The Covenant of Baha'u'llah

by Adib Taherzadeh

chapter 36

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Chapter 37

APPENDIX I

The Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Bahá

See this document online at bahai-library.com/abdulbaha_will_testament.

APPENDIX 2

Letter from the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land

See this document online at bahai-library.com/uhj_ministry_custodians&chapter=4.

APPENDIX 3

The Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice

Passages from letters written in response to questions asked by individual believers.

The following document is also online at bahai-library.com/uhj_guardianship_uhj_relationship.

27 May 1966

...You query the timing of the election of the Universal House of Justice in view of the Guardian's statement: '...given favorable circumstances under which the Bahá'ís of Persia and the adjoining countries under Soviet rule may be enabled to elect their national representatives ... the only remaining obstacle in the way of the definite formation of the International House of Justice will have been removed.' On April 19, 1947 the Guardian, in a letter written on his behalf by his secretary, replied to the inquiry of an individual believer about this passage: 'At the time he referred to Russia there were Bahá'ís there. Now the community has practically ceased to exist; therefore the formation of the International House of Justice cannot depend on a Russian national spiritual assembly, but other strong national spiritual assemblies will have to be built up before it can be established.'

You suggest the possibility that, for the good of the Cause, certain information concerning the succession to Shoghi Effendi is being withheld from the believers. We assure you that nothing whatsoever is being withheld from the friends for whatever reason. There is no doubt at all that in the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi was the authority designated to appoint his successor; but he had no children and all the surviving Aghsan had broken the Covenant. Thus, as the Hands of the Cause stated in 1957, it is clear that there was no one he could have appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Will. To have made an appointment outside the clear and specific provisions of the Master's Will and Testament would obviously have been an impossible and unthinkable course of action for the Guardian, the divinely appointed upholder and defender of the Covenant. Moreover, that same Will had provided a clear means for the confirmation of the Guardian's appointment of his successor, as you are aware. The nine Hands to be elected by the body of the Hands were to give their assent by secret ballot to the Guardian's choice. In 1957 the entire body of the Hands, after fully investigating the matter, announced that Shoghi Effendi had appointed no successor and left no will. This is documented and established.

The fact that Shoghi Effendi did not leave a will cannot be adduced as evidence of his failure to obey Bahá'u'lláh — rather should we acknowledge that in his very silence there is a wisdom and a sign of his infallible guidance. We should ponder deeply the writings that we have, and seek to understand the multitudinous significances that they contain. Do not forget that Shoghi Effendi said two things were necessary for a growing understanding of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh: the passage of time and the guidance of the Universal House of Justice.

The infallibility of the Universal House of Justice, operating within its ordained sphere, has not been made dependent upon the presence in its membership of the Guardian of the Cause. Although in the realm of interpretation the Guardian's pronouncements are always binding, in the area of the Guardian's participation in legislation it is always the decision of the House itself which must prevail. This is supported by the words of the Guardian: 'The interpretation of the Guardian, functioning within his own sphere, is as authoritative and binding as the enactments of the International House of Justice, whose exclusive right and prerogative is to pronounce upon and deliver the final judgment on such laws and ordinances as Bahá'u'lláh has not expressly revealed. Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other. Neither will seek to curtail the specific and undoubted authority with which both have been divinely invested.

'Though the Guardian of the Faith has been made the permanent head of so august a body he can never, even temporarily, assume the right of exclusive legislation. He cannot override the decision of the majority of his fellow members, but is bound to insist upon a reconsideration by them of any enactment he conscientiously believes to conflict with the meaning and to depart from the spirit of Bahá'u'lláh's revealed utterances.'

However, quite apart from his function as a member and sacred head for life of the Universal House of Justice, the Guardian, functioning within his own sphere, had the right and duty 'to define the sphere of the legislative action' of the Universal House of Justice. In other words, he had the authority to state whether a matter was or was not already covered by the Sacred Texts and therefore whether it was within the authority of the Universal House of Justice to legislate upon it. No other person, apart from the Guardian, has the right or authority to make such definitions. The question therefore arises: In the absence of the Guardian, is the Universal House of Justice in danger of straying outside its proper sphere and thus falling into error? Here we must remember three things: First, Shoghi Effendi, during the thirty-six years of his Guardianship, has already made innumerable such definitions, supplementing those made by Abdu'l-Bahá and by Bahá'u'lláh Himself. As already announced to the friends, a careful study of the Writings and interpretations on any subject on which the House of Justice proposes to legislate always precedes its act of legislation. Second, the Universal House of Justice, itself assured of Divine guidance, is well aware of the absence of the Guardian and will approach all matters of legislation only when certain of its sphere of jurisdiction, a sphere which the Guardian has confidently described as 'clearly defined.' Third, we must not forget the Guardian's written statement about these two institutions: 'Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other.'

As regards the need to have deductions made from the Writings to help in the formulation of the enactments of the House of Justice, there is the following text from the pen of Abdu'l-Bahá:

'Those matters of major importance which constitute the foundation of the Law of God are explicitly recorded in the Text, but subsidiary laws are left to the House of Justice. The wisdom of this is that the times never remain the same, for change is a necessary quality and an essential attribute of this world, and of time and place. Therefore the House of Justice will take action accordingly.

'Let it not be imagined that the House of Justice will take any decision according to its own concepts and opinions. God forbid! The Supreme House of Justice will take decisions and establish laws through the inspiration and confirmation of the Holy Spirit, because it is in the safekeeping and under the shelter and protection of the Ancient Beauty, and obedience to its decisions is a bounden and essential duty and an absolute obligation, and there is no escape for anyone.

'Say, O People: Verily the Supreme House of Justice is under the wings of your Lord, the Compassionate, the All-Merciful, that is under His protection, His care, and His shelter; for He has commanded the firm believers to obey that blessed, sanctified, and all-subduing body, whose sovereignty is divinely ordained and of the Kingdom of Heaven and whose laws are inspired and spiritual.

