Donkey

One night while at Bahji, Victoria was in the gardens enjoying the moonlight on the Shrine, when two men came toward her. One she recognized as Mirza Muhammad-‘Ali, the Arch-breaker of Baha'u'llah’s Covenant. For a moment they looked at each other, then Mirza Muhammad-‘Ali asked, ‘Who are you, and what do you want?’ She replied that she was staying there that night and, after a silent pause, the men walked away. The next day, Victoria wrote about the ‘Nakazeen Donkey’. ‘The pilgrims were going to a Druse village, but there weren't enough donkeys to carry everyone. Munavvar Khanum said that they would have to borrow one from the Covenant-breakers, the ‘Nakazeen’. All the pilgrims exclaimed that they would not ride a nacazin donkey, they would rather not go.

(Shoghi Effendi Through the Pilgrim’s Eye, Vol. 1 by Earl Redman)

Abdul-Baha, had a donkey upon which he was accustomed to ride about the town daily upon his philanthropic missions. An American woman who was his guest at one time was terribly annoyed at the nightly braying of this creature, which she declared prevented her from sleeping, but when she discovered that it was the donkey upon which Abdul-Baha visited the sick, its braying suddenly assumed a musical character, and no longer disturbed her.

(Star of the West, Volume 8 - Issue 1)

When ‘Abdu’l-Baha was in Chicago in 1912, He gave a talk to four maid-servants of the Faith, warning them of Violators of the Covenant in that city. At its conclusion one of them questioned: “‘Abdu’l-Baha, how shall we know a Violator?” ‘Abdu’l-Baha asked, in reply, if she would know a donkey if she were to see one.

(World Order, The Baha'i Magazine, Volume 8 - Issue 9, Dec. 1942)

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Baha'i Administrative Order would become the government in a Baha'i State.

The UHJ states that the Baha'i Administrative Order would just become the government in a Baha'i State:

"Not only will the present-day Spiritual Assemblies be styled differently in future, but they will be enabled also to add to their present functions those powers, duties, and prerogatives necessitated by the recognition of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, not merely as one of the recognized religious systems of the world, but as the State Religion of an independent and Sovereign Power."

https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/19950427_001/1#474157083

As such the Baha'i Administrations guidance on Assemblies and, of course, the Universal House of Justice apply which include (may grab quotes later to prove):

• No public dissent against institutional decisions
• No debate on institutional decisions
• No accountability of the institution to the public
• No public criticism or skepticism to be expressed about institutions
• No "electioneering" (read, no campaigns in which prospective electees clearly state their platform)
• No freedom of speech
• No publication of any material without prior submission to institutions for approval
• No independent arbitration of an institutional decision
• No discussion of candidates
• No separation of power (Supreme Court of the Faith also to be subservient to the UHJ in the same way all Assemblies/Governments are)
• No transparency (i.e., minutes, consultations and results of votes confidential)
• Concerns about an institution only to be raised directly with the institution in secret
• Complete subservience of local governance to the Universal House of Justice
• Rulings of the UHJ are infallible and not subject to appeal or discussion
• Contention with a UHJ decision punishable by excommunication
• UHJ decisions considered decisions of God (disagreement to result in excommunication)
• Suspension of the right to vote, be elected, or participate in governance made the prerogative of the institutions
• Individuals subject to 'excommunication' and shunning from society
• Contact with and reading material by shunned individuals forbidden
• Appointed arm (appointed by the UHJ) which "outranks" the elected arm
• Appointed arm responsible for excommunication (complete shunning from society in this scenario)
• Appointed arm responsible for investigating individuals on behalf of the UHJ
• Appointed arm independent of democratically elected institutions
• Appointed arm responsible for ensuring elected arm activities/decisions align with UHJ.
• Appointed arm exempt from criticism, accountability, or transparency (answerable only to UHJ).

When you really think about it the Faith's model for government is pretty similar to the Soviet Union. A one party state with no transparency, show elections, a secret police, and all dissent or skepticism punished by being erased/excluded from society.

Baha'is say the world needs to be mature to be ready for the Baha'i World Order, I say the world needs to be infantilized and regress before it would accept this.

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on Shoghi's casket it was written that he was the 'First Guardian'

Even on Shoghi's casket it was written that he was the 'First Guardian', so even at that time the matter was not considered to be closed.

The reasoning on why there was no second Guardian changed as time went on. First the Baha'i world was in denial and wanted to find the next successor, then it was said that God changed his mind about hereditary Guardianship (in Arabic: Bada), and later it was said that there was always supposed to be only one Guardian, using this text from the Aqdas as validation:

"Endowments dedicated to charity revert to God, the Revealer of Signs. None hath the right to dispose of them without leave from Him Who is the Dawning-place of Revelation. After Him, this authority shall pass to the Aghsan, and after them to the House of Justice—should it be established in the world by then—that they may use these endowments for the benefit of the Places which have been exalted in this Cause, and for whatsoever hath been enjoined upon them by Him Who is the God of might and power. Otherwise, the endowments shall revert to the people of Bahá who speak not except by His leave and judge not save in accordance with what God hath decreed in this Tablet—lo, they are the champions of victory betwixt heaven and earth— that they may use them in the manner that hath been laid down in the Book of God, the Mighty, the Bountiful."

But this is a flawed reasoning for various reasons.

https://old.reddit.com/r/FreeSpeechBahai/comments/1d1336u/the_real_archbreaker_of_the_covenant/

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The only legitimate succession is the one created by Baha'u'llah in the Kitab-i-Ahdi. First Abbas Effendi and then Mirza Muhammad Ali. All other succession schemes have holes in them.

The problem with the Baha'i covenant is that while Abdul Baha and Mirza Muhammad Ali were appointed by Baha'u'llah, and Shoghi by Abdul Baha, the UHJ and other successor claimants cannot trace back their authority to Baha'u'llah.

In Abdul Baha's scheme the UHJ would be led by a Guardian, and it is ridiculous to assume that this body would instead succeed the Guardian as infallible leader. The UHJ we have now is also different from the one Shoghi envisaged, and it was founded by the Hands, who had no authority to do so. The Five Elders and Mason Remey also have no way to prove they are Shoghi's successors, as they were never publicly appointed by Shoghi.

