Shoghi Effendi has said that giving to the Funds is, "...…a practical and effective way whereby every believer can test the measure and character of his faith, and prove in deeds the intensity of his devotion and attachment to the Cause."
Monday, November 23, 2020
All the friends of God... should contribute to the extent possible
All the friends of God... should contribute to the extent possible, however modest their offering may be. God doth not burden a soul beyond its capacity... O Friends of God! Be ye assured that in place of these contributions, your agriculture, your industry, and your commerce will be blessed by manifold increases, with goodly gifts and bestowals. He who cometh with one goodly deed will receive a tenfold reward. There is no doubt that the living Lord will abundantly confirm those who expend their wealth in His path.
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá
Thursday, November 19, 2020
Abbas Effendi's love towards his brothers and sisters!!
Abdul-Baha, Abuse, Covenant-Breakers, Independent Investigation of Truth
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At times Abbas Effendi used to meet his brothers and sisters at the Sacred Tomb of Baha’u’llah and speak to them in harsh language and treat them cruelly, in order to compel them to believe that which is against the laws of the Lord, Glory be to Him. On one occasion, by force, he seized the hand of the youngest sister [Foroughiyya Khanum] and repeatedly struck her with her own hand upon her head. This took place in the presence of many believers and relatives. Her two little ones [i.e. her children] and those who were present, men and women, wept for her and supplicated him for mercy. Abbas Effendi took no heed to them, but continued beating her, and with a loud voice uttering very harsh words. On account of these continued indignities, the abused sister being very sensitive, suffered from mental prostration, and since then has had a stroke of paralysis, and for five years has been confined to her bed. Can it be said that such actions were in accord with the commandments of the Lord, which He uttered on behalf of His wife and daughters? Can the faithful and righteous people consent to these doings?
(A Lost History of the Baha'i Faith, Ch.22 – Khadimu'llah's Epistle by By Aqa Jan Kashani)
(A Lost History of the Baha'i Faith, Ch.22 – Khadimu'llah's Epistle by By Aqa Jan Kashani)
Friday, November 13, 2020
Mulla Husayn is the return of Prophet Muhammad and Imam Husayn
Mullá Husayn himself is described in the writings of the Báb and Baháʼu'lláh as the return of the Prophet Muhammad, and in other early Bábí sources variously as the return of the Imam Husayn or even described as the "Qa'im of Khorasan".
(Saeidi, Nader (2008). Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb. Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 9781554580354)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mullá_Husayn
Claims of the Bab
The hostility aroused by the claim of Bábhood (deputyship of Mahdi) was redoubled when the young reformer proceeded to declare that He was Himself the Mihdí (Mahdi) Whose coming Muḥammad had foretold. The Shí’ihs identified this Mihdí with the 12th Imám who, according to their beliefs, had mysteriously disappeared from the sight of men about a thousand years previously. They believed that he was still alive and would reappear in the same body as before, and they interpreted in a material sense the prophecies regarding his dominion, his glory, his conquests...
The Bábís, on the other hand, interpreted many of the prophecies figuratively. They regarded the sovereignty of the Promised One, like that of the Galilean “Man of Sorrows,” as a mystical sovereignty; His glory as spiritual, not earthly glory; His conquests as conquests over the cities of men’s hearts’...
But the Báb did not stop even with the claim of Mihdíhood. He adopted the sacred title of “Nuqṭiyiúlá” or “Primal Point.” This was a title applied to Muḥammad Himself by His followers. Even the Imáms were secondary in importance to the “Point,” from Whom they derived their inspiration and authority. In assuming this title, the Báb claimed to rank, like Muḥammad, in the series of great Founders of Religion, and for this reason, in the eyes of the Shí’ihs, He was regarded as an impostor.
(Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, J. E. Esslemont, US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1980 edition Page 286)
But the Báb did not stop even with the claim of Mihdíhood. He adopted the sacred title of “Nuqṭiyiúlá” or “Primal Point.” This was a title applied to Muḥammad Himself by His followers. Even the Imáms were secondary in importance to the “Point,” from Whom they derived their inspiration and authority. In assuming this title, the Báb claimed to rank, like Muḥammad, in the series of great Founders of Religion, and for this reason, in the eyes of the Shí’ihs, He was regarded as an impostor.
(Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, J. E. Esslemont, US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1980 edition Page 286)
https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/je/BNE/bne-18.html
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Subh-i-Azal was good-natured
(Subh-i-Azal was) a mere figurehead, timid in the extreme, good-natured yet susceptible to the slightest influence, devoid of any outstanding qualities...
The Bab's claims
After a few months the Báb observed a greater acceptance and readiness amongst His people and gradually moved His claim to that of 'Zikryya' and 'Qaiemyya' meaning that of the Hidden Imam in its entirety. In the final years of His life He publicly announced the station of 'Mazhariah' meaning that of a manifestation from God.
(Page 224, Sepehr Manuchehri, Australian Baha'i Studies, Volume 2, 2000, ISSN 1442-2875)
Finally, in his last authored work, the Haykal al-din,(1) he claimed the "essence of God", dhātu'llāh.(2)
(1) MacEoin, Denis (1992). The Sources for Early Bābī Doctrine and History: A Survey. Leiden: Brill. p. 90.)
(2) MacEoin, Denis Martin (2009). The Messiah of Shiraz. Leiden: Bril. p. 345 (footnote 108). ISBN 978-90-04-17035-3.
If you believe that 'Bab' is 'the Gate' of the hidden Imam then you are cursed by the Bab himself!
Bab, Independent Investigation of Truth, Provisional Translation
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After his return from Mecca, the Báb was arrested in Bushihr and taken into custody to the residence of Husayn Khan Nazimu’l Dowla the Governor of Fars. On the same Friday, the Báb was pressured by the Ulama particularly the Imam Jum'ih of Shiraz to publicly renounce His earlier claims in the grand Mosque of Vakil in front of a congregation of the faithful. The Báb attended the prayer session and publicly denied his claim to the position of 'Deputyship' of the Hidden Imam.
(Page 223, Sepehr Manuchehri, Australian Baha'i Studies, Volume 2, 2000, ISSN 1442-2875)
On the pulpit of Vakil Mosque in front of the people, Bab announced: "God's curse be upon the one who recognizes me as the representative of the occulted Imam. God's curse be upon the one who recognizes me as the 'gate' of the hidden Imam."
(Page 141, Talkhis Tarikh i Nabil, Persian)
Bahà'u'llàh's works never mentioned Buddha or Krishna as manifestations
Abdul-Baha, Baha'i Law, Buddhism, Hinduism, Independent Investigation of Truth
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Bahà'u'llàh's works never mentioned Buddha or Krishna as manifestations, but his son 'Abdu'l-Bahà mentioned in his own works that Buddha and Krishna were indeed manifestations of God.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_revelation_(Bahá'í)
Paris Talks: Addresses Given by Abdu'l-Bahá in 1911. Baha'i Publishing Trust. ISBN 9781931847322.
Friday, October 16, 2020
Jafar Kazzab
Baha'u'llah, Independent Investigation of Truth, Provisional Translation, Shi'ih
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The brother of Imám Ḥasan ʻAskarí, known to Twelver Shíʻihs as “Jaʻfar-i-Kadhdháb” (“Jaʻfar the Liar”). In this tablet, Baha’u’llah dismisses this tenet of Shíʻih eschatology by establishing the truth of Jaʻfar’s reply to the question about his brother’s son.
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
A Baha'i who had secret "spiritual marriage" met Abdul Baha in Akka
Abdul-Baha, Buddhism, Independent Investigation of Truth
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Phelps (a New York lawyer and religious writer who studied the Bahā'ī Faith and the Radha Soami movement) and Sanghamitta (first woman to convert to Buddhism on American soil) visited `Abdu'l-Bahā in ‘Akkā and stayed with "the Master" for over a month, questioning him extensively. Except for a brief incident wherein Sanghamitta got extremely irritated and vocal with a translator, the visit was cordial and fruitful and resulted in Phelps's biography of `Abdu'l-Bahā (dedicated to M.A. de S. Canavarro).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myron_Henry_Phelps
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myron_Henry_Phelps
Tuesday, October 6, 2020
All the people of the world will become Baha'is
Abdul-Baha, Converting People, New World Order (NWO)
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All the people of the world will become believers. Should you compare the beginning of the Cause with its position today, you would see what a quick influence the Word of God has, and now the Cause of God has encompassed the world... Unquestionably, all will come under the shadow of the Cause of God.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Quoted in the book by Dr. J.E. Esslemont, Baha'u'llah and the New Era, p. 248)
These Baha'is were expelled on the grounds that they disobeyed the Baha’i leadership, while others became agnostics or nominal Muslims.
