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The Kitab-i-Aqdas: Five Paper Exploring the Most Holy Book, Vol. 2

The Kitab-i-Aqdas: Five Paper Exploring the Most Holy Book, Vol. 2

Profile image of Graham HassallGraham Hassall

In 1994 the Australian Association for Baha'i Studies convened a conference in Sydney on the Kitab-i-Aqdas. The papers were published in two slim volumes, of which this is the second. "Huququ'llah: the Socio-Economic and Spiritual Law of the Kltab-1-Aqdas" by Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Ali-Muhammad Varqa is an add in. Papers presented were by Dr. Sirus Naraqi; "The concept of liberty In the Baha'i Faith" and "The concept of Justice In the Baha'i Faith" by Dr. Houshang Khazrai; and "Reflections on the Baha'i parallels to the Sunnah and ljtlhad In Islam" by Afshin A-Khavari. I think I edited the book - I can't remember. am not claiming authorship of this work, only editorship, which academia.edu doesn't offer as a category

Related Papers

Peter Smith, An Introduction to the Baha´i Faith (2008).

Sergio Carro Martín

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Symbol and Secret: Qur’an Commentary in Baha’u’llah’s Kitab-i Iqan. Los Angeles: Kalimat Press

Symbol & Secret: Qur’an Commentary in Baha’u’llah’s Kitab-i Iqan (1995/2004)

1995 •

Christopher Buck

Buck, Christopher. Symbol and Secret: Qur’an Commentary in Baha’u’llah’s Kitab-i Iqan. Los Angeles: Kalimat Press, 2004. ISBN-13: 978-0933770805. ISBN-10: 0933770804. (“Christopher Buck’s book represents the first book-length attempt in the English language to analyse one of the major works of Bahā’u’llāh.”) Reviews • Moojan Momen. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Third Series) 7.2 (July 1997): 290–291. “Christopher Buck’s book represents the first book-length attempt in the English language to analyse one of the major works of Bahā’u’llāh.” • Frank Lewis. Baha'i Studies Review 6 (1996): 76–91 [16 pp.]. “Simply brilliant. Symbol and Secret is a ground-breaking study, setting a standard for and describing the agenda of the exegesis of Bahai texts for some time to come.” • Jonah Winters. Iranian Studies 32.1 (Winter 1999): 141–145. “The first extended analysis of the Islamic context and content of Baha'u'llah’s thought and writing. … Frankly brilliant.” • John Hatcher. Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Bulletin 30.1 (July 1996): 70–71. “Buck offers insightful analysis of Baha’u’llah’s exegetical technique.” • Jonah Winters. Journal of Baha’i Studies 9.3 (September 1999): 69–75.

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Bahá’í Faith: The Basics

Bahá’í Faith: The Basics (Routledge, 2021) Preview

2021 •

Christopher Buck

Released by publisher online: eBook Preview PDF (front matter, Chapter 1, and References), https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780429023088 Baha’i Faith: The Basics By: Christopher Buck Edition: 1st Edition First Published: 2021 eBook Published: 27 November 2020 Pub. location: London Imprint: Routledge DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429023088 Pages: 262 pages eBook: ISBN9780429023088 Subjects: Humanities Bahá’í Faith: The Basics provides a thorough and accessible introduction to a fascinating, independent world religion. Examining its historical development, current “community-building” efforts and the social contributions of the Bahá’í Faith in the world today, this introduction covers: • Beliefs: Bahá’í spiritual teachings. • Principles: Bahá’í social teachings. • History: Bahá’u’lláh and his covenant. • Scripture: Bahá’í sacred texts and inspired guidance. • Institutions: The Bahá’í Administrative Order. • Building community: What Bahá’ís do. • Social action: Bahá’í social and economic development projects. • Public discourse: The Bahá’í International Community. • Vision: Foundations for a future golden age. With features including a glossary of terms, and references to the Bahá’í writings throughout, this is the ideal text for students and interested readers wanting to familiarize themselves with the Bahá’í Faith. Reviews "This excellent, beautifully organized introduction provides an accurate and unusually rich entré into a relatively new and still somehow frequently misunderstood religion. The author, Christopher Buck, is a leading scholar of the Baha'i religion. His book is richly enhanced with quotations from official translations of the Baha'i sacred writings, insights into the formation of distinctive Baha'i institutions and rare glimpses of key moments in Baha'i intellectual history from an introduction to the influential African-American Baha'i philosopher, Alain Locke (d. 1954) known as 'the father of the Harlem Renaissance', to a discussion of the more recent development of the Ruhi Institute process. This introduction goes beyond existing textbooks in both scope and detail. It will be warmly welcomed by researchers and students of the Baha'i Faith." Todd Lawson, University of Toronto, Canada Christopher Buck is an independent scholar and former professor at Michigan State University, USA; Quincy University, USA; Millikin University, USA; and Carleton University, Canada.

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“Baha’i: History, Beliefs, Practices” and “Baha’i: Theological Exchanges, Current Issues” (2014)

Christopher Buck

THE "BAHA'I FAITH": A "WORLD RELIGION"? — OR A "NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT"? A Case of Changing Classifications The Publication: Christopher Buck, “Baha’i: History, Beliefs, Practices” and “Baha’i: Theological Exchanges, Current Issues.” Handbook of Religion: A Christian Engagement with Traditions, Teachings, and Practices. Edited by Terry C. Muck, Harold A. Netland, and Gerald R. McDermott. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2014. Pp. 714–719; 720–724. The Controversy: As originally planned, the Baha'i Faith was supposed to be featured as the last of the "world religions" in “Part 2: World Religions,” as chapters 26 through 29. I was asked by the lead editor, Terry C. Muck, to contribute these four chapters, which I did. The working relationship between editor and author was collegial and productive. Shortly before this multi-author volume went to press, however, there was in-house opposition (i.e. in the "Baker Academic" publishing house, a Christian press) to including the Baha'i Faith as a "world religion." The excuse given was that the Baha'i Faith did not fit the following definition of a "world religion": "Today we commonly call the religions that emerged from the Axial Age world religions. World religions have three distinguishing characteristics. They are old, large, and cross-cultural.” (p. 44) So the chapters on the Baha’i Faith (which the editors insisted on referring to as simply "Baha'i") were reduced from four essays to two, and were shortened in length as well. Instead of appearing in the “World Religions” section as first intended, the two published essays were placed as the final two essays in “Part 4: New Religious Movements.” The two chapters uploaded here were created to correspond as faithfully as possible to the published version, by reproducing text, format, and pagination. This is seen as preferable to posting scans of the two essays themselves, as the author does not have an eBook version of this multi-author volume. Research Interests: Religion, New Religious Movements, Comparative Religion, History, Sociology, and 14 more https://www.academia.edu/36192935/_Baha_i_History_Beliefs_Practices_and_Baha_i_Theological_Exchanges_Current_Issues_2014

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Religion

Making the invisible visible: introductory books on the Baha'i religion (the Baha'i Faith)

2013 •

Denis MacEoin

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Religious Texts in Iranian Languages

“Beyond the ‘Seal of the Prophets’: Baha’u’llah’s Book of Certitude (Ketab-e Iqan)” (2007)

2007 •

Christopher Buck

BEYOND THE “SEAL OF THE PROPHETS”: BAHA’U’LLAH’S BOOK OF CERTITUDE (KITAB-I-IQAN) Buck, Christopher. “Beyond the ‘Seal of the Prophets’: Bahā’u’llāh’s Book of Certitude (Ketāb-e Iqān).” Religious Texts in Iranian Languages. Edited by Clause Pedersen & Fereydun Vahman. København (Copenhagen): The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters / Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab – Historiske-filosofiske Meddelelser 98, København, 2007. Pp. 369–378. INTRODUCTION Because of its international audience, Baha’u’llah’s Book of Certitude (Ketab-e Iqan) may now be regarded as the world’s most influential Koran commentary in Persian outside the Muslim world. The basis for this claim is simple: the Iqan is coextensive with the Baha’i faith. As its preeminent doctrinal text, the Iqan helped crystallize Baha’i identity and lent considerable impetus to its missionary expansion. The core claims advanced by the Iqan have, in principle, been adapted to other religious environments. It is post-Islamic by dint of its claims: the Iqan vindicates the prophetic credentials of Sayyid ‘Ali-Muhammad Shirazi, known as “the Bab” (d. 1850), who broke decisively from Islam in 1844, by declaring himself to be the inaugurator of a new religious cycle. “Revealed” in January 1861, the Iqan sets the stage for Baha’u’llah’s impending claim to revelation in April 1863 in Baghdad. The Iqan advances an Islamic argument to legitimate its post-Islamic claims. The Iqan's most original and dramatic act of Koranic interpretation may well be its argument for how God could (and would) send another prophet after Muhammad, notwithstanding the latter’s station as the “Seal of the Prophets” (Q. 33:40). Baha’u’llah’s exegetical strategy is a tour de force—using an essentially Islamic argument to prove something ostensibly alien to orthodox Islam, both Sunni and Shi‘a. More significant than its theological argument, however, is the Iqan's historical impact. Even though, from the Islamic point of view, the Iqan argued the impossible, Baha’u’llah’s discourse on realized eschatology became a self-fulfilling prophecy. The argument for a post-Islamic rev- elation was not academic. It was historical. EXCERPT: The “Seal of the Prophets” [...] By shifting the focus of prophetological attention away from the “Seal” verse itself to refocus on the several Koranic “Divine Presence” verses, Baha’u’llah could make an Islamic case for post-Koranic revelation. From a certain point of view, his entire line of argumentation in the Iqan is calculated to establish the priority of Q. 33:44 over Q. 33:40. Baha’u’llah accepts the importance of the Koranic verse designating Muhammad as “the Seal of the Prophets” (Q. 33:40), yet draws attention to an exegetical oversight but four verses later: “How strange! [...] Even as the Lord of being hath in His unerring Book [the Koran], after speaking of the ‘Seal’ in His exalted utterance: ‘Muhammad is the Apostle of God and the Seal of the Prophets’ (Q. 33:40), hath revealed unto all people the promise of ‘attainment unto the divine Presence’ (cf. Q. 33:44). To this attainment to the presence of the immortal King testify the verses of the Book, some of which We have already mentioned. The one true God is My witness! Nothing more exalted or more explicit than ‘attainment unto the divine Presence’ hath been revealed in the Koran.” [...] “And yet, through the mystery of the former verse, they have turned away from the grace promised by the latter, despite the fact that “attainment unto the divine Presence” in the ‘Day of Resurrection’ is explicitly stated in the Book. It hath been demonstrated and definitely established, through clear evidences, that by ‘Resurrection’ is meant the rise of the Manifestation of God to proclaim His Cause, and by ‘attainment unto the divine Presence’ is meant attainment unto the presence of His Beauty in the person of His Manifestation. For verily, ‘No vision taketh in Him, but He taketh in all vision’ (Q. 6:103).” (Iqan 169–70/Persian text, 112) This argument is predicated on an anti-anthropomorphist interpretation of Q. 6:103. It would be safe to say that, for Muslims universally, the Koran’s designation of Muhammad as the “Seal of the Prophets” (Q. 33:40) is possibly the most important prophetological verse of the Koran (certainly it ranks as one of the most crucial verses doctrinally). Yet Baha’u’llah here points to a verse just four verses later, and makes that verse (and its parallels) the centerpiece of his exegesis and the crux of his entire argument: “Their greeting on the day when they shall meet Him shall be “Peace!” And He hath got ready for them a noble recompense” (Q. 33:44). While this brief description of the Iqan scarcely does justice to its broader range of Koranic interpretations, the reader should now have a clear idea as to the book’s purpose, theophanic claims, and historical impact. As a heterodox work of tafsir, the Iqan advances an Islamic argument to exegetically create the possibility of post-Koranic prophets. For this and other reasons, the Iqan preserves its place as the preeminent doctrinal text of the Baha’i Faith. To claim that the Iqan may now be regarded as the world’s most influential Koran commentary outside the Muslim world is simply to acknowledge the historical fact that the Baha’i religion has spun out of its Islamic orbit and radiated globally, while maintaining its Islamic roots.

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Baha’i Studies Review

Reviews of Peter Smith, “A Short History of the Baha’i Faith” and Moojan Momen, “A Short Introduction to the Baha’i Faith”

1997 •

Christopher Buck

Christopher Buck, Reviews of Peter Smith, A Short History of the Baha’i Faith; and Moojan Momen, A Short Introduction to the Baha’i Faith. Baha’i Studies Review 7 (1997): 95–99. ABSTRACT Book Review – Introductory books on the Bahá’í Faith A Short History of the Bahá’í Faith Author: Peter Smith Publisher: Oneworld, Oxford, 1996, 168 pages A Short Introduction to the Bahá’í Faith Author: Moojan Momen Publisher: Oneworld, Oxford, 1997, 150 pages Reviewer: Christopher Buck If the academic study of religion could be thought of as a graph, the x-axis might represent the history of religions, while the y-axis would represent the phenomenology of religion. The former is diachronic (historical), the latter synchronic (systemic, structural). This is one way of appreciating how usefully the two volumes by Peter Smith and Moojan Momen complement each other. . . . After treating the Shí’í and Shaykhí background of the Bábí movement, Smith distinguishes the paradigm-shift that took place in the latter part of the Báb’s ministry: “Although still employing Shí’í and particularly Shaykhi terminology and concepts, these later writings indicate that, as well as superseding Islamic law, the Báb was also now presenting a new religious framework distinct from that of Islam. There was a clear contrast with his earlier writings, which were written within an Islamic paradigm” (37). What, then, represents the paradigm-shift from Bábism to the Bahá’í Faith? Smith writes: “The Bahá’í concept of the future millennium has also become linked with a specific programme of social reform and transformation. This does not have any real precedent in the Bábí movement” (156). One distinctive dynamic evident in the Bahá’í paradigm has not received sufficient attention: that Bahá’u’lláh made peace, equality and unity sacred. In incorporating theretofore secular concerns, from disarmament to gender equality, Bahá’u’lláh generated a process that may be characterized as “sacralizing the secular.” Turning now to A Short Introduction to the Bahá’í Faith, . . . [w]ithout anachronism, retrojection, or romanticization, Momen’s approach is the inverse of Smith’s and this is another aspect of their complementarity. Steering clear of any historicism or similar reductionism, the author also distances Bahá’í teachings from any alleged eclecticism or syncretism. Allowing that “all religions, including the Bahá’í Faith, will, to some extent, contain echoes of each other,” Momen states his intent: “I hope to show that the Bahá’í Faith also has its own teachings that are new and innovative” (3). Does the author deliver on this promise? Momen’s elaboration of Bahá’í teachings is systematic, clear, and, in all major respects, comprehensive. The author finally does identify the distinctiveness of the Bahá’í paradigm towards the end of the book: “The key difference between the Bahá’í Faith and the main established religions of the world is the fact that its vision was created within the last hundred years, and so has an immediacy and relevance that visions that had their origins a thousand years ago or more lack. . . . The Bahá’í Faith presents a unique integrated vision of the present state of the world and its future direction. This vision embraces politics, economics, environmental considerations, social issues, social administration, community development, ethical issues and spirituality” (139). To the credit of these two academics, the drawbridge of the ivory tower has been lowered across the moat of disciplinary obfuscation above the murky and forbidding currents of academic discourse, over which the scholar must walk in order to speak to an audience for whom matters of the head are also matters of the heart.

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The Journal of Bahá’í Studies

Some Reflections on the Structure of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas

2015 •

Roshan Danesh

Secondary literature on the Kitáb-i-Aqdas has tended to comment that the book is relatively unstructured—that it is a mix of topics without any logical or discernible order. This short article challenges the assumption that the Kitáb-i-Aqdas is unstructured and suggests there is value to our understanding of the book and of Bahá’í law by exploring further elements of structure. Particular emphasis is placed on the first nineteen paragraphs of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and how they state in most concise form the pivotal constructs of Bahá’í spiritual and social teachings.

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Baha’u’llah as “World Reformer” (1991)

Christopher Buck

BAHA’U’LLAH AS “WORLD REFORMER” (1991) *** Christopher Buck, “Baha’u’llah as ‘World Reformer’.” Journal of Baha’i Studies 3.4 (1991): 23–70 (5.1 (1992): 69–72 [Correction]). *** Award for Excellence in Baha’i Studies. Association for Baha’i Studies, 1991. The original last chapter of the author’s Master’s thesis: Symbolic Quranic Exegesis in Baha’u’llah’s Book of Certitude: The Exegetical Creation of the Baha’i Faith. Master’s Thesis. University of Calgary (Canada), ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 1991. [Thesis published (with a new final chapter) in 1995/2004 as Symbol and Secret: Qur’an Commentary in Baha’u’llah’s Kitab-i Iqan.] ABSTRACT Vindicating the mission of the Persian reformer known as the Báb (d. 1850) Bahá’u’lláh’s Book of Certitude (1862) focused on spiritual authority from an Islamic perspective. In this work, a subtext may be discerned, in which Bahá’u’lláh intimates his own mission in the same terms of reference. Later, in his epistles to the monarchs of Europe and West Asia (1866–1869), Bahá’u’lláh exercised that authority and spoke of world reform. This article places Bahá’u’lláh in the context of Islamic reform, with particular reference to the advocacy of constitutional democracy by prominent Iranian secularists. In an ideological ether pervaded by “Westoxication,” Bahá’u’lláh sought to reverse the direction of Western influence. Bahá’u’lláh prosecuted his own reforms in three stages: Bábí reform; Persian reform; and world reform. In the centrifugal sequence, Bahá’u’lláh is shown to have bypassed Islamic reform altogether in his professed role as “World Reformer”: O Queen in London! . . . Consider these days in which He Who is the Ancient Beauty hath come in the Most Great Name, that He may quicken the world and unite its peoples. . . . Were anyone to tell them: “The World Reformer is come,” they would answer and say: “Indeed it is proven that He is a fomenter of discord!” . . . Say: “O people! The Sun of Utterance beameth forth in this day, above the horizon of bounty, and the radiance of the Revelation of Him Who spoke on Sinai flasheth and glisteneth before all religions.” — Bahá’u’lláh, Tablet to Queen Victoria, 1868 Conclusion In this article, The Book of Certitude has been contextualized in three dimensions: (1) historically, within Bábí and Bahá’í history; (2) intellectually, within the rich and multiform Islamic heritage of figurative and symbolic exegesis of the Qur’án; and (3) ideologically, within a reformist context in modern Islam. Though text-centered, this article has not been ideologically reductionist in addressing context. Questions of genetic influence have been left open ended. The study of The Book of Certitude is fundamental to an understanding of the rise of the Bahá’í Faith. An introduction of this significant text to scholarship was the immediate academic need this study tried to fulfill. As The Book of Certitude is used very often in the Bahá’í conversion process, the work continues to produce meaning from the Qur’án as well as the New Testament. And from its exegetical techniques and argumentation, meaning is produced by Bahá’ís from non-Islamic and even non-Western scriptures in the missionary process. Since the Qur’án, as a scriptural authority, is alien to the non-Islamic and so-called primitive forms of spirituality from which the majority of Bahá’í converts the world over have recently come, the exegetical principles in The Book of Certitude are now adapted and universalized in non-Islamic contexts. Islamic thought, of course, informs The Book of Certitude and suffuses it. Yet its ideological departures from Islamic orthodoxy are decisive and irreversible. The text’s discontinuities with Islam probably explain more about what is intrinsic to the Bahá’í Faith than do the ideological carryovers.

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The Baha'i Faith, 1957-1988: A Survey of Contemporary Developments

