The Kitab-i-Aqdas Part 26

108. the Bayan #77

The Bayan, the Mother Book of the Babi Dispensation, is the t.i.tle given by the Bab to His Book of Laws, and it is also applied to the entire body of His Writings. The Persian Bayan is the major doctrinal work and princ.i.p.al repository of the laws ordained by the Bab. The Arabic Bayan is parallel in content but smaller and less weighty. When describing the Persian Bayan in G.o.d Pa.s.ses By Shoghi Effendi indicated that it should be regarded "primarily as a eulogy of the Promised One rather than as a code of laws and ordinances designed to be a permanent guide to future generations".

'Abdu'l-Baha has written: "The Bayan hath been superseded by the Kitab-i-Aqdas, except in respect of such laws as have been confirmed and mentioned in the Kitab-i-Aqdas."

109. the destruction of books #77

In the Tablet of Is_h_raqat Baha'u'llah, referring to the fact that the Bab had made the laws of the Bayan subject to His sanction, states that He put some of the Bab's laws into effect "by embodying them in the Kitab-i-Aqdas in different words", while others He set aside.

With regard to the destruction of books, the Bayan commanded the Bab's followers to destroy all books except those that were written in vindication of the Cause and Religion of G.o.d. Baha'u'llah abrogates this specific law of the Bayan.

As to the nature and severity of the laws of the Bayan, Shoghi Effendi in a letter written on his behalf provides the following comment:

The severe laws and injunctions revealed by the Bab can be properly appreciated and understood only when interpreted in the light of His own statements regarding the nature, purpose and character of His own Dispensation. As these statements clearly reveal, the Babi Dispensation was essentially in the nature of a religious and indeed social revolution, and its duration had therefore to be short, but full of tragic events, of sweeping and drastic reforms. Those drastic measures enforced by the Bab and His followers were taken with the view of undermining the very foundations of S_h_i'ih orthodoxy, and thus paving the way for the coming of Baha'u'llah. To a.s.sert the independence of the new Dispensation, and to prepare also the ground for the approaching Revelation of Baha'u'llah, the Bab had therefore to reveal very severe laws, even though most of them were never enforced. But the mere fact that He revealed them was in itself a proof of the independent character of His Dispensation and was sufficient to create such widespread agitation, and excite such opposition on the part of the clergy that led them to cause His eventual martyrdom.

110. We have permitted you to read such sciences as are profitable unto you, not such as end in idle disputation #77

The Baha'i Writings enjoin the acquisition of knowledge and the study of the arts and sciences. Baha'is are admonished to respect people of learning and accomplishment, and are warned against the pursuit of studies that are productive only of futile wrangling.

In His Tablets Baha'u'llah counsels the believers to study such sciences and arts as are "useful" and would further "the progress and advancement"

of society, and He cautions against sciences which "begin with words and end with words", the pursuit of which leads to "idle disputation". Shoghi Effendi, in a letter written on his behalf, likened sciences that "begin with words and end with words" to "fruitless excursions into metaphysical hair-splittings", and, in another letter, he explained that what Baha'u'llah primarily intended by such "sciences" are "those theological treatises and commentaries that enc.u.mber the human mind rather than help it to attain the truth".

111. He Who held converse with G.o.d #80

This is a traditional Jewish and Islamic t.i.tle of Moses. Baha'u'llah states that with the coming of His Revelation "human ears have been privileged to hear what He Who conversed with G.o.d heard upon Sinai".

112. Sinai #80

The mountain where the Law was revealed by G.o.d to Moses.

113. the Spirit of G.o.d #80

This is one of the t.i.tles used in the Islamic and Baha'i Writings to designate Jesus Christ.

114. Carmel ... Zion #80

Carmel, the "Vineyard of G.o.d", is the mountain in the Holy Land where the Shrine of the Bab and the seat of the world administrative centre of the Faith are situated.

Zion is a hill in Jerusalem, the traditional site of the tomb of King David, and is symbolic of Jerusalem as a Holy City.

115. the Crimson Ark #84

The "Crimson Ark" refers to the Cause of Baha'u'llah. His followers are designated as the "companions of the Crimson Ark", lauded by the Bab in the Qayyumu'l-Asma.

116. O Emperor of Austria! He Who is the Dayspring of G.o.d's Light dwelt in the prison of Akka at the time when thou didst set forth to visit the Aqsa Mosque. #85

Francis Joseph (Franz Josef, 1830-1916), Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1869. While in the Holy Land he failed to take the opportunity to inquire about Baha'u'llah Who at that time was a prisoner in Akka (Acre).

The Aqsa Mosque, literally, the "Most Distant" Mosque, is referred to in the Qur'an, and has become identified with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

117. O King of Berlin! #86

Kaiser William I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig, 1797-1888), the seventh king of Prussia, was acclaimed first Emperor of Germany in January 1871 at Versailles in France, following the victory of Germany over France in the Franco-Prussian War.

118. the one whose power transcended thy power, and whose station excelled thy station #86