A Summary and Conclusion

1) Are the Universal House of Justice and a Supreme Tribunal Novel?

Bahā’u’llāh and `Abdu’l-Bahā had given orders for the Universal House of Justice to be based on British and European administrative systems. Thus they cannot claim that their administrative system is in any way novel.

2) Did the leaders of Baha’ism act upon this principle?

According to Bahā’u’llāh, `Abdu’l-Bahā, and Shoghi’s strict orders and directives, the Universal House of Justice is only legal if it is headed by the Guardian of the Cause. After Shoghi the Guardian ceased to exist and this principle is no longer applicable. Before Baha’is preach the establishment of a Supreme tribunal, they should first resolve their inner problems and then postulate that their teachings are the only hope for establishing world peace.

3) Is this principle rational and logical?

Baha’is claim that the Universal House of Justice is infallible. How can the decisions of an institute made of up a group of fallible people who have in turn been selected by another group of fallible people be free from error?! The exact same trend exists in all parliaments and poll-based decision making circles and none have ever claimed that their decisions are final and free from error. If the infallibility of the UHJ is a result of it being headed by the Guardian of the Cause, then even by this standard the UHJ is fallible since it is being operated without the supervision of a Guardian.

Thus claiming that this body is infallible and its decisions final is in no way reasonable.

Courtesy: Twelve Principles – A Comprehensive Investigation on the Bahai Teachings

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Contradictions

Bahā’u’llāh:
“Contradiction has and will not ever have a way in the sanctified realm of the Divine Manifestations.”

Reference: Bahā’u’llāh, Badī`, p. 126.

1. Is the Structure of the UHJ Novel?

Shoghi: The Baha’i administrative system is unique.

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 152 & 157.

Bahā’u’llāh: Copy the British administration systems.

Reference: Bahā’u’llāh, Tablets of Bahā’u’llāh Revealed After the Kitāb-i-Aqdas, p. 93.

`Abdu’l-Bahā: Copy the European administration systems.

Reference: `Abdu’l-Bahā, Makātīb (Egypt), vol. 3, p. 501.

 

2. Are the Decisions of the UHJ Free from Error?

Shoghi, `Abdu’l-Bahā, and Bahā’u’llāh: The UHJ is under the protection of the unerring guidance of God.

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 23; Bahā’u’llāh, The Kitābi Aqdas, pp. 90–91;`Abdu’l-Bahā, Some Answered Questions, p. 172.

Shoghi: If the members of the UHJ make an erroneous decision, the Guardian must correct them.

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 150.

 

3. Is It Possible to Separate the Guardian from the Universal House of Justice?

Shoghi: The Guardian is inseparable from the Universal House of Justice.

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, Tauqī’āt mubāraki khiṭāb bi aḥibbā’ sharq, p. 301.

Baha’ism in its current state lacks any credibility because it has no Guardian.

 

4. Are Baha’is Allowed to Participate in Political Matters?

Bahā’u’llāh and `Abdu’l-Bahā: Baha’is must not interfere in political and government matters and must not utter a single word about political matters, even privately amongst themselves. Who that does so is not a Baha’i.

Reference: `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Ganjīniy-i ḥudūd wa aḥkām, chap. 52, pp. 335–337.

Shoghi: Baha’is are allowed to vote to political parties.

Reference: Helen Bassett Hornby, Lights of Guidance: A Bahā’ī Reference File, chap. XXXIX, no. 1443.

 

5. Who Will Govern the Baha’i Kingdom?

Shoghi: Baha’is will rule the world.

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 157.

`Abdu’l-Bahā and Bahā’u’llāh: Baha’is must not interfere in political and government matters and must not utter a single word about political matters, even privately amongst themselves. Who does so is not a Baha’i.

Reference: `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Ganjīniy-i ḥudūd wa aḥkām, chap. 52, pp. 335–337.

 

6. Obeying the Government

`Abdu’l-Bahā: Obey the Government in all matters. This order needs no interpretation.

Reference: `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Ganjīniy-i ḥudūd wa aḥkām, chap. 75, p. 463–464.

Shoghi: Disobey government orders in matters of faith even if the result is your death or banishment.

Reference: ( From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, February 11, 1934),” Helen Bassett Hornby, Lights of Guidance: A Bahā’ī Reference File, chap. XXXIX, no. 1455.

 

7. Baha’i Prophecies Fulfilled?

`Abdu’l-Bahā: The guardians are Shoghi’s lineal descendants.

Reference: `Abdu’l-Bahā, The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahā, p. 11.