Peter Smith

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as qd Bo ok i-A os tH oly beM as well as the edited transcript of a presentation by th • tá ‘Reflections on the Bahá’í parallels to the Sunnah and g • rin ‘The Concept of Justice in the Bahá’í Faith’ (Dr plo • Ki ‘The Concept of Liberty in the Bahá’í Faith’ (Dr Ex • Fiv eP ap ers ‘Huqúqu’lláh: The Socio-Economic and Spiritual Law of Th e • Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Sydney, January 1994. Volume 2 The Kitab-i-Aqdas FIVE THE - PAPERS MosT VoLUME EXPLORING HoLY BooK 2 Association for Baha'f Studies Australia 1 • The opinions expressed in the papers in this compilation are those of the presenters alone. They do not necessarily represent the views of the Baha'f Faith, CONTENTS its institutions, or the Association for Baha'f Studies (Australia). Authors and presenters are entirely responsible for factual claims, the accuracy of the quotations, and attribution of sources. Preface ..................................................................... 5 Huququ'llah: the Socio-Economic and Spiritual Law of the Kltab-1-Aqdas ............................................ 7 This booklet has been produced by the Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Ali-Muhammad Varqa Association for Baha'f Studies- Australia, PO Box 319 Association for- Bahti 'f Studies Australia Rosebery NSW 2018 Edited transcript of presentation at the conference on the Kltab-1-Aqdas, Sydney, January 1994 .... 20 Australia Dr. Sirus Naraqi © 1998 Design and artwork Stephen Beale The concept of liberty In the Baha'i Faith ............. 32 Dr. Houshang Khazrai Cover photograph The concept of Justice In the Baha'i Faith ............. 46 The House of 'Abbud in 'Akka, Israel, where Baha'u'llah revealed the Kitab-i- Dr. Houshang Khazrai Aqdas. Reflections on the Baha'i parallels to the Sunnah and ljtlhad In Islam ............................................ 74 Afshin A-Khavari ISBN 0 646 35578 3 Endnotes ................................................................. 83 PREFACE Following the 1992 publication of the English translation of the Kit6b-i-Aqdas, the Association for Baha'f Studies-Australia held a conference devoted to study of the Most Holy Book. A selection of papers presented at that conference was published in 1996 under the title The Kit6b-i-Aqdas: Studies from the First National Conference on the Holy Book, volume 1. Four of the five papers in this publication are based on presentations made at the same conference. The first is the edited transcript from a presentation by Counsellor Sirus Naraqi which describes the reception of the Kit6b-i-Aqdas in the Pacific Islands, and offers some guidelines for understanding its laws. Two papers by Dr Houshang Khazrai examine the Baha'f concepts of justice and liberty, placing them against the background of the development of western philosophy and psychology. Afshin A-Khavari reflects in his paper on whether the Kitab-i-Aqdas contains any parallels to the Islamic jurisprudential concepts of sunnah and ijtihad. The fifth paper in this book is the text of a presentation by the Trustee of Huququ'llah, Hand of the Cause of God Dr Ali-Muhammad Varqa, to meetings in the United States in June 1997. His presentation introduces Huququ'llah as both a socio-economic and spiritual law of the Kit6b-i-Aqdas, and is published with the permission of the Office of Huququ'llah in the Holy Land. The Association for Baha'f Studies-Australia would like to thank all the authors who have contributed in such a significant way to our understanding of the Kitab-i-Aqdas. Association for Bah6'f Studies -Australia s• HuQuQu'LLAH: THE EcoNOMIC SPIRITUAL LAW OF AND THE Soc1o KITAB-1-AQDAS Text of a talk given by the Trustee of Huququ'l/6h, the Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Ali-Muhammad Varqa, at meetings held in the United States, June 1997 Beloved Friends, lt is indeed a great privilege for me to be able to come to your country and, on behalf of the Universal House of justice and the Hands of the Cause, to greet the American friends, whose outstanding services to the Cause of God have adorned the golden pages of the history of our Faith . Following a meeting that I had with the House of justice last January, I received instructions from that Supreme Body to come to the United States and meet with the American friends in order to draw their attention to the exigencies and needs of the Faith at this critical time in the history of mankind, during which the existing orders are breaking down, giving way to the emergence of a new paradigm based on love and spiritual values presented by Baha'u'lllih to mankind . BUILDING THE EDIFICES OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER As we approach the end of the second millenium, we come to realize that the horizon of the world remains darkened by the increase of mistrust, conflict and hatred amongst the countries and nations. The twentieth century, called the 'century of light' by the beloved Master, is singled out by extraordinary progress in the fields of science and technology; but, unfortunately, this progress fails to guarantee the happiness and prosperity of the people of the world, which is the paramount objective of the Revelation of Baha'u'llah. The pragmatic theories expressed by philosophers, socio-economists, politicians and other theoreticians have demonstrated their inability to offer a solution to unloose the knot which holds within itself the perplexities of our generation . In a momentous Tablet entitled 'Lawh-i-Maqsud', Baha'u' llah states: The winds of despair are, alas, blowing from every direction, and the strife that divideth and afflicteth the human race is daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appeareth to be lamentably defective. I beseech God, exalted be His glory, that He may graciously awaken the peoples of the earth, may grant that the end of their conduct may be profitable unto them, and aid them to accomplish that which beseemeth their station .1 In another Tablet, revealed in honour of ｾｮ＠ individual believer, Baha'u'llah states: ' Soon w ill the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead '. 2 This process is further elucidated by the Supreme Pen in a passage which I believe most of you have already read : The world is in travail, and its agitation waxeth day by day. Its face is turned towards waywardness and unbelief. Such shall be its plight, that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly. Its perversity will long continue. And when the appointed hour is come, there shall suddenly appear that which shall cause the limbs of mankind to quake. 3 government leaders in coming to the Holy Land to acquire information from the Universal House of justice about the Baha'f views w ith regard to the socioeconomic problems of the world; the prayerful and reverent visit of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of millions of Buddhists, to the Shrine of the Blessed Bab; and the heartwarming initiative of the members of the Brazilian Parliament in celebrating the introduction of the Faith in their country and in paying tribute to Amatu'I-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum in a special ceremony, during which members of the Federal Parliament of Brazil expressed their esteem and respect for the Teachings of Baha'u'llah and explained the purpose of His Teachings, and so forth . At this rightful time the Universal House of justice, which is vigilantly observing the progress of the Faith and guiding the Baha'f community, has expressed the necessity of increasing the knowledge of the friends about the Teachings and Ordinances of the Blessed Beauty; Teachings that are purposed to bring a radical transformation to the structure of human society and to serve as basic materials for building the edifice of the New World Order aimed at regenerating man and re-organizing human society. In a dictionary definition, the term 'order' is described as a condition in which everything is in its proper place and every element performs its proper function in relation to the others. Therefore, the World Order of Baha'u'llah, contrary to the prevailing way of life in human society which, in reality, is nothing but absolute disorder, constitutes a spiritual discipline within which all component parts function in perfect harmony and balance. On the other hand, the extraordinary progress and expansion of the Cause This marvellous Order is an assemblage of divinely ordained laws and in- in the second half of the twentieth century indicate that, despite the existence junctions established by Baha'u'llah, interpreted and explained by the Centre of enormous obstacles in the path of the development of the Cause of God of the Covenant, 'Abdu'I-Baha, and the beloved Guardian, evolving around the and the severe hostilities in some fundamentalist countries towards the Faith, axis of the Most Holy Book of the Baha'f Dispensation, the Kitab-i-Aqdas and the Hand of the Almighty God has paved the way for the awareness of the its supplementary Tablets. peoples of the world about the existence of the Faith, its history, its laws and The Kitab-i-Aqdas, 'whose provisions', according to the beloved Guardian, principles, its philosophy and ideals, and its precepts for the well-being and 'must remain inviolate for no less than a thousand years, and whose system prosperity of mankind. will embrace the entire planet,' 4 is now published and is available to the Baha'f To this bear witness the marvellous victories gained during the recent community worldwide. decades in the Baha'f world. To name a few of the many examples, one can mention the active involvement of the Faith in the international agencies of the United Nations; the interest shown by some Heads of State and other THE SIGNIFICANCE AND NATURE OF THE LAW OF HuQuQu'LLAH lt is noteworthy that one phase of the development of the Faith, under the guidance of the Universal House of justice during the Formative Age, is the gradual application of the laws of the Kitcib-i-Aqdas beyond those already applied prior to 1963. Amongst them, and due to its vital importance, the law of Huququ'llah, or the Right of God, had the privilege to be the first to be universally applied as of Ridvan 1992. The Universal House of justice, in its letter of 9 February 1997 addressed to me, stated, 'Our principal concern at the present moment is to arouse in a large number of friends a more profound consciousness of the significance of the law of Huququ'llah.' Before expounding its characteristics and details, we have to give some thought to its significance and nature. Usually, in our prevailing languages, when we talk about a law, we conceive a rule, rigid by nature and dictated by a high-ranking organization or individual to impose some limitation on our lives; therefore, the word 'law' is always associated with a feeling of pressure, deprivation and anxiety, especially in cases relating to material issues. In the Baha'f conception of law, however, the meaning has transcended the limits of words and has found a new definition . In the Kitcib-i-Aqdas, when Baha'u'llah speaks about His laws and ordinances, He uses a beautiful metaphor stating: 'Think not that We have revealed unto you a mere code of laws. Nay, rather, We have unsealed the choice Wine with the fingers of might and power'. 5 By these words the concept of pressure and deprivation has been substituted by feelings of enchantment, compassion and delight. When we drink from the divine chalice the choice wine, which infuses in our souls the love of God, we fall in love with Him and with His Cause. At this stage, the soul begins to fly and progress in the realm of God. Its ever-ascending vehicle is naught else but love. This love is described by Baha'u'llah in the Seven Valleys as follows: In this city the heaven of ecstasy is upraised and the world-illumining sun of yearning shineth, and the fire of love is ablaze; and when the fire of love is ablaze, it burneth to ashes the harvest of reason. 6 extraordinary power, his only desire will be to satisfy his Beloved. In this case, according to the Words of Baha'u'llah: he would, though the treasures of the earth be in his possession, renounce them one and all, that he might vindicate the truth of even one of His commandments, shining above the dayspring of His bountiful care and loving-kindness. 8 Huququ'llah by its special and unique characteristics combines the might and power of the Word of God with the humility and submission of man; therefore, in this Cause, obedience to God's ordinance is a demonstration of the highest degree of love and devotion. The importance of the law of Huququ'llah has been pointed out by the following Words of Baha'u'llah : Say: 0 people, the first duty is to recognize the one true God-magnified be His glory-the second is to show forth constancy in His Cause and, after these, one's duty is to purify one's riches and earthly possessions according to that which is prescribed by God. 9 Through these words we realize that Huququ'llah, by order of importance, comes immediately after the recognition of God and steadfastness in His Cause. The outstanding rank given by Baha'u'llah to the law of Huququ'llah leads us to ponder on the spiritual significance of this sacred injunction. God Almighty, from His realm of Glory and in His all-embracing wisdom, has created man in His own image and placed him at the summit of His creation to reflect His names and attributes upon the world of being. He has established a link of love and closeness between man and Himself. In the Hidden Words we read : 0 Son of Man! Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty. 10 In a wonderful mystical poem revealed by Baha'u'llah during His seclusion in the mountains of Sulaymaniyih, He states: 'Kindle the fire of love and burn away all things. Then set thy foot into the land of the lovers'.7 This transcendent phenomenon is the motivating power which enables man to remove all obstacles in the way of his spiritual growth. Strengthened by this PROGRESS IN THE SPIRITUAL REALMS OF GoD He bestowed upon man unlimited power of comprehension and adorned him with great capacity, intellect and wisdom, in order to enable him to progress in the spiritual realms of God and acquire unlimited divine qualities and attributes, and not to deprive himself of the benefits of the physical world .10 11 • as found in the three-fold kingdoms of existence-mineral, vegetable and animal-but to partake of its bounties and riches. This wealth is a great test for man. In moderation it is the source of prosperity, felicity and good life; however, if it transgresses the boundary of moderation, it pulls man downward and becomes a source of selfishness and ego. In this case man becomes captive to his earthly desires and cannot free himself from the temptations of the material world. We know that man's life on this planet is a continual struggle between two forces moving in opposite directions: one is of a spiritual nature nourished by the passage of man through a cleansing, edifying and perfecting process enabling him to release himself from the material world. This process produces the force which facilitates the progress of man's soul in the spiritual realm, gives him the capacity to reflect the spirit of God in his innermost being, and adorns him with the garment of detachment, generosity and sacrifice. The other force is a material one, nurtured by man's physical nature, which, through its powerful attraction, connects him to the physical environment and influences him to obtain as much as he can from material blessings and gifts in order to add more pleasure, colour and ornament to his life. A healthy life requires the establishment of a balance and equilibrium between these two forces . One way of leading us to reach this ideal is the observance of the law of Huququ'llah offered by Baha'u'llah to mankind. Huququ'llah is the socio-economic and spiritual law of the Kit6b-i-Aqdas through which a believer, after deduction of his yearly expenses from his total income, offers nineteen per cent of what is considered as one's savings to the Supreme Authority of the Faith, that it may be expended for the promulgation of the Cause of God and well-being of human society. In a Tablet revealed by Baha'u'llah in honour of the Trustee of Huququ'llah, Haji Am in, the Pen of Glory states: 'Indeed there lie concealed in this command, mysteries and benefits which are beyond the comprehension of anyone save God'.11 The Beloved Master, in an instructive Tablet revealed at the dawn of His sacred Ministry, talked about the cooperation and interdependency which exist between all the atoms of the world of being, and said that cooperation and reciprocity are a fundamental law of creation upon which the law of Huququ'llah is also based. Later on, the flourishing of the natural sciences at the beginning of this .,2 century, especially in the fields of physiology and biology and, in recent decades, in the sciences related to the environment, sheds light on the different aspects of this fact and the reality of this relationship. In the same Tablet, 'Abdu'IBaha has likened the temple of the world to the constitution of the human body, in which all the organs, despite their differences, form a coherent entity. He explains how the vegetable and animal kingdoms are related together and how, in each kingdom, the elements of life work reciprocally for their survival, while providing the necessary substances for the life of the other kingdom at the same time . He concludes that cooperation and mutual assistance constitute the most essential characteristics of the unified body of the world . Huququ'llah, by nature, represents similar particularities. By offering Huququ'llah, we enter into the infinite chain of causality, giving and receiving, affecting and being affected, in such a way as to enable us to contribute our share to the great system of mutual aid and interdependence which links all created things together. The sum which we deduct from our savings and offer as Huququ'llah circulates in the body of the Faith, and nurtures its institutions. However, its benefits, in the form of public welfare, come back to ourselves. This function is similar to that of the circulation of blood in the human body. As we know, blood contains nourishing substances, vital to the life of the cells . The heart's pulsation causes these substances to be transported through the bloodstream to the lungs and kidneys. In the lungs, the blood releases carbon dioxide and takes oxygen . After nurturing the cells and organs it returns to the heart to be recycled and to continue its beneficial course. Just as in the human body the heartbeat is responsible for blood circulation which nurtures the organs, likewise man's conscience is the propelling power which urges the believer to obey God's ordinance and execute His Will. The efficiency of this act of resignation and love depends on the degree of eagerness and the ultimate desire with which the individual takes pleasure and satisfaction in obedience to God's decree. This is why, according to Baha'u'llah's statement, Huququ' llah should be observed with the utmost radiance, gladness and willing acquiescence. Again as stated by Him : acceptance of the offerings dependeth on the spirit . However, ｴｾ･＠ of JOy, fellowship and contentment that the righteous souls who fulfil this injunction will manifest. If such is the attitude, acceptance is permissible, and not otherwise. Verily thy Lord is the All -Sufficing, the All -Praised .12 Th is is the way to attract divine blessings and confirmations from this law. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HUQUQU 1 LLAH AND OTHER fORMS 0 Samandar! How many are the souls who, with the utmost endeavour and effort, collect a handful of worldly goods and greatly rejoice in this act and yet in reality the Pen of the Most High hath decreed this wealth for others; that is, it is not meant to be their lot or it may even fall into the hands of their enemies! 13 OF CONTRIBUTIONS However, those who have drunk from the fountainhead of certitude and During the earlier days of this blessed Cause, when the friends became aware knowledge, abstained from extravagance and followed the path of modera- of the existence of such a law, they thought that the offering of Huququ'llah tion would indeed do their utmost to perform their obligation to Huququ 'llah was a way of strengthening the material potentialities of the Faith or, in to- as part of their essential spiritual duty. day's expression, a way of fundraising . Being able to contribute to Huququ'llah is a great blessing to a believer; its Indeed by the law of Huququ'llah, Baha' u'llah has established a permanent acceptance by God is an unparalleled honour bestowed upon man . lt is a sign and independent source of income for the promulgation of His Cause and of spiritual maturity and a testimony to his trustworthiness and his faithfulness world-wide operation of its institutions. But,if we go deep into its multi-fac- under the Covenant of God . The consciousness of the believer of the spirit of eted aspects, we can conclude that this injunction is different by nature from such a law is the only effective means for its fulfilment. other forms of donations: In view of the high station of Huququ'llah and due to its obligatory nature as a law, Baha'u'llah has strictly forbidden the solicitation of the Right of God. Huququ'llah is a spiritual law subject to specific obligations and regula - 1. tions while other offerings are solely dependent on detachment, generosity and self-sacrifice. According to the explicit Holy Text, the payment of Huququ'llah is based 2. on calculations of one's income, whereas contribution to the Baha'f funds is left to the free wish and eagerness of the believers. The Right of God cannot be earmarked for some specific purpose. lt is 3. entirely at the disposal of Marja'-i-Amr, or the focal point of authority, to which all must turn, while other contributions could be earmarked for other purposes, according to the wish of the contributor. The amount of the individual's annual expenses which is exempt from Huququ' llah is left to his discretion and depends on the degree of his spiritual attachment and his detachment from the material world. No rule could be set for its evaluation . Indeed, those who are attracted to the deceiving splendour of the material world, who have set their affections on collecting its goods and apparels and are engulfed in extravagance are true examples of what Baha' u' llah, in a Tablet addressed to Jinab-i-Samandar, stated: . ,4 This act could jeopardize the status of such a law which is directly related to God. Baha'u'llah, in a Tablet addressed to Haji Abu'l Hasan-i-Amin, the second Trustee of Huququ'llah, reveals: 0 Abu'l Hasanl May My Glory rest upon thee! Fix thy gaze upon the glory of the Cause. Speak forth that which will attract the hearts and the minds. To demand the Huquq is in no wise permissible. This command was revealed in the Book of God for various necessary matters ordained by God to be dependent upon material means. Therefore, if someone, with utmost pleasure and gladness, nay with insistence, wisheth to partake of this blessing, thou mayest accept. Otherwise acceptance is not permissible. 14 And again He says: Ye may relinquish the whole world but must not allow the detraction of even one jot or tittle from the dignity of the Cause of God . jinabi-Amin- upon him be My glory- must also refrain from mentioning this matter, for it is entirely dependent upon the willingness of the individuals themselves. They are well acquainted with the commandment of God and are familiar with that which was revealed in the Book. Let him who wisheth observe it, and let him who wisheth ignore it. Verily, thy Lord is the Self-Sufficing, the AII -Pra ised .15 This mighty law of God is the source of all good. On many occasions Baha'u'llah has made it clear that the payment of the Right of God is conducive to prosperity, to blessing, to honour and to progress in the spiritual realms of the everlasting world of the spirit. dom and endless bounty, He prescribed a small part of one's income to be he, however, who acteth in accordance with God 's bidding shall receive a blessing from the heaven of the bounty of his Lord, the Gracious, the Bestower, the Generous, the Ancient of Days. 16 regarded as His Right to be used for the prosperity and well-being of all humanity. Therefore, we, as His trustees, do not have the right to withhold His share and to deprive His children from what the Real Owner and True Possessor of all things has assigned to them . In another Tablet: The Beloved Master in The Secret of Divine Civilization stated: This Huquq which hath been mentioned, and the command of which hath issued forth from the horizon of God's Holy Tablet, hath benefits which are the prescribed lot of the indjviduals themselves. By God! Were the people to know what hath been concealed from their eyes and become fully aware of the ocean of grace which lieth hid within this divine command, all the people of the world would offer everything they possess in order to be mentioned by Hi m Y AND Indeed God, who is an eternal essence, beyond our comprehension and understanding, does not need our material things . Through His boundless wis- In the Kit6b-i-Aqdas He says : PROSPERITY and betrayal. In the Kit6b-i-Aqdas, Baha'u'llah says: 'He who dealeth faithlessly with God shall in justice meet with faithlessness himself.' 18 WELL-BEING Of ALL The happiness and pride of a nation consist in this, that it should shine out like the sun in the high heaven of knowledge ... the honour and distinction of the individual consist in this, that he among all the world's multitudes should become a source of social good . Is any larger bounty conceivable than this, that an individual, looking within himself, should find that by the confirming grace of God he has become the cause of peace and well-being, of happiness and advantage to his fellow men? 19 HUMANITY Huququ'llah provides an evolutionary process for the spiritual growth of the friends and their eagerness to learn and deepen in the Holy Writings. Al- The sum which is offered as Huququ'llah to the Supreme Body of the Faith is spent for the promulgation of the Cause of God. it is expended for: though we cannot seize the essence of this command, we can, through study- Promotion of the teaching and proclamation of the Faith worldwide ing and deepening our understanding about it, extract pearls of knowledge Care, maintenance and restoration of Baha'f Holy Places from the immense ocean of God's treasures. As we can conceive it, the pay- Building up of the administrative centre of the Baha'f World ment of Huququ'llah is a sign of our love and obedience, a proof of our stead- Support of the work of the many Baha'f institutions and agencies fastness in the Covenant and a symbol of our trustworthiness in the Faith of Erection and restoration of Baha'f Houses of Worship God. lt develops our spiritual qualities, which leads us towards perfection. lt Establishment and support of new institutions organizes and balances our material efforts and protects us from excessive Charitable and benevolent undertakings desires which are born in our human nature and, when unleashed, can turn Support of the worldwide manifold interests of the Faith into preventive obstacles to our spiritual growth . When man realizes that by observing this law he becomes one of the trustees of God, and that a part of DIGNITY Of THE (AUSE IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE his income could be honoured by being accepted by his Lord, God's presence This donation symbolizes the unity of mankind and will be spent accord- is felt in all his endeavours, and he will live his life in a just and legitimate man - ing to the discretion of the Supreme Body of the Faith for the promulgation of ner in order that his offering may deserve to be spent in the path of God . its interests and the well-being of the people in different parts of the world . As payment of Huququ'llah attracts blessings and confirmations, it should be noted that the Kit6b-i-Aqdas was revealed in around 1873 and, withholding the Right of God or spending it for other purposes, even if as the initial recipient of Huququ'llah was to be Baha'u'llah Himself, it seems charitable in nature, is considered an act of dishonesty, tantamount to treachery He was reluctant to talk much about this injunction . lt was five years before it .,6 was applied to Iran where the majority of the Baha'fs resided . According to His statement: The payment of Huquq is conclusively established in the Book of God, yet for a number of years it had been forbidden to receive it. Later, however, in view of certain considerations and in order to arrange some essential matters, permission was granted to accept such payments. Verily He is the Ordainer, the Compassionate, the Forgiver, the Bountiful. 