Dear friends of the United States of America. Your National
Assembly has given me a special honor and privilege to talk to you about the
Mother Book of the Bahá'í Faith, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. I first give you the
outline of this page with the hope that you will follow the subject matter one
by one, and I pray that it will be well received by all the dear ones in that
vast country.
First, the order in Bahá'u'lláh's life and His writings. Second,
the revelation of the Book of Aqdas, where, in what year, how long. Third, the
two gifts given to mankind through the Book of Aqdas. Fourth, this book is a
gate through which mankind enters the age of maturity. There are many reasons
for these, but three will be given here. Fifth, is the last one, and most
important one. What is it, what exists in this Book which makes it the Mother
Book of our Faith and this Dispensation?
Now we will start one by one, and before I start I pray to
God that He will confirm me and strengthen me to do justice to this great
subject.
Simplicity is the basis and order of Bahá'u'lláh's life. It
rules throughout His ways and manners of living, including garments, residence,
furniture, His approach to His friends and followers, and as a matter of fact,
to all the people of the world. The same order applies to His Writings. All are
easy to read, to follow and understand. Almost every Tablet starts with the praise
of God, and immediately after that, He starts to answer questions put to Him by
the believers. His answers are always direct, frank, to the point, and concise.
There are, however, some exceptions to this rule and there are obvious reasons
for such exceptional cases. I mention three of these exceptions.
The first is the Tablet to the King of Persia, Násiri'd-Dín
Sháh. The language is very exalted and in some parts the vocabulary is very
powerful and difficult to understand. The reason is this, that the King had
been surrounded by the divines, who always boasted of their knowledge of the
Arabic language. Bahá'u'lláh, Who had never been to their schools, by using elaborate
words and perfect melodious sentences desired to awaken and address the King
and his entourage to the source of His revelation, the greatness of His Cause,
and the exceptional power with which He had been endowed. When the King
received this Tablet, he sent it to the divines of his country and asked them
to compose a suitable answer, but none dared to even a sentence which could be
compared with the perfection of words, style and melody used by Bahá'u'lláh in
that great Tablet.
The other exception is His Tablet to Muhammad-Karím Khán, [1] who during his whole life stood firm against the Báb and His followers. Amongst other things that he did, he became so presumptuous as to say and write that some parts of the Báb's Writings are not of pure Arabic style. In this situation, rose to defend His beloved, the Báb and desired to bring this arrogant person to his knees. His answer long and in many instances each word refers to selected poems, prose and proverbs of archaic Arabic literature.
The Book of Aqdas is also difficult to understand, but not
because of language in which it is revealed. The language is lucid, very clear
and direct, but some sentences are peepholes through which one must see the
panorama of the past religions, religious beliefs, customs, etc. Should the
reader be a stranger to this background, such sentences would remain
meaningless and the reader will be startled as to why and what they stand for
in such a mighty book. To understand such references, we must know that in the
past religions of God, the people had many rules about hair, clothes, the place
of their prayers and worship, engaging servants, and many other petty problems,
and they were all sticking to these unnecessary details of their religious
life. We must know that there are man-made interpretations about customs, habits,
rituals and rules which the followers of the religions take them as the
revealed Words of God. Bahá'u'lláh abrogated all such man-made interpretations
which stood between man and his Creator, and Bahá'u'lláh, at the same time,
paves the way for us to approach God in worship and servitude only with pure,
radiant and kindly hearts. It is for these and some other reasons that the
beloved Guardian made the codification of the Book of Aqdas as one of the goals
of his Ten Year Plan, and not its direct translation.
Now that we have this introduction in mind, let's try to
understand where, when and how this Book was revealed.
The place is the house of Abud in the city of 'Akká. There
are historical events mentioned in this Book, which when put together and
coordinated, indicate that it had not been written in one session. The
revelation continued at intervals between the years 1871 to 1873 when it was completed
and concluded. When it was finished, Bahá'u'lláh did not send it immediately to
the friends throughout the world, the Bahá'í world of His own time. Bahá'u'lláh
in some of His Tablets gave the glad tidings to the friends that the Book was
finished and ready, but would be sent in due time.
The revelation of the Book of Aqdas seems to be like sparks
of electricity, and each spark is an independent sentence by itself. There are
almost four hundred sentences in the Book of Aqdas. Through them one observes
clearly that Bahá'u'lláh destroys all the obstacles which had been created by
man-made interpretations of the Words of God and paves the way for us to tread
the path of love and servitude in ease, comfort and absolutely relaxed and
freed from worries, of rituals, customs and habits.
