The Covenant of Baha'u'llah
by Adib Taherzadeh
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chapter 10 | start page | single page | chapter 12 |  |
Chapter 11
The Breaking of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant
The passing of Bahá'u'lláh on 28 May 1892 in the Mansion of Bahji marks the beginning of the most turbulent epoch within the Bahá'à community, an epoch which witnessed the onslaught of the unfaithful against the Cause on a far greater scale than any so far encountered in the course of its eventful history, including the rebellion of Mirza Yahya. The blessed remains of Bahá'u'lláh were not yet laid to rest when Mirza Muhammad-'Ali revealed his true self. Up till then he had given the appearance of being loyal to his Father and to Abdu'l-Bahá, but now he launched his ignoble plans to undermine the foundation of the Covenant and overthrow Abdu'l-Bahá, its Centre.In a celebrated Tablet, the Lawh-i-Hizar Bayti (Tablet of One Thousand Verses) Abdu'l-Bahá describes the grievous events which occurred immediately before and just after the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh. He states that during the days of Bahá'u'lláh's illness, He, Abdu'l-Bahá, was in attendance on His blessed Person by day and by night, most of the time in a state of deep sorrow and depression. One day as He lay in His sick-bed, Bahá'u'lláh ordered Abdu'l-Bahá to gather all those of His papers which were in the room and place them in two special cases. It was Bahá'u'lláh's practice that whenever He left the Mansion for Akka or elsewhere, He used to put all His papers in these large cases. Aware of the implications of this command, Abdu'l-Bahá was shaken to the very depths of His being. As He hesitated to comply, Bahá'u'lláh reiterated His orders. With trembling hands and tearful eyes, Abdu'l-Bahá was beginning to gather the papers when Majdu'd-Din entered the room.
Majdu'd-Din was a son of Bahá'u'lláh's faithful brother Aqay-i-Kalim, but he was utterly different from his father. The most treacherous among the family, he was the most formidable enemy of Abdu'l-Bahá. Indeed, as we shall see later, he was the backbone, if not the principal instigator, of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali, the arch-breaker of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh.
In this Tablet, Abdu'l-Bahá further describes the agony of His heart as He forced Himself to gather Bahá'u'lláh's papers. Seeing Majdu'd-Din, Abdu'l-Bahá asked for his assistance, so that this task, so extremely painful to Him, might be soon finished. When all the papers, the seals and other items had been locked into the cases, Bahá'u'lláh said to Abdu'l-Bahá, 'These two now belong to you.' These words, implying the approach of the final hours of Bahá'u'lláh's earthly life, pierced Abdu'l-Bahá's heart like an arrow.
When the ascension took place, Abdu'l-Bahá's grief knew no bounds. The shock He sustained as a result of this calamitous event was so intense that He found it difficult to describe it. He says that in the morning, along with His brother, He began the task of preparing the remains for burial. When they were about to wash Bahá'u'lláh's blessed body, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali suggested to Abdu'l-Bahá that since the floor would become wet, it would be better to take the two cases out of the room into Badi'u'llah's [1] room. Abdu'l-Bahá was at that point in such a state of shock and grief that He was almost unconscious of His surroundings. He never thought that behind this suggestion could be a treacherous plot designed to rob Him of that precious trust.
[1 The youngest brother of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali.]
He agreed, and the two cases were taken out and that was the last He saw of them.
The sacred remains were laid to rest that same day. Abdu'l-Bahá was disconsolate and heartbroken. He says that for three consecutive days and nights He could not rest a single moment. He wept for hours and was in a state of unbearable grief. The Light of the World had disappeared from His sight and all around Him had been plunged into darkness. On the fourth night after the ascension, He arose from His bed around midnight and walked a few steps hoping that it might help to bring a measure of tranquillity to His agonized heart. As He began to pace the room, He saw through the window a scene His eyes could scarcely believe. His unfaithful brothers had opened the cases and were looking through Bahá'u'lláh's papers, those papers which had been entrusted to Him!
Abdu'l-Bahá was deeply disturbed by the treachery of His brothers so soon after the ascension of their Father. This act of unfaithfulness committed so dishonourably against the most sacred trust of God, inflicted further pain and suffering upon His sorrow-laden heart. He returned to His bed immediately after this incident, for He did not wish His brothers to know He had seen them interfering with the contents of the cases. At this point Abdu'l-Bahá thought to Himself that since His brothers had not seen the Will and Testament of Bahá'u'lláh, which was in Abdu'l-Bahá's possession, they were trying to find some document among His Writings with which to justify their intended action of undermining the foundation of the Cause of God and creating a division within the ranks of its avowed supporters. However, Abdu'l-Bahá hoped, when they saw the Will and Testament, their efforts would be frustrated and they would then return His trust to Him.
