A Headless Body?

Some people claim that the Universal House of Justice, the Head of the world-wide Baha’i community is an organization without a head. This claim is made because the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith was specified as a permanent member and head of the House of Justice. There is no current Guardian because the conditions for a Guardian, clearly set forth by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, were not fulfilled. There is no Guardian, there cannot be a guardian in the future. But there is no indication in Bahá’í scripture that the House of Justice cannot exist without a Guardian. The Guardian functioned without the House of Justice, similarly the House of Justice can exist without a living Guardian.

Some people are so attached to the idea of a religious community having such a leader that they have appointed themselves, or others to be a guardian, despite ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s instructions. Some of those people also claim to be Baha’is.

Baha’u’llah clearly states who can claim to be a Baha’i – and that is one who is obedient to ‘Abdu’l-Baha, just as they are obedient to Baha’u’llah. By not following ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s instructions – they are not Baha’is.

It is very simple.

By claiming to accept Baha’u’llah and yet rejecting ‘Abdu’l-Baha, they have broken the Covenant of Baha’u’llah. Theirs is a very curious position.

Concern about the Covenant

The Covenant of Baha’u’llah is such a new thing in the history of mankind, and so early in its existence, that confusion and misunderstanding is to be expected.

Other religions seem to have flourished without such a covenant, so why would it be so important? Many people are unaware of the brutal massacres that have happened within every other religion: Christians murdering Christians, Muslims murdering Muslims, etc. Did any Messenger or Prophet want his followers to murder each other? It would be rather pointless.

The Covenant of Baha’u’llah was created by Baha’u’llah to prevent such schism and division between His followers.

For the first time in the history of the human race, the Messenger of God, Baha’u’llah, has written down the details of authoritative succession. By accepting Baha’u’llah as the current Messenger, one also accepts His covenant. A person who accepts this covenant, then repudiates and fights against it, is a breaker of that covenant. It is the responsibility of the Head of the Faith, as specified in the covenant, to protect the rest of the Baha’i community from that violater. It is simple and logical.

Baha’u’llah wrote that His son, ‘Abdu’l-Baha was to be the authority after Him and the Center of His Covenant. He also wrote the outline of the organizational structure to administer the community of His followers: councils of nine members. Never has an administrative system been provided by a Messenger of God.

‘Abdu’l-Baha wrote that His successor would be His grandson, Shoghi Effendi and began the establishment of the first administrative councils (in Tehran, Chicago, and other places). Shoghi Effendi did not appoint a successor in the same way. He built up the councils on the local and secondary levels and appointed “Chief Stewards,” of Hands of the Cause of God, to assist the Baha’i community. Shoghi Effendi also appointed a preliminary international council as a step toward the eventual international council that would be elected. When he died the Stewards continued his plans and arranged for the election of the international council which was designated the Universal House of Justice, the more formal name.

All the Stewards signed a statement that there was no successor to Shoghi Effendi as specified by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, therefore there could not be a successor. Shortly after than one of the Stewards proclaimed himself to be a successor of Shoghi Effendi as an imaginary “adopted son” of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. He then called on all Baha’is to turn to himself and away from the Universal House of Justice and the other Stewards, thus he broke the covenant Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha had established. He was no longer a member of the Baha’i community (by the definition set by Baha’u’llah), nor are his followers.

This attempt to divide the Baha’i community was not successful and itself became divided and subdivided – clearly evidence that the unity of the covenant of Baha’u’llah did not extend to these efforts. Just as the branch of a tree can stay green for a while after being cut from the tree, there appears to be some life in these groups, but they do not flourish. The Baha’i community, on the other hand, continues to grow and develop and increase its effectiveness in transforming the lives of its members and the communities they live in.

Who is a Baha'i?

I read a curious comment the other day - proposing that anyone who accepted Baha'u'llah as a Messenger of God could call themselves a Baha'i. Yet this is not the definition set by Baha'u'llah. He said, not only would a person need to accept His words, but those of his son, 'Abdu'l-Baha and the Universal House of Justice. 'Abdu'l-Baha then stated that to be faithful to Him AND to Baha'u'llah, one had to accept Shoghi Effendi, His grandson as the Guardian AND his instructions. AND 'Abdu'l-Baha specified that succesor Guardians had to be appointed by the Guardian and that appointment had to be approved by the Hands of the Cause.
Some people who claim to be Baha'is are on their third or fourth so-called "Guardian" without following 'Abdu'l-Baha's instructions for determining said Guardian of the Baha'i Faith. So, they have not fulfilled the qualifications for being Baha'i. (and, very curiously, one of those self-proclaimed "Guardians" had earlier signed a statement saying that there was no successor Guardian to Shoghi Effendi. Very curious indeed!!)
It may seem an insignificant matter, but when it is part of the Covenant of God that stretches back to Abraham and Noah - it is more significant.