But, Shoghi dies and leaves behind no descendants!

`Abdu’l-Bahā: Shoghi must appoint the next Guardian whilst alive.

Reference: `Abdu’l-Bahā, The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahā, p. 12.

But, Shoghi dies without appointing a Guardian.

Shoghi: The Guardian is inseparable from the UHJ.

Reference: The World Order of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 148 & 150

But, A Guardian no longer exists!

Courtesy: Twelve Principles – A Comprehensive Investigation on the Bahai Teachings

Legitimacy of the Universal House of Justice Depends on the Existence of the Guardian of the Cause of God – Part II

After Shoghi’s death, a group of prominent Baha’is under the guidance of Shoghi’s wife (Ruhiyyih), organized a conference in 1963 in which they selected nine people as the members of the Universal House of Justice who immediately started work in Haifa, Israel. This trend continues to this day without any legal basis.

Baha’is claim that the creation of the UHJ is completely justified and the nine body governing council fulfills the role of the Guardian too.

Those who utter these words should again read what Shoghi had openly announced:

“It should be stated, at the very outset, in clear and unambiguous language, that these twin institutions of the Administrative Order of Bahā’u’llāh should be regarded as divine in origin, essential in their functions and complementary in their aim and purpose.“

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 148.

“Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other. Neither will seek to curtail the specific and undoubted authority with which both have been divinely invested.”

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 150.

These two pillars complement each-other and neither can interfere in the domain of the other. Shoghi further stresses that the separation of these two pillars is under no condition allowed or attainable:

“Separating the two pillars of the New Order from each-other is impossible and infeasible.”

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, Tauqī’āt mubāraki khiṭāb bi aḥibbā’ sharq, p. 301.

The matters regarding the UHJ and the Guardian have confused the Baha’is to such an extent that they have uttered all kinds of strange interpretations and justifications.

We advise these people to carefully refer to the closing statement of `Abdu’l-Bahā’s will:

“Beware lest anyone falsely interpret these words, and like unto them that have broken the Covenant after the Day of Ascension (of Bahā’u’llāh) advance a pretext, raise the standard of revolt, wax stubborn and open wide the door of false interpretation. To none is given the right to put forth his own opinion or express his particular conviction. All must seek guidance and turn unto the Center of the Cause and the House of Justice.”

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, Bahā’ī Administration, p. 12..

In any case, after the death of Shoghi the Baha’i community plunged in a state of turmoil and discord. Two distinct groups struggled to introduce themselves as the righteous successors of Shoghi.

The first group was under the directorship of Shoghi’s widow, Ruhiyyih and the second headed by the then president of the International Baha’i Council, who was a man by the name of Charles Mason Remey. Remey challenged the creation of the UHJ by Rūḥiyyih and announced that he was the righteous Guardian of the Cause.

Currently, the followers of Rūḥiyyih and the followers of Remey are in a state of enmity and feud and neither recognizes the authority of the other. Baha’is regard the followers of Remey as heretics and covenant breakers and prohibit their followers from socializing with them. On the other hand, at every opportunity, the followers of Remey announce that they are the true followers of the Orthodox Baha’i faith and the Haifan UHJ is illegal.

There are many other sects in this faith. Readers may refer to the below website for detailed information:

http://www.thesectsofbahais.com/

Legitimacy of the Universal House of Justice Depends on the Existence of the Guardian of the Cause of God

In his will, `Abdu’l-Bahā orders all Baha’is to follow Shoghi and the other Guardians of the Cause who are his descendants one after the other. He warns that disobeying this order will be a breach in the cause of God and will subvert His Word.

According to these strict orders, the UHJ is only be legitimate if it is under the governance and supervision of the Guardian of the Cause of God. The creed will only remain safe and impregnable if the Guardian is obeyed:

“The mighty stronghold shall remain impregnable and safe through obedience to him who is the Guardian of the Cause of God. It is incumbent upon the members of the House of Justice, upon all the Aghsān, the Afnān, the Hands of the Cause of God to show their obedience, submissiveness and subordination unto the Guardian of the Cause of God, to turn unto him and be lowly before him.”

Reference: `Abdu’l-Bahā, The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahā, p. 11.

The Guardian is inseparable from the UHJ and all Baha’is including the members of the UHJ must obey him. One of his duties of Guardian is to expel any member of the UHJ who commits a sin, another duty of the Guardian is to prevent any decision which he sees being against Bahā’u’llāh’s teachings. We ask again:

1. If the UHJ is infallible then why does the Guardian have to make sure It’s decisions are in accordance with the teachings of the cause?
2. Why is the Guardian allowed to veto these decisions?
3. If the infallibility of the UHJ is dependent on the existence of the Guardian, then why do Baha’is insist the current UHJ is infallible even without a Guardian?