A number of these graduates (Baha’is who entered the American University of Beirut) were expelled on the grounds that they disobeyed the Baha’i leadership while others became agnostic or nominal Muslims.
(Footnote 7, The Iranians of AUB and Middle Class Formation in the Early Twentieth-Century Middle East, Farzin Vejdani, Department of History, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada)
Saturday, October 3, 2020
Francesco Ficicchia on Baha'ism
Independent Investigation of Truth, New World Order (NWO)
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"Like a restrictive, fundamentalist Islām, Bahā'ism is based on a theocratic doctrine of state and society (dīn wa daula) and aims to integrate all of humanity into a single state structure in which sovereignty rests solely with God. Religion thus becomes the sole guideline for all areas of life, such that there can only be a God-willed order to which individual, religious, ethical, political, social, economic and legal decisions must be oriented.
"If Islām as a political order is equated with Islamism, then this also applies to Bahā'ism, although a corresponding Bahā'ī equivalent to the word "Islamism" has yet to be invented. Like the Islamists, the Bahā'īs also aim to establish a God-state (theocracy) with a globally valid, religiously constituted legal and social order. Nevertheless, they emphatically deny any involvement in worldly affairs and prohibit any political activity, at least on the part of the faithful base. They emphasize their peacefulness and oblige their followers to obey the ruling authorities — by which prospectively also, and above all, their own is meant. However, a secular (non-religious) order is rejected and the goal is to elevate Bahā'ism to the status of a "state religion" in a "Bahā'ī State" or "Bahā'ī World Government" that is to be created. The supreme authority of this universal faith-based dictatorship is the "Universal House of Justice," which is endowed with infallible authority. Per this premise, Bahā'ism is also a political and ideological religion, although its marginalized position in society means that it must exercise due restraint in achieving its goals.
"In contrast to a militant Islāmic fundamentalism, uncompromising in appearance, Bahā'ism succeeds in giving the impression of a progressive, modern religion with external reference to modernity. With its principle of the indivisible unity and equality of the human race, Bahā'ism — and this is the real attraction of this faith — represents an insight that is increasingly permeating collective thinking in the face of global challenges. However, that a changing world consciousness is also necessarily heading towards a religion of world unity does not seem very realistic. There is a tendency for traditional belief systems, in recognition of religious pluralism, mutual tolerance, and the preservation of cultural diversity, to come closer to one another in a broader dialogue, but at the same time to seek to preserve their own identity. The days of the predominance of only one religion are over and cannot be restored even by a new universal religion, all the more so if the latter includes a religious law that claims secular validity for a period of at least a thousand years beyond the sphere of belief.
"A religious system rooted in 19th Century oriental thinking, largely prefabricated from the outset, dogmatically and ideologically cast in concrete forms, and therefore essentially stagnant at its core, is not compatible with the dynamic zeitgeist of an open and pluralistic society. Even if one may be inclined to assign the phenomenon of Bahā'ism to the other world religions as their youngest member, the global implementation of its goals and the urge to grow up to become an outstanding world culture will probably be forever denied to it in view of these self-erected barriers."
— Bahā'ī: Einheitsreligion und global Theokratie. Ein kritischer Einblick in die Universalreligion der Zukunft [Bahā'ī: Religion of Unity and Global Theocracy. A Critical Insight into the Universal Religion of the Future], (Monsenstein und Vannerdat, 2009), pp. 131–132
"If Islām as a political order is equated with Islamism, then this also applies to Bahā'ism, although a corresponding Bahā'ī equivalent to the word "Islamism" has yet to be invented. Like the Islamists, the Bahā'īs also aim to establish a God-state (theocracy) with a globally valid, religiously constituted legal and social order. Nevertheless, they emphatically deny any involvement in worldly affairs and prohibit any political activity, at least on the part of the faithful base. They emphasize their peacefulness and oblige their followers to obey the ruling authorities — by which prospectively also, and above all, their own is meant. However, a secular (non-religious) order is rejected and the goal is to elevate Bahā'ism to the status of a "state religion" in a "Bahā'ī State" or "Bahā'ī World Government" that is to be created. The supreme authority of this universal faith-based dictatorship is the "Universal House of Justice," which is endowed with infallible authority. Per this premise, Bahā'ism is also a political and ideological religion, although its marginalized position in society means that it must exercise due restraint in achieving its goals.
