trademark in the word "Bahá’í"

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States of America, Inc. ("National Spiritual Assembly") asserted counterclaims for trademark infringement and unfair competition against the Hereditary Guardianship. They claimed they were entitled to the exclusive use of the Bahá’í faith's marks and symbols, including a trademark in the word "Bahá’í" and other specific Bahá’í symbols, names, and phrases.

(Hereditary Guardianship v. Nat. Spiritual Assembly, Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Citations: 628 F.3d 837, Docket Number: 08-2306)

https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/179728/hereditary-guardianship-v-nat-spiritual-assembly/pdf/

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the Seat of Guardianship

The Bahai World Administrative Center. The passage “Ere long will God sail His Ark upon thee” in Bahāʾ-Allāh’s Tablet of Carmel (Lawḥ-e Kārmel) (Bahāʾ Allāh, tr. Taherzadeh et al., p. 5) was later interpreted by Sho-ghi Effendi as an allusion to the future establishment of The Universal House of Justice on Mount Carmel. Sho-ghi Effendi designated the world administrative buildings around the Arc Garden to be the Bahai International Archives, the Seat of the Hands of the Cause of God (Ayādi-e amr-Allāh, q.v.), the Seat of Guardianship, and the Seat of the Universal House of Justice (Shoghi Effendi, 1958, p. 74). Afterwards, the Seat of the Guardianship became the Center for the Study of the Texts building, and the Seat of the Hands of the Cause of God became the International Teaching Center building; the Bahai International Library, the last building of the complex referred to as the Arc buildings, has not yet been built. The Bahai World Administrative Center, according to Shoghi Effendi, symbolizes the “seat of spiritual and temporal power” and will serve as “the seat of the future Bahai commonwealth” (1958, pp. 73-75).

(Encyclopedia Iranica)

www.iranicaonline.org/articles/haifa/

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one of the first acts of the Guardian

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 Bahá’ís, Jewish Bahá’ís, Muhammadan Bahá’ís and so on. They believed in the Bahá’í 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.

We, on our part, beheld a young man of only twenty-four standing at the helm of the Cause and some of the friends felt impelled to advise him about what it would be wise for him to do next. It was then that we began to know not only the nature of our first Guardian but the nature of the entire Institution of Guardianship, for we quickly discovered that Shoghi Effendi was “unreachable.” Neither relatives, old Bahá’ís or new Bahá’ís, well—wishers or ill-wishers could sway his judgment or influence his decisions. We quickly came to realize that he was not only divinely guided but...

[...]

...one of the first acts of the Guardian: Shoghi Effendi never set foot in the Mosque, whereas ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had attended it until the last Friday of His life. ...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 Bahá’í, the Guardian now did overnight and began to encourage the Bahá’ís to likewise do in different parts of the world.

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

https://bahai.works/Twenty-Five_Years_of_the_Guardianship/Text

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Shoghi Effendi, the great grand-son of Baha'u'llah, the first Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, the head of the World Super-State Government.

Shoghi Effendie, the great grand-son of Baha'u'llah, the first Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, the living Spiritual Leader to whom millions of Bahai's of the world are devoted to and are bound together in his centre, the future and first Head or Chairman of the International House of Justice or World Super-State Government, writes that "The Humanitarian and Spiritual Principles enunciated decades ago (1863 A.D.) in the darkest East (Persia), by Baha'u'llah and moulded by Him into a coherent scheme are one after another being taken up by the world unconscious of their source as the marks of progressive civilization. And the sense that mankind has broken with the past and that the old guidance will not carry it through the emergencies of the present has filled with uncertainty and dismay all thoughtful men save those who have learned to find, in the story of Baha'u'llah, the meaning of all the prodigies and portents of our time".

(Letters dated August 1st, 1944 Written by Mr. Mani H. Mehta To Messrs. Gandhi and Jinnah, page 10)

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Shoghi Effendi created the IBC to succeed him as his successor!

The mystery of Shoghi creating the IBC as his successor as I claimed in my previous statement is found within the last Will & Testament of Abdul-Baha himself. Let me carefully explain. First, if you notice, Abdul-Baha’s last Will & Testament is primarily written in the Persian language. But, there are times where he switches up & writes certain words in Arabic. There’s a divine wisdom & reason for this.

