corruption and decline of Islam; of the Shi'ih
Editorial introduction
Hospitals in Damascus with pharmacies and physicians, endowments for orphans, for strangers, even for servants who broke a dish and feared their master: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalls these to ask what became of a community whose first standard-bearers astonished the world. Bahá’u’lláh’s answer is unsparing and at moments grieving: as hearts darkened, justice was veiled and tyranny took its seat, power turned into weakness and courage into fear, and division did what no outside enemy could. The sharper charge concerns expectation. A people who waited twelve centuries for the Promised One, and counted as infidels any who said he would be born, found their books and anticipation turned into swords when the Báb appeared in Fars; inherited tales became veils thicker than the ones they replaced. None of this rests safely in the past, since the same warnings are turned on the followers of the Bayan and then on the Bahá’ís themselves. The Qur’an’s call to hold fast together and remember how former enemies became brothers offers a measure for any community. From here the road runs through Muhammad and the foundation of Islam, the wider story of corruption and renewal, and violence in the name of God, toward the plain work of justice, education and repair.
What you have heard about Islam has no connection to the foundation of Islam, and even most of what you hear from some Muslims is either from traditions or relates to branches and details, not an explanation of the truth and foundation of Islam.
Observe ye the Muslim community and its weakness, and ponder its cause. This weakness hath come about solely due to the differences that have appeared therein, as thou canst see how each faction hath chosen its own path and walketh in its own way.
Iran is still in in a ruinous state, and until justice and equity become its foundation and basis, conditions will worsen day by day.
O thou who art remembered in the heart of this servant! The station of Islam hath declined, religion hath weakened, and the banners have been reversed. We must supplicate God at all times, at eventide and dawn, that He may assist His loved ones and servants and raise up one who shall arise to redress what hath been lost. Your honor hath heard what the strong hath wrought upon the weak, and what hath befallen God's cities and lands from cannons and rifles.
Surely you have heard the account of Alexandria and Islam and others. The divine religion hath been weakened and the adversary strengthened, yet the cause and reason for this weakness which hath persisted over successive years remaineth unknown and hidden from all. For were they to become aware of its cause and reason, they would surely arise to remove it.
These are days wherein a thousand sorrows appear at every moment, all being the results of deeds and actions. Matters have reached such a pass that the Islamic nation, which was the most powerful, greatest, most perfect and most rightful of all nations, has manifested such weakness that every person of conscience, every person of fairness, and every person of heart lamenteth over it. Verily, sighs ascend and tears descend, but most of the people are in evident delusion.
O my beloved! Heedlessness has overtaken the world. It is due to the deeds of the servants that the manifest religion and the Law of the Prince of Messengers has been weakened, to such extent that the temple of the Law, established among nations upon earth - everyone snatches away one of its members, and none can prevent it, nay rather, none can even question it. A hundred thousand eyes are needed to weep for the radiant Faith.
Now we beseech and implore God, exalted be His glory, to adorn the lost glory with the ornament of existence, and to make manifest the vanished might before all faces. What happened to that power and strength, and what caused this weakness? Until now, all remain heedless of the cause and reason.
Perhaps God will assist the government and nation to revive what has been obliterated from the edifices of Islam....
In every moment, God's favor would arrive and victory would be granted, until hearts changed and grew dark. Gradually justice became veiled and tyranny appeared and became established in its place. Fairness was concealed behind clouds and oppression became manifest and evident in its stead. These matters became the cause and reason for the supreme abasement, as was and is witnessed: "The banners of misbelief flutter above the banners of unity."
The Master - may our spirits be sacrificed for Him - said:
"O Afnan! Upon thee be My salutation. The first banner in the world was the banner of Islam, and the first standard was the standard of that party. They bore for the sake of God that which none other than them bore, and they strove in such wise as astonished all who were in the world, until the banner of 'There is none other God but Him' was raised to the most exalted station. From their might, the limbs of various parties trembled, and through the power of those souls the pavilion of glory was raised up and the Euphrates of wealth flowed. What happened to that power, and where did that might go, and in what corner has that authority hidden, and by what has that majesty been prevented? By God's life! The heedlessness of the people of unity became the cause of strength for the people of misbelief.
Consider the former glory of Islam, what station it had attained, and now what abasement has come upon it.
In the past, certain souls have called themselves people of the Path, as evidenced by their traces that exist in the world today. Various groups have each adopted a path, whereby Islam became divided and channels branched off from the Most Great Ocean, until at length there befell the religion of God that which did befall it. Islam, with all its mighty power, was transformed through the deeds and actions of those who claimed adherence to it into utter weakness, as all have observed and continue to observe.
In its time, it produced wonderful effects, but the people knew not what to do after the Prophet. From every head arose a fancy and from every mind a cry. In short, they did not allow that radiant light to shine forth. Like fighting roosters they attacked one another in conflict and dispute.
Islam was a good religion, but they destroyed it. Differences arose from the beginning of the Dispensation and, after the ascension of the Prophet, the foundation of Islam was shattered.
After a time it changed again until no trace remained of the lights of the manifest religion. Ignorance and unawareness prevailed, for change and transformation are essential requirements of contingent existence.
The various sects who today consider themselves servants of the world of humanity are possessed of good intention, but they are inert, not active; captive, not free; silent, not eloquent; slow, not fast. They have sluggish movement and great intention. These two do not agree (or unite).
In Damascus there was a great and well-organized hospital with a pharmacy and physicians. Nur al-Din Zangi, the Seljuk ruler, had established it in Damascus. He also established an asylum for the mentally ill. Now all of it is in ruins, and its endowments have been taken away.
This Islamic nation that was once at such heights--what has become of it now that they must beseech the Christians to admit them to their hospitals?
… When one examines the histories of the Holy Manifestations of God, one sees what souls appeared, but when they turned away from God's Law, to what state they fell.
