To an individual Bahá'í
Dear Bahá'í friend,
Your recent letter, in which you share with us the questions
that have occurred to some of the youth in studying "The Dispensation of
Bahá'u'lláh," has been carefully considered, and we feel that we should comment
both on the particular passage you mention and on a related passage in the same
work, because both bear on the relationship between the Guardianship and the
Universal House of Justice.
The first passage concerns the Guardian's duty to insist
upon a reconsideration by his fellow members in the Universal House of Justice
of any enactment which he believes conflicts with the meaning and departs from
the spirit of the Sacred Writings. The second passage concerns the
infallibility of the Universal House of Justice without the Guardian, namely
Shoghi Effendi's statement that "Without such an institution [the
Guardianship] ... the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the
legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally withdrawn."
Some of the youth, you indicate, were puzzled as to how to
reconcile the former of these two passages with such statements as that in the
Will of 'Abdu'l-Bahá which affirms that the Universal House of Justice is
"freed from all error." Seeking the Writings' unity of meaning
Just as the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá does not in
any way contradict the Kitáb-i-Aqdas but, in the Guardian's words,
"confirms, supplements, and correlates the provisions of the Aqdas,"
so the writings of the Guardian contradict neither the revealed Word nor the
interpretations of the Master. In attempting to understand the Writings,
therefore, one must first realize that there is and can be no real
contradiction in them, and in the light of this we can confidently seek the
unity of meaning which they contain.
The Guardian and the Universal House of Justice have certain
duties and functions in common; each also operates within a separate and
distinct sphere. As Shoghi Effendi explained, "... it is made indubitably
clear and evident that the Guardian of the Faith has been made the Interpreter
of the Word and that the Universal House of Justice has been invested with the
function of legislating on matters not expressly revealed in the teachings. The
interpretation of the Guardian, functioning within his own sphere, is as
authoritative and binding as the enactments of the International House of
Justice, whose exclusive right and prerogative is to pronounce upon and deliver
the final judgement on such laws and ordinances as Bahá'u'lláh has not
expressly revealed." He goes on to affirm, "Neither can, nor will
ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other. Neither will
seek to curtail the specific and undoubted authority with which both have been
divinely invested." It is impossible to conceive that two centres of
authority, which the Master has stated "are both under the care and
protection of the Abha Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of His
Holiness, the Exalted One, could conflict with one another, because both are
vehicles of the same Divine Guidance.
The Universal House of Justice, beyond its function as the
enactor of legislation, has been invested with the more general functions of
protecting and administering the Cause, solving obscure questions and deciding
upon matters that have caused difference. Nowhere is it stated that the
infallibility of the Universal House of Justice is by virtue of the Guardian's
membership or presence on that body. Indeed, 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and
Shoghi Effendi in his "Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh" have both
explicitly stated that the elected members of the Universal House of Justice in
consultation are recipients of unfailing Divine Guidance. Furthermore the
Guardian himself in The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh asserted that "It must
be also clearly understood by every believer that the institution of
Guardianship does not under any circumstances abrogate, or even in the
slightest degree detract from, the powers granted to the Universal House of
Justice by Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, and repeatedly and solemnly
confirmed by 'Abdu'l-Baha in His Will. It does not constitute in any manner a
contradiction to the Will and Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, nor does it nullify any
of His revealed instructions."
While the specific responsibility of the Guardian is the
interpretation of the Word, he is also invested with all the powers and
prerogatives necessary to discharge his function as Guardian of the Cause, its
Head and supreme protector. He is, furthermore, made the irremovable head and
member for life of the supreme legislative body of the Faith. It is as the head
of the Universal House of Justice, and as a member of that body, that the
Guardian takes part in the process of legislation. If the following passage,
which gave rise to your query, is considered as referring to this last
relationship, you will see that there is no contradiction between it and the
other texts: "Though the Guardian of the Faith has been made the permanent
head of so august a body he can never, even temporarily, assume the right of
exclusive legislation. He cannot override the decision of the majority of his
fellow members, but is bound to insist upon a reconsideration by them of any
enactment he conscientiously believes to conflict with the meaning and to
depart from the spirit of Bahá'u'lláh revealed utterances."
Although the Guardian, in relation to his fellow members
within the Universal House of Justice, cannot override the decision of the
majority, it is inconceivable that the other members would ignore any objection
he raised in the course of consultation or pass legislation contrary to what he
expressed as being in harmony with the spirit of the Cause. It is, after all,
the final act of judgement delivered by the Universal House of Justice that is
vouchsafed infallibility, not any views expressed in the course of the process
of enactment.
It can be seen, therefore, that there is no conflict between
the Master's statements concerning the unfailing divine guidance conferred upon
the Universal House of Justice and the above passage from "The
Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh."
It may help the friends to understand this relationship if
they are aware of some of the processes that the Universal House of Justice
follows when legislating. First, of course, it observes the greatest care in
studying the Sacred Texts and the interpretations of the Guardian as well as
considering the views of all the members. After long consultation the process
of drafting a pronouncement is put into effect. During this process the whole
matter may well be reconsidered. As a result of such reconsideration the final
judgement may be significantly different from the conclusion earlier favoured,
or possibly it may be decided not to legislate at all on that subject at that
time. One can understand how great would be the attention paid to the views of
the Guardian during the above process were he alive.
In considering the second passage we must once more hold
fast to the principle that the teachings do not contradict themselves.
Future Guardians are clearly envisaged and referred to in
the Writings, but there is nowhere any promise or guarantee that the line of
Guardians would endure forever; on the contrary there are clear indications
that the line could be broken. Yet, in spite of this, there is a repeated
insistence in the Writings on the indestructibility of the Covenant and the
immutability of God's Purpose for this Day.
