The Covenant of Baha'u'llah

by Adib Taherzadeh

chapter 15

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chapter 17

Chapter 16

Discrediting the Centre of the Covenant

As Mirza Muhammad-'Ali's campaign of discrediting Abdu'l-Bahá in the eyes of the Bahá'ís gathered momentum, he began to direct his attention to the non-Bahá'í public, fertile ground for spreading false accusations against Him. It was much easier to poison the minds of those who, although they knew the Master, were not spiritually close to Him. The Covenant-breakers invented several stories of different kinds and began to propagate them among influential people, those who held important positions in Akka and neighbouring towns. Thus they completely disregarded the interests of the Faith they claimed to believe in, and acted in a manner that clearly demonstrated their disbelief in Bahá'u'lláh and their denunciation of His Cause.

One of the most shameful pieces of propaganda was their accusation that Abdu'l-Bahá had cut off their livelihood by withholding funds and provisions to which they were entitled. Nothing could have been further from the truth. As has been stated before, Abdu'l-Bahá used to send to Mirza Muhammad-'Ali a great part of the funds which He received from the believers in Persia. He also had made ample arrangements for all members of Bahá'u'lláh's family to receive food and other provisions, amounting to many times more than their needs. Whereas the Master and His family lived a life of austerity, His unfaithful brothers and the rest of Bahá'u'lláh's family lived luxuriously in the Mansion of Bahji. Despite all this, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali and his younger brothers used to complain to people that they were destitute and their families on the verge of starvation.

It must be remembered that in all the years that Abdu'l-Bahá lived in Akka no one except a few enemies had ever doubted His exalted character, His magnanimity, His loving kindness and generosity towards the inhabitants of the Holy Land in general and Akka in particular. He was a compassionate father to all, a refuge for the poor, a true guide for the rich and a wise counsellor for the rulers of the land. But now because of the falsehoods invented by the Covenant-breakers, people who were hitherto great admirers of Abdu'l-Bahá became at first confused and in the course of time when similar accusations were repeated, became disillusioned and lost their faith and confidence in Him altogether.

In order to deceive people into believing that he had become destitute, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali used to send his sons, dressed in rags, to the homes of important people where they begged for money. They pretended that they did not have even a loaf of bread in their home and that the whole family was on the verge of starvation. In spite of the fact that they were living a life of luxury due to the care and protection of Abdu'l-Bahá, they were yet accusing Him of withholding their source of livelihood. Dr Yunis Khan tells an interesting story, summarised below:

"One of the deceitful schemes contrived by Covenant-breakers after the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh was that, on the one hand, they placed a great financial burden on Abdu'l-Bahá by receiving exorbitant sums of money from Him, and on the other, claimed poverty, destitution and hunger. At the same time they spread false rumours among the believers (in Persia) that some of Abdu'l-Bahá's companions had stolen His seals, with which they were issuing receipts for Huququ'llah[1] and pocketing the proceeds. The Master often told us that the Covenant-breakers had done this so that the believers might stop sending funds and cause financial hardships for Him.
[1 For information about Huququ'llah, see The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, vol. 4.]

"Their claims of poverty however, became so serious ... that eventually they began to beg. They continued in carrying out this shameful practice of begging from people both high and low, and consequently they brought about great degradation for the Cause of God... Whenever they received a gift of money from the Master they would intensify their begging operation. When the news of such activities reached Abdu'l-Bahá, He would usually be overcome with grief and sorrow. To cite an example:

"One afternoon, when a number of visitors and resident believers had assembled in the Biruni [outer apartment] of the house of Abdu'l-Bahá, a certain respectable Shaykh (his name I do not recall) arrived. He was well known to the Master and trusted by Him. He was held in high esteem by the people of Syria and Palestine and was a successful merchant in these regions. Since he was a pious man, he had been appointed by the Ottoman government as the Mufti of Akka, and was a centre of attention to all the people. He sat next to the Master and after a brief exchange of greetings he began to convey some information to Abdu'l-Bahá by whispering into His ear.

"At this time everyone was silently gazing upon the face of the Master. His countenance displayed various modes of expression — anger, astonishment and a mild smile. When the whispering came to an end, Abdu'l-Bahá ... asked the Shaykh to recount his story to the assembled friends ... which he did in these words: 'A certain honoured person [one of the dignitaries known to the Master] came to see me in my office this morning... I noticed he was very sad and depressed... After much persuasion on my part he said: "A person [Abdu'l-Bahá] whom up to now I considered to be equal to a Prophet of God is, today, in my sight ..." He did not finish the sentence.