When the Children of Israel taught both material and religious sciences together in their schools, this resulted in the education of skilled individuals. However, later among the followers of religions, especially among Muslims, education in schools became limited to religious issues and discussions, and even that ended up being confined to debates about words.
This is why Eastern women have remained backward.
Chastity is necessary and self-control is very important, but not to the degree that it prevents education and learning, for the Law of God establishes virtues - they should not be prevented from acquiring virtues.
Question: What is the ruling on polygamy?
Answer: In the Qur'an, the phrase "if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly [with them], then only one" indicates that in the sight of God, the ruling of one [wife] is acceptable. However, the Islamic clergy determined justice in terms of food, drink, clothing and the means of living.
This year very few of the Mohamadans kept fast in these parts.
These higher reasons of fasting are now completely forgotten. It has become only a habit; a custom, handed down from Ancestors and forefathers. In reality they are not fasting; they are keeping up a dead institution.
Mohamadans having forgotten their reverence for the Holy things and overlooking the injunction of Mohamad smoke and talk on such occasions.
Instead of being a cause of honor they have been a cause of humiliation to Islam.
For example one of their most important creeds is this: "Whosoever publicly confesses, That 'there is no God save the One God and Mohamad is His prophet' he will be saved.' Now this kind of dogmatic creed has nothing to do with Islam, but any inquirer will be led to believe that this is an article of faith, simply because, the good-for-nothing, ignorant Orthodox Mohamadans are upholding it.
However, the Muslims do not follow the laws of the Qur'an and are unaware that it states fate is of two kinds, certain and alterable.
… But a Muslim has twenty offspring and as he is careless in their affairs, they all roam the streets, expire and die.
The appearance of Rumi and his book, the Masnavi, was like unto a column erected to buttress a tilting wall, enabling the dispensation of Islam to extend twelve hundred years.
The children of those very people who at the inception of Islam made the Prophet Muhammad the object of their reproach and persecution became, in no time at all, the caliphs of that same religion. Examples include the descendants of Abu Sufyan and 'Abbas, who, upon aligning themselves with Muhammad and identifying themselves with Islam, attained to a cherished station and began to openly pride themselves on their affiliation with this Cause.
At the time of Muhammad's migration to Medina under divine protection, Abu Bakr, was with Him. He said to Abu Bakr, 'Be not afraid, God is with us.' These very words became afterwards the cause of his succession to the Caliphate because the word 'with us' included him also.
One reported Muhammad to have said "Were there to be a Prophet after Me, it would assuredly be 'Umar," and another related the hadith of "The ten promised the paradise." One recited "'Uthman is the man of two lights" and "'Uthman shall be my companion in the highest heaven," and another recounted Muhammad as having said "Were I to take any friend besides God, I would take Abu-Bakr."
In sum, the divines multiplied and their decrees proliferated. The obscuring dust of lies and absurdities rose to heaven and the sun of truthfulness was wholly beclouded.
The traditions (hadith) which are passed down in Islam have been the cause of ruin for many homes, sources of disunity and division, and of suffering and calamities.
Furthermore, how many verses did they attribute to Imru'l-Qays, claiming that Muhammad had plagiarized them, such as the blessed Surih "When the earth is shaken" and "The Hour draweth nigh," and they preferred poems known as the Mu'allaqat and likewise the Mujamharat, which were in the second rank after the Mu'allaqat, to the divine words.
The corruption of the world hath ever been, and shall ever be, from the ignorant one who appeareth in the guise of knowledge, and from the transgressor who is known and seen in the garb of piety. Reflect upon the early days of Islam: a few ignorant and false ones adorned themselves with the ornament of knowledge and truthfulness among the servants, and this became the cause of countless perils surrounding the world of the Qur'an.
Now I have decided to read this history as much as possible each midnight. The first section which I read last night was very eloquent and well-written, covering the differences between Sunnis and Shi'is, as well as the divisions that occurred among the Shi'is, and the belief in multiple Qa'ims from among the pure Imams (peace be upon them) and Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyih, and the details about the Promised One according to Sunnis and Shi'is.
In any case, it was carefully reviewed.
The truth of the matter is that after Imam Hasan 'Askari (peace be upon him), the Shi'ites split into three groups: one group clung to the Imamate of the ignorant Ja'far and congratulated him on his Imamate; another group withdrew completely; and a third group clung to the occultation and every day awaited his emergence. For a thousand years they have been waiting and still have not grown weary or tired.
The Shi'ites who follow the Imamate of 'Ali ibn Abu-Talib have certain other convictions. They consider 'Ali sinless and an inspired Imam Who after the Prophet, had the highest station and [after Whom] leadership resided with His sons and descendents. They claim that the twelfth Imam disappeared and now resides in the twin cities of Jabulqa and Jabulsa, one in the East and the other in the West. Each city has twelve thousand gates and the expected Imam spends six months [of the year] in each city. He will reappear in the Latter Days, when the earth is filled with injustice, wrong, tumult and chaos, and will illumine the world with the light of His justice and bounties. He will come accompanied by unnumbered hosts, will conquer the earth, and enlist all the people under His own banner. With His breath, He will slay the infidels.
In this connection the Exalted One hath mentioned in the Persian Bayan a saying of Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i, upon him be the glory of God, when someone asked him about a word which the Qa'im would utter and which the three hundred and thirteen souls who would be among the most God-fearing and distinguished ones of that Revelation would be unable to bear. The honored Shaykh refused to mention that word and said: "Verily thou art unable to bear it." After insistence he said: "If the Qa'im should bid thee to renounce the successorship of the Commander of the Faithful, would you do so?" He immediately refused, saying "God forbid!" And the Point declareth in this connection that it is evident to the people of truth that the honored Shaykh caused him to hear that word from the tongue of the Qa'im, and when he could not bear it he became an unbeliever, though he realized it not.
