Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh
Read online at https://bahai-library.com/writings/shoghieffendi/wob/37.html
Study Guides[edit]
- https://bahai-library.com/dunbar_study_aids_dispensation
- https://bahai-library.com/shakib_dispensation_bahaullah_guide
- http://www-instruct.nmu.edu/~rclarken/bahai/correspondence-dispens-bahaullah.htm
- A Tutorial on the Dispensation of Baha'u'llah: Exploring the Fundamental Verities of the Baha'i Faith by Fazel Naghdy (Google Books preview; needs purchase).
Notes[edit]
- http://wilmetteinstitute.org/projects/dob.wilson.html ("its continuing place in history")
- http://wilmetteinstitute.org/projects/dob.wittman.html ("Keys to the Proper Understanding of Islam in...")
On the need to read: (on Covenant/Administration, helpful on theology, etc.)[edit]
“He feels, indeed, that the time has come for the German believers to acquire a thorough knowledge as well as a full understanding of such important Tablets as Bahá’u’lláh’s “Book of My Covenant” and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament, both of which constitute the very bedrock upon which the entire administrative system of the Faith has been raised and established. As to the “Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh” it also constitutes an invaluable supplement to these afore-mentioned Tablets.”
- (On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 10 January 1935, The Importance of Deepening in our Knowledge and Understanding of the Faith, no. 123; also in Light of Divine Guidance (vol1), p. 65)
“Shoghi Effendi was also pleased to learn of the response which his last general communication {“The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh} addressed to the friends in the West has awakened in your community. It is his hope that the believers will, through their careful and continued study of this important communication, acquire a new vision of the Cause, and will be stimulated to redouble their efforts for the expansion and consolidation of their work for the Faith.
- (On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, The Importance of Deepening in our Knowledge and Understanding of the Faith, no. 121))
“Concerning the institution of the Guardianship and its true position in the Administrative Order of the Cause, the Guardian would urge you to make a careful study of the subject in his last general letter addressed to the West and published under the title of 'The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh'. In the last part of this important treatise you will find an adequate and authoritative analysis of the origins, nature and function of that institution, and of its unique significance in the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. You should also recommend your fellow-believers to better acquaint themselves with the contents of that same letter, so that their vision of the Cause and their understanding of its present-day administration may acquire in strength and in depth.”
- (On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 2 May 1934, to two believers, quoted in the compilation “Studying the Writings of Shoghi Effendi” on-line at https://bahai-library.com/compilation_studying_writings_guardian)
"Linked with this is the fact, which he mentioned in his cable, that the Bahá'ís need to be deepened in their knowledge and understanding of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. They should study this, and the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, for it is obvious that they do not--for the most part--fully visualize the greatness, the glory, the power and the protection which have been conferred on this Faith through the Institutions provided for in the Master's Will."
"He was also very glad to see that the believers are studying the Covenant of the Master. For in the Master's Will and Testament are enshrined the principles underlying the World Order, and unless the believers fully grasp the greatness, functions, and purpose of the institutions outlined in that Testament (and elaborated by the Guardian in his book "The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh") they will not be able to properly function as Bahá'ís individually or collectively. The German friends need to acquire a profound understanding of the Bahá'í Administrative Order to enable them to function as a Community, according to Bahá'í laws, and to protect them from tests and the attacks of the enemies of the Faith...."
Read Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh to find answers on certain theological questions[edit]
"The soul or spirit of the individual comes into being with the conception of his physical body.
"The Prophets, unlike us, are pre-existent. The Soul of Christ existed in the spiritual world before His birth in this world. We cannot imagine what that world is like, so words are inadequate to picture His state of being.
"We cannot know God directly, but only through His Prophets. We can pray to Him, realizing that through His Prophets we know Him, or we can address our prayer in thought to Bahá'u'lláh, not as God, but as the Door to our knowing God.
"We find God only through the Intermediary of His Prophet. We see the Perfection of God in His Prophets. Time and space are physical things; God the Creator is not in a 'place' as we conceive of place in physical terms. God is the Infinite Essence, the Creator. We cannot picture Him or His state; if we did, we would be His equals, not His Creatures. God is never flesh, but mirrored in the attributes of His Prophets, we see His Divine characteristics and perfections.