In fact the whole post-Shoghi Baha'i faith is a huge cope. Shoghi's death before appointing a successor clearly showed that he and his grandfather were not infallible. Still, everyone doubled down on following some infallible leader, as if that is what the Baha'i faith is about.

The only legitimate succession is the one created by Baha'u'llah in the Kitab-i-Ahdi. First Abbas Effendi and then Mirza Muhammad Ali. All other succession schemes have holes in them.

https://old.reddit.com/r/FreeSpeechBahai/comments/1d1336u/the_real_archbreaker_of_the_covenant/

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Abdul Baha said I know the station, the needs, and the condition, of every soul in the world

He said: "I know the station, the needs, and the condition, of every soul in the world,..."

(The Chosen Highway by Lady Sarah Louisa Blomfield)

https://bahai-library.com/blomfield_chosen_highway&chapter=3/#5

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In the 1880s Baha’i assemblies included mullas, and antagonism to Babis and Baha’is as heretics did not prevent interaction between Shi’a and alternative views.

The emergence of the Babi movement in the 1840s as an explicitly radical (and anti-‘ulama) alternative, proclaiming a revolutionary and messianic revelation and a break with the Shi’a past, did meet open confrontation and condemnation from the religious leadership, leaving the term ‘Babi’ as a lasting term of abuse for heresy, innovation and unbelief. However, it is notable that Shi’a leaders moved cautiously and gradually to outright condemnation, acting in conjunction with secular authorities, and that senior ‘ulama were divided from lower-ranking mullas and tullab, numbers of whom were attracted to the new movement. Following a period of confrontation and persecution and the expulsion of prominent Babis from Iran in the 1850s, the continuation of the movement rested on the use of taqiyeh (concealment) by sympathisers, which preserved overlaps between members of the ‘ulama and Babi or their successor Baha’i and Azali groups. In the 1880s Baha’i assemblies included mullas, and antagonism to Babis and Baha’is as heretics did not prevent interaction between Shi’a and alternative views. The drive to monopolise and define conformity/‘orthodoxy’ co-existed with pragmatic adaptability and shifting ideological boundaries, rather than establishing binary oppositions between ‘permissive’ and ‘dogmatic’ versions of belief and practice.

(Religion, Culture and Politics in Iran - From the Qajars to Khomeini by Joanna de Groot)

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Demolition of the house of the Covenant-breakers

DEMOLITION OF THE HOUSE OF THE COVENANT-BREAKERS

On the right is the roof of the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh, the Holiest Spot in the Bahá’í world. The upper story of the Mansion where He passed away is seen on the left.

This building was demolished under the supervision of the Hands of the Cause in December 1957. Shoghi Effendi had planned to supervise this long-anticipated work personally.

PURIFICATION OF THE HARAM-I-AQDAS

Along these two walls of the Mansion of Bahá’u’lláh at Bahjí were situated buildings formerly occupied by enemies of the Faith. Above: Star design in garden created by Shoghi Effendi. Below: Extension of the garden to meet northern wall of Mansion.

VIEW FROM THE BALCONY OF THE MANSION OF BAHA’U’LLAH, BAHJI

Photograph shows completion of Shoghi Effendi’s plan, carried out after his passing - upper right hand path is third terrace.

Extension of the original garden in area occupied by house of enemies which was demolished.

(The Bahá’í World, Volume 13)

https://bahai.works/Bahá’í_World/Volume_13/Aims_and_Purposes_of_the_Bahá’í_Faith

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The ability of Iranians/Persians to adapt to change was, and still is, visible

The ability of Iranians/Persians to adapt to change was, and still is, visible in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. In the nineteenth century, the new “religion” of Bahaism developed in Iran and was anathema to traditional Islam because of one of the classical principles of Islam that holds that their prophet Muhammad was the “Seal of the Prophets” (in Arabic: Khatim al-Anbiya)... As Bahaism succeeded, more and more people embraced this new religion. This again, is an example of the quintessential Iranian tactic of converting to the religion of the most powerful in order to protect Persian essence. When the Qajar rulers, however, defeated the Bahais, Iranians who had followed Bahaism began returning to Islam. This experience is deeply engrained in the Iranian Shi’ite religious psyche and is why today’s the Iranian Islamic Republic’s leaders so passionately loathe Bahaism....

Bahaism was indeed an existential threat to Iranian Shi’ite Islam when it was militarily powerful because of the malleability of Iranian culture. It is therefore not surprising that, today, a significant number of Iranians in the diaspora—most notably in the United States and the Netherlands—have left Islam and have converted to Christianity, the major religion of both countries.

(Identities in Crisis in Iran - Politics, Culture, and Religion Edited by Ronen A. Cohen, p 15)

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Baha'u'llah was the spiritual return (raj'ah) of the Bab.

After his exile to Edirne in Rumelia in late 1863, and ten years after his withdrawal to Sulaymaniyyah, he began sending letters to Iran announcing that he was the spiritual return (raj'ah) of the Bab. In 1867 he broke decisively with Azal. In the following years the vast majority of all Babis gave their allegiance to Baha'u'llah, becoming Baha'is.

(Baha'u'llah and the Naqshbandi Sufis in Iraq, 1854-1856 By Juan Ricardo Cole)

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General Shua'u'llah Ala'i

General Shua'u'llah Ala'i told of seeing Mirza Abdu'llah when he was sixteen or seventeen years old. He had gone to a Baha'i gathering in a garden -- a party, not a meeting, but only Baha'is attended. It was sunset in summertime. They sat on a carpet and ate dinner by kerosene lamp. Mirza Abdu'llah was there and played the tar while a singer sang Baha'i poems (shi'r-i amri) and other poems. Ala'i related that in those days they used to sing mostly Sadi and Hafiz, with Qurratu'l-'Ayn and others.

(Baha'i Influences on Mirza Abdu'llah, Qajar Court Musician and Master of the Radif by Margaret Caton)

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Baha'i properties in Israel

The startling fact is that until 1952 the Baha’is held no land contiguous to the Shrine, thereby frustrating any hope of development or beautification. When Baha’u’llah ascended, the Mansion was surrounded by small buildings, dependencies of the Mansion itself; which were owned by various Baha’is: one of the believers made a gift of his home for the burial of Baha’u’llah. It was ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s poignant desire to beautify the surroundings of the Shrine but all the property was owned by the Baydun family, Muslims who were close friends of the Covenant-breakers. ‘They were determined that the Baha’is would never own an inch of their land, the parents binding the children in a promise never to sell land to the Baha'is.

