Chapter 24
PART III
THE LESSER COVENANT
2. The Formative Age
The Close of the Heroic Age
As we survey the Ministry of Abdu'l-Bahá, we are struck by the evidences of unprecedented victories which had been won in both East and West as a direct result of the establishment of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh. The overshadowing power of divine authority born of that Covenant and released to the community of the Most Great Name by Abdu'l-Bahá over a period of almost three decades, had endowed the believers with a new vitality. That same power had also confounded both the Covenant-breakers and their non-Bahá'à allies. The Centre of the Covenant Himself, though surrounded by a host of unfaithful, cruel and devious relatives and other individuals who had broken the Covenant and were assiduously trying to eliminate Him, had established His ascendancy over His adversaries and demonstrated the invincibility of the Cause. He had built for posterity that solid foundation upon which the unity of the Bahá'à community is now based, and invested the believers with the impregnable armour of the Covenant which Bahá'u'lláh has bequeathed to His followers for the protection of their Faith.
During Abdu'l-Bahá's Ministry the message of Bahá'u'lláh had reached the Western world, but adherents of the Cause were few in number in most parts of the globe. Had the violators of the Covenant remained faithful, the Cause of God would have achieved greater victories and vast numbers would have embraced the Faith. The breaking of the Covenant, as we have already stated,[1] caused the course of history to change. However, because of the greatness of this Revelation which has ushered in the Day of God, the Covenant-breakers did not succeed in changing the character of the Faith, or in altering the course of its progress. Their action has only resulted in slowing down its growth and delaying the spread of its Message.
[1 See above. pp. 156-9.]
In one of His Tablets, Abdu'l-Bahá confirms that the onward march of the Faith had been slowed down by the action of the Covenant-breakers. These are His words:
"...This musk-scented breeze[1] shall perfume the nostrils of the people of the world, and this spirit shall resuscitate the dead.
[1 The Message of Bahá'u'lláh.]
"The offensive odour of violation hath temporarily arrested the onward movement of the Cause, for otherwise the divine teachings, like unto the rays of the sun, would immediately spread and permeate all regions." [24-1]
Shoghi Effendi has summarized some of the major achievements of the Cause during the Ministry of the Master in the following passage:
"Through Him the Covenant, that 'excellent and priceless Heritage' bequeathed by the Author of the Bahá'à Revelation, has been proclaimed, championed and vindicated. Through the power which that Divine Instrument had conferred upon Him the light of God's infant Faith had penetrated the West, had diffused itself as far as the Islands of the Pacific, and illumined the fringes of the Australian continent. Through His personal intervention the Message, Whose Bearer had tasted the bitterness of a life-long captivity, had been noised abroad, and its character and purpose disclosed, for the first time in its history, before enthusiastic and representative audiences in the chief cities of Europe and of the North American continent. Through His unrelaxing vigilance the holy remains of the Bab, brought forth at long last from their fifty-year concealment, had been safely transported to the Holy Land and permanently and befittingly enshrined in the very spot which Bahá'u'lláh Himself had designated for them and had blessed with His presence. Through His bold initiative the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Bahá'à world had been reared in Central Asia, in Russian Turkistan, whilst through His unfailing encouragement a similar enterprise, of still vaster proportions, had been undertaken, and its land dedicated by Himself in the heart of the North American continent. Through the sustaining grace over-shadowing Him since the inception of His ministry His royal adversary had been humbled to the dust, the arch-breaker of His Father's Covenant had been utterly routed, and the danger which, ever since Bahá'u'lláh had been banished to Turkish soil, had been threatening the heart of the Faith, definitely removed. In pursuance of His instructions, and in conformity with the principles enunciated and the laws ordained by His Father, the rudimentary institutions, heralding the formal inauguration of the Administrative Order to be founded after His passing, had taken shape and been established. Through His unremitting labours, as reflected in the treatises He composed, the thousands of Tablets He revealed, the discourses He delivered, the prayers, poems and commentaries He left to posterity, mostly in Persian, some in Arabic and a few in Turkish, the laws and principles, constituting the warp and woof of His Father's Revelation, had been elucidated, its fundamentals restated and interpreted, its tenets given detailed application and the validity and indispensability of its verities fully and publicly demonstrated. Through the warnings He sounded, an unheeding humanity, steeped in materialism and forgetful of its God, had been apprized of the perils threatening to disrupt its ordered life, and made, in consequence of its persistent perversity, to sustain the initial shocks of that world upheaval which continues, until the present day, to rock the foundations of human society. And lastly, through the mandate He had issued to a valiant community, the concerted achievements of whose members had shed so great a lustre on the annals of His own ministry, He had set in motion a Plan which, soon after its formal inauguration, achieved the opening of the Australian continent, which, in a later period, was to be instrumental in winning over the heart of a royal convert to His Father's Cause, and which, today, through the irresistible unfoldment of its potentialities, is so marvellously quickening the spiritual life of all the Republics of Latin America as to constitute a befitting conclusion to the records of an entire century." [24-2]
With the passing of Abdu'l-Bahá on 28 November 1921, the most glorious period in the history of the Faith, described by Shoghi Effendi as the 'heroic' or 'Apostolic' age, came to an end. The most precious seed of the community of the Most Great Name, planted in the soil of human society by the hand of the Blessed Beauty and watered by the blood of countless martyrs of the Faith, had germinated; by the time of the ascension of Abdu'l-Bahá it had grown sufficiently to attract the allegiance of a number of followers. The stage was now set for the further growth of the Bahá'à community in the succeeding years of the 'Formative Age', destined to flourish in the fullness of time as a world community embracing the peoples and nations of the world in one common Faith. Concerning that consummation in the development of the Bahá'à world community Shoghi Effendi writes:
"The Age that had witnessed the birth and rise of the Faith had now closed. The Heroic, the Apostolic Age of the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, that primitive period in which its Founders had lived, in which its life had been generated, in which its greatest heroes had struggled and quaffed the cup of martyrdom, and its pristine foundations been established — a period whose splendours no victories in this or any future age, however brilliant, can rival — had now terminated with the passing of One Whose mission may be regarded as the link binding the Age in which the seed of the newborn Message had been incubating and those which are destined to witness its efflorescence and ultimate fruition.
