Another tablet that Baha'is are ashamed to translate and distribute.

Another terrible Tablet of Baha'u'llah I wish to nominate is the Lawh-i Istintáq, also known as the Tablet of Inquisition. The reasons are more serious and macabre than for other tablets discussed.

The tablet deals with the murder of 3 Azali's (Sayyid Muhammad Isfahani, Aqa Jan Kaj-Kulah and Mirza Rida-Quli Tafrishi) in Akka by a gang of 7 Baha'is -- the intimate companions of Baha'u'llah -- shortly after their arrival in Akka.

What's striking about this Tablet is that despite all the posturing by Baha'is about this situation, and the suggestion that the 7 Baha'is were not under Baha'u'llah's explicit or implied instruction to commit a triple homicide, Baha'u'llah actually outed himself with this verse: -

"Verily the Mute [al-akhras, Isfahani] called himself 'Quddus' and hath claimed what the Evil Whisperer (al-khannas) claimed for himself. The other one [Aqá Ján] called himself the 'Sword of Truth' (sayfu'l-haqq);; he said: 'I, verily, am the conqueror of the cities'. God hath sent the one who hath smitten upon his mouth, so that all may firmly believe that through this Satan's tail hath been cut off by the sword of the Merciful (sayfu'r-rahmán)." - Baha'u'llah, Lawh-i Istintáq

Clearly, Baha'u'llah was pleased and believed they got what they deserved. This is further evidence that Baha'u'llah was at the very least complicit in serious criminal behaviour throughout his life. He deserved every minute of his jail time and exile and deserved far worse treatment than he actually received.

This is another tablet that Baha'is are ashamed to translate and distribute.

About Lawh-i Istintáq

http://irfancolloquia.org/138/alkan_istintaq

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It's all marketing.

It's all marketing.

"Equality of men and women" is marketing. No women on the UHJ.

"Unity of religions" is marketing. You reject core tenets of other religions and claim that the good deeds of non-believers are worth nil (Check first verse of Kitab-i-Aqdas).

"Unity of mankind" is marketing. You wish to establish a global theocracy where Baha'is rule the planet. You are also deeply homophobic and wish to remove the voting rights of LGBQT people if they are openly LGBQT. That's at least 3-4% of the population.

"Harmony of science and religion" is marketing. "Weigh not the Book of God with such standards and sciences as are current amongst you..." - Kitab-i-Aqdas)

"The abolition of racial, class, and religious prejudices" is marketing. The Guardian labelled his brother's wife a "low brow Christian", demonstrating a terrible classist attitude. Abdu'l-Baha made inappropriate comments on Africans. The Bab had slaves.

"Independent investigation of truth" is marketing. The Baha'i faith censors materials, sanctions and evicts independent scholars, discourages the establishment of University of Baha'i studies, etc. They really mean "you can independently investigate our carefully curated materials".

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Prayer for the Dead (Salaat-i Jinazih)

Prayer for the Dead (salaat-i al-jinazih): The text of the salat performed for the dead comprises the daily obligatory prayer, to which is added a prayer for the deceased. As mentioned above, Muslims believe that it is not necessary to perform the salat-i aljinazih for a martyr. They are also forbidden to recite the prayer for the dead where the deceased is an unbeliever, as set out in the following verse of the Qur’an: 'Never pray thou over anyone of them who dieth, or stand at his grave — because they believed not in God and His Apostle, and died in their wickedness.'

https://bahai.works/Laws_of_the_Kitáb-i-Aqdas/The_Law_of_Burial

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Names of some covenant-breakers (List will be updated on a regular basis)

Pauline Smith (New Zealand) for association with known Covenant-breakers, who are some of the relatives of Shoghi Effendi, and in particular, Ms Parvine Afnan Shahid.

https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/shun1.htm

Parvine Shahid
Nayyir Afnan

"It has been determined that Parvine Shahid, who is the granddaughter of the notorious Covenant-breaker Nayyir Afnan, is infected with the spirit of Covenant-breaking and should be treated as a Covenant-breaker."