'Briefly, this is the wisdom of referring the laws of society to the House of Justice. In the religion of Islam, similarly, not every ordinance was explicitly revealed; nay not a tenth part of a tenth part was included in the Text; although all matters of major importance were specifically referred to, there were undoubtedly thousands of laws which were unspecified. These were devised by the divines of a later age according to the laws of Islamic jurisprudence, and individual divines made conflicting deductions from the original revealed ordinances. All these were enforced. Today this process of deduction is the right of the body of the House of Justice, and the deductions and conclusions of individual learned men have no authority, unless they are endorsed by the House of Justice. The difference is precisely this, that from the conclusions and endorsements of the body of the House of Justice whose members are elected by and known to the worldwide Bahá'í community, no differences will arise; whereas the conclusions of individual divines and scholars would definitely lead to differences, and result in schism, division, and dispersion. The oneness of the Word would be destroyed, the unity of the Faith would disappear, and the edifice of the Faith of God would be shaken.'

In the Order of Bahá'u'lláh there are certain functions which are reserved to certain institutions, and others which are shared in common, even though they may be more in the special province of one or the other. For example, although the Hands of the Cause of God have the specific functions of protection and propagation, and are specialized for these functions, it is also the duty of the Universal House of Justice and the spiritual assemblies to protect and teach the Cause — indeed teaching is a sacred obligation placed upon every believer by Bahá'u'lláh. Similarly, although after the Master authoritative interpretation was exclusively vested in the Guardian, and although legislation is exclusively the function of the Universal House of Justice, these two institutions are, in Shoghi-Effendi's words, 'complementary in their aim and purpose'. 'Their common, their fundamental object is to ensure the continuity of that divinely appointed authority which flows from the Source of our Faith, to safeguard the unity of its followers, and to maintain the integrity and flexibility of its teachings.' Whereas the Universal House of Justice cannot undertake any function which exclusively appertained to the Guardian, it must continue to pursue the object which it shares in common with the Guardianship.

As you point out with many quotations, Shoghi Effendi repeatedly stressed the inseparability of these two institutions. Whereas he obviously envisaged their functioning together, it cannot logically be deduced from this that one is unable to function in the absence of the other. During the whole thirty-six years of his Guardianship Shoghi Effendi functioned without the Universal House of Justice. Now the Universal House of Justice must function without the Guardian, but the principle of inseparability remains. The Guardianship does not lose its significance nor position in the Order of Bahá'u'lláh merely because there is no living Guardian. We must guard against two extremes: one is to argue that because there is no Guardian all that was written about the Guardianship and its position in the Bahá'í World Order is a dead letter and was unimportant; the other is to be so overwhelmed by the significance of the Guardianship as to underestimate the strength of the Covenant, or to be tempted to compromise with the clear Texts in order to find somehow, in some way, a 'Guardian'.

Service to the Cause of God requires absolute fidelity and integrity and unwavering faith in Him. No good but only evil can come from taking the responsibility for the future of God's Cause into our own hands and trying to force it into ways that we wish it to go regardless of the clear texts and our own limitations. It is His Cause. He has promised that its light will not fail. Our part is to cling tenaciously to the revealed Word and to the institutions that He has created to preserve His Covenant.

It is precisely in this connection that the believers must recognize the importance of intellectual honesty and humility. In past dispensations many errors arose because the believers in God's Revelation were overanxious to encompass the Divine Message within the framework of their limited understanding, to define doctrines where definition was beyond their power, to explain mysteries which only the wisdom and experience of a later age would make comprehensible, to argue that something was true because it appeared desirable and necessary. Such compromises with essential truth, such intellectual pride, we must scrupulously avoid.

If some of the statements of the Universal House of Justice are not detailed the friends should realize that the cause of this is not secretiveness, but rather the determination of this body to refrain from interpreting the teachings and to preserve the truth of the Guardian's statement that 'Leaders of religion, exponents of political theories, governors of human institutions ... need have no doubt or anxiety regarding the nature, the origin, or validity of the institutions which the adherents of the Faith are building up throughout the world. For these lie embedded in the Teachings themselves, unadulterated and unobscured by unwarranted inferences or unauthorized interpretations of His Word.'

A clear distinction is made in our Faith between authoritative interpretation and the interpretation or understanding that each individual arrives at for himself from his study of its teachings. While the former is confined to the Guardian, the latter, according to the guidance given to us by the Guardian himself, should by no means be suppressed. In fact such individual interpretation is considered the fruit of man's rational power and conducive to a better understanding of the teachings, provided that no disputes or arguments arise among the friends and the individual himself understands and makes it clear that his views are merely his own. Individual interpretations continually change as one grows in comprehension of the teachings. As Shoghi Effendi wrote: 'To deepen in the Cause means to read the writings of Bahá'u'lláh and the Master so thoroughly as to be able to give it to others in its pure form. There are many who have some superficial idea of what the Cause stands for. They, therefore, present it together with all sorts of ideas that are their own. As the Cause is still in its early days we must be most careful lest we fall into this error and injure the Movement we so much adore. There is no limit to the study of the Cause. The more we read the Writings, the more truths we can find in them, the more we will see that our previous notions were erroneous.' So, although individual insights can be enlightening and helpful, they can also be misleading. The friends must therefore learn to listen to the views of others without being overawed or allowing their faith to be shaken, and to express their own views without pressing them on their fellow Bahá'ís.

The Cause of God is organic, growing and developing like a living being. Time and again it has faced crises which have perplexed the believers, but each time the Cause, impelled by the immutable purpose of God, overcame the crisis and went on to greater heights.

However great may be our inability to understand the mystery and the implications of the passing of Shoghi Effendi, the strong cord to which all must cling with assurance is the Covenant. The emphatic and vigorous language of Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament is at this time, as at the time of His own passing, the safeguard of the Cause:

'Unto the Most Holy Book every one must turn and all that is not expressly recorded therein must be referred to the Universal House of Justice. That which this body, whether unanimously or by a majority doth carry, that is verily the truth and the purpose of God Himself. Whoso doth deviate therefrom is verily of them that love discord, hath shown forth malice, and turned away from the Lord of the Covenant.' And again: 'All must seek guidance and turn unto the Center of the Cause and the House of Justice. And he that turneth unto whatsoever else is indeed in grievous error.'

