Subject:         To The Universal House of Justice.
   Date:         Thu, 08 Feb 2001 04:44:03 +0000
   From:         Ron House 
     To:         secretariat@bwc.org


To The Universal House of Justice.

Some current issues in the Baha'i community are of concern to me, and
I hoped that you might be able to shed some light on these and resolve
the difficulties I am having.

My first concern is actions such as the expulsion of Ms Alison
Marshall from the enrolled list of believers, which step, I
understand, was taken as a result of your explicit instruction to the
New Zealand N.S.A.

Although I am curious about your reasons for this, my questions are
otherwise, and are motivated by a letter, which Mr Juan Cole states
was written by 'Abdu'l-Baha to Mirza Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani in the late
1890s, concerning the Muhammad `Ali faction of covenant breakers. I
include an excerpt from an article written by Mr Cole, as background
information:

--------- (Begin quote)

The practice of takfir in Islam was the declaration that a Muslim
(whether a convert or a born Muslim) had ceased being a Muslim and had
departed into unbelief (had become a ka:fir) by virtue of some belief
that he or she held or by virtue of corrupt behavior (fisq). Muslim
jurisprudents or mujtahids occasionally gave rulings or fatwas that
such and such a person had departed from Islam into unbelief, though
the lack of centralization in most Muslim law and most times meant
that this was sometimes an isolated opinion with little force.
Baraghani issued a fatwa of takfir against Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i, for
instance.

I believe that `Abdu'l-Baha was saying, in the letter to Mirza
Abu'l-Fadl, that no person asserting belief in Baha'u'llah and
averring that he or she is a Baha'i may be similarly treated in Baha'i
law. We do not have the custom of takfir [saying someone has by virtue
of a personal belief departed from the Baha'i faith into unbelief] or
tafsiq [declaring someone no longer a Baha'i for reasons of moral
turpitude].

Given the Arabic words involved, I would translate the passage this
way:

"O friends! In the Cause of God there [is] no ruling that someone has
departed the Faith into unbelief or has become so morally corrupt as
to cease to be a Baha'i. Humiliation and condemnation of others is not
permissible."

[The Persian is:

Dar di:n Allah "takfi:r" wa "tafsi:q" nabudih wa ni:st; tazyi:f wa
tahqi:r ja:'iz na; ba: kasi: muja:dalih na-nama:yi:d wa muna:za`ih
nakuni:d ]

Declaring a born Baha'i or a convert to the faith to have departed
from it into unbelief would be a form of takfir, which I understand
`Abdu'l-Baha here to disallow in Baha'i juridical practice.

--------- (End quote)

(Note: I have inserted the word "is" into Mr Cole's translation at a
point where it appears to have been omitted due to a typographical
error.)

My first three questions concern the above material as it concerns
situations like that of Ms Marshall.

1. Is the above-mentioned letter from `Abdu'l-Baha genuine, as
   asserted by Mr Cole?

2. If it is genuine, then does it prohibit the kind of action that you
   took against Ms Marshall?

3. If it is genuine but does not prohibit action of the kind you took
   against Ms Marshall, then in what way is Mr Cole's analysis or
   translation of the letter incorrect or inapplicable to such
   situations?

Please note that although I use Ms Marshall's case as an example,
these questions do not refer specifically to it, but are general
questions about the principles applying to any situation in which you
declare a person to be not a Baha'i. If your reply is that, by its
nature, these things can only be decided on a case-by-case basis and
not in accordance with principles and laws, then I draw your attention
to the following statement, and I ask you whether it is genuine and
correctly translated:

"By its nature, human society needs rules and relationships. For
without these ties, security and protection cannot be had, nor can
security or prosperity. In their absence, the sacred honor of human
beings is nowhere in evidence, and the beloved of hopes remains
invisible. The country and the clime would never be populated, nor
would cities and villages be arranged and embellished." `Abdu'l-Baha's
"Treatise on Leadership" (trans Juan R. I. Cole,
http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~bahai/trans/vol2/absiyasi.htm )

My final questions concern religious involvement in government. In
your April 7 1999 letter to all N.S.A.s, you wrote:

  "Similarly, Shoghi Effendi's explanation of Baha'u'llah's vision of
  the future Baha'i World Commonwealth that will unite spiritual and
  civil authority is dismissed in favour of the assertion that the
  modern political concept of "separation of church and state" is
  somehow one that Baha'u'llah intended as a basic principle of the
  World Order He has founded."