"'After much insistence on my part, promising that I should keep his story confidential, he continued: "Today I met Mirza Muhammad-'Ali. He complained bitterly about his brother, Abbas Effendi.[1] He told me many stories which deeply surprised and saddened me... This poor man is now destitute... He is in need of daily bread. Mirza Muhammad-'Ali told me that his children were today crying for a piece of bread and he could not provide for them... I was so shaken and upset hearing Mirza Muhammad-'Ali's story that I was about to give him some money, but decided instead to send him some wheat..."
[1 Abdu'l-Bahá.]

"'When his story was finished, not wishing to disclose to my friend that Mirza Muhammad-'Ali had a credit account with me, and that I keep his money for him in my bank, I said to him, "There is no need for you to send wheat or other provisions. Please go and tell Mirza Muhammad-'Ali that he can come to me for funds up to a thousand Liras." My friend, who did not understand me, said, "Mirza Muhammad-'Ali is a respectable person, he will never beg for money."

"Realizing that my friend could not see that Mirza Muhammad-'Ali had been lying to him, I decided to disclose to him the true situation. I said to him, "Please go to Mirza Muhammad-'Ali and tell him that the Shaykh says that he should take a fraction of the sixty Liras he received the other day from his office and purchase some bread for his children." My friend still could not understand, he said, "If Mirza Muhammad-'Ali had even a piece of bread to eat, he would not have come to me in such a state of degradation and humility." At this point I opened my safe and showed him a cheque which bore Mirza Muhammad-'Ali's signature and which I had cashed for him only the day before. I said, "Now that you have seen the cheque with his signature go and tell Mirza Muhammad-'Ali that he should be ashamed of himself feigning poverty and resorting to beggary. Tell him that no one will be deceived by his imposture."

"'Upon seeing the cheque, my friend was stunned. He was overcome by an inner agitation which showed itself outwardly in his face. He was so highly disturbed that for a few minutes he remained speechless. Then, with tears flowing down his face, he said, 'What a fool I have been. I was deceived by this Satan, and uttered some disparaging remarks about my Lord. Now how can I atone for this transgression." He then asked me to come here and beg forgiveness for him, saying "I will go myself later to the presence of Abdu'l-Bahá and will kiss the hem of His garment."'[1]
[1 This action signifies the expression of the utmost humility toward a person.]

"Before leaving us, the Shaykh said to Abdu'l-Bahá: 'My Lord, in this world you have no enemy except Your own brother.'

"When the Shaykh departed, the Master spoke about the Covenant-breakers and said that they had girded up their loins for the extinction of the Cause of God. He spoke in this vein for a short time and when He saw that the friends were all becoming sad, He changed the subject and with His soul-stirring utterances, He gave us the glad tidings of the ascendency of the Cause of God in the future. He categorically stated that ere long these dark clouds would be dispersed, the domain of the Covenant-breakers would be rolled up, and assured us that the Cause of God would not become the plaything of children. He told us to ponder upon the activities of the Covenant-breakers. Because of their enmity toward Him, they go through so much degradation and abasement, appear in the guise of beggars, and solicit alms for themselves. Yet, they have achieved nothing except to bring upon themselves further humiliation and dishonour." [16-1]

There are innumerable accounts left by Abdu'l-Bahá's friends describing similar activities by the Covenant-breakers. Haji Ali Yazdi[1 ] who was one of the resident Bahá'ís in Akka during the days of Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá and lived long to serve the Cause of God during Shoghi Effendi's ministry, recounts a similar story. He writes:
[1 See above, p. 184.]

"One day when the Master received from Adasiyyih a large quantity of wheat, the annual income from a certain property, He sent it all to the Mansion of Bahji, but Mirza Muhammad-'Ali returned it to Him. At the same time, he sent a petition to the local government complaining that Abdu'l-Bahá owed him his share of the annual income of that same property which he had earlier refused to accept, and pleaded with the authorities to intervene so that he could remedy a serious shortage of food in his household.

"This ignoble action was so manifestly provocative that even some of his supporters warned him that government intervention would harm the Cause. He is reported to have said, 'Which harm is greater, this one or Abdu'l-Bahá's claim that He is a Manifestation of God, that Bahá'u'lláh and the Bab are His forerunners, and that He is determined to eliminate the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh and establish instead His own Cause and new teachings?'

"This petition was sent purely to humiliate the Master. The officer in charge sent for Abdu'l-Bahá and acquainted Him of His brother's claim. Whereupon, Abdu'l-Bahá summoned Aqa Rida Qannad who was in charge of His domestic affairs and who in the presence of the officer produced the books and determined the full annual income, which amounted to five hundred and twenty Liras. It was further determined that Mirza Muhammad-'Ali's share was only eighty Liras. But Abdu'l-Bahá informed the officer that upon getting a receipt from Mirza Muhammad-'Ali, He would be glad to pay him the full amount of five hundred and twenty Liras to be transferred to him through the government officer. A messenger was sent by the officer to inform Mirza Muhammad-'Ali of the offer and to ask him to sign the document.

