Infallibility: divine guidance and human understanding

To summarize, infallibility in essence is confined to the universal Manifestations of God and infallibility as an attribute is conferred upon sanctified souls. For instance, the Universal House of Justice, if it be established under the necessary conditions--that is, if it be elected by the entire community--that House of Justice will be under the protection and unerring guidance of God. Should that House of Justice decide, either unanimously or by a majority, upon a matter that is not explicitly recorded in the Book, that decision and command will be guarded from error. Now, the members of the House of Justice are not essentially infallible as individuals, but the body of the House of Justice is under the protection and unerring guidance of God: this is called conferred infallibility.

He Who is the Dawning-place of God's Cause hath no partner in the Most Great Infallibility. He it is Who, in the kingdom of creation, is the Manifestation of "He doeth whatsoever He willeth". God hath reserved this distinction unto His own Self, and ordained for none a share in so sublime and transcendent a station. This is the Decree of God, concealed ere now within the veil of impenetrable mystery. We have disclosed it in this Revelation, and have thereby rent asunder the veils of such as have failed to recognize that which the Book of God set forth and who were numbered with the heedless.

Know thou that the term 'Infallibility' hath numerous meanings and divers stations. In one sense it is applicable to the One Whom God hath made immune from error. Similarly it is applied to every soul whom God hath guarded against sin, transgression, rebellion, impiety, disbelief and the like. However, the Most Great Infallibility is confined to the One Whose station is immeasurably exalted beyond ordinances or prohibitions and is sanctified from errors and omissions.

The most important thing is to establish the validity of God's universal Manifestation; once His claim proveth true, then whatsoever He may choose to say is right and correct.

Man is prone to error, for the Most Great Infallibility belongs exclusively to God Himself.

However, the loved ones of God must fix their gaze upon the horizon of His Cause and what appears from Him, not upon what appears from others, for infallibility is an ornament reserved for God alone, while error, mistake and forgetfulness have been and are the lot of all others.

O my brother, what I say, I say for God's sake. If the True One, exalted be His glory, were to deal with this evanescent servant and other friends with justice, and were to bring forth the balance of justice, none would find refuge or escape. However, as these are the days of the Most Great Manifestation, He has dealt and continues to deal with all through His greatest bounty. In truth, were anyone to observe with the eye of fairness, they would see their very existence, being, mention and praise as a grievous error, let alone their unworthy and rejected deeds and words. Therefore, this servant and your honor must hold fast to the cord of God's favor and beseech Him with utmost humility and supplication to protect all the friends from the promptings of self and passion, and to direct them to the highest horizon.

It is known that all created things are prone to error and ever shall be, but today, as the Sun of generosity is shining and the ocean of mercy is surging, God's gaze is fixed upon the goodly deeds of souls who have turned to Him. This is naught but His grace and generosity toward His servants, and His mercy and bounty toward His loved ones.

One day, Jesus son of Mary - may my spirit be sacrificed for Him - was walking with several of His disciples when they came upon a dead dog. They expressed disgust, saying they detected a foul odor. That Source of compassion and mercy said, "How white are its teeth!" Observe now how He concealed the fault - may my spirit be sacrificed for His loving-kindness. This was solely to teach His companions that all should fix their gaze upon the good deeds of others and conceal one another's faults. We bear witness that He is verily the All-Knowing, the Wise Teacher.

Perfect infallibility has been and shall ever be confined to God, exalted be His glory. None has had or shall have a share of this most pure fountain, and assuredly all but God have been and shall ever be prone to error.

None but the Truth Himself, Who possesseth the Most Great Infallibility, hath been or is His partner in this station. All else are created by a word. This is true unity whose light hath shone forth from the horizon of the Supreme Pen's heaven. Think that thou mayest know.

The station of the Most Great Infallibility is the station wherein God doeth what He willeth. In that realm there neither is nor hath been any possibility of error. Whatsoever proceedeth from the Source of the Unseen and the Dawning-Place of Revelation is and shall be the truth, and naught else is mentioned at this station.

But when the Greatest Light shone forth from the Most Exalted Horizon of the world, it became clear and evident to all that they were idol-worshippers. They martyred the Lord of the world, yet to this day have not become aware. Today is the day of true belief in God's unity. All have been created by God's Word. The Most Great Infallibility belongeth exclusively to God, exalted be His glory - none shareth with Him in this station. The Letters, whether of the past or future, are all created beings, and the source of all is the Divine Word, and the educator of all is His grace.

Otherwise we are all believers in the oneness of God and acknowledge the inherent infallibility of the Blessed Beauty - there is no disagreement about this.

