Comparing Quran with the Bab and Baha'u'llah's writings

The Holy Qur’an was one single volume of 6300 verses. Then in one lightning stroke came the Báb, of whose revealed flood of divine knowledge Bahá’u’lláh Himself writes:

“… the verses which have rained from this Cloud of divine mercy have been so abundant that none hath yet been able to estimate their number. A score of volumes are now available. How many still remain beyond our reach! How many have been plundered and have fallen into the hands of the enemy, the fate of which none knoweth.”[1]

The Báb Himself clarified the scale of His own work, referring to Himself in the third person:

“Now, following His manifestation, although He hath, up to the present, revealed no less than five hundred thousand verses on different subjects, behold what calumnies are uttered, so unseemly that the pen is stricken with shame at the mention of them. But if all men were to observe the ordinances of God no sadness would befall that heavenly Tree.”[2]

[1] The “Kitab-i-Iqan,” pp. 182-3
[2] “Selections From the Writings of the Báb,” pp. 96-97

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If necessary she can become a warrior.

For her greater strength and fierceness, the lioness is more feared by the hunter than the lion. The mere size of the brain has been proved to be no measure of superiority. The woman has greater moral courage than the man; she has also special gifts which enable her to govern in moments of danger and crisis. If necessary she can become a warrior.”

- Abdul Baha

 

http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/ABL/abl-57.html

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Tolstoi was completely disenchanted with the doctrine of Baha'u'llah

"Although Bahá’í publications have long quoted the laudatory comments addressed by Tolstoi to Grinevskaia and Badalbekov (item 5), Tolstoi’s attitude toward Bahá’í beliefs fluctuated and at times was completely contradictory. Tolstoi’s earliest reactions until about 1904 tended to be favorable, but upon receiving Bahá’í books from some of his correspondents, Tolstoi found a few of the Bahá’í tenets to be at odds with his own cherished ideals. In his letter to Dreyfus, Tolstoi remarks that his reading has “made me completely disenchanted with the doctrine of Bahá’u’lláh” and that it “confirms ancient superstitions.” And to Nakhjavání (item 62, 1909.11.28) Tolstoi writes: “The more I become acquainted with the Bahá’í teaching, the less I appreciate it.” Yet little more than a month before, he had extolled the “pure and lofty teachings of the disciple of the Báb— Bahá’u’lláh’ in a letter to Zheltov (item 73), and in his letter to Velikova (item 72) earlier in 1909, he had mentioned that the Bahá’í teachings worked toward the goal of eliminating the incrustations and superstitions added to Islam. The contradiction in Tolstoi’s attitudes may have arisen from his inability to distinguish clearly between the Bábí Faith and the Bahá’í Revelation, as evidenced by his usage of Bábí and Bahá’í interchangeably."

https://bahai-library.com/pdf/c/collins_jasion_lev_tolstoy.pdf

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Baha'i teaching work cannot be compared with other social works

"Your work to improve the health of people is a meritorious way of serving mankind, but it can never be compared with the work of illumining the souls and minds of men with the Light of Bahá’u’lláh. The people of the world are teeming millions, the Bahá’ís only a handful, yet they are the precious leaven that must leaven the lump."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, May 8, 1942)

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Regarding the one who related the existence of the Qaʼim…

Regarding the one who related the existence of the Qáʼim [1]

In a Tablet to Mírzá Áqáy-i Afnán, the blessed pen of the Ancient Beauty—exalted be His glory—hath revealed:

“The one who related the existence of the Qá’im was a woman. It was asked of Jaʻfar, [2] ‘Does [Imám Ḥasan] ʻAskarí have any living sons?’ That wronged one [3] declined and said, ‘There was a child, but he passed away two years ago.’ Those with ill intentions condemned him as a liar, and they shunned and cursed him. Ignorant and heedless, they accepted and proclaimed as truth the words of that lying woman, which were in agreement with their selfish intentions.”

_________

Notes:

[1] According to the Twelver Shíʻih tradition, the twelfth Imám—known as the Mahdí, or “rightly guided one”—was born to the eleventh Imám, Ḥasan ʻAskarí, in 869 AD. After Ḥasan ʻAskarí died in 874, the Mahdí—who would have been five years old at the time—was purportedly hidden to protect him from the ruling ʻAbbásid caliphate. He would communicate with his followers through a series of four intermediaries. This period, known as the Minor Occultation, ended in 941 with the death of the fourth intermediary. Since that time, Twelver Shíʻihs believe that the Mahdí has continued to exist in hiding, and will eventually reveal himself to battle the forces of evil and firmly establish submission unto God—the literal definition of “Islám”—as the universal religion for mankind.

Moojan Momen refers to this Tablet in his article, “Shi`i Islam” (1995; available online), as evidence that Baha’u’llah rejected the story of the twelfth Imám as a pious fraud.

For more information on the concept of the Mahdí, refer to the following articles in the Encyclopedia Iranica:
“The Concept of Mahdi in Twelver Shiʿism”: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/islam-in-iran-vii-the-concept-of-mahdi-in-twelver-shiism
“Ḡayba”: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gayba

[2] The brother of Imám Ḥasan ʻAskarí, known to Twelver Shíʻihs as “Jaʻfar-i-Kadhdháb” (“Jaʻfar the Liar”). In this tablet, Baha’u’llah dismisses this tenet of Shíʻih eschatology by establishing the truth of Jaʻfar’s reply to the question about his brother’s son. (This is not the same person as Imám Jaʻfar aṣ-Ṣádiq, who lived in the eighth century AD—roughly a hundred years before Jaʻfar-i-Kadhdháb.)