You see, the Persian language in comparison with Arabic is more simple, straightforward & less multi-faceted. Thus, by a person choosing to write a certain word in Arabic, it could mean several things. When Abdul-Baha is speaking about the guardian appointing his successor in his Will, he says & I quote:

“It is incumbent upon the guardian of the cause of God to appoint in his lifetime “him” that shall become his successor, that differences shall not arise after his passing.”

The Arabic equivalent of the word “Him” is HOVA. This word can mean different things such as “he that” or “him” or “that which.” In other words, it can refer to a person or an institution, which is exactly what the IBC was that Shoghi created. By Shoghi being the appointed divine interpreter of the Bahai Holy writ, he knew that both Bahaullah & Abdul-Baha were instructing him to appoint an institution rather than a person as his successor in order to set up the test that was to immediately go into effect after his passing. If you recall, Shoghi himself warned on multiple occasions in his cablegrams that a severe test would soon encompass the entire Baha’i world. He gave these warnings just two years before his death after he established the IBC with all 9 members.

This test was a test of faith to prove if the Baha’i’s really believed in the words of their Holy writ, especially where it states that the guardian is infallible & that everything that he says & does is of God & that there will always be successive guardians throughout the entire Baha’i dispensation.

In fact, to clearly prove that Shoghi was well aware of this duty of selecting a successor during his lifetime & that he clearly fulfilled that duty by creating the IBC, he states in his cablegram, dated January 9th, 1951, that the creation of the IBC was the greatest event, shedding luster upon the second epoch of the formative age of the Bahai dispensation, & was unsurpassed by any enterprise undertaken.

He also stated that its creation ranked second only to the events associated with the ministries of the Bab, Abdul-Baha & Bahaullah. Think about that. It ranked “SECOND ONLY.” So, by him stating that, the IBC he created was obviously very important & wasn’t supposed to be dissolved by Ruhiyyih & the hands. So, when you compare their actions against Shoghi’s words, it clearly proves that what they did was clearly against God.

Also, in his book “God Passes By” on page 324, Shoghi clearly states that the same spirit that was in the Bab, Bahaullah & Abdul-Baha, incarnated itself in Bahai institutions. Was not the IBC that Shoghi created a Bahai institution? So, if Shoghi said that the same spirit that was in the Bab, Bahaullah & Abdul incarnated itself in that institution, then that obviously means that that same institution can serve as his successor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_LbwjGKXKc&lc=UgykXDPQIIUA28XMWhV4AaABAg.99Ln_S9FNGaA7JAoH2afuF

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Guardianist perspective: Shoghi Effendi did appoint his successor before he died.

Shoghi Effendi did appoint his successor before he died. The successor of Shoghi was the IBC (International Baha’i Council) that he created which was eventually dismantled by Ruhiyyih & the hands

The IBC that Shoghi created was not only supposed to be the embryonic Universal house of Justice (UHJ), it was also the symbolic child of Shoghi Effendi. Let me carefully explain.

When Shoghi first created the IBC, he himself didn’t communicate directly with each member face to face nor would he allow them to meet with each other. He would send messages to each member of the IBC by using Ruhiyyih as a liaison. There was a symbolic reason for this.

You see, each member of the IBC represented the different body parts of a child that’s in it’s mother’s womb, with Shoghi representing the mother or head, & Ruhiyyih representing the umbilical cord that passes messages from the head to the different parts.

When Shoghi died, it represented his child or successor being born, which was the IBC that he created. From the moment, the entire Baha’i world was supposed to turn to the IBC for divine guidance while it went through its successive stages from a child (the international Baha’i council & the International Baha’i court) to an adult (the Universal House of Justice)

If Mason Remy (the president of the IBC) were still alive once the IBC completed all its formative stages, then he would automatically become the second guardian. If not, then his successor would become the second guardian once the IBC completed all its formative stages to the Universal House of Justice.

But, as we all know, these divine transformative stages were not allowed to happen when Ruhiyyih & the hands dismantled the IBC, which effectively killed the child & rightful successor of Shoghi Effendi.

You see, Ruhiyyih purposely orchestrated this evil plan to dismantle the IBC once Shoghi died. She knew in advance that the IBC was supposed to be the rightful successor of Shoghi because remember, she was the liaison or umbilical cord of Shoghi that carried all the messages. So, she had direct knowledge of the entire, intended plan.

The reason why she did this because she knew once Shoghi died, she would no longer have a high position in the Baha’i world & would effectively become a regular Baha’i. Think about it. Once a child is born, the umbilical cord is cut off & thrown away because it is no longer needed.