The Guardianship is so important that Shoghi stresses time after time that it is virtually inseparable from the UHJ.

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, Tauqī’āt mubāraki khiṭāb bi aḥibbā’ sharq (Langenhain [Germany]: Lajniyi Millī Nashr Āthār Amrī Bi Zabānhayi Fārsī wa `Arabī, 149 B.[1992]), p. 301.

`Abdu’l-Bahā wills that after Shoghi the station of the Guardian of the Cause of God belongs to Shoghi’s eldest son and continues likewise in the next generations. If the eldest son does not possess the necessary spiritual traits to take such a position then the Guardian must appoint another one of his male offspring.

Neither Bahā’u’llāh, nor `Abdu’l-Bahā, and not even Shoghi himself, with their claimed superhuman knowledge (Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 134.) and divine inspirations had predicted that Shoghi was sterile and incapable of bearing offspring. Thus, after the demise of Shoghi in 1957, the Baha’i creed—once and for all—lost its greatest inseparable pillar of credibility and remains without a Guardian to date. According to what we put forward from the sayings of the three most important Baha’i figures, the UHJ is no longer legitimate and lacks any legal basis of functioning whatsoever.

Courtesy: Twelve Principles – A Comprehensive Investigation on the Bahai Teachings

 

Is a Universal Governing Organization and Tribunal a Novel Idea?

Bahā’u’llāh opines that the system in England seems appropriate for the Baha’i administration:

“The system of government which the British people have adopted in London appeareth to be good, for it is adorned with the light of both kingship and of the consultation of the people.”

Reference: Bahā’u’llāh, Tablets of Bahā’u’llāh Revealed After the Kitāb-i-Aqdas, p. 93.

Would someone who has divine knowledge speak about matters with such doubt, stating that the British system “appeareth to be good”?

It was based on this system that appears good to Bahā’u’llāh, that has both a king and public consultation, that Bahā’u’llāh proposed the UHJ system with the Guardian (as the king) and the elected members for consultation. Thus, as can be seen the method devised by Bahā’u’llāh is merely a copy of the governing system in England.

`Abdu’l-Bahā further admits that UHJ membership is based on European parliaments:

“If differences occur, the Universal House of Justice must swiftly settle the differences, and whatever the majority expresses [as a decision] is the definite truth. The [members of] House of Justice must be selected using the same mechanism and methods that the [members] of parliament in European countries are selected.”

Reference: `Abdu’l-Bahā, Makātīb (Egypt), vol. 3, p. 501.

Both the system and the selection method of the UHJ are based on British and European governance systems. Thus there is nothing novel in this system, it is merely an imitation of what Bahā’u’llāh and `Abdu’l-Bahā had observed or heard of after they were banished from Persia.

It is strange that even though these two Baha’i figures admit that their method is not new, Shoghi in The World Order of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 152 and 157 insists that the structures of this twin institution are similar to nothing the world has seen.

Baha’is believe that if the whole world—not only Baha’is—establish a Universal House of Justice, world peace would be reached. This global UHJ is referred to as the Supreme or International Tribunal.

`Abdu’l-Bahā declares:

“From amongst all governments and nations, using general polling, a supreme tribunal must be established. The differences and quarrels between the governments and nations must be settled in that tribunal so that they do not result in war.”

Reference: `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Payām-i malakūt, p. 30.

“Not until the flag of peace is raised and a great universal court of justice is established in which all affairs and differences between governments are settled, the world of creation will not have peace.”

Reference: `Abdu’l-Bahā, Khaṭābāt (Tehran), vol. 2, p. 150.

The United Nations is an organization which fits the criterion set out by `Abdu’l-Bahā to a great extent and Baha’is have a very close connection to it. Unfortunately, more than seventy years after its establishment, the outcome that `Abdu’l-Bahā had envisioned for such an organization has not materialized, and the world, even with all its nations being a part of this tribunal, is still infested with war and oppression and peace is nowhere in sight. These seventy years have shown this tribunal has failed the test of time and it cannot—as Baha’is claim—achieve world peace and tranquility. Yes, this international body might have prevented some wars, but this is nothing new or out of the ordinary, for ever since antiquity, all nations had avoided war through negotiations.