The Universal House of Justice, which the Guardian said would be regarded by posterity as 'the last refuge of a tottering civilization,' is now, in the absence of the Guardian, the sole infallibly guided institution in the world to which all must turn, and on it rests the responsibility for ensuring the unity and progress of the Cause of God in accordance with the revealed Word. There are statements from the Master and the Guardian indicating that the Universal House of Justice, in addition to being the highest legislative body of the Faith, is also the body to which all must turn, and is the 'apex' of the Bahá'í Administrative Order, as well as the 'supreme organ of the Bahá'í Commonwealth.' The Guardian has in his writings specified for the House of Justice such fundamental functions as the formulation of future worldwide teaching plans, the conduct of the administrative affairs of the Faith, and the guidance, organization, and unification of the affairs of the Cause throughout the world. Furthermore in God Passes By the Guardian makes the following statement: 'The Kitab-i-Aqdas ... not only preserves for posterity the basic laws and ordinances on which the fabric of His future World Order must rest, but ordains, in addition to the function of interpretation which it confers upon His successor, the necessary institutions through which the integrity and unity of His Faith can alone be safeguarded.' He has also, in 'The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh,' written that the members of the Universal House of Justice 'and not the body of those who either directly or indirectly elect them, have thus been made the recipients of the Divine guidance which is at once the lifeblood and ultimate safeguard of this Revelation.'

As the Universal House of Justice has already announced, it cannot legislate to make possible the appointment of a successor to Shoghi Effendi, nor can it legislate to make possible the appointment of any more Hands of the Cause, but it must do everything within its power to ensure the performance of all those functions which it shares with these two mighty institutions. It must make provision for the proper discharge in future of the functions of protection and propagation, which the administrative bodies share with the Guardianship and the Hands of the Cause; it must, in the absence of the Guardian, receive and disburse the Huququ'llah, in accordance with the following statement of Abdu'l-Bahá: 'Disposition of the Huquq, wholly or partly, is permissible, but this should be done by permission of the authority in the Cause to whom all must turn.' It must make provision in its constitution for the removal of any of its members who commits a sin 'injurious to the common weal.' Above all, it must, with perfect faith in Bahá'u'lláh, proclaim His Cause and enforce His law that the Most Great Peace shall be firmly established in this world and the foundation of the Kingdom of God on earth shall be accomplished. [A3-1]

The following document is also online at bahai-library.com/compilation_establishment_uhj.

7 December 1969

Your recent letter, in which you share with us the questions that have occurred to some of the youth in studying 'The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh', has been carefully considered, and we feel that we should comment both on the particular passage you mention and on a related passage in the same work, because both bear on the relationship between the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice.

The first passage concerns the Guardian's duty to insist upon a reconsideration by his fellow-members in the Universal House of Justice of any enactment which he believes conflicts with the meaning and departs from the spirit of the Sacred Writings. The second passage concerns the infallibility of the Universal House of Justice without the Guardian, namely Shoghi Effendi's statement that 'Without such an institution [the Guardianship] ... the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally withdrawn.'

Some of the youth, you indicate, were puzzled as to how to reconcile the former of these two passages with such of Abdu'l-Bahá which affirms that the Universal House of Justice is 'freed from all error'.

Just as the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Bahá does not in any way contradict the 'Kitab-i-Aqdas' but, in the Guardian's words, 'confirms, supplements, and correlates the provisions of the Aqdas', so the writings of the Guardian contradict neither the revealed Word nor the interpretations of the Master. In attempting to understand the Writings, therefore, one must first realize that there is and can be no real contradiction in them, and in the light of this we can confidently seek the unity of meaning which they contain.

The Guardian and the Universal House of Justice have certain duties and functions in common; each also operates within a separate and distinct sphere. As Shoghi Effendi explained, '...it is made indubitably clear and evident that the Guardian of the Faith has been made the Interpreter of the Word and that the Universal House of Justice has been invested with the function of legislating on matters not expressly revealed in the teachings. The interpretation of the Guardian, functioning within his own sphere, is as authoritative and binding as the enactments of the International House of Justice, whose exclusive right and prerogative is to pronounce upon and deliver the final judgement on such laws and ordinances as Bahá'u'lláh has not expressly revealed.' He goes on to affirm, 'Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other. Neither will seek to curtail the specific and undoubted authority with which both have been divinely invested.' It is impossible to conceive that two centres of authority, which the Master has stated 'are both under the care and protection of the Abha Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of His Holiness, the Exalted One', could conflict with one another, because both are vehicles of the same Divine Guidance.

The Universal House of Justice, beyond its function as the enactor of legislation, has been invested with the more general functions of protecting and administering the Cause, solving obscure questions and deciding upon matters that have caused difference. Nowhere is it stated that the infallibility of the Universal House of Justice is by virtue of the Guardian's membership or presence on that body. Indeed, Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Shoghi Effendi in his 'Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh' have both explicitly stated that the elected members of the Universal House of Justice in consultation are recipients of unfailing Divine Guidance. Furthermore the Guardian himself in 'The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh' asserted that 'It must be also clearly understood by every believer that the institution of Guardianship does not under any circumstances abrogate, or even in the slightest degree detract from, the powers granted to the Universal House of Justice by Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, and repeatedly and solemnly confirmed by Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will. It does not constitute in any manner a contradiction to the Will and Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, nor does it nullify any of His revealed instructions.'

While the specific responsibility of the Guardian is the interpretation of the Word, he is also invested with all the powers and prerogatives necessary to discharge his function as Guardian of the Cause, its Head and supreme protector. He is, furthermore, made the irremovable head and member for life of the supreme legislative body of the Faith. It is as the head of the Universal House of Justice, and as a member of that body, that the Guardian takes part in the process of legislation. If the following passage, which gave rise to your query, is considered as referring to this last relationship, you will see that there is no contradiction between it and the other texts: 'Though the Guardian of the Faith has been made the permanent head of so august a body he can never, even temporarily, assume the right of exclusive legislation. He cannot override the decision of the majority of his fellow-members, but is bound to insist upon a reconsideration by them of any enactment he conscientiously believes to conflict with the meaning and to depart from the spirit of Bahá'u'lláh's revealed utterances.'

Although the Guardian, in relation to his fellow-members within the Universal House of Justice, cannot override the decision of the majority, it is inconceivable that the other members would ignore any objection he raised in the course of consultation or pass legislation contrary to what he expressed as being in harmony with the spirit of the Cause. It is, after all, the final act of judgement delivered by the Universal House of Justice that is vouchsafed infallibility, not any views expressed in the course of the process of enactment.

It can be seen, therefore, that there is no conflict between the Master's statements concerning the unfailing divine guidance conferred upon the Universal House of Justice and the above passage from 'The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh'.