"The Formative Period, the Iron Age, of that Dispensation was now beginning, the Age in which the institutions, local, national and international, of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh were to take shape, develop and become fully consolidated, in anticipation of the third, the last, the Golden Age destined to witness the emergence of a world-embracing Order enshrining the ultimate fruit of God's latest Revelation to mankind, a fruit whose maturity must signalize the establishment of a world civilization and the formal inauguration of the Kingdom of the Father upon earth as promised by Jesus Christ Himself." [24-3]
Although the passing of Abdu'l-Bahá was a harbinger of a new Age which was to usher in the systematic development and consolidation of the Bahá'à Community, its immediate effect upon the believers was that of a paralysing blow striking them down and plunging them into agony. The loss of the Master was a calamity to the grief-stricken and inconsolable community. Added to this tragic bereavement was a deep sense of anxiety which seized the minds and hearts of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh immediately after Abdu'l-Bahá's passing. This bitter ordeal, which lasted for no less than forty days, ended with the announcement by the Greatest Holy Leaf of the appointment of Shoghi Effendi as the Guardian of the Faith, as set out in the Will and Testament of the Master.
During the short period separating the ascension of the Master and the announcement of Shoghi Effendi's appointment, the perturbing thought uppermost in the minds of some of the believers was the position of the Arch-breaker of the Covenant, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali. Was he going to succeed Abdu'l-Bahá as laid down in the Kitab-i-'Ahd, the Will and Testament of Bahá'u'lláh? Some were confused, wondering how the provisions of this momentous document could be allowed to materialize when the very person who had assiduously tried to undermine the foundation of the Cause of God for almost thirty years was none other than Muhammad-'Ali himself. But the great majority of the believers knew that because of his deviation from the Faith, his appointment was null and void. We have discussed this particular subject in more detail in Chapter 8 describing the circumstances through which Mirza Muhammad-'Ali's appointment by Bahá'u'lláh was not fulfilled.
Soon after Abdu'l-Bahá's ascension, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali published far and wide his claim that according to the text of the Kitab-i-'Ahd he was now Abdu'l-Bahá's successor. Not only did he publish this claim among the Persian Bahá'à community, but he also announced himself as the successor of Bahá'u'lláh in an Egyptian newspaper. The Bahá'Ãs of Egypt responded to his statement by publishing a refutation of his claims in the same newspaper. The following account by Muhammad Said Adham, an Egyptian believer, describes the events which took place during those anxiety-filled days:
"The beauty of the Beloved disappeared and the hearts are melted by this great calamity. Our only hope is to raise the banner of the Covenant, and with all righteousness, unity and servitude we serve His sublime threshold.
"A few days later the great violator addressed the Bahais through the columns of the Arabic newspapers, calling upon them to follow him, according, as he stated, to the will of BAHA'ULLAH, pretending, in his call, that although he had been separated from his brother by God's destiny, yet the filial relationship and hearty sensations were strong in his heart, and he tried outwardly to show sorrow for the passing of Abdul-Baha. One of his only two followers in Alexandria confirmed his call on a page of the same paper, but the House of Spirituality in Cairo replied and contested both statements, stating in effect that this violator is not recognized at all by the Bahais, and since he has violated the Covenant of BAHA'ULLAH for thirty years, he is not considered among the Bahais, and has not the authority to speak in their behalf, for all the affairs of the Bahais are now directed by the Houses of Spirituality, all over the world, whose members are elected and who will come under the control of the House of Justice, and they are the only representatives of the Bahais. And this violator is not a Bahai in the true sense of the word and according to the dictates of BAHA'ULLAH. This reply was given especially for the benefit of the public, to give them correct information and to prove to them that the violators are not Bahais and were cut off thirty years ago by their disobedience to the command of BAHA'ULLAH to turn, after His departure, to the Centre of the Covenant, Abdul-Baha, and by their harmful actions to the Cause.