"In contrast to a militant Islāmic fundamentalism, uncompromising in appearance, Bahā'ism succeeds in giving the impression of a progressive, modern religion with external reference to modernity. With its principle of the indivisible unity and equality of the human race, Bahā'ism — and this is the real attraction of this faith — represents an insight that is increasingly permeating collective thinking in the face of global challenges. However, that a changing world consciousness is also necessarily heading towards a religion of world unity does not seem very realistic. There is a tendency for traditional belief systems, in recognition of religious pluralism, mutual tolerance, and the preservation of cultural diversity, to come closer to one another in a broader dialogue, but at the same time to seek to preserve their own identity. The days of the predominance of only one religion are over and cannot be restored even by a new universal religion, all the more so if the latter includes a religious law that claims secular validity for a period of at least a thousand years beyond the sphere of belief.
"A religious system rooted in 19th Century oriental thinking, largely prefabricated from the outset, dogmatically and ideologically cast in concrete forms, and therefore essentially stagnant at its core, is not compatible with the dynamic zeitgeist of an open and pluralistic society. Even if one may be inclined to assign the phenomenon of Bahā'ism to the other world religions as their youngest member, the global implementation of its goals and the urge to grow up to become an outstanding world culture will probably be forever denied to it in view of these self-erected barriers."
— Bahā'ī: Einheitsreligion und global Theokratie. Ein kritischer Einblick in die Universalreligion der Zukunft [Bahā'ī: Religion of Unity and Global Theocracy. A Critical Insight into the Universal Religion of the Future], (Monsenstein und Vannerdat, 2009), pp. 131–132
Denis MacEoin about Udo Schaefer and Gollmer
Censorship, Denis MacEoin, Independent Investigation of Truth, Learning Arabic, Muhammed Ali (Ghusn)
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In 1995 Udo Schaefer, German Bahá'í author and lawyer who served on the NSA of Germany, authored Desinformation als Methode as a refutation to Francesco Ficicchia's Der Bahá'ismus — Weltreligion der Zukunft?. Although Der Bahá'ismus was never translated into English, Schaefer's Desinformation als Methode was published in 2001 in English as Making the Crooked Straight, which was reviewed by Denis MacEoin.
MacEoin's article is worth reading for its numerous insights. For example...
MacEoin's article is worth reading for its numerous insights. For example...
When they do deal with matters Islamic, or, for that matter, with Babism or early Bahá'ísm, both Schaefer and Gollmer show themselves well read in the secondary literature, and I congratulate them for that. However, again and again they bite off more than they are qualified to chew, and enter into discussions where a good knowledge of Arabic or Persian might be useful. On page 715, for example, Gollmer writes, keeping alive an old solecism: 'The Kitab-i-'Ahd unequivocally affirms the superior station of 'Abdu'l-Bahá over Mirza Muhammad 'Ali: "Verily God hath ordained the station of the Greater Branch [Ghusn-i Akbar — Mirza Muhammad-'Ali] to be beneath that of the Most Great Branch [Ghusn-i A'zam — 'Abdu'l-Bahá]"' (f.n. 170). The Arabic words akbar and a'zam do not mean, respectively, 'greater' and 'most great'. For one thing, they are from totally different roots (kbr and 'zm). For another, there is no simple distinction in Arabic between comparative and superlative. Akbar could mean either 'greater' or 'greatest', a'zam could be read as 'mightier' or 'mightiest'. It's a tiny mistake, but an Arabist would have put it right, rather than just repeating something found in a secondary source. Now, I'm not criticizing people for not being Arabists. But I'm afraid that the boundaries between academic and amateur scholarship do get regularly blurred in the Bahá'í context. I think it's commendable that so many Bahá'ís want to do some sort of research into their history or scriptures or whatever, and I'd like to think I helped foster that development in the days when I was persona grata.