Shoghi Effendi has said that giving to the Funds is, "...…a practical and effective way whereby every believer can test the measure and character of his faith, and prove in deeds the intensity of his devotion and attachment to the Cause."
Monday, November 23, 2020
All the friends of God... should contribute to the extent possible
All the friends of God... should contribute to the extent possible, however modest their offering may be. God doth not burden a soul beyond its capacity... O Friends of God! Be ye assured that in place of these contributions, your agriculture, your industry, and your commerce will be blessed by manifold increases, with goodly gifts and bestowals. He who cometh with one goodly deed will receive a tenfold reward. There is no doubt that the living Lord will abundantly confirm those who expend their wealth in His path.
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá
Thursday, November 19, 2020
Abbas Effendi's love towards his brothers and sisters!!
Abdul-Baha, Abuse, Covenant-Breakers, Independent Investigation of Truth
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At times Abbas Effendi used to meet his brothers and sisters at the Sacred Tomb of Baha’u’llah and speak to them in harsh language and treat them cruelly, in order to compel them to believe that which is against the laws of the Lord, Glory be to Him. On one occasion, by force, he seized the hand of the youngest sister [Foroughiyya Khanum] and repeatedly struck her with her own hand upon her head. This took place in the presence of many believers and relatives. Her two little ones [i.e. her children] and those who were present, men and women, wept for her and supplicated him for mercy. Abbas Effendi took no heed to them, but continued beating her, and with a loud voice uttering very harsh words. On account of these continued indignities, the abused sister being very sensitive, suffered from mental prostration, and since then has had a stroke of paralysis, and for five years has been confined to her bed. Can it be said that such actions were in accord with the commandments of the Lord, which He uttered on behalf of His wife and daughters? Can the faithful and righteous people consent to these doings?
(A Lost History of the Baha'i Faith, Ch.22 – Khadimu'llah's Epistle by By Aqa Jan Kashani)
(A Lost History of the Baha'i Faith, Ch.22 – Khadimu'llah's Epistle by By Aqa Jan Kashani)
Friday, November 13, 2020
Mulla Husayn is the return of Prophet Muhammad and Imam Husayn
Mullá Husayn himself is described in the writings of the Báb and Baháʼu'lláh as the return of the Prophet Muhammad, and in other early Bábí sources variously as the return of the Imam Husayn or even described as the "Qa'im of Khorasan".
(Saeidi, Nader (2008). Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb. Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 9781554580354)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mullá_Husayn
Claims of the Bab
The hostility aroused by the claim of Bábhood (deputyship of Mahdi) was redoubled when the young reformer proceeded to declare that He was Himself the Mihdí (Mahdi) Whose coming Muḥammad had foretold. The Shí’ihs identified this Mihdí with the 12th Imám who, according to their beliefs, had mysteriously disappeared from the sight of men about a thousand years previously. They believed that he was still alive and would reappear in the same body as before, and they interpreted in a material sense the prophecies regarding his dominion, his glory, his conquests...
The Bábís, on the other hand, interpreted many of the prophecies figuratively. They regarded the sovereignty of the Promised One, like that of the Galilean “Man of Sorrows,” as a mystical sovereignty; His glory as spiritual, not earthly glory; His conquests as conquests over the cities of men’s hearts’...
But the Báb did not stop even with the claim of Mihdíhood. He adopted the sacred title of “Nuqṭiyiúlá” or “Primal Point.” This was a title applied to Muḥammad Himself by His followers. Even the Imáms were secondary in importance to the “Point,” from Whom they derived their inspiration and authority. In assuming this title, the Báb claimed to rank, like Muḥammad, in the series of great Founders of Religion, and for this reason, in the eyes of the Shí’ihs, He was regarded as an impostor.
(Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, J. E. Esslemont, US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1980 edition Page 286)
But the Báb did not stop even with the claim of Mihdíhood. He adopted the sacred title of “Nuqṭiyiúlá” or “Primal Point.” This was a title applied to Muḥammad Himself by His followers. Even the Imáms were secondary in importance to the “Point,” from Whom they derived their inspiration and authority. In assuming this title, the Báb claimed to rank, like Muḥammad, in the series of great Founders of Religion, and for this reason, in the eyes of the Shí’ihs, He was regarded as an impostor.
(Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, J. E. Esslemont, US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1980 edition Page 286)
https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/je/BNE/bne-18.html
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Subh-i-Azal was good-natured
(Subh-i-Azal was) a mere figurehead, timid in the extreme, good-natured yet susceptible to the slightest influence, devoid of any outstanding qualities...
The Bab's claims
After a few months the Báb observed a greater acceptance and readiness amongst His people and gradually moved His claim to that of 'Zikryya' and 'Qaiemyya' meaning that of the Hidden Imam in its entirety. In the final years of His life He publicly announced the station of 'Mazhariah' meaning that of a manifestation from God.
(Page 224, Sepehr Manuchehri, Australian Baha'i Studies, Volume 2, 2000, ISSN 1442-2875)
Finally, in his last authored work, the Haykal al-din,(1) he claimed the "essence of God", dhātu'llāh.(2)
(1) MacEoin, Denis (1992). The Sources for Early Bābī Doctrine and History: A Survey. Leiden: Brill. p. 90.)
(2) MacEoin, Denis Martin (2009). The Messiah of Shiraz. Leiden: Bril. p. 345 (footnote 108). ISBN 978-90-04-17035-3.
If you believe that 'Bab' is 'the Gate' of the hidden Imam then you are cursed by the Bab himself!
Bab, Independent Investigation of Truth, Provisional Translation
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After his return from Mecca, the Báb was arrested in Bushihr and taken into custody to the residence of Husayn Khan Nazimu’l Dowla the Governor of Fars. On the same Friday, the Báb was pressured by the Ulama particularly the Imam Jum'ih of Shiraz to publicly renounce His earlier claims in the grand Mosque of Vakil in front of a congregation of the faithful. The Báb attended the prayer session and publicly denied his claim to the position of 'Deputyship' of the Hidden Imam.
(Page 223, Sepehr Manuchehri, Australian Baha'i Studies, Volume 2, 2000, ISSN 1442-2875)
On the pulpit of Vakil Mosque in front of the people, Bab announced: "God's curse be upon the one who recognizes me as the representative of the occulted Imam. God's curse be upon the one who recognizes me as the 'gate' of the hidden Imam."
(Page 141, Talkhis Tarikh i Nabil, Persian)
Bahà'u'llàh's works never mentioned Buddha or Krishna as manifestations
Abdul-Baha, Baha'i Law, Buddhism, Hinduism, Independent Investigation of Truth
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Bahà'u'llàh's works never mentioned Buddha or Krishna as manifestations, but his son 'Abdu'l-Bahà mentioned in his own works that Buddha and Krishna were indeed manifestations of God.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_revelation_(Bahá'í)
Paris Talks: Addresses Given by Abdu'l-Bahá in 1911. Baha'i Publishing Trust. ISBN 9781931847322.