The Covenant of Baha'u'llah
by Adib Taherzadeh
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chapter 7 | start page | single page | chapter 9 |  |
Chapter 8
The Arch-breaker of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant
The history of Bahá'u'lláh's family has two contrasting features: one of glory and faithfulness, the other of dishonour and treachery. Navvab, her two sons Abdu'l-Bahá and the Purest Branch, and her daughter the Greatest Holy Leaf, shine brilliantly above the horizon of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation and occupy immeasurably exalted positions within His Cause. The rest of the family including Mahd-i-'Ulya, Gawhar Khanum and their sons and daughters, all became darkened and perished spiritually; they sank miserably into ignominy and oblivion. This contrast of light and darkness, of good and evil in Bahá'u'lláh's own family is one of the most thought-provoking and mysterious features of His Ministry. His eldest Son was made the perfect Mirror reflecting His light, and the Centre of His mighty Covenant, while at the same time another son turned into the 'centre of sedition' and the arch-breaker of that same Covenant. Some thoughts on this mystery are offered elsewhere in this book.[1][1 See below, pp 130-34.]
This arch-breaker of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh is Mirza Muhammad-'Ali, the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh's second wife Mahd-i-'Ulya. He was born in Baghdad in the first year of Bahá'u'lláh's arrival there. From the early days of his youth, he found that he could not rise to the level of Abdu'l-Bahá, who was nine years his senior. He lacked those spiritual qualities which distinguished his eldest brother, who became known as the Master from the early days in Baghdad.
The most essential prerequisites for the spiritual survival of all those who were close to Bahá'u'lláh were humility, self-effacement and utter nothingness in His presence. If these qualities were missing in an individual, he would be in great danger of spiritual downfall and eventual extinction.
While Abdu'l-Bahá, the Greatest Holy Leaf, the Purest Branch, and their illustrious mother were all embodiments of servitude and selflessness, Muhammad-'Ali, his brothers and sister, together with their mother, were the opposite. Although the latter group were all sheltered beneath Bahá'u'lláh's protection, and flourished through the outpouring of His favours, in reality they were the victims of selfish desires and worldly ambitions. During Bahá'u'lláh's lifetime they were subdued by His authority and kept under control through His admonitions. At the same time, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali and his brothers were the recipients of a great many favours from the believers who, because of their love for Bahá'u'lláh, honoured and revered them too. Thus these three sons acquired an undeserved prestige and basked in the sunshine of their Father's glory and majesty.
Inwardly, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali was a faithless person, and he led his two younger brothers in the same direction. But outwardly he utilized the power of the Faith and the resources of the community to bolster up his own image in the eyes of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh. He emerged as an important person in the service of his Father by transcribing some of His Tablets and by the use of calligraphy of which he was a master. From the days of his youth he entertained the ambition to occupy a position of eminence within the Faith, a position similar to that of Abdu'l-Bahá, who, from early on, had distinguished Himself among the entire family.
In Muhammad-'Ali's childhood Bahá'u'lláh conferred upon him the power of utterance, and this became obvious as he grew up. But instead of utilizing this gift to promote the Cause of God, he embarked on a career which hastened his downfall. When he was in his early teens in Adrianople, he composed a series of passages in Arabic and without Bahá'u'lláh's permission disseminated them among some of the Persian Bahá'Ãs, introducing them as verses of God which, he claimed, were revealed to him. He intimated to the believers that he was a partner with Bahá'u'lláh in divine Revelation. Several believers in Qazvin were influenced by him and drawn to him. This created a great controversy in Qazvin, and resulted in disunity among some of the believers there. The city of Qazvin was already notorious for its different factions among the Babis, and there were some followers of Mirza Yahya actively disseminating false propaganda against the followers of Bahá'u'lláh.
Now, in the midst of these conflicting groups, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali's claim to be the revealer of the verses of God [8-1] brought about an added confusion among the followers of Bahá'u'lláh. In his writings, which are of considerable length, the teen-age Muhammad-'Ali refers to himself, among other things, as 'the King of the spirit', calls on the believers to 'hear the voice of him who has been manifested to man', admonishes those who deny his verses revealed in his childhood, declares his revelation to be 'the greatest of God's revelations', asserts that 'all have been created through a word from him', considers himself to be 'the greatest divine luminary before whose radiance all other suns pale into insignificance', and proclaims himself to be 'the sovereign ruler of all who are in heaven and on earth'.