I believe I understand this comment correctly as a statement by you
that "church and state" should not be separate in this dispensation.
However, the following excerpt from a letter of `Abdu'l-Baha has been
posted to some Baha'i email lists:

--------- (Begin quote)

Source: Majmu`ih-'i Makatib-i Hadrat-i `Abdu'l-Baha ("Collected
Letters of `Abdu'l-Baha"). Volume 59. Iran National Baha'i Archives
Private Printing: Tehran, 1978. Reprinted, East Lansing, Mi.: H-Bahai,
2000, pp. 275-280.

`Abdu'l-Baha, letter of circa 1899.

You asked about the wisdom of putting the house of justice in charge
of important ordinances. First of all, this divine cycle is solely
spiritual, full of godly compassion, and is a matter of conscience. It
has no connection at all to physical, governmental or worldly matters.
In the same way, the Christian dispensation was purely spiritual. In
the entire New Testament, the only laws are the prohibition on divorce
and the allusion to the abrogation of the Sabbath. All the injunctions
were spiritual and the ethics divine. Just as he said, "the son of man
[sic] did not come to judge the world but to save the world." [Jn
12:47]. Now, this most great cycle is also purely spiritual, the
bestowal of eternal life. For the foundation stone of the religion of
God is the betterment of morals, the improvement of character, and the
sanctification of deeds. The goal of all this is that beings who are
veiled might attain to the station of the beatific vision, and that
defective, dark essences might be illumined.

--------- (End quote)

Further, in the "Treatise on Leadership" mentioned and referenced
above, `Abdu'l-Baha is quoted as saying:

--------- (Begin quote)

The function of the religious leaders and the duties of the clerical
jurisprudents are to attend to spiritual affairs and to promulgate
divine attributes. Whenever the leaders of the manifest religion and
the pillars of the mighty divine law have intervened in the world of
political leadership, put forward their rulings and attempted to
manage affairs, it has ever caused the unity of the believers in the
one true God to be destroyed, and resulted in the dispersal of the
faithful into factions. The flames of turmoil flared up, and the blaze
of rebelliousness scorched the world. The country was plundered and
pillaged, and the people became the prisoners and hostages of
oppressors.

...

Were you to refer to history, you would find innumerable, and, indeed,
infinite numbers of such occurrences, the cause of which in every
instance was the interference of religious leaders in political
affairs. These souls are the authorities in establishing the purport
of divine laws, not with regard to their implementation. That is,
whenever the government questions them about the exigencies of the
revealed law and the reality of the divine ordinances affecting both
general and specific issues, they must communicate the conclusions to
which their jurisprudential reasoning has led them about the commands
of God, and that which is in accord with the revealed law. Otherwise,
what expertise do they have in political matters, the protection of
the subjects, the managing of serious affairs, the welfare and
prosperity of the country, the implementation of the civil regulations
and secular laws of a realm, or foreign affairs and domestic policy?

...

Note that in the blessed verse quoted above as well as in the clear
saying of the Prophet, the statement is absolute rather than
conditional, with generalized purport rather than being limited to a
specific case. As for the station of the Imams and of the near ones at
the threshold of grandeur, it is that of spiritual honor and glory.
Their right is to the authority of the All-Merciful, and their crown
of glory is the dust of the divine path. Their gleaming scepter is the
lights of the bounty of God. Their royal throne is the seat of hearts,
and their exalted and great crown is in the kingdom of God. They are
the monarchs of the world of spirit and heart, not that of water and
clay. They are sovereigns of the realm of the placeless, not of the
graveyards of the contingent world. No one can usurp or plunder this
glorious station or this pre-existent grandeur.

--------- (End quote)

Similarly, Baha'u'llah writes (Gleanings page 304):

"...your Lord hath committed the world and the cities thereof to the
care of the kings of the earth... He hath refused to reserve for
Himself any share whatever of this world's dominion."

And also (Gleanings page 241):

"The one true God, exalted be His glory, hath bestowed the government
of the earth upon the kings. ... That which He hath reserved for
Himself are the cities of men's hearts..."