One of the most striking passages which envisage the
possibility of such a break in the line of Guardians is in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
itself: “The endowments dedicated to charity revert to God, the Revealer of
Signs. No one has the right to lay hold on them without leave from the
Dawning-Place of Revelation. After Him the decision rests with the Aghsan
[Branches], [1] and after them with the House of Justice -- should it be
established in the world by then -- so that they may use these endowments for
the benefit of the Sites exalted in this Cause, and for that which they have
been commanded by God, the Almighty, the All-Powerful. Otherwise the endowments
should be referred to the people of Baha, who speak not without His leave and
who pass no judgement but in accordance with that which God has ordained in
this Tablet, they who are the champions of victory betwixt heaven and earth, so
that they may spend them on that which has been decreed in the Holy Book by
God, the Mighty, the Bountiful.”
The passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957 precipitated the very
situation provided for in this passage, in that the line of Aghsan ended before
the House of Justice had been elected. Although, as is seen, the ending of the
line of Aghsan at some stage was provided for, we must never underestimate the
grievous loss that the Faith has suffered. God's purpose for mankind remains
unchanged, however, and the mighty Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh remains impregnable.
Has not Bahá'u'lláh stated categorically, "The Hand of Omnipotence hath
established His Revelation upon an unassailable, an enduring foundation."
While 'Abdu'l-Bahá confirms: "Verily, God effecteth that which He
pleaseth; naught can annul His Covenant; naught can obstruct His favour nor
oppose His Cause!" "Everything is subject to corruption; but the
Covenant of thy Lord shall continue to pervade all regions." "The
tests of every dispensation are in direct proportion to the greatness of the
Cause, and as heretofore such a manifest Covenant, written by the Supreme Pen,
hath not been entered upon, the tests are proportionately severe. ... These
agitations of the violators are no more than the foam of the ocean, ... This
foam of the ocean shall not endure and shall soon disperse and vanish, while
the ocean of the Covenant shall eternally surge and roar." And Shoghi
Effendi has clearly stated: "The bedrock on which this Administrative
Order is founded is God's immutable Purpose for mankind in this day."
"... this priceless gem of Divine Revelation, now still in its embryonic
state, shall evolve within the shell of His law, and shall forge ahead,
undivided and unimpaired, till it embraces the whole of mankind."
In the Bahá'í Faith there are two authoritative centres
appointed to which the believers must turn, for in reality the Interpreter of
the Word is an extension of that centre which is the Word itself. The Book is
the record of the utterance of Bahá'u'lláh, 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 centre 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. This pattern of
centres and their relationships is apparent at every stage in the unfoldment of
the Cause. In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Bahá'u'lláh tells the believers to refer after
His passing to the Book, and to "Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath
branched from this Ancient Root." In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (the Book of
Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant), He makes it clear that this reference is to
'Abdu'l-Bahá. In the Aqdas Bahá'u'lláh also ordains the institution of the
Universal House of Justice, and confers upon it the powers necessary for it to
discharge its ordained functions. The Master in His Will and Testament
explicitly institutes the Guardianship, which Shoghi Effendi states was clearly
anticipated in the verses of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, reaffirms and elucidates the
authority of the Universal House of Justice, and refers the believers once
again to the Book: "Unto the Most Holy Book everyone must turn, and all
that is not expressly recorded therein must be referred to the Universal House
of Justice," and at the very end of the Will He says: "All must seek
guidance and turn unto the Centre of the Cause and the House of Justice. And he
that turneth unto whatsoever else is indeed in grievous error."
As the sphere of jurisdiction of the Universal House of
Justice in matters of legislation extends to whatever is not explicitly
revealed in the Sacred Text, it is clear that the Book itself is the highest
authority and delimits the sphere of action of the House of Justice. Likewise,
the Interpreter of the Book must also have the authority to define the sphere
of the legislative action of the elected representatives of the Cause. The
writings of the Guardian and the advice given by him over the thirty-six years
of his Guardianship show the way in which he exercised this function in
relation to the Universal House of Justice as well as to National and Local
Spiritual Assemblies.
The fact that the Guardian has the authority to define the
sphere of the legislative action of the Universal House of Justice does not
carry with it the corollary that without such guidance the Universal House of
Justice might stray beyond the limits of its proper authority; such a deduction
would conflict with all the other texts referring to its infallibility, and
specifically with the Guardian's own clear assertion that the Universal House
of Justice never can or will infringe on the sacred and prescribed domain of
the Guardianship. It should be remembered, however, that although National and
Local Spiritual Assemblies can receive divine guidance if they consult in the
manner and spirit described by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, they do not share in the explicit
guarantees of infallibility conferred upon the Universal House of Justice. Any
careful student of the Cause can see with what care the Guardian, after the
passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, guided these elected representatives of the believers
in the painstaking erection of the Administrative Order and in the formulation
of Local and National Bahá'í Constitutions.
We hope that these elucidations will assist the friends in
understanding these relationships more clearly, but we must all remember, that
we stand too close to the beginnings of the System ordained by Bahá'u'lláh to
be able fully to understand its potentialities or the interrelationships of its
component parts. As Shoghi Effendi's secretary wrote on his behalf to an
individual believer on 25 March 1930, "The contents of the Will of the
Master are far too much for the present generation to comprehend. It needs at least
a century of actual working before the treasures of wisdom hidden in it can be
revealed.
With loving Bahá'í greetings,
The Universal House of Justice
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963 to
1986’)
[1] ‘Branches’ denotes the sons and male descendants of
Bahá'u'lláh.