[3] This characterization of Jaʻfar is likely a reference to the fact that generations of Twelver Shíʻihs have considered him a liar, even though he was actually telling the truth.

https://adibmasumian.com/translations/existence-of-qaim/

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A Tablet from ‘Abduʼl-Baha regarding the Twelfth Imam

In a Tablet to Ḥájí Ṣadr-i-Hamadání, the title of which is “O Ṣadruʼṣ-Ṣudúr! The unrolled scroll hath been read aloud,” the Center of the Covenant—exalted be His praise—hath said:

As to the question of the twelfth Imám, there existeth in the ḥadíths an apparent contradiction. In one ḥadíth, Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan [1]—peace be upon Him—is considered the promised Qáʼim, yet in another, it is mentioned that the death of that same Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan will precede the birth of the awaited Qáʼim in the End of Time. [2] One cannot reconcile these two ḥadíths, unless he be certain that the twelfth Imám—the promised Qáʼim—existed spiritually in the Kingdom of God, and was manifested physically, in the form of another person, at the Hour of Revelation. “And no one thing is there, but with Us are its storehouses; and We send it not down but in settled measure” [3]. That which is manifest in the contingent world existed first in the Kingdom of God.

The matter of the twelfth Imám and the promised Qáʼim is mentioned in a chain of highly questionable ḥadíths. Were one to judge the matter fairly, he would not give credence to any of these various narratives that contradict each other. Every one of the holy Imáms was considered by the Shíʻihs of His time to be the Qáʼim, and they awaited His emergence from the occultation. [4] With the passing of Imám Ḥasan ʻAskarí, [5] the leading divines realized that the foundation of hope for Shíʻihs would soon be utterly destroyed, and that they would fall into great despair. As these divines wished to preserve that hope, they made allusions, invoked metaphors, created allegories, and offered interpretations. Consequently, various narratives began to emerge, and the fact of the matter is that, after the passing of Imám Ḥasan ʻAskarí—peace be upon Him—the Shíʻihs had become divided into three groups. One group clung to the ignorant Jaʻfar, [6] and congratulated him on his accession to the Imámate. Another group came to renounce totally their belief in the role of the Imám. The other group attached themselves to belief in the occultation, and every day awaited the Qáʼim’s emergence therefrom. For a thousand years they have anticipated His advent, and to this day they have yet to grow tired of this futile anticipation.

Gracious God! The appearance of His Manifestation is mentioned explicitly in the Qurʼán, without any need for commentary or interpretation: “And thy Lord shall come and the angels rank on rank” [7]. And yet have they regarded this matter with doubt, been unsettled by it, offered tenuous interpretations to explain it, and clung to narratives that have ultimately caused confusion and vacillation. They have deemed these narratives to be the explicit Text, and have used them to oppose anyone who should disagree with them. What foolishness, what folly have seized these people, and what stupidity they demonstrate! How utterly lost they are in their error! Salutations and praise be upon thee.

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Notes:

[1] The son of Imám Ḥasan ʻAskarí (the eleventh Imám of Shíʻih Islám), believed by Shíʻih Muslims to be the twelfth Imám.

[2] cf. Encyclopedia Iranica, “The Concept of Mahdi in Twelver Shiʿism”: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/islam-in-iran-vii-the-concept-of-mahdi-in-twelver-shiism

[3] Qurʼán 15:21.

[4] cf. Encyclopedia Iranica, “Ḡayba”: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gayba

[5] The eleventh Imám of Shíʻih Islám.

[6] The brother of Imám Ḥasan ʻAskarí, known to Twelver Shíʻihs as “Jaʻfar-i-Kadhdháb” (“Jaʻfar the Liar”). For more information, refer to this Tablet from Baháʼuʼlláh: https://adibmasumian.com/translations/existence-of-qaim/

[7] Qurʼán 89:22.


https://adibmasumian.com/translations/tablet-abdul-baha-twelfth-imam/

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Regarding Jafar-i-Kadhdhab (“Jafar the Liar”)

In a Tablet to Mírzá Áqáy-i-Afnán, the Pen of the Most High—exalted be His glory—hath revealed:

“O people of God! Inquire ye of the people of the Qurʼán: ‘Where is Jábulqá, and what of Jábulsá? [1] What hath become of those illusory cities?’ They have condemned as a liar that hapless Jaʻfar, [2] who did not speak falsely. For uttering a single truthful remark, he hath been branded a liar from the early days of Islám to the present time. ‘God’s malison (curse) on the head of the people of tyranny!’” [3]

___________

Notes:

[1] cf. Baháʼuʼlláh, Gems of Divine Mysteries, para. 47, note 7: “According to Shiah traditions, the twin cities of Jabulqa and Jabulsa are the dwelling place of the Hidden Imam (the Promised One), whence He will appear on the Day of Resurrection.”

[2] The brother of Imam Hasan ʻAskari, known to Twelver Shias as “Jafar-i-Kadhdhab” (“Jaʻfar the Liar”). For more information, refer to a similar Tablet from Baháʼuʼlláh: https://adibmasumian.com/translations/existence-of-qaim/

[3] Qurʼán 11:18.

https://adibmasumian.com/translations/truthfulness-of-jafar/

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