And again (Tablets of Baha'u'llah pages 220-221):

"O ye the loved ones and the trustees of God! Kings are the
manifestations of the power, and the daysprings of the might and
riches, of God. Pray ye on their behalf. He hath invested them with
the rulership of the earth, and hath singled out the hearts of men as
His Own domain."

(Note that this passage is addressed by implication to the members of
the Houses of Justice, for Baha'u'llah writes "It behoveth them to
regard themselves as the trusted ones [i.e. "trustees" - RH] of the
Merciful [i.e. God] among men...".)

My questions regarding these passages are:

4. Are the unofficial translations excerpted above genuine and
   correctly translated?

5. If so, in the light of these passages, why is it unreasonable to
   infer that "separation of church and state" is somehow a principle
   that Baha'u'llah intended? It is clear that some of the passages
   here discuss the Islamic dispensation, but if 'Abdu'l-Baha intended
   Baha'is to act entirely contrary to the principles He states above,
   it is strange that He should end this tablet with a reference to
   this dispensation and to the future:

   "Divine friends, the divine law has an era of youth, and the
   wondrous Cause has a springtime. The new age is the beginning of a
   first development. This age is the chosen age of the one God. The
   horizons of the contingent world are illumined by the attributes of
   the luminary of the apex of mystical insight. The east and the west
   of the globe are perfumed by the breaths of holiness. The face of
   the new creation is fair and comely, and the temple of the wondrous
   Cause is vigorous and fresh in the highest degree. Hearken with the
   ears of wisdom to the divine counsel and advice, and show forth a
   miracle with true intentions, sincerity of character, good
   disposition, and good fortune. Thus might it be established in
   world society and the council of nations, that they are the shining
   candle of the world of humanity and the rose in the garden of the
   divine realm. Mere speech bears no fruit, and the sapling of vain
   hopes remains barren. Action is required. Potentially, all things
   have talent. All things are exquisite. Some are easy to acquire,
   others are difficult to attain. But what good is mere potentiality?
   Human beings must be in actuality the sign of the All-Merciful and
   the standard of the Lord. Peace be upon those who follow the
   guidance."

I look forward to your reply and to any additional light you may be
able to shed on these matters.

Thanking you,
-- 
Ron House     house@usq.edu.au
              http://www.sci.usq.edu.au/staff/house
              
              

April 2001 

Transmitted by email:  house@usq.edu.au 

Mr. Ron House 
Australia 


Dear Baha'i Friend, 

     The Universal House of Justice has received your email letter of
8 February 2001, and has asked us to provide the following response.

     You have sought guidance on the matters which are causing you
difficulties as a consequence of Internet postings which include
excerpts from unpublished Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Baha translated by a
non-Baha'i. Believers should generally observe caution in placing
reliance on such passages. Apart from questions of the accuracy of the
translations, any extracts must be considered in the context of the
Tablet in which they appear. A distorted representation of the Baha'i
Teachings can easily be conveyed, whether deliberately or
inadvertently, by the selection of brief excerpts which are then used
out of context.

     The first issue you have raised concerns a brief excerpt from a
Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Baha which, in the form presented on the Internet,
conveys the impression that it is inappropriate for an administrative
institution of the Faith, such as a National Spiritual Assembly or the
Universal House of Justice, to make a pronouncement that an individual
is no longer a member of the Baha'i Faith.

     This matter is readily clarified by studying an authorized
translation of this excerpt in context with the passage which follows
it.

          O ye beloved of the Lord! The Cause of God hath never had
     any place for denouncing others as infidel or profligate, nor
     hath it allowed anyone to humiliate or belittle another. Contend
     and wrangle not with any man, and seek ye not the abasement of
     any soul. Disparage not anyone's name, and wish no harm upon
     anyone. Defile not your tongues with calumny, and engage ye not
     in backbiting. Lift not the veil from the doings of others, and
     so long as a person professeth to be steadfast, remonstrate not
     with him, nor expose him.

          Let not these very words be a pretext for dispute and
     contention. Through your constancy and steadfastness destroy the
     edifice of vacillation, and by your faithful adherence and
     scrupulous observance, strengthen the foundations of the Cause of
     God. Leave the people of negligence unto themselves and refer
     them for judgement to the Lord of the Covenant and Testament.