20 Regarding the subject of Huquq; Shogh i Effendi is reluctant to emphasize it at present, in view of the urgent needs of the Cause in America. But when the time comes for him to explain it to the friends, he will not fail to do so.24 This appropriate time came in 1984, when the Research Department of the World Centre, under the guidance of the Universal House of justice, compiled the extracts from the Holy Writings of Baha'u'llah, the beloved Master, the During His lifetime Baha'u'llah did not reveal details of the injunction of beloved Guardian and some rulings set by the House of justice, and this com- the Right of God. On some occasions in the Holy Writings He gave some es- pilation served as the basis for the education of friends worldwide about this sential directives and referred the details to the establishment of the Universal sacred law. After a period of deepening, the universal application of the Right House of justice. In a Tablet translated from Persian He has stated: of God became effective as of Ridvan 1992. There is a prescribed ruling for the Huququ'llah . After the House of justice hath come into being, the law thereof will be made manifest, in conformity with the Will of God. 21 fUTURE PROSPECTS The last three decades of the 20th century witnessed the rapid expansion of the institution of Huququ ' llah throughout the planet. This sacred institution, which came into being during the Heroic Age of our Faith and enjoyed the When the Kitab-i-Aqdas reached Iran and the friends became aware of its devoted services of one person in Persia Uinab-i-Amin) and another in Mosul contents, they were eager to put into action its laws, especially the law of Uinab-i-Zayn), has now formed a network around the globe under the spon- Huququ'llah. In the minutes of a gathering of that time which could be con- sorship of sixteen Boards of Trustees assisted by the collaboration of 425 eo- sidered as the nucleus of future Spiritual Assemblies, we could find that the workers, who are devotedly engaged with the loving support of the other in- payment of Huququ'llah was one of the concerns of that gathering. stitutions of the Faith in the education of the Baha'f population and the serv- 'Abdu'I-Baha, during His ministry, gave brief comments and explanations in different Tablets, whereas in the writings and letters of the beloved Guard- ices of this institution around the world. The education of Huququ'llah, which is the main goal of this institution, ian, we find few comments written on his behalf to individuals and National bore excellent fruit and assisted in large measure the increasing knowledge of Spiritual Assemblies . The passages compiled from his letters indicate that he the friends and the deepening of the individuals in various aspects of this mul- too was reluctant to go into details about this subject. He directed the con- tifaceted law of Baha'u'llah . However, all we have learned about it until now is cerns of the friends to national funds and also other funds of the Faith . just the beginning of what we still have to learn. Baha'u'llah has established In a letter dated 19 September 1929 we find this advice: Concerning Huquq, the Guardian wishes me to inform you that at present it is not obligatory for the friends to pay, but that they should be urged to contribute to the local and national funds .22 an ordinance which, according to His own words, 'contains mysteries and benefits beyond the comprehension of man'. Evidently the scientific progress and philosophic deductions in the coming centuries will shed light on the hidden realities of this great law, particularly in the fields of cause and effect, reciprocity and mutual assistance, which bind together all the component parts of the And again: 'As regards Huquq, it is really 19 per cent of one's income payable to the Guardian . But it is not obligatory now'.23 In a letter written in May 1937 by his secretary we find this : .,8 world of creation and control their cooperation in harmony and balance. by a prayer. The chairman briefly mentioned the purpose of this special meeting, which was to present the newly received Most Holy Book, Kitab-i-Aqdas, whose arrival the National Spiritual Assembly had been eagerly anticipating, and to arrange for the Book to be translated into Kiribati language. They made two decisions. Decision 1 : The National Spiritual Assembly approved the translation of the English version of the Kitab-i-Aqdas into Kiribati language and they appointed a committee to do it. Decision 2: The celebration date shall be EDITED TRANSCRIPT Wednesday, the 19th day of 1993, and the national committee will be kindly OF asked to prepare a program for this historic occasion. The meeting was closed PRESENTATION with a prayer. AT THE In Papua New Guinea, Baha'fs in the villages wrote to the National Spir- CONFERENCE ON THE KITAB-1- itual Assembly and asked whether there was going to be a special night to celebrate the arrival of the Book in the country. A lot of the National Spiritual AQDAS, SYDNEY, JANUARY 1994 Assembly members had thought of having a ceremony, and when the suggestion came from one of the villages, they decided to act upon it. But then the Or Sirus Naraqi This paper is concerned with two different subjects. The first is the way that the Most Holy Book of Baha'u'llah has been received by the people of the Pacific Islands; the second is the laws of the Most Holy Book, which are the breath of life unto all created things. A lot of us with the Western approach to life were happy that the Most Holy Book came out. We bought a copy, we put it in our library, read it, studied it. But the response in the Pacific Islands was quite different. Baha'u'llah states that the Kitab-i-Aqdas has been revealed in such a manner that 'it attracteth and embraceth all the divinely appointed Dispensations ... Blessed those who apprehend it! Blessed those who meditate upon it! Blessed those who ponder its meaning!' I feel very privileged to be amongst those who are trying to reflect upon it. This blessedness and holiness of the Book became very obvious to me when I saw the way the people of the Pacific Islands received it. One example is Kiribati, one of the least advanced countries in the world, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. When the Book was received by the secretary, he called a special meeting of the National Spiritual Assembly to present the Book to them . The minutes of that special meeting record that the meeting was opened Universal House of Justice advised them that it was not wise, and that the Book should not be used for direct teaching : initially the Baha'fs should study the Book. So they changed the plan and decided to write to all Local Spiritual Assemblies and committees giving the glad tidings of the coming of the Book. Then they sent some introductory materials for studying the Book, so that the Baha'fs would be prepared when it came. Then they decided to give a copy of the Most Holy Book published by the Universal House of Justice as a gift to each of the 300 Local Spiritual Assemblies, because most of the villages may not have the cash to buy the Book. lt was an occasion for the National Spiritual Assembly to show its love and affection to the Local Assemblies. Next, using the suggestion from one of the villages that I mentioned, they wrote to say that if they would like a special ceremony to receive the book, they could arrange it. Then they wrote a letter to all the individual believers and they said if you'd like to buy the book, we recommend you study those introductory materials first. Th is was the way the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'fs of Papua New Guinea received the book. After these events they had one national event in the capital city to receive the book. There were 550 people, and we have only 300 Baha'fs in the capital city. lt was too late when we realised that there were non-Baha'fs who had come because they had heard that the Baha'fs were having a special event. The Book was received. The Counsellor was there, the 21. Auxiliary Board members were there. All 9 members of the National Spiritual Assembly were there. All members of the Local Assembly of Port Moresby were there. This was considered as a national event. Then the regions started to have meetings and 1 attended some of these meetings. The reverence and dignity shown towards the Most Holy Book was amazing. In Papua New Guinea even the ministers of the Government do not wear ties or put on suits. But in one village of the Central District of Papua New Guinea, all the male members of the Local Spiritual Assembly wore suits and had ties on the day they received the book. The ladies were in their traditional clothes. They decided to come about two kilometres out of their village to receive the book, and then to take the book back to their village. In another area, in the Western Province, one of the local believers reported: 'the celebrations continued for 3 consecutive days. The celebration was mostly done by traditional dances performed by the Baha'fs who had gathered for the launching of the Most Holy Book. There were 300 or more Baha'fs who witnessed the celebration. Some 200 or more non-Baha'fs also observed the special ceremony of the reception of the Book.' This day will be remembered in years to come. lt is a great historical day for those who were there because the Kitab-i-Aqdas came on the village's soil and enriched society for the physical and spiritual guidance of all humanity. After the ceremony, the Christian youth went back to their villages and told the Christian parents and relatives: 'you are wasting your time. The Baha'fs have brought the new Jerusalem down to their village' . In another area in Papua New Guinea, many people had dreams that the Most Holy Book was coming. Some of the Baha'fs wrote to us and asked for dried flowers from the Holy Shrines so that they could feel more spiritual when the Book arrived. A lot of other places are in the process of receiving the Book and they are preparing . In one village in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, the Local Assembly minutes show that it was discussed that because the Most Holy Book is sacred it needs a separate house to be kept in, therefore, the Baha'f Centre needs to be completed quickly. Another Assembly in one of the other Provinces wrote to the National Spiritual Assembly asking if they could postpone the reception of the Most Holy Book to 1994. They wrote that in the Six Year Plan they had built the Baha'f Centre with bush material. Now in the Three Year Plan they wanted to build a more permanent centre where the Most Holy Book could be kept. When the centre was completed, they were going to invite some non-believers and one of the Baha'fs would bring the Most Holy Book to town as a king with great power and glory. These are some of the ways the Most Holy Book was received in the Pacific. Although most of them would not have the chance to read the Book because they were illiterate, they truly understood the significance of this Book. When they received a brief report of what was happening, the Universal House of Justice wrote that 'the method adopted by your Assembly to introduce the Kitab-i-Aqdas to the believers of Papua New Guinea is indeed commendable'. The Universal House of Justice viewed this undertaking as a commendable program suited for emulation by other National Spiritual Assemblies wishing to befittingly present the Most Holy Book to their local communities. When the Six Year Plan was announced by the Universal House of Justice, they called the Counsellors to Haifa for consultation. I was one of the privileged ones. Before I went, I approached a few of the Baha'fs and I asked 'if you were going to Haifa and the Universal House of Justice asked what you wanted included in the Six Year Plan, what would you say? I would like you to tell me and I will pass it on .' One of the Baha'fs, who works for the government as photocopier, said that he wanted me to tell the Universal House of Justice to have the Most Holy Book translated and published. He said that the Christians would be attacking the Baha'f Faith because they thought that we did not have a Bible. This was in November 1985. At our meeting with the Universal House of Justice, the goals of the World Centre were announced and the first one was the translation and publication of the Most Holy Book. I always wondered why the Most Holy Book was so important for the Baha'fs of Papua New Guinea. I was in one of the islands recently to present the Most Holy Book to the Baha'fs. They were all crying and full of emotions when they received the Book. They told me that they had dreams that the Most Holy Book was coming from the other side of the sea. One day they had dreamed of a holy man who told them that this book was going to come to their village and that they were instructed to take care of it because it was a very powerful book. They may never get the chance to read the book but they have no doubt that this book is important because of the invisible spiritual powers that are at work. Another touching story is from one of the remotest areas of Papua New Guinea. There was a conference for women and one of the topics was the Most Holy Book. Visitors had gone from the capital city to organise this meeting and one of the visitors told the believers that they were going to talk about the Most Holy Book. During the break, one of the villagers told the visitors that these people did not just want to see the book at the conference, but wanted to receive it in a special ceremony. People were consulted on this question and about 550 people all said that they wanted to receive the book in a special ceremony because it was very important, and they did not want to bring it to the conference yet. The ladies were sitting around at the meeting and one of the early Baha'f women told them that she was very old now and would die soon . She did not agree, because she wanted to see the Book and touch it before she died. So the villagers consulted more and decided to place the Book in one of the houses and told the old woman that she could go and see the book. The old woman asked if any one else was going to see the Book and they all said no. Out of respect for the others, she too decided not to see the book. People who are least educated and least expected have recognised the might and power of the Most Holy Book more than the rest of the people of the world . lt is ironic that if you have the Most Holy Book in Iran, the Cradle of the Faith, you could be arrested and even put to death . How far from the truth are the officials of the Government of Iran! One of the believers in Vanuatu told me that the Baha'f cause resembles the tree of life. You have roots of the tree and branches of the tree. Where do you find the fruits of the tree? You don't find the fruits where the roots are or where the trunk is. You have to go to the top of the tree to get the fruits. The roots of the Baha'f Faith are in Iran, but you don't have any fruits there. To get the fruits you have to go as far away as possible, to the heart of the Pacific Ocean. We all know that Baha'u'llah revealed the Most Holy Book and its laws. He also gave it its name. Compared to the holy books of the past religions, this is the Most Holy Book. He also gave other titles to the book. lt is 'the source of true felicity', the 'Unerring Balance', the 'Straight Path', and the 'quickener of mankind'. He describes it as His 'weightiest testimony unto all people, and the proof of the All-Merciful unto all who are in heaven and all who are on earth'. 1 Shoghi Effendi also describes the book in very glorious terms. He calls the book the 'Charter of the future world civilization' and the 'Charter of His New World Order'. He also mentions in God Passes By that this book is the most signal act of Baha'u'llah's ministry, and the brightest emanation of the mind of Baha'u'llah. Another description by Shoghi Effendi is the 'treasury enshrining the priceless gems of His Revelation'. 2 In recent times the Universal House of justice has described the Most Holy Book in glorious terms: a 'Book of such indescribable holiness'; a 'symbol of the incomparable greatness of the Revelation of Baha'u'llah'; a 'priceless legacy from the Pen of the Most High'; a 'highly treasured and incalculably potent work'. The Universal House of justice further writes: 'May the friends of God ever be mindful of its exalted rank among the sacred texts of the Faith', and asks us to 'regard possession of it as a sacred honour'. 3 All of these glorious descriptions of the book relate to the theme of the Baha'f laws and ordinances. Baha'u'llah has described the laws as 'the mightiest stronghold', as the 'fruits' of His 'Tree', as the 'keys' to His 'mercy', as 'the lamps of His wisdom', and as 'the highest means for the maintenance of order in the world and the security of his peoples'. 4 Another description of the laws revealed in the Most Holy Book is 'the breath of life unto all created things'. We have all heard the story as told by other religions that God created man in the likeness of His own image, and then He breathed the breath of life into him . Baha'u'llah uses the analogy that His laws will revive all created things spiritually. In the current world, the contemporary way of thinking of laws is that they are laws of limitation, and most people are trying to get away from them. These laws that people are running from are the lamps of God's wisdom and the trees of God's mercy, the means of maintenance of order. Experts in the field of law have divided laws into two groups. First is the preordained laws, the laws that are unchanging and eternal, like the law of gravity. These are the laws governing the universe. These are the pre-ordained laws. The world has been created like this, they're unchangeable. The second group of laws are the ordained laws. These have been divided into two groups: revealed laws, or laws given by God; and man-made laws, laws that are legislated by human beings. These laws are usually temporary and changeable, whether they are revealed or man-made. I would like to summarise some of the differences between God's laws and man's ones. 25. One is that revealed laws are given by a Manifestation of God, but man made laws are legislated by other human beings. Secondly, revealed laws are in harmony with pre-ordained laws because the source is the same, but man-made ones may not be in harmony with pre-ordained laws. Third, revealed laws are usually universal for the human race, but man-made laws are not. Usually they are designed separately for different groups. The time factor is the fourth difference: revealed laws usually last for one thousand years, but we don't know any man-made laws that have lasted even one century. Fifth, God-given laws or revealed laws are free from human likes or dislikes because the legislator is not a human being. Man-made laws usually concern the likes and dislikes of the legislators. Sixth, revealed laws are based on the kn owledge and the essence of God . Therefore they fit the needs of humanity. But the man-made laws are not so, because they are made by people. Man will never be able to achieve the full knowledge of himself because of his limitations. We can always understand the lower levels: the animal, vegetable or mineral levels. But we can never fully understand our own level because of the spiritual nature of man, which is higher than our physical level. The seventh difference is that revealed laws are usually novel and original and independent of existing laws and customs, but the man-made laws are often based on revealed laws or the customs amongst people, or sometimes even animalistic nature of man. Eighth, revealed laws have preventive and remedial effects. They prevent trouble and they solve trouble. Man-made laws are only remedial. Ninth, God's laws create an inner conscience that supervises and reinforces the law, whereas man-made laws need an outside force to reinforce them . You all know the story where someone passes a red light and police stop him and ask, 'Did you see the red light?' He says, 'yes', so they ask: 'Why did you pass it?' He says, 'because I didn't see you.' But nobody watches us fast. We do it out of fear of God. The sense of shame that Baha'u'llah talks about is the best inner reinforcement of revealed laws. The words of God have the potency and the power to create such a force, but man-made laws don't. They need an outside force. The minute police officers are on strike, there will be chaos. Finally, the laws of God are holistic. They deal with all aspects of man . This, I believe, is the most important factor that makes the laws of God a breath of life. They cover all aspects of life, while man-made laws cover one or two aspects . They don't transcend to other aspects, but the laws of God transcend . What are these aspects? If you look at an individual, you will see that human beings have two aspects. One is our individual aspect, the personal aspect; and the other is social aspect, the collective aspect. Alone we are nothing. We have to work with others, we have to live with others, even to reproduce one individual will need the cooperation of another individual. The individual or personal aspect is unique for every person . Now the individual aspect has three levels: the physical aspect (our body and emotion); the spiritual aspect, which includes faith and intellect, mind and thought; and the social aspect. This aspect can be divided into four categories: family, local, regional, and global community life. Family life is the basis of society. lt is difficult to separate family life from the individual, because these are interrelated. Local community life refers to the immediate environment we find ourselves in. Revealed laws, the laws of God, transcend all these aspects, although they may dominate one of them. The laws of the Most Holy Book cover all these aspects of the human being. You won 't find any constitution in the world that would include all these different aspects. Not only are there laws related to all these different aspects, but if you take every single law, although one aspect may be dominant, the law transcends the other aspects too. For example, there are laws of the Most Holy Book related to emotions. Baha'u'llah says to be happy, be joyous. There are many laws in the Most Holy Book that deal with emotions. Baha'u'llah says do not lose control of yourself. Do not lament during the times of your trials . There is a story that somebody had a friend who was very sick. He was so upset that he went to his friend's bedside and wept all night. The next morning he was dead and the sick friend was all right. There are also intellectual laws: Baha'u'llah says to study the sciences and the arts. The laws related to the spiritual aspects of life include prayer and fasting . There are laws related to the local environment, family life, marriage, and education of children. Other laws relate to community life: having a House of Worship in each town, a Spiritual Assembly in each town, a Nineteen Day Feast in each town, and so on . There are also laws related to regional or national community life. Laws of a global nature include unity of mankind, universal peace, and universal language. These are all in the Most Holy Book. So the laws of the Most Holy Book cover all these aspects of human life. Each one of them has one dominant aspect, but they also penetrate other aspects. For example, teaching is a spiritual law, it helps our spirit. But we all have experience that when we teach the Faith to somebody, we feel happy afterwards. That's physicality. And if the person becomes a Baha'f, then the local community changes. If everybody becomes Baha'f, then the whole world will change. There is one dominant aspect which also transcends and penetrates all other aspects. take the following seven points into consideration. First we must consider the texts related to the Most Holy Book which were ' revealed by Baha'u'llah after it. The Beloved Guardian identifies some of the supplementary texts in God Passes By. The Universal House of justice has issued some of these related texts. Second, we must consider the interpretation given by 'Abdu'I-Baha in his Will and Testament. Study of the Most Holy Book cannot be complete without taking this into consideration. Third, we must consider the interpretations of Shoghi Effendi. 1 believe this aspect of God-given laws, this aspect of the Most Holy Book, is what makes it the breath of life: it really penetrates every atom of our body, every element of us, any identity we have as individuals, while man-made laws don't have that aspect. That's why Baha'u'llah says the Most Holy Book is the breath of life unto all created things. ' Fourth is the constitution of the Universal House of justice. The laws of the Most Holy Book are very concise, and it only contains the essential laws. The House of justice is the body which will legislate and expand on the laws in the future. The fifth consideration is the social conditions of nineteenth-century Iran. The Universal House of justice and the National Spiritual Assembly have told us that we should not use the Most Holy Book as a direct tool for teaching . But we can use it as an indirect way of teaching, and someday conferences like this should really aim at teaching the Cause of God using the laws of the Most Holy Book. How can we do it? By making presentations using the contemporary way of thinking to solve issues current in the world through the laws of the Most Holy Book. For example, one issue in the world is crime. How would punishments in the laws of the Most Holy Book eliminate crime? The laws of the Most Holy Book that seem simple, like going to the doctor when we get sick, or accepting invitations to parties, or men not allowing their hair to grow past their ears, need to be presented in such a way as to defend the Cause. We need to eliminate questions, but also to see what the wisdom behind them is. Second, we need to think about the wisdom of laws that are seemingly harsh in nature, like capital punishment. We also need to consider the wisdom of the laws that seem contrary to contemporary ways of thinking, like submission to the will of God, the question of liberty, laws that seem to be male-oriented, and laws that seem lslamic-oriented like the Qiblih. One of the things that non-Baha'fs find very strange is that Baha'fs have to stand in a particular direction to say their prayers. We have to provide the wisdom of this law for people. Many may think that it's Muslim-oriented because Islam is the only other religion that has it. Finally, proper study of the Most Holy Book cannot be achieved unless we The sixth is the fact that these laws are for a global society, for all humanity. Seventh, the laws are applicable for one thousand years. There is no doubt that if we don't take these points into consideration, a lot of misunderstandings and tests will occur. I will close with a story which illustrates my point that study of the Most Holy Book will be incomplete, and nobody is going to take in the full picture of the Most Holy Book, without taking these seven points into consideration. Somebody lost his job and he had to stay at home. You know that when men stay at home, they constantly interfere with the work of their wives, even in the kitchen, just to keep themselves busy. So the wife became quite upset. She told her husband that he had to go and find a job the next day. 'Don't come home unless you have a job'. 'I can't find a job', he said, but his wife insisted. He had to listen to his wife, so the next day he went out to look for a job. He couldn't find one and wanted to go home, but then he remembered his wife saying, 'you can't come home if you don't have a job.' So he went out of town, and climbed to the top of a tree to sleep until the next day, when he would look for a job again. When he reached the top of the tree he saw a hermit come and sit under the tree. So he started watching the hermit, who had an axe and a bag . He sat under the tree, put his bag on one side and the axe next to him, then took out three statues which he placed in front of him. The man in the tree was very amused, watching to see what he would do. Then the hermit started to talk to the statues. He brought one of them forward and said, 'Eve I would like to have a few words with you . Why did you tempt Adam in the garden of Eden? Why did you make him eat the forbidden fruit? You made God angry and God expelled you from heaven. You came down on earth and I saved His life'. In this story you can see that nobody had the full story. In studying the Most Holy Book, you won't have the whole story either if you don't take these seven points into consideration . mankind was thwarted, and we are all in trouble now'. He became very angry and said, 'Because of what you've done, I have no choice but to crush you' . He took his axe and destroyed the first statue. The second statue came before him and he said, 'Adam I want to talk with you . You saw that I talked to Eve and I explained my grievances to her. I want to say that I'm upset with you too . True, she tempted you, but you should have been strong. Why did you show weakness? Why did you eat the forbidden fruit? Why did you make God angry so that He sent you out of the garden of Eden? Now we are all in trouble' . As he said this, he became more emotional. 