But alas, this did not happen! The Kitab-i-'Ahd was read by Aqa Riday-i-Qannad[1] on the ninth day after the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh in the presence of nine witnesses chosen from among Bahá'u'lláh's companions and members of Bahá'u'lláh's family, including Mirza Muhammad-'Ali. On the afternoon of the same day it was read by Majdu'd-Din in the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh before a large company of the friends, consisting of the Aghsan, the Afnan, the pilgrims and resident believers. Abdu'l-Bahá says that after the Kitab-i-'Ahd was read and its contents noted, some rejoiced with exceeding gladness and some grieved with great sorrow. The faces of the faithful were illumined with the light of joy, and those of the falsehearted were covered in the dust of despondency and gloom. Abdu'l-Bahá states that on that day the foundations of Covenant-breaking were laid, the ocean of vain imagining began to surge, and the fire of dissension and strife was lit, its flame burning more fiercely with the passage of time and consuming the hearts and souls of the faithful in its tormenting heat.
[1 For a brief account of his life, see The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, vol. 2. ]
Soon after that historic day when the Kitab-i-'Ahd was read, one of the Afnan asked Abdu'l-Bahá to use one of Bahá'u'lláh's blessed seals to seal a Tablet which had been revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in his honour. When Abdu'l-Bahá asked His brothers to give Him the seals of Bahá'u'lláh which had been placed in the cases, they pleaded ignorance, saying they did not know anything about the two cases! Bewildered and perplexed by such a remark, Abdu'l-Bahá was plunged further into sorrow and grief. He describes how His whole being began to tremble when He heard such a response from His brothers, and knew that great tests and trials lay ahead.
Indeed the Kitab-i-'Ahd had the same effect on the believers as an examination paper does on the pupils: divided into two categories, those who pass and those who fail. As soon as the contents of the Kitab-i-'Ahd were made public the community was divided into two. Those who remained faithful to its sacred provisions rose to exalted realms of certitude and entered the ark of salvation. Those who violated the provisions were spiritually cast out of the community and returned to the deadly abodes of their own self and passions.
Although the violation of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh began in earnest immediately after His ascension, Abdu'l-Bahá did not disclose the rebellion of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali, and a host of others who followed him in the Holy Land, to the believers in the East or the West. He tried, as He put it, to stop the foul odour of Covenant-breaking from spreading. He endured in silence for about four years all the suffering and humiliation that they heaped upon Him, as well as their onslaught against the Cause of which He was the only Centre. During these years He endeavoured to His utmost to guide these wayward people, who were intent upon destroying the Edifice of the Cause of God, to the path of truth and to infuse into their dying souls the breath of life. But they were haughty and vainglorious, and His loving counsels and admonitions did not penetrate the hardness of their hearts. At the end it was they themselves who disseminated their evil suggestions and vain imaginings among the believers.
The whole story of the violation of the Covenant by Mirza Muhammad-'Ali was initially made public by himself. Soon the disease spread through Persia and later in the West, and the plague of Covenant-breaking encompassed the community of the Most Great Name everywhere. Consequently Abdu'l-Bahá wrote innumerable Tablets in which He told the story of Covenant-breaking, unmasked the ugly face of this misguided rebellion, named the violators of the Covenant, demonstrated their unfaithfulness and their evil designs and expatiated on His own sufferings at their hands. He elucidated in great detail the basic principles of the Covenant, its origins, its power and its indestructibility. He also urged the believers to remain steadfast in the Covenant, and inspired them to scale loftier heights in service to His Cause.
It is appropriate here to define the term Covenant-breaker. A believer who recognizes Bahá'u'lláh as the Manifestation of God for this age will wholeheartedly obey His teachings and commandments. One of these commandments is to turn to Abdu'l-Bahá as the Centre of His Covenant, to be submissive to Him and abide by His bidding. The same is true in relation to Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice. A true believer, therefore, is one who believes in Bahá'u'lláh and follows those upon whom He has placed the mantle of authority. A Covenant-breaker is one who while professing to believe in Bahá'u'lláh arises in active opposition to Him; or to the Centre of the Covenant, Abdu'l-Bahá, or to Shoghi Effendi; or today to the Universal House of Justice.
Bahá'u'lláh has described those who break the Covenant as 'birds of night'. This description is very apt because these birds dislike the rays of the sun; if there is light somewhere they flee from it, preferring the darkness. This is the nature of a Covenant-breaker. He perceives the spiritual power and ascendancy of the Centre of the Cause, but cannot bring himself to submit to His authority. Instead he rises in opposition against the One whom he knows to be invested with the potency of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation.
In the days of Bahá'u'lláh, the authority to expel Covenant-breakers was vested in Himself; later it devolved upon Abdu'l-Bahá as the Centre of the Covenant, and then upon Shoghi Effendi as the Guardian of the Cause. At present, should anyone break the Covenant, his expulsion would be by decision of the Hands of the Cause of God residing in the Holy Land, subject to the approval of the Universal House of Justice.