O servant of God! You asked about the infallibility of past Prophets. The Holy Manifestations "speak not from desire - it is naught but revelation revealed." They are the Manifestation and "God will make Himself known to you, nay rather the Self of God standing with His laws." They are sanctified above the comprehension of all else and holy beyond the imaginings of the doubtful and suspicious. Refer to the divine texts which explicitly mention their Most Great Infallibility, both in the writings of the Exalted One and the clear verses of the Blessed Beauty, including the Visitation Tablet for the Prince of Martyrs, upon him be greetings and praise.

Q. Are the Manifestations sinless?

A. Yes, there must be a standard of perfection for human example.

The Prophets of the Word could not sin. They possess the power and will to violate the Will of God, but the desire to do so is never present in them. Knowing the perfect fruit of Oneness, they have no inclination toward that which is imperfect.

The substance of the soul of the Prophet is purer than that of the average mortal, it has no traces of ungood impulses, it is aflame with Divine Fire. That is why true Prophets are not susceptible to defilement by sin.

How often have the Prophets of God and His universal Manifestations confessed in their prayers to their sins and shortcomings! This is only to instruct other souls, to inspire and encourage them to be humble and submissive before God and to acknowledge their own sins and shortcomings. For these holy Souls are sanctified above every sin and freed from every fault.

In brief, the noble Messengers, the great Prophets, the luminous Manifestations, the merciful Realities, the perfect Words, the conclusive Proofs, the brilliant Suns, the shining Moons, and the gleaming Stars - all their luminous inner beings are sanctified from the touch of darkness, and their divine consciences are purified from the stains of vain imaginings. God addresses them thus only for a wisdom, that those possessed of understanding might humble themselves and submit, and abase themselves before the Mighty, the Bestower, and not become proud even if they ascend to the highest chambers, but rather awaken to how the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting addressed the Great Beloved, the Honored Light, the Guide of nations, and the Speaker of the Most Great Name with such decisive address and reproof.

Thou art one of the ungrateful. He said: 'I did it indeed, and I was one of those who erred.

… Nay, whatsoever proceedeth from these Mines of divine Wisdom and these Treasuries of eternal knowledge is truth, and naught else but the truth.

He said: 'O my Lord! I have sinned to mine own hurt, forgive me.' … Moses Himself, moreover, acknowledged His injustice and waywardness, and testified that fear had seized Him, and that He had transgressed, and fled away.

In truth, the people of the world have yet not grasped the meaning of "He doeth whatsoever He willeth", nor have they comprehended the significance of Supreme Infallibility. The suckling child must be nourished with milk. If it be given meat it will assuredly perish, and this would be naught but sheer injustice and unwisdom. Blessed are they that understand. Supreme Infallibility, as I once heard from His blessed lips, is reserved exclusively to the Manifestations of the Cause of God and the Exponents of His Revelation.

The True One, exalted be His station, is the possessor of the Most Great Infallibility, and the meaning of the Most Great Infallibility is that error, mistake and forgetfulness have no access whatsoever to that realm. This is the station of "He doeth what He willeth and ordaineth what He pleaseth." If He declares the qiblih to be toward the east, it is the indubitable truth, and if He declares it to be toward the west, likewise. Even as in the Qur'an, the Beloved of all creation, in accordance with the command of the All-Merciful, turned toward the qiblih of Islam to which they turn today.

Some among mankind are ever intent upon denial and objection, as evidenced by how the people of the Bayan have repeatedly inquired why the Point (the Bab), may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for His sake, made mention of David, the Psalmist, before Moses, peace be upon Him, when historically David came after Moses. … Say: Fear God and object not to Him Whom God hath adorned with the Most Great Infallibility, His most beautiful names and His most exalted attributes. It behooveth the servants to affirm whatsoever proceedeth from the Dayspring of God's Cause, for none save God is aware of the requirements of His consummate wisdom.

O Ni'matu'llah! The Wronged One hath turned toward thee from the precincts of the Prison and maketh mention of thee with a remembrance that shall not be overtaken by forgetfulness, oversight, negligence or oblivion. He is the possessor of the Most Great Infallibility and the Sovereign Who doeth what He pleaseth. Were all the peoples of the world to meditate upon this most exalted Word and to drink from the ocean of its meanings, they would find themselves seated upon the thrones of faith and certitude and would regard all else besides God as non-existent and as naught.

Praise befitteth the most holy and exalted court of the Desired One, Who hath, through a single blessed word, barred the way to doubt, misgiving, vain imaginings and idle fancies, and through the power of that same word hath preserved His loved ones from dangers. That blessed word is "He doeth whatsoever He willeth and ordereth whatsoever He pleaseth." Whosoever is assured of this word is established upon the throne of certitude and abideth in the station of faith. The waves of idle fancies shall not withhold him from the truth of certitude, nor shall the hosts of vain imaginings keep him back from the dawning-place of the Divine Manifestation.

