this contract has no legal weight, has no legitimacy and therefore those who attempt to introduce these new stipulations overriding the original contract (in opposition to its stipulations) are in actual fact in violation and so in breach of this original contract. As such this makes Baha'ullah the legally established contract breaker and so Covenant Breaker of the revelation of the Bayan and with him all the Baha'is together as well. QED

Source : https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/9f1qy2/covenantbreaking/ 

A direct assault on the concept of a Covenant keeping the Baha'i Faith safe from error and divisions by Dale Husband



https://dalehusband.com/2008/09/07/the-fatal-flaw-in-bahai-authority/

The basic problem of authority in the Baha’i Faith, with its false claim that those authorities are infallible, really becomes obvious when you consider the issue of the Guardianship, which Shoghi Effendi held from 1921 until his death in 1957. He was appointed to that position by his grandfather, Abdu’l-Baha.

O ye the faithful loved ones of Abdu’l-Baha! it is incumbent upon you to take the greatest care of Shoghi Effendi… For he is, after Abdu’l-Baha, the Guardian of the Cause of God… He that obeyeth him not, hath not obeyed God; he that turneth away from him, hath turned away from God and he that denieth him, hath denied the True One… All must seek guidance and turn unto the Center of the Cause and the House of Justice. And he that turneth unto whatsoever else is indeed in grievous error.
(`Abdu’l-Baha: Will and Testament, pages 25-26)

Later, Shoghi Effendi himself wrote:

Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Baha’u’llah would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle which, as Abdu’l-Baha has written, has been invariably upheld by the Law of God. …Without such an institution the integrity of the Faith would be imperiled, and the stability of the entire fabric would be gravely endangered. its prestige would suffer, the means required to enable it to take a long, an uninterrupted view over a series of generations would be completely lacking, and the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally withdrawn.
(Shoghi Effendi: World Order of Baha’u’llah, page 148 )
It stands to reason that if Shoghi Effendi must be obeyed absolutely as the representative of God’s will, then he himself must obey the Baha’i commandments that came before him. If he was disobedient to Baha’i laws, then no one should obey him.
 
Baha’ullah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith, stated in his book of laws, the Kitab-i-Aqdas, paragraph 109, “Unto everyone hath been enjoined the writing of a will.”

Likewise, Abdul-Baha, son of Baha’u’llah, in the very Will and Testament by which he appointed Shoghi Effendi to the Guardianship, stated: “It is incumbent upon the Guardian of the Cause of God to appoint in his own life-time 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.”(Abd’ul-Baha. Will and Testament, p. 12.)

Shoghi Effendi did none of these things. He had no children, and in fact he expelled from the Faith as “Covenant-breakers” every other descendant of his own grandfather, thus betraying the Faith. When he died in 1957, he left no will and had appointed no successor, thus failing to obey the very Covenant he was expected to uphold.

With no further guidance from the Guardian, the Hands of the Cause of God that he had appointed to assist him did the only thing they could to keep the Baha’i Faith alive: They took over the Faith and arranged for the eventual election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963. But without a Guardian to preside over that body, it would never be in accordance with the very writings that established its authority. And the only ones who could be Guardian were the male descendants of Baha’ullah, all of whom were excluded from the Faith by the first Guardian!

Indeed, the simple fact that Shoghi Effendi disobeyed both Bahau’llah and Abd’ul-Baha by not leaving a will, by expelling all his own relatives from the Faith, and not appointing in his lifetime one of his brothers or male cousins as his sucessor to the Guardianship should be enough to demonstrate that there is NO “true” Baha’i Faith existing today. Its authority is meaningless by the testimony of its own history!

And perhaps this was inevitable, since Baha’ullah himself warned his successors in the Faith not to exceed the proper bounds of their authority. Referring again to the Kitab-i-Aqdas, we find this as paragraph 37:

“Whoso layeth claim to a Revelation direct from God, ere the expiration of a full thousand years, such a man is assuredly a lying impostor. We pray God that He may graciously assist him to retract and repudiate such claim. Should he repent, God will, no doubt, forgive him. If, however, he persisteth in his error, God will, assuredly, send down one who will deal mercilessly with him. Terrible, indeed, is God in punishing! Whosoever interpreteth this verse otherwise than its obvious meaning is deprived of the Spirit of God and of His mercy which encompasseth all created things. Fear God, and follow not your idle fancies. Nay, rather, follow the bidding of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Wise. Erelong shall clamorous voices be raised in most lands. Shun them, O My people, and follow not the iniquitous and evil-hearted. This is that of which We gave you forewarning when We were dwelling in ‘Iráq, then later while in the Land of Mystery, and now from this Resplendent Spot.” (Emphasis mine)

Since any Baha’i would affirm that Abdu’l-Baha is inferior in rank to Baha’u’llah, we have to apply consistent logic to the Baha’i Writings;  and when we do…..