[…]

During the lifetime of Baha’u'llah, ‘Abdu’l-Baha had bought some properties at His direction near the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. In one of His Tablets Baha’u’llah, in referring to these properties, speaks of them as forerunners of “noble and imposing structures” to be dedicated “to the worship and service of the one true God”.’ One of the properties was an area of 140 dunams (a dunam being one fourth of an acre) registered in the name of Zikrullah (Dhikru’llah), a descendant of Baha’u’llah’s faithful brother Musa. ‘Abdu’l-Baha told him never to parcel out or sell this land because one day it would be a holy place. Zikrullah left the property to his eldest son, also a trusted Baha’i.

During the war between Israel and the surrounding Arab states that followed the declaration of statehood, the Jewish forces were able to withstand the invading armies. When a truce resolution was adopted by the United Nations, more than half a million Arabs fled the land and settled outside Israel. Among those who fled was the Baydun family whose abandoned property eventually reverted to the State.

The Zikrullah property near Galilee happened to be on the immediate border of Syria with Transjordan in the demilitarized zone, and the State of Israel was very anxious to acquire that land. Officials approached the Zikrullah family to buy their property, but when the Guardian was asked, he said no, the Master told you to keep the land; it cannot be sold. Then someone had the idea of trading this property for the Baydun land around the Shrine of Baha’u’llah. The Guardian approved of this being done and Larry Hautz, the first American to come on pilgrimage after a ten year hiatus due to the troubled conditions in the country, remained in the Holy Land to begin the negotiations. On his departure, Leroy carried the lengthy transaction to its conclusion.

The trade of land was finally accomplished, the Baha’is transferring 140 dunams of land in the city of Ein Gev in the Galilee in exchange for some 160 dunams of land surrounding Baha’u’llah’s Shrine. The head office of the land development department was in Tel Aviv and there, on November 12, 1952, at nine in the morning, Leroy signed the contract for the land with the Government.

[…]

In his message the following year to the Intercontinental Conference in Chicago, Shoghi Effendi again spoke of this precious land: “The stupendous process of the rise and consolidation of the World Administrative Center has been accelerated through the acquisition, in the Plain of ‘Akka, of a one hundred and sixty thousand square meter area, surrounding the Qiblih of the Baha'i world, permitting the extension of the Outer Sanctuary of the Most Holy Tomb — to be designated henceforth the Haram-i-Aqdas . . .” This is when the term came into Baha’i usage.

There is a building alongside the Mansion of Bahji in which the worst remnant of the Covenant-breakers lived. On one of the Master’s darkest days caused by this man’s scheming, ‘Abdu’l-Baha told him that he would live to see the collapse of everything he had done. When the Baydun land was transferred, he still lived on as the Master had predicted, nearly one hundred years old, paralyzed, unable to speak, but looking out as the Guardian’s handiwork took form: the magnificent gardens, the great park, all of it illuminated at night because the Guardian associated light with the Baha’i Manifestations.

[…]

Second only in importance to the acquisition of the Baydun land was the purchase of the twenty thousand square meter site for the future Mashriqu’l-Adhkar on the crest of Mt. Carmel. “It is truly in an imposing position”, wrote the International Baha’i Council in 1955.

[…]

A few days later the Guardian called Leroy over to the Master’s house and said he wished to go up and look at the land for the Temple. During their drive up the mountain the Guardian said: This is a historic day because today we are going to select the site for the Temple. He walked over the entire area, indicating which plots were essential and which were not. He chose the most difficult area to acquire, on the highest point of the mountain, and indicated the exact spot where the heart of the Temple should be; Leroy marked it with a large stone. Today a marble obelisk has replaced the stone. They returned to the car and drove back. Now, the Guardian said, you must get busy and buy that land.

It took two years of effort to acquire it. During the protracted negotiations there was not one person who thought it could be done; everywhere he went, Leroy was told it would be impossible. (Shoghi Effendi once asked, What do you think, Leroy, when these people say you cannot have something you want? Leroy answered: When I know Shoghi Effendi wants it, I just don’t hear their “no”.)

Investigation revealed how involved the question of ownership was. In fact Leroy felt this might facilitate its acquisition, as only God could disentangle such a web. The property had been owned by the Carmelite Order for nine centuries, but during the Mandate the British War Office wanted it for military purposes as it commanded the whole harbor. The Carmelites sold the land to the British with the understanding that they could one day reclaim it. When the Mandate ended, the British agreed to resale of the property but the Carmelites could not pay in hard currency so the contract was never concluded, and both claimed ownership. The State of Israel also claimed ownership through a law that returned to the State any land registered in the name of the British that had not been transferred. Finally, the Israeli defense ministry requisitioned the land stating ownership was immaterial, they needed it, no doubt for the same reasons the British had.

…the defense department occupied the land and difficult negotiations continued with them for many months. One branch of the services was adamantly opposed to relinquishing the land and Leroy requested a meeting in the Defense Minister’s office. ‘The Minister was out of town but a brilliant young deputy chaired the meeting, who, as it turned out, had attended a seminar at Harvard University with one of Leroy’s long-time railroad colleagues. A warm relationship was immediately established and Leroy left the meeting with a letter of intent favorable to releasing the land to the Baha’is. But three persons still objected and it took more lengthy negotiations before they would agree to the release. When it was thought everything had been decided, the official representing the State Domain stood in the way of final settlement, as he would not agree to include the essential plot on which the Guardian had centered the Temple.

Leroy had what he called a “spirited discussion” with him. It centered on two points. One, the suggestion that you put “your building” somewhere other than the area Shoghi Effendi had designated for it. What is so particular about this spot? he asked; we just will not give it to you. Leroy said this is the spot we must have because it 1s a holy place. Leroy asked him why they didn’t move their Wailing Wall [in Arab-held East Jerusalem] over to New Jerusalem; why didn’t they use a wall of the King David hotel? You won’t do it, Leroy said, because the ‘Temple of Solomon was built right there and the Wailing Wall is one of the walls of the Temple. This is our holy place and we don’t move a holy place any more than you do.