The hope and goal of achieving global peace under the umbrella of a global system is not a matter for Baha’is to show pride in as being something novel or an astounding trait of their creed. It has been and still is the hope of all peaceful movements throughout the world and all divine religions.

 

Universal House of Justice

The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing body of the Baha’i creed and constitutes of nine members. The next governing body is the National Spiritual Assembly that is responsible for the administration of the Baha’is of a country. Next in rank are the Regional Baha’i councils that act under the supervision of the National Spiritual Assemblies. The lowest level of governance is performed by the Local Spiritual Assemblies.

Members of each of the aforementioned institutions are selected by ballot. All these institutions were originally referred to as Houses of Justice by Bahā’u’llāh but were given other names later on:

“The Lord hath ordained that in every city a House of Justice be established wherein shall gather counsellors to the number of Bahā, and should it exceed this number it doth not matter.”

Reference: Bahā’u’llāh, The Kitābi Aqdas, p. 29.

The Universal House of Justice can legislate new Baha’i laws but may not alter the scriptural laws defined by Bahā’u’llāh and `Abdu’l-Bahā’. Baha’is regard the decrees of the UHJ to be divine and free from error:

“And now, concerning the House of Justice which God hath ordained as the source of all good and freed from all error, it must be elected by universal suffrage, that is, by the believers.”

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, Bahā’ī Administration (US Bahā’ī Publishing Trust, 1974), p. 10.

The duties and method of administration of the UHJ are as follows:

“By this House is meant the Universal House of Justice, that is, in all countries, a secondary House of Justice must be instituted, and these secondary Houses of Justice must elect the members of the Universal one. Unto this body all things must be referred. It enacteth all ordinances and regulations that are not to be found in the explicit Holy Text. By this body all the difficult problems are to be resolved and the guardian of the Cause of God is its sacred head and the distinguished member for life of that body. Should he not attend in person its deliberations, he must appoint one to represent him. Should any of the members commit a sin, injurious to the common weal, the guardian of the Cause of God hath at his own discretion the right to expel him, whereupon the people must elect another one in his stead.”

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, Bahā’ī Administration, p. 10.

No Baha’i member is allowed under any condition to disobey the orders of the UHJ. In many cases, perpetrators have been excommunicated from the Baha’i community.

Readers who have an open mind and are ready to accept the truth may refer to the below blog to get more information:

https://bahaicensorship.wordpress.com/2016/07/20/how-haifan-uhj-tortures-independent-bahai-scholars-here-is-a-letter-of-bahai-scholar-ahang-rabbani-to-the-universal-house-of-justice/

 

Bahā’u’llāh’s Orders and Writings

The laws legislated by Bahā’u’llāh are incomplete and address very few issues. To remedy this shortcoming, Bahā’u’llāh has put it up to the UHJ to fill in the gaps regarding the laws that he had not decreed:

It is incumbent upon the Trustees of the House of Justice to take counsel together regarding those things which have not outwardly been revealed in the Book, and to enforce that which is agreeable to them. God will verily inspire them with whatsoever He willeth.

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahā’u’llāh (US Bahā’ī Publishing Trust, 1991 [first pocket-size edition]), p. 23.

For instance, the punishment for robbery has been declared to be:

Exile and imprisonment are decreed for the thief, and, on the third offence, place ye a mark upon his brow so that, thus identified, he may not be accepted in the cities of God and His countries.

Reference: Bahā’u’llāh, The Kitābi Aqdas, pp. 35–36.

But nothing has been said about the conditions of the thief and the severity of his actions that lead to such punishments. The order given to Baha’is is:

All details concerning the nature of the mark, how the mark is to be applied, how long it must be worn, on what conditions it may be removed, as well as the seriousness of various degrees of theft have been left by Bahā’u’llāh for the Universal House of Justice to determine when the law is applied.

Reference: Bahā’u’llāh, The Kitābi Aqdas, p. 198.

According to Shoghi Effendi, Bahā’u’llāh’s laws are incomplete:

Severed from the no less essential institution of the Universal House of Justice this same System of the Will of `Abdu’l-Bahā would be paralyzed in its action and would be powerless to fill in those gaps which the Author of the Kitāb-i-Aqdas has deliberately left in the body of His legislative and administrative ordinances.

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 148.

With Bahā’u’llāh’s laws and orders incomplete and limited to only a few subjects, the UHJ is the only body that remains that can have a meaningful effect on the everyday lives of Baha’is.

If the laws brought by this new creed are incomplete and must be completed by a group of people who are perfectly capable of committing mistakes, then what advantage does this religion have over ordinary legislative bodies in every country that consist of a number of fallible lawmakers? What problem has this creed solved?