Were all the degrees of infallibility to be revealed from the Supreme Pen, much of what is hidden would be unveiled, and the oneness of God and the station of true unity would become manifest and evident like unto the sun. The hand of power hath rent asunder the veils, yet the people of the Bayan are determined to present anew their vain imaginings and idle fancies in a new guise, despite the fact that divine wrath, namely the deafness and blindness of those heedless and ignorant souls, hath encompassed them.

Infallibility is not what people imagine in their religious precautions, for when they heard the call "Am I not your Lord?" and did not say "Yea," they went astray. Rather, infallibility belongs to those who, when God said to them "Am I not your Lord?" said "Yea." And God speaks to none except through the tongue of His Manifestation in every dispensation.

In this day certain souls have claimed infallibility apart from God, even as the people of the Qur'an have spoken without understanding and have never comprehended the true intent of infallibility. The ordinance of infallibility is fulfilled today in this wise: every soul who, after hearing the Word of God and His Call, is assured with the word "Yea" is of the people of infallibility, and whosoever is other than this is excluded from infallibility.

… Today all people, in whatsoever station they may be, are excluded from infallibility, save those souls who have been assured of this Most Holy, Most Transcendent Manifestation.

And regarding infallibility, the Primal Point, exalted and glorified be He, hath declared that whosoever believeth in Him is infallible, and whosoever believeth not is bereft of infallibility. He hath further declared that infallibility is not what the followers of the Qur'an have imagined, who have regarded religious precautions as infallibility. Rather, infallibility belongeth to him who, at the time of the Manifestation, believeth in God, even though he be accounted among the lowliest of creation.

Among the people is he who claimeth the inner meaning and thereby holdeth back the people from a path which hath been straight in the eternal past. Say: The inner meaning is this Outward One Who proclaimeth from the midmost heart of the world that the Lord of all nations hath come - He Who was hidden behind the veils of the unseen in glory. Whoso speaketh today what the Tongue of Grandeur hath spoken, verily he is of the people of infallibility. God hath preserved him through a sovereignty that encompasseth the worlds.

O believers, whatsoever fruit of the Messenger He giveth you, accept it, and whatsoever He forbiddeth you, forgo it, for God hath made him wise in truth before Us.

Otherwise we must regard as admissible the opening of the Gate of Saintship, and consider that He Who is to arise of the family of Muhammad possesses two signs: the first condition, Holy Lineage; the second, [that He is divinely] fortified with brilliant verses.

Say: O people! The Day hath come, and the Self-Subsisting calleth out from the most exalted horizon: Fear God and be not among the oppressors! Cast aside the sources of idle fancies, turning unto the Self-Subsisting Who hath come with an authority before which neither the hosts of Pharaohs nor the ranks of tyrants can stand. Thus hath the Pen spoken when the Wronged One was established upon this exalted station.

I beseech God to ever adorn these souls with the ornament of steadfastness, for none save God Himself possesseth the Most Great Infallibility. I ask of and implore God to preserve these servants beneath the canopy of His grace and to strengthen them to be steadfast in all conditions.

As to infallibility, it is possible for man to be under divine protection and God may preserve him from error. For instance, the moon has no light of itself but receives light from the sun. This is the infallibility of the human world. A skilled physician protects man from every illness. Praise be to God that you are serving through divine teachings, and the more you serve, the more doubts will vanish and the manifest truth will become clear and evident.

O Thou Kind One, grant them a refuge and shelter and bestow upon them a protecting sanctuary, that they may abide under the shadow of Thy protection and care and be preserved from error. For the great sinner cannot be the manifest guardian, and the erring invalid cannot be the protector of the mighty Faith, and the misguided one cannot be the guide to the path, and one liable to error cannot be the center of guidance and the expounder of the mighty verses.

The purpose of the Blessed Beauty in entering into this Covenant and Testament was to gather all existent beings around one point so that the thoughtless souls, who in every cycle and generation have been the cause of dissension, may not undermine the Cause. He hath, therefore, commanded that whatever emanateth from the Centre of the Covenant is right and is under His protection and favour, while all else is error.

[The blessed discourse delivered that day in the gathering of the friends concerned the internal dissensions that arise within religions after the ascension of the Dawning-Places of the bounties of God, and how the Blessed Beauty had closed the doors to such divisions, referring all matters to the Most Great House of Justice, that whatsoever it might decree all should obey. Even if the Baha'is were to split up into two groups, 'Abdu'l-Baha has warned, each forming a House of Justice of its own, one in opposition to the other, both would be false. Pending the formation of the House of Justice, Baha'u'llah has appointed the Centre of the Covenant, affirmed His infallibility and, with His blessed Pen, has solemnly secured His Covenant.]