It may help the friends to understand this relationship if they are aware of some of the processes that the Universal House of Justice follows when legislating. First, of course, it observes the greatest care in studying the Sacred Texts and the interpretations of the Guardian as well as considering the views of all the members. After long consultation the process of drafting a pronouncement is put into effect. During this process the whole matter may well be reconsidered. As a result of such reconsideration the final judgement may be significantly different from the conclusion earlier favoured, or possibly it may be decided not to legislate at all on that subject at that time. One can understand how great would be the attention paid to the views of the Guardian during the above process were he alive.

In considering the second passage we must once more hold fast to the principle that the teachings do not contradict themselves.

Future Guardians are clearly envisaged and referred to in the Writings, but there is nowhere any promise or guarantee that the line of Guardians would endure for ever; on the contrary there are clear indications that the line could be broken. Yet, in spite of this, there is a repeated insistence in the Writings on the indestructibility of the Covenant and the immutability of God's Purpose for this Day.

One of the most striking passages which envisage the possibility of such a break in the line of Guardians is in the 'Kitab-i-Aqdas' itself:

"The endowments dedicated to charity revert to God, the Revealer of
Signs. No one has the right to lay hold on them without leave from the
Dawning-Place of Revelation. After Him the decision rests with the
Aghsan [Branches], and after them with the House of Justice — should it be
established in the world by then — so that they may use these endowments
for the benefit of the Sites exalted in this Cause, and for that which
they have been commanded by God, the Almighty, the All-Powerful.
Otherwise the endowments should be referred to the people of Baha, who
speak not without His leave and who pass no judgement but in accordance
with that which God has ordained in this Tablet, they who are the
champions of victory betwixt heaven and earth, so that they may spend them
on that which has been decreed in the Holy Book by God, the Mighty, the
Bountiful.

The passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957 precipitated the very situation provided for in this passage, in that the line of Aghsan ended before the House of Justice had been elected. Although, as is seen, the ending of the line of Aghsan at some stage was provided for, we must never underestimate the grievous loss that the Faith has suffered. God's purpose for mankind remains unchanged, however, and the mighty Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh remains impregnable. Has not Bahá'u'lláh stated categorically, 'The Hand of Omnipotence hath established His Revelation upon an unassailable, an enduring foundation.' While Abdu'l-Bahá confirms: 'Verily, God effecteth that which He pleaseth; naught can annul His Covenant; naught can obstruct His favour nor oppose His Cause!' 'Everything is subject to corruption; but the Covenant of thy Lord shall continue to pervade all regions.' 'The tests of every dispensation are in direct proportion to the greatness of the Cause, and as heretofore such a manifest Covenant, written by the Supreme Pen, hath not been entered upon, the tests are proportionately severe.... These agitations of the violators are no more than the foam of the ocean,... This foam of the ocean shall not endure and shall soon disperse and vanish, while the ocean of the Covenant shall eternally surge and roar.' And Shoghi Effendi has clearly stated: 'The bedrock on which this Administrative Order is founded is God's immutable Purpose for mankind in this day.' '...this priceless gem of Divine Revelation, now still in its embryonic state, shall evolve within the shell of His law, and shall forge ahead, undivided and unimpaired, till it embraces the whole of mankind.'

In the Bahá'í Faith there are two authoritative centres appointed to which the believers must turn, for in reality the Interpreter of the Word is an extension of that centre which is the Word itself. The Book is the record of the utterance of Bahá'u'lláh, while the divinely inspired Interpreter is the living Mouth of that Book — it is he and he alone who can authoritatively state what the Book means. Thus one centre is the Book with its Interpreter, and the other is the Universal House of Justice guided by God to decide on whatever is not explicitly revealed in the Book. This pattern of centres and their relationships is apparent at every stage in the unfoldment of the Cause. In the Kitab-i-Aqdas Bahá'u'lláh tells the believers to refer after His passing to the Book, and to 'Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root.' In the Kitab-i-'Ahdi (the Book of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant), He makes it clear that this reference is to Abdu'l-Bahá. In the Aqdas Bahá'u'lláh also ordains the institution of the Universal House of Justice, and confers upon it the powers necessary for it to discharge its ordained functions. The Master in His Will and Testament explicitly institutes the Guardianship, which Shoghi Effendi states was clearly anticipated in the verses of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, reaffirms and elucidates the authority of the Universal House of Justice, and refers the believers once again to the Book: 'Unto the Most Holy Book every one must turn and all that is not expressly recorded therein must be referred to the Universal House of Justice,' and at the very end of the Will He says: 'All must seek guidance and turn unto the Centre of the Cause and the House of Justice. And he that turneth unto whatsoever else is indeed in grievous error.'

As the sphere of jurisdiction of the Universal House of Justice in matters of legislation extends to whatever is not explicitly revealed in the Sacred Text, it is clear that the Book itself is the highest authority and delimits the sphere of action of the House of Justice. Likewise, the Interpreter of the Book must also have the authority to define the sphere of the legislative action of the elected representatives of the Cause. The writings of the Guardian and the advice given by him over the thirty-six years of his Guardianship show the way in which he exercised this function in relation to the Universal House of Justice as well as to National and Local Spiritual Assemblies.

The fact that the Guardian has the authority to define the sphere of the legislative action of the Universal House of Justice does not carry with it the corollary that without such guidance the Universal House of Justice might stray beyond the limits of its proper authority; such a deduction would conflict with all the other texts referring to its infallibility, and specifically with the Guardian's own clear assertion that the Universal House of Justice never can or will infringe on the sacred and prescribed domain of the Guardianship. It should be remembered, however, that although National and Local Spiritual Assemblies can receive divine guidance if they consult in the manner and spirit described by Abdu'l-Bahá, they do not share in the explicit guarantees of infallibility conferred upon the Universal House of Justice. Any careful student of the Cause can see with what care the Guardian, after the passing of Abdu'l-Bahá, guided these elected representatives of the believers in the painstaking erection of the Administrative Order and in the formulation of Local and National Bahá'í Constitutions.

We hope that these elucidations will assist the friends in understanding these relationships more clearly, but we must all remember that we stand too close to the beginnings of the System ordained by Bahá'u'lláh to be able fully to understand its potentialities or the inter-relationships of its component parts. As Shoghi Effendi's secretary wrote on his behalf to an individual believer on 25 March 1930, 'The contents of the Will of the Master are far too much for the present generation to comprehend. It needs at least a century of actual working before the treasures of wisdom hidden in it can be revealed...'