Look then at the condition of the people, for they circumambulate around the House because it is attributed to God, and they recite the Book because it is the Book of God, and they believe in Muhammad because he is the Prophet of God, and they believe in the martyrs of God of old because they are the Proofs of God, and they follow the repositories of their knowledge because they are the guides of God's religion. And they pray and give alms and perform pilgrimage and fast, and all that they do or leave undone is because it is the command of God. But from the Tree that reciteth from God and argueth concerning Him, and in whom they see naught save Him, they are veiled.
O 'Azizu'llah! The Book of God hath been revealed, the Ka'bah of God is visible, the Light of God is radiant, the Sea of God is surging, yet most of the people remain heedless. Had the Shi'ih sect known the station of the Apostle of God, may the spirit of all else but Him be sacrificed for His sake, and recognized the sanctity of His Being and the detachment of His Reality, they would assuredly have attained on the Day of Judgment unto wondrous and gracious fruits of the divine paradise, and would have been accounted before God among the true believers in divine unity.
True belief in the unity of God [tawhid-i-haqiqi] consists in acknowledging and confessing the unity of God, exalted be His glory, sanctifying His Essence from all likeness and purifying His Being from all similitudes. This has ever been and shall ever be the case. The Shi'ih sect, however, failed to attain this most exalted station, this most glorious rank, this ultimate purpose and this most resplendent summit. For it is evident and proven to those immersed in the ocean of truth and them who hold fast to the cords of knowledge and wisdom that God, exalted be His glory, has ever been and shall ever be the Unknowable, the Inaccessible.
By the life of God! Such wrong was committed against the Seal of the Prophets by the Shi'ih party that none save God can reckon it. Some wrongful, heedless souls, moved by self and desire, forsook the root and clung to the branch.
In the Persian tongue: hearken to the call of the true Wronged One: Throughout ages and centuries the heedless faction - that is, the Shi'ih - have occupied themselves with mention of successor, guardian, Shaykhi and fourth pillar, to such extent that they remain heedless and veiled from true unity. Glory be to God! Through names they are deprived of their Owner and Creator.
For ages and centuries the Shi'ih sect hath been occupied with the mention of names while remaining heedless and veiled from their Creator and Lord. Each day they cling to a deceiver and grasp the hem of one who sows doubt, warring amongst themselves.
O Hasan! For one thousand two hundred years the Shi'ih sect boasted from pulpits of Ali's successorship and recounted the virtues of the Imams.
O noble one, upon you be the Glory of God, the Single, the One! Ask the contemptible Shi'ites what fruit their acknowledgments of immediate successorship yielded on the Day of Grace, which is the appearance of the Luminary of Justice.
Say: O thou who art devoid of justice! What benefit did the Shi'ihs derive from what they claimed? On the Day of Retribution all were deprived of the Sun of Truth and debarred from the waves of the divine ocean of utterance.
Reflect upon the Shi'ih sect - what came of their zealotry, their lamentations, their seeking and their weeping? What was their end and what fruit did it yield? Say: Take ye warning, O men of understanding! Take ye warning, O men of insight!
Today all must ponder upon the deeds and words of the people of the Furqan, that is, the Shi'ih sect, and become aware of their vain imaginings.
Consider the vainglory of the Shi'ih sect: they deemed themselves the foremost of the world and the most exalted among nations. Yet when the balance of justice was set up, they were found to be the most lost among the peoples of the world. They spent their entire lives occupied with successor-games and likewise with other names such as Chiefs and Nobles and the like.
Reflect upon the Shi'ih sect and the pride and arrogance of those people. They regarded as unclean the Jews and Christians, and likewise the idol-worshippers and fire-worshippers. The People of the Sunna they deemed lower, more rejected and more abominable than all other sects. Yet on the Promised Day, with but a slight test, they were found to be the most lost of all upon the earth.
The Shi'ih sect counted themselves the most learned, most excellent and most God-fearing among the world's peoples, yet with one clear test it became evident they were the basest of all the earth's peoples. They committed that which no other people in the world had committed.
Glory be to God! The Shi'ih sect counted themselves the most excellent of all people, yet they were witnessed to be the most lost.
For twelve hundred years and more, the Shi'ih sect were slaves to vain imaginings. Without understanding, they deemed themselves the most excellent of all peoples, yet on the Day of Reckoning they were found to be the most lost among the nations.
Glory be unto God! Until now the Shi'ih sect hath not become aware. By the life of God, they are observed to be the most lost among all the peoples of the world.
The abominable Shi'ites have not attained unto this most exalted station and sublime rank, and yet they count themselves among the believers in unity.
By God's life! The Shi'ih sect hath been recorded in the Crimson Book by the Most Exalted Pen as being among the idolaters.
All factions among the peoples have attained unto lofty stations, save the odious Shi'ih faction. Each day, like unto Pharaoh, they sink one or two spans deeper, and perceive it not. … They consider themselves the most exalted people in the world, and likewise the most learned, the most excellent and the most high, whereas in the estimation of those possessed of insight they were and are not even mentioned, and in the sight of the Concourse on High they are regarded as lower than animals.
On that day, the Blessed Beauty was in a state of exceeding joy and smiled frequently. He said: "Pray that God does not create another sect like the Shi'ih."
Beseech thou God that no party like unto the Shi'ih sect might again appear in the world. O thou who gazest upon My countenance! I swear by the Sun of Truth that until now this Wronged One hath not revealed the hidden mysteries. All the claims of those people have been and are like unto Jabulqa and Jabulsa. They have failed to distinguish between God and His creation. They have not even perceived the fragrance of true unity, and yet they count themselves among the most exalted of all people. No deed is witnessed from them save corruption, rejection and malediction.
Great indeed is this Day wherein the Primal Point - may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for His sake - in the Most Exalted Paradise and the Most Glorious Horizon proclaimeth "Verily, I am the first of them that worship." We beseech the Most High to preserve His servants from vain imaginings and idle fancies, for the abominable Shi'ih sect hath been and continueth to be deprived of the recognition of the Hidden and Treasured Name through their vain imaginings and idle fancies.