Infallibility is of two kinds; 1) Intrinsic or immediate Infallibility, 2) conferred, extrinsic or mediate Infallibility. Intrinsic or immediate Infallibility means that of God, exalted is His Glory, and none else save Him has any portion thereof.

… The conferred, extrinsic or mediate Infallibility is that of those Holy Souls who are under the protection of the Divine Manifestations, for preservation from error is conferred upon souls as a pure gift of God. God's Infallibility is intrinsic, whereas that of the Holy Souls under the protection of His Manifestations is extrinsic, for it is acquired as a gift or quality from them. For instance, the light of the Sun is intrinsic or immediate, but the light of the planets is acquired from the Sun and is therefore extrinsic. The light of the Sun is independent of the planet, while that of the planet is dependent upon the light of the Sun.

The House of Justice is so mighty an organization that no one shall have the right to resist or oppose it. By that is meant the Universal House of Justice.

That is, when all the local Houses of Justice of the different countries will be represented in the organization of a General House of Justice, that House will rule over all. For such a House of Justice shall be under the protection and infallibility of the Blessed Perfection and favored by His confirmation.

Likewise, the Most Great Infallibility is reserved to the Manifestations of God, who protect those who are under their shadow.

The Universal House of Justice is under the shadow of the Most Great Infallibility and the Blessed Beauty preserves it from error: should it occur to anyone's heart that a decision of the House of Justice is inapt, he has indeed erred.

Under any circumstance, this action of the Popes shows conclusively the fallibility of their judgment."

the whole theory of Divine Revelation rests on the infallibility of the Prophet, be He Christ, Muhammad, Baha'u'llah, or one of the others. If They are not infallible, then They are not Divine, and thus lose that essential link with God which, we believe, is the bond that educates men and causes all human progress.

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To the Baha'is, therefore, the Revealed Word is the balance, the infallible balance, by which truth can be distinguished from error. The human mind is too limited, too impotent to be able, all alone, to understand the purpose and plan of God for His creation. The source of ultimate guidance, therefore, is the Prophet. His word is infallible. If it seems to be in conflict with prevailing notions and standards, this is no sufficient reason to justify us to repudiate it. Rather we should endeavor to so direct our methods of investigation as to be able to reach the very same conclusions the Prophet has arrived at.

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The belief in the infallibility of the Prophet does not necessarily mean that he individual should cease investigating truth for himself. It calls for a new orientation of his mind, its deliverance from false notions and ideas, from all sorts of prejudice. It is only in this way that the sincere seeker can attain the knowledge of truth. Then he will find that his investigations do in no way bring him into conflict with the Revealed Word of God. For truth admits of no multiplicity. It is for this reason that it has been said that true science leads to true religion.

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The only people who are truly free from the 'dross of self' are the Prophets, for to be free of one's ego is a hallmark of perfection. We humans are never going to become perfect for perfection belongs to a realm we are not destined to enter.

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...all prophets are interiorly preserved from sin without their being conscious of it, even before they are warned by inspiration.

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"As for how the `Adliyya define `isma, their definition is the most appropriate. The gist of the correct part of their definition is that (`isma) is a divine disposition that prevents the act of disobeying and intending to do so while retaining the capability to do it.... The ma`sum abstains from all the things that God has prohibited." … In the Baha'i writings, `isma is translated as "infallibility," "sinlessness," and "protection."

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Such matters should be determined through consultation, and whatever emergeth from the consultation of those chosen, that indeed is the command of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

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For nothing short of the explicit directions of their Book, and the surprisingly emphatic language with which they have clothed the provisions of their Will, could possibly safeguard the Faith for which they have both so gloriously labored all their lives. Nothing short of this could protect it from the heresies and calumnies with which denominations, peoples, and governments have endeavored, and will, with increasing vigor, endeavor to assail it in future.

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There are only two institutions which are infallible, one is the Guardianship, the other the International House of Justice. What the Master desired to protect the friends against was continual bickering and opinionatedness.

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Out of the pangs of anguish which His bereaved followers have suffered, amid the heat and dust which the attacks launched by a sleepless enemy had precipitated, the Administration of Baha'u'llah's invincible Faith was born. The potent energies released through the ascension of the Center of His Covenant crystallized into this supreme, this infallible Organ for the accomplishment of a Divine Purpose. The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha unveiled its character, reaffirmed its basis, supplemented its principles, asserted its indispensability, and enumerated its chief institutions.

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