Mr. Ron House                                          18 April 2001
                                                              Page 2


     The three sentences at the beginning of this passage constitute
the extract which was translated and posted on the Internet, in a form
which has some significant differences from the authorized version.

     It is clear that this passage refers to the prescribed conduct of
individual believers in relation to each other, rather than to
administrative institutions. It is similar to innumerable passages in
the Writings of Baha'u'llah, including the Kitab-i-Aqdas. However, the
Spiritual Assemblies, as embryonic Houses of Justice, perform
functions quite different from those of the individual, as is apparent
from the following two passages from a letter written on behalf of the
Guardian.

          Love is the standard which must govern the conduct of one
     believer towards another. The administrative order does not
     change this, but unfortunately sometimes the friends confuse the
     two, and try to be a whole spiritual assembly, -- with the
     discipline and justice and impartiality that body must show, --
     to each other, instead of being forgiving, loving and patient to
     each other as individuals.
          ("Lights of Guidance: A Baha'i Reference File", Helen
          Hornby, rd comp., 3 rev. ed. (New Delhi: Baha'i Publishing
          Trust, 1994), p. 403)

          ...There is a tendency to mix up the functions of the
     Administration and try to apply it in individual relationships,
     which is abortive, because the Assembly is a nascent House of
     Justice and is supposed to administer, according to the
     Teachings, the affairs of the community. But individuals toward
     each other are governed by love, unity, forgiveness and a
     sin-covering eye. Once the friends grasp this they will get along
     much better, but they keep playing Spiritual Assembly to each
     other and expect the Assembly to behave like an individual....
          (ibid., p. 77)

     The duty of deciding whether a person satisfies the
qualifications of a true believer has been assigned to the Spiritual
Assemblies by the Guardian and is clearly stated in the constitutions
of those Assemblies.

     The second issue causing you concern is that of relating other
excerpts from Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Baha which have appeared on the
Internet to the statement of the House of Justice that the future
Baha'i World Commonwealth will unite spiritual and civil authority. An
authorized translation of the excerpt which is central to your concern
is presented below, together with the succeeding passages.

          Ye have asked concerning the wisdom of referring certain
     important laws to the House of Justice. Before all else, this
     divine cycle is purely heavenly and spiritual, and concerned with
     the matters of the soul. It hath but little connection to
     physical, temporal, or worldly matters. The Christian
     dispensation was in like manner solely spiritual. Thus, in the
     entire New Testament, there appeareth naught but the prohibition
     of divorce and the allusion to the abrogation of the Sabbath.
     Even as He saith, 'the Son of man came not to judge the world but
     to save the world'. This most great cycle is likewise of purely
     spiritual character and is the bestower of life eternal. For the
     head cornerstone of the religion of God consisteth in refining
     the characters, reforming the manners, and improving the
     attributes of


Mr. Ron House                                          18 April 2001
                                                              Page 3


     men. The purpose is that beings that are veiled may see, and that
     dark and defective realities may become illumined.

          All other ordinances are subservient to faith, certitude,
     confidence, and understanding. This blessed cycle being however
     the greatest of all divine cycles, it embraceth all spiritual and
     temporal matters, and is endowed with the utmost power and
     sovereignty. Therefore, 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. The wisdom of this is that the times never remain the
     same, for change is a necessary quality and an essential
     attribute of this world, and of time and place. Therefore the
     House of Justice will take action accordingly.

          Let it not be imagined that the House of Justice will take
     any decision according to its own concepts and opinions. God
     forbid! The Supreme House of Justice will take decisions and
     establish laws through the inspiration and confirmation of the
     Holy Spirit, because it is in the safekeeping and under the
     shelter and protection of the Ancient Beauty, and obedience to
     its decisions is a bounden and essential duty and an absolute
     obligation, and there is no escape for anyone.

          Say, O People: Verily the Supreme House of Justice is under
     the wings of your Lord, the Compassionate, the All-Merciful, that
     is under His protection, His care, and His shelter; for He has
     commanded the firm believers to obey that blessed, sanctified,
     and all-subduing body, whose sovereignty is divinely ordained and
     of the Kingdom of Heaven and whose laws are inspired and
     spiritual.

