Imám Husayn
Proofs of the validity of the Imamate (and the precedence of Husayn over Ali) for Baha'is[edit]
"The Bab's descent from the Imam Husayn is no doubt a proof of the validity of the Imamate. According to Nabil the dream the Bab had made him first conscious of His Revelation.
"The precedence of the name Husayn over Ali does establish the greatness of Imam Husayn.
"Imam Husayn has, as attested by the Iqan, been endowed with special grace and power among the Imams, hence the mystical reference to Baha'u'llah as the return of Imam Husayn, meaning the Revelation in Baha'u'llah of those attributes with which Imam Husayn had been specifically endowed.
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, July 30, 1941, quoted in Lights of Guidance, no. 1665, p. 497)
Identification of Bahá'u'lláh with Imam Husayn is with his Cause and not his station (nor is He his reincarnation)[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)
See also[edit]
- The exact portion of the quotation cited is, within the current publication at least, expressed as "regarded as one soul and the same person" (World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh p. 115) as it is in the Kitáb-i-Íqán, par. 161
