The dual institutions of the Baha'i Administrative Order

This is a slight rewrite of a comment reply I wrote on Reddit, in a discussion about what Baha'is are to believe.

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The Universal House of Justice is the undoubted authority for all Baha'is. However, the House of Justice does not provide authorized interpretation of the Writings! That is and will ever remain the sphere of the Guardianship and of Abdu'l-Baha, until the coming of the next Manifestation :

“Referring to both the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice we read these emphatic words: "The sacred and youthful Branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God, as well as the Universal House of Justice to be universally elected and established, are both under the care and protection of the Abhá Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of the Exalted One (the Báb) (may my life be offered up for them both). Whatsoever they decide is of God."

From these statements 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 judgment on such laws and ordinances as Bahá'u'lláh has not expressly revealed. 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.”

— Shoghi Effendi, World Order of Bahá’u’lláh

"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, and the Universal House of Justice is empowered to abrogate or amend its own legislation whenever it judges the conditions make this desirable."

— Letter from the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer titled "Teaching versus Proselytizing", January 03 1982

This teaching of the distinction of the spheres of authority of the House of Justice and the Guardianship is not a mere technicality. It is at the very core of the Baha'i Covenant and foundations for our beliefs as Baha'is. It is an extraordinary novel advance of differentiation and maturity in religious governance with deep implications in the very meaning of how we are to understand this Revelation.

On a Winter's Day

Shoghi Effendi on reading Shoghi Effendi

Provided without commentary:



"Although the secretaries of the Guardian convey his thoughts and instructions and these messages are authoritative, their words are in no sense the same as his, their style certainly not the same, and their authority less, for they use their own terms and not his exact words in conveying his messages."

- Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 25 February 1951 to the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles



"As regards Shoghi Effendi's letters to the individual Bahá'ís, he is always very careful not to contradict himself. He has also said that whenever he has something of importance to say, he invariably communicates it to the National Spiritual Assembly or in his general letters. His personal letters to individual friends are only for their personal benefit and even though he does not want to forbid their publication, he does not wish them to be used too much by the Bahá'í News."

- Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Extracts from the USBN



"The infallibility of the Guardian is confined to matters which are related strictly to the Cause and interpretations of the Teachings; he is not an infallible authority on other subjects, such as economics, science, etc."

- Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual, 17 October 1944



"The Guardian's infallibility covers interpretation of the Revealed Word and its application. Likewise any instructions he may issue having to do with the protection of the Faith, or its well being must be closely obeyed, as he is infallible in the protection of the Faith. He is assured the guidance of both Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb, as the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá clearly reveals."

- Letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, 20 August 1956

Native American Manifestations of God

 We do not have any specific references to the American prophets and Manifestations in our scriptures. But as a general principle, the Qur'an and the Babi and Baha'i Writings make it very clear that prophets were sent to all the peoples of the Earth:

"...there never was a people to whom a prophet was not sent."

- Qur'an 35:24

Now we cannot, of course, add any names to the officially-recognized list of Baha'i Manifestations (the door of adding official doctrine and interpretation to the Faith closed with the passing of the Guardian in 1957). But as individual Baha'is, we are certainly free to believe that the great prophets of the Americas, like Deganawida, were in fact Manifestations sent to the native peoples of this continent. This is my own personal view, and that of many Baha'is I have read and spoken with.

Pilgrim's Notes, continued

Regarding my previous post about pilgrim's notes, I thought it would be useful to list some Baha'i books from the Bab, Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha which are available in English translation and their status either as Baha'i scripture or as pilgrim's notes.

Canonical:

Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah
Prayers and Meditations
Kitab-i-Iqan
Kitab-i-Aqdas
Epistle to the son of the wolf
Hidden Words
Seven Valleys
Summons of the Lord of Hosts
Tablets of Baha'u'llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas
Tabernacle of Unity
Gems of Divine Mysteries
Selections from the Writings of the Bab
Selections from the Writings of  'Abdu'l-Baha
Tablets of  'Abdu'l-Baha Abbas (volumes 1-3)
Some Answered Questions (these are talks of  'Abdu'l-Baha, but have Persian notes checked by Him)
Memorials of the Faithful (these are talks of  'Abdu'l-Baha, but have Persian notes checked by Him)
Secret of Divine Civilization
Tablet to August Forel
Tablets of the Divine Plan
A Traveller's Narrative
Will and Testament of  'Abdu'l-Baha

Pilgrim's Notes:

'Abdu'l-Baha in London
Paris Talks
Promulgation of Universal Peace
Foundations of World Unity
Baha'i World Faith

Note that there are hundreds of additional documents written by and attributed to the Central Figures of the Faith, some of which are canonical and some of which are pilgrim's notes. I have only attempted to categorize the ones most widely published, read and distributed.

Sandhills Autumn

A reminder about Pilgrim's Notes

A reminder about Pilgrim's notes - they are quite fascinating, often inspiring and beautiful, some might even be completely accurate, but they do not and never can constitute Baha'i belief:


From: Compilation on Pilgrim's Notes

"Thou has written concerning the pilgrims and pilgrims' notes. Any narrative that is not authenticated by a Text should not be trusted. Narratives, even if true, cause confusion. For the people of Bahá, the Text, and only the Text, is authentic."

     - Abdu'l- Bahá: from a previously untranslated Tablet


"The instructions of the Master and the Guardian make it very clear that Pilgrims' notes are hearsay and cannot claim the authority and binding power of the Sacred Text.... Moreover, the fact that the pilgrim writing of his experience is a reliable or well-known believer, or that the reported statement seems to be repeated in the notes of several pilgrims, does not in itself confer authority upon the pilgrim's note in question."

     - From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, January 23, 1980


"According to the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh no authority can be attached to a mere hearsay, no matter through whom it may come. The Tablets that bear the seal or signature of Bahá'u'lláh and the Master are the only parts of the literature that have any authority and that constitute the basis of our belief. All other forms of literature may bear points of interest but they cannot be considered as authentic.."

     - From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, November 18, 1931