Self-defense and individual conduct in the face of civil disorder: - guidance for the Universal House of Justice

We have reviewed your letter of April 11th, asking about the teachings of the Faith on self-defense and any guidance on individual conduct in the face of increasing civil disorder in North American cities.

From the texts you already have available it is clear that Bahá’u’lláh has stated that it is preferable to be killed in the path of God’s good pleasure than to kill, and that organized religious attack against Bahá’ís should never turn into any kind of warfare, as this is strictly prohibited in our Writings.

A hitherto untranslated Tablet from ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, however, points out that in the case of attack by robbers and highwaymen, a Bahá’í should not surrender himself, but should try, as far as circumstances permit, to defend himself, and later on lodge a complaint with the government authorities. In a letter written on behalf of the Guardian, he also indicates that in an emergency when there is no legal force at hand to appeal to, a Bahá’í is justified in defending his life. In another letter the Guardian has further pointed out that the assault of an irresponsible assailant upon a Bahá’í should be resisted by the Bahá’í, who would be justified, under such circumstances, in protecting his life.

The House of Justice does not wish at the present time to go beyond the guidelines given in the above-mentioned statements. The question is basically a matter of conscience, and in each case the Bahá’í involved must use his judgment in determining when to stop in self-defense lest his action deteriorate into retaliation.

Of course the above principles apply also in cases when a Bahá’í finds himself involved in situations of civil disorder. We have, however, advised the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States that under the present circumstances in that country it is preferable that Bahá’ís do not buy nor own arms for their protection or the protection of their families. 

- The Universal House of Guidance  (From a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, May 26, 1969; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1968 – 1973’)

Ásiyih Khanum: Bahá'u'lláh’s wife – their daughter recalls many years later

I wish you could have seen her as I first remember her, tall, slender, graceful, eyes of dark blue -- a pearl, a flower amongst women.

I have been told that even when very young, her wisdom and intelligence were remarkable. I always think of her in those earliest days of my memory as queenly in her dignity and loveliness, full of consideration for everybody, gentle, of a marvelous unselfishness, no action of hers ever failed to show the loving-kindness of her pure heart; her very presence seemed to make an atmosphere of love and happiness wherever she came, enfolding all comers in the fragrance of gentle courtesy. 

- Bahiyyih Khanum  (Quoted by Lady Blomfield in ‘The Chosen Highway’)

“The Cause has the spiritual power to re-create us”

The believers, as we all know, should endeavour to set such an example in their personal lives and conduct that others will feel impelled to embrace a Faith which reforms human character. However, unfortunately, not everyone achieves easily and rapidly the victory over self. What every believer, new or old, should realize is that the Cause has the spiritual power to re-create us if we make the effort to let that power influence us, and greatest help in this respect is prayer. We must supplicate Baha’u’llah to assist us to overcome the failings in our own characters, and also exert our own will-power in mastering ourselves. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer dated 27 January, 1945; compilation: ‘Excellence in All Things’)

'Abdu'l-Baha in the garden surrounding the Shrine of Baha'u'llah at Bahji

The instrument ‘Abdu’l-Baha devised for the proclamation of the Faith to the remotest corners of the Earth was the Divine Plan laid out in the fourteen great 'Tablets of the Divine Plan'

As war's inferno was engulfing the world, 'Abdu'l-Bahá turned His attention to the one great task remaining in His ministry, that of ensuring the proclamation to the remotest corners of the Earth of the message which had been neglected -- or opposed -- in Islamic and Western society alike. The instrument He devised for this purpose was the Divine Plan laid out in fourteen great Tablets, four of them addressed to the Bahá'í community of North America and ten subsidiary ones addressed to five specific segments of that community. Together with Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet of Carmel and the Master's Will and Testament, the Tablets of the Divine Plan were described by Shoghi Effendi as three of the "Charters" of the Cause. Revealed during the darkest days of the war, in 1916 and 1917, the Divine Plan summoned the small body of American and Canadian believers to assume the role of leadership in establishing the Cause of God throughout the planet. The implications of the trust were awe-inspiring. 