With loving Bahá'í greetings,
THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE [A3-2]

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Bahiyyih Khanum, the Greatest Holy Leaf. Haifa: Bahá'í World Centre, 1982.

BALYUZI, H.M. Abdu'l-Bahá, the Centre of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh. Oxford: George Ronald, 1971.
—-Bahá'u'lláh, the King of Glory. Oxford: George Ronald, 1980.

BLOMFIELD, LADY (Sitarih Khanum). The Chosen Highway. London: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1940. Wilmette, Illinois: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1967.

BROWNE, E.G. Materials for the Study of the Babi Religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1918.

FADIL-I-MAZINDARANI, ASADU'LLAH, MIRZA. Amr Va Khalq (Revelation and Creation). Tihran: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. Vol. 1, BE 122 (AD 1965); Vol. 3, BE 128 (AD 1971); Vol. 4, BE 131 (AD 1974).
—-Asraru'l-Athar. A glossary of Bahá'í terms. Tihran: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 5 Vols., BE 124-9 (AD 1967-72).

FADIL-I-YAZDI. Minahiju'l-Ahkan. Vol. 2. Unpublished compilation, National Archives Committee of Persia.

FURUTAN, A.A. Stories of Bahá'u'lláh. Oxford: George Ronald, 1986.

GAIL, MARZIEH. Summon Up Remembrance. Oxford: George Ronald, 1987.

HAYDAR-'ALI, HAJI MIRZA. Bihjatu's-Sudur. Reminiscences and autobiography. Bombay: 1913.

HOLLEY, HORACE. Religion for Mankind. Oxford: George Ronald, 1976.

ISHRAQ KHAVARI, ABDU'L-HAMAD. Rahiq-i-Makhtum. A commentary on a letter of Shoghi Effendi. 2 vols. Tihran, Bahá'í Publishing Trust, BE 103 (AD 1946).
—-Risaliy-i-Ayyan-i-Tis'ih. The history of the nine Bahá'í Holy Days together with a compilation of relevant Tablets. Tihran: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, BE 103 (AD 1946); 3rd RP BE 121 (AD 1964).

IVES, HOWARD COLBY. Portals to Freedom. London: George Ronald, 1967.

Koran, The. Translated by George Sale. London: Frederick Warne and Co., undated.

MA'IDIY-I-ASAMANI. A compilation of Bahá'í Writings. Compiled by Abdu'l-Hamid Ishraq Khavari, 9 vols. and one index volume. Tihran: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, BE 129 (AD 1972).

MAXWELL, MAY. An Early Pilgrimage. Oxford: George Ronald, 1969.

MU'AYYAD, DR HABIB> Khatirat-i-Habib (Memoirs of Habib). Tihran: 1961.

NABIL-I-A'ZAM (Muhammad-i-Zarandi). The Dawn-Breakers. Nabil's Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá'í Revelation. Wilmette, Illinois: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1932.

OWEN, ROSAMOND DALE. My Perilous Life in Palestine. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1928.

RABBINI, Ruhiyyih. The Passing of Shoghi Effendi. London: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1958.
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SHOGHI EFFENDI. The Advent of Divine Justice. First published 1939. Wilmette, Illinois: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, rev. edn 1963.
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—-Messages to America. Selected Letters and Cablegrans Addressed to the Bahá'ís of North America 1932-1946. Wilmette, Illinois: Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1947.
—-Messages to the Bahá'í World: 1950-1957. Wilmette, Illinois: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1971.
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Star of the West. v.1, no. 1 (1910) — vol. 25. no. 12 (1935). Chicago: Bahá'í News Service. 8 vols. Reprinted. Oxford: George Ronald, 1978.

SULAYMANI, AZIZU'LLAH. Masabih-i-Hidayat. Biography of some of the early Bahá'ís. Tihran: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Vol. 7, BE 129 (AD 1972).

TOWNSHEND, G. The Covenant, An Analysis. Manchester: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1950.

TUDOR-POLE, WELLESLEY, Writing on the Ground. London: Neville Spearman, 1968.

THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE. Messages from The Universal House of Justice 1968-1973. Wilmette, Illinois: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1976.
The Universal House of Justice. Extracts from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. Compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice. London: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1984.

Women. Extracts from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, Abdu'l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice. Compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice. London, Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1986.

ZARQANI, MIRZA MAHMUD-I-. Kitab-i-Baddayi'u'l-Athar. Diary of Abdu'l-Bahá's travels in Europe and America, written by His secretary. Bombay: Vol I, 1914: Vol. II, 1921.

REFERENCES

Full details of authors and titles are given in the Bibliography.

INTRODUCTION

1. Hidden Words, Persian no. 29.
2. Townshend, The Covenant, An Analysis.

PROLOGUE: THE COVENANT AND THE HUMAN SOUL

1. Hidden Words, Arabic no. 5.
2. Gleanings, LXXIII, para. 4.
3. John 16:12-13.
4. Qur'an 17:89.
5. Gleanings, LXXXII, paras. 1 and 6.
6. Messages to Alaska, p. 71.
7. Gleanings, LXXXII, para. 8.
8. Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Bahá, pp. 152-3.
9. Ma'idiy-i-Asamani, vol. 7, pp. 119-25.
10. Gleanings, LXXVII.
11. Gleanings, LXXX, para. 2.
12. Ma'idiy-i-Asamani, vol. 4, p. 20.
13. Gleanings, LXXXI.
14. ibid. LXXXII, para. 7.
15. Foundations of World Unity, p. 77.
16. Gleanings, LXXXII, para. 1.
17. ibid. LXXXVI, paras. 1, 2, 3.
18. Some Answered Questions, ch. 62.
19. ibid.
20. Short Obligatory Prayer, in most Bahá'í prayer books.
21. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 64.
22. Gleanings, VI, paras. 1 and 3.
23. JIqtidarat, p. 151.
24. Gleanings, LXXXI.
25. Ma'idiy-i-Asamani, vol. IV, p. 26.
26. ibid. CLIII, para. 6.
27. The Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 95.
28. Hidden Words, Persian no. 27.
29. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 28.
30. Ma'idiy-i-Asamani, vol. 8, p. 29.
31. Hidden Words, Persian no. 69.
32. Synopsis and Codification, p. 12.
33. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 139.