Vain imaginings deprived the Shi'ih sect from the Lord of mankind and consigned them to hell.
Ye are wrapped in the most great veil, which is naught but the tales that were current amongst you from the imaginings of the ancients.
O true brother and real beloved! One cannot speak the truth, as in most instances flows from the Pen of the All-Merciful: "Whatever thick veils and massive coverings We rent asunder by the finger of power, yet it was observed that the people had fashioned for themselves veils thicker than those and coverings greater than those." For a thousand years and more, imaginary creatures who deemed themselves the gems of existence were gazing toward and turned to an imaginary city, an unknown cellar, and a precinct of fancy. And from time to time mention was made of communications that would emerge from that precinct. O God! Is there any one strong whom the fancies of men cannot weaken, and any one assured whom the clamor of the servants cannot frighten?
Say unto him of the letter Jim and his like: Observe with the eye of insight how for a thousand years or more all the Twelver sects assigned a specific place in imaginary cities for an imaginary being who never existed, along with imaginary wives and children, and they prostrated themselves before him. And if anyone denied him they would issue a decree for his death. Lo! They are recorded as worshippers of vain imaginings in the Book of thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.
For thirteen hundred years the Shi'ih sect was occupied with vain imaginings. From the early days of Islam, a few individuals in tattered garments and with humbled necks, with visible sighs and lamentations, preyed upon the hapless people. In every town they entered, they would seek a secluded place to reveal secrets and manifest hidden mysteries. Then, after mentioning Nahiyih and Jabulqa and Jabulsa, and two or three fabricated traditions, they would depart.
Through false tales they firmly established themselves in the hearts and minds of that heedless sect, who even now await this evident Cause to appear from the imaginary Jabulqa.
O people of God! Inquire ye of the people of the Qurʼan: 'Where is Jabulqa, and what of Jabulsa? What hath become of those illusory cities?' They have condemned as a liar that hapless Jaʻfar, who did not speak falsely. For uttering a single truthful remark, he hath been branded a liar from the early days of Islam to the present time.
For one thousand two hundred years they called the son of the Imam a liar by their own admission and he became known as Ja'far the Liar, while that helpless one spoke but one word in truth.
For most of the servants have been and continue to be vessels of ignorance and corruption, ever waiting to invalidate truth or to clothe falsehood in the garment of truth. Even as the divines of Iran from the inception of Islam until now maintain that the Promised One dwells in Jabulqa and Jabulsa, and whosoever speaks otherwise, they pronounce his death sentence and mock the Sunnis, since those souls do not cling to such invented fancies but rather affirm and proclaim His birth.
The Shi'ih sect, who counted themselves as the saved and blessed community and knew themselves as the most excellent of all people, related successive traditions stating that whosoever claimed the Promised One would be born was an infidel and outside the religion. These traditions caused many to be martyred without guilt or crime, until the Primal Point - may the spirit of all else be sacrificed for Him - was born in Fars from the loins of a known person and made the claim of being the Qa'im.
The entire Shi'ih sect for one thousand two hundred years and more has been occupied with vain imaginings and idle fancies. Not a single one of the divines of that sect attained unto true knowledge; nay, they did not even partake of the outward meaning, inasmuch as they all pronounced their verdict against the Lord of all beings and cursed the deniers of Jabulqa.
For twelve hundred years the ignorant divines educated people in vain imaginings, with the result that on the Last Day they issued the death warrant of the Lord of the world.
The cause and reason for this heedlessness and ignorance were and are the Shi'ih divines, who have educated people in vain imaginings and idle fancies until at last they were deprived of the ocean of manifestation and the call of the Speaker on Sinai.
Consider the Shi'ih sect: reared on suspicions and idle fancies, and clinging to the calumnies of a few, they have thus been debarred from the fragrant breezes of revelation and from hearing the Voice of Him Who spoke on Sinai.
For twelve hundred years and more, the Shi'ih divines, whose number cannot be reckoned, were unaware of the Manifestation while still in the loins, and all were heedless of this most great Cause. Not one among these divines attained unto the truth.
O My handmaiden and My leaf! Most of the people of Iran are deprived of the Truth and barred from the realm of revelation and witnessing, turning instead to vain imaginings.
The first thing that is incumbent upon the sincere seeker is sanctification and detachment from the tales, proofs and arguments to which the Shi'ih party hath clung. By God! They are in manifest error. Their remembrances are but calumnies. Heedlessness hath reached such a point that they curse from their pulpits the Manifestations of God's attributes and names, and they perceive it not.
Say: O concourse of idolaters! For a thousand years ye have dwelt in the fancies of your souls, taking illusion as your leader. Ye were on the brink of the pit of fire, yet ye perceived it not in your cause, even as ye now hear from the people of the Furqan. Ye were afflicted with this only because ye followed your own desires and a number of men who fabricated lies against God and who wandered in the wilderness of fancy.
Say: O people, fear God, then shun the hosts of Satan who have taken vain imaginings as their lord instead of God, and who recite His words at all times yet when the verses of God, the Just King, the All-Wise, are recited unto them, they deny them and return unto their households in abasement.
Although this people believe that the Imams - God's blessings be upon them - have risen from their graves, yet other groups, from the Shaykhis to those above them and the Fourth Pillar and the rest of the Shi'ih, all deny this matter. This is why every year in the month of Muharram strife ariseth and the fire of hatred is kindled.
For one thousand two hundred years the misguided and misleading sect - namely the Shi'ih - both learned and ignorant among them, have occupied themselves with mention of guardian, successor, Imam, chief and noble, and such like, and such was the intensity of the hatred and animosity between their factions that each party would denounce the other as infidel and decree their death, while through the architects of suspicion and fancy they built up dominions.
These are the hosts of thy Lord, and none knoweth the hosts of thy Lord save Him....