Such preposterous claims, such a display of personal ambition, evoked the wrath of Bahá'u'lláh, who rebuked him vehemently and chastised him with His own hands. The controversy in Qazvin continued for some time. Three believers in particular fell under the spell of Muhammad-'Ali; they were Mirza Abdu'llah, Haji Hisan and his brother, Aqa Ali. These three and a few others, who considered their youthful candidate to be a partner with Bahá'u'lláh and of equal station to His, entered into argument with several believers who refuted their claims. Shaykh Kazim-i-Samandar,[1] a tower of strength for the Bahá'Ãs of Qazvin, emphatically rejected the claims of Muhammad-'Ali and declared that his writings amounted to no more than a string of Arabic sentences which in no way could be the Word of God.
[1 See The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, vol. 3, pp. 88-91.]
This controversy prompted Haji Muhammad-Ibrahim, entitled Khalil, to write a letter to Bahá'u'lláh begging Him to clarity His own station and the station of His sons. Haji Khalil was already confused about the claims of Mirza Yahya and wished to be enlightened and find the truth. In his petition he also asked other questions. Bahá'u'lláh responded by revealing a Tablet in his honour, known as the Lawh-i-Khalil (Tablet of Khalil).[1] In it He declares His own station and states that as long as His sons observe the commandments of God, persevere in edifying their souls, testify to what has been revealed by God, believe in Him Whom God shall make manifest, do not create divisions in His Cause and do not deviate from His revealed laws, they can be considered as the leaves and branches of His Tree of holiness and members of His family. Through them will the light of God be diffused and the signs of His bounty be made manifest.
[1 Parts of this Tablet are translated by Shoghi Effendi in Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, XXXIII, XXXVIII, LXXVII, and CXXVII.]
Mirza Muhammad-'Ali did not live up to these standards. Apart from his shameful claim of equality with Bahá'u'lláh, he became a source of sedition in the community, inflicted severe injuries upon the Cause of God, and after Bahá'u'lláh's ascension, broke His Covenant and rose up to extinguish the light of His Faith.
In the Tablet of Khalil Bahá'u'lláh alludes to Abdu'l-Bahá in terms which immensely exalt Him above the others. He refers to Him as One among His sons 'from Whose tongue God will cause the signs of His power to stream forth', and as the One Whom 'God hath specially chosen for His Cause'. [8-2]
In another Tablet revealed at this time [8-3] when a few believers had been influenced by Mirza Muhammad-'Ali's claim, Bahá'u'lláh asserts that when Muhammad-'Ali was a child of tender years He conferred upon him the power of utterance, so that people might witness His might and glory. He grieves in this Tablet at the state of some of His foolish followers who have thought to recognize a partner with Him in Revelation, and who have made great mischief in the land. He expresses astonishment at the behaviour of some who have attained His presence and witnessed the outpouring of His Revelation and yet have spread such shameful rumours among the believers. Referring to Muhammad-'Ali in this Tablet, He further states:
"He, verily, is but one of My servants ... should he for a moment pass out from under the shadow of the Cause, he surely shall be brought to naught." [8-4]
In this Tablet He further confirms that all beings are created through a word from Him and that no one can claim equality, likeness, or partnership with Him. He and He alone is the possessor of the Most Great Infallibility which is the prerogative of every Manifestation of God.
Concerning the three believers in Qazvin who were misled by Muhammad-'Ali's claim, Bahá'u'lláh invited Haji Hasan and his brother to come to Adrianople. Here they attained His presence and fully recognized their folly.
In distinct contrast to Mirza Muhammad-'Ali's claim was Abdu'l-Bahá's utter self-effacement. Many believers during Bahá'u'lláh's Ministry used to write letters to Abdu'l-Bahá, but He would not respond to them. For instance, Mirza Ali-Muhammad-i-Varqa,[1] who was later martyred, wrote a great many letters to Him. To none of these did Abdu'l-Bahá send a reply. At the end Varqa wrote to Mirza Aqa Jan, Bahá'u'lláh's amanuensis, and complained. When Bahá'u'lláh was informed about this He summoned Abdu'l-Bahá to His presence, and directed Him to send a reply to Varqa. Abdu'l-Bahá wrote a brief letter to him saying that when the Pen of the Most High is moving upon His Tablets, how could Abdu'l-Bahá be expected to write? Indeed, whatever Abdu'l-Bahá wrote during the lifetime of Bahá'u'lláh was directed by Him and received His sanction. This episode alone demonstrates the vast difference between the two: Abdu'l-Bahá, a true servant, humble and lowly before His Lord; Mirza Muhammad-'Ali, ambitious, vain and faithless.