'I have no choice but to punish you too', he said, and he took the axe and destroyed the second statue. Then he brought the third statue. The man watching was very much amused. The hermit said to the third statue, 'Now God, I want to have a few words with you. You saw I was upset with Eve and Adam and I punished them. I want to tell you that I'm upset with you too, because you're responsible for all of this. You created the garden of Eden, you created the forbidden fruit, and you made Eve to tempt Ad am and Ad am show weakness, and now we are all in trouble. I have no choice but to punish you.' He took up the axe. The man watching from the tree thought, 'If he destroys God, the whole world will be destroyed'. So as soon as the axe went up he suddenly shouted, 'You cannot destroy God, the universe will be destroyed if you kill God!' The hermit, who didn't know there was anybody on top of the tree, thought God was talking to him. He got very upset, dropped his bag and axe, and ran away. The man came down from the tree and looked into the bag, and saw that there was a lot of money in it. So he immediately took the money, rushed home and gave it to his wife. Now, before he went his wife had said, 'If you trust in God, He will help you find a job'. So when he came with the money the wife said, 'I told you so, if you look for a job God will help you. Now He has given you money'. The man said, 'God didn't help me because I looked for a job. He helped me because • 30 31. determinism mean? Whichever of the above mentioned statements be true, complete freedom or absolute determinism causes the universe and human life to become meaningless. The Baha'f concept of freedom and determinism as explained by 'Abdu'I-Baha resolves this problem by stating that there is no exclusive determinism nor complete free will, but a state of golden mean. The second question concerns the paradoxical tension-producing effect of liberty. This is concisely discussed by M. Da Silveira. 3 The following are different THE IN CONCEPT THE OF BAHA'i LIBERTY FAITH consequent paradoxes of liberty: 1) In philosophical terms, not necessarily within a special spiritual frame of orientation, freedom means to renounce one's desires and wishes and this obviously can be the generator of some tension. Dr. Houshang Khazrai 2) Nobody can bring under his own will and control all possibilities in or- The word liberty is derived from the Latin terms liber, which means free, der to satisfy his own desires. This also causes an internal conflict, hence and libertas, which is equivalent to liberty. lt symbolises the condition of being is a generator of tension. free to follow either one's own natural impulses, desires and passions, or to make use of one's own will. lt presents itself in two general forms: 1) 3) Liberty means to have freedom to discern and distinguish good from Freedom of action: it opposes constraints but is submissive to neces- evil. This is naturally a conflicting process and therefore generates in- sity. This means to act following one's own desire independently of any ternal tension. external constraints. This freedom is compatible with determinism and is sometimes called individual liberty and/or negative liberty. Its exam2) 4) All human efforts to overcome the restrictions imposed by nature ple par excellence is animal freedom . through using modern technology and releasing oneself from the Freedom of decision: this means having the liberty to determine the rule boundaries, that is, to attain more and more freedom, have produced and the modality of one's action opposing to internal irrational forces. other states and conditions sometimes much more constraining eco- I. Kant is the promoter of this concept. Liberty, writes Kant, undoubt- logically, socially, psychologically, economically, etc. These noxious edly is the ratio essendi (the reason to be, the condition) of the moral phenomena, fruits of our so-called liberating tasks, have disturbed human life and thus they are restricting factors for human freedom and norm, but the moral norm is the ratio cognoscendi (that makes it known cause further internal tension. 1 to us) of liberty. This form of liberty affirms free will and opposes determinism. lt is therefore the generator of responsibility and internal moral conflict. Liberty is not a privilege, writes Lecomte du Nouy, it is 2 rather a test. This form of freedom is also called positive and/or collective liberty. From this short discussion emerge two questions. The first is the question of determinism versus free will. If there is no necessity dictating determinism, liberty would not have any meaning; and if there is no liberty what would THE ORIGIN OF LIBERTY IN MAN Man proceeds from the integration of matter into spirit. 'Man has two powers,' said 'Abdu'I-Baha, 'and his development, two aspects. One power is connected with the material world .. . the other power is spiritual'. 4 And again: 'In man there are two natures; his spiritual or higher nature and his material or lower nature'. 5 The soul emerges from the integration of these two. Thus it is intermediary between body and spirit. Man has a rational soul, said • 32 'Abdu'I-Baha, which is the human intelligence. 'This intelligence of man is the intermediary between his body and his spirit'.6 And again: 'you perceive how the soul is the intermediary between the body and the spirit' / Movement is inherent in life. 'Abdu'I-Baha said: 'Creation is the expression of motion. Motion is life ... All created forms are progressive in their planes, or kingdoms of existence, under the stimulus of the power or spirit of life. The universal energy is dynamic. Nothing is stationary in the material world of outer phenomena or in the inner world of intellect and consciousness'. 8 We have two forms of movement, said 'Abdu'I-Baha: essential (spiritual) and contingent (material, bodily). The essential form of movement is an attribute of the spiritual world, and its contingent form is that of the material world. The soul is the field where these two types of movement are interwoven. The spiritual (essential) movement is inherently attractive and the contingent (material) movement is inherently repulsive. The interaction between the attractive and the repulsive movement in the human soul establishes the basis of all human psychological processes that finally manifest in the form of behaviour. Attractive movement belongs to the domain of alterum - the others, the society - it is of an affective, altruistic nature. it makes man sympathize with others and share their sufferings. The retroaction and reflexion of the state of sympathy in the mind results in an affective-altruistic judgement. Repulsive movement, contrary to attractive movement, belongs to the proprium (the ego). it is self protective and egocentric by nature. it makes man become centred around his own interest, self-defensive. Its manifestation and reflexion in the human mind results in egocentric selfprotective judgement. 'If the spiritual qualities of the soul, open to the breath of the divine spirit, are never used, they become atrophied, enfeebled, and at last incapable; whilst the soul's material qualities alone being exercised, they become terribly powerful - and the unhappy, misguided man, becomes more savage, more unjust, more vile, more cruel, more malevolent than the lower animals themselves'. 9 Liberty is a psychological state or process which originates in the attractive as well as the self-protective movement. it is conceptually a structure or system that presents all characteristics related thereto; that is, integrity, self-regulation, transformation, bipolarity, interdependence and so forth. True liberty should have all these characteristics. By integrity we understand the existence of a comprehensive liberty, that is, the observance of both the affective and • 34 self-protective factors intervening in its promotion. Self-regulation means that the maintenance and the continuity of its dynamics and its equilibrium are guaranteed. This implies a state of moderation. The bipolarity to which we have already alluded consists in the two sympathetic and autotelic causalities existing at the origin of the system. As far as the characteristic of interdependence is concerned, one should say that no individual liberty can be defined in a system (socio-system in this case) independently of the liberties of others. This indeed implies the Golden Rule: ' Wish not for others what ye wish not for yourselves; fear God, and be not of the prideful.' 10 Now we have to answer one question: what type of psychological process is liberty and where is it rooted in the human personality structure? Liberty is a need, and at the same time a moral sentiment, an affective disposition centred around an idea. it is not an ideal. it has become an ideal because, as history shows, man has never and nowhere enjoyed true liberty. 'If the learned and worldly-wise men of this age,' states Baha'u'llah, 'were to allow mankind to inhale the fragrance of fellowship and love, every understanding heart would apprehend the meaning of true liberty, and discover the secret of undisturbed peace and absolute composure.' 11 Unfortunately the pages of human history are full of wars, discord and hatred. And whenever the word unity was used, it was unity related with a new disunity. In humanistic psychology theory as formulated by A.Maslow 12 and C. Rogers, 13 liberty is considered a meta-need. it makes itself fully felt in the correct manner when an individual attains the highest degree of maturity and development, that is, a state of self-actualization. This need is, on the one hand, a value, and on the other hand it is a virtue, manifesting itself in individual moral behaviour. As a need (meta-need) it is the origin of a special motivational system and hence is accompanied by a tendency (drive), a desire, and a goal. Following this theory, in the self actualized person the basic needs, such as bodily need, which are chiefly shared with animal instinctive impulses, occupy a second place in relation to meta-needs such as the need for liberty. In the self-actualized person, meta-needs occupy the first place, generating their motivational systems and their corresponding behaviours. Justice, goodness, honesty, sincerity, beauty, wholeness, dichotomy transcendences, uniqueness, perfection, orderliness, simplicity, integrity, spontaneity, self-sufficiency, and meaningfulness are other meta-needs that accompany the need for liberty. The selfactualized person would have highly developed mystical experience, sometimes called peak experience. This marks the highest stage of their development. This stage is characterised by creativity, self-control, spontaneity, freedom from the past and the future, freedom from the world while being with the world by feeling a higher degree of the sentiment of responsibility, and being rhapsodic, consumed, good-humoured, grateful and so forth. Man has a higher and transcendental nature and this is part of his essence. William james also believes that man experiences the mystic condition in diverse ways. He called this the mystical state. The characteristics of this state are ineffability, poetic quality and passivity.14 In the Seven Valleys, one of His mystical guides to humanity, Baha'u'llah explains the condition of the wayfarer on the path of spiritual development in the following statement: 'Now he seeth the shape of wealth as poverty itself, and the essence of freedom as sheer impotence'. 15 The whole text of the Seven Valleys and t he Four Valleys would have to be transcribed here to express an important part of what Baha'u'llah has bestowed upon us as mystic guidance. The life of man has numerous aspects, one of which is mystic, that should not be fostered through social interaction, participation and cooperation. 'That mystic, all-pervasive, yet indefinable change,' wrote the Guardian of the Baha'f Faith, 'which we associate with the stage of maturity inevitable in the life of the individual and the development of the fruit must, if we would correctly apprehend the utterances of Baha'u'llah, have its counterpart in the evolution of the organization of human society'. 16 Returning to the two types of forces and movements, namely attractive and repulsive, as the origin of liberty as a psychological need, we can postulate that true liberty proceeds from a state of balance between these two forces, from which emerge two moral sentiments: right and duty. These two sentiments are, in turn, bound to a basic need: love. This need presents a dichotomy and/ or bipolarity. Its attractive pole is the need to love and its repulsive (self-protective) pole is the need to be loved . Love is the most basic need, nay the most basic psychological process, of the inmost core of the human personality. lt is the cause of all other human psychological activities. '0 son of being! My love is My stronghold; he that entereth therein is safe and secure, and he that turneth away shall surely stray and perish' Y We said that the process of liberty has two poles. Any excess in the func- • 36 tion of these two poles is tantamount to a disequilibrium of the system and causes motivational disturbances. When the self-protective egocentric desire, drives and goals prevail, we will attend an aggressive disruptive scene where the self-protective egoistic form of liberty dominates. When the affectivealterocentric form of liberty prevails, a highly exaggerated form of passive-mystic liberty dominates. A state of equilibrium and moderation is to be established by an internal dialogue under the arbitrage of conscience. 'Whatsoever passeth beyond the limits of moderation,' counsels Baha'u'llah, 'will cease to exert a beneficial influence. Consider for instance such things as liberty, civilization and the like. However much men of understanding may favorably regard them, they will, if carried to excess, exercise a pernicious influence upon men.' 18 'Abdu'I-Baha, referring to moderation in freedom, explains: 'moderate freedom ... guarantees the welfare of the world of mankind and maintains and preserves the universal relationships.' 19 A correct method of moral education and socialization assures the establishment of good moral values and norms system, and the generation of a strong conscience capable of efficient internal arbitrage. Such a method of education and such a process of socialization should encompass all aspects of human life: physical, social, intellectual and spiritual. Otherwise, instinctive drives will grow out of control and the life of man will be under the rule of material and animal needs and instincts. 'To act like the beasts of the field', revealed Baha'u'llah, 'is unworthy of man. Those virtues that befit his dignity are forbearance, mercy, compassion and loving-kindness towards all the peoples and kind reds of the earth' .20And again: 'Liberty must, in the end, lead to sedition, whose flames none can quench. Thus warneth you He who is the Reckoner, the All-Knowing . Know ye that the embodiment of liberty and its symbol is the animal. That which beseemeth man is submission unto such restraints as will protect him from his own ignorance, and guard him against the harm of the mischief-maker. Liberty causeth man to overstep the bounds of propriety, and to infringe on the dignity of his station. lt debaseth him to the level of extreme depravity and wickedness'. 21 Lack of virtues makes man wicked, an evil-doer. Evil is darkness, imperfection. lt is the consequence of the absence of a good education. 'Evil is imperfection', said 'Abdu'I-Baha. 'Through education we must free ourselves from these imperfections. The Prophets of God have been sent, the Holy Books have been written, so that man may be made free' .ZZ 'Abdu'I-Baha counsels us to meditate to attain to real freedom. Meditation is a process of releasing oneself from the outside world; it is a form of freedom. The external world makes a prison for us by presenting barriers of all types: physical, social, intellectual and spiritual. By meditation we break through all these barriers and gain inaccessible dominions of feeling and thought. Intuition or insight is a spontaneous process. lt is a sudden access to the unknown world. Meditation can do almost the same thing, but gradually. During meditation the logical process of the mind is not switched off. But in insight, logical thought has no room . Both processes, insight and meditation, have the same outcome: inspiration. In the human psyche both are higher order metaphenomena, that is, they are predominantly of a spiritual nature. 'This faculty of meditation', said 'Abdu'I-Baha, 'frees man from the animal nature'. 23 And again : 'This faculty brings forth from the invisible plane the sci- egoist. 'When man', said 'Abdu'I-Baha, 'does not open his mind and heart to the blessing of the spirit, but turns his soul towards the material side, towards the bodily part of his nature, then is he fallen from his high place and he becomes inferior to the inhabitants of the lower animal kingdom'. 26 Our beloved Guardian Shoghi Effendi guides us: 'The Baha'f conception of social life is essentially based on the principle of the subordination of the individual will to that of society. lt neither suppresses the individual nor does it exalt him to the point of making him an anti-social creature, a menace to society' .V A comprehensive education comprising spiritual, social-intellectual and physical learning is necessary to establish an equilibrium in the individual soul and the individual conscience whose function helps the concepts of right and duty to find their real definition. Thus liberty finds its true meaning . 'The system of rights', said Hobhouse, 'is the system of harmonised liber- ences and arts. Through the meditative ｦ｡｣ｾｬｴｹ＠ invention are made possible, 24 colossal undertakings are carried out'. 'Through the faculty of meditation man ties'.28 But perhaps it is better to say that true liberty is a system of harmonised attains to eternal life; through it he receives the breath of the Holy Spirit- the bestowal of the Spirit is given in reflection and meditation'. 25 and illegitimate desires. The scope of our liberty is as ample as the extension Socialization, to which we have alluded, is a process that transmits culture to the future generations, affords a pattern to personalities and enables the individual members of the society to adapt to circumstances and conform themselves with the moral, social and legal norms and laws. The point of departure in this complex process is the value system used by individuals on the basis of which needs, desires, tendencies and goals, i.e. motivation systems, develop and take their forms. Good socialization depends on having good means of socalization, and first of all a good family institution in which the mother is the prime agent who implements, by being the symbol of love, the affective value system which is so important in the construction of a solid foundation on which would be structured the individual conscience. The father, no doubt, has his own role, in this case behind the mother as the one who helps essentially the construction and consolidation of moral norms, that serve as another important building block joined with the moral value system in the construction of conscience. Spiritual education implements spiritual values. lt feeds and refines the affective-attractive forces and helps the individual to become altruistic. This contrasts to physical and intellectual education that feeds self-protective forces and causes the individual to become egocentric and, in its excessive form, • 38 rights and duties. Liberty is not freedom, it is the capacity to control our illegal of the reciprocal relation between our rights and our duties. Spiritual education and training, through Holy Writings, help us to learn what freedom really is. lt defines the variation of the extension, as well as the limitations, of our rights and duties. 'We approve of liberty in certain circumstances', revealed Baha'u'llah, 'and refuse to sanction it in others ... Say: true liberty consisteth in man's submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it. Were men to observe that which We have sent down unto them from the Heaven of Revelation, they would, of a certainty, attain unto perfect liberty ... the liberty that profiteth you is to be found nowhere except in complete servitude unto God, the Eternal Truth.' 29 'Abdu'I -Baha explains: 'Man cannot free himself from the rage of the carnal passions except by the help of Holy Spirit' .30 In a spiritual and/or ablative perspective, right and duty express the same concept. They are the two poles of the same structure: liberty. The normal function of this structure, conceived as a system, is ruled by true justice. And a true judgement is not possible unless and until man frees himself from idle fancies. justice, as an outcome of the operation of the mind, is a universal process. lt should be examined in a phenomenological view as a metaperspective process that take place between proprium and alterum, the individual and the society, in a holistic way. Thus it cannot be achieved unless the individual, as judge, frees himself from his own self by inhibiting his own selfpleasu res, self-interests, self-defence and self-inclinations. 'The essence of all that We have revealed for thee', states the Pen of the fORMS OF LIBERTY Generally speaking we have two forms or modes of liberty: intrinsic liberty and extrinsic liberty. Most High, 'is justice, is for man to free himself from idle fancy and imitation, Intrinsic Liberty discern with the eye of oneness His glorious handiwork, and look into all things We may define intrinsic liberty in terms of freedom from all internal agents with a searching eye'. 31 And again : 'This lowly one entreateth the people of which may hinder or weaken the higher order cognitive activities such as the the world to observe fairness, that their tender, their delicate and precious stream of logical and intuitive thought and reasoning, as well as lower order hearing which hath been created to hearken unto the words of wisdom may cognition processes such as perception, and which cause disturbances to moral be freed from impediments and from such illusions, idle fancies or vain judgment. This happens when the soul's moral functions suffer disequilibrium, imaginings'. 32 And 'Abdu'I-Baha explains: 'If we are imprisoned in the material world, our especially due to the dominance of the repulsive egocentric force, and thereby spirit can soar into the Heavens and we shall be free indeedl' 33 Further, 'the dividual becomes the prisoner of his own self. trials which beset our every step, all our sorrow, pain, shame and grief, are born in the world of matter ... Let us turn our hearts away from the world of matter passions and desires dominate the field of psychological activities and the inThe voice of the Ancient Beauty calls man in this dark moment: '0 my servant! Free thyself from the fetters of this world, and loose thy soul from the prison and live in the spiritual world! lt alone can give us freedom!' 34 True liberty is the expression of real unity: to be united with oneself, with of self. Seize thy chance, for it will come to thee no more'. 38 And again: '0 son others and with God through a universal consciousness and the unity of consciences, well aware of what our beloved Master 'Abdu'I-Bahii has taught of resplendent' .39 the 'unity in freedom'. This means that we all should have the same conscious- of man! Put thy hand into My bosom, that I may rise above thee, radiant and 'Abdu'I-Bahii explains further: 'The mass of the people are occupied with self and worldly desire, are immersed in the ocean of the nether world and are ness of freedom on the one hand, and enjoy freedom equally, on the other. captives of the world of nature, save those souls who have been freed from For this to happen we need a universal culture in which diverse system of val- the chains and fetters of the material world.' 40 He warns: 'Man cannot free him- ues and norms, customs and attitude would be mutually understood. We also need a universal system of law. 'The emergence of a world community,' wrote self from the rage of the carnal passions except by the he Ip of the Holy Spirit'.41 So man kneels before the threshold of God with hands extended toward the Shoghi Effendi, 'the consciousness of world citizenship, the founding of a world heaven of His Mercy using these words revealed by the Pen of the Most High: civilization and culture ... must synchronize with the initial stages in the 'Show us the right way, that is, honor us with the love of Thine Essence, that unfoldment of the Golden Age of the Bahii'f Era.' 35 we may be freed from turning toward ourselves and toward all else save Thee'. 42 Within the universal culture, a pure fraternal love freed from every internal or external impediment will constitute the context of social relations . ' Love is Intrinsic liberty depends on the spiritual, intellectual and physical development of the individual. We can summarize its prime conditions as follows: unlimited, boundless, infinite ... the perfect love needs an unselfish instrument, faithfulness to God's covenant, correct moral values implemented absolutely freed from fetters of every kind.' 36Worldly freedom is conditioned through good spiritual education; on the satisfaction of desires and prosperity. But real freedom can be realized balanced internal mechanism of psychogenesis of the need for freedom. even if man is circled by tribulations. 'Abdu'I-Bahii once related that in prison consciousness of the necessity of freedom, especially from some form He was in complete freedom; He was happy because freedom is not a condi- of polarized state of mind such as fanaticism and dogmatism. tion but a state. In one of His Paris talks He stated : 'Suffering and tribulation efficient prognostication process of the mind that produces a telesponse free man from the petty affairs of this worldly life until he arrives at a state of that retroacts positively or negatively on the mechanism of decision complete detachment'. 37 making and hence opens the way to action or closes it, establishing a 41. state of moderation . is, verily, the chief instrument for the establishment of order in the world, and finally, some especially negative emotional and moral states such as of tranquillity amongst its peoples'.48 'Abdu'I-Baha added in Some Answered selfishness, pride, jealousy, cynicism, sarcastic attitudes, evil passions and Questions: 'Religion, then, is the necessary connection which emanates from desires can bring about imprisonment of the will, of the thought and the reality of things; and as the supreme Manifestations of God are aware of of the normal flow of affections and bring intrinsic liberty to naught. the mysteries of beings, therefore, They understand this essential connection, and by this knowledge establish the Law of God'. 49 Today the mass of humans enjoy an illusive freedom to do whatever they Religion is the most great Canon in which all mysteries of the relations and desire, on the condition that a superficial judgment confirms that these do- functions of the whole universe are codified. Thus conceptualised, religion lives ings are not harmful to others. They are indeed prisoners of their own selves. in us or it is better to say that we live in it. lt is manifest psychologically in us in In relation to this illusion the Tongue of Glory laments through these words in the form of a 'need' to believe in a supranatural power. the Most Holy Book: 'Consider the pettiness of men's minds. They ask for that Man needs not only a frame of orientation, wrote E. Fromm, but also an which injureth them, and cast away the thing that profiteth them. They are, object of devotion: a goal or God to which he can attach meaning, to whom indeed, of those that are far astray. We find some men desiring liberty, and he can attribute the meaning of his life. Where the frame of orientation pro- priding themselves therein. Such men are in the depths of ignorance. Liberty vides a map of existence, the object of devotion is the goal toward which that must, in the end, lead to sedition, whose flames none can quench. Thus warneth map directs man's search. 5° you He Who is the Reckoner, the AII-Knowing'YExtrinsic liberty And Baha'u'llah states: 'And now concerning thy question regarding the Extrinsic liberty is the inverse function of external barriers: physical, socio- nature of religion. Know thou that they who are truly wise have likened the cultural and legal sanctions. But indeed individual liberty is the outcome of the world unto the human temple. As the body of man needeth a garment to clothe integration of both types of liberty. No one should think that the Baha'f Faith it, so the body of mankind must needs be adorned with the mantle of justice is minimising or denying the importance of liberty in the development and and wisdom . Its robe is the Revelation vouchsafed unto it by God'.51 Considering progress of humankind. The Pen of the Most High has revealed: 'Thou must all these holy scriptures, statements and definition of the concept of religion, show forth that which will ensure the peace and the well-being of the miser- can we remain, even for one moment, in doubt that submission to this Most able and the down-trodden . Gird up the loins of thine endeavor, that perchance Great Canon is but a synonym with salvation, freedom and eternal happiness? thou mayest release the captive from his chains, and enable him to attain unto If religion is the Most Great Canon and the Manifestation of God, with His true liberty'. 