The reply produced the desired effect and we, individually, spread it among the inquirers and thus enlarged the circle of its influence." [24-4]
In the United States of America a public statement was issued by Shu'a'u'llah, that son of the Arch-breaker of the Covenant who had been involved in the conspiracy to put Abdu'l-Bahá to death. In it he invited the American Bahá'Ãs to turn to his father who, he claimed, was the legitimate successor of Bahá'u'lláh after Abdu'l-Bahá. His call was utterly ignored by the believers in the West.
In Persia, with the exception of a few Covenant-breakers, the Bahá'à community paid no attention to Muhammad-'Ali's circular letters claiming successorship of Abdu'l-Bahá. The publication of the Will and Testament among the believers brought much comfort and consolation to their hearts; they realised that the Master had not abandoned them, but rather had left the custodianship of the Cause of God in the hands of Shoghi Effendi, His eldest grandson, whom He appointed as the Guardian of the Faith and the Interpreter of the Holy Writings.
When Abdu'l-Bahá passed away in Haifa, Shoghi Effendi was studying at Oxford University in England. The news of the ascension of Abdu'l-Bahá came to him as a shattering blow, so much so that when he was informed of it he collapsed and fell flat on the ground. We read the following account by Ruhiyyih Khanum in her immortal work The Priceless Pearl.
"The address of Major Tudor Pole, in London, was often used as the distributing point for cables and letters to the Bahá'Ãs. Shoghi Effendi himself, whenever he went up to London, usually called there. On 29 November 1921 at 9.30 in the morning the following cable reached that office:
"Cyclometry London
"His Holiness Abdu'l-Bahá ascended Abha Kingdom. Inform friends.
Greatest Holy Leaf
"In notes he made of this terrible event and its immediate repercussions Tudor Pole records that he immediately notified the friends by wire, telephone and letter. I believe he must have telephoned Shoghi Effendi, asking him to come at once to his office, but not conveying to him at that distance a piece of news which he well knew might prove too much of a shock. However this may be, at about noon Shoghi Effendi reached London, went to 61 St James' Street (off Piccadilly and not far from Buckingham Palace) and was shown into the private office. Tudor Pole was not in the room at the moment but as Shoghi Effendi stood there his eye was caught by the name of Abdu'l-Bahá on the open cablegram lying on the desk and he read it. When Tudor Pole entered the room a moment later he found Shoghi Effendi in a state of collapse, dazed and bewildered by this catastrophic news. He was taken to the home of Miss Grand, one of the London believers, and put to bed there for a few days. Shoghi Effendi's sister Rouhangeze (sic) was studying in London and she, Lady Blomfield and others did all they could to comfort the heart-stricken youth." [24-5]
In a letter to a Bahá'à friend written a few days after the passing of the Master, Shoghi Effendi shares with him his thoughts about Abdu'l-Bahá and informs him of his plans:
"The terrible news has for some days so overwhelmed my body, my mind and my soul that I was laid for a couple of days in bed almost senseless, absent-minded and greatly agitated. Gradually His power revived me and breathed in me a confidence that I hope will henceforth guide me and inspire me in my humble work of service. The day had to come, but how sudden and unexpected. The fact however that His Cause has created so many and such beautiful souls all over the world is a sure guarantee that it will live and prosper and ere long will compass the world! I am immediately starting for Haifa to receive the instructions He has left and have now made a supreme determination to dedicate my life to His service and by His aid to carry out His instructions all the days of my life.
"The friends have insisted on my spending a day or two of rest in this place with Dr. Esslemont after the shock I have sustained and tomorrow I shall start back to London and thence to the Holy Land.
"The stir which is now aroused in the Bahá'à world is an impetus to this Cause and will awaken every faithful soul to shoulder the responsibilities which the Master has now placed upon every one of us.
"The Holy Land will remain the focal centre of the Bahá'à world; a new era will now come upon it. The Master in His great vision has consolidated His work and His spirit assures me that its results will soon be made manifest.
"I am starting with Lady Blomfield for Haifa, and if we are delayed in London for our passage I shall then come and see you and tell you how marvellously the Master has designed His work after Him and what remarkable utterances He has pronounced with regard to the future of the Cause.
"With prayer and faith in His Cause, I am your well-wisher in His service,
Shoghi
From Shoghi Effendi's other statements it is clear that although he knew that an envelope addressed to him by the Master was awaiting his return to the Holy Land, he had no prior knowledge at this time that he was appointed by Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament as the Guardian of the Faith, the Interpreter of the Word of God, and the One to whom all were bidden to turn. Such a heavy burden, so suddenly and unexpectedly laid upon his shoulders, came to him as a further shock not less agonizing than the earlier one caused by the news of Abdu'l-Bahá's passing.