CHAPTER 1: THE COVENANT OF THE BAB

1. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 57.
2. The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 123.
3. Ma'idiy-i-Asmani, vol. 4, p. 154.
4. Ishraqat, p. 221.
5. Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 149.
6. The Dawn-Breakers, p. 96.
7. ibid. pp. 104-8.
8. ibid. pp. 126-8.
9. Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 104.
10. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 10.
11. ibid. p. 113.
12. Prayers and Meditations, no. 176.
13. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 109.
14. ibid. p. 104.
15. ibid. p. 105.
16. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 64.
17. ibid. p. 65.
18. ibid.
19. ibid.
20. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, in The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 106-7.
21. ibid. p. 104.
22. ibid. p. 109.
23. ibid. p. 100.
24. ibid. p. 101.
25. ibid. p. 101.
26. Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 3.
27. Quoted by Bahá'u'lláh in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 171.
28. ibid. p. 154.
29. ibid.
30. The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 112.
31. Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 98.
32. Quoted by Bahá'u'lláh in Epistle to the Son of the Wold, p. 142.
33. Selections from the Writings of the Bab, pp. 156-7.
34. ibid. p. 86.
35. Quoted by Bahá'u'lláh in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 155.
36. Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 131.
37. ibid. p. 155.
38. Persian Bayan III:7.
39. ibid. III:15.
40. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in God Passes By, p. 25.
41. Kitab-i-Pani-Sha'n III, III:16.
42. Quoted by Bahá'u'lláh in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 154-5.
43. ibid. p. 152.
44. ibid. p. 174.
45. Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 104.
46. ibid. p. 100.
47. Quoted by Bahá'u'lláh in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 151.
48. Persian Bayan III:2.
49. Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 85.
50. Quoted by Bahá'u'lláh in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 158.
51. ibid. p. 153.
52. Selections from the Writings of the Bab, pp. 132-3.
53. ibid. p. 144.
54. Quoted by Bahá'u'lláh in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 159.
55. ibid. p. 172.
56. Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 148.
57. Quoted by Bahá'u'lláh in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 141.
58. ibid. p. 152.
59. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in God Passes By, p. 29.
60. Quoted by Bahá'u'lláh in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 174.
61. ibid. p. 41.
62. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in God Passes By, p. 29.
63. Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 7.
64. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in God Passes By, pp. 29-30.
65. Selections from the Writings of the Bab, pp. 129-30.
66. ibid. p. 134.
67. ibid. p. 144.
68. Quoted by Bahá'u'lláh in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 165.
69. Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 144.
70. ibid. p. 101.
71. ibid. p. 164.

CHAPTER 2: THE FULFILMENT OF THE COVENANT OF THE BAB

1. God Passes By, pp. 93-99.
2. Quoted by Blomfield, Chosen Highway, p. 45.
3. Ma'idiy-i-Asamani, vol. 7, p. 98.
4. Asrau'l-Athar, vol. 2, pp. 7-18.
5. The Dawn-Breakers, pp 32-3.

CHAPTER 3: MIRZA YAHYA, THE NOMINEE OF THE BAB

1. The Dawn-Breakers, p. 443.
2. ibid. p. 583.

CHAPTER 4: THE BREAKING OF THE BAB'S COVENANT

1. God Passes By, pp. 112-13.
2. In Sulaymani, Masabih-i-Hidayat, vol. 2, pp. 504-6.
3. God Passes By, p. 117.
4. Synopsis and Codification, p. 11.
5. Persian Bayan VI:14.
6. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p.113.
7. ibid. p. 3.
8. ibid. p. 115.
9. Kitab-i-Iqan, pp. 250-51.
10. Quoted by Blomfield, Chosen Highway, pp. 50-52.
11. Epistle to the Son of the Wold, pp. 176-7.
12. ibid. p. 173.
13. ibid. p. 23.
14. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 133.
15. Bihjatu's-Sudur, pp. 22-4.
16. ibid. pp. 24-6.
17. Quoted by Balyuzi, Bahá'u'lláh, the King of Glory, pp. 183-4.
18. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 168.
19. God Passes By, pp. 165-6.
20. Translated by the author.
21. ibid.
22. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 167.
23. ibid.
24. Bihjatu's-Sudur, p. 76.
25. God Passes By, pp. 167-8.

CHAPTER 5: THE TRIUMPH OF THE COVENANT OF THE BAB

1. God Passes By, pp. 168-9.
2. Bihjatu's-Sudur, pp. 77-9.
3. II Thessalonians 2: 3, 4, 8; stated by Shoghi Effendi in a letter to
Isfandiyar-i-Majzub, 17 November 1935.
4. God Passes By, pp. 170-71.
5. Ma'idiy-i-Asamani, vol. 4, p. 259.
6. God Passes By, pp. 183-4.
7. Rahiq-i-Makhtum, vol. 2.
8. God Passes By, p. 233.

CHAPTER 6: ABDU'L-BAHA, THE CENTRE OF THE COVENANT

1. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 135.
2. ibid. p. 139.
3. A Traveller's Narrative, introduction, p. xxxvi.
4. Writing on the Wall, pp. 142-6.
5. Religion for Mankind, p. 232-3.
6. Portals to Freedom, pp. 30-33.
7. Kitab-i-Badi, pp. 176-7.

CHAPTER 7: THE FAMILY OF BAHA'U'LLAH

1. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day Is Come, pp. 40-41.
2. See Balyuzi, Bahá'u'lláh, the King of Glory; Furutan, Stories of
Bahá'u'lláh.
3. The Dawn-Breakers, pp. 294-5.
4. Quoted by Blomfield, Chosen Highway, pp. 39-40.
5. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, Messages to America, pp. 34-5.
6. Isaiah 54: 1-13.
7. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, Messages to America, pp. 35-6.
8. Bahiyyih Khanum, pp 3-4.
9. ibid. p. 4.
10. ibid. pp. 7-8.
11. ibid. pp. 42-5 passim.
12. Messages to America, p. 34.
13. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, ibid. pp. 33-4.