44 And again : 'The Ancient Beauty hath consented to be bound innate infallibility, has defined it by transmitting the words of God, then we with chains that mankind may be released from its bondage, and hath accepted understand why Baha'u'llah prohibited us to speak out against laws and ordi- to be made a prisoner within this most mighty Stronghold that the whole world nances laid down by Him; and why nobody after His authorised interpreters, may attain unto true liberty'Y Some critical thinker may ask the following question: how can submission and servitude, so much valorised and counselled in the Holy Writings, be 'Abdu'I-Baha and Shoghi Effendi, has the right to interpret His Writings, and why we should only admit the explanation given by the Universal House of justice, the infallible institution, about the Baha'f Holy Scriptures. associated and reconciled with liberty? The answer to this question can be found In the Most Holy Book Baha'u'llah revealed: 'Whoso interpreteth what hath through more careful study of the Baha'f Holy Writings. In the Baha'f conception, been sent down from the heaven of Revelation, and altereth its evident as 'Abdu'I-Baha has said, 'Religion is the outer expression of the divine reality'. 46 meaning, he, verily, is of them that have perverted the Sublime Word of God, 'Abdu'I -Baha further explains that 'religion ... is not a series of beliefs, a set of and is of the lost ones in the Lucid Book'.52 As our beloved Guardian has taught customs; religion is the teachings of the Lord God, teachings which constitute us, liberty of self-expression is one of the indubitable rights of the individual: the very life of humankind' Y As the Tongue of Grandeur expressed: 'Religion 'Let us also remember, ' he writes, 'that at the very root of the Cause lies the principle of the undoubted right of the individual to self-expression, his freedom to declare his conscience and set forth his views'YWe discover, therefore, how much we have to be prudent in what we may call the right and freedom of expression. Our inadvertent expression of what we understand from the Baha'i Writings, as we are fallible human beings, is tantamount to a great offence to the Cause by contradicting, unconsciously, the laws and principles of that Most Great Canon. Our beloved Guardian Shoghi Effendi explains the spirit of a true Baha'i in relation to personal discipline: 'Nothing short of the spirit of a true Baha'i', he affirms, 'can hope to reconcile the principles of mercy and justice, of freedom and submission, of the sanctity of the right of the individual and of self-surrender, of vigilance, discretion and prudence on the one hand, and fellowship, candor, and courage on the other'. 54 Baha'u'llah has bestowed upon humanity a freedom that is the key to each and every kind of liberty: the liberty to search after truth. The pages of history are written with the blood and tears of those who wanted to search independently and freely after truth, for which they were persecuted, tortured and even executed . Baha'u'llah has not only bestowed this freedom upon humanity, but He has made it a spiritual principle of His Mighty Canon to be followed by all the peoples of the world . Once again we discover one of those mysteries of reversal,s 5 revealed in the Most Holy Book and other Baha'i Sacred Writings, to which Isaiah alluded in the Holy Bible three thousand years ago. 56 1n the past there was Holy War, but now the Baha'i Faith teaches universal peace, the unity of mankind, and the abandonment of all types of fanaticism including religious prejudice. In the past there was imitation, unquestionable submission, tribu- its different aspects, has also mentioned unity in freedom . This means that humans will be united by sharing the same liberties. The unities developed by 'Abdu'I-Baha are the following: 'unity in the political realm ... unity of thought in world undertakings ... unity in freedom ... unity in religion ... unity of nations ... unity of races ... unity of language.' 59 In a letter addressed to the Central Organization for a Durable Peace He states: 'At present universal peace is a matter of great importance, but unity of conscience is essential, so that the foundation of this matter may become secure, its establishment firm and its edifice strong'.60 To investigate the truth freely and independently, on the one hand, and to mobilize all forces for the establishment of the above-mentioned unities whose achievement will be universal unity, on the other, will give humankind true liberty. All these different forms of unity imply different forms of intrinsic liberty. Men released from their idle fancies and imaginings and prejudices will find themselves united in this small nest: the planet earth. In a message of the Universal House of justice to the American Baha'i community about individual rights and freedoms we read: 'Baha'u'llah came to set humanity free. His Revelation is, indeed, an invitation to freedom-freedom from want, freedom from war, freedom to unite, freedom to progress, freedom in peace and joy. You who live in a land where freedom is so highly prized have not, then, to dispense with its fruits, but you are challenged and do have the obligation to uphold and vindicate the distinction between the license that limits your possibilities for genuine progress and the moderation that ensures the enjoyment of true liberty'. 61 nals of inquisition; and now Baha'u'llah has laid down the principle of the independent and free investigation of truth. 'Abdu'I-Baha states: 'In the past centuries the nations of the world have imagined that the law of God demanded blind imitation of ancestral forms of belief and worship .... Praise be to God! We are living in this most radiant century wherein human perceptions have developed and investigations of real foundations characterize mankind . Individually and collectively man is proving and penetrating into the reality of outer and inner conditions.' 5 7 Independent investigation of truth will, the truth being one, bring all of us to unity. And 'Abdu'I-Baha affirms: 'So let us one and all hold fast to truth, and we shall be free indeed!' 58 Our Beloved Master 'Abdu'I-Baha, in explaining the concept of unity and 45. ments and designs are independent of, and precede and outlast the will and designs of any given individual, and that such social and individual designs may be logically and empirically dependent upon things outside their direct and immediate control. 2 justice, assuming the role of harmoniser, necessarily follows the rule of reason . Irrationality diversifies and rationality unifies. Feeling, an individual affective disposition, infinitely diversifies us, and only reasoning can bring us to THE IN CoNCEPT THE BAHA'i OF JusTICE FAITH harmony. Nevertheless the propensity to justice is rooted in the inmost core, the affective part of each personality, presenting itself socially as the moral sentiment of justice. Being under the rule of logic, a code of law is indispensable. Therefore there should be, as Kamenka said, 'a divine or human law giver'. 3 Houshang Khazrai INTRODUCTION Not only do human beings and their collectivity demand in their affairs such a code of law, but the entire order of the universe implies a universal code of The word justice is derived from the Latin terms justica, which means eq- laws and a universal harmoniser. All elements of the universe- human, animal, uity, and jussus, which is equivalent to order, prescription and commandment. vegetable, organic and mineral - are under this universal rule. All events, or- lt is close to the word jus, which means right. These different terms indicate derly or disorderly in appearance, are reactions of the universal system in which the intrinsic as well as the extrinsic semantic aspects of the word justice. Archeo- justice is one of the principia maxima. justice is an 'idea', because judgment is epistemologically, justice is considered a perennial concept; some have even a special attitude of our mind toward the actual object of our thought. lt is called it eternal. 1 also an ideal, not only because attaining to a perfect form of it is complex, subtle justice and judgment are interrelated concepts. justice is always the out- and even difficult, but also because humanity has been searching for it through- come of a judgment. lt may also be judged, but a judgment may be submit- out its history, and its demand has never been satisfied. This continuous frus- ted to justice too. They form a holistic system; they are interdependent. judg- tration in the past has made justice a desired but unattained object which dis- ment, linguistically speaking, is derived from the Latin terms judicatio and appeared in the horizon of time as far as the eye of humanity could see. 'jus- dijudicatio. The second term also indicates another meaning: the decision. Simi- tice is, in this day, bewailing its plight, and Equity groaneth beneath the yoke lar to decision-making, judgment is also the resolution of a tension and con- of oppression', laments Baha'u'lliih. 'The thick clouds of tyranny have darkened flict which arises from opposing forces. justice, once established, presents the the face of the earth, and enveloped its peoples.' 4 state of harmony between these forces. lt embodies the recognition of the But from behind the tear that covers the eye of humanity, it can now per- conditions of this harmony. Harmony is a duplex condition, it is the means and ceive the coming of the day in which justice, peace and brotherhood will be the end of justice. Otherwise, the opposing forces will come to mutual self- established upon the earth. 'He will swallow up death in victory', we read in destruction . When a state of harmony prevails between opposing forces, the the book of Isaiah, 'and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; outcome will be a state called 'order'. Harmony indicates the transcendental and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the aspect of justice, and, as Eugene Kamenka explains, it is: Lord hath spoken it.' 5 And St. John in the Revelation assures the people of the world: 'And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be the recognition of an empirical fact: that men and circumstances are always parts of a wider situation in space and time, that social arrange- no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain : for the former things are passed away.' 6 And Baha'u'llah declares: 'Through the movement of Our pen of Glory We have, at the bidding of the According to Plato, justice is the main theme that emerges from the conflict omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new life into every human frame, and instilled between the exponents of might and the exponents of right - between those into every word a fresh potency.' 7 And again : 'These are the appointed days', who think that might makes right, and justice is expediency, and those who revealed the Bab, 'which ye have been yearningly awaiting in the past - the think that power can be rightly as well as wrongly exercised, and that justice days of the advent of divine justice. Render ye thanks unto God, 0 ye con- cannot be measured by utility. As far as the law is concerned, Plato considers it course of believers.'8 as 'a disposition of reason' which orders things according to their natures. He recognises that law neither depends upon, nor derives its authority from, the TH£ EvoLUTION oF TH£ CoNCEPT oF JusTICE Human understanding of justice has undergone a continuous evolution. As we have already seen, the idea of justice is considered perennial and, as Kamenka and Tay have written, 'some indeed would call it eternal.' This means that the concept of justice is as old as the creation of man and the universe. The writing of philosophers of antiquity and those of ancient Chinese thinkers do not show any sign of being the origin of this idea. justice is one of the innate principles of existence. Man has always had an inner understanding, an intuitive knowledge of it. This knowledge, however, progressively came under the rule of human logic and followed its development. justice has been subject to discussion since the time of the philosophers of antiquity. Anacharsis, the Scynthian prince who lived six centuries BC and was described by the Greeks as 'the Scynthian eloquence, ' is reputed to have said: Nature is almost always in opposition to the laws, because she labours for the happiness of the individual without regard to other individuals who surround him, while the laws only direct the attention to the relations by which he is united to them ... Nature infinitely diversifies our character and inclinations, while it is the object of the laws to bring them back to unity.9 power of the state. 11 Plato's conception of justice implies a natural and harmonious disposition and order ruled by reason. justice equilibrates the other virtues, and elite guardians are the embodiment of reason. The main function of justice is to achieve harmony and maintain equilibrium. justice therefore is in the hand of the all-powerful philosopher-ruler. The origin of justice is the reason that rules within the psyche of the ruler. Aristotle (384-322 BC) treats justice as a virtue, a habit of conduct. 'justice', said Aristotle, 'is not a part of virtue but virtue entire.' Nevertheless he considers the determination of what is just to be the principle of order in political society. According to Aristotle, man, 'when separated from law and justice', is 'the worst of animals. 11 2 He conceives political justice as partly natural and partly conventional or legal, but he gives the lesser part to natural justice and natural law. Government determines who is just or unjust. The most problematic aspect of Aristotle's treatment of justice is that he minimises the part of natural justice, natural law, and natural rights. Natural rights, unlike civil rights, are not conferred on individuals by the state, but are inherent in their personalities. They are inalienable, that is, the state cannot rescind them. Government has to secure conventional as well as natural rights . If government transgresses these rights, it nullifies its own reason for being. Nevertheless, Socrates (470-399 BC) is essentially concerned with justice as a human in- Aristotle has recognised the existence of natural justice. Natural laws, he said, ward process, rather than an outward one. 'A just man', he said, 'sets in order form the changeless basis of natural justice. Equity, which, in Aristotle's termi- his own inner life, and is his own master, and his own law and at peace with nology, is synonymous with natural justice, presents the injustice of himself.' 10 Thus for the first time the idea of justice as an inner human life process misapplication by dispensing justice in a particular case according to the spirit, can be singled out in Socratic thought. Plato (428-348 BC) maintains that justice is political in the sense that the not the letter, of the law. Therefore there are cases where the law itself must be measured . Natural justice provides this standard . state, in organisation and operation, is a work of justice. Wisdom is the virtue In Aristotle's conception, justice has two main forms: distributive justice, of the rulers, but justice is the organising principle of Plato's ideal state. He has which judges men according to their merits and deserts; and commutative or not, however, developed a concise social reference to justice as a virtue. jus- corrective justice, which treats peoples equally and impartially. When one citi- tice is a harmonious order, both in the state and in the soul of the individual. zen commits an injustice against another, and thus provokes inequality, the role of judges as rectifiers is to remove this inequality. Plotinus (205-270 AD) postulates that justice is harmony or right order in the soui.B principles a priori.' 21 On natural laws, W.F. Hegel (1 770-1831) declares that we must learn to know nature, since its laws are rigid and definitely established, and it is only According to Aquinas (1 225-1 274), justice is 'that a man gives another his our ideas about them that may prove insufficient and even false. 22 due.' justice therefore implies duty. Aquinas assumes also that justice removes J.S. Mill (1773-1836) established his theory of justice principally on utili- the obstacle to peace. He thinks that peace is indirectly the work of justice, tarianism . For him 'the just' is a particular species of 'the useful'. But he leapt but it is the work of charity directly, for love is a uniting force. The bonds of from particular, individual justice to justice as a general process, leaving a gap love unite men where justice governs their interaction .14 In relation to natural in the discussion on justice as a problem of social groups with different dimen- law Aquinas states: 'the law of nature has it that the evildoer should be pun- sions . One preoccupation of Mill was the relations between justice and liberty. ished in this way or that' . lt is the determination of the law of nature which He argues that a man is entitled to all the liberty that he can use justly. Mill the positive law must institute. 15 was the first to presume that some mental and emotional forces impel men to Hobbes (1 588-1 679) believes that the notions of justice and injustice could strive for justice. 23 On the question of equality Mill states: 'lt may perhaps be only be applied to a civil society. In the state of nature, a condition of war of said that a constitution which gives equal influence, man for man, to the most everyone against everyone, the concept of ｪｾｳｴｩ｣･＠ has no place.16 The concep- tion of justice espoused by Spinoza (1 632-1 677) was very close to that of Hobbes. 17 and to the least instructed is nevertheless conducive to progress'. 24 Marx (181 8-1883) believes that individuals should receive according not to their abilities, but to their needs. He rejected the term 'justice' in his analy- Locke (1 632-1 704) gives special importance to natural justice. 'Natural Laws sis of economic relations, alleging that justice is only a mask for capitalist ex- and Natural Rights', he wrote, 'limit the power of governments and permit them ploitation. Thus concepts such as social justice can only cause misunderstand- to be judged as just and/or unjust.' 18 ing of the importance of class conflict. Marx argues that the mode of produc- Montesquieu (1 689-1 755) declares that 'Laws in their most general signification are the necessary relation arising from the nature of things. In this sense tion of capitalism, and its inequality of distribution, is by nature unjust and exploitative. 25 all beings have their laws.' This statement implies, on the one hand, the importance accorded by Montesquieu to natural laws, and, on the other, the inherent nature of laws and therefore justice. On the subject of liberty, JusTICE AND EQUALITY The idea of equality is at the centre of any discussion on justice. lt is an Montesquieu argues that 'the natural place of virtue is near to liberty but it is important but nevertheless polemic concept which is very difficult to grasp and not nearer to excessive liberty than to servitude'. 19 to define. lt is, however, predominantly based on natural rights and duties. I. Kant (1 724-1 804) considers jurisprudence the true source of justice. lt Natural rights and duties common to all peoples make the foundation on which follows the rule of reason. 'Ethics', he wrote, 'does not supply laws for action formal (positive) rights, duties and obligations are laid. Within the structure but only the maxims for action ... Ethical duties are of indeterminate, juridical thus produced we may strive for equality. Equality here is neither a quantita- duties of strict obligations.' Duties proceeding from justice are specific, whereas tive nor a simple qualitative state-condition . lt is clear that humans are not equal those arising from love are general. 20 For Kant the analysis of law derives from the analysis of rights. Kant postu- regarding their biological, psychological and spiritual entities. In other words there exists no sameness. Natural rights surge from innate biological and spir- lates the existence of two types of rights: the innate rights that correspond to itual needs whose satisfaction is indispensable for normal individual develop- natural right and the acquired rights that are equivalent to positive rights . Ac- ment and the full blooming of one's capacities and fulfillment of one's person- cording to Kant, from the innate rights develops a system of laws that requires ality. They are held to be natural, according to D. Pickles, 'in the sense that no external promulgation . 'Natural right', said Kant, 'rests upon pure rational their recognition is implicit in the facts of social organisation or in the sense 51. that they are beyond argument.' 26 as a twofold concept: firstly, the right to equal treatment, and secondly, 'the Studying the evolution of the concept of equality makes its controversial quality evident. Plato sees equality in 'equality in virtue and education .'27 Aris- right to treatment as an equal.' Dworkin assumes that equal treatment means equal distribution under a uniform rule.37 The two aspects mentioned above totle sees equality as the existence of the 'same law for all, a policy administered with regard to equal rights and equal freedom to speech .' 28 Aquinas be- An integration of both aspects is needed for an adequate understanding of lieves that 'equality of justice has its place in retribution, since equal rewards equality. Hayek supports the Kantian conception of the undeniable and/or in- present equality under two references: social (external) and personal (internal). or punishment are due to equal merit and demerit ... God from the beginning, herent right of civil equality, which Kant completed by adding constitutional to secure perfection in the universe has set therein various and unequal natures. '29 For Hobbes, 'in the condition of mere nature ... all men are equal.' 30 freedom and political independence.38 ]ulius Stone even believed that Hayek On the subject on extreme equality, Montesquieu writes: of Hayek. Perelman, according to Stone, believes that only issues of formal justice can be controlled by the notion of equality. 39 as distant as heaven is from earth, so is the true spirit of equality from that of extreme equality. The former does not imply that everybody should command or that no ｯｮｾ＠ should be commanded, but that we obey or command our equals. lt endeavours not to shake off the authority of a master, but that its master should be none but its equals. 31 What Montesquieu formulated about liberty is related with his thoughts on equality: 'the natural place of virtue', he said, 'is near to liberty, but it is not nearer to excessive liberty than to servitude.' 32 ]. S. Mill postulates on almost unconditional equality: 'it may, perhaps, be said, that a constitution which gives equal influence, man for man, to the most and to the least instructed is nevertheless conductive to progress.' 33 ] . ]. Rousseau has a more moderate opinion: 'by equality we should understand not that degrees of power and riches are to be absolutely identical for everybody; but that power shall never be great enough for violence, and shall always be exercised by virtue of rank and law ... no citizen shall ever be wealthy enough to buy another and none poor enough to be forced to sell himself.' 34 A further question in relation to equality is equal opportunity. Equal opportunity implies diversity and, somehow, a primary inequality. lt means, as Tawney has said, 'equal provision ', and 'it can be achieved, not by treating different needs in the same way, but by devoting equal care to ensuring that they are met in the different way most appropriate to them.' 35 Equal opportunity also means, as stated by Pickles, 'the equal rights for all to claim the protection of the law ... and to be judged by the same law', as well as 'an equal right to fundamental liberties.' 36 Some scientists and philosophers have come to consider the right to equality has reduced justice to equality. He cited Perelman's opinion opposed to that In a vision of corrective justice (in the Aristotelian sense) equality is equal treatment by law in a rectificatory goal; whereas in the distributive view of justice, equality is necessarily a function of two variables: right and duty. The role and relation of right and duty in the structure of equality is not necessarily direct. Their relation is integrative; in other words, they both take part in the same system of which they represent the two poles. Therefore, neither of these two can be defined independently of the other. When we speak of equality we are speaking of a complex holistic structure that a simplistic approach cannot grasp. JusTICE : A UNIVERSAL PROPHECY In the Dispensations of the Past As a commandment, and also as a promise of God for the fullness of time and the New Day, justice is revealed in the Holy Writings of almost all dispensations of the past. In the writings of Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, ]udaism, Christianity and Islam, justice is considered a moral virtue. lt is also the prime condition of the unification of humankind, and constitutes one of the conditions of the prophecies of the Day of God, the end of time. In the writing of Hinduism, namely in 'Visnu Purana', there is the promise of the coming of Kalki and establishment of justice upon earth. The Buddhist Scriptures promise the establishment, by the fifth Buddha, of the universal love and goodness revealed in Vedas and also in dialogues of Buddha. In the Zoroastrian revelation there is the affirmation of the renovation of the universe with the establishment of unity, peace and justice revealed in Bahman Vast. In the testaments of the twelve patriarchs related to the messenger Abraham, we read of the establishment of tranquillity and peace. All are affirming that this con- ye concourse of believers.' 4 7 And Baha'u'llah, the Promised One of all Ages, cept has been central in their moral orientation, and has been prophesied as has revealed: 'Bestir yourselves, 0 people, in anticipation of the days of Divine the promise of the Day of God : the establishment of righteousness and justice justice, for the promised hour is now come. Beware lest ye fail to apprehend to be fulfilled with the coming of the promised one in that Day. its import and be accounted among the erring.'48 And again: 'The purpose When we research the texts of the Holy Bible we aga in discover the continuation of this prophecy in the Old as well as the New Testaments. In Psalms we read: 'Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps'.40 In the book of Isaiah it is written : But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth : and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked . And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.41 Jeremiah recounts: ' Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.' 42 Hosea counsels : 'Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground : for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you .' 4 3 John underlying the revelation of every heavenly Book, nay, of every divinely-revealed verse, is to endue all men with righteousness and understanding, so that peace and tranquillity may be firmly established amongst them.' 49 In his summons to Pope Pius IX Baha'u'llah proclaims: 'Verily, the day of the ingathering is come, and all things have been separated from each other. He hath stored away that which He chose in the vessels of justice, and cast into fire that which befitteth it.' 50 Explaining the darkness that characterises the coming of the promised one (Himself), He declares: justice is, in this day, bewailing its plight, and Equity groaneth beneath the yoke of expression . The thick clouds of tyranny have darkened the face of the earth, and enveloped its peoples. Through the movement of Our Pen of Glory We have, at the bidding of the omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new life into every human frame, and instilled into every word a fresh potency .51 assures us: 'And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.' 44 The Revelation of St John recounts yet more interesting things: And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters .45 And in the Holy Qur'an we read : 'As for the Righteous, they will be in Bliss, and the Wicked - they will be in the Fire, which they will enter on the Day of Judgment, and they will not be able to keep away therefrom.' 46 In the Baha'l Faith The Bab also proclaimed the advent of the divine justice: 'These are the And He states again: 'In these days the tabernacle of justice hath fallen into the clutches of tyranny and oppression .' 