Then came the reaction that “because you have dollars” you feel you can buy anything you want, but I am going to prevent the sale of this piece of land to you. Leroy answered that yes, he had dollars, but the Baha’is don’t use money to force people to do things. What have the Baha’is forced you to do? We are building parklands and gardens for you, we are erecting beautiful buildings for you, we use money to serve society. You are a Jew, Leroy said, and if ever a people in history learned what the hand of God can do, it is the Jewish people. I tell you that we are going to have this land because God wants us to have it and no force on earth can stop it.

[…]

…the property was registered in the name of the British War Office it had to be transferred from them to the Carmelites, who then transferred it to the attorney, who then-transferred it to the Baha’is. The Government agreed to a single transfer, so the property was finally passed from the British War Office directly to Shoghi Rabbani in a single transaction.

After the land had been acquired Milly Collins one night asked the Guardian if in future the Temple land and the Shrine properties, two kilometers distant, would not be joined together with gardens. The Guardian said yes, and we will have our own road between the two, but we have to purchase the intervening land where houses are now built.

(Leroy Ioas - Hand of the Cause of God by Anita Ioas Chapman)

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Ahmad Sohrab was shunned by his wife and children

Ahmad Sohrab was, according to a study by Farzin Aghdasi, subsequently shunned by his wife and children:

"Ahmad Sohrab (1888-1958): sent to America by the Master to serve Mirza Abu'l-Fadl, secretary and interpreter of the Master, rebelled, formed 'The New History Society' and 'Caravan of East and West', attempted to penetrate American Baha'i community, joined the old Covenant breakers, press conference in Haifa and Tel Aviv, wife and daughter faithful, changed their names."

(https://web.archive.org/web/20060515041702/http://bci.org/bahaistudies/courses/shoghi.htm)

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Abdul Baha: 'Go, and eat this candy...'

The Master said:

‘Marḥabá! Marḥabá! (Welcome, welcome), Jináb-i-Khán. You have suffered much on your wanderings, but welcome! Praise be to God, you have reached here in safety.

‘The Blessed Perfection, Bahá’u’lláh, has promised to raise up souls who would hasten to the service of the Covenant, and would assist me in spreading His Faith. His Cause has now reached America and many in the Western world are being attracted to His Teachings. You, with your knowledge of English, are one of those souls promised me by Bahá’u’lláh. You have come to assist me by translating His Sacred Writings as well as my letters to the friends in America and elsewhere in the West.’

The room seemed charged with His words. They resounded ever after in Khan’s mind and heart.

Then He said, ‘You must reside with me and assist me in my work.’

He stretched out His hand to the table and took up a pack of folded papers, the sort He used for Tablets, and passed them over to Khan.

‘These are the answers’, He said, ‘that I have written to some of the American Bahá’ís. Go and translate them into English.’

Khan unfolded the top ones. They were Tablets ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had written in His own hand. They were in Arabic.

‘But my Master,’ he cried, ‘these are not in Persian! These are Arabic! In my college I studied European languages, but not Arabic!’

No one had ever in his life looked at Khan with such loving eyes and such a smile. Still smiling, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá reached for His rock candy on the table. Filling both His hands He told Khan to cup his palms for the candy. Then, His eyes mysteriously solemn, and His voice taking on a new, strange tone, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: ‘Go, and eat this candy. Rest assured, the Blessed Perfection will enable you to translate the Arabic into English. Rest assured that as time goes on you will be assisted to translate from the Arabic much more easily than from the Persian.’

(Summon Up Remembrance by Marzieh Gail)

https://bahai-library.com/gail_summon_up_remembrance/

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Darvish means a beggar. Baha'u'llah lived in the mountains of Sulaymaniyyih as a beggar.

The begging was traditional; in fact, the word dervish (darvísh) is said to come from ‘door’ and ‘beg’. (In Arabic-speaking countries, a dervish is a faqíh, poor one.)

(Summon Up Remembrance by Marzieh Gail)

https://bahai-library.com/gail_summon_up_remembrance/

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Only in later years did he find out that the learned mullá was not only a Bahá’í but a Hand of the Faith.

Whenever the Shah or this or that liberal statesman attempted any reform in Persia, the Shiah Muslim clergy rose up to block the plan. The Shah had barely managed to wrest a consent from the mullás to establish his College, where there would be (unclean) foreign teachers and foreign studies. To get this he was forced to include a class for Persian and religious studies, under a mullá in the usual large turban and clerical robes. A department for advanced studies included courses in Platonic philosophy and various branches of Muslim theology and culture. Khan had no time left over to study Arabic and the other higher Muslim courses. Only in later years did he find out that the learned mullá, Mírzá Ḥasan Adíb (Educator) who headed the Department was not only a Bahá’í but enjoyed the special rank of Hand of the Faith.

(Summon Up Remembrance by Marzieh Gail)

https://bahai-library.com/gail_summon_up_remembrance/

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Druze is a cult established by a Tailor from Persia

...the Master said: "A few hundred years ago, Darz'i, a tailor, came from Persia to Syria, where he established the Druze cult. 'Druze' is a corruption of the word 'Darzi'"

(The Chosen Highway by Lady Sarah Louisa Blomfield, p 195)

https://bahai-library.com/blomfield_chosen_highway&chapter=3/#5

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"Servant of Glory" or "the Master"?

It is strange that Abdu'l-Baha's very name meant "Servant of Glory", and he cast himself as such, but another of his titles was "the Master".

So basically he was a servant to Baha'u'llah but the master of all other Baha'is. Quite convenient for him once Baha'u'llah was dead.

True humility means you are humble towards everyone. Otherwise, you are two-faced.

https://old.reddit.com/r/FreeSpeechBahai/comments/1cq86pl/ambiguity_of_the_matters_of_successorship_in/l4dvsto/

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Why there are few ex-Baha'is and why more and more people are leaving the Baha'i cult?

In my experience the vast majority of Baha'is know next to nothing about the Faith, and have no interest in the Faith theologically, so even those who leave the Faith tend to not have very strong opinions about it. This makes it more difficult for people who have strong objections to the Faith's theology/history, nobody knows or cares about it!

There are hardly any ex-Baha'is to be found I think because the Baha'i community is so irrelevantly small it has essentially no actual presence in the world (so the "ex" community is likewise incredibly tiny).