          Briefly, this is the wisdom of referring the laws of society
     to the House of Justice. In the religion of Islam, similarly, not
     every ordinance was explicitly revealed; nay not a tenth part of
     a tenth part was included in the Text; although all matters of
     major importance were specifically referred to, there were
     undoubtedly thousands of laws which were unspecified. These were
     devised by the divines of a later age according to the laws of
     Islamic jurisprudence, and individual divines made conflicting
     deductions from the original revealed ordinances. All these were
     enforced. Today this process of deduction is the right of the
     body of the House of Justice, and the deductions and conclusions
     of individual learned men have no authority, unless they are
     endorsed by the House of Justice. The difference is precisely
     this, that from the conclusions and endorsements of the body of
     the House of Justice whose members are elected by and known to
     the worldwide Baha'i community, no differences will arise;
     whereas the conclusions of individual divines and scholars would
     definitely lead to differences, and result in schism, division,
     and dispersion. The oneness of the Word would be destroyed, the
     unity of the Faith would disappear, and the edifice of the Faith
     of God would be shaken.

     The extract presented on the Internet is that translated and
appearing as the first paragraph of this passage. It is clear that use
of that portion of the passage alone, out of context, conveys a
misleading impression which is immediately rectified by perusal of the
entire passage. The statement of 'Abdu'l-Baha that the Baha'i Faith
"embraceth all spiritual and temporal matters" is consonant with that
of the House of Justice about the future Baha'i World Commonwealth.


Mr. Ron House                                          18 April 2001
                                                              Page 4


     You have referred also to a number of extracts from
Risaliy-i-Siyasiyyih, in which 'Abdu'l-Baha describes the damaging
effects of the interference of religious teachers in political
affairs. The inapplicability of these passages to the future role of
the democratically elected Houses of Justice is clarified by study of
the Baha'i Writings on the World Order of Baha'u'llah. Authorized
translations of these extracts are enclosed with this letter.

     The House of Justice trusts that you will find these
clarifications helpful, and it will offer its prayers in the Holy
Shrines for your spiritual illumination.

                                     With loving Baha'i greetings, 

                                     Department of the Secretariat 


Enclosure 

                      Extracts from Risaliy-i-Siyasiyyih 

      Human society is by nature in need of binding rules and
relationships, for otherwise it would not experience peace and
protection, nor enjoy happiness and security. Without them, the sacred
glory of the human condition would not be unveiled and the desire of
all hearts would remain unrealized. The country would not prosper, and
its cities and villages would not find order and arrangement.



      The duty of the doctors and divines is, however, to attend to
the matters of the spirit and to promote the attributes of the
All-Merciful. Whenever the leaders of God's glorious Religion and the
pillars of His mighty Law have intervened in political affairs, and
designed schemes and devised plans, it hath inevitably shattered the
unity of the believers and scattered the ranks of the faithful; the
flame of sedition hath been kindled and the fire of hostility hath
consumed the world; the country hath been pillaged and plundered; and
the people have fallen into the hands of the mediocre.



      Were ye to refer to history, ye would find countless similar
instances, each and all due to the interference of religious leaders
in political affairs. These souls are meant to issue the ordinances of
God, not to enforce them. That is, whenever the government inquireth
of them, in matters of greater or lesser consequence, concerning the
exigencies of the law of God and the true purport of His ordinances,
they should set forth that which hath been deduced from His laws and
is consonant with His religion. Beyond this, what can they know of
political matters, of the protection of the subjects, the management
of important affairs, the welfare and prosperity of the nation, the
administration of the laws and statutes of the realm, and of internal
and external issues?



      Observe that both this blessed verse and explicit tradition are
absolute and universal in their purport, not conditional or confined
to a specific case. As to the true leaders of religion and the
favoured servants of the celestial Threshold, their rank and station
is that of spiritual honour and majesty, and their prerogative the
vicegerency of the All-Merciful Lord. Their crown of glory is the dust
of the pathway of God, and their resplendent diadem the light of the
bestowals of the Almighty. Their throne of justice is established upon
the hearts, and their exalted and glorious honour is the seat of truth
in the realm of the Kingdom. They are the monarchs of the realms of
heart and soul, not of the world of water and clay, and the sovereign
lords of the lands of the placeless, not of the narrow straits of this
contingent world. And none can ever usurp or deny this sublime station
and ancient glory.