It is interesting at this juncture to refer briefly to Mirza Badi'u'llah, the youngest son of Bahá'u'lláh who joined hands with his older brother Mirza Muhammad-'Ali, violated the Covenant and rose up in opposition to Abdu'l-Bahá. Some years passed and he, for reasons of his own, went to Abdu'l-Bahá, repented his wrongdoings and begged Abdu'l-Bahá to forgive him. With that loving-kindness characteristic of the Master, he was forgiven. On that occasion he wrote and published an epistle addressed to the Bahá'à world, in which he described some of the iniquitous activities of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali. However, Mirza Badi'u'llah's change of heart lasted for only a short time. He allied himself again with Mirza Muhammad-'Ali and resumed his nefarious activities against the Centre of the Covenant. This son of Bahá'u'lláh, who survived his commander-in-chief Mirza Muhammad-'Ali by many years, inflicted much pain and suffering upon both Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi.
In his 'epistle of repentance' Mirza Badi'u'llah reveals among other things some of the ignoble works perpetrated by Mirza Muhammad-'Ali immediately after the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh. The following is a summary translation of this episode.
"During His last illness, Bahá'u'lláh directed Abdu'l-Bahá to place His papers and Tablets in two special large cases... These were entrusted by Him to Abdu'l-Bahá.... When the time came to wash the sacred body of Bahá'u'lláh, they brought water in the room. Mirza Muhammad-'Ali said to Abdu'l-Bahá that since water would be poured around the room, it would be better to remove the two cases to another room so that they would not get wet. Abdu'l-Bahá assented and Mirza Muhammad-'Ali asked Majdu'd-Din to move them to my room. This was done and the cases were placed in a special cabinet and locked.
"Three days after the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali asked me to give him the keys so that he might open the cases. He said: 'Bahá'u'lláh has placed a certain document in these cases which needs to be studied.' He took the keys from me. The next thing I noticed was that with the help of Majdu'd-Din, Ali Rida, his sister, and the mother of Shu'a'u'llah[1] the cases were taken out of the window onto the balcony of the mansion and from there into the room of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali. He took out all the Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh which were addressed to individual believers. When I protested at his action, he explained, among other things, that the responsibility of the protection of the Holy Writings had been given to him by Bahá'u'lláh, and that he had a Tablet to this effect. However, he did not show me any such Tablet... He also indicated to me in a subtle way that the Most Great Branch[2] was against the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh and if these Holy Writings were to fall into His hands, he would destroy them and would obliterate the name and every trace of the Blessed Beauty from this world!
[1 He was a son of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali; see below pp. 277 and 419.]
[2 Abdu'l-Bahá.]
Another violation by Mirza Muhammad-'Ali was the interpolation of the Holy Writings. For a long time ... he used to say that he possessed a Tablet from the Supreme Pen concerning the person of Abdu'l-Bahá and that if he were to publish it, the credibility of Abdu'l-Bahá would be finished and His name effaced forever. He spoke of this on numerous occasions to members of the family. Some time elapsed, during which a few individuals questioned me concerning the Tablet in question. I, therefore, asked Mirza Muhammad-'Ali to show it to us, but every time I mentioned it to him, he offered me an excuse and sought a pretext to avoid it. Until, one day, he took out of the case a blessed Tablet which was revealed before Bahá'u'lláh's imprisonment in the Most Great Prison and gave it to me to read. In it Bahá'u'lláh condemns the iniquities and wicked deeds perpetrated by His brother Mirza Yahya, whom He addresses as 'My brother'. I said to Mirza Muhammad-'Ali that this Tablet had no relevance to the present situation. He said: 'I have permission from Bahá'u'lláh to use my pen and interpolate His Writings for the protection of the Cause. Now since some individuals have exaggerated the station of Abdu'l-Bahá, and the Master claims to be the embodiment of Divinity, I will erase the words "My brother" and insert in its place "My Greatest Branch". This I will show to some people in order to check His influence.'
...After a few minutes, he carried out this interpolation in front of my eyes. Successfully, he changed the words 'My brother' to 'My Greatest Branch'. I pointed out to him that this action amounted to the betrayal of God's trust and constituted a sin. I warned him that if he showed the Tablet in this form to anyone, I would divulge the whole event and report the act of interpolation.... On hearing these words he became disturbed and promised that he would not show the Tablet to anyone. He also requested me not to reveal the matter." [11-1]
In his 'epistle of repentance', Mirza Badi'u'llah discloses further acts of interpolation of the Holy Tablets. He states that Mirza Muhammad-'Ali interpolated some of the Tablets which were addressed to the Babis who had rebelled against Bahá'u'lláh. These Tablets were condemnatory in tone, and he interpolated them in such a way as to make them appear to condemn the person of Abdu'l-Bahá.
Thus the Covenant-breakers began their shameful careers with acts of deceit, falsehood and corruption of the Text. As the years went by, they intensified their nefarious activities against the Cause of God and its divinely appointed Centre. They created a temporary breach in the ranks of the believers, and caused heart-rending sufferings for Abdu'l-Bahá and His loved ones. But in the end they were overwhelmed by the power of the Covenant, and the only traces they left behind are the stains of their unfaithfulness imprinted upon the pages of the history of the Cause.
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