I think perhaps the ex community will grow in the coming years and we may see things like "ex-Baha'i" support groups because the Faith has lurched hard into cult-like behavior with how the Institute Process is practiced and it's increased meddling in the lives of youth (e.g. ISGP). Pre the year 2000 the Faith was content to just sign people up, and as such it made very little demands of most of its adherents, but with the Institute Process and the UHJ showing its hand in endorsing it as a surefire way to get entry by troops has made the community incredibly toxic. No longer is it a vaguely New Age social club, it's an aggressively proselytizing organisation which press-gangs young people into door-knocking campaigns with incredible pressure put on people to turn around an abject failure of a teaching technique. (tl;dr, pre-Institute Process it was pretty hard for people to get disillusioned by the Faith unless they studied it deeply which I don't think was ever really encouraged outside of curated materials. Post-institute process there are some very explicit claims and instructions that are constantly being shown to be total BS, so disillusionment is a foregone conclusion in my mind).

Adding onto the above, I think it is becoming easier to have positive relationships with Baha'i friends/family from "outside" the Faith, because while most Baha'is have no awareness and certainly no interest in theological/historical objections, I think most if not all Baha'is have basically realised the UHJ is far from infallible and it's easier to adopt a live and let live mindset as a result.

https://old.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/1cs7t70/firstgen_iranian_diaspora_on_the_verge_of_leaving/l44r7lg/

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The world is keeping together today because of the existence of these institutions.

The other thing is the building of the institutions of the Faith. The institutions of the faith which we are building now, the local assemblies and the national assemblies, these are the instruments for the future of mankind, the institutions for the future of mankind. We may not realize this yet ourselves because we are so much in the early days of the Faith and these institutions are so weak that we may not ever think probably that, "Oh, this Local Spiritual Assembly one day is going to become the House of Justice for this town." The House of Justice, who knows? Maybe it will become something like the government of this town, but whatever it is - Hello! Beautiful little boy. Very nice. - These local spiritual assemblies one day become Houses of Justice for mankind, for the people of this town. And we may not realize this, but at this moment that we are talking about it, we are entering into a very critical age, critical time in the history of mankind. A time which we talked about again this morning is filled with perils and with dangers and with sufferings, with tribulations, calamities, and the only thing which mankind will have when the world is really has tasted the agony of this whole calamities which has to come are these institutions we are building. There is nothing else which will be left which mankind can really have turned to which would save it. And even now as we stand here, if it wasn't for the institutions of the Faith or the new life which Bahá’u’lláh has breathed into the world of man, the world would not be together. The world is keeping together today because of the existence of these institutions. It's because of the House of Justice that the world is now exist the way it is and can exist.... We must believe in these things. We are not building these assemblies for fun. There's no fun in that.

(Growing in the Bahá’í Faith (Day 2) by Adib Taherzadeh)

https://bahai.works/Transcript:Adib_Taherzadeh/Growing_in_the_Bahá’í_Faith/Day_2

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Covenant-breaking explained by Adib Taherzadeh

I will explain to you this process of Covenant-breaking and the process of throwing away somebody out of the Faith, cutting him off. As I said, like a branch which deviates and you cut it off. And when you cut it off, it drops on the ground. And for a few days, it may be green, may be a little life in it, but eventually it will perish. We don't have to fight them. We don't have to hate them. We don't have to do anything, but we do not associate with them. And the best example again to know this is to look at your own human body. The human body is the best example. If you look at human body, you will find that a healthy person can always withstand any disease or germs or anything which comes from the outside. If you're healthy, you're not going to be affected by it. We always go through these germs and through these things. You always, always throughout all around us, is full of germs and various things, but you get over it. But if ever you allow poison to enter inside your bloodstream and circulate, that's the end....

...somebody today might say, "Look, I accept all the writings, but I'll oppose anything that the House of Justice says. I'm coming to your 19-day feast, your assemblies, your communities and I'm going to oppose everything they say."

Well, this is the poison which is trying to circulate inside. And this, we will not allow to happen. It's like a cancerous disease, which happens sometimes. You may go and the doctor says, "I must cut your hand off right away." You won't object to that. You will welcome it. You'll say, "All right, cut it off." Why? Because you know that if that cancer is allowed to remain there, it's going to destroy you. This is exactly what Covenant-breaking is. But fortunately now we live at a time that we are talking about Covenant-breaking. Very few of them exist today who are opposing the House of justice. Very few of them and they are so, we are not worried about them. We are not doing anything with them. We are just leaving it to themselves. And as I said, we don't hate them. We don't associate with them. If they write me a letter, I will not answer them. I will not read it. I'll throw it away. It's poison.

...All of those who rose up against the Faith, where are they? Those Covenant-breakers of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, they're gone and forgotten and finished and part of the history. If you want to go to Akka to find out the grave of Muhammad Ali was the archbreaker of the Covenant, you won't find it. You don't know where he is even buried. Those hundreds of people who rose up against Shoghi Effendi amongst his family and others, where are they? They're gone, finished, completely finished without doing anything to them. They're gone.

(Growing in the Bahá’í Faith (Day 2) by Adib Taherzadeh)

https://bahai.works/Transcript:Adib_Taherzadeh/Growing_in_the_Bahá’í_Faith/Day_2

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Tribute to Shoghi Effendi by Ruhiyyih Khanum

How many mosquitoes does it take to give you malaria or yellow fever? When we compromise our Faith, it is like taking a glass of pure water, and putting one drop of ink in it—it does not become A glass of ink, but the purity of the water is gone‘ We all know that there is no compromise with people who were Covenant-Breakers, if they had not changed in their hearts, because the heart is the measure. When they were repentant in their hearts, Shoghi Effendi forgave them,...

You see, the Guardian had so many sides to his nature, and you have seen how strong he was when it came to defending the Faith. He never compromised on principle. Now, I would like to show you another aspect of his nature. He had a tremendous capacity for love and for loyalty for those whom he loved, but when they became Covenant-Breakers it evaporated, they ceased to exist and the bounties ceased to flow.

(Tribute to Shoghi Effendi by Ruhiyyih Khanum published in Bahá’í News, Issue 327, May 1958)

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nowhere have I found the express authority given to the Hands of the Cause to expel people for any reason other than opposition to the Guardian.

