In one of His Tablets Bahá’u’lláh refers to this Law as ranking in importance immediately after the two great obligations of recognition of God and steadfastness in His Cause, and yet the introduction and implementation of this Law are characterized by kindness, forgiveness, tolerance and magnanimity. Although it deals with the material things of this world, it is placed among those spiritual obligations resting on the individual soul, such as prayer and fasting, the fulfillment of which is a direct responsibility of each believer towards God, not subject to the sanctions or impositions of His institutions in this world. It is, indeed, a clear expression of the priorities with which Bahá’u’lláh views the duties of mankind. First comes the spiritual, and then the material—however important in practice the latter may be.
After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas had been revealed in response to the pleas of the friends, Bahá’u’lláh withheld it from publication for some time and even then, when a number of devoted Bahá'ís, having learned of the law, endeavored to offer the Huqúqu'lláh, the payment was not accepted. The Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh show His acute consciousness of the way in which material wealth has been permitted to degrade religion in the past, and He preferred the Faith to sacrifice all material benefits rather than to soil to the slightest degree its dignity and purity. Herein is a lesson for all Bahá'í institutions for all time.
However, as the beloved Guardian explained, funds are the life-blood of the Cause. God Himself, as Bahá’u’lláh stated, has made achievement dependent on material means. Therefore, as the awareness of the friends grew. He permitted the Huqúqu’lláh to be accepted, provided the donor made the offering willingly with joy and awareness.
To receive the Huqúqu’lláh, Bahá’u’lláh brought into being one of the great Institutions of the Faith, the Trusteeship of Huqúqu’lláh.
The first to be honored with appointment as Trustee of Huqúqu’lláh was Jináb-i-Sháh Muhammad from Manshád, Yazd, who eventually received from the Blessed Beauty the title of Amínu’l-Bayán (Trustee of the Bayán). Hájí Sháh Muhammad had embraced the Faith in its early years and had the bounty of entering the presence of Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad. The fire of love kindled in his heart made him impatient to offer his services to the Threshold of his Beloved, and this undertaking he followed until the last moment of his life, surrendering all material belongings in the path of service. Encompassed by hardship, danger and lack of means, this trusted servant of Bahá’u’lláh, in journey after journey, would carry the friends’ donations of Huqúqu’lláh and their petitions to the Sacred Threshold and, in return, bring them news and Tablets from the Blessed Perfection.
One of the most sacred tasks entrusted to Amínu’l-Bayán was to go to Iran to receive the Remains of the Báb from their custodian, the devoted and valiant Hand of the Cause of God Jináb-i-Hájí Ákhúnd, and to transfer them through innumerable dangers to a safe hiding place in the Mosque of the Imámzádih Zayd in Tehran, where they lay concealed until the time when, at the behest of Abdu'l-Bahá, they were transferred to the Holy Land to be laid in their permanent resting place on the slopes of Mount Carmel.
The attention of Jináb-i-Sháh Muhammad was drawn to the rare qualities of nobility and detachment of one of the believers, Hájí Abu’l-Hasan Ardakání, who was also from Yazd. The bond of fellowship between them became so strong that they became the closest of companions. Jináb-i-Sháh Muhammad chose Hájí Abu’l-Hasan to be his assistant and confidant in his services as the Trustee of Huqúqu'lláh. They were among the first group of pilgrims who, after encountering grave hardships and difficulties, were able to visit Bahá'u'lláh in ‘Akká. On their return to Iran they decided to make numerous journeys together, and on one of these journeys, in 1881, they were attacked and caught during a Kurdish revolt, and Jináb-i-Hájí Sháh Muhammad was seriously wounded. Bahá’u’lláh instructed that, following the passing of Jináb-i-Sháh Muhammad, the office of Trustee of Huqúqu’lláh should be conferred upon his loyal assistant and companion, Jináb-i-Hájí Abu’l-Hasan, who was subsequently entitled Amín (the Trusted One) or Jináb-i-Hájí Amin.