[1 See The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, vol. 4.]
Mirza Muhammad-'Ali's claim was not the only sign pointing to his ambitious nature, craving for leadership from this early age. His daily behaviour, even during Bahá'u'lláh's lifetime, gave clear indications of his lack of spirituality and purity of motive, and his jealousy of Abdu'l-Bahá was apparent to those who were close to him. As Mirza Muhammad-'Ali grew older, he acquired greater prestige among the believers. He thrived on the special consideration shown him by Bahá'u'lláh's followers in order to honour his Father. But many of Bahá'u'lláh's disciples who had spiritual eyes soon discovered his real nature and found him devoid of those divine virtues and spiritual qualities which characterize a true believer. Long before he broke the Covenant they were able to detect in him an air of superiority and self-glorification, and a craving for leadership and power. For instance, Haji Muhammad Tahir-i-Malmiri[1] has described in his memoirs his first meeting with Mirza Muhammad-'Ali a day after he arrived in Akka to attain the presence of Bahá'u'lláh in 1878.
[1 The father of the present author. See The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, vol. 1.]
"When we arrived in Haifa ... we were taken to the home of Aqa Muhammad-Ibrahim-i-Kashani. He had been directed by Bahá'u'lláh to make his residence in Haifa, to handle the distribution of letters and to give assistance and hospitality to Bahá'à pilgrims. When Bahá'u'lláh was informed that the three of us had arrived, He advised, through Mirza Aqa Jan ... that in Akka I should stay with my brother Haji Ali.[1] We were driven from Haifa to Akka in Abdu'l-Bahá's carriage. I was taken to Haji Ali's residence, which was situated in the Khan-i-Suq-i-Abiyad (White Market), in close proximity to the residence of Mirza Musa, Bahá'u'lláh's brother, and several other Bahá'Ãs such as Nabil-i-A'zam... That day I was most happy. Joy and ecstasy filled my soul. The next day, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali, accompanied by his two brothers, Mirza Diya'u'llah and Mirza Badi'u'llah, came to Nabil-i-A'zam's quarters to meet me. Very eagerly my brother and I went there to meet them. But no sooner had I met Mirza Muhammad-'Ali and Mirza Badi'u'llah than I became depressed and all the joy in my heart was transformed into sadness and grief. I was distressed ... and bitterly disappointed with myself. I was wondering what had happened so suddenly that, in spite of all the eagerness and excitement which had filled my being on arrival in Akka, I had become so utterly gloomy and dispirited. I was convinced at that time that I had been rejected by God..."
[1 See The Bahá'à World, vol. IX, pp. 624-5, article on Haji Ali Yazdi. (A.T.)]
"I was plunged into such a state of distress and anguish that I wanted to leave that gathering forthwith, but did not dare to do so. In my heart I was communing with God ... anxiously awaiting for the visitors to leave so that I could go out and try to find a solution for my sad condition. I noticed that whereas my brother and Nabil-i-A'zam were enjoying themselves talking most happily with these sons of Bahá'u'lláh, I was in a state of mental turmoil and agony throughout the meeting... After about an hour, when the visitors were leaving, my brother thanked them most warmly and joyfully."
"In the evening he informed me that we were to go and attain the presence of the Master in His reception room. Although depressed and grief-stricken as a result of meeting Muhammad-'Ali, I went with him. As soon as I came into the presence of the Most Great Branch, a new life was breathed into me. My whole being was filled with such joy and felicity that all the agonies and disturbances of the past vanished in an instant.
"A few days later my brother invited me to go with him to meet Mirza Muhammad-'Ali again, but in spite of much persuasion on his part I refused to go... During the period that I stayed in Akka, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali came several times to the residence of Nabil-i-A'zam, but I always found some excuse not to go there."
Among Mirza Muhammad-'Ali's misdeeds during the lifetime of Bahá'u'lláh was his altering the text of the Holy Writings. Since he was highly skilled in the art of calligraphy, Bahá'u'lláh sent him from Akka on a mission to India to help print a book containing a selected compilation of His Writings. This compilation, known as the Kitab-i-Mubin, contains some of His most important Tablets, including the Suriy-i-Haykal.[1] The book was printed in the handwriting of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali by the printing firm of Nasiri, which was part of a business organisation established in Bombay by a few members of the Afnan family. Mirza Muhammad-'Ali took advantage of this opportunity and betrayed Bahá'u'lláh by changing certain passages in this book which alluded to Abdu'l-Bahá's exalted station. He altered the text so cleverly that all references to Him were totally eliminated. Of course, this treacherous act of interpolation was soon exposed by comparing these passages with the authentic Writings of Bah·'u'll·h.