What to do with Remey and his associates was the question of the hour and the Hands were divided on what should or could be done. Jalal Khazeh wrote to Leroy Ioas on 12 June saying the he ‘had suggested from the very first days that we should expel this mad man’. Mr Faizi cabled ‘SAKE GOD PROTECTION CAUSE EXPEL IMMEDIATELY.’ Mr Ioas sided strongly with Mr Faizi, writing, “With his continuing destructive activities I do not see how we can dismiss them - by simply asking the Friends not to associate with him. As I have cabled previously, he must be put out of the Faith entirely - as a Covenant-breaker - and the same action must be taken with regard to those who uphold his blasphemous claims.’ Bill Sears also supported this view: I completely agree that all the Hands should unite in this action, as they (the entire body) are the ones who must accept this responsibility as “Chief Stewards”. However, to await a meeting this Fall would be to delay it too long, I feel. Surely if all the Hands repudiate Mason and call for his expulsion if he does not repudiate, it is sufficient.” Hasan Balyuzi, however, responded that ‘Mason's claim is laughable, preposterous, abominable ...’, but then asked: Where do the Hands obtain the authority to expel anyone from the Community? ... These are the exact words of the Master, which I have read and read, and which I quote: ‘My object is to show that the Hands of the Cause of God must be ever watchful and so soon as they find anyone beginning to oppose and protest against the Guardian of the Cause of God, cast him out from the congregation of the people of Baha .... nowhere else have I found the express authority given to the Hands of the Cause to expel people for any reason other than opposition to the Guardian.” Adelbert Miihlschlegel was also against expulsion at that time.

(Shoghi Effendi through the Pilgrim's Eye: Volume 2: The Ten Year Crusade, 1953-1963 by Earl Redman)

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Ahmad Sohrab... refused to accept the authority vested in the Guardian

Aḥmad Sohráb, for many years closely associated with the Master, as His secretary and the recipient of countless blessings from Him, tragically refused to accept the authority vested in the Guardian by the Master’s Will and Testament.

(The Priceless Pearl by Ruhiyyih Rabbani)

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no one in Israel can marry a non-Baháʼí

I can remember an example of a girl in Haifa who I was very fond of. She was a child of a local person and she wanted to marry a non-Baháʼí, and the Guardian had had a great deal of difficulty with marrying non-Baháʼís and finally said no one in Israel can marry a non-Baháʼí because it never works out, all it does is to bring infinite headaches to the World Center of the Faith. So she came and she said she wanted to marry this non-Baháʼí and I went and asked the Guardian. And he said, "No. That is absolutely impossible." If she wants to marry him, she must go away from Israel. She must migrate. It was Palestine in those days. And I went and conveyed this message and she promised that she would do it. But when I told Shoghi Effendi, he said she will not, she will disobey. Oh, I said, "Shoghi Effendi, she's such a good girl and I know her, I see her all the time in the feasts. And she chants so beautifully. And she has such a nice spirit and I assure you, believe me, she will obey. It will be alright. I'm sure it'll be alright." He said, "Alright, I accept. Let her go away from this country and marry him abroad. But you will see in the end she will disobey. She will come back and she will have to be put out of the Cause." Well, I was distressed but I thought, "I'm sure that she will be alright." So I went downstairs and I told her this. And she went away and she married. And she stayed away for some months, I don't remember how long. And then one fine day the maid came and told me so and so is sitting downstairs in the tea room and my heart just turned over and I thought, "Now, you see? God help you. There she is and what Shoghi Effendi said is just coming true." So I went downstairs and saw her and I said, "You know, you can't stay here. You promised that you would go and stay away. And now you're back again." Well, of course, to make a long story short, there was more assurances and promises and she said, "No, we're only here for a visit" and so on and they were there for good and they became covenant breakers and that took care of that.

Rúhíyyih Khánum speaking at the closing session of the Bahá’í World Congress in London, 1963

https://bahai.works/Transcript:Ruhiyyih_Khanum/Speech_at_close_to_Bahá’í_World_Congress,_1963

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Threatening Baha'is

One other example of Shoghi Effendi was when one of the Baháʼís died in America and left a will. And his wife wanted to contest the will. She considered it very unfair. And Shoghi Effendi told the National Assembly, "Tell her she will be put out of the Cause if she did contest the will." Because he had intervened, you see. He told her she must not contest the will, so if she'd have disobeyed the Guardian she would have been put out of the Cause. But he said the will of a Baháʼí is sacred. Bahá’u’lláh says make your will. And when a Baháʼí makes their will, which they are free to do, it is sacred and it must be obeyed and it must be upheld. These things were great illumination to me about the way this Faith protects and preserves the rights of individuals as well as the right of society, the right of the community.

Rúhíyyih Khánum speaking at the closing session of the Bahá’í World Congress in London, 1963

https://bahai.works/Transcript:Ruhiyyih_Khanum/Speech_at_close_to_Bahá’í_World_Congress,_1963

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The early view of the Baha'is was that Abdul Baha would be succeeded by Mirza Muhammad Ali.

The early view of the Bahais was that Abdul Baha would be succeeded by Mirza Muhammad Ali. After he had a disagreement with Abdul Baha he was 'replaced' by Shoghi. The Will and Testament of Abdul Baha can be read as a justification of the appointment of Shoghi and dismissal of Muhammad Ali, by comparing Mirza Muhammad Ali to Mirza Yahya and by attributing misdeeds and crimes to him. Now Bahais believe that Abdul Baha was always to be succeeded by Shoghi (and Shoghi by the UHJ), but this is not historically accurate.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FreeSpeechBahai/comments/1cq86pl/ambiguity_of_the_matters_of_successorship_in/

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They don't care

Persia was very far away from where Baha'u'llah lived so the Persian Bahais only got partial information. And they have mostly been oppressed since the beginning, so questioning their leadership was probably the last thing on their mind.

During the life of Baha'u'llah external affairs were in the hands of Abdul Baha, and internal affairs were in the hands of Mirza Muhammad Ali. This might explain why most Bahais in other parts of the world followed Abdul Baha, while most of Baha'u'llah's family and close companions followed Mirza Muhammad Ali.

Still, the fact that that Tablet was published in a book proves that people must have read it. I wonder why nobody took the statement to its logical conclusion.

As for the UHJ, I assume they are more than aware of the Faith's dirty secrets. They have an entire archive of Bahai writings, which was created after they asked all the believers to hand in their handwritten copies of Bahai writings, and which they refuse to share with anyone else.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FreeSpeechBahai/comments/1cq86pl/ambiguity_of_the_matters_of_successorship_in/

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because they are deadly poison, the lepers, the covenant breakers.