52 And in the 'Words of Paradise' He declares: In the city of justice it [wisdom] is the unrivaled Speaker Who, in the year nine, illumined the world with the joyful tidings of this revelation . And it was this peerless Source of wisdom that at the beginning of the foundation of the world ascended the stair of inner meaning and when enthroned upon the pulpit of utterance, through the operation of the divine Will, proclaimed two words. The first heralded the promise of reward, while the second voice the ominous warning of punishment. The promise gave rise to hope and the warning begat fear. Thus the basis of world order hath been firmly established upon these twin principles. Exalted is the Lord of Wisdom, the Possessor of Great Bounty .53 And again : appointed days', He revealed, 'which ye have been yearningly awaiting in the past - the days of the advent of divine justice. Render ye thanks unto God, 0 We exhort mankind in these days when the countenance of justice 55. is soiled with dust, when the flames of unbelief are burning high and the robe of wisdom rent asunder ... Set your reliance on the army of justice, put on the armour of wisdom, let your adorning be forgiveness and mercy and that which cheereth the hearts of the well-favoured of God. 54 BAH.A'u'LLAH's SuMMONS TO JuSTICE Baha'u'llah summons all mankind in general, and social and political leaders in particular, to observe the principle of justice, exhorting them by its rewarding results and warning them against committing unjust acts. 'We exhort mankind in these days', He revealed 'when the countenance of justice is soiled with dust, Such is His call to kings and presidents: Hearken ye, 0 Rulers of America and the Presidents of the Republics therein, unto that which the Dove is warbling on the Branch of Eternity: "There is none other God but Me, the Ever-Abiding, the Forgiving, the All-Bountiful." Adorn ye the temple of dominion with the ornament of justice and the fear of God, and its head with the crown of the remembrance of your Lord, the Creator of the heavens. 5 5 'The Great Being saith ... lt behoveth ev,ery ruler to weigh his own being every day in the balance of equity and justice and then to judge between men and counsel them to do that which directs their steps unto the path of wisdom and understanding.' 56 And He warns us against the most grievous injustice that we may commit: when the flames of unbelief are burning high and the robe of wisdom rent asunder ... Set your reliance on the army of justice, put on the armour of wisdom, let your adorning be forgiveness and mercy and that which cheereth the hearts of the well-favoured of God.' 61 'Cleave ye to justice and fairness, and turn away from the whisperings of the foolish, them that are estranged from God.' 62 And again: 'Happy are they that observe God's precepts; happy are they that have recognized the Truth; happy are they that judge with fairness in all matters and hold fast to the Cord of My inviolable ]ustice.' 63 'lt is incumbent upon every man, in this Day, to hold fast unto whatsoever will promote the interests, and exalt the station, of all nations and just governments.' 64 And again: 'lt biddeth the people to observe justice and to work righteousness, and forbiddeth them to follow their corrupt inclinations and carnal desires.' 65 If ye pay no heed unto the counsels which, in peerless and unequivocal language, We have revealed in this Tablet, Divine chastisement shall assail you from every direction, and the sentence of His justice shall be pronounced against you. On that day ye shall have no power to resist Him, and shall recognise your own impotenceY In relation to His own Revelation, Baha'u'llah declares: 'Look ye with the eye of equity upon Him Who hath descended from the heaven of Divine will and power, and be not of those who act unjustly.' 58 He calls to political leaders in these heart-stirring words: Take heed, 0 concourse of the rulers of the world! There is no force on earth that can equal in its conquering power the force of justice and wisdom ... Blessed is the king who marcheth with the ensign of wisdom unfurled before him, and the battalions of justice massed in his rear ... There can be no doubt whatever that if the day star of justice, which the clouds of tyranny have obscured, were to shed its light upon men, the face of the earth would be completely transformed. 66 And such is His counsel to members of the Universal House of justice: '0 ye He counsels the rulers and the wealthy with these words: 'Blessed is the ruler Men of justice! Be ye, in the realm of God, shepherds unto His sheep and guard who succoureth the captive, and the rich one who careth for the poor, and the them from the ravening of wolves that have appeared in disguise, even as ye just one who secureth from the wrong doer the rights of the down-trodden.'67 would guard your own sons. Thus exhorteth you the Counsellor, the Faithful.' 59 When Baha'u'llah summons the rulers to apply justice, He always counsels them To complete this introductory presentation on prophecies and warning in to promote the interests of the whole of humanity and not only those of their relation to the Day of God, we quote the following from the 'Words of Wis- own country. 'If the rulers and kings of the earth, the symbols of the power of dom': 'The essence of all that We have revealed for thee is Justice, is for man God, exalted be His glory', revealed Baha'u'llah, 'arise and resolve to dedicate to free himself from idle fancy and imitation, discern with the eye of oneness themselves to whatever will promote the highest interests of the whole of hu- His glorious handiwork, and look unto all things with a searching eye.' 60 manity, the reign of justice will assuredly be established amongst the children of men, and the effulgence of its light will envelope the whole earth.' 68 In a special call to the rulers of America He declares: complete order and a finished design, from which it will never depart- to such Hearken ye, 0 Rulers of America and the Presidents of the Republics therein, unto that which the Dove is warbling on the Branch of Eternity: "There is none other God but Me, the Ever-Abiding, the Forgiving, the All-Bountiful." Adorn ye the temple of dominion with the ornament of justice and of the fear of God, and its head with the crown of the remembrance of your Lord, the Creator of the heavens. 69 a degree, indeed, that if you look carefully and with keen sight, from the smallest invisible atom up to such large bodies of the world of existence as the globe of the sun or the other great stars and luminous spheres, whether you regard their arrangement, their composition, their form or their movement, you will find that all are in the highest degree of organisation and are under one law from which they will never depart.' 76 This universal law is the rule of a universal logic. He calls on them to rise against the oppressor: 'Should any one among you', The universal logic implies a universal reason, that is, the Logos. The system of declares Baha'u'llah, 'take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for the universe functions following the rules of the universal Logos or reason. Any this is naught but manifest justice.' 70 And again: 'Bind ye the broken', He coun- deviation from the rules of this reason is tantamount to the breaking of univer- sels, 'with the hands of justice, and crush the oppressor who flourisheth with sal law, and will be judged and sentenced. Its judgment is supranatural, di- the rod of the commandments of your Lord, the Ordainer, the AII-Wise.' 71 The Trustees of God, members of the Universal House of justice, as well as the members of the National Houses of justice are summoned to assume their responsibilities with the utmost prudence: '0 ye Men of justice! Be ye, in the vine, and universal in its application . 'The precepts laid down by God', revealed Baha'u'llah, 'constitute the highest means for the maintenance of order in the world.' 77 From universal law and universal judgment emerges universal justice. The realm of God, shepherds unto His sheep and guard them from the ravening book of law in this tribunal is the Book of God, whose content explains and wolves that have appeared in disguise, even as ye would guard your own sons. teaches the universal laws. ' Religion', said 'Abdu'I-Baha, ' .. . is the necessary Thus exhorteth you the Counsellor, the Faithful.' 72 connection which emanates from the reality of things; and as the supreme Manifestations of God are aware of the mysteries of beings, therefore, They JuSTICE THE : A UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLE AND A PRINCIPLE OF UNIVERSE understand this essential connection, and by this knowledge establish the Law of God.' 78 We should know that the substratum of the law revealed by the Mani- 'Nature', said 'Abdu'I-Baha, 'is but the essential properties and the neces- festations of God is love. 'Love', 'Abdu'I-Baha states, 'is ... the vital bond in- sary relations inherent in the realities of things.173 The universe presents nature herent ... in the realities of things.' 79 This definition is almost in conformity with in its entirety. He again said: the definitions of religion and of nature given by 'Abdu'I-Baha. Love is the origi- 'One of the things which has appeared in the world of existence, and which is one of the requirements of Nature, is human life. Considered from this point of view man is the branch; nature is the root. Then can the will and the intelligence, and the perfections which exist in the branch, be absent in the root?' 74 What is the universal reason and universal intelligence that prevails in nature, the universe? 'Abdu'I-Baha answers this question . 'Nature in its own essence', He said, 'is in the grasp of the power of God ... He holds nature within accurate regulations and laws, and rules over it.' 75 Nature is governed by one universal law following which it is organised and presents order. 'Nature', said 'Abdu'I-Baha, 'is subject to an absolute organisation, to determined laws, to a nal cause emanated from the primary cause: God Himself. '0 son of man', revealed Baha'u'llah, 'I loved thy creation, hence I created thee . Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life.' 80 In the book of law of God, love is the greatest law: Love is the most great law that ruleth this mighty and heavenly cycle, the unique power that bindeth together the diverse elements of this material world, the supreme magnetic force that directeth the movements of the spheres in the celestial realms. Love revealeth with unfailing and limitless power the mysteries latent in the universe. 81 We understand, therefore, that love is the principium primus around which revolve other principles of existence such as justice. We conclude this section by saying that justice is one of the inner principles of existence. it is as old as the creation of the universe and man: the observer. of the human soul. The higher nature of man tends toward altruism with no conscious intent87 and/or with conscious intent.88 When the higher nature of Man has always had an innate understanding, an intuitive knowledge of justice. man operates normally the outcome is the primum movans of affection (stricto This knowledge, however, progressively came under the rule of logic and sensu) . This is rooted in the attractive movement of the human soul. All psy- followed its development, accompanying human social evolution and giving chological processes, especially those of a moral nature, are the consequences of the dialogue between these two forces. 89 Equality and justice belong to this birth to moral justice, legal justice and so forth. The justice of God as it is applied directly is absolute. Baha'u'llah makes it known to us, but this justice makes itself evident in ways unknown to us. 'For this is the realm of Absolute Command ', declares Baha'u'llah, 'and is free from all attributes of earth. The exalted dwellers ... on the high seats of justice, they issue their commands, and they send down gifts according to each man's deserving.' 82 category of process, and have been subject to comprehensive research and discussion .90 justice is the attribute of God and His gift to man . We read in the Hidden words: 'Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of my loving-kindness'.91 'Justice is not limited', said 'Abdu'I-Baha, 'it is a universal quality.'92 just as perceiving, feeling, thinking, reasoning, decision-making, and judging are THE ORIGIN OF PHILOSOPHICAL jUSTICE IN APPROACH MAN: IN THE A SCIENTIFIC LIGHT OF THE AND 8AHA 1 i WRITINGS The term Homo Duplex, used by G. Button (1707-1788), is a fair expression uninterruptible processes similar to breath ing, justice, as a complex product of these processes is demanded at all moments in the life of man. Judgment is the foundation of decision-making . And man has to decide as he programs his of the reality of man . Man is the outcome of the integration of spirit and mat- life, from the simplest affairs to the most complex ones. Who demands that ter. This integration gives rise to his soul. The soul is invested with spiritual and justice be applied? Members of the society in which the individual is living? material qualities. All psychological processes, be they affective, cognitive or justice is not something limited to the socio-system . Humans should be just conative, are the functions and operations of the soul (psyche). If the soul is toward the eco-system too, that is, nature, animals, plants, and so forth. lt will dominated by spirit, our feelings, thoughts and actions are essentially spiritual. not take long before we are drawn to formulate a justice towards the cosmos, Otherwise they would be predominantly of material nature. 'Man has two and provide special laws in this respect in the world constitution. powers; and his development, two aspects', said 'Abdu'I-Baha. 'One power is But there is no consciousness of self without the knowledge of self, and no connected with the material world ... The other power is spiritual, and through true knowledge of self without self-judgment. judgment is a continuous op- its development his inner, potential nature is awakened . These powers are like two wings. Both must be developed, for flight is impossible with one wing.' 83 eration of mind, because justice is needed everywhere, in everything and at every moment. justice should also be present in the establishment of relations And again 'man is endowed with two natures: one tendeth towards moral sub- between man and God and His manifestations, but unfortunately, throughout limity and intellectual perfection, while the other turneth to bestial degrada- history and still today a great majority of men are deprived of the knowledge tion and carnal imperfection.' 84 of God and His Manifestations mainly because of injustice. Baha'u'llah laments 'In his material aspect', 'Abdu'I-Baha further explains, 'he expresses untruth, in the Most Holy Book: 'Look with the eye of equity upon Him Who hath de- cruelty and injustice; all these are the outcome of his lower nature. The attributes of his Divine nature are shown forth in love, mercy, kindness, truth and justice, one and all being expressions of his higher nature.'85 Psychologically speak- scended from the heaven of Divine will and power, and be not of those who act unjustly.' 93And again 'He whom the world hath wronged now proclaimeth: The light of justice is dimmed, and the sun of Equity veiled from sight.' 94 'Should ing, the lower nature of man tends toward egoism and at the extreme to egotism . 'Self-love', said 'Abdu'I-Baha, 'is kneaded into the very clay of man .' 86 the lamp of religion be obscured, chaos and confusion will ensue, and the lights of fairness and justice, of tranquillity and peace cease to shine.' 95 When this part of human existence operates normally the outcome is the primum In the human personality structure, justice, as a psychological process, is movans of self-protection. This is rooted in the repulsive (defensive) movement one of the sub-systems of its inmost core: the affective nucleus. justice is a need. 61. In the humanistic theory of psychology, it is considered a meta-need. 96 As a purposes. 'The purpose of justice', proclaims Baha'u'llah, 'is the appearance of need, justice, joined with its appropriate desire, tendency and goal, forms the unity among men. The ocean of divine wisdom surgeth within this exalted word, fundamental part of the structure of the motivation system of justice. 'As the while the books of the world cannot contain its inner significance.' 98 body of man', revealed Baha'u'llah, 'needeth a garment to clothe it, so the 'There is no force on earth', Baha'u'llah has revealed, 'that can equal in its conquering power the force of justice and wisdom.' 99 body of mankind must needs be adorned with the mantle of justice and wisdom.'97 The need for justice in itself is a sub-system. lt presents all general characteristics of a system: integrity, bipolarity, interdependence, self-regulation, transformation and so forth. The two forces of attraction (affective) and of repul- 'Abdu'I-Baha further explains the importance of justice in one of His tablets: 'The kingdom of God,' he said, 'is founded upon equity and justice, and also upon mercy, compassion, and kindness to every living soul.' 100 Adler postulated that each individual follows a goal of superiority, reacting sion (self-protective) and their consequent movements, the attractive and the to his feeling of inferiority. This reaction is the source of tension and force. repulsive movements, are at the very origin of the need for justice and its mo- Therefore, the power of man, said Adler, has its origin in his weakness . The last tivational system. The need for justice is rooted in the need to love, whose bi- statement is true but our weakness has another source - our needs. To be needy polarity or dichotomy is the need to be loved. The bipolarity in the need for implies being weak. But we know that need is the basic substratum of any justice is presented by the need to judge justly and the need to be judged justly. motivation. There will be no motivation and therefore no action in human life Absence of satisfaction of this need leads to culpability and anxiety on the one if there would not be a specific need at their origin. justice as a need therefore hand, and frustration-aggression on the other, respectively related to the two constitutes the main element of human conduct and behaviour. When justice poles of this need system . By integrity we understand a state of wholeness, a is discussed within the context of formal human relations and interactions, le- holistic justice. justice in one case cannot be defined independently of its defi- gal or constitutional justice emerges; when it involves affective, emotional so- nition in other cases. Socially speaking, this means an integrative, comprehen- cial interactions moral justice appears; and when the whole problem is exam- sive, all-embracing justice. As we previously said, the word justice is derived ined in relation to natural laws, the principium primum of justice sometimes from the Latin jus, which means right and reason. justice means being in con- presented under the vague term of natural justice surges. These statements formity with reason . tend to indicate that the different forms of justice indeed have the same ori- This implies two important concepts. The first explains that the need for gin. Moral justice is influenced by moral values. lt is culture-bound. Constitu- justice from the affective nucleus of personality continues its development in tional (positive) justice too is somehow affected by culture. Positive laws and the cognitive stratum to be approved by the reason and the other sub-systems positive justice originate in reason, whereas moral justice is based mostly upon of the cognitive part, and then passes into the conative stratum for the pro- affective judgment, and thus is predominantly idiosyncratic. Culture and edu- motion of the 'decision-making' process, finally bringing about 'action' based cation influence both moral and positive justice. In order to put them in their on a judgment. The second is that, 'order' being an arrangement or disposition in conformity with the rule of reason, therefore justice and order are component parts of the same system and are interdependently bound one to another. If we apply this conception to the Logos, the word of God, the universal logic (the supreme reason) whose most important counterpart in this world is the human mind, we will understand that the transcendental meaning of justice follows a supreme set of laws, the Most Great Canon, the most great principle (Namousse Azam) following which God created the world, and whose rules penetrate the whole universe and thus establish unity though its functions and original position, that is, as an emergence from natural law and natural justice, we need a universal culture on the one hand, and a universal education on the other. 'The emergence of a world community', wrote Shoghi Effendi, 'the consciousness of world citizenship, the founding of a world civilization and culture - all ... must synchronise with the initial stages in the unfoldment of the Golden Age of the Baha'f Era.' 101 Natural law is defined as the system of right or justice thought to be common to all mankind derived from nature rather than from the rules of society, or positive law. The main difference between the current understandings of natural justice and natural law, and those of the Baha'f Faith, is that natural flow of respect and service in two senses, from individual to society and from law and natural justice concern the whole universe. 'Laws', said Montesquieu, society to the individual, that is, in complete reciprocity. This reciprocity should 'in their most general sign ification are the necessary relations arising from the prevail over all levels of the socio-system : between system and individual and nature of things. In this sense all beings have their laws' .102 Religion is the 'great between individual members as well. canon', the great book of the law of God in which all laws that govern nature Right and duty occupy a new place in Baha'f jurisprudence and Baha'f eth- are expressed and registered, 'and as the supreme Manifestations of God are ics. They have been used, in the past, almost always in an egocentric manner. aware of the mysteries of beings, therefore, They understand this essential The stress has been put on my right and your duty. In the Baha'f Faith, how- connection, and by this knowledge establish the Law of God' .103 Man made laws, ever, there is a reversal of this sense in both moral and jurisprudential proc- under whatever denomination, positive or constitutional, control what we do, esses. This reverts the actual state of defensiveness and even aggressiveness but not what we think or feel. The law of God has its root in the inmost core of implicit in any process of justice. The main duty of everyone in the Baha'f Faith the personality of man. Therefore it controls what we feel, what we think and is to investigate the truth in complete freedom . Our duty is: what we do. In sum, justice is a principle that prevails over the relations between God and man and other creatures, man with other men, man and the ecological environment, and man and the cosmos. We have to put down one more word about the root of justice in the human mind . As we know, justice is also related to the idea of goodness widely discussed by Rawls.104 justice is a synonym for the good . The idea of the need for goodness comes from an extension of the theory of Murphy. 105 According to this theory, our sensory system needs to be stimulated by fine and tender inputs. The same is true for our evaluation and judgment system. Evaluating and judging things as good causes less conflict and tension. justice is therefore expected to be the messenger of goodness and hence compatible with peace of mind, health and equilibrium for the judge and the judged on the one hand, and for the whole socio-system on the other. the recognition of Him Who is the Dayspring of His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws, Who representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His Cause and the world of creation ... lt behoveth every one who reacheth this most sublime station, this summit of transcendent glory, to observe every ordinance of Him Who is the Desire of the world. These twin duties are inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other. 106 'To attain that share of the flood of grace which God poureth forth for him' 107 is to be obedient to God's command, to strictly observe His laws and ordinances, to be kind to every human being, to work for the upliftment of society, to promote knowledge, to be faithful, and so on. As far as rights are concerned, like duty, they are presented in an ethnocentric perspective too. 'But who is oppressed by the transgressor', 'Abdu'I-Baha states, 'has not the right to take vengeance ... but the community JusTICE: A SociAL Sua-SYSTEM has the right of defence and of self-protection'.108 lt is the responsibility of justice as a conceptual, abstract entity presents a system. Institutions that whoever governs 'to have regard for the rights of others'. 109 In a moral assume the responsibility of its application constitute its concrete-instrumen- perspective, we are summoned to be conscious of having the right to forgive: tal counterpart. As a sub-system in the whole socio-system, it integrates into 'we have no right to look upon any of our fellow-mortals as evil'. 110 Reciprocity other social sub-systems and participates in the socio-system structure. justice is the axis, and altruism is the central norm in Baha'f socio-moral relations. therefore has the main characteristics of a structure-system. J. H. Crook states: 'the benefit of a behaviour operates through immediate The characteristic of bipolarity existing at the very root of the universal sys- increases in the inclusive psychological satisfaction of an individual within the tem of justice through attractive and repulsive forces presents itself in both of system'. 111 And M. D. Sahlins postulates that 'in a social system, balanced its aspects, structural and functional. Structurally, the two concepts of right reciprocity involves transactions of exchange within rather clearly defined and duty form a dichotomy. Harmony in the right-duty relationship implies a contractual boundaries'. 112 This corresponds to communion love where the centre of gravity of the interrelation is no one of the two partners, but where • 64 65. each partner considers himself (or herself) as part of a whole. 113 John Rawls, in Unity is the principium maximum on which everything depends. At its very the formulation of his theory of justice, has given an important part to basis exists the process of interdependence. 'The well-being of mankind, its 'reciprocity'. He postulates that reciprocity is a contractualist conception of equality. 114 peace and security', states Baha'u'llah, 'are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established' .124 Reciprocity, according to the Baha' fWritings, is a rule that governs human Unity is the essential condition and the final goal, it is both the means and relations with God . '0 son of man!', thus counselled the Pen of Glory, 'I loved the end; and justice is the prime condition of unity as a means and the achieve- thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life' .115 And again: '0 son of ment of unity as an end. being! Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee . Know this, 0 servant'.116 trary winds of oppression and tyranny. The purpose of justice is the appear- Another aspect of bipolarity in the justice system in the Baha'f Faith is pre- exalted word, while the books of the world cannot contain its inner significance'.125 sented in the two processes of reward and punishment. 'The structure of world stability and order', proclaims Baha'u'llah, ' hath been reared upon, and will continue to be sustained by, the twin pillars ｾｦ＠ reward and punishment'.117 And 'The light of men is Justice, ' Baha'u'llah states. 'Quench it not with the conance of unity among men. The ocean of divine wisdom surgeth within this Unity, He states, is the goal that 'excelleth every goal, and this aspiration is the monarch of all aspirations'. 126 again : 'That which traineth the world is Justice, for it is upheld by two pillars, reward and punishment. These two pillars are the source of life to the world ',118 Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Baha'f Faith, calls unity the pivot of the teachings of Baha'u'llah, and the central purpose of His Faith. and 'the heaven of divine wisdom is illumined with the two luminaries of con- The unity, order and stability in the whole universal system- socio-system, sultation and compassion and the canopy of world order is upraised upon the ecosystem and cosmosystem- is the outcome of the achievement of the prin- two pillars of reward and punishment'. 