...say: Reflect upon the deeds of the Shi'ih sect. For twelve hundred years and more they occupied themselves in mosques and pulpits with the mention of God, exalted be His glory. Each faction held fast to a cord and clung to a name, busying themselves day and night with cursing and denouncing one another, while counting themselves the most learned, most excellent and most understanding people in the world.
O Majid! For twelve hundred years and more they were occupied with dispute and contention. Each faction cursed the other - some Shi'ih, some Sunni, some Shaykhi, while others counted themselves among the people of the Path and Truth. They were ever engaged in disputation, yet when the Day of God appeared, through a slight test they wrought against the Divine Trust that which caused the very stones to lament and the earth to weep, let alone all other things.
Say: Reflect upon the Shi'ih sect. Until now they have not found rest or peace, and are so aflame with the fire of hatred and animosity that if every atom of creation were given a tongue, or if a hundred tongues were ordained for each, they could not enumerate it. Every discerning one beareth witness to this.
By the Sun of Utterance which shineth from the highest horizon of the world, the lamentation of the pulpits of that land is raised at all times, and in the early days this lamentation was heard in the Land of Ta [Tehran]. For the pulpit was established for the mention of God, exalted be His glory, but now in Iran it hath become the seat of cursing the Goal of all the worlds.
Reflect upon the former party, that is, the party of the Shi'ih. Throughout centuries and ages they spoke in the name of Truth and uttered His praise from pulpits, beseeching from God, glorified be His majesty, in the evening and at dawn, at night and in the morning, to attain His presence and His days. Yet when the appointed time came and the Dawning-Place of verses appeared from the horizon of God's will, glorified be His majesty, the divines of Persia, one and all, occupied themselves with cursing and reviling.
Had the Shiite faction turned even slightly toward the Dayspring of Revelation with their sight and hearing, they would surely have attained unto that for which they were created to know. Glory be to God! Him Whose presence they sought by night and day and Whose remembrance they uttered, they now curse and revile from their pulpits.
Consider the Shi'ih divines throughout the ages - how they cursed one another from the pulpits while uttering "O Qa'im!" night and day. Yet when the world was illumined by the lights of the dawn of His Manifestation, they all arose with swords of hatred and rancor against the Purpose of the world and the Educator of nations.
O Muhammad-Husayn! Reflect upon the Shi'ih party. For one thousand two hundred years they were occupied with the mention of the Truth and were awaiting His days, yet when the blessed Tree grew forth from the holy and pure earth, both learned and ignorant turned against it with their swords and cut it down.
O party of God! Ponder the Shi'ih sect. Through ages and centuries they occupied themselves with mutual execration and denunciation, and when speaking of the Herald, they uttered "may God hasten His relief." Yet when the dawn of hope appeared and the world was illumined by the radiant splendors of the Sun of Oneness, they all arose in opposition until they committed that which caused the denizens of the cities of justice to weep and all things to lament with great lamentation.
Throughout ages and centuries they awaited His appearance, yet when the horizon of the world was illumined with the lights of the Most Great Luminary, all turned away. And the Shi'ih sect, who considered themselves the most exalted of all sects and the most learned, rose up with utmost tyranny against the Divine Lote-Tree and brought about that which caused every seeing one to weep and every person of heart to lament.
Consider the Shi'ih sect and what ye possess. They awaited through nights and days the appearance of the Lord of all beings. Yet when the morn dawned and the light of Revelation shone forth, they advanced toward Him with swords of hatred and rancor. Some denied Him, some objected to Him, and some pronounced judgment to shed His pure and radiant blood.
By God's life! The pebbles of the earth and its seeds, nay all things, lament and bewail the deeds and conduct of the Shi'ih party. They dwell in the pit of misbelief yet count themselves among the people of divine unity. They wander in the wilderness of idle fancy yet consider themselves people of certitude. They slew Him for Whose separation they had lamented a thousand two hundred years.
Throughout ages and centuries they pronounced curses and maledictions against one another from their pulpits, to such extent that the veins of their necks stood out like spears. When the dawn of the Will of the Lord of Oneness broke and the Sun of Truth shed its radiance, all, whether learned or ignorant, arose in the first year against the Lord of all beings, in such wise that the dwellers of the highest Paradise lamented. Finally, that unjust group issued the decree and arose to shed His pure blood, until that which caused the very essence of truth to weep came to pass.
Yet they denied Him and arose in opposition, and finally martyred Him through the verdict of the abominable Shi'ih divines.
The Shi'ih sect committed that which no other sect hath ever committed.
Merely upon mention of the name of one of the people of truth before that group, they immediately issue the verdict of unbelief, plunder and death for that helpless one. By the life of my Purpose and thy Purpose and the Purpose of all who are in the heavens and earth, that misguided and misleading sect - namely the Shi'ih - committed that which neither the Jews, nor the Magians, nor even the idolaters have done the like.
The Shi'ih party counted themselves the greatest of all parties and most learned of all through their affirmation of successorship. Later it became clear that the Jews were and are higher and more excellent than that people, for the Shi'ih party and their divines issued the decree to kill the Lord of the world, while the children of Abraham and inheritors of Moses in the lands of Ha and Mim and certain other regions attained to faith and certitude.
The corruption of this sect is more evident than the sun in the midst of heaven. In the early days, all were occupied with cursing, denouncing and rejection. The heedlessness of these souls reached such a degree that they would mention the Prince of Martyrs from the pulpits and weep, and then curse and denounce the One by Whose word a thousand Husayns sacrificed their lives in the field of martyrdom, and from the pulpit they would hasten towards hell.
They claim to have faith yet deny Him Who did ordain and send it forth, and they weep for Husayn while they slay his children.
The divines of the Shi'ih sect cried out "O Truth!" for years and awaited His appearance, yet when the morn of God's Day dawned and wondrous fruits appeared from the Blessed Tree, all attacked with sword and arrow. Now from all pulpits they revile the Truth, exalted be His glory.