[1 See The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, vol. 3.]
And yet, the Blessed Beauty, in spite of Muhammad-'Ali's reprehensible conduct, conferred upon him a rank next to that of Abdu'l-Bahá. These are the words of Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitab-i-'Ahd, His Will and Testament:
"Verily God hath ordained the station of the Greater Branch [Muhammad-'Ali] to be beneath that of the Most Great Branch [Abdu'l-Bahá]. He is in truth, the Ordainer, the All-Wise. We have chosen 'The Greater' after 'The Most Great,' as decreed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed." [8-5]
This passage brought about many tests and misunderstandings. Some of the believers who had been in close contact with Mirza Muhammad-'Ali knew him to be deceitful and materialistic, and avid for power. Others, reading the several condemnatory passages which Bahá'u'lláh had written about him, were sure that he was a perfidious individual who was related to Bahá'u'lláh only physically and had no spiritual relationship with Him. These people were deeply puzzled when they observed that Bahá'u'lláh had chosen such a person to succeed Abdu'l-Bahá. For it was concerning Mirza Muhammad-'Ali that Bahá'u'lláh had issued this ominous warning in one of His Tablets:
"By God, the True One! Were We, for a single instant, to withhold from him the outpourings of Our Cause, he would wither, and would fall upon the dust." [8-6]
To such a person, Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitab-i-'Ahd grants the right to succeed Abdu'l-Bahá. And indeed, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali publicly claimed this successorship both during the Ministry of Abdu'l-Bahá and after His Ascension. Referring to him Shoghi Effendi states:
"He it was who had the impudence and temerity to tell Abdu'l-Bahá to His face that just as Umar had succeeded in usurping the successorship of the Prophet Muhammad, he, too, felt himself able to do the same. He it was who, obsessed by the fear that he might not survive Abdu'l-Bahá, had, the moment he had been assured by Him that all the honour he coveted would, in the course of time, be his, swiftly rejoined that he had no guarantee that he would outlive Him." [8-7]
We may ask ourselves two questions. Why did the provision in Bahá'u'lláh's Book of the Covenant for Mirza Muhammad-'Ali's successorship not materialize, and why did Bahá'u'lláh grant such an exalted station to so perfidious a person? To resolve these puzzling questions, it is necessary to meditate on the nature of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and try to discover its distinctive and challenging features.
One of these features comes to light when we reflect upon the creative power of the utterances of Bahá'u'lláh. In one of His Tablets He reveals these exalted words:
"Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is endowed with such potency as can instill new life into every human frame, if ye be of them that comprehend this truth. All the wondrous works ye behold in this world have been manifested through the operation of His supreme and most exalted Will, His wondrous and inflexible Purpose. Through the mere revelation of the word 'Fashioner', issuing forth from His lips and proclaiming His attribute to mankind, such power is released as can generate, through successive ages, all the manifold arts which the hands of man can produce. This, verily, is a certain truth. No sooner is this resplendent word uttered, than its animating energies, stirring within all created things, give birth to the means and instruments whereby such arts can be produced and perfected. All the wondrous achievements ye now witness are the direct consequences of the Revelation of this Name. In the days to come, ye will, verily, behold things of which ye have never heard before. Thus hath it been decreed in the Tablets of God, and none can comprehend it except they whose sight is sharp. In like manner, the moment the word expressing My attribute 'The Omniscient' issueth forth from My mouth, every created thing will, according to its capacity and limitations, be invested with the power to unfold the knowledge of the most marvellous sciences, and will be empowered to manifest them in the course of time at the bidding of Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Know thou of a certainty that the Revelation of every other Name is accompanied by a similar manifestation of Divine power. Every single letter proceeding out of the mouth of God is indeed a mother letter, and every word uttered by Him Who is the Well Spring of Divine Revelation is a mother word, and His Tablet a Mother Tablet. Well is it with them that apprehend this truth." [8-8]
Thus we can be assured that due to the creative power of the Word of God every event Bahá'u'lláh has foreshadowed in His Tablets has either taken place already, or will come about in the future. Indeed, a careful study of His Writings reveals that many of His promises have been fulfilled. However, there are exceptions to this, and these are related to the subject of the Covenant. The appointment of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali in the Kitab-i-'Ahd is one of these exceptions, whereby Bahá'u'lláh's purpose, His implied wish, appeared not to materialize.