(From a letter dated 12 December 1996 from the Department of the Secretariat, Universal House of Justice, to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of New Zealand.)

https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/shun1.htm

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Divinely inspired institution of Guardianship, but also for this particular Guardian

With deep love and pride the Baha'is labor under his guidance, thanking God not only for this wonderful Divinely inspired institution of Guardianship, but also for this particular Guardian, who has steered the ship of the Cause through so many shoals and whose sure and patient hand is guiding it on to the great victories promised by Baha'u'llah for his Faith in this Century...

...So we see that just as we Baha'is the world over are his responsibility, given to him by Almighty God, so is he our responsibility, likewise given us by Almighty God. Let us not take it lightly! In gratitude for both this mighty institution of Guardianship in which mankind has found a sure refuge in this new age, and in gratitude for this particular first Guardian, this Shoghi Effendi, let us resolve to rise to a truly higher plane of endeavor, and above all a higher plane of spiritual awareness, during these coming years.

(Ruhiyyih Khanum, Twenty-Five Years of The Guardianship, Baha'i Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois - 1948)

(In this book, authored by Ruhiyyih Khanum, Shoghi Effendi is mentioned at least ten times as the first guardian of the Baha'i faith)

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Baha'i faith or Bahaism as a religion had as its background two earlier and much different movements in nineteenth-century Shi'ite Shaikhism

Baha'i faith or Bahaism as a religion had as its background two earlier and much different movements in nineteenth-century Shiʿite Shaikhism (following Shaikh Aḥmad Aḥsāʾī) and Babism. Shaikhism centered on theosophical doctrines and believed that a perfect Shiʿite existed on earth at all times, and many Shaikhis (as well as other Shiʿites) expected the return of the hidden Twelfth Imam in 1260/1844. Shaikhis in particular joined the messianic Babi movement of the 1840s, which shook Iran as Sayyed ʿAlī-Moḥammad Šīrāzī proclaimed himself, first the bāb or “gate” of the Twelfth Imam, and then the return of the imam himself. As the new creed spread, violence broke out between Shiʿites and Babis, ending when Qajar government troops intervened to besiege and massacre the Babis. The government executed the Bāb in 1850. Some Babi leaders in Tehran plotted, in revenge, the death of Nāṣer-al-Dīn Shah, but the assassination failed and large numbers of suspected Babis were tortured and killed.

(Encyclopaedia Iranica Online)

https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/bahai-faith-or-bahaism-COM_6391

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We Baha'is are neither afraid to, nor ashamed of, mentioning the names of these prominent backsliders.

As was to be expected, the very first charge came from the Covenant-breakers: Muhammad 'Ali, who had tried in vain to discredit 'Abdu'l-Baha, disaffect the believers, corrupt certain writings of Baha'u'llah, and even had on more than one occasion sought to have the Master's life taken, revived his faded hopes when he beheld such a (as he thought) defenseless youth placed at the helm. His attack was disturbing, if somewhat ludicrous, for. he chose to have one of his henchmen seize the sacred shrine of his Father, Baha'u'llah, and rob the Baha'i Keeper of the keys. Distressing though the incident was, the case of the successor of 'Abdu'l-Baha was so clear in the eyes of the British authorities, that in a short time he was obliged to return the keys to Shoghi Effendi's representative. This was the first, so to speak, crossing of swords with our appointed Guardian, and both the Baha'is and local observers, friend and foe alike, learned through it that we had an active and skilled Defender of the Faith!

In Egypt, a proud Armenian, blinded by vanity and ambition, waved his own little flag of rebellion and succeeded in drawing away from the Baha'i community (at that time in the early stages of its own development) a number of his compatriots and other misguided souls. But the hand that waved the flag soon got tired as it became aware of the futility of trying to coax people out of such a watertight ark as 'Abdu'l-Baha's Covenant has proven itself to be. Gradually, over the years, those who after such a disillusioning and spiritually unhealthy experience, still possessed any vital spark of faith, returned to knock on the door they had left and were, whenever the sincerity of their intentions was proven, welcomed back into the now actively working and expanding Egyptian Baha'i community.