"A day later, Abdu'l-Bahá was again invited to the government office and handed a receipt, which, although it was issued by Mirza Muhammad-'Ali, bore a signature which had no resemblance to his. Abdu'l-Bahá refused to accept it and the officer in charge rebuked the messenger and ordered him to return to Mirza Muhammad-'Ali and get a genuine signature this time. When the document arrived a second time Abdu'l-Bahá was again invited to the office. Again it was the same story. The signature was not genuine. This time the officer became very angry because of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali's deceitful action. He apologized to Abdu'l-Bahá and offered to sign the receipt himself and send the money to its recipient — an offer which was accepted by Him."

All these things were done to inflict humiliation upon the Master and to hurt Him as much as possible. For many years the Covenant-breakers carried out this type of campaign to discredit Abdu'l-Bahá, not knowing that falsehood can never survive and that the power of truth will prevail in the end. Of course, the Cause of God became victorious through the potency of the Covenant, and the Covenant-breakers by their actions extinguished their own spiritual life. But in the meantime, until they finally became impotent, they created a great disturbance within the community. Not satisfied with sowing the seeds of disunity among the Bahá'ís, not content with spreading falsehood among the inhabitants of Akka and the neighbouring lands, they took their tales of woe to foreign nationals too. Disguised as paupers, they claimed to have been treated cruelly by Abdu'l-Bahá.

One such person in whom the Covenant-breakers confided was Rosamond Dale Owen, the wife of Laurence Oliphant, the Victorian traveller and writer who lived several years in the Holy Land. Mrs Oliphant, a staunch Christian committed to the defence of the Christian religion, became alarmed at the progress of the Faith, as can be seen from her book My Perilous Life in Palestine. Mirza Badi'u'llah deceitfully complained to her that Abdu'l-Bahá had usurped his rights and those of his brothers and that consequently he was in dire financial need. He and Mirza Muhammad-'Ali made other preposterous claims, all designed to discredit Abdu'l-Bahá. These brothers knew only too well that Mrs Oliphant was very unhappy about the growth of the Faith and its spread among Christians in the West; they hoped that their slanderous remarks about Abdu'l-Bahá might serve as ammunition in her opposition to the Faith and to the Master as its Head. And this is exactly the way it happened.

The following few passages gleaned from Mrs Oliphant's book show the extent to which the calumnies and falsehoods which Mirza Badi'u'llah had uttered played into the hands of its author, who used them to discredit the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh.

"He [Mirza Badi'u'llah] was a political prisoner in St. Jean d'Acre for a number of years, and I found that he and his family of seven persons were about to starve...

"Abbas Effendi and his family live comfortably, whereas Bedi-Allah [sic] and his family would almost have starved had I not come to the rescue...

"I understand that Mohammed Ali [sic] the second son, is as great a sufferer, having been saved from extreme poverty only by the exertions of some relatives in America...

"If the numerous Christian followers of Abbas Effendi, in England and America, consider this a noble course of action, their ideas of brotherly love, must be, so it seems to me, somewhat peculiar...

"I understand that there are at least three million Christians who are followers and admirers of Abbas Effendi. This scarcely seems possible, but if it be true, then it is for these people to determine whether a man of the character of Abbas Effendi, letting his brother almost starve while he lived comfortably, is fitted to teach Christians a more Christ-like mode of life." [16-2]

Much has happened since these uncomplimentary remarks were written about the Master. It is evident today that the darkness of falsehood has been vanquished by the light of truth. The Christ-like Person of Abdu'l-Bahá, the perfect Exemplar of the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh and a stainless Mirror reflecting His light, established a noble example for man to follow in this Dispensation. These disparaging remarks about the Master, whose virtuous life of service to humanity has been acclaimed by friends and foe alike, would have brought great satisfaction to the Covenant-breakers, had it not been for the fact that by the time Mrs Oliphant's book was published they had become powerless and were on the verge of extinction.

Another act of treachery which that prime mover of mischief Mirza Muhammad-'Ali perpetrated soon after the defection of Mirza Aqa Jan was the drawing up of an official indictment against Abdu'l-Bahá replete with preposterous accusations. This he did with the help of Tabur Aqasi,[1] the chief of police whom he had bribed heavily. The case was taken to a court in Akka; there were five main complaints which the sons of Bahá'u'lláh lodged against Abdu'l-Bahá. They claimed that:
[1 See above pp. 188-9.]

1. Bahá'u'lláh was only a holy man who did not claim to be a prophet. He spent His time in seclusion, prayer and meditation, whereas Abdu'l-Bahá for political ends had exalted the station of His Father to that of a Supreme Manifestation of God, and of the Essence of Divinity.