Jináb-i-Hájí Amín was a shining star who served the Cause for forty-seven years with eagerness and zeal, showing magnanimity, courage and incredible steadfastness. During the Ministry of Bahá’u’lláh he was imprisoned twice, by order of Násiri'd-Dín Sháh and his son, Kámrán Mírzá. In the course of his second imprisonment, in the prison of Qazvín, referred to as Sijn-i-Matin (the Mighty Prison) by Bahá’u’lláh in the opening verses of the Tablet of the World, he was together with the Hand of the Cause Hájí Ákhúnd. Here, Jináb-i-Amín suffered gravely, his legs in fetters and a chain around his neck. His jailers, in order to torment him, would add castor oil to his food. With manifest resignation and submission, he would neither complain nor refuse the food, eating as though nothing were amiss. He was a symbol of magnanimity and detachment. He had no worldly possessions, no home or shelter of his own. His habitation was in the hearts and souls of the Bahá’í friends who would receive and entertain him with warmth and love. Each one would impatiently await his arrival, to enjoy the sweet melody of his prayers and chanting of the Tablets, the glad-tidings and encouragement he would bring. Every day he would bid good-bye to one family to spend the night in another household, illumining another gathering with his presence. He was continually on the move, traveling to most Iranian cities and being the trusted adviser of many Bahá’í friends in their personal affairs.
Among the countless journeys that Hájí Amín made was one to Paris where he attained the presence of Abdu’l-Bahá. During his long life he witnessed the last eleven years of the Ministry of Bahá’u’lláh, the twenty-nine years of the Ministry of the Center of the Covenant, and seven years of the Guardianship of Shoghi Effendi. Towards the end of his life he became ill and frail and was confined to bed, living in the home of his friend and assistant, Hájí Ghulám Ridá, who, at the express desire of Abdu’l-Bahá, had been appointed his successor as Trustee of Huqúqu’lláh. Upon his passing in 1928, Hájí Amín was named by the beloved Guardian a Hand of the Cause of God.
The third Trustee of Huqúqu’lláh, Jináb-i-Ghulám Ridá, was entitled Amín-i-Amín (Trustee of the Trustee). This distinguished soul was born into the wealthy merchant class of Tehran and was brought up to enjoy the comfortable life associated with it. During his youth, the urge to discover spiritual realities led him to the study of comparative religion and, while engaged in his business, he ventured to search out and associate with followers and leaders of religion. Disappointed in what he found, he sought more information about the Bahá’í Faith, which had been introduced to him by his secretary. This enquiry soon developed into a serious study of the sacred Tablets and Writings and his heart was illumined with the light of faith. After embracing the Cause, Jináb-i-Hájí Ghulám Ridá engaged in Bahá’í activities and, at the age of 32, he gave up trade to devote himself fully and freely to the service of the Faith. He developed a special attachment to Jináb-i-Amín and became his constant assistant. In due course he received a Tablet from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá urging him to emulate Jináb-i-Amín and appointing him as Trustee of Huqúqu'lláh. While ever mindful of the responsibilities of his new position, he took the utmost care of Jináb-i- Amín for the remainder of his life.
Jináb-i-Ghulám Ridá held the rank of Trustee of Huqúqu’lláh for eleven years. His home became a center for the gatherings of the friends and for the administration of the affairs of the Faith. It was during his Trusteeship that initial steps were taken for the registration of Bahá’í properties and endowments in Iran, and he was assiduous in doing his utmost for their protection and preservation. In 1938 he fell ill and passed away.