There is room for practically everybody in the Baháʼí Faith. Some of them may need spanking, and some of them have got to be kept out because they are deadly poison, the lepers, the covenant breakers. But that is another thing. But really the children of men, this Faith is their home. And there is room for all of them in it.

(Rúhíyyih Khánum speaking at the closing session of the Bahá’í World Congress in London, 1963)

https://bahai.works/Transcript:Ruhiyyih_Khanum/Speech_at_close_to_Bahá’í_World_Congress,_1963

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Another terrible Tablet of Baha'u'llah I wish to nominate is the Lawh-i Istintáq

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.

https://old.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/10jp5qm/which_are_the_worst_tablets_of_bahaullah/j68iaeo/

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All Too Human: A list of inconvenient truths drawn solely from the letters of the Universal House of Justice or its Research Department

All Too Human: A list of inconvenient truths drawn solely from the letters of the Universal House of Justice or its Research Department

The Bab bought at least one black slave, for which there is a bill of sale.

Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l-Baha did not explicitly state that Abdu’l-Baha is infallible.

Abdu’l-Baha concealed (pgs. 39-40) a part of Baha’u’llah’s Will that has never been published.

Abdu’l-Baha falsely accused his brother Muhammad-Ali of interpolating Baha’u’llah’s Suriy-i-Haykal.

Abdu’l-Baha was sometimes wrong about historical facts.

Abdu’l-Baha forbade (pgs. 5-6) striking children to discipline them but he spanked his grandson, Shoghi Effendi.

Abdu’l-Baha wrote that bigamy is prohibited but in a separate letter he said it is allowed.

Abdu’l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi gave several different dates for the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy of 1,335 days.

Shoghi Effendi misattributed and misquoted biblical passages in God Passes By.

The Universal House of Justice told youth in 1983 that they will see the establishment of the Lesser Peace.

www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/rx0vod/all_too_human_a_list_of_inconvenient_truths_drawn/

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Baha'u'llah was a fraud.

If I were to limit myself to three:

The bad characters of the faiths founders, including involvement in a civil war, multiple homicides, and multi-generation familial hatred and disunity. They didn't practice what they preach. There is a 0% chance in my mind that God would try to bring about the unity of the world via such a disunited and dysfunctional family.

Outdated ideas. The world has already moved past the stage where exclusion of women from the highest public office is acceptable. Baha'i teachings on LGBQT are abhorrent by modern standards and several countries have made correction therapy illegal. Scientific statements made by the faiths founders have aged terribly, e.g. on evolution and life on other planets. The overarching goal of a world run by a global theocracy is unfashionable, to say the least, and fraught with problems.

The Bahai writings are entirely consistent with what we would expect of fallible 19th century Iranian men given their respective biographies. Baha'u'llah would quote verbatim from unattributed works (plagiarism), and in many cases the books which influenced his ideas and style are known. Simply put, Baha'u'llah was a fraud.

https://old.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/129fb9f/biggest_theological_problems_in_bahai_teaching/jen64a9/

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Baha'u'llah - A Serial Murderer

It's known that Baha'u'llah's ambitions for leadership created a trail of homicides across the Middle East, several of which are acknowledged even by Baha'i sources.

Baha'u'llah was involved in upwards of 20 homicides, including prominent Babis who didn't accept his claims to be HWGSMM and Azalis who opposed him. This is not to count Baha'u'llah's involvement in organising military insurgencies where many hundreds died.

Is there a complete list of the known victims of these crimes?

Here are a few I've gathered:

Hajji Mirza Ahmad of Kashan -- murdered in Baghdad, author of the early Babi history Kitab-i Nuqtat al-Kaf, a Babi who was loyal to Subh-i-Azal

Mirza `Alī Muhammad Sarrāj -- murdered in Baghdad by stabbing, author of a book opposing the claim that Baha'u'llah was HWGSMM

Sayyid Ismail Zawareh -- murdered in Baghdad, his throat was cut and the knife placed in his hand to make it look self-inflicted

Aqa Ali Muhammad -- murdered in Baghdad, a brother-in-law of the Bab

Aqa Abul Jasim of Kashan -- murdered in Baghdad, "because he had reported to Subh-i Azal that he heard that Baha’s pretension was that he was the return of the Imam Hussein"

Mullā Rajab `Alī (Qahir) -- murdered in Karbala, brother of Sarraj and a supporter of Subh-i-Azal. He was murdered with a revolver by a Baha'i man called Nasur the Arab.

Aqa Sayyid Ali the Arab -- murdered in Tabriz

Mirza Nasrullah -- murdered in Edirne, the brother-in-law of Subh-i-Azal

Mulla Rajab Ali Qahir -- murdered in Karbala, a brother-in-law of the Bab

Haji Mirza Muhammad Rida -- murdered in Akka, maternal uncle of Haji Sayyid Muhammad of Isfahan

Sayyid Muhammad Isfahani -- murdered in Akka, a supporter of Subh-i-Azal, seven Baha'is were convicted and jailed

Aqa Jan Kaj-Kulah -- murdered in Akka, a supporter of Subh-i-Azal, seven Baha'is were convicted and jailed

Mirza Rida-Quli Tafrishi -- murdered in Akka, a supporter of Subh-i-Azal, seven Baha'is were convicted and jailed

Muhammad Khan -- murdered in Akka, murdered in the Carawansaray of corn-sellers, buried in a shallow grave and discovered by authorities

Hajji Ibrahim -- murdered in Akka, murdered in the Carawansaray of corn-sellers, buried in a shallow grave and discovered by authorities

https://old.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/11jgnv4/bahaullah_a_serial_murderer/

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I did not study Arabic... but I know how to speak and write Arabic better than eloquent Arabs.

I did not study Arabic. When I was a child, I had a book of prayers by His Holiness the Bab in the handwriting of the Blessed Beauty. I really yearned to read it. At night, I would wake up and gaze with longing and intense desire until I saw that I understood Arabic well. Old friends know well that I did not study, but I know how to speak and write Arabic better than eloquent Arabs.”