119 'Abdu'I-Baha explains this important ciple of 'universal homeostasis', one of the characteristics of the universal sys- issue further: 'The tent of existence', He said, 'is upheld upon the pillar of jus- tem. lt implies justness and adjustment in the universe. Justice is therefore some- tice and not upon forgiveness. The continuance of mankind depends upon how synonymous with stability. lt is also an inference to moderation. The prin- justice and not upon forgiveness' .120 ciple of moderation to socio-system is as stability is to the whole system of the In relation to the characteristics of interdependence and self-regulation in the system of justice we can say that justice communicates two meanings. In human consciousness and thought. No man can be just and impartial without its higher meanings, considering the two systemic principles of 'entropy' and having a moderate and peaceful consciousness, and stability in his conscience. universe. Moderation in human individual and social life fosters equilibrium in 'equifinality', justice assures and maintains stability. Injustice increases tension 'Whoso cleaveth to justice', revealed Baha'u'llah, 'can, under no circumstances, in the system and brings about a state of chaos and bifurcation leading neces- transgress the limits of moderation. He discerneth the truth in all things, through sarily to the rolling-up of the existing order and spreading out a new one in its the guidance of Him Who is the All-Seeing. The civilization, so often vaunted stead. 121 by the learned exponents of arts and sciences, will, if allowed to overleap the 'Should the lamp of relig ion be obscured', Baha'u'llah stated, 'chaos and bounds of moderation, bring great evil upon men'. 127 'Overstep not the bound confusion will ensue, and the light of fairness and justice, of tranquillity and of moderation, and deal justly with them that serve thee ... Deal with them peace cease to shine' .122 'We are ... witnessing', writes Shoghi Effendi, 'a dual with undeviating justice'. 128 phenomenon. The first signalises the death pangs of an order, effete and god- The holistic character of the sub-system of justice, and that of the socio- less ... The second proclaims the birth pangs of an Order, divine and redemp- system as a whole, indicates the impossibility of the definition of justice in one tive, that will inevitably supplant the former ... The one is being rolled up, and part of the system independently of its definition in other parts. This means is crashing in oppression' .123 that justice in one part of our planet cannot be defined independently of justice in another part of it. This means also that justice cannot be defined THE BAHA'i CONCEPT OF EQUALITY independently of the definition of other sub-systems such as peace, order, The Baha'f Faith teaches that an equal standard of human rights must be security etc. The more frequent the social interaction and communication recognised and adopted. 'All are equal in the sight of God'. 135 Equality in the between the nations and their socio-political systems, the faster will be the Baha'f Faith is to judge all under the same condition and the same law: this is evolving of the planetary system towards integrity, and the stronger would be an equality in justice. 'The Divine Law .. gives equal justice to all'. 136 'All men', their interdependence. The consequence of this state of affairs is the rapid said 'Abdu'I-Baha, 'are equal before the law, which must reign absolutely'. 137 evolution of the world toward a global community, a state-condition in which And again, 'prince, peer and peasant alike have equal rights to just treatment'. 138 the longevity of the community of man can be assured. Equality, that is, being equal in deserts and capacities, is impossible. 'Equality', said 'Abdu'I-Baha, 'is a chimera! lt is entirely impracticable! Even if equality could JuSTICE AS A POLITICAL AND LEGAL PRECEPT In the Baha'f Holy Writings we read : In formulating the principles and laws a part hath been devoted to penalties which form an effective instrument for the security and protection of men. However, dread of the penalties maketh people desist only outwardly from committing vile and contemptible deeds, while that which guardeth and restraineth man both outwardly and inwardly hath been and still is the fear of God . lt is man's true protector and his spiritual guardian. 129 be achieved it could not continue'. 139 'Absolute equality', 'Abdu'I-Baha further explains, 'is just as impossible, for absolute equality in fortunes, honours, commerce, agriculture, industry would end in disorderliness, in chaos, in disorganisation of the means of existence, and in universal disappointment: the order of the community would be quite destroyed'. 140 In order to finalise this section we make an allusion to the fact that justice is time-bound. lt is a developmental concept. lt is, on the one hand, related to the principle of progressive revelation, and on the other hand, bounded with the law of social and cultural evolution. In the past Holy War was considered We have already presented the conceptions of right and duty, as well as the importance of reward and punishment, in establishing justice. Now we turn as mere justice, but the law of the new Day revealed by Baha'u'llah does prescribe military intervention only against a tyrant. briefly to its legal and political aspects. The Baha'f Faith counsels the individual members of society to pardon, and prohibits them from vengeance. But it enjoins upon institutions to judge justly and not to apply forgiveness. 'For the attributes of the people of faith', says 'Should any one among you take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice'. 141 JusTICE AS A MoRAL VIRTUE 'Abdu'I-Baha, 'are justice and fair-mindedness; forbearance and compassion and The word virtue is derived from the Latin virtus which means full power, generosity; consideration for others; candor, trustworthiness and loyalty; love force, courage, ability and worth . And justice as a virtue is the most important and loving kindness; devotion and determination and humanity'. 130 But He also universal strength. 'No power on earth', said 'Abdu'I-Baha, 'can prevail against says: 'The continuance of mankind depends upon justice and not upon for- the armies of justice'. 142 The revelation of Baha'u'llah is a source of power for a giveness',131 and again He says: 'the tent of existence is upheld upon the pillar world that has been, and still is, suffering from injustice. 'Justice', states of justice and not upon forgiveness ... if one person assaults another, the in- Baha'u'llah, 'is, in this day, bewailing its plight, and Equity groaneth beneath jured one should forgive him. But the communities must protect the rights of the yoke of oppression. The thick clouds of tyranny have darkened the face of man'.132 'Kindness', said 'Abdu'I-Baha, 'cannot be shown the tyrant' .133 Baha'f the earth, and enveloped its peoples. Through the movement of Our Pen of jurisprudence teaches a distributive form of justice: 'to do justice', said 'Abdu'I- Glory We have, at the bidding of the omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new Baha, 'is to give to everyone according to his deserts'.l34 life into every human frame, and instilled into every word a fresh potency. 1143 And again He states: 'Equity is the most fundamental among human virtues. The evaluation of all things must needs depend upon it'.144 Equity is a synonym of justice. They are not, nevertheless, exactly the same. been revealed in all Holy Scriptures of the past from Hinduism to Islam. This Equity is the outcome of calling the human conscience and his consciousness rule is the rule of reciprocity in human social and moral relations. In the Baha'f to justice. justice is an all-encompassing universal principle but equity is a moral Faith the Golden Rule is emphatically taught by Baha'u'llah in the Most Holy principle, it is a human virtue. Equity is the reflection of the light of the univer- Book: 'Wish not for others what ye wish not for yourselves; fear God, and be sal principle of justice in the mirror of the human heart. not of the prideful'. 148 And in the Hidden Words the Golden Rule is counselled justice may be done either by the Baha'f administration, when fully estab- in several passages: '0 son of spirit! Know thou of a truth: He that biddeth men lished, through reward and punishment and in terms of the laws; or in a mys- be just and himself committeth inequity is not of Me, even he bear My Name'. 149 terious way, through a direct process of divine judgment. In some cases re- '0 son of being! How couldst thou forget thine own faults and busy thyself vealed in the Most Holy Book, justice is partly done through direct divine judg- with the faults of others? Whoso doeth this is accursed of Me'. 150 ment. This direct judgment of God corroborates the justice applied by the divine institutions. But Baha'u'llah has even gone beyond the Golden Rule and He counsels us in the following words: '0 son of man! If thine eyes be turned towards mercy, Therefore the judgment of God is twofold: the first is the judgment of the divine institution in accordance with the divine laws; and the second by the direct divine judgment and sentence. The feeling of the fear of God, so much forsake the things that profit thee and cleave unto that which will profit mankind. And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself'. 151 emphasised in the Holy writings, has therefore a twofold origin. We do not fear God because He is cruel but because He is just. In a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, he has answered this question: You asked him about the fear of God: perhaps the friends do not realise that the majority of human beings need the element of fear in order to discipline their conduct? Only a relatively very highly evolved soul would always be disciplined by love alone. Fear of punishment, fear of anger of God if we do evil, are needed to keep people's feet on the right path . Of course we should love God -but we must fear Him in the sense of child fearing the righteous anger and chastisement of a parent; not cringe before Him as before a tyrant, but know His mercy exceeds His justice. 145 JusTICE: A BAHA'i CoNCEPT According to the Most Holy Book and the other Holy Writings, the observ- EcoLOGICAL ance of justice is not limited to human relations but should be extended to all other universal agents existing in the socio-system, eco-system and perhaps to the cosmo-system. For example Baha'u'llah teaches us in the Most Holy Book to be kind to animals and to treat them with justice: 'Burden not an animal with more than it can bear. We, truly, have prohibited such treatment through a most binding interdiction in the Book. Be ye the embodiments of justice and fairness amidst all creation'. 152 As far as nature is concerned, we have to conserve the equilibrium that exists Baha'u'llah counsels us in the Most Holy Book to adorn our hearts with the in it by being just to it. 'Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My Name, the Maker, the Creator', states Baha'u'llah. 'Its manifestations are diversified fear of God: 'Adorn your heads with the garlands of trustworthiness and fidel- by varying causes, and in this diversity there are signs for men of discernment. ity, your hearts with the attire of the fear of God, your tongues with absolute Nature is God's Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world. 146 truthfulness, your bodies with the vesture of courtesy' . lt is a dispensation of Providence ordained by the Ordainer, the AII-Wise'. 153 Shoghi Effendi, the beloved Guardian of the Baha'f Faith, teaches the com- 'Abdu'I-Baha explains that nature is held by God, and it is in the grasp of munity of believers as follows: 'This rectitude of conduct, with its implications the power of God. 'He', said 'Abdu'I-Baha, 'holds Nature within accurate regu- of justice, equity, truthfulness, honesty, fair-mindedness, reliability, and trust- lations and laws, and rules over it'. 154 'Nature ... is but the essential properties worthiness, must distinguish every phase of the life of the Baha'f community' .147 and the necessary relations inherent in the realities of things' .155 To conclude our discussion on justice as a moral virtue, we have to describe Observing the writings of the Pen of the Most High and the interpretation briefly one more point: the Golden Rule. This is a common moral rule that has of 'Abdu'I-Baha, does there remain any excuse for us to be unjust and/or • 70 71. indifferent towards animals and nature? 'He who dealeth faithlessly with God', twin and sorely needed principles of Divine justice and order - principles to affirms Baha'u'llah, 'shall in justice meet with faithlessness himself'. 156 which the political corruption and the moral license increasingly staining the society to which they belong, offer so sad and striking a contrast' .161 An inter- Throughout the centuries, and especially during the twentieth century, humanity has treated nature unjustly and now we are meeting its grave consequences. Referring to the writings of Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'I-Baha we can conclude that man, by his unwise behaviour, has transgressed nature, the embodiment of the name of the Creator, the expression of God's will, the dispensation of Providence ordained by Him; and also as observed in the writings of 'Abdu'I-Baha, man has challenged and disturbed the necessary relations inherent in the realities of things. We were unjust to nature whose existence has required the life of man. 'Abdu'I-Baha states in Some Answered Questions: 'One of the things which has appeared in the world of existence, and which is one of the requirements of Nature, is human life' .157 ' THE PURPOSE OF JuSTICE The main purpose of justice is unity, order and peace in the community of man. 'The light of men is justice', reveals Baha'u'llah. 'Quench it not with the contrary winds of oppression and tyranny. The purpose of justice is the appearance of unity among men. The ocean of divine wisdom surgeth within this exalted word, while the books of the world cannot contain its inner significance'.158 'No radiance can compare with that of justice. The organisation of the world and the tranquillity of mankind depend upon it'.159 JUSTICE INSTITUTIONALISED The Universal House of justice, under whose guidance will function the National Houses of justice and Local Houses of justice, will have the responsibility for the administration of justice in the world . In this relation Shoghi Effendi writes : Small wonder, therefore, that the Author of the Baha'f Revelation should have chosen to associate the name and title of that House, which is to be the crowning glory of His administrative institutions, not with forgiveness but with justice, to have made justice the only basis and the permanent foundation of His Most Great Peace, and to have proclaimed it in His Hidden Words as "the best beloved of all things" in His sight. 160 The Guardian states further: 'that New World Order of which that House is to be the nucleus and forerunner, to inculcate, demonstrate and apply those • 72 national tribunal will assist the Universal House of justice in the judicial affairs of the world . with matters of belief and morality, the pillars of Islam, and a variety of other themes, such as economics and social justice. The latter themes are on the whole subsidiary to the religious call of the Qur'an . The contents of the Qur'an are not classified according to different subjects. Ordinances on various topics appear in unexpected places, and no particular order can be ascertained in the sequence of its text. Rulings in the Qur'an may be conveyed in a style that is either unequivocal and clear, or in a lan- REFLECTIONS PARALLELS AND ON TO IJTIHAD THE THE IN BAHA'i SUNNAH ISLAM guage that is allegorical, allusive and open to different interpretations. The former is classified as a definitive text (muhkam), that is one which is clear and specific, and has one possible meaning when interpreting it. The latter are speculative ordinances, which are open to varying interpretations. This division into definitive and speculative is an important feature of Qur'anic legislation . Sunnah Afshin A-Khavari Next to the Qur'an, sunnah is the most important source of shariah in Islam. Sunnah in Arabic implies normative practice, or an established course of Like Islam, the Baha'f Faith is a religion of the Book where laws and ordi- conduct. lt is the example or law which is deduced from a hadith. 2 An exam- nances of God's revelation are recorded in one title for posterity. An examina- ple of sunnah is the report that two of the companions of Muhammad went tion of Islamic jurisprudential and constitutional thinking serves the useful pur- on a journey, and when they failed to find water for their ablutions, they both pose of providing the Baha'f Faith with a rich foundation for its own doctrinal performed the obligatory prayers with tayammun, that is, wiping the hands, development. Although the Baha'f Faith consists of a new body of divine tech- face and feet with clean sand. When they later found water, one of them per- niques, its message was developed in an Islamic context, which serves as the formed the prayers again whereas the other did not. Upon their return, they historical milieu in which the Baha'f Faith was promulgated. This paper is an related their experience to the Prophet, who is reported to have approved both attempt at reflecting on Islamic jurisprudential and constitutional principles, courses of action. Hence it became known as sunnah taqririya. 3 sunnah and ijtihad, and identifying the manner in which the divine teachings of Baha'u'llah correct the imbalances developed and encouraged in Islamic religious thought and jurisprudence. The concept of sunnah was introduced into the legal theory of Islam by jurists of Iraq around the end of the first century after the passing of Muhammad. Sunnah initially encompassed the practices of the community and the precedents of Muhammad's companions . In the late second century it was SUNNAH AND IJTIHAD IN IsLAM The Qur'an is the first point of reference in identifying the shariah of the Islamic Community. 1 The authenticity of the Qur'an is not at issue when examining legal and constitutional principles in Islam. lt contains the manifest revelation of God's message, conveyed by Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Mu ham mad . The Qur'an is referred to as huda or guidance, and is not considered as just a code of law. Out of over 6,600 ayat (verses), less than ten percent relate to law and jurisprudence, while the remainder are largely concerned • 74 restricted to the sunnah which had been derived from narrations of the conduct of Prophet Muhammad. The proper usage of sunnah was interpreted by the Ulama (clergy) to extend only to the sunnah of God, or His way of doing things. The followers of Prophet Muhammad memorised sunnah, as they were forbidden to record them, to prevent confusion with the content of the Qur'an . Muhammad commented and clarified verses of the Qur'an, but did not do the same for sunnahs memorised by His followers. The transmission of the sunnah 75 • has, as a result, caused different versions of the one and same hadith to be re- knowledge, such as medicine, commerce and agriculture is to be held peripheral ported by people whose understanding or interpretation of a particular hadith to the main function of the prophetic mission and is, therefore, not part of the is not identical. The scope of ikhtilaf (disagreement) over sunnah is therefore shariah; (b) whether an action of the Prophet was strictly personal (and therefore more extensive than that which exists in relation to the Qur'an. Disagreement not a part of shariah) or was intended to set an example for others to follow. lt in relation to the Qur'an has been over interpretations, but disagreement over is known that at times the Prophet acted in a certain way which was in accord the sunnah extends not only to questions of interpretations but also to its au- with the then prevailing custom of the community. For instance, the Prophet thenticity. There are three different types of sunnah. The first consist of rules that merely kept His beard at a certain length and trimmed His moustache. The majority of Ulama have viewed this not as mere observance of a familiar custom, but as confirm and reiterate contents of the Qur'an (in which case the rules concerned an example for the believers to follow. Others have held the opposite view by originate in the Qur'an and are merely corroborated by the sunnah). The sec- saying that it was part of the social practice of the Arabs which was designed ond type of sunnah may clarify ambivalent ordinances in the Qur'an, qualify to prevent resemblance to the Jews and some non-Arabs who used to shave statements which are stated in the absolute, or outline specific matters in rela- the beard and grow the moustache. tion to general principles. These two varieties of sunnah between them com- ljtihad Next to the Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad's sunnah, ijtihad is the most important source of shariah. 6 lt is a process through which continuous prise the largest bulk of legal norms. The third variety may consist of rulings on which the Qur'an is silent, in which case ordinances in question originate in the sunnah itself. This variety of sunnah neither confirms nor opposes verses development of the Muslim Community is achieved, and the main instrument in the Qur'an, and its contents cannot be traced back to it. 4 for interpreting the divine message and relating it to the changing conditions The Qur'an, it is generally held, validates the use of all three types of sunnah of society. Various other sources of Islamic law, like consensus of opinion, anal- mentioned above. The Qur'an also enjoins obedience to the Prophet and makes ogy, juristic preference, considerations of public interest, etc. are all manifes- it a duty of His believers to submit to His judgment and authority. lt is stated tations of ijtihad, albeit with procedural differences. Therefore all the non-re- in the Qur'an (59:7): 'and whatever the messenger gives you, take it, and vealed proofs of shariah are embodiments of the single phenomenon of ijtihad. whatever he forbids you, abstain from it'. The Ulama of Islam have interpreted Traditionally, an individual involved in ijtihad must be a Mujtahid- a rank given this verse to mean that in the case of disputes, God and His Messenger should to some learned jurists- and therefore self exertion by a layman is precluded. resolve them. The Ulama suggest that God's revelation is as found in the Qur'an, ljtihad is generally concerned with practical rules of shariah which usually and the Messenger's judgment is a reference to the sunnah. There is, however, regulates the conduct of a competent person who is in full possession of his nothing in the Qur'an which directly points to the word Sunnah ai-Nabi (Pro- faculties. ljtihad may be applied to materials in the Qur'an or sunnah that is: phetic sunnah). 5 (1) authentic but speculative in meaning; (2) of doubtful authenticity, but Space does not permit a more detailed examination of sunnah, but for the definitive in meaning; and (3) speculative in respect to both authenticity and purposes of this paper it is important to identify a couple of difficulties which meaning. ljtihad does not apply to evidence which is decisive both in respect the Islamic community faces in making use of them in their development of of authenticity and meaning. shariah. There is no dispute that there is extensive forgery in hadith and sunnah literature. The Ulama of hadith are unanimous on this, and some have gone so far as to affirm that in no other branch of Islamic sciences has there been so much deliberate forgery as in the hadith and sunnah. 8AHA'i CONSTITUTIONAL AND JURISPRUDENTIAL PRINCIPLES The initial source of Baha'f laws was the Bayan. The Kitab-i-Aqdas which is said to have been completed in 1873/ otherwise known as the Book of Laws, Which hadith is actually part of shariah has been subject of speculation: (a) is the main repository of laws for the Baha'f dispensation. Supplements to the for instance, deciding whether sunnah which partakes in specialised or technical Kitab-i-Aqdas, which include the Questions and Answers which was compiled • 76 by Zaynui-Muqarrabin, also form part of Baha'u'llah's Book of Laws. A large distinguishing feature of Baha'f constitutional structure. He asks: 'can any pas- number of the provisions in the Kit6b-i-Aqdas deal with matters known as ibadat, sage in the Qur'an be construed as placing upon assailable basis the undoubted that is, matters pertaining to worship such as obligatory prayers and fasting, and not traditional secular matters such as contractual and commercial rela- authority with which Muhammad had, verbally and on several occasions invested His successor?' 13 tions. Other matters dealt with in the Kitab-i-Aqdas include repealing certain lt should be noted at this stage that non-textual confirmations and inter- Babi and Islamic laws, and ethical exhortations and addresses to various peo- pretations by 'Abdu'I-Baha and Shoghi Effendi of laws and ordinances of ple, groups and places. Certain subject areas are dealt with in detail while oth- Baha'u'llah appear to carry the same weight as those of Baha'u'llah. For in- ers need to be placed in their historical and social context for a detailed under- stance, in the case of pilgrim notes, 'Abdu'I-Baha and Shoghi Effendi prohibit standing of them. Similarities between the Kit6b-i-Aqdas and the Qur'an exist, their use as authoritative interpretations of laws and ordinances. 'Abdu'I-Baha namely the style of alluding to matters needing legislation rather than expound- states: 'thou hast written concerning the pilgrims notes. Any narratives, even ing on them in detail, and placing topics, often unrelated, together. There are if true, cause confusion. For the people of Baha, the Text and only the Text is other texts that complement the Kit6b-i-Aqdas passages; for instance there are authentic'. 14 Shoghi Effendi also states that we must 'attach no importance to large numbers of texts from Baha'u'llah ､･ｾｬｩｮｧ＠ with the implementation of the stories told about' Abdu'I-Baha or to those attributed to Him by the friends. Huququ'llah, the purpose and functions of consultative assemblies, the impor- These should be regarded in the same light as the notes and impressions of tance and meaning of obligatory prayer, etc. But with regard to law per se, visiting pilgrims. They need not be suppressed, but they should not also be the vast majority of commands are in the Kit6b-i-Aqdas and its supplements. given prominence or official recognition'. 15 SOURCE OF LAWS AND One final point, before I go on to discuss the role of the Houses of justice and the individual in Baha'f constitutional law and the science of law making, ORDINANCES Baha'u'llah did not allow the development of a culture which encouraged or allowed His followers to compile what He said and did. There is, however, ample authority for Baha'fs to have relied on His sayings and actions. In the Kit6b-i-Aqdas, Baha'u'llah states that He has been designated with the 'Most Great lnfallibility'; 8 this is affirmed, among other places, in the Tablet of Jshraqat. 9 This means, as' Abdu'I-Baha has stated in Some Answered Questions, that 'whatever emanates from Them is identical with truth, and conformable is that although the interpretations of 'Abdu'I-Baha and Shoghi Effendi form part of the corpus of Baha'f laws, it has been suggested elsewhere that there may be a need to examine the permanence of their decisions regarding Baha'f administrative practice. 16 This is suggested because the absence of the Universal House of justice gave rise to the need for both 'Abdu'I-Baha and Shoghi Effendi to act as administrative leaders as well as interpreters for the Baha'f Faith. How, and the extent to which, the administrative decisions and authoritative to reality,' and 'whatever They say is the word of God, and whatever they perform is an upright action.' 10 interpretation are distinguished is a matter yet to be considered. Although this lt appears, however, that Baha'u'llah instead appointed 'Abdu'I-Baha and Shoghi Effendi to identify and interpret His laws and ordinances. In the Kit6b- of 'Abdu'I-Baha and Shoghi Effendi are expressions of sunnah in the Baha'f Faith? i-Aqdas and the Kit6b-i-Ahd, Baha'u'llah anoints 'Abdu'I-Baha as the perfect is a highly speculative question, is it possible that the administrative decisions DEVELOPMENT OF LAWS AND ORDINANCES exemplar of His teachings, and the unerring interpreter of His writings .11 'Abdu'I-Baha, in His Will and Testament, recognises that there are 'matters' Baha'u'llah also alludes to the appointment of Shoghi Effendi as the Guardian that are as yet unrevealed in the Baha'f Faith, 17 and in another Tablet He also 'Abdu'I-Baha. 12 states the need for juridical reasoning to apply revealed laws and ordinances 'Abdu'I-Baha, in His Will and Testament, appointed Shoghi Effendi as the Guard- to modern conditions as they arise. 