This eventual circumstance was painful for her to accept which she was determined not to allow. So, in order to maintain a high position within the Baha’i world once Shoghi died, she along with the hands dismantled the IBC that Shoghi created & appointed themselves as the custodians of the Baha’i faith.

When this happened, which led to every Baha’i accepting this development, it effectively caused the entire Baha’i world to become covenant breakers. The Universal House of Justice that exists today is not the real, divine Universe House of Justice that was intended by Bahaullah & Abdul-Baha.

It is a empty shell without a head (the guardian). So, it does not possess the divine guidance of Bahaullah.

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Keith-Roach’s understanding of the role of Shoghi Effendi was no doubt corrected after 1922

Keith-Roach’s understanding of the role of Shoghi Effendi was no doubt corrected after 1922, the publication date of a wide-ranging and informative book he co-wrote, with a foreword by Herbert Samuel and assisted by Sir Ronald Storrs among others. The book described the successor of the Master as ‘his grandson, Shawki Effendi’, and then added mistakenly, ‘who is life-President of the Council of Nine, which regulates the affairs of the community’ (Luke and Keith-Roach, The Handbook of Palestine, p. 59)

(Coronation on Carmel - The Story of the Shrine of the Bab, Volume II: 1922-1963 by Michael V. Day)

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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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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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Ruhiyyih purposely orchestrated this evil plan to dismantle the IBC once Shoghi died

Shoghi Effendi did appoint his successor before he died. The successor of Shoghi was the IBC (International Baha’i Council) that he created which was eventually dismantled by Ruhiyyih & the hands.

The IBC that Shoghi created was not only supposed to be the embryonic Universal house of Justice (UHJ), it was also the symbolic child of Shoghi Effendi. Let me carefully explain.

When Shoghi first created the IBC, he himself didn’t communicate directly with each member face to face nor would he allow them to meet with each other. He would send messages to each member of the IBC by using Ruhiyyih as a liaison. There was a symbolic reason for this.

You see, each member of the IBC represented the different body parts of a child that’s in it’s mother’s womb, with Shoghi representing the mother or head, & Ruhiyyih representing the umbilical cord that passes messages from the head to the different parts.

When Shoghi died, it represented his child or successor being born, which was the IBC that he created. From the moment, the entire Baha’i world was supposed to turn to the IBC for divine guidance while it went through its successive stages from a child (the international Baha’i council & the International Baha’i court) to an adult (the Universal House of Justice).

If Mason Remey (the president of the IBC) were still alive once the IBC completed all its formative stages, then he would automatically become the second guardian. If not, then his successor would become the second guardian once the IBC completed all its formative stages to the Universal House of Justice.

But, as we all know, these divine transformative stages were not allowed to happen when Ruhiyyih & the hands dismantled the IBC, which effectively killed the child & rightful successor of Shoghi Effendi.

You see, Ruhiyyih purposely orchestrated this evil plan to dismantle the IBC once Shoghi died. She knew in advance that the IBC was supposed to be the rightful successor of Shoghi because remember, she was the liaison or umbilical cord of Shoghi that carried all the messages. So, she had direct knowledge of the entire, intended plan.

The reason why she did this because she knew once Shoghi died, she would no longer have a high position in the Baha’i world & would effectively become a regular Baha’i. Think about it. Once a child is born, the umbilical cord is cut off & thrown away because it is no longer needed.

This eventual circumstance was painful for her to accept which she was determined not to allow. So, in order to maintain a high position within the Baha’i world once Shoghi died, she along with the hands dismantled the IBC that Shoghi created & appointed themselves as the custodians of the Baha’i faith.

When this happened, which led to every Baha’i accepting this development, it effectively caused the entire Baha’i world to become covenant-breakers. The Universal House of Justice that exists today is not the real, divine Universe House of Justice that was intended by Baha'u'llah & Abdul-Baha.

It is a empty shell without a head (the guardian). So, it does not possess the divine guidance of Baha'u'llah.

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More scandals in the Baha'i faith

There is a lot to cover, but I think it is important to begin where it started; the Bab appointed Subh-i-Azal (Mirza Yahya) as his successor, not Baha'u'llah (Mirza Husayn Ali). This is an objective historical fact that even Baha'i narratives can't completely ignore. To "fix the problem", they said that the Bab only appointed Subh-i-Azal as a "figurehead" leader, and that Baha'u'llah was the "real" leader doing all of the work behind the scenes. There is not a shred of evidence to prove this assertion outside of the Baha'i writings, which are biased in favor of Baha'u'llah's claims.