CHAPTER 8: THE ARCH-BREAKER OF BAHA'U'LLAH'S COVENANT

1. Rahiq-i-Makhtum, vol. 2, p. 850.
2. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 242.
3. Rahiq-i-Makhtum, vol. 1, p. 551.
4. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 251.
5. Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 222.
6. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 251.
7. ibid. p. 249.
8. Gleanings, LXXIV.

CHAPTER 9: THE RELATIONSHIP OF BAHA'U'LLAH AND ABDU'L-BAHA

l. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 135.
2. ibid.
3. ibid.
4. ibid. pp. 135-6.
5. Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 227-8.
6. Bihjatu's-Sudur, pp. 251-2.

CHAPTER 10: THE APPOINTMENT OF ABDU'L-BAHA

1. Synopsis and Codification, p. 24.
2. ibid. p. 27.
3. Cited by Fadil-i-Yazdi, Minahiju'l-Ahkam, vol. 1, p. 657.
4. Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 219-223.

CHAPTER 11: THE BREAKING OF BAHA'U'LLAH'S COVENANT

1. Printed in Egypt, no date. Translation by the author.

CHAPTER 12: THE DAY THAT SHALL NOT BE FOLLOWED BY NIGHT

1. God Passes By, pp. 237-8.
2. Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 144.
3. Gleanings, XXII, para. 2.
4. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 119.
5. Synopsis and Codification, p. 24.

CHAPTER 13: PRINCIPAL COVENANT-BREAKERS DURING THE MINISTRY OF ABDU'L-BAHA

1. Bahá'u'lláh, Hidden Words, Arabic No. 4.

CHAPTER 14: CLANDESTINE OPPOSITION TO THE COVENANT

1. Bihjatu's-Sudur, p. 323.
2. ibid. pp. 326-31.
3. ibid. pp. 337-8.
4. Khatirat-i-Nuh-Saliy-i-'Akka, pp. 51-2.
5. Bijhatu's-Sudur, pp. 334-5.
6. Khatirat-i-Nuh-Salih, p. 216.

CHAPTER 15: MIRZA AQA JAN

1. Matthew, 5:5.
2. Qur'an, 28:5.
3. Khatirat-i-Nuh-Salih, pp. 54-6.
4. ibid. p. 80.
5. ibid. pp. 90-91.
6. ibid. p. 84.
7. ibid.
8. Bihjatu's-Sudur, p. 479.

CHAPTER 16: DISCREDITING THE CENTRE OF THE COVENANT

1. Khatirat-i-Nuh-Salih, pp. 250-56.
2. My Perilous Life in Palestine, pp. 230-35.

CHAPTER 17: ABDU'L-BAHA IN ACTION

1. Khatirat-i-Nuh-Salih, pp. 63-6.
2. ibid. pp. 570-73.
3. ibid. pp. 259-65.

CHAPTER 18: COVENANT-BREAKING IN PERSIA

1. Synopsis and Codification, p. 27.
2. Iqtidarat, pp. 294-5.
3. Gleanings, CXLII, paras. 1-3.
4. Rahiq-i-Makhtum, vol. 1, p. 317.
5. Unpublished memoirs.
6. Ma'idiy-i-Asamani, vol. 5, pp. 98-9.
7. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 133.
8. ibid. p. 138.
9. Khatirat-i-Nuh-Salih, pp. 331-6.

CHAPTER 19: BUILDING THE SHRINE OF THE BAB

1. Khatirat-i-Nuh-Salih, pp. 145-7.
2. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 275.
3. Khatirat-i-Habib, vol. 1, p. 81.
4. ibid. p. 449.

CHAPTER 20: YEARS OF INCARCERATION

1. Recorded by Fadil-l-Mazandarani, Asraru'l-Athar, vol. 4, pp. 361-3.
2. Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Bahá, pp. 216-221.
3. Synopsis and Codification, p. 14.
4. See Appendix 1.
5. ibid.
6. Khanidan-i-Afnan, p. 117.
7. The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 17.
8. Gleanings, XXIX, para. 5.
9. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 5.
10. Messages to America, p. 51.
11. Bahá'í Administration, p. 123.
12. God Passes By, p. 315.
13. The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 17.
14. Shoghi Effendi, in The Dawn-Breakers, p. 667.

CHAPTER 21: COVENANT-BREAKING IN THE WEST

1. An Early Pilgrimage, pp. 12-13.
2. Quoted by Blomfield, Chosen Highway, pp. 235-6.
3. Balyuzi, Abdu'l-Bahá, pp. 271-2.
4. Quoted by Browne, Materials, p. 171.
5. God Passes By, p. 295.
6. Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Bahá, pp. 258-9.
7. ibid. p. 212.
8. God Passes By, pp. 319-20.

CHAPTER 22: THE BAHA'I ATTITUDE TO COVENANT-BREAKING

1. Quoted by Ruhiyyih Rabbani, Priceless Pearl, p. 49.
2. Will and Testament, see Appendix 1.
3. Star of the West, vol. Xll, p. 233.
4. Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Bahá, pp. 210-11.
5. Khatirat-i-Nuh-Salih, pp. 357-8.
6. Will and Testament, see Appendix 1.
7. ibid.

CHAPTER 23: FOSTERING STEADFASTNESS IN THE COVENANT

1. The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 100.
2. Hidden Words, Arabic no. 59.
3. ibid. Persian no. 27.
4. ibid. Persian no. 26.
5. ibid. Persian no. 11.
6. Short Obligatory Prayer, in most Bahá'í prayer books.
7. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day Is Come, p. 82.
8. Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 15.
9. ibid.
10. Synopsis and Codification, p. 11.
11. Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 135.
12. Synopsis and Codification, pp. 25-6.
13. Khatirat-i-Nuh-Salih, p. 99.
14. ibid. p. 123.

CHAPTER 24: THE CLOSE OF THE HEROIC AGE

1. Tablets, p. 224.
2. God Passes By, pp. 314-15.
3. ibid. p. 324.
4. Star of the West, 2 March 1922, pp. 294-5.
5. The Priceless Pearl, p. 39.
6. ibid. pp. 40-41.