An American woman, Mrs. Ruth White, suffering from a truly remarkable form of delusion-namely, that the Will and Testament of the Master is a forgery-expended a great deal of time, money and energy on expounding her views. The document in question, its hand-writing, text and style, seals and history is so obviously protected from this accusation that her violent agitation had no effect on the body of the Baha'is, with the exception of a few simple souls in Germany. Most of these (who remained devoted to the Faith but confused on this point) have now expressed their deep remorse over these deluded and wasted years they spent outside the Baha'i community, and have re-entered it in Germany and are among its most active workers.

In Persia, Avarih, at one time a very active Baha'i teacher, developed what must seem to any sane person, a sort of spiritual hydrophobia. He not only attacked the Guardian exhaustively and fantastically in about ten volumes, but turned against both Baha'u'llah and the Master as well. His statements, unbalanced, compounded of such a high percentage of lies that even an intelligent and sincere enemy of the Faith would recognize them as such, have poured forth in the cheap press of Persia for practically decades. But the results have been very disheartening from his standpoint, for he neither gathered unto himself a following, nor has he been able to disrupt the affairs of the large, devoted and loyal community of believers in Baha'u'llah's native land. 

Ahmad Sohrab, a former secretary of 'Abdu'l-Baha, largely thanks to the generous support given him by a deluded woman, has been able to expend all his gifts of perversion on his favorite theme-a prolonged and windy attack on the Administrative Order of the Faith as it exists at present, with Shoghi Effendi as its head, and soundly organized Assemblies cooperating with him throughout the world in spreading Baha'u'llah's message and building up His divinely ordained institutions. He holds the honor of being undoubtedly the most mischievous of the trouble makers the Cause has raised up during this quarter of a century. Yes, the Cause of God has raised him up! For what beauty does not produce envy, and what purity does not produce slander, and what goodness does not challenge the evil hidden in an envious heart? This man, who received as charity-as we all do-some drops of God's overflowing bounty, could have done much to assist the Baha'is in carrying out the wishes of 'Abdu'l-Baha, and the plans of Baha'u'llah. But ambition proved too strong. In our Faith we must submit to having our personal desires and plans integrated into the plans for the whole, for unity is our watchword and we are not only propagating a new Faith with its new principles, but are building a divinely laid down system into society, and this requires the discipline of the personal ego to some extent, and the integration of all members of the community into a coherent pattern. To this Ahmad Sohrab would not submit, for it did not allow him the personal prominence he craved. The hot wind of his slander has blown upon us for some time now, and though it troubled and disaffected a few hearts, to the vast majority of believers it proved an irritating stimulant, which not only made them cherish more dearly the Master's Will and its provisions, but spurred them on to greater endeavor. 

We Baha'is are neither afraid to, nor ashamed of, mentioning the names of these prominent backsliders.

(Ruhiyyih Khanum, Twenty-Five Years of The Guardianship, Baha'i Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois - 1948)

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The institution of Guardianship effectively prevented any division or schism in the Baha'i ranks.

The institution of Guardianship-tied into the fabric of the Faith by 'Abdu'l-Baha through His Will in a knot no amount of perseverence and ingenuity can undo-has, as it was destined to do, effectively prevented any division or schism in the Baha'i ranks.

(Ruhiyyih Khanum, Twenty-Five Years of The Guardianship, Baha'i Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois - 1948)

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great reservoir of Baha'i literature of well over 5,000 volumes

The purchase of Baha'u'llah's mansion at Bahji, the defeat of the constant machinations of the Covenant-breakers, the establishment of two archives filled with material of great sacred and historic importance, collected, verified and labelled by him (Shoghi Effendi), the building up of the great reservoir of Baha'i literature of well over 5,000 volumes in libraries in Haifa and Akka, are but the highlights of his accomplishments at this world center of our Faith, to which flow pilgrims and guests from every land.

(Ruhiyyih Khanum, Twenty-Five Years of The Guardianship, Baha'i Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois - 1948)

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In the days of Abdul Baha the Faith had only spread to about 20 countries.

...in the days of 'Abdu'l-Baha the Faith had only spread to about 20 countries.