Although this Book is very small in size, it is very dynamic
in nature and is the main source of the three streams in which the Bahá'í
Writings flow abundantly. These three channels are ordinances, spiritual
principles, and administrative principles.
Let us study in this way also. The exalted Pen of
Bahá'u'lláh looks like a traveler who walks in the lofty summits of ranges of
mountains and calls, invites, nay insists on the inhabitants of the valleys
below to try to ascend to the summits above, whence they can behold the endless
beauty of the panorama of that mountain. Sometimes, however, this traveler
descends from His lofty summit and goes to the inhabitants of the valley below
and helps them to become perfect and independent entities through prayers,
consultation, contribution, through a fast and feasts, charity, abstain from
alcohol beverages and drugs, and teaches them to live together in perfect harmony
and help one another in their upward march.
Bahá'u'lláh also explains that through this Book He has
brought two heavenly gifts to mankind. One is a lamp and the other is a key. He
says that His commandments are the lamp of mercy entrusted to hands of man. The
key is His love. Having the lines of the lamp in our hands, that lamp will help
us on our upward march in life, and when we cross the roads and paths, we come
across treasures of immeasurable precious stones. By the light of His commandments,
we find such treasures, and by the key of His love, we open them and allow humanity
to benefit by them.
This love is defined by the beloved Master as the mystery of
divine revelation, as the spiritual fulfillment of any individual person, is
the light of the Kingdom and the breath of the Holy Spirit, inspires unto the
human spirit, is the cause of the manifestation of truth in the phenomenal
world, and the means of the most great happiness in both the material and
spiritual worlds. It is the greatest law in this vast universe of God. It is the
universal magnetic power between the planets and stars shining in the lofty
firmament.
Dear friends, let's always have this lamp of His ordinances
shining in our lives, and the key of His love operating in our hearts. This
Book is a gate through which man enters the age of maturity, leaving behind all
the years and centuries of childhood, savagery and inhumanity. The reasons for
this are many, but I mention only three.
Bahá'u'lláh mentions in this Book that He had received
letters from different individuals in many parts of the Bahá'í community of His
time, and in all such letters, the writers had asked Him for more ordinances
and commandments. Such supplications are tokens of health and maturity. Why?
Let's suppose an individual who is a victim to fever. He usually loses his appetite
when he is a victim to fever. The physician treats this individual by giving
him medicine, sometimes bitter and unbearable. Then the day comes when the
person says that he desires food, more food and the treating doctor takes this
as a good omen and declares it as the starting point of the general health of
that person. The same principle is true with children who don't like school,
who hate all tasks, and remaining in school for long hours. But when they are
mature enough, they desire more books to read, more hours to spend with their professors,
and more tasks to do. Those letters to Bahá'u'lláh are the first glimpses of a
new day in which man begs his Lord to give him from the endless treasure houses
of His bounty.
The second proof is this. In past ages, sages talking to
sovereigns and rulers of the world could not directly bring to their majesties
the fatal result of their judgments and inequities. They related stories of
gods and goddesses of ancient times, and they read to them fables about
ferocious and wicked animals, and how the cruel ones were finally condemned to
fail and fall and victims to their own ego, greed and cunningness. Aesop's
stories, fables, and Greek and Roman mythologies are famous in the West. … and
the Tales of One Thousand and One Nights are outstanding books of the East.
These were books, in the Middle Ages, read in the homes and taught to the
members of the royal families, and, as a matter of fact, to rulers and
ministers of the time. But by the advent of the new age of Bahá'u'lláh, He opened
a new way of talking to the commanding personalities of His time. He did not
sing to them the fables and myths. He never spoke to them about the stories and
myths of ancient times. He rather spoke to them like a father who speaks to his
children who have reached the age of maturity. He addresses the rulers of the
world in most open, direct and explicit terms, and He brings to their notice
the evil consequences of their deeds. He warns them against prejudices,
irreligiousness, and exhorts them to rule and treat their subjects as their own
children. He even opens the panorama of future events in front of their eyes,
and tells them that He saw the banks of the Rhine covered with blood; not once,
but twice. He heard the lamentations of Berlin; not once, but twice, and
envisioned the great divines, dignitaries and emperors falling into degradation
and humiliation. He approached them in this way and set clear, decisive words
and terms to indicate that man is approaching the age of maturity when he is
addressed as a man and not as a child.