2. Abdu'l-Bahá did not deal with them in accordance with the provisions of Bahá'u'lláh's Will and Testament.

3. They had been deprived of their right to inherit a vast estate left behind by their Father, Bahá'u'lláh.

4. None of the gifts or funds which were sent in the name of Bahá'u'lláh were given to them.

5. Abdu'l-Bahá had caused thousands of their friends in Persia and India to turn against them and shun their company.

Such reckless action by members of Bahá'u'lláh's family against the Cause which they privately claimed to uphold, whose Author they knew was not just a 'holy man', but One who had proclaimed His mission to the kings and rulers of the world as the Promised One of all ages, exposes the hypocrisy of the Covenant-breakers, their treachery and their utter faithlessness in the Cause of God. These characteristics are true of the Covenant-breakers of the past, present and future. They are cut off from the tree of the Cause and as such are devoid of faith and spiritual life. They never shirk from employing any means, however degrading and nefarious, to undermine the foundations of the Cause and rob the believers of their faith.

In taking his case to court, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali never imagined that in defence of the Cause Abdu'l-Bahá would go so far as to read aloud the contents of the Kitab-i-'Ahd, Bahá'u'lláh's Will and Testament, in the courtroom. By reading parts of this momentous document, Abdu'l-Bahá made it clear that the station of Bahá'u'lláh was not merely that of a 'holy man' who spent His time in prayer and meditation. Rather, he was the Lord of all men calling the peoples of the world to carry out His teachings and exhorting them to unity and fellowship.

It is reported that in the presence of the officials Abdu'l-Bahá openly declared His own position as the Centre of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, the Promoter of His Cause and the Interpreter of His teachings, the One to whom the Aghsan, the Afnan, the kindred of Bahá'u'lláh and all the believers must turn. He explained that since the Covenant-breakers had arisen against Him they had violated the provisions of Bahá'u'lláh's Will, and consequently the believers had cut off their relationship with them. He is reported to have told the officials that for four years He had not disclosed their rebellion to the believers, but that the Covenant-breakers themselves had announced to the Bahá'í world their opposition to Him and had thereby cut themselves off from the Bahá'í community.

He refuted the other claims of His brothers just as forcefully Quoting the Kitab-i-'Ahd, He demonstrated that they were not entitled to receive any of the Funds of the Faith which were donated by the believers, for Bahá'u'lláh in that document states: '...God hath not granted them any right to the property of others'. On the question of inheritance, Abdu'l-Bahá stated that Bahá'u'lláh had lived a life of austerity and had left no estate for anyone to inherit. He is reported to have quoted the celebrated passage from the Kitab-i-'Ahd, 'Earthly treasures We have not bequeathed, nor have We added such cares as they entail. By God! in earthly riches fear is hidden and peril is concealed.'

However, Abdu'l-Bahá confirmed that there were two priceless items in Bahá'u'lláh's possession — one a rare copy of the Qur'an and the other a set of prayer beads — and that both these items of inestimable value had been seen by a few dignitaries of Akka. These two unique possessions of Bahá'u'lláh had been taken by Mirza Muhammad-'Ali and were kept by him. These and other personal effects of Bahá'u'lláh such as His garments were distributed by him to various officials to serve as chattels of bribery and at the same time provide a means of humiliating Abdu'l-Bahá. For Mirza Muhammad-'Ali knew that the Master considered Bahá'u'lláh's personal belongings to be sacred and that they should be preserved with reverence. Therefore, in order to hurt Abdu'l-Bahá, he gave Bahá'u'lláh's prayer beads to one of the enemies of the Faith and persuaded him to try to show them to Him. It is reported that one day this man showed the beads to Abdu'l-Bahá and asked Him if He could put a price on them, to which He responded that their value depended on who was using them.

On another occasion Mirza Muhammad-'Ali gave Bahá'u'lláh's cloak and a pair of His spectacles to the Deputy Governor of Haifa as a bribe and urged him to wear them when he visited the Master. This he did, and appeared before Abdu'l-Bahá brazenly spectacled and wearing Bahá'u'lláh's cloak. Soon afterwards however, this man was dismissed from his post and met with some misfortune. He then went to Abdu'l-Bahá, begged forgiveness for his shameful behaviour and confessed that he had been urged by Mirza Muhammad-'Ali to act as he did. Abdu'l-Bahá showered His kindness and generosity upon him, and helped him to resolve his difficulties. This was always Abdu'l-Bahá's way — to extend a helping hand with all His love to those enemies who had wronged Him and inflicted sufferings upon Him. The above episode of the court case was widely publicized and once again the Covenant-breakers were frustrated in their actions and failed to humiliate the Master.

chapter 15

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chapter 17