(Abdu’l-Baha, Mahmud’s Diary, Europe, 308; quoted in Muhammad Ali Faizi, Hayat Hazrat Abdu’l-Baha, 4)

https://web.archive.org/web/20220128084658/http://www.kashkul.org/2018/06/16/abdul-bahas-arabic/

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How Baha'is did their best to prevent the appointment of Hubbu'llah (Abdul Baha later disapproved their actions)

'A new school has recently been opened in Tihran and Hubbu'llah, a son of the notorious Jamal-i-Burujirdi [father and son were both Covenant-breakers], was being considered for employment as a teacher. As soon as we heard this, the Hands of the Cause, two other friends and myself consulted together in a meeting and agreed to do everything in our power to prevent the appointment of Hubbu'llah to this post. We sent a certain individual to persuade the school authorities not to appoint him...'

(Adib Taherzadeh (2000). The Child of the Covenant. Oxford, UK: George Ronald.)

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Education as Prerequisite for Women Serving on Universal House of Justice

“Question. I see that in his tablet to Ex-Governor Sulzer the Master says that the Universal Arbitration Tribunal will consist of the best men and women of the different countries. Will women in the future sit in the Beit-ul-Adl also?

Abdul Baha: Men and women are equal in this respect, with the condition that women should reach to the degree of men. As yet they have not reached this state. They will become members of the Beit-ul-Adl in the future. The time will come when women will reach the degree of men (as regards education). Then they will be equal.”

[Abdu’l-Baha, oral statement recorded by Fujita, 7 December 1919 (Phelps ABU1350) – credit to Steven Phelps for the find]

https://web.archive.org/web/20220128080717/http://www.kashkul.org/2020/10/05/education-as-prerequisite-for-women-serving-on-universal-house-of-justice/#comment-101721

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Baha'u'llah about Fornication, Sodomy, and Adultery among most Babis

In the letter, Baha’u’llah responds to the questions of someone who knows Ism Allah al-Asdaq, a Hand of the Cause and one of the earliest believers in the Bab. The questioner seems to have inquired about the religious lawfulness of some behaviors current among the Baha’is. We can surmise that some of these behaviors were sexual given the nature of Baha’u’llah’s response, in which he blames the early Babis and some of their leaders for condoning such acts (we’re not given specifics) and then provides guidance on which behaviors God forbids: zina, liwat, and khiyana.

Some behaviors are among the early customs of the people of the Bayan that were current among them and were done wrongfully. You and the other loved-ones know that before this Most Great Theophany, most of the people of the Bayan did that which accords with no (religious) community or law and is unacceptable to anyone possessing intellect and insight. (Such was the case) until the sun of the theophany dawned. From the years sojourning in Iraq until the present, which is the seventeenth day of the month second Jumada of the year 1291 [Aug 1, 1874], wondrous tablets have descended continuously and uninterruptedly from the heaven of the divine Will.

[...]

O brother! The pearl of the Cause is hidden by unseemly deeds, and this is the general reason that has caused people to hesitate (embracing the Cause). Otherwise, you would hear from all sides and every land the cry of “I have turned to you and hastened to you, O desire of the worlds!”

In Iraq, after the light of the world dawned, he forbade everyone from (engaging in) some behaviors. Some abandoned (those behaviors) as bidden, and some, even though they were in the shadow of God, continued to do what they were doing but it would be concealed.

[...]

In the early days, some behaviors appeared from the leaders of the Bayan that veiled people and caused their hesitation (to embrace the Cause).

If this servant were to mention the deeds of some that he has witnessed himself, all would be astonished.

https://web.archive.org/web/20220128090837/http://www.kashkul.org/2021/09/06/bahaullahs-tablet-on-fornication-sodomy-and-adultery/

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The grave of Diya'u'llah was desecrated despite Abdul Baha forgiving him.

Baha’u'llah’s other son, Mirza Diya’u’llah, was a vacillating person who wavered in his allegiance to the Centre of the Covenant; he was easily manipulated and became a willing tool in the hands of Mirza Muhammad-‘Ali. He lived in the Mansion of Bahji along with the rest of the family, all of whom were affected by the spirit of Covenant-breaking. Mirza Diya’u’llah died in 1898 not very long after the passing of Baha’u’llah. He did not live to take an effective part in all the hostile activities which his brother was conducting against ‘Abdu’l-Baha. After his death ‘Abdu’l-Baha said that He had forgiven him.

(The Covenant of Baha’u’llah by Adib Taherzadeh, p 165)

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Abdul Baha's prophesy

‘Abdu’l-Baha prophesied that Majdu’d-Din (a covenant-breaker) would live a long life to see the triumph of the Cause and the frustration of his evil plots. This prophecy was fulfilled: he lived to be over a hundred years old and saw the birth of the Administrative Order, the child of the Covenant, and the strengthening of its foundations by Shoghi Effendi. Majdu’d-Din died in 1955, two years after the Ten Year Crusade was launched by the Guardian...

(The Covenant of Baha’u’llah by Adib Taherzadeh, p 164)

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Covenant is a major theme in the Quran

Covenant is a major theme in the Qur'an, a book which may certainly be read as a summons to a renewal of the so-called Abrahamic covenant. There is no space here to treat the topic at anything near the length it deserves. For its importance in Sunni Islam there is a growing library of specialized studies (al-Qadı 2006; Lumbard 2015; Jaffer 2021). Its importance in Sufism has long been an object of excellent scholarship (Ritter 2003; Böwering 1980). However, the literature on the covenant in Shi'ism is rather under-developed. This is ironic, because it may be in Shi'ism that the divine institution of the covenant is most emphasized. According to Shi'ism, it was precisely a violation of the renewed ancient covenant, through Muhammad, that caused the division of the early Muslim community into competing, sometimes fractious and definitely fissiparous Islamicate sub-identities. It was a breaking of the covenant, in the first place, that cruelly violated the divine message of unity which Muhammad had been sent to proclaim and about which the Qur'an is so eloquent and insistent.

(The Baha’i Faith: Doctrinal and Historical Explorations, Editors - Moojan Momen, Zackery Mirza Heern)

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Qayyum al Asma

... Qayyum al-Asma, the Bab’s proclamatory summons, disguised as a Qur'an commentary, in which he claimed to be in immediate and intimate contact with the hidden Imam and, therefore, the centre of all authority (walaya) whether political or spiritual.

(The Baha’i Faith: Doctrinal and Historical Explorations, Editors - Moojan Momen, Zackery Mirza Heern)

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