Some Bahai's have also speculated that Baha'u'llah did this to protect Subh-i-Azal, which doesn't make any sense. If your intention was to protect someone, why would you put them out front and center, while you do your thing in the background?

Succesorship controversies abound in this religion, probably moreso than any other religion. Ironic, considering the almost manic insistence on "unity" this faith has. Even before this event, the Shaykhis had a similar problem. Not all of them believed in the Bab, or that a new religion was supposed to be established by the Qa'im. So after Siyyid Kazim died, the Shaykhi group split up into different "factions".

This happened every time a major figure in the faith died. When Baha'u'llah passed away, the fight was between 'Abdu'l-Baha and his elder brother, Mohammed Ali. Mohammed Ali was somewhat of a low-key figure (much like Subh-i-Azal), and didn't put a lot of emphasis on their own "greatness". An entire cult of personality was established around 'Abdu'l-Baha, however, much like his father before him.

When 'Abdu'l-Baha died, some people thought that his Will & Testament was a forgery, while others accepted the claim that Shoghi Effendi was appointed as his successor. When Shoghi Effendi died, he ostensibly left no Will & Testament, which doesn't make any sense. For someone as meticulous as he was portrayed to be, it makes no sense that he didn't write a Will before he died. This is the same person that would apparently agonize for hours over how to translate a single word of Baha'u'llah's writings, but he couldn't be bothered to write a Will?

Especially given how much the religion claims to value unity, it was irresponsible of him not to. Clearly appointing a successor or saying that there would be no successor at all, would have been better.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/13pgdj7/give_us_the_dirt_whats_the_most_scandalous_thing/

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"In this Dispensation, divine guidance flows on to us in this world after the Prophet’s ascension, through first the Master, and then the Guardians."

While the Guardianship was to be a perpetual institution of the Administrative Order, it ceased to exist after the death of Shoghi Effendi because he died having violated Bahá'u'lláh's command in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas that "Unto everyone hath been enjoined the writing of a will." Having no children of his own and having declared every living male descendant of Bahá'u'lláh a Covenant-breaker, Shoghi Effendi left no eligible candidates for the office of Guardian, posing a serious problem given his assertion that "In this Dispensation, divine guidance flows on to us in this world after the Prophet’s ascension, through first the Master, and then the Guardians." He had furthermore stated in The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh that...

Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle which, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written, has been invariably upheld by the Law of God. “In all the Divine Dispensations,” He states, in a Tablet addressed to a follower of the Faith in Persia, “the eldest son hath been given extraordinary distinctions. Even the station of prophethood hath been his birthright.” Without such an institution the integrity of the Faith would be imperiled, and the stability of the entire fabric would be gravely endangered. Its prestige would suffer, the means required to enable it to take a long, an uninterrupted view over a series of generations would be completely lacking, and the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally withdrawn.

So fundamental was the office of the Guardianship, that Bahá’í literature was significantly altered subsequent to Shoghi Effendi's death, with the notable removal of references to "The First Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith," the "first and present Guardian," and "the lineage of succeeding Guardians." In some cases, references to the Guardian have been replaced or amended with "the Universal House of Justice" and in other instances references to the duties of the Guardian that were in the present tense have been changed to the past tense, indicating that the Guardianship has ceased.

From 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament...

O ye beloved of the Lord! It is incumbent upon the Guardian of the Cause of God to appoint in his own life-time him that shall become his successor, that differences may not arise after his passing. He that is appointed must manifest in himself detachment from all worldly things, must be the essence of purity, must show in himself the fear of God, knowledge, wisdom and learning. Thus, should the first-born of the Guardian of the Cause of God not manifest in himself the truth of the words:—“The child is the secret essence of its sire,” that is, should he not inherit of the spiritual within him (the Guardian of the Cause of God) and his glorious lineage not be matched with a goodly character, then must he, (the Guardian of the Cause of God) choose another branch to succeed him." 