CHAPTER 25: SHOGHI EFFENDI, GUARDIAN OF THE FAITH

1. Will and Testament, see Appendix 1.
2. Quoted by Ruhiyyih Rabbani, Priceless Pearl, p. 5.
3. ibid. pp. 5-6.
4. ibid. p. 1.
5. Isaiah 15:16.
6. Quoted in The Priceless Pearl, p. 2.
7. ibid. p. 17.
8. ibid. p. 29.
9. ibid. pp. 42-3.
10. Zarqani, Kitab-i-Badayi'u'l-Athar, vol. 2, p. 250.
11. The Priceless Pearl, p. 48.
12. ibid. p. 49.
13. ibid. pp. 53-4.
14. ibid. pp. 70-71.
15. ibid. p. 57.

CHAPTER 26: BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE Administrative ORDER

1. Tawqi'at-i-Mubarikih, Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Tihran, 129 BE.
2. God Passes By, p. 324.
3. Bahá'í Administration, pp. 15-16.
4. ibid. pp. 21-23.
5. The Advent of Divine Justice, pp. 15-17.
6. Messages to America, pp. 8-9.
7. Quoted by Rabbani, The Priceless Pearl, p. 108.

CHAPTER 27: THE EXPOUNDER OF THE REVELATION OF BAHA'U'LLAH

1. God Passes By, p. 3.
2. Bahá'í Administration, p. 196.
3. God Passes By, p. 323.
4. Bahá'í News, no. 258.

CHAPTER 28: THE ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER IN ACTION

1. Shoghi Effendi, Messages to America, p. 7.
2. Unfolding Destiny, pp. 260-61.
3. Messages to the Bahá'í World, p. 42.
4. ibid. pp. 40-44.

CHAPTER 29: VITAL DEVELOPMENTS AT THE WORLD CENTRE

1. Will and Testament.
2. See The Bahá'í World, vol. 18, pp. 473-5, 516-27.
3. Messages to the Bahá'í World, p. 8.
4. ibid. p. 7.
5. The Priceless Pearl, p. 253.
6. Citadel of Faith, pp. 95-6.
7. Messages to the Bahá'í World, p. 169.
8. Messages to America, p. 31.
9. Messages to the Bahá'í World, pp. 74-5.
10. The Priceless Pearl, pp. 232-3.
11. ibid. pp. 228-9.

CHAPTER 30: REBELLION IN THE EAST AGAINST THE GUARDIAN

1. Bahiyyih Khanum, pp. 218-l9.
2. God Passes By, p. 327.
3. Bahá'í Administration, pp. 137-9.
4. Messages to the Bahá'í World, pp. 53-4.
5. Citadel of Faith, p. 89.

CHAPTER 31: REBELLION IN THE WEST

1. The Bahá'í World, vol. IX, p. 858.
2. Bahá'í News, May 1934.
3. Messages to America, pp. 49-50.
4. Published in Bahá'í News.
5. Letter to an individual believer, 2 October 1974.

CHAPTER 32: THE FAITHLESS RELATIVES OF SHOGHI EFEENDI

1. Hidden Words, Persian no. 69.
2. The Priceless Pearl, pp. 13-14.
3. Bahá'í Administration, p. 25.
4. Messages to America, p. 11.
5. Messages to the Bahá'í World, pp. 87-8.
6. Khatira't-i-Afnan, pp. 165-6.
7. The Bahá'í World, vol. VIII, p. 262.
8. ibid. p. 260.
9. Bahá'í News, no. 149.
10. ibid. no. 16.
11. Unfolding Destiny, p. 149.
12. Bahá'í News, no. 172.
13. Messages to America, p. 75.
14. The Priceless Pearl, p. 124.
15. Bahá'í News, no. 174.
16. Citadel of Faith, pp. 78-9.
17. Unfolding Destiny, p. 248.
18. Citadel of Faith, p. 87.
19. Messages to the Bahá'í World, p. 48.
20. ibid. p. 16.
21. ibid. pp. 24-5.
22. The Priceless Pearl, p. 120.
23. ibid. pp. 121-2.
24. ibid. pp. 122-3.
25. Messages to the Bahá'í World, pp. 120-21.
26. The Priceless Pearl, p. 234.

CHAPTER 33: THE ONWARD MARCH OF THE FAITH

1. Selections, p. 228.
2. Messages to America, p. 51.
3. Citadel of Faith, p. 5.
4. Messages to the Bahá'í World, p. 61.
5. Citadel of Faith, p. 6.
6. Messages to the Bahá'í World, p. 19.

CHAPTER 34: THE CHIEF STEWARDS

1. The Passing of Shoghi Effendi, p. 12.
2. ibid. p. 14.
3. Messages to the Bahá'í World, pp. 122-3.
4. ibid. p. 127.
5. Bahá'í News, no. 323.
6. In The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 147-8.
7. Wellspring of Guidance, p. 47.
8. Messages, pp. 40-41.

CHAPTER 35: THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

1. Shoghi Effendi, Bahá'í Administration, p. 88.
2. Some Answered Questions, pp. 172-3.
3. Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 26-7.
4. ibid. p. 68.
5. Quoted in Wellspring of Guidance, pp. 84-5.
6. ibid. p. 11.
7. ibid. p. 41.
8. Selections, p. 302.
9. ibid. pp. 79-80.
10. Paris Talks, p. 182.
11. Selections, p. 80.
12. Letter of 28 July 1936, quoted in Women, p. 12.
13. Women, p. 14.
14. Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets, p. 5.
15. Letter to the Persian Bahá'ís, Naw-Ruz, 111.
16. Synopsis and Codification, p. 16.
17. Tablets, pp. 69-70.
18. ibid. pp. 129-30.
19. Quoted in The Universal House of Justire (comp.), p. 48.
20. ibid. p. 51.
21. Quoted in Wellspring of Guidance, p. 84.
22. Letter to the Persian Bahá'ís, 27 November 1929.

CHAPTER 36: THE UNFOLDMENT OF THE COVENANT

1. Rahiq-i-Makhtum, vol. 2, p. 632.
2. Hidden Words, Persian no. 71.
3. Asraru'l-Athar, vol. 5, p. 39.
4. Hidden Words, Persian No. 19.
5. God Passes By, p. 238.
6. Messages to the Bahá'í World, p. 103.
7. ibid. p. 74.
8. ibid.
9. ibid.
10. God Passes By, pp. 325-7.

APPENDIX 3: THE GUARDIANSHIP AND THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

1. Wellspring of Guidance, pp. 89-91.
2. Messages from the Universal House of Justice, pp. 37-44

chapter 36

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