(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Hikmat (Tablet of Wisdom), 1292? [1875-1876], to Mulla Muhammad Qa'ini (Nabil-i-Akbar) -- BH00223)
Interpretation and legislation: the twin pillars
Twin pillars; interpretation and legislation
Editorial introduction
Abase not the learned, Bahá’u’lláh warns, and belittle not the rulers who administer justice; they are His trustees. From that respect grows the architecture of the Bahá’í Covenant, in which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá places the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice alike under the unerring protection of God and declares that whatever they decide is of God. The two functions are kept carefully apart. Authoritative interpretation, the Guardian’s domain, states what the revealed Word means and cannot be amended; legislation, the House of Justice’s domain, says what must be done in cases the Book leaves open, and its elucidations may be revised by the House itself. Beside that distinction stands another, between the corporate decisions of elected bodies and the individual service of the learned, the Hands, Counsellors and teachers. The apostles and elders in Acts, weighing testimony and scripture to settle what Gentile believers owed [1], show an earlier community facing the same need to answer new questions faithfully, in a very different institutional setting. The path leads on to the House of Justice and to Shoghi Effendi and the Guardianship.
Selected passages
(Bahá’u’lláh, Kitab-i-'Ahd (Book of the Covenant) -- BH00003)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Alvah-i-Visaya (Will and Testament), 1922-Jan-03 [date of unsealing] -- AB00001)
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
In the Baha'i Faith there are two authoritative centers appointed to which the believers must turn, for in reality the Interpreter of the Word is an extension of that center which is the Word itself. The Book is the record of the utterance of Baha'u'llah, while the divinely inspired Interpreter is the living Mouth of that Book -- it is he and he alone who can authoritatively state what the Book means. Thus one center is the Book with its Interpreter, and the other is the Universal House of Justice guided by God to decide on whatever is not explicitly revealed in the Book.
M63-86 75.15 (7 Dec. 1969 from the Universal House of Justice), Ruhi8.1.11
It must always be remembered that authoritative interpretation of the Teachings was, after 'Abdu'l-Baha, the exclusive right of the Guardian, and fell within the "sacred and prescribed domain" of the Guardianship, and therefore the Universal House of Justice cannot and will not infringe upon that domain. The exclusive sphere of the Universal House of Justice is to "pronounce upon and deliver the final judgment on such laws and ordinances as Baha'u'llah has not expressly revealed".
LG#1051 (22 Aug. 1977 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice)
The legislation enacted by the Universal House of Justice is different from interpretation. Authoritative interpretation, as uttered by 'Abdu'l-Baha and the Guardian, is a divinely guided statement of what the Word of God means. The divinely inspired legislation of the Universal House of Justice does not attempt to say what the revealed Word means--it states what must be done in cases where the revealed Text or its authoritative interpretation is not explicit. It is, therefore, on quite a different level from the Sacred Text...
M63-86 308.17 (3 Jan. 1982 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice)
The elucidations of the Universal House of Justice stem from its legislative function, while the interpretations of the Guardian represent the true intent inherent in the Sacred Texts. The major distinction between the two functions is that legislation with its resultant outcome of elucidation is susceptible of amendment by the House of Justice itself, whereas the Guardian's interpretation is a statement of truth which cannot be varied.
M63-86 412.4 (25 Oct. 1984 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice)
In its letter of 9 March 1965, the House of Justice has stated: "There is a profound difference between the interpretations of the Guardian and the elucidations of the House of Justice in exercise of its function to deliberate upon all problems which have caused difference, questions that are obscure, and matters that are not expressly recorded in the Book." The friends will come to understand what this difference is by observing how the House of Justice functions and by turning to it for explanations when necessary.
(3 Jun. 1997 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice)
They have also, in unequivocal and emphatic language, appointed those twin institutions of the House of Justice and of the Guardianship as their chosen Successors, destined to apply the principles, promulgate the laws, protect the institutions, adapt loyally and intelligently the Faith to the requirements of progressive society, and consummate the incorruptible inheritance which the Founders of the Faith have bequeathed to the world.
WOB.020, M63-86 23.17a (21 Mar. 1930)
In His Will and Testament 'Abdu'l-Baha conferred the mantle of Guardian of the Cause and infallible Interpreter of its teachings upon His eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, and confirmed the authority and guarantee of divine guidance decreed by Baha'u'llah for the Universal House of Justice on all matters "which have not outwardly been revealed in the Book". The Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice can thus be seen to be, in the words of Shoghi Effendi, the "Twin Successors" of Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha. They are the supreme institutions of the Administrative Order which was founded and anticipated in the Kitab-i-Aqdas and elaborated by 'Abdu'l-Baha in His Will.
(The Universal House of Justice, introduction to the Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 3)
The Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice can thus be seen to be, in the words of Shoghi Effendi, the "Twin Successors" of Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha. They are the supreme institutions of the Administrative Order which was founded and anticipated in the Kitab-i-Aqdas and elaborated by 'Abdu'l-Baha in His Will.
(The Universal House of Justice, introduction to the Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 3)
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme institution of an Administrative Order whose salient features, whose authority and whose principles of operation are clearly enunciated in the Sacred Writings of the Baha'i Faith and their authorized interpretations. This Administrative Order consists, on the one hand, of a series of elected councils, universal, secondary and local, in which are vested legislative, executive and judicial powers over the Baha'i community and, on the other, of eminent and devoted believers appointed for the specific purposes of protecting and propagating the Faith of Baha'u'llah under the guidance of the Head of that Faith.
CUHJ.08
...the beloved Guardian wrote on 4 Nov. 1931: 'In this holy cycle the 'learned' are, on the one hand, the Hands of the Cause of God, and, on the other, the teachers and diffusers of His teachings who do not rank as Hands, but who have attained an eminent position in the teaching work. As to the 'rulers' they refer to the members of the Local, National and International House of Justice. … "The Hands of the Cause of God, the Counsellors and the members of the Auxiliary Boards fall within the definition of the 'learned' given by the beloved Guardian. Thus they are intimately interrelated and it is not incorrect to refer to the three ranks collectively as one institution.
LG#1078, M63-86 111.3-5 (24 Apr. 1972 from the Universal House of Justice)
We have noted that the Hands, the Counsellors and the Auxiliary Boards are sometimes referred to by the friends as the "appointive arm" of the Administrative Order in contradistinction to the Universal House of Justice and the National and Local Assemblies which constitute the "elective arm."... A more striking distinction is that whereas the "rulers" in the Cause function as corporate bodies, the "learned" operate primarily as individuals.
M63-86 111.11 (24 Apr. 1972 from the Universal House of Justice)
Continue exploring
For thought and discussion
Questions to carry forward
- How does the distinction between interpretation and legislation make room for both continuity and change?
- What might be lost if elucidation, interpretation, and personal understanding were treated as interchangeable?
- How can corporate decision-making and individual learning strengthen one another while retaining their different responsibilities?
- What further questions about authority arise when this compilation is read alongside the critique of priestcraft?