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

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Mirza Muhammad-`Ali's opposition to the Centre of the Covenant, has cost him the loss of the right to succeed Baha'u'llah

Equally unaware were the believers that Shoghi Effendi was the distinguished Branch appointed by `Abdu’l-Baha to lead the Baha’i world after Him. Mirza Muhammad-`Ali, whose opposition to the Centre of the Covenant, had cost him the loss of the right to succeed Him, was hard at work to present himself as the leader of the Baha’i community.

The Greatest Holy Leaf’s Unparalleled Role in Religious History and the Significance of the Arc, the Site of Her Resting Place by Baharieh Rouhani Ma`ani

https://bahai-library.com/maani_holy_leaf_role

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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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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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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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According to Ruhiyyih Khanum, Huququ'llah was the right of the Guardian

Baha'u'llah established in His Most Holy Book a very unique voluntary form of tax, a source of revenue, the great importance of which He adequately defines by giving it the exalted title of "The Right of God" (Huququ'llah) but He never states to whom this revenue is payable, and in view of the fact that the revenues of the International House of Justice are clearly stipulated and this Huququ'llah is not included among them, the question naturally occurs-what person or institution is to receive it? 'Abdu'l-Baha's Will elucidates this riddle and fills in the conspicuous blank left by Baha'u'llah.

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

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A building for the institution of the Guardianship was supposed to be erected by Shoghi Effendi on Mount Carmel

Upon each of the graves of these holy souls Shoghi Effendi erected, in white Carrara marble, circular pillared and domed monuments, representing a Roman—renaissance adaptation in style of their prototype, the famous monument to Lysicrates which was built in Athens over two thousand years ago. Above them, on the steep incline of the mountain, he laid out a handsome, broad, sweeping are, more open in curve than a semi-circle, beyond which would be erected the future international administrative buildings of a World Faith. Having thus envisaged a major architectural scheme, he followed his so long as His own fixed policy of commencing with the easiest and most feasible part of his plan first, In other words, although he contemplated a series of capacious buildings abutting on his are, a building for the institution of the Guardianship, one for the Universal House of Justice, one for the Hands of the Cause, a library, and others, he decided to commence with a suitable edifice to house the collection of sacred and historic relics and documents collected at the World Centre and at that time preserved in two separate places.

-Ruhiyyih Khanum

https://bahai.works/Bahá’í_World/Volume_13/The_Completion_of_the_International_Archives

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The ignorance (?) of Baha'i scholars Hatcher and Martin about Islam

Let me turn to the book [of Hatcher and Martin] itself. The authors begin with a woefully short (5-page) examination of the 'Islamic background' to Baha'ism that fails utterly to do justice to the topic. This chapter touches inadequately and amateurishly on only one or two general aspects of Islam that have some bearing on the origins and systems either Babism or Baha'ism. There is no discussion of the concept of religious law (Shari'a) or any of its components, such as ritual prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, marriage, inheritance, or other aspects if socio-economic legislation. Shi'ism is treated largely as a millenarian movement, whose main function seems to have been to prepare for the advent of the Bab in 1844: there is no attempt to look closely at Shi'ite theories of prophethood and imamate (especially the use of the term mazhar ilahi), at the 'covenant' system of succession, or at concepts of cyclical time, all of which have an immense relevance to our subject. It would also have been extremely useful to have said at least a little about the development of Shi'ism in Iran, especially with regard to conditions in the nineteenth century. The result of all this is that, when certain topics such as prayer, pilgrimage, or the 'Baha'i covenant' are discussed later in the book, the reader is left with the false impression that these are wholly independent developments, where they are, in fact, extensions of standard Islamic theory and practice.

Generally speaking, the writers show either explicit ignorance of matters Islamic or give the impression that they are simply quite unaware of those many areas in which Baha'ism shares its world-view with Islam. Thus, for example, we are told that 'the early nineteenth century was a period of messianic expectation in the Islamic world as well as in the Christian world' (p.6); that the development of a covenant system of succession (wilaya) is 'the distinguishing feature of the Baha'i religion (p.50: it is, in fact, closely modelled on the Shi'ite imamate); that 'the Baha'i focus on achieving world unity and a world civilization... is both contemporary and unique' (p.132: in fact all of the basic themes involved occur in some form within Islam); that 'one of the teachings of its [the Baha'i Faith] founder.. is that God's greatest gift to humankind is reason' (p.xvi: this is a basic Islamic teaching).

(Denis MacEoin (1987) Article, British Society for Middle Eastern Studies. Bulletin, 13:2, 193-208, DOI: 10.1080/13530198708705441)

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