(‘Century of Light’, a document, prepared under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice and published in 2001)

A Baha'i Teaching: Each human being should “investigate the reality underlying the … Word of God”, revealed by the Founders of various world religions, to see their fundamental unity

Inasmuch as human interpretations and blind imitations differ widely, religious strife and disagreement have arisen among mankind, the light of true religion has been extinguished and the unity of the world of humanity destroyed. The prophets of God voiced the spirit of unity and agreement. They have been the founders of divine reality. Therefore if the nations of the world forsake imitations and investigate the reality underlying the revealed Word of God they will agree and become reconciled. For reality is one and not multiple. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (‘Baha'i World Faith’)

“You must look on no one as a stranger. You should try to show the greatest love to all men and to every creature.”

You are all one family; you have grown out of one root. Each of you is like a branch, a flower, a fruit. You must look on no one as a stranger. You should try to show the greatest love to all men and to every creature. I have come to you as to my own people—brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. My bond is with all mankind; so should yours be. Try to follow the teachings of Baha’u’llah then each one will shine like a star. Since the time of Adam there has been no other teaching; until the end of time there will be no other. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha at Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper’s residence, England, 1911; Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 12, 16 October, 1911)

Relics of 'Abdu'l-Baha

Prayer beads, turban, caps worn under turban, comb, shoes, and other articles belonging to 'Abdu'l-Baha

The “unleashing forces that are so gravely deranging the social, the religious, the political, and the economic equilibrium of organized society”

These recurrent crises which, with ominous frequency and resistless force, are afflicting an ever-increasing portion of the human race must of necessity continue, however impermanently, to exercise, in a certain measure, their baleful influence upon a world community which has spread its ramifications to the uttermost ends of the earth. How can the beginnings of a world upheaval, unleashing forces that are so gravely deranging the social, the religious, the political, and the economic equilibrium of organized society, throwing into chaos and confusion political systems, racial doctrines, social conceptions, cultural standards, religious associations, and trade relationships—how can such agitations, on a scale so vast, so unprecedented, fail to produce any repercussions on the institutions of a Faith of such tender age whose teachings have a direct and vital bearing on each of these spheres of human life and conduct?

Little wonder, therefore, if they who are holding aloft the banner of so pervasive a Faith, so challenging a Cause, find themselves affected by the impact of these world-shaking forces. Little wonder if they find that in the midst of this whirlpool of contending passions their freedom has been curtailed, their tenets contemned, their institutions assaulted, their motives maligned, their authority jeopardized, their claim rejected.  

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

Greatest Holy Leaf: - “How staunch was her faith, how calm her demeanor, how forgiving her attitude, how severe her trials”

How staunch was her faith, how calm her demeanor, how forgiving her attitude, how severe her trials, at a time when the forces of schism had rent asunder the ties that united the little band of exiles which had settled in Adrianople and whose fortunes seemed then to have sunk to their lowest ebb! It was in this period of extreme anxiety, when the rigors of a winter of exceptional severity, coupled with the privations entailed by unhealthy housing accommodations and dire financial distress, undermined once for all her health and sapped the vitality which she had hitherto so thoroughly enjoyed. The stress and storm of that period made an abiding impression upon her mind, and she retained till the time of her death on her beauteous and angelic face evidences of its intense hardships. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 17 July 1932; ‘Baha’i Administration’)

“O ye illumined youth, strive by night and by day to unravel the mysteries of the mind and spirit, and to grasp the secrets of the Day of God.”