(Ruhiyyih Khanum, Twenty-Five Years of The Guardianship, Baha'i Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois - 1948)

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Portrait of the Bab and a lock of His hair - fragment of the plaster from the Room of the Bab

Beneath the dome of their great Mother Temple of the West, now complete except for its interior ornamentation, they tasted the sweetness of the good pleasure of God, for priceless gifts were given them on that occasion by the Guardian: a beautifully framed copy of the portrait of the Bab and a lock of His hair. So precious and well guarded is this likeness of Him that even the House in Shiraz, one of the two centers of pilgrimage established by Baha'u'llah, does not possess a copy.

(Ruhiyyih Khanum, Twenty-Five Years of The Guardianship, Baha'i Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois - 1948)



Haifa, Israel, May 7, 1957

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia. Dear Bahá’í Friends:

Under separate cover, at the instruction of our beloved Guardian, I am mailing to you a fragment of the plaster from the Room the Báb was confined in, in the Fortress of Máh-Kú, in Persia.

He is sending this precious memento to be placed by Mother Dunn on his behalf in the foundations of the First Mashriqu’l- Adhkár which you will shortly commence building in Sydney.

He feels sure that this precious dust, calling to mind the sacrifices of the beloved Báb, will be a blessing for the Temple and an inspiration to the friends.

Please acquaint Mother Dunn with his instructions, and see that she receives the plaster safely.

With warm Bahá’í greetings,

R. Rabbani.

From “Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand”

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Persia and North America

Persia cradled this new world religion in the 19th Century, North America was to cradle the Administrative Order which in turn would be the precursor of the new World Commonwealth.

(Ruhiyyih Khanum, Twenty-Five Years of The Guardianship, Baha'i Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois - 1948)

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Shoghi Effendi never set foot in the Mosque, whereas Abdul Baha had attended it until the last Friday of His life.

With the reading of the Will and the establishment of the Guardianship, came quite naturally and organically a new phase in the development of the Faith. This was typified by one of the first acts of the Guardian: Shoghi Effendi never set foot in the Mosque, whereas 'Abdu'l-Baha had attended it until the last Friday of His life. What local people had suspected-that the Baha'i Cause was really something quite different-became blatantly clear; that which it would have been almost impossible for the Master to do, namely, to sever the intimate bonds which had bound him for so long to the Arab community, particularly the Muhammadan community, of Palestine during many years when it was forbidden to even mention the name Baha'i, the Guardian now did overnight and began to encourage the Baha'is to likewise do in different parts of the world.

(Ruhiyyih Khanum, Twenty-Five Years of The Guardianship, Baha'i Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois - 1948)

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There were Christian Baha'is, Jewish Baha'is and Muhammadan Baha'is at the time of the Master's ascension.

He beheld a widely diversified, loosely organized community, scattered in various parts of the globe, and with members in about twenty countries. These people, loyal, devoted and sincere though they were, were still, to a great extent, living in their parent religion's house, so to speak; there were Christian Baha'is, Jewish Baha'is, Muhammadan Baha'is and so on. They believed in the Baha'i' Faith but were intimately connected with their former churches. Like fruit on a tree, they were a new crop but still stuck to the old branch. This was true East and West alike. That was the point to which the Faith had evolved at the time of the Master's ascension.

(Ruhiyyih Khanum, Twenty-Five Years of The Guardianship, Baha'i Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois - 1948)

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Promise of inspiration and protection of God only if the UHJ is functioning with the divinely-guarded Guardianship

His plans for the Guardianship-the fruition of Baha'u'llah's own scheme-had been made at a very early date, but from the depths of His bitter experience over a period of sixty years, He kept His precious secret carefully guarded, even from His intended successor, and it was not until after His ascension that we began to appreciate the perfection of the system God has, in this most great cycle, given to mankind; a system which has the hand of God constantly laid on it from above in the form of a divinely-guarded Guardianship directly descended from and related to the two Founders of the Faith and, at the same time, exalts the role of Man to a new height in that the freely-elected members of the International House of Justice are, when functioning as a body, promised the inspiration and protection of God upon their deliberations and decisions.

(Ruhiyyih Khanum, Twenty-Five Years of The Guardianship, Baha'i Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois - 1948)

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