The word spoken aforetime hath been fulfilled: "Most of His enemies shall be the divines." The pride of that party was that they believed in the immediate successor, yet they openly reviled and issued death warrants against Him through Whose word a thousand successors and guardians were created. They have committed that which neither Jews, nor Christians, nor Zoroastrians committed.
He Heareth and Answereth
O Haydar! This Wronged One is in truth despairing of the peoples of the earth, for it has been observed with both outward and inward sight that the people of the Furqan (Muslims), after one thousand two hundred and more years of considering themselves the most learned and most excellent among all the peoples of the world, were all seen on the Day of Reckoning as denizens of hell and returned to the fire. The most learned of that people was seen to be the most ignorant, and the most God-fearing among that people was seen to be the most wretched, for they reviled from their pulpits the Object of the desire of all the worlds, and finally issued the verdict for His death. And some of the opposers of the Bayan witnessed with their own eyes and heard with their own ears the deeds and words of those souls. Nevertheless, because of a false successor and an imaginary name and Imam and the like, they turned away from Him Who spoke on Sinai and the Lord of the unseen and the visible. What more can this Wronged One mention, and to whom shall He speak? Reflect a little on what was mentioned, that thou mayest lament the state of this Wronged One and realize the depths of His despair.
Blessed art thou for having turned towards Him when the peoples of the earth turned away, save whom God willed. Thy letter was received before the Wronged One. We found it adorned with the ornament of steadfastness, speaking in remembrance and praise of God, holding fast to His firm cord, acknowledging that which the Tongue of Grandeur hath acknowledged, and firmly convinced of what God hath revealed in His perspicuous Book. We beseech God to aid thee, grant thee success, and ordain for thee that which will bring joy to thine eyes and solace to thy breast. Verily, He is powerful over all things.
Thou didst mention meeting. Between Me and thee stand ignorant servants who have broken God's covenant and His testament, denied His signs, and rejected His proof, His sovereignty, His might, His strength and His power. We beseech Him, exalted be He, to record for thee the reward of meeting Him. Verily, He is the Almighty, the Powerful, and worthy to answer prayers.
Let not the happenings of the world and the affairs of nations grieve thee. Be steadfast in serving the Cause and speaking forth this momentous News. Say: Praise be unto Thee, O my God, for having given me to drink, from the hands of Thy bounty, the Kawthar of Thy knowledge, and for having enabled me to turn toward Thee when the men of the earth and its learned ones turned away. I beseech Thee to aid me in that which Thou lovest and art pleased with. Verily, Thou art the Ordainer, the Ancient of Days and the Gracious, the Compassionate.
Glory be to God! The Shi'ih party have not had and do not have more than two words of truth, and that is their verbal confession of the Divinity and the Prophetic Mission. For one thousand two hundred years they played at succession, and finally martyred their Master with manifest tyranny. The Most Great Law and God, the Lord of the worlds, have lamented their oppression.
O Masum! We beseech God to illumine His loved ones with the light of true unity. The pride and misbelief of the Shi'ih party deprived them on the Day of Resurrection from the Days of God and His knowledge. They did that which the Jews and Christians did [...] From pulpits they engaged in cursing and reviling the Goal of all the worlds, and thereafter committed that which no oppressor had ever committed.
Observe the deeds of the people of the Furqan, that thou mayest become aware and informed of what was wrought against the All-Merciful. For twelve hundred years or more they were occupied with discourse and study, in the nights and days they clung to the reading of books, beseeching and hoping from God, exalted be His glory, for the days of His manifestation. Yet when the Day-Star of the Cause dawned from the horizon of the Divine Will, all that anticipation and all those books and readings appeared as swords, and there befell the Beloved of the worlds that which caused the rocks to cry out and the clouds to wail....
We said: "He is the one from whom originated the doctrine of the people of the Furqan who call themselves the Shi'ih, and who gave false rulings against God, the One, the Chosen. And he is the one who denied those who said He was in the loins, and pronounced them infidels, and ruled they should be killed, whereat hearts grieved and eyes shed tears.
They have cast the Most Great Book behind their backs and hasten to the mosques as the Jews hasten to their temples at eventide and dawn. Say: The Evil One comprises the divines of the earth who have cast the knowledge of God behind their backs and have been seized by their desires which move them however they wish. They are truly among the people of error in the Book of God, the Lord of destiny.
Now observe that all the lovers are thirsting for that living fountain, and the cry of "Thirst! Thirst!" is raised by all the Shi'ites, but it has no reality, for if it were real they would surely hasten to the shore of the sea of the water of life. They say with their tongues what is not in their hearts.
A call was raised in the wilderness of Hijaz, then it transferred to Shiraz, and from Shiraz it transferred to the Blessed Spot. Now in the wilderness of Batha there is no call, yet a thousand initiates of the Ka'bih raise the cry of "Here am I! Here am I!" and hear no response. Praise be to God, you heard the call before crying "Here am I!" and attained to that which was the purpose of the cherubim.
Notwithstanding these clear texts the Shiites do not believe in the "meeting with God"; but they say in the end of the time so many extraordinary events will transpire that there will remain not a single soul without believing in God. The Sunnites have this tradition: 'Ye shall behold your Lord as you see the moon or the fourteenth night of month.' They believe that the 'meeting of God' is possible, but only in the day of resurrection.
And yet, they wilfully disregard this knowledge and power that have now been manifested from the Blessed Beauty in this Most Great Dispensation.
O beloved of my heart! The heedlessness and pride of the people of the world have deprived them of that which profits them. They were disturbed and distressed by the might of Islam and the power of its kings, and now matters have reached such a pass that every misbeliever has arisen to perpetrate oppression and has brought about whatever he desired.
The Dove of Utterance hath cooed upon the twigs of mystic knowledge: The Kingdom belongeth unto God, the Lord of all worlds. This is a word uttered by the tongue of the Lord of Names after the passing away of all things. He, verily, is the Omnipotent, the Almighty. This is a day wherein the powers have risen against the Islamic Faith, whereby the foundations have been shaken and the people are in manifest loss. They have reaped what they have sown in their vain life, to which every discerning sage doth testify.