18 These activities include interpretation of ian and Head of the Baha'f Faith. In the World Order of Baha'u'llah, Shoghi Ef- texts and development of policy (that is, a course of action in relation to a fendi uses the authoritative appointments made by Baha'u'llah to identify the particular piece of legislation). They are an expression of what is considered in of His Faith, and interpreter of His writings, after the passing of • 78 Islam to be ijtihad. The Writings of Baha ' u'llah, 'Abdu'I-Baha and Shoghi Ef- adopted by the House of Justice. For example, the work done by lshraq-Khavari fend i authorise the Universal House of Justice to undertake ijtihad. and Fadil-i-Mazandarani are current useful sources of interpretations of However, in the eighth lshraqat, Baha' u'llah envisions that the House of Baha'u'llah's writings which are not, of course, authoritative. Although ijtihad Justice is to be engaged in legislating about His laws, while the acts of worship in the form we find in Islam is not a viable option, expressions of it appear to are left for the bel ievers to follow as He has outlined them in His Texts, with be possibilities, which only the future will be able to sanction. possible help from 'Abdu'I -Baha and Shoghi Effendi as interpreters of the Holy Word . This distinction between matters of ibadat (acts of worship) and siyasat CoNCLUSION (course of action in relation to a State) was also developed in relation to the I would like to attempt something different in my conclusion . I would like Kitcib-i-Aqdas. lt has been suggested that the laws of the Kitcib-i-Aqdas are di - to introduce new ideas and identify a few techniques used to interpret Baha'f vided into two parts: Laws and Ordinances. Laws are the social teachings (e.g. laws. Among the first principles is one identified by 'Abdu'I-Baha in a speech marriage, inheritance, temples, etc.). Ordinances are the devotional or spir- He gave in America. He says that in past centuries, nations of the world have itual teachings (e.g. obligatory prayers, fasting, etc.).19 Therefore, a clear dis- imagined that the law of God demanded blind imitation of ancestral forms of tinction can be suggested in relation to the ｪｾｲｩｳ､｣ｴｯｮ＠ of the House of Justice belief and worship. He points out that Muslims have been held in the bondage of traditional forms and ceremonials, and have cast aside and forsaken the when engaging in juridical reasoning (ijtihad). The Baha'f Faith does not forbid the learned or individuals from interpret- basic foundations of the religion of God, which have always been the princi- ing religious texts; but does not sanction it as authoritative. 20 In fact, different ples of love, unity and the fellowship of humanity. Now, He says, we are living modes of interpretation are even suggested in the writings of Baha'u'llah to in this most radiant century wherein human perceptions have developed and be undertaken by individuals. These modes of interpretation depend on whether investigations of real foundations characterise mankind. 25 lt is implicit in the one is examining allegorical or legal texts. In the case of the former, permis- statement made by 'Abdu'I-Baha that the intent of the author, sometimes iden- sion is granted for esoteric, allegoric, or figurative interpretations. 21 tified through strict legalism, or other techniques used in positive law, is pre- In the case of legal texts, there is potentially formal scriptural interpreta- ferred in examining and applying Baha'f laws and ordinances. This is perhaps tion by individual believers which have a sound knowledge of the original lan- preferred in cases where interpretation of a provision in the Kitcib-i-Aqdas leads guages, their grammar, technical vocabulary, etc. In an untranslated Tablet, to unjust results. 26 22 In Islam, the Prophet Muhammad is said to have tacitly enacted laws and In the case of individual figurative or allegoric interpretation in relation to His ordinances by His silence or lack of disapproval of a matter. The tacit approval laws, this is forbidden by Baha'u'llah in the Kitcib-i-Aqdas. 23 For instance, one of laws and ordinances in the Baha'f Faith is also alluded to by 'Abdu'I-Baha in Baha'u'llah authorises this method of individual interpretation of His writings. cannot say that I will eat food but 'fast' from evil thoughts during the fast. 'Abdu'I-Baha, in His Will and Testament, describes the relationship of the His writings where He states that the absence of Writings is, in effect, approval in relation to a matter .V In the interpretation of Baha'f laws, one may need to executive and the legislature in examining the affairs of the State. No mention remain cognizant of the possibility that a particular way of looking at the pro- is made of the existence of a judiciary or the relationship between the legisla- vision is tacitly approved . ture and the judiciary. However, as an arm of the executive serving the House In the introduction to the Kitcib-i-Aqdas, the Universal House of Justice writes of Justice, the potential exists for the appointment of a court judge, or qadi as that the laws in it are stated succinctly, and that 'where Baha'u'llah has given they exist in Islam. The independent juridical reasoning, or ijtihad, conducted a law as between a man and a woman, it applies mutatis mutandis between a by such persons in their professional capacity could be used, and their judg- woman and a man unless the context makes this impossible'. 28 This suggests ments adopted by the House of Justice. 24 Corollary to this, traditional scholars that the mutatis mutandis principle, 'changing what has to be changed ', di- and writers could engage in a form of juridical reasoning which could also be rects the person engag ing in ijtihad to interpret a passage in a particular way. 81. However, this must be done cautiously, as the statement is not explicit as to END NOTES what has to be changed and how this is to be done. 29 One final point before I finish, in relation to interpretation, is the limitation to be placed on the applicability of laws or their interpretation in certain circumstances, or for particular groups of people. This limitation is known as wisdom or hikmat. Baha'u'llah, 'Abdu'I-Baha and Shoghi Effendi adopted wisdom Huququ'lhih: the Socio-Economic and Spiritual Law of the Kltab-1-Aqdas 1 Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Bah6'u'116h Revealed after the Kit6b-i-Aqdas, Baha'f Pub- 2 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Bah6'u'116h, Baha'f Publishing Trust, 30 in applying Baha'f laws to the growing Baha'f community. The Universal House of Justice has also applied it, for example, in relation to the law of Huquq'u'llah lishing Trust, Wilmette, 1995, pp. 171-2. (the Right of God), a religious tax, when they sanctioned the applicability of Wilmette, 1990, section IV. the law to western Baha'fs for the first time in 1992. 3 ibid, section LXI. In conclusion, Baha'f jurisprudence in its embryonic form does not acknowledge the existence of sunnah. Some of the work done, however, by 'Abdu'I- 4 Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Baha'f Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1987, p. Baha and Shoghi Effendi, as administrative heads of the Baha'f Faith, is becoming 5 Baha'u'llah, Kit6b-i-Aqdas, Baha'f World Centre, Haifa, 1992, paragraph 5. normative practice, or an established course of conduct within the Baha'f com- 6 Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys, Baha'f Publishing Trust, constitutional law strictly forbids relying on anyone, except' Abdu'I-Baha or the 7 ibid, p. 11. Guardian, for authoritative interpretation of Sacred Texts or legislation of new 8 laws. ljtihad is, however, an activity which is undertaken by every reader of Baha'f 9 213 . munity, and these can be equated with sunnah. In relation to ijtihad, Baha'f Wilmette, 1995, p. 8. Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, section CLV. Sacred Text, and in this paper, I have tried to identify a few techniques which can be used for this purpose. Research Department of the Universal House of Justice (compiler), Huququ'llah: The Right of God, Baha'f Publishing Trust, London, 1989, no. 31. 10 Baha'u'llah, The Hidden Words, Baha'f Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1985, no. 3 (Arabic). 11 Research Department, Huququ'116h: The Right of God, no. 10. 12 ibid, no. 4. ibid, no. 47. 13 14 ibid, no. 9. 15 ibid, no. 8. 16 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, paragraph 97. 17 Research Department, Huququ'llah: The Right of God, no. 44. 18 Baha'u'llah, Kit6b-i-Aqdas, paragraph 97. 19 'Abdu'I-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilization, Baha'f Publishing Trust, 20 Research Department, Huququ'llah: The Right of God, no. 28. Wilmette, 1994, pp. 2-3. 21 ibid, no. 59. 22 ibid, no. 82. ibid, no. 83. 23 24 ibid, no. 86. Edited transcript of presentation at the conference on the Kltab-1-Aqdas, Sydney, January 1994 1 Baha' u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, pp. 15-16 2 ibid, p. 12. 23 ibid, p. 1 75 . 24 ibid. 25 ibid. 26 ibid, p. 97. 21 Shoghi Effendi, Unfolding Destiny, Baha'f Publishing Trust, London, 1981, 3 Letter from the Universal House of justice to the Baha'fs of the World, 5 March 1993. pp. 435-6. 4 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 1 6. L. H. Hobhouse, The Elements of Social justice, Alien & Unwin, New York, 1921. 29 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, pp. 63-4. 28 The concept of liberty In the Baha'i Faith 1 1. Kant, Critique del/a raison pratique, Puf, Paris, 1943. 2 P. Le Comte de Nouy, La dignite Humaine, Brentano, Paris, 1945. 3 M . Da Silveira, 'Quelques reflexions sur la notion de liberte', Recueil de conferences 6eme rancontre annuelle, AEFEB, 1990, pp. 2-5. 4 'Abdu'I-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, Baha'f Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1 982, p. 60. 5 'Abdu'I-Baha, Paris Talks, Baha'f Publishing Trust, London, 1972, p. 60. 6 ibid, p. 96. 7 ibid, p. 98. 8 'Abdu'I-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 140. 9 'Abdu'I-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 97. 10 Baha' u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 73. 11 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 260. The Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Viking Press, New York, 1972. c. R. Rogers, On Becoming a Person, 1• w. james, The Varieties of Religious Houghton Miflin, Boston, 1961. Experience, Random House, New York, 1902. 15 Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 31 . 16 Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bah6'u'll6h, Baha'f Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1992, pp. 163-4. 17 Baha'u'llah, The Hidden Words, p.9. 18Baha' u'llah, Gleanings, p. 216. 19'Abdu'I-Baha, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'I-Bah6, Baha'f World Centre, Haifa, 1982, p. 305. 20 Baha'u' llah, Gleanings, p. 215 . 21Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 63 . l2'Abdu'I-Baha, Paris Talks, pp. 1 77-8. 1990, p. 92. 1 3 Baha'u'llah, Tablets, p. 157. 3l ibid, p. 1 70. 33 'Abdu'I-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 11 1. 34 ibid, p. 1 10. 35 Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bah6'u'll6h, p. 1 63 . 36 'Abdu'I-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 36. 37ibid, p. 1 78. 38 Baha'u'llah, The Hidden Words, p. 40. 39 ibid, p. 60. 4o'Abdu'I-Baha, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'I-Bah6, p. 281. 41 'Abdu'I-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 92. 42 12 A. H. Maslow, Motivation and Personality, Harper & Row, New York, 1970; 13 3o 'Abdu'I-Baha, Some Answered Questions, Baha'f Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, p. 1 6. • 3Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 63. 44 Baha'u' llah, Gleanings, p. 92. 45 ibid, p. 99. 46'Abdu'I-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 140. 47 'Abdui-Baha, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'I-Bah6, pp. 52-3. 48 Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Baha'f Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1988, p. 28. 49 'Abdu'I-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 159. 5o E. From m, The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness, Hold Rinehart & Winston, New York, 1973. 51 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 81 . 52 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 57 . 53 Shoghi Effendi, Bah6'f Administration, Baha'f Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1974, p. 63. 54 ibid, pp. 63-4. 19 55 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 75 . 20 56 Isaiah 2:12, 24:1-2, 10:33. 'Abdu'I -Baha, Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 443-4 . 21 ibid. 58 'Abdu'I-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 121 . 22 W. F. Hegel, Great Books of the Western World, Robert P. Gwinn, London, 59 Cited in Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bah6'u'l/6h, p. 39. 60 'Abdu'I-Baha, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'I-Bah6, p. 297. 23 J. S. Mill, Great Books of the Western World, Robert P. Gwinn, London, 1993, 61 Universal House of justice, Individual Rights and Freedoms in the World Order 24 ibid . 25 Karl Marx, Great Books of the Western World, Robert P. Gwinn, London, 1993, 57 of Bah6'u'l/6h, Baha'f Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1989, p. 22. ibid. I. Kant, Great Books of the Western World, Robert P. Gwinn, London, 1993, vol. 39. 1993, vol. 43 . vol. 40. The concept of justice In the Baha'i Faith vol. 50. D. Pickles, Introduction to Politics, Methuen & Co Ltd, London, 1977, p. 151 . 1 E. Kamenka and A. Erh-Soon Tay (eds), justice, Edward Arnold, London, 1979, p. vii. 27 Plato, The Republic, R. P. Gwinn, London, 1993, p.700. 2 ibid., p. 1. 28 Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, pp. 112-1 23 and 200-206. 29 Aquinas, Great Books of the Western World, pp. 240-1 . 30 Hobbes, Great Books of the Western World, p. 94. 31 Montesquieu, Great Books of the Western World, p. 52. 32 ibid. 3 ibid, p. 2. 4 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 92. 5 Isaiah 25 :8 6 Revelation 21 :4 7 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, pp. 92-3 . The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, Baha'f World Centre, Haifa, 8 26 33 Mill, Great Books of the Western World, pp. 370-89 . 34 J. J. Rousseau, Great Books of the Western World, R. P. Gwinn, London, 1993, 35 R. H. Tawner, Equality, Alien and Unwin, London, 1931 . 1976, p. 1 61. 9 Cited in Kamenka and Tay, justice, p. 2. 10 Socrates, Dialogue of Plato Cratylus, Robert P. Gwinn, vol. 6, pp. 85-114. 11 Plato, The Republic, Penguin, Middlesex, 1974. Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1 980. 12 13 Plotinus, Great Books of the Western World, Robert P. Gwinn, London, 1993, vol. 11 . 14 Thomas Aquinas, Great Books of the Western World, Robert P. Gwinn, London, 1993, vols. 1 7 and 1 8. 15 16 ibid. Thomas Hobbes, Great Books of the Western World, Robert P. Gwinn, London, 1993, vol. 21 . 17 B. Spinoza, Great Books of the Western World, Robert P. Gwinn, London, 1993, vol. 28. 18 J. Locke, Great Books of the Western World, Robert P. Gwinn, London, 1993, vol. 33 . vol. 35, p. 405. 3 6 37 D. Pickles, Introduction to Politics, pp. 198-217. R. Dworkin, in An Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, G. H. R. Darkinson (ed), Routledge, London, 1988, p. 733. 38 F. A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom, Sydney, 1994. 39 julius Stone in Kamenka and Tay (eds), justice, pp. 97-115. 40 Psalms 85 :13. 41 Isaiah 11 :4-5. 42 Jeremiah 23:5. 43 Hosea 10:12. « John 16:8. 45 Revelation 14:6-7. 46 Qur'an 82: 13-16. The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 1 61 . 47 48 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 17. 49 ibid, p. 206. 84 'Abdu'I-Baha, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'I-Bah6, p. 288. 50 Baha'u'llah, The Proclamation of Bah6'u'll6h to the Kings and Leaders of the 85 'Abdu'I-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 60. 86 'Abdu'I-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 96. 87 R. Latane and World, Baha'f World Centre, Haifa, 1972, p. 86. J. M . Darley, 51 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, pp. 92-3. 52 Baha'u'llah, Tablets, p. 1 66. 53 ibid, p. 66. 54 ibid, pp. 137-9. 55 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 52. 56 Baha'u'llah, Tablets, pp. 166-7. 57 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 252 . 58 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 67. 90 L. Wispe, Altruism, Sympathy and Helping, Academic Press, New York, 1978, 59 ibid, p. 38. Baha' u'llah, Tablets, p. 157. 91 Baha'u'llah, Hidden Words, no. 2 (Arabic). 61 ibid, pp. 137-9. 92 62 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 342. Baha'u'llah, Tablets, p. 62. 'Abdu'I-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 159. Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 67. 94 64 ibid, p. 87. 95 ibid, p. 125. 65 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 306. 96 A. H. Maslow, Motivation and Personality, Harper and Row, New York, 1970. 66 ibid, p. 219 . Baha'u'llah, Tablets, p. 70. 97 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 81. 98 Baha'u'llah, Tablets, p. 67. 68 ibid, p. 1 64. 99 69 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 52. 100 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 219. 'Abdu'I-Baha, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'I-Bah6, p. 158. 60 63 67 The Unresponsive Bystander, Appleton-Century- Crafts, New York, 1970. 88 j. Aronfreed, 'The Socialization of Altruistic and Sympathetic Behaviour', in J. Macauley and L. Berkowitz (eds), Altruism and Helping Behaviour, Academic Press, New York, 1970. 89 Houshang Khazrai, A la recherch d'une nouvelle thoerie de la personnalite, Uni Paul Valery, Montpellier, 1985. pp. 1 15-1 35, 303, 326. 93 Baha'u'llah, Tablets, pp. 124-5. 70 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 254. 101 Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bah6'u'll6h, p. 163. 71 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p.; 52. 102 Montesquieu, Great Books of the Western World, R. P. Gwinn, London, 1993. 72 ibid, p. 38. 103 'Abdu'I-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 159. 73 'Abdu'I-Baha, Tablet to August Fore/, p. 20. 104 j. A. A. Rawls, A Theory of justice, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1 985. 74 'Abdu'I-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p.4. 105 G. Murphy, Personality, Harper, New York, 1947. 75 ibid. 106 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 19. 76 ibid, p. 3. Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 331 . 107 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 8. 108 'Abdu'I-Baha, Some Answered Questions, pp. 268-9. 78 'Abdu'I-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 159. 109 'Abdu'I-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilisation, p. 40. 79 'Abdu'I-Baha, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'I-Bah6, p. 27. 11 80 Baha'u'llah, Hidden Words, no. 4 (Arabic). 111 81 'Abdu'I-Baha, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'I-Bah6, p. 27. 82 Baha'u ' llah, The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, pp. 60-1. 83 'Abdu'I-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 60. 77 0 112 'Abdu'I-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 128. J. H. Crook, The Evolution of Human Consciousness, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1980. M . D. Sahlins, 'On the Sociology of Primitive Exchange', in The Relevance of Models for Social Anthropology, M. Banton (ed), Tavistock, London, 1968. 113 114 J. Lacroix, Les Sentiments et la via morale, PUF, Paris, 1965. J. A. Rawls, A Theory of justice, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 14 1985 . 8 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 73. 149 Baha'u'llah, Hidden Words, no. 28 (Arabic). 115 Baha'u'llah, Hidden Words, no. 4 (Arabic). 150 ibid, no. 26 (Arabic). 116 ibid, no. 5 (Arabic). 151 Baha'u'llah, Tablets, p . 64. 117 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 219. Baha'u'llah, Tablets, p. 27. 152 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 87. 153 Baha'u'llah, Tablets, p. 142. 119 ibid, p. 126. 154 'Abdu'I-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 4. 120 'Abdu'I-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 270. 155 'Abdu'I-Baha, Tablet to August Fore/, p. 20. 121 E. Laszlo, La Grande Bifurcation, Tacor International, Paris, 1990. 156 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 55 . 122 Baha'u'llah, Tablets, p. 125. 157 'Abdu'I-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 4. 123 Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day is Come, p. 17. 158 Baha'u'llah, Tablets, pp. 66-7. 124 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 286. 159 Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine justice, pp. 27-8. 125 Baha'u'llah, Tablets, pp. 66-7 . 160 ibid, pp. 28-9. 126 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 288 . 161 ibid, p. 20. 127 ibid, p. 342. 128 ibid, p. 234. 129 Baha'u'llah, Tablets, p. 93. 130 'Abdu'I-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilisation, p. 55. 1 Shariah is the collection of legal norms in Islam. 131 'Abdu'I-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 270. ibid, pp. 270-1 . 2 Hadith are the narrations of the Prophet Muhammad's conduct or, to put it 118 132 Reflections on the Baha'i parallels to the Sunnah and l)tlhad In Islam another way, the literature of Mohammedan traditions. Hadith reflect 133 Abdu'-Baha, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'I-Bah6, p. 158. the social, political and religious ideals of the transmitters of traditions, 134 'Abdu'I-Baha, Some Answered Questionsi, p. 266. and of the society and groups for which they were spokesmen: H. 135 'Abdu'I-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 38. Muhammad, Principles of Islamic jurisprudence, Cambridge Islamic Texts 136 ibid, p. 154. Society, Cambridge, 1991, p. 132. 137 ibid. 3 138 ibid. 4 ibid, p. 120. 139 ibid, p. 152. 5 ibid, p. 112. 140 'Abdu'I-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 274. 6 /jtihad is defined as the total expenditure of effort made by a jurist in order to 141 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 254. infer, with a degree of probability, the rules of shariah from the detailed 142 'Abdu'I-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilisation, p. 70. evidence in the sources. 143 Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, pp. 92-3 . 144 ibid, p. 203 . Shoghi Effendi, cited in 'Education', Compilation of Compilations, Baha'f 145 Publications Australia, Mona Vale, 1991, p. 306. 7 ibid. See, for instance: J. Waldbridge, Sacred Acts, Sacred Space, Sacred Time, George Ronald, Oxford, 1996, p. 16. 8 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 36. 9 Baha'u'llah, Writings of Bah6'u'l/6h, Baha'f Publishing Trust, New Delhi, 1986, 146 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 62. p. 222. In the lshraqat Baha'u'llah writes: 'praise be unto God Who hath 147 Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine justice, p. 23. made the Most Great Infallibility the shield for the temple of His Cause 91. in the realm of creation, and hath assigned unto no one a share of this the Tablet has been produced by juan Cole, Professor of History at the lofty and sublime station - a station which is the vesture which the fingers of transcendent power have woven for His august self'. 10 'Abdu'I-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 173. 11 Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bah6'u'l/6h, p. 134. 12 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, para 42 and note 66. 13 Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bah6'u'l/6h, p. 21. 14 From a previously untranslated tablet of 'Abdu'I-Baha. See H. Hornsby (com- University of Michigan. 23 24 in Egypt who would settle disputes arising among Baha'fs out of personal status law such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, etc. See Waldbridge, Sacred Acts, Sacred Space, Sacred Time, p. 24. 25 'Abdu'I-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, Baha'f Publishing Trust, Wilmette, piler), Lights of Guidance, Baha'f Publishing Trust, New Delhi, 1988, p. 438. 15 1971, p. 105. 26 From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, 2 October 2 1935. Hornsby, Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, para 105 and note 130. There is an account of Shoghi Effendi attempting to appoint a qadi or judge 27 Lights of Guidance, p. 439. See, for instance, Sen McGiinn, 'Some considerations relating to the inheritance laws of the Kitab-i-Aqdas', unpublished paper. Tablets of 'Abdu'I-Baha which identify the tacit approval of laws are untranslated, and may be found in Persian and Arabic in Abdui-Hamid 16 See, for instance, Waldbridge, Sacred Acts, Sacred Space, Sacred Time, p. 25. lshraq Khavar (compiler), Maidiy-i-Asamani: A Compilation of Bah6'f Writ- 17 Will and Testament of 'Abdu'I-Bah6, extracted in A. Taherzadeh, The Covenant ings, Baha'f Publishing Trust, Tehran , 1972, 9 vols, and one index vol- of Bah6'u'l/6h, George Ronald, Oxford, 1992, p. 425. 18 Extracted in a letter written by the Universal House to an individual believer. 19 From a memo of the Universal House of justice's ad hoc committee to Dr See Taherzadeh, The Covenant of Bah6'u'l/6h, p. 435. Udo Schaeffer (circa 1982) about the German translation of the Codification of the Laws and Ordinances of the Kitab-i-Aqdas. 20 ume. 28 Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 7. 29 Sen McGiinn, 'Some considerations relating to the inheritance laws of the 30 See, for example, Universal House of justice, Synopsis and Codification of the Aqdas.' Laws and Ordinances of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Baha'f World Centre, Haifa, The Universal House of justice clearly encourages individual interpretations: 1973, pp. 4-5; and a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the 'the existence of authoratative interpretaions does not preclude the in- National Spiritual Assembly of South and West Africa, 9 July 1957, in dividual from engaging in the study of the Teachings and thereby ar- Hornsby, Lights of Guidance, p. 78. riving at a personal interpretation or understanding. A clear distinction is, however, drawn in the Baha'fWritings between authorative interpretation and the understanding that each individual arrives at from a study of its Teachings. Individual interpretations based on a person's understanding of the Teachings constitute the fruit of man's rational power and may well contribute to a greater comprehension of the Faith. Such views, nevertheless, lack authority.' Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, note 130. 21 ibid . 22 Suggested name for the translation is 'Commentary on the Surah of the Sun'. In the Tablet, Baha'u'llah says that this sort of scholarly commentary, which can be dry and technical, would be leavened with an appreciation for the spritual meaning of scripture. A provisional translation of The Kitáb-i-Aqdas was described by Bahá’u’lláh as ‘the source of true felicity’, the ‘Unerring Balance’, the ‘Straight Path’, and the ‘quickener of mankind’. Since the publication of the first authorised English translation in 1992, Bahá’í scholars have begun the task of analysing its contents and considering its implications as the Charter of the New World Order. In this book, the companion to a volume published in 1996, four scholars share their work considering the themes, laws and interpretation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Among the papers in this volume are: • ‘Huqúqu’lláh: The Socio-Economic and Spiritual Law of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas’ (Dr Ali-Muhammad Varqa) • ‘The Concept of Liberty in the Bahá’í Faith’ (Dr Houshang Khazrai) • ‘The Concept of Justice in the Bahá’í Faith’ (Dr Houshang Khazrai) • ‘Reflections on the Bahá’í parallels to the Sunnah and Ijtihad in Islam’ (Afshin A-Khavari) • as well as the edited transcript of a presentation by Counsellor Sirus Naraqi to the conference on the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Sydney, January 1994.

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2017 •

Takio Kurita

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Bulletin on food price dynamics, inflation, and the food security situation in Sudan: January 2023 in Arabic

Mosab Ahmed

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JCSS Workshop on Reliability Based Code Calibration 1 The Probabilistic Code Optimization Module PROCODE

2015 •

Knut Ronold

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The MIT Press eBooks

Can There Be a Progressive Bioethics?

2009 •

Richard Lempert

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Parasites & Vectors

Efficacy of orally administered fluralaner in dogs against laboratory challenge with Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks

2019 •

Tatsuyuki Okinaga

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International Journal of Computer Applications

Optimization of Fertlizer Rates for Wheat Crop using Fuzzy Expert System

2014 •

Harsimranjit Singh

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An Inside Look at School Reform: What We Have Learned about Assessing Student Learning in a Nongraded Primary School

1995 •

Tracey Hall

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Vigor e produção de sementes de coentro em função do tipo de semente

2013 •

Cyro P. Da Costa

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Numerical Heat Transfer Part A-applications

Mixed convection heat transfer and entropy generation of water inside a square vented enclosure with and without four vibrating cylinders in horizontal and vertical directions

2023 •

Qusay Al-amir

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