"Shoghi Effendi advises you to study 'Some Answered Questions' and the 'Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh' which help you to grasp these questions."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, October 9, 1947; quoted in Lights of Guidance, no. 1699)
Specific passages[edit]
(Page references are from World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.)
pp. 101-103[edit]
Reckoning of Days Mentioned in the "Dispensation"[edit]
"Concerning the passage in the 'Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh' in which the Guardian quotes Abdu'l-Bahá's interpretation of the prophecy referring to the times when the sun would stand still in the heavens, he wishes me to explain that the days referred to in this prophecy have to be reckoned differently. In the Sacred Scripture of various religions there are to be found frequent references to days, but these have been considered as indicating different periods of time, as for instance in the Qur'an a day is reckoned as one thousand years. The first ten days in the above-mentioned prophecy represent each a century, making thus a total of one thousand lunar years. As to the twenty days referring to the Babi Dispensation, each of them represents only one lunar year, the total of twenty years marking the duration of the Revelation of the Bab. The thirty days in the last Dispensation should not be reckoned numerically, but should be considered as symbolizing the incomparable greatness of the Bahá'í Revelation which, though not final, is nonetheless thus far the fullest revelation of God to man. From a physical point of view, the thirty days represent the maximum time taken by the sun to pass through a sign of the zodiac. They thus represent a culminating point in the evolution of this star. So also from a spiritual standpoint these thirty days should be viewed as indicating the highest, though not the final, stage in the spiritual evolution of mankind."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, August 7, 1934: Bahá'í News, No. 87, September 1934, p. 1, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1558)
p. 104[edit]
"Concerning the meaning of the passage on p. 12 of the 'Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh' beginning with the words 'But for Him no Divine Messenger...', this refers to the reality of God in Him and not to His Person."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, July 17, 1937, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1557)
p. 112[edit]
(Note: regarding "Ours is the duty to rush forward and, ere it is too late, win the victory.")
"Page 20, first line, of the same pamphlet: The passage refers to any opportunities that are missed through neglect and not to any particular event."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, July 17, 1937, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1557)
p. 113[edit]
(Note: regarding the line, "Ten thousand Prophets, each a Moses, are thunderstruck upon the Sinai of their search...".)
"Page 21, line 20: The meaning of the passage should not be taken literally. The purpose is to emphasize the theme and heighten its effect."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, July 17, 1937, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1557)
p. 116[edit]
(Note: regarding the line from the Hidden Words from the Persian, no. 77 beginning: "O Son of Justice! In the night-season the beauty of the immortal Being hath repaired form the emerald height...".)
"Page 24, line 20: It refers to the reality of Bahá'u'lláh."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, July 17, 1937, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1557)
pp. 118-119[edit]
"The names of those cited in Bahá'u'lláh's prayer in the Dispensation are quite correct as you have them.
"The Prophets 'regarded as One and the same person' include the Lesser Prophets as well, and not merely Those Who bring a 'Book'. The station is different, but they are Prophets and Their nature thus different from that of ours.
"In the prayer mentioned above Bahá'u'lláh identifies Himself with Imam Husayn. This does not make him a Prophet, but his position was very unique, and we know Bahá'u'lláh claims to be the 'return' of the Imam Husayn. He, in other words, identifies His Spirit with these Holy Souls gone before; that does not, of course, make Him in any way their reincarnation. Nor does it mean all of them were Prophets.
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, February 8, 1949, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1673)
Notes[edit]
- While the prayer does not mention the Imám Husayn, it refers to him indirectly by speaking of him dying on the plain of Karbilá
- "regarded as One and the same person" might be in reference to Kitáb-i-Íqán, par. 161, which mentions "regarded as one soul and the same person."
- This prayer is also in Gleanings, sec. 39
See also[edit]
pp. 131-133[edit]
On station of 'Abdu'l-Bahá not equivalent to Manifestation (pp. 131-133) while it still being possible for prayer through Him[edit]
"With reference to ... the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, he wishes me to explain that although 'Abdu'l-Bahá's station is not that of a Manifestation of God, nevertheless supplications may be addressed to Him. It is essential, however, that every believer should realize that while doing so he is directing his thoughts toward the Master as an intermediary between him and the Manifestation, and not as the Source of Divine Revelation and Spiritual Guidance. Provided this distinction is clearly established, there can be no harm or objection in addressing prayers to 'Abdu'l-Bahá."
- (On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, sec. 50, p. 18)
