The Unfolding Destiny of the British Bahai Community Part 109

28 March 1926

It must have been very distasteful to you to read some of the off-hand and ungrammatical translations that more out of necessity than choice won circulation and were even published. Furthermore, it was always the expressed wish and desire of 'Abdu'l-Baha to have proper and adequate translations that would not only convey the true spirit of the original but also possess some literary merit. And for this he emphasised the necessity of a board of translators. Such a board it has unfortunately been impossible to form as yet.

Meanwhile Shoghi Effendi, realising the urgent necessity of the translation of some of the important writings, has translated some of the pa.s.sages.

Letter of 16 October 1926

16 October 1926

We should, however, be careful, as you mention in your letter, not to make this system develop into a hard and fast creed or form. The Cause is pure and free from such things and it ought to be the task of the friends to keep it broad and progressive. Man is always apt to fall into the habit of doing a thing in a certain way, and thereby become captive to prescribed forms. It should therefore be the duty of the a.s.semblies everywhere to see that, though certain temporary measures are taken to further the Cause, they do not crystallise into hard and fast creeds.

Letter of 6 April 1928

6 April 1928

[From the Guardian]

I feel that regarding such interpretations (of verses from the Scriptures) no one has the right to impose his view or opinion and require his listeners to believe in his particular interpretation of the sacred and prophetic writings. I have no objection to your interpretations and inferences so long as they are represented as your own personal observations and reflections. It would be unnecessary and confusing to state authoritatively and officially a dogmatic Baha'i interpretation to be universally accepted and taught by believers. Such matters I feel should be left to the personal judgement and insight of individual teachers....

Letter of 12 December 1929

12 December 1929

Ever since its inception (the "Baha'i World") Shoghi Effendi has cherished the hope of making it a work that would prove interesting and illuminating to the reader. Destined mainly for the non-Baha'is, he has tried to attract through its pages the attention of educated and enlightened people and especially leaders in every country, with a view to acquaint them with the broad and fundamental principles of the Faith and to win their consideration of the Movement as a growing force for good and for peace throughout the entire world. It is therefore with lively satisfaction that he has seen the publication grow yearly in importance and this feeling has been lately enhanced very much by the words of interest or appreciation which he has received from many quarters and leading men, among which was a remarkably encouraging letter from Sir Herbert Samuel. Indeed Shoghi Effendi has made it a point to send copies to as many leading men as possible and copies of last year's issue were presented to the Emperor of j.a.pan, the _Sh_ah of Persia and Queen Marie of Rumania.

Letter of 9 February 1930

9 February 1930

The subject you had raised with regard to the date of the publication of the writings of Baha'u'llah is interesting as it is important. If I remember correctly the same issue was raised as an open challenge in India by some spokesman of the Ahmadiyya sect. The earliest published writings of Baha'u'llah date from the nineties of the last century. Over forty years ago the Aqdas, a volume of general Tablets including Tarazat, I_sh_raqat, and others were published in I_sh_qabad (Russia) and Bombay respectively and copies of these though rare are still procurable.

Simultaneously with these, if not earlier, some of the writings of Baha'u'llah were published by the Oriental Department of the Imperial Russian University at St. Petersburgh under the supervision of its director Baron Rosen (and more particulars about these could be found in the books of E. G. Browne) and these of course are not undated like some of those published in Bombay.

The main bulk of the writings of Baha'u'llah however are to be found in ma.n.u.script form written by noted scribes after the fashion of orientals.

These scribes did not leave all their ma.n.u.scripts undated and Jinabi Zain, a very noted Baha'i scribe, always dated his copies of the writings of Baha'u'llah at the end of the volume in what E. G. Browne calls 'colophenes' and the description of some of these colophenes could be found in the works of the Cambridge Professor.

The son of the above-mentioned scribe is still living in Haifa and does very much the same work as his father. He claims that as early as 1868 his father used to write copies of the iqan for the Baha'is in Persia as a source of livelihood, and that after 1885 when he went to Akka to join Baha'u'llah's party his entire work and time was devoted to copying the sacred writings for sale among Baha'is. These copies are to be found all throughout the East and are almost invariably dated.

Letter of 9 June 1930

9 June 1930

Concerning the accounts of visits to Haifa, published by the friends during the Master's life-time, Shoghi Effendi is very reluctant to attribute to them much authority. Most of these are personal impressions and are to be valued only as such. Baha'u'llah definitely states that only His actual writings are to be relied upon. Such reports may be interesting but not authoritative, no matter who the reporter may be...

Letter of 22 October 1930

22 October 1930

...If those heroic deeds have made such an impression upon you, would not the reading of the narrative arouse the friends to greater sacrifices and stimulate them to more intensive service? It was not mere physical torture that the friends in Persia had to endure but also moral persecution for they were cursed and vilified by all the people, especially when they ceased to defend themselves ... the Master used to say sometimes that the western friends will be severely persecuted but theirs will be primarily moral....