In the same Book He calls the members of the Universal House
of Justice men of justice and the trustees of the merciful on this planet. He
assures that body of His divine inspiration and guidance and adorns them with
the mantle of legislating on matters which are not already explicitly ordained
by His exalted Pen.
Now we reach the last, but not the least, point in this
course. What is prescribed in this Book which makes it the Mother Book of this
world Faith? The revelation of this Book is an act of creation. When God
created the earth and decreed that it should rotate around itself and revolve
around the sun, He placed a great mysterious power in the heart of the planet.
He called it the force of gravity. This force of gravity controls all aspects
of our lives on this planet. The form of our body, muscles, height and
movement, and constructions, buildings, bridges, arches, etc., all are under
the strict direct and powerful influence of this invisible force. By
controlling this, if we want to live properly, we must have our peace and equilibrium
with this power. We teach our children to walk, to run, to play and perform athletic
feats. What do we really do in all this training? We teach them to run and play
but to remain conscientiously aware of their equilibrium. The greatest
wrestlers, boxers, weight lifters, acrobats, etc. are doomed to fail and fall
once they lose their balance with this mysterious power. The architect who
designs a certain construction of many stories is constantly mindful lest one
little deviation would cause the force of gravity to bring the whole building
down.
The Covenant of God is this great and mysterious power in
all the religions of God. In the past, because of varying circumstances, the
Center of the Covenant had been appointed by allusions or pronouncements or by
some kind of exceptional treatment by the Prophet of God. But this is the era
of the oneness of mankind during which man enters the age of maturity. The
Messenger of God placed this mysterious power, the Covenant of God, in the
heart of this Book. I mean that He appointed the Center of His Covenant in the
Book of Aqdas and clarified and confirmed the details in His Will and
Testament. A Bahá'í will have his life full of bounties and endless joy if he
keeps this point in mind and arranges all his affairs in such a way as to never
lose his equilibrium with the force of gravity of our Faith, the Center of Covenant
and the World Centre of our Faith.
Let us take an example. Suppose a group of passengers are
seated in a plane, waiting for departure. To their great disappointment and
surprise, they are suddenly ordered to leave the plane and wait in the airport
for two or three hours. "Why?" they all inquired. "Continue. There's
nothing wrong. The seats are all well arranged. The hostesses are kind and
expert in their profession. The pilots are young, energetic and experienced.
The engines are strong." But then an officer comes and to appease the
agitated passengers, he tells them and explains to them that expert engineers
have examined the engine and have found some dislocation inside the engine,
which makes the plane disqualified to take off. What does it mean? It means
that should the plane take off with such a disturbance inside the engine, the
force of gravity will pull it down and a crash will certainly take place within
a few minutes.
Sometimes the friends hear that an individual Bahá'í is
expelled from the rank of file of the Bahá'í world community. They often say,
"What's wrong with him? He is knowledgeable. He has served the Cause for
many years. He prays, fasts, contributes and does everything regularly."
But they are not aware of the fact that this individual, because of ego, could
not keep his balance with the Center of the Cause and therefore must be
expelled lest his contagious disease spreads. If not controlled, a spiritual
crash takes place at any moment and many will perish with him.
In conclusion I would like to bring to your notice that
Bahá'u'lláh has emphasized the fact that faith and deeds are accepted together.
Faith without deeds, and deeds without faith, are not accepted. One is never
accepted without the other. He also says that because of man's obedience to
God's ordinances and principles revealed in this age, order and security will
be established on this planet. These are the true shelters that we need the
most in these days and forever. I hope I have given enough about the Book of
Aqdas to the beloved friends of America and I pray that each one of you will be
successful in serving the Cause of God in that vast country and throughout the
world, as many of your dear pioneers are doing. Wherever I went, I found
pioneers from America, sacrificing their lives, their energies and whatever
they have for the propagation and protection of our beloved Faith. Thank you
very much.
(Published in Conqueror of Hearts,
Excerpts from Letters, Talks and Writings of Hand of the Cause of God
Abu'l-Qásim Faizí, Compiled
by Shirley Macias)
[1] Hájí Mírzá
Muhammad-Karím khán of Kirmán considered himself the successor to Siyyid Kázim
and assumed leadership of the Shaykhí school.