In these days, the tyranny of oppressors is evident from all directions. The standard of Islam lieth prostrate upon the earth due to the transgressions of the transgressors, and its throne is shattered.
The standard of Islam hath been reversed and its throne demolished by what the hands of the heedless have wrought - they who broke God's Covenant and Testament and cast aside what was sent down from His mighty and wondrous Kingdom.
Gracious God! Persia is deteriorating day by day as a result of disarray, and now that His Majesty's government has on its own volition and with goodwill resolved to bring some order and direction to the affairs of the country, it behooveth the population and particularly the leaders of the community to express their utmost gratitude to the officials for this lofty impetus.
In brief, the counsels of 'Abdu'l-Baha were in no wise heeded, and the admonition "Cling one and all to the Faith of Allah and let nothing divide you" was rejected, and "We have cast among them enmity and hatred" was fulfilled, and "They added a new tone to the lute" was realized. That is to say the meddling of the shameless people in all affairs took place. These people placed a number of individuals in each party, until the flame of sedition was kindled and blazed sky-high. They provoked the parties against one another...
Those few souls from the shameless party are causing the contamination of the Democratic Party. If it were not for them, such misfortune and calamity would not have befallen the Democratic Party.
See how many disturbances there are now! England has come and has faced the Arabs from the Turkish force. For 600 years the Arabs have been enslaved, and now they are free, their children, their wives, and their property. Now that they are free they say to the English "What are doing here?" We do not want you. Get out of our country. England replied "I have spent my (life) here, much English blood has been shed, I have spent much money. Am I going to leave now? I have freed you from this slavery.
Jihad had an effect at a time when people were devoted to God's Faith, but now that spirit is completely gone. They themselves do not believe what they say. They claim this issue is a global war and jihad must be a matter of national concern. If in truth these people believed in religion, by now the world would have become the Abha paradise. If you offer them a bribe, they would say the exact opposite of what they ruled earlier. No trace of spirit, sincerity, faith, certitude or firmness has remained in Islam. Only mere words have survived."
In these days, the law of Jihad is shorn of much of its spiritual power, because the Mohamadans have become more intelligent and are not easily swept away by a seeming torrent of prejudices. Some, however, think that the Mohamadan world is divested of much of its former Faith and Zeal on account of clerical innovations.
The Egyptian chiefs want to become Wahabbi and promote Wahabbi convictions. Perchance they hope to resist European expansion through wars, violence, confrontations and slaughter. However, they are increasingly powerless and ineffective. … These very designs will cause their own division and demise.
They must first understand what brought about the progress of Islam and then follow suit. Their goals will not be achieved through political methods or nationalistic sentiments, especially when they are imitating others.
Many souls fell into this way of thinking and were entirely effaced. The Fatimid Caliphate labored for two hundred years without result.
… Those who follow the Wahhabi path imagine that since they are militant, Islam will spread through this means. This is a vain imagination. Islam must advance through the power of God's Cause, for this is the same Muhammadan Reality.
This power has gone out of the body of Islam. The Islamic world cannot grasp the political principles of the modern time and is devoid of the spiritual potency.
To the travelers, even today is pointed out this historical well and it is the religious duty of each Pilgrim going to Mecca annually to throw on that exact spot five stones which by this time it has become almost a hill.
Glory be to God! Have they not witnessed the fruits of the deeds of the Shi'ih sect and have they not understood that they are once again clinging to the ways of that party?
The Shi'ih sect was considered the most exalted of religions, yet it became manifest as the lowest and most abject of all parties. Some followers of the Bayan who are deprived of the rays of the Sun of Truth and barred from the ocean of knowledge walk in the footsteps of that people.
Consider the Shi'ih sect. For years they considered themselves the best of creation, yet with the slightest test it became evident they were the basest of servants, as evidenced by their martyrdom of the Bab. Now too the deniers among the Bayan cling to the same vain imaginings. Whatever fruit the Shi'ih sect reaped from the tree of their deeds, these souls shall reap as well. You must, with the utmost joy and fragrance, remind the people and guide them to the highest horizon.
For twelve hundred years and more that vile party, namely the Shi'ih idolators of vain imaginings, were the most lost among all the peoples of the world, as was clearly and evidently manifested on the Day of Resurrection through the fruits of their deeds. Such tyranny was perpetrated by that group that the realities of the Prophets and the chosen ones, the Concourse on High, the dwellers of the Supreme Paradise, and the Tablet and the Pen, all lamented and wept. Now again certain vile and heedless souls have arisen to promote these same vain imaginings. May God, exalted be His glory, protect all.
Recently the Shi'ih sect hath been renewed. A people like that people -- may God forsake them -- have appeared. The same names as before have come forth. Thou hast seen the fruits of the Shi'ihs' deeds and that station which He declareth to be sanctified above the mention, utterance and understanding of the people of the earthly realm and the Kingdom. They have abandoned Him and occupied themselves with vain imaginings.
The Shi'ih sect doth each day reveal its unbelief and hypocrisy before all the peoples of the earth, that the loss of those new souls who have lately arisen to revive this sect might become evident unto all the world.
Strange it is that the people of the Bayan are still not awakened by what hath come to pass. They remain occupied anew with mention of Imam, successor, mirror and the like. The knowledge and mysticism of the past culminated in the Fourth Pillar. The purpose of this mention is clear and evident to them.
Glory be to God! That party which clung to the true Ali put to death its Creator, Manifestation and Source on the Day of His appearance. Now what will these souls who cling to the false Ali do, and what excellence will they manifest? It behooveth those possessed of insight to weep and lament, for they have sullied the Day of God with their own delusions.