Letter of 30 November 1930

30 November 1930

He (the Guardian) is enclosing extracts from Lord Curzon's "Persia and the Persian Question" giving a detailed and faithful description of the state of Persia in the middle of the 19th century. He thinks that references to the extracts ... will be of great value in showing to the reader the contrast between the decadent state of the government and the people at that time and the heroism and n.o.bility of character displayed by the early disciples of the Bab... Shoghi Effendi is also sending you ... the Master's words concerning the situation which led to the defensive action which the early disciples of the Bab were compelled to take in Mazindaran, Nayriz and Zanjan. From these words it is evident that a systematic campaign of plunder and ma.s.sacre had been initiated by the central government. Baha'u'llah, Who Himself was an active figure in those days and was regarded one of the leading exponents of the Faith of the Bab, states clearly His views in the iqan that His conception of the sovereignty of the Promised Qa'im was purely a spiritual one, and not a material or political one... His view of the sovereignty of the Qa'im confirms the various evidences given in the text of the narrative itself of the views held by those who actually partic.i.p.ated in these events such as Hujjat, Quddus, Mulla ?usayn. The very fact that these disciples were ready and willing to emerge from the fort and return to their homes after receiving the a.s.surance that they would be no more molested is itself an evidence that they were not contemplating any action against the authorities.

Shoghi Effendi is also sending you an account of the doctrines of _Sh_i'ah Islam from which the Movement originally sprang. It will help you to connect the origin of the Movement with the tenets and beliefs held by the _Sh_i'ahs of Persia. The Bab declared Himself at the beginning of His mission to be the "Bab" by which He meant to be the gate or forerunner of "Him Whom G.o.d will make manifest", that is to say Baha'u'llah, Whose advent the _Sh_i'ahs also expected in the person of "the return of Imam ?usayn". The Sunnis also believe in a similar twofold manifestation, the first they call "the Mihdi", the second "the Return of Christ". By the term Bab, the Bab meant to be the forerunner of the second manifestation rather than, as some have maintained, the gate of the Qa'im. When He declared Himself to be the Bab, the people understood by the term that He was an intermediary between the absent Qa'im and His followers, though He Himself never meant to be such a person. All He claimed to be was that He was the Qa'im Himself and in addition to this station, that of the Bab, namely the gate or forerunner of "Him Whom G.o.d will make manifest".

There are many authorised traditions from Mu?ammad stating clearly (as explained in the iqan) that the promised Qa'im would bring a new Book and new Laws. In other words abrogating the law of Islam.

Shoghi Effendi feels that the Unity of the Baha'i revelation as one complete whole embracing the Faith of the Bab should be emphasised... The Faith of the Bab should not be divorced from that of Baha'u'llah. Though the teachings of the Bayan have been abrogated and superseded by the laws of Aqdas, yet due to the fact that the Bab considered Himself as the forerunner of Baha'u'llah we should regard His dispensation together with that of Baha'u'llah as forming one ent.i.ty, the former being an introductory to the advent of the latter. Just as the advent of John the Baptist-who according to various authorities was Himself the originator of laws which abrogated the teachings current among the Jews-forms part of the Christian revelation, the advent of the Bab likewise forms an integral part of the Baha'i Faith. That is why Shoghi Effendi feels justified to call Nabil's narrative a narrative of the early days of the Baha'i revelation.

Shoghi Effendi feels that it should be explained that forbidding self defence by Baha'u'llah should not be taken too literally. To put it as bluntly as this, he fears that the question might be misunderstood.

Baha'u'llah could surely have not meant that a Baha'i should not attempt to defend his life against any irresponsible a.s.sailant who might attack him for any purpose whatever, whether religious or not. Every reasonable person would feel under such circ.u.mstances justified in protecting his life....

Regarding Nabil: He was born on the 18th day of the month of Safar of the year 1247 A. H. in the village of Zarand in Persia. He was thirteen years old when the Bab declared Himself. Though still young he himself was preparing to leave for _Sh_ay_kh_ Tabarsi and join the companions of Mulla ?usayn when the news of the treachery and ma.s.sacre of the besieged companions reached him. He met Baha'u'llah in Kirman_sh_ah and ?ihran before the latter's banishment to 'Iraq. He was a close companion of the Bab's amanuensis Mirza A?mad. He subsequently met Baha'u'llah in Ba_gh_dad, Adrianople and Akka and was commissioned by Baha'u'llah to journey several times to Persia in order to promote the Cause and encourage the scattered and persecuted believers. He was present in Akka when Baha'u'llah pa.s.sed away in 1892 and soon after was so overcome with grief that he drowned himself in the sea. His body was found along the sh.o.r.e and was buried in the cemetery of Akka. 'Abdu'l-Baha is reported to have been struck with deep sorrow at the manner of his death. He states in his narration that he met the maternal uncle of the Bab, ?aji Mirza Siyyid 'Ali who had visited his nephew in the Castle of _Ch_ihriq and had recently returned to ?ihran. He started writing his narrative in 1305 A.H.

four years before the pa.s.sing of Baha'u'llah. It took him about a year and half to write it. His chief informants were Mirza A?mad the amanuensis of the Bab and Mirza Musa the brother of Baha'u'llah. Parts of his narrative were read in the presence of Baha'u'llah and approved by Him. 'Abdu'l-Baha also went over sections of his narrative....

Shoghi Effendi has found in the papers of 'Abdu'l-Baha a complete set of the Bab's Tablets to the 18 Letters of the Living, all written in His own hand-writing and bearing His seal. In addition to these there are two other Tablets both written by Himself in exquisite hand-writing, the one addressed to the 19th Letter who was Himself and the other to "Him whom G.o.d will make manifest", i.e. Baha'u'llah. This last one has three seals and is written on blue paper....

Regarding the question raised in your letter.... The Baha'is in Persia avoid political posts and positions, abstain from any interference in matters pertaining to the policy of the state, but fill the more important administrative posts that have no political character. They feel that in this manner they can best serve the interest of their country and prove by their action their integrity and attachment to Persia....