Shoghi Effendi has given categorical assurances that neither the Guardian nor the Universal House of Justice “can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other.” Therefore, the friends can be sure that the Universal House of Justice will not engage in interpreting the Holy Writings....
(Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986)
“The believers should be careful not to deviate, even a hair-breadth, from the Teachings. Their supreme consideration should be to safeguard the purity of the principles, tenets and laws of the Faith. It is only by this means that they can hope to maintain the organic unity of the Cause. There can and should be no liberals or conservatives, no moderates or extremes in the Cause. For they are all subject to the one and the same law which is the Law of God. This law transcends all differences, all personal or local tendencies, moods and aspirations.
Next is the principle of complete, and immediate obedience to the Assemblies, both local and national. It is the responsibility of these Bahá’í administrative bodies to enable the community to acquire, and increasingly deepen in the knowledge and understanding of the Cause. Doctrinal unity and administrative unity, these are the two chief pillars that sustain the edifice of the Cause, and protect it from the storms of opposition which so severely rage against it.”
Paradoxically, despite their liberal scriptures, Bahai has been accused of fundamentalism and extremism, especially in the US, where ex-Bahai Karen Bacquet claims the belief in unity led to "severe limits" being placed on followers' freedom of expression. "It would be wrong to regard the Bahai faith entirely as a cult," she writes, but it "can perhaps be called cult-like".
The Universal House of Justice have indicated that they will let us know who the Manifestation is. Most likely, He would contact them and they could then let us know who He is.
According to the author’s great-uncle, Monadjem-Báshí always brought cheer and laughter to Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad even during periods of distress for Bahá’u’lláh due to the machinations of Mírzá Yahyá; contemporaries claimed that they heard Bahá’u’lláh laughing out loud.
(Monadjem-Báshí and Dr. Mohammad Khán Monadjem by Hamid Monadjem, dt. 2026-10-07)
Mr. [ ] asks about a passage that appears in selection XXV in Prayers and Meditations, and specifically the use of the term “the Seal of Thy Prophets”. In the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, including the aforementioned passage, the title “the Seal of Thy Prophets and of Thy Messengers” refers specifically to the Prophet Muḥammad. It is not used as a designation for the Báb or Bahá’u’lláh.
(Memorandum, Research Department - BWC, dt. 2026-10-04)
During the Bábí dispensation, when the Báb proclaimed the independence of his new law and spoke of kasr-i-ḥudúd ("breaking of bounds/limits"), a number of early Bábís misinterpreted this concept as permission to break moral prohibitions, resulting in improper conduct (a‘mál-i-shanī‘ih).
Reconciling the apparent differences in the claims made by the Báb has been a matter of puzzlement to some scholars. Although some have found continuity in the Báb’s claims, others have assumed that the different stations the Báb attributed to Himself at various times reflect an alteration or evolution of consciousness on His part—indicating, in effect, that over time the Báb changed His mind about what station He actually held.
A Legal Department was set up in 1977 to work on pending legal matters, and to advise the Spiritual Assemblies on legal matters. Individuals such as Sam Nadarajah had also been contributed their services in 1977. In 1978, the services of Christopher Reginald were employed. In the 1980’s, a few Bahá’í youths graduated as lawyers, and they then served in a legal capacity.
During the Báb's transfer through Urmia, Governor Malek Qásim Mírzá attempted to test Him by providing an unruly, untamable horse for His trip to the local bathhouse. Although secretly warned of the danger by a servant, the Báb calmly approached, petted, and mounted the horse, which instantly became submissive, prompting the amazed crowd to rush forward to kiss His stirrup. Deeply impressed, the governor walked on foot alongside the Báb as He rode to the bathhouse. When the Báb finished His bath and rode back amidst loud cries of praise, devoted townspeople rushed into the building and gathered every single drop of water from the bath's pool as a sacred blessing.
When the Báb visited the public bathhouse in Urmia, enthusiastic followers gathered the water from the bath's reservoir to drink for healing and blessings, and even used their handkerchiefs to soak up the remaining moisture at the bottom of the bath.
(Tarikh-i Zuhur al-Haqq, Vol. 1 by Asadu'llah Fadil Mazandarani)
During Bahá'u'lláh's departure from His house in Baghdad to the Ridván garden, the surrounding crowd exhibited intense emotional reverence. In one extreme instance, a prominent Persian woman pushed through the crowd and threw her infant child onto the ground in front of Bahá'u'lláh's feet, believing she was offering her child as a literal devotion or sacrifice.
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In a dramatic expression of overwhelming zeal and sorrow, a follower brought an instrument to take his own life while circumambulating the sacred Shrine three times, and would have succeeded had bystanders not intervened to stop him.
Many Tablets were revealed and dispatched in their original form without being checked and reviewed. Consequently, as bidden, they were again read out in the Holy Presence, and brought into conformity with the grammatical conventions of the people...
(Bahá’u’lláh - The Kitáb-i-Aqdas - The Most Holy Book)
At this point Sayyid Ḥusayn became frightened and sought repentance and pardon.They told him: “Spit in the Bāb’s face and curse him, and you will be released from these bonds.” He did so and was released. Later, however, in the capital, he again joined Sulaymān Khān, son of Yaḥyā Khān, and was killed during the Bābī disturbances, as will be related in its proper place.
(Mīrzā Muḥammad Taqī Khān Lisān al-Mulk Sipihr’s (d. 1880 CE) official Qājār account of the death of the Bāb in Nāṣikh al-tawārīkh (The Abrogator of the histories))
The widely propagated Baha'i narrative of the execution of the Bab involving 750 musketeers arranged in three successive ranks of 250 is completely absent from the earliest historical sources. The official Qajar account simply mentions "a body of soldiers" from the Christian regiment, while the early Babi account mentions a "company" or "group" firing simultaneously.
For more details check "The Execution of the Bāb in Early Bābī and Qājār Sources" A Short Comparative Source-Critical Analysis of the two early accounts of Nāṣikh al-tawārīkh and Nuqṭat’ul-kāf by Wahid Azal