Thus did a certain person meet this servant in the marketplace and said he wished to meet with me for an hour, on the condition that no one else be present. This servant had never seen him before. I said "Very well." A time was set and he came. Various matters were discussed and it became clear that he had dealings with that one who associated partners with God. He mentioned, "I have been told you are of the Shi'ih." At this point such laughter overcame this servant that all self-control was lost. That person was astonished and asked the reason for the laughter. I said: "O helpless one! Your Shi'ih who are scattered throughout Iran like pebbles - what station have they achieved, or what rank have they held with God, that you now wish to follow in the footsteps of those rejected delusions? Have you not seen that they were all false and in clear error, such that they martyred the exalted Truth with their own hands? Lo! The curse of God be upon the wrongdoing people!"
After that supreme martyrdom which caused earth and heaven to weep, that faithless one occupied himself with women, holding feasts each day and entering bridal chambers. He wrote seven letters to seven martyrs, requesting from each a virgin, and when his purpose was not achieved, he grew bold and impudent, laying hands on the chaste Mother of the Believers, taking as wife the second consort of the Exalted One despite the explicit prohibition in the Book, and not satisfied with that, after a few days gave her to the rejected Siyyid Muhammad.
Like in Islam, they will create an outward and inward aspect, and will claim there are outer and inner meanings, and through such pretexts will cause division and discord among the Baha'is.
For years they deceived and misguided the people with tales of Jabulqa and Jabulsa and the Holy Land. Now they reflect not in the least upon what the Shi'ih sect hath gained, or what fruit their beliefs have yielded. By the life of God! Their portion hath been and shall be the flames, and ere long they shall find themselves consigned thereto. The barking ones from every corner are engaged in their clamor. Of late they have mounted the pulpit, determined to spend yet another thousand and two hundred years inviting the helpless people to a woeful destiny through mention of vicegerent and guardian, chiefs and nobles....
Be thankful and say: Praise be to Thee, O God of the worlds, and glory be to Thee, O Desire of them that have recognized Thee. With white and green turbans they rush through cities and regions, never failing to lead people astray. They are occupied with building false cities and regions, and they intend to construct a district as well. Convey My greetings to the friends and say: Today is the day of steadfastness. Beware lest, like the Shi'ih sect, you be deprived of the ocean of bounty and the river of mercy through the deception of the turban-wearers.
The Great Announcement proclaimeth: O people of God! Do not afflict yourselves as did the party of the Shi'ih, and deprive not yourselves of the light of the Sun of true divine unity.
Reflect upon the words and deeds of the Shi'ihs, and ponder their outcome and fruit on the Day of Resurrection. Then will become evident to thee the loss of those who turned away from God, broke His Covenant, and disputed His verses.
The people are seen to be so heedless that one is astonished. If one veil is rent asunder, they are found to be afflicted with another veil greater than the first. For twelve hundred years and more, the well-known sect was occupied with calumny, slander and the like. At the time of the test, it became clear and evident to every person of insight that that rebellious and transgressing sect was the party of Satan, not the hosts of the All-Merciful.
Arise, through the power and might of God, to serve the Cause. The world passeth away, but that which is with God endureth. From the beginning of Islam until this hour, not one among the divines hath been truly aware of the manner of His Revelation, and among the party of the Shi'ah there hath been naught but cursing and abuse.
Say: O people! The veils of idle fancy have been torn away; the heaven of impiety hath been cleft asunder; and God hath come down upon the cloud of holiness, surrounded by a host of angels.
O Muhammad, praise be to the Lord of the worlds Who purified thee from the Shi'ih sect and what they possess with the water of the Bayan of His chosen ones, and guided thee to His Most Holy Court.
And We make mention of the loved ones there who have cast behind them the Shi'ite faction, holding fast to that which God loveth and is pleased with.
In this manner those early pioneers worked for the then pure, democratic religion of Islam, but now it is enveloped with heavy and gross incrustations of dogmas and dead rites. Only the Baha'i revelation will purify and cleanse it from these accumulated debris of past generations.
It has become clear that there is no hope for Iran except through the diffusion of the fragrances of the All-Merciful. You must beseech God that the luminosity of His Cause may illuminate that clime....
At present their social and intellectual lives are in a chaotic condition and on the verge of disintegration. They can save what is left to them through the proclamation of Universal Peace.
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
All religions of the present day have fallen into superstitious practices, out of hamony alike with the true principles of the teaching they represent and with the scientific discoveries of the time. Many religious leaders have grown to think that the importance of religion lies mainly in the adherence to a collection of certain dogmas and the practice of rites and ceremonies! Those whose souls they profess to cure are taught to believe likewise, and these cling tenaciously to the outward forms, confusing them with the inward truth. Now, these forms and rituals differ in the various churches and amongst the different sects, and even contradict one another; giving rise to discord, hatred, and disunion. … But the religion which does not walk hand in hand with science is itself in the darkness of superstition and ignorance.
Such institutions as have strayed far from the spirit and teachings of Jesus Christ must of necessity, as the embryonic World Order of Baha'u'llah takes shape and unfolds, recede into the background, and make way for the progress of the divinely-ordained institutions that stand inextricably interwoven with His teachings. The indwelling Spirit of God which, in the Apostolic Age of the Church, animated its members, the pristine purity of its teachings, the primitive brilliancy of its light, will, no doubt, be reborn and revived as the inevitable consequence of this redefinition of its fundamental verities, and the clarification of its original purpose.
Even though the Baha'i Youth should feel with the condition in which they see their non-Baha'i friends and not indict them for it, they should not let themselves be carried by the wave of world events as they are being carried. Whereas they see before them only a world that is crumbling down we are also seeing a new world being built up. Whereas they experience the destruction of old institutions that commanded their respect, we are beholding the dawn of a new era with its strict commands and new social bonds. Their materialistic outlook shows them the futility of all things while our faith in a regenerated and spiritualized man makes us look to the future and build for it. To make them follow our ways we should sympathize with their plight but should not follow their ways. We should take our stand on a higher plane of moral and spiritual life and, setting for them the true example, urge them up to our level.
For thought and discussion