Courtesy: Twelve Principles – A Comprehensive Investigation on the Bahai Teachings

Establishment of a Universal House of Justice and Supreme Tribunal

“The world is in the need of universal peace. The world will not rest unless universal peace is announced. The governments and nations must create a supreme tribunal to which differences are referred to and that supreme tribunal will settle them.”

Reference: `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Payām-i malakūt, p. 48.

The Universal House of Justice (UHJ) is an institution made up of nine people who are selected by ballot and work under the supervision of the Guardian of the Cause of God. The supreme tribunal is a committee which governs all world affairs with representatives from all nations of the world.

The Universal House of Justice (UHJ) is the highest governing body of the Baha’i administrative organization. Its establishment was originally proposed by Bahā’u’llāh but he failed to establish it. After Bahā’u’llāh, `Abdu’l-Bahā too tried in vain to establish it. Shoghi aspired to achieve this goal but he also failed. Even with all the spiritual and material sources at their disposal, the Baha’i prophet, the interpreter of his words, and the Guardian of the Cause of God, all failed to realize this dream.

Rulers and National Constitutions

As opposed to all other religions, Baha’is must adhere to the orders of the kings and governments they live in regardless of whether these laws are correct, incorrect, moral, or oppressive. Bahā’u’llāh argues that since God has granted the kings and rulers authority over their lands, no one is allowed to oppose or disobey them:

“God Mighty and Majestic be He, has granted the evident lands to the rulers. No one is allowed to oppose the verdict of the heads of the country.”

Reference: Bahā’u’llāh, Iqtidārāt wa chand lauḥ dīgar, p. 324.

“Every nation must have a high regard for the position of its sovereign, must be submissive unto him, must carry out his behests, and hold fast his authority. The sovereigns of the earth have been and are the manifestations of the power, the grandeur and the majesty of God.”

Reference: Bahā’u’llāh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 89.

`Abdu’l-Bahā too, orders Baha’is to obey the rulers and kings:

“No movement—minor or major—must be made without the consent and permission of the government. Whoever makes the slightest movement without the permission of the government will have disobeyed the Blessed Affair (meaning the Baha’i creed) and no excuse will be accepted from him. God’s definite order is that the government must be obeyed. This [order] neither needs to be paraphrased nor interpreted. An example of obeying the government is this: not a single word can be published without the government’s permission. The duty of God’s Friends is to obey and submit to the government whether [that government is] a state or constitutional.”

Reference: `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Ganjīniy-i ḥudūd wa aḥkām, chap. 75, pp. 463–464.

According to Baha’i teachings, government orders must be preferred over Baha’i laws:

“The laws revealed by Bahā’u’llāh in the Aqdas are, whenever practicable and not in direct conflict with the Civil Law of the land, absolutely binding on every believer or Bahā’ī institution whether in the East or in the West.”

Reference: Bahā’u’llāh, The Kitābi Aqdas, p. 6.

This means that regardless of the government being just or unjust, right or wrong, Baha’is must adhere to its rules and orders even if it means disobeying their own religious decrees!

Although `Abdu’l-Bahā had declared that “God’s definite order is that the government must be obeyed. This [order] neither needs to be paraphrased or interpreted,” and neither him nor Bahā’u’llāh had announced any exception with regard to this law, Shoghi insists on implementing his own interpretation of these words. Shoghi claims that governments must only be obeyed if they impose limits on Baha’i administrative affairs. In matters of belief no compromise is allowed and Baha’is must disobey the government even if they are killed or banished:

Obedience to the state is so vital a principal of the Cause that should the authorities in . . . [sic] decide to-day to prevent the Baha’is from holding any meeting or publishing any literature they should obey . . . [sic] But, as already pointed out, such an allegiance is confined merely to administrative matters which if checked can only retard the progress of the Faith for some time. In matters of belief, however, no compromise whatever should be allowed, even though the outcome of it be death or expulsion (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, February 11, 1934).

Reference: Helen Bassett Hornby, Lights of Guidance: A Bahā’ī Reference File, chap. XXXIX, no. 1455.

According to the government rules of some countries, Baha’is are not allowed to teach or preach their religion amongst non-Baha’is. These orders are blatantly ignored by the Baha’i community under the disguise of discrimination and freedom of religion. Ironically, Baha’is gladly oblige to similar laws in Israel.

Courtesy: Twelve Principles – A Comprehensive Investigation on the Bahai Teachings