The fourth Trustee of Huqúqu’lláh, appointed to this position by the beloved Guardian, was Jináb-i-Valíyu’lláh Varqá, the third son of Varqá the martyr. He was born in Tabríz and, after the martyrdom of his father and brother, he was brought up from early childhood by his grandmother, a staunch, powerful and fanatical Muslim. She did her utmost, until his early youth, to sow the seeds of enmity to the Faith in his heart. When he was sixteen, his uncle, surnamed Akhu’sh-Shahíd (the Brother of the Martyr), managed to remove him from this agonizing atmosphere of prejudice and took him to his home in Míyándu’áb. There he introduced him to the Bahá'í Faith and its teachings, opening a new world to Jináb-i-Varqá. So afire did he become with love for the Faith that, without any preparations, he decided to go on pilgrimage in the company of a close friend. However, his Local Spiritual Assembly did not approve of this, and guided him, instead, to go to Tehran to join his elder brother Jináb-i-Azízu'lláh Varqá.
After his schooling in Tehran, Jináb-i-Varqá's longing to make his pilgrimage was fulfilled, and he then attended the American University in Beirut, deepening his knowledge of the Bahá'í teachings under the guidance of Abdu'l-Bahá during his summer vacations. During this time he made a journey to Iran at the behest of the Master, and later accompanied Him on His historic journey to Europe and America, as an interpreter. Upon the completion of this journey, he returned to Iran and rendered invaluable services on the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tehran, in many Bahá'í administrative agencies, and ultimately on the National Spiritual Assembly. His loyal and dedicated service as Trustee of Huqúqu'lláh was to follow, occupying him for seventeen years, during which time the observance of the Law of Huqúqu’lláh was spread throughout Iran, so that ever more of the friends fulfilled their obligations, offering large sums and many properties. In order to devote his full time to this sacred enterprise, Jináb-i-Varqá resigned from the work in which he was employed.
In 1951 Jináb-i-Valíyu’lláh Varqá was among the first contingent of eminent believers elevated by Shoghi Effendi to the rank of Hand of the Cause of God. This opened new opportunities for him to meet with the friends and cheer their hearts with news of the victories being achieved in the teaching work, especially during the Ten Year Crusade, which opened at Ridván 1953. These memorable services culminated in the fulfillment of his long- cherished desire to visit the beloved Guardian.
On his return to Iran from pilgrimage, a previous ailment grew worse, and Jináb-i-Varqá was forced to go to Tübingen in Germany for hospital treatment and an operation. The treatment, alas, was unsuccessful, and in November 1955 his noble life drew to a close.
In the cable announcing the passing of Valíyu’lláh Varqá, Shoghi Effendi included the words: "His mantle as Trustee Huqúq now falls on ‘Ali Muhammad, his son. . . . Newly appointed Trustee Huqúq now elevated rank Hand Cause."
Just two years following the appointment of Jináb-i-Alí-Muhammad Varqá to this onerous task, he and his fellow Hands of the Cause of God were confronted with the heart-breaking and soul-stirring events associated with the passing of the beloved Guardian, and carried the entire Bahá’í world to the victorious conclusion of the Ten Year Crusade, bringing into being, at Ridván 1963, the Universal House of Justice.
The following twenty-three years have seen storms of tribulation and persecution afflicting the Bahá’í community in Iran, causing immense problems to be wrestled with in relation to the safeguarding and sale of properties donated for the Huqúqu’lláh as well as a multitude of other historic tasks that have fallen to the lot of Jináb-i-Varqá in his capacity as a Hand of the Cause of God.
The successive teaching plans caused an outflow of pioneers from Iran to all corners of the world, requiring the Trustee of Huqúqu’lláh to appoint Deputies and Representatives in many countries beyond the borders of Iran until, at this time, the Institution is represented in every continent of the earth. Not only do the friends from Middle Eastern countries continue to obey the law of Huqúqu’lláh in their adopted countries, but, increasingly, other friends have been moved to offer the Huqúq.
A new stage, therefore, has now been opened in the development of this Institution, a stage that will for ever be associated with the opening of the Fourth Epoch of the Formative Age of the Faith and the emergence of the Bahá’í community from obscurity into the arena of world affairs.
(Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001)
