Status as pilgrim's notes[edit]
Only to be considered as interesting material to be taken for what they are worth[edit]
"Those talks of the Master that were later reviewed by Him, corrected or in some other form considered authentic by Himself, such as the 'Some Answered Questions', these could be considered as Tablets and therefore be given the necessary binding power. All the other talks such as are included in Ahmad's diary or the diary of pilgrims, do not fall under this category and could be considered only as interesting material to be taken for what they are worth.
"For this reason Shoghi Effendi has not been encouraging the publication of reported sayings that were not authenticated by the Master Himself."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the United States Publishing Committee, December 29, 1931; in Lights of Guidance, no. 1435)
No authority can be attached to talks such as Sohrab's book, unless the Master has appended His signature[edit]
"According to the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh no authority can be attached to a mere hearsay, no matter through whom it may come. The Tablets that bear the seal or signature of Bahá'u'lláh and the Master are the only parts of the literature that have any authority and that constitute the basis of our belief. All other forms of literature may bear points of interest but they cannot be considered as authentic. This is the view that Shoghi Effendi took towards the talks of Abdu'l-Bahá that Ahmad Sohrab had incorporated in his book, and it is the attitude that he would take towards any other reported saying, naturally unless the Master has appended His signature to that talk and thereby given it the authority of a Tablet such as is the case with 'Some Answered Questions' that was actually corrected by Him."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, November 18, 1931, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1437)
Friends may use it (portion of the diary), but should be made clear is not Bahá'í scripture[edit]
"_The Marriage Tablet_, beginning "The bond that unite hearts most perfectly is loyalty..." This is not a tablet at all, but is an unauthenticated record by Ahmad Sohrab of a talk by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The friends may use it, but it should be made clear that this is not Bahá'í scripture.
- (Research Department, 1992-09, American Bahá'í)
See also[edit]
Passage from Ahmad Sohrab's diary may be considered as interesting material, but not as scripture[edit]
"There is a power in this cause, a mysterious power, far, far beyond the ken of men and angels...." This passage is from Ahmad Sohrab's diary and should be considered as interesting material, but not as scripture.
- (Research Department, 1992-09, American Bahá'í)
By entry date[edit]
1913-07-08[edit]
See 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Egypt, p. 39
(Entry cited in Bahá'í Scriptures, no. 622 as 1914-07-07)
"It [a mysterious power] creates new spiritual worlds"[edit]
"You inquired regarding the meaning of the sentence, 'The mysterious power that creates new spiritual worlds'. This, Shoghi Effendi believes, refers to the transcendental Essence of God Who is the Creator of this world and the worlds to come; for Bahá’u’lláh says, 'God's worlds are infinite'."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the Spiritual Assembly of Eliot, Maine, March 27, 1933: Bahá’í News, No. 73, May 1933, p. 2, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1707)