The main reason for the non-fulfilment of certain provisions of this momentous document, is that this Covenant, like any covenant, is a reciprocal agreement between two parties. In this case one party is Bahá'u'lláh, and the other, His followers. In general, the outcome of any agreement between two parties depends upon the manner in which each party fulfils his commitments. If one side fails to carry out his obligations as set out in the contract, the other side will no longer be bound to honour his. For example, let us say that a landlord and a tenant draw up a lease. As long as the tenant pays his rent and meets his other responsibilities, the landlord has no reason to cancel the contract, but if the former fails to discharge his liabilities, the latter will have no choice but to cancel the lease and possibly institute eviction proceedings!
The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh as formulated in the Kitab-i-'Ahd also has two distinct sides. One side is the Almighty, who provides the spiritual energies for the achievement of His purpose, and who rules over His creatures. The other side is His servants, the recipients of His grace, who abide by His bidding. This Covenant necessitates an interaction between the two parties. As in the analogy of the landlord and the tenant, if the followers of Bahá'u'lláh, the recipients of His grace, had faithfully carried out what was expected of them in this Covenant, then every provision of the Kitab-i-'Ahd would have been fulfilled and the plan of God, as ordained by Bahá'u'lláh, would have materialized. But they did not. The Covenant was broken by no less a person than Mirza Muhammad-'Ali himself, who rose up against the Centre of the Cause. Consequently, the plan of God as envisaged by Bahá'u'lláh was changed, and Shoghi Effendi, the eldest grandson of Abdu'l-Bahá, was appointed as Guardian of the Faith to succeed Him. The same argument may hold for the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Bahá in which the question of a successor to Shoghi Effendi did not materialize.[1]
[1 See Appendix 1.]
The other question, concerning the appointment of such a disloyal person to so exalted a position, may be resolved by a careful examination of another essential feature of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh; namely, the non-interference of each party in the functions of the other. The two parties to this Covenant are not of equal station. After all, the station of Bahá'u'lláh is awe-inspiring and the believers are but humble servants. However, God in His justice gives His creatures the opportunity to carry out their duties without His interference; they are given free will to behave as they please. Of course, He has full knowledge of how each individual will behave in discharging the obligations which the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh has placed on him, but He leaves the person free to play his part, and He does not judge him before he commits an error. This is similar to the relationship between a teacher and pupil. In the course of teaching his students the teacher will usually come to know the ability and capacity of each one. Suppose that he finds one of his pupils to be inattentive to his work and negligent in his school duties. He may be certain that his pupil is going to fail his examinations, but foreknowledge of that failure does not entitle the teacher to prevent the student from taking part in them. It is the student's prerogative to sit for examinations and no one has the right to deprive him of that privilege.
This analogy helps to clarify the statement about Mirza Muhammad-'Ali in the Kitab-i-'Ahd. Bahá'u'lláh was fully aware of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali's shortcomings, yet, as the second surviving son of Bahá'u'lláh, it was his birthright to occupy a station next to that of Abdu'l-Bahá. God did not pronounce judgement on him before his rebellion against the Cause. Mirza Muhammad-'Ali was given the chance to mend his ways and take his rightful position within the Faith but he failed, as in a test, and thus perished spiritually.
Had Mirza Muhammad-'Ali remained a true and steadfast believer, had he lived a life of humility and self-effacement, had he devoted all his efforts to the promotion of the Cause and detached himself from earthly things, and had he followed in the footsteps of the Master and emulated the One who was the supreme Exemplar of the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, then who could have been more suited than he, a son of Bahá'u'lláh, to take over the reins of the Cause of God after Abdu'l-Bahá? But he did not fulfil any of these conditions, and deprived himself of the bounties which could have been vouchsafed to him by Bahá'u'lláh.
Through his intense jealousy of Abdu'l-Bahá and his lack of spiritual qualities, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali sought throughout his life to undermine the position of Abdu'l-Bahá and usurp His God-given station as the Centre of the Covenant. During the lifetime of Bahá'u'lláh he was impotent to achieve the evil promptings of his heart, because the overshadowing power of Bahá'u'lláh and His overwhelming authority frustrated his ambitions. But as we shall see later, he rebelled against the Covenant immediately after the passing of Bahá'u'lláh and arose in opposition to Abdu'l-Bahá, its Centre.
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