Wherefore, O ye illumined youth, strive by night and by day to unravel the mysteries of the mind and spirit, and to grasp the secrets of the Day of God. Inform yourselves of the evidences that the Most Great Name hath dawned. Open your lips in praise. Adduce convincing arguments and proofs. Lead those who thirst to the fountain of life; grant ye true health to the ailing. Be ye apprentices of God; be ye physicians directed by God, and heal ye the sick among humankind. Bring those who have been excluded into the circle of intimate friends. Make the despairing to be filled with hope. Waken them that slumber; make the heedless mindful.

Such are the fruits of this earthly life. Such is the station of resplendent glory. Upon you be Baha'u'l-Abha. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Youth)

Chicago 1917: Commemorating Baha'u'llah's 100th Birthday

Some prominent Western non-Baha’is who hosted receptions for ‘Abdu’l-Baha

From 1911 to 1913 'Abdu'l-Baha journeyed through Europe and North America, visiting the local Baha'i communities, addressing public audiences in peace societies, universities, churches, Negro conferences and synagogues, meeting distinguished personages in government, clerical and educational life and promulgating by example and eloquent speech the principles of universal peace. The roster of these distinguished persons is too extensive to include here, but the character of 'Abdu'l-Baha's reception in the West may be indicated by naming, among many others, Archdeacon Wilberforce, Reverend R. J. Campbell, Lord Lamington, Sir Michael Sadler, the Maharajahs of Jalawar and Rajputana, Professor E. G. Browne, and Professor Patrick Geddes, in London; the Persian Minister, the Turkish Ambassador, "Church dignitaries of various branches of the Christian Tree," in Paris; Professor Arminius Vambery, several members of Parliament, Count Albert Apponyi, Prelate Alexander Giesswein and Professor Ignatius Goldziher, in Vienna; and in America, Dr. David Starr Jordan, Rabbi Stephen Wise, Alexander Graham Bell, Hon. Franklin K. Lane, Mrs. William Jennings Bryan, Andrew Carnegie, Hon. Franklin MacVeagh, Admiral Peary, Rabindranath Tagore. 

- Horace Holley  (Introduction to The Secret of Divine Civilization)

Lua Getsinger -- “The immortal Lua, mother-teacher of the American Bahá'í Community, herald of the dawn of the Day of the Covenant …” , a Disciple of 'Abdu'l-Baha

 

circa 1897-9

“the Order now stirring in the womb of a travailing age”

“…they, and those who will labor after them, must press forward until the processes now set in motion will have each spent its force and contributed its share towards the birth of the Order now stirring in the womb of a travailing age.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

'Abdu'l-Baha at dedication of Temple site in Wilmette, Illinois, 1912

“'Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan… have summoned the followers of the Abha Beauty to the spiritual conquest of the planet”

…the present Four Year Plan… outlines the duties of the people of Baha until the end of the twentieth century and mobilizes them to forge ahead and accelerate the process of the fulfillment of the divine prophecies. These teaching plans, which have successively set the worldwide Bahá'í community on the move and broadened the boundaries of the Faith, are the results of the creative power of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan, which, for more than eighty years, have summoned the followers of the Abha Beauty to the spiritual conquest of the planet. These teaching plans will continue until the Golden Age.

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated March 1997 addressed to the Iranian believers - translated from Persian)

1891: Some Baha'i in Tabriz

Third row, sitting third from right is Mirza 'Ali-Muhammad Varqa, distinguished Baha'i Martyr. First row, second from left is his son Ruhu'llah, who was also martyred.

God would not “forgive any man’s injustice”

O Oppressors on Earth! Withdraw your hands from tyranny, for I have pledged Myself not to forgive any man’s injustice. This is My covenant which I have irrevocably decreed in the preserved tablet and sealed with My seal. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah’)

“The human spirit is a center of all virtues”

The human spirit is a center of all virtues. The human spirit is a reflector of the bounties of God. The human spirit is destined to advance and to be enveloped with the effulgence of God, because the human spirit is immortal. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a talk at Theosophical Society, San Francisco, October 11, 1912; Unpublished Manuscript by Ella Cooper)