“The sacred and youthful branch, the guardian of the Cause of God as well as the Universal House of Justice, to be universally elected and established, are both under the care and protection of the Abha Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of His Holiness, the Exalted One (may my life be offered up for them both). Whatsoever they decide is of God. Whoso obeyeth him not, neither obeyeth them, hath not obeyed God; whoso rebelleth against him and against them hath rebelled against God; whoso opposeth him hath opposed God; whoso contendeth with them hath contended with God; whoso disputeth with him hath disputed with God; whoso denieth him hath denied God; whoso disbelieveth in him hath disbelieved in God; whoso deviateth, separateth himself and turneth aside from him hath in truth deviated, separated himself and turned aside from God. May the wrath, the fierce indignation, the vengeance of God rest upon him!” (Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Baha, Page 11 [Emphasis mine] )

There is no way that passage can be reconciled with the one of Baha’u’llah denying that anyone can receive direct revelation from God before the passage of 1000 years. And that might explain why Shoghi Effendi died:

  1.    without issue
  2.    at the relatively young age of 60
  3.    in the midst of the Ten Year World Crusade he was leading and…
  4.    in London, NOT at the Baha’i World Center.  
He was probably struck down by God himself just as Baha’u’llah would have predicted. And despite the desperate efforts made ever since to teach and proclaim the Baha’i Faith under the Universal House of Justice, it remains to this day a small, cultlike body scattered over the world, with no potential to make any real difference in the world at large.

To all those who are still members of this Faith, as I was years ago, I implore you to be fair in your judgement and search your feelings. The Baha’i Faith has failed you and you need not be bound by laws, authorities, or institutions that are not based on truth. Whether you belong to the mainstream Baha’i Faith that follows the Guardianship-less Universal House of Justice, or one of the splinter groups that rejected the authority of that body, the fact remains you follow a spirtually dead faith and are totally wasting your time. The Baha’i Faith will never become the great religion of the world Baha’ullah and Abdu’l-Baha envisioned it to be, because Shoghi Effendi ruined it with his blind assumption of his own infallibility. His own relatives questioned his decisions and were expelled for doing that. If you cannot question authority, it can destroy you. Or, in this case, the credibility of the authority is destroyed and opposing it becomes a moral obligation. Let it be so!

Source : https://www.reddit.com/r/OnThisDateInBahai/comments/9ds67b/september_7_on_this_date_in_2008_dale_husband/

Professor Ehsan Yarshater was excommunicated by the Baha'i patriarch Shoghi Effendi

Professor Ehsan Yarshater passed away on 1 September 2018
by N. Wahid Azal

Professor Ehsan Yarshater (b. 3 April 1920 in Hamadan, Iran and died 1 September 2018 in California, USA ), the founder and editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia Iranica, has passed away. Yarshater originally hailed from a Jewish Baha'i family, part of a group of Jewish converts from that city who during the late 19th century CE and early 20th became the biggest group of non-Muslim converts to the creed. As friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and peers pay homage to this man, there is a part of his biography that should be shared.

Ehsan Yarshater was among the most eminent victims of the Baha'i leadership of the last century. During the 1930s the Baha'i patriarch Shoghi Effendi Rabbani (d. 1957) had forbidden any Iranian Baha'i from traveling to the West on the pain of excommunication. The reasons for Shoghi Effendi's prohibition on Iranian Baha'is specifically remains somewhat unclear but many middle-class Baha'is of the intellectual class fell to Shoghi Effendi's authoritarianism during this time.

In the 1930s under the Reza Shah regime, after completing his studies at the newly established University of Tehran, Ehsan Yarshater won himself an Iranian government-sponsored scholarship for graduate studies overseas. He used this scholarship, first alighting in Germany. But the Nazi regime (and, even though he was officially a Baha'i at the time, Yarshater's Jewish Iranian pedigree) forced him out and soon to Britain where he enrolled in the graduate program at SOAS (The School of Oriental and African Studies) studying under German orientalist Walter Bruno Henning.

When Shoghi Effendi found out that Ehsan Yarshater had defied his orders to stay in Iran and had gone to the West, he swiftly issued an excommunication against Yarshater that effectively made him what in Baha'i parlance is designated as a "Covenant Breaker" (a heretic which in Baha'i terminology is considered to be "spiritual leprosy" whereby all must shun such a person). Since his entire family were Baha'is at the time, under Baha'i beliefs (and Shoghi Effendi's authoritarianism specifically), the entire family of Ehsan Yarshater was obliged to shun him on the pain of being shunned and excommunicated themselves. Yarshater told me in person in his NY office in 1998 that following his excommunication by Shoghi Effendi, he was prevented from visiting his family for decades and was prohibited from even attending his parent's funeral. He was ostracized by his extended Baha'i family henceforth and the Baha'is in general for decades afterward.

Be that as it may, Ehsan Yarshater had his revenge against the Baha'i cult machinery (and Shoghi Effendi specifically) since during the years of the second Pahlavi shah, after Iraj Afshar (d. 2011), he emerged as one of the most eminent Iranists of his generation. Under the premiership of Amir Abbas Hoveyda (d. 1979), during the 1960s the Iranian government of the time commissioned the Encyclopedia Iranica with Ehsan Yarshater as its editor-in-chief: a project and monument that will bear his name forever.

Rest in Power, Ehsan Yarshater (d. 2018).
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Popular Posts

Total Pageviews

Followers

Blog Archive