The Essentiality of the Guardianship To the World Order of Baha'u'llah

According to the divinely-conceived sacred and immutable provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Guardian of the Cause of God is designated as:

"The Center of the Cause of God."
"The sign of God."
"The expounder of the words of God."
The "sacred head and the distinguished member for life" of the Universal House of Justice.

The only one who may "at his own discretion" exercise the "right to expel" any member of the Universal House of Justice who may "commit a sin, injurious to the common weal."

The nominator and appointer of the Hands of the Cause.
The appointer "in his own life-time" of his successor.

The sole authorized recipient of the "fixed money offering" — the Huqúq'u'llah — "the Right of God" offered by the believers.

It is should be crystal clear that only a living Guardian can perform the above functions assigned by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and, for this reason, Shoghi Effendi, now in the other world, can no longer be considered the Guardian of the Faith, as falsely contended by some believers who occupy ill-gotten positions of authority in the Faith.

The following statements by Shoghi Effendi, as outlined in The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, further stress the essentiality of the Guardianship to the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh:

"in the verses of the Kitáb i-Aqdas the implications of which clearly anticipate the institution of the Guardianship . . ."

" . . . the twin pillars that support this mighty Administrative Structure–the institutions of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice."

" . . . these two fundamental organs of the Will of 'Abdu'l-Bahá [the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice]. . ."

" . . . these twin institutions of the Administrative Order of Bahá'u'lláh [the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice] should be regarded as divine in origin, essential in their functions and complementary in their aim and purpose. Their common, their fundamental object is to insure the continuity of that divinely-appointed authority that flows from the Source of our Faith, to safeguard the unity of its followers and to maintain the integrity and flexibility of its teachings."

"Acting in conjunction with each other, these two inseparable institutions administer its affairs, coordinate its activities, promote its interests, execute its laws and defend its subsidiary institutions."

"Severally, each operates within a clearly defined sphere of jurisdiction; each is equipped with its own attendant institutions–instruments designed for the effective discharge of its particular responsibilities and duties."

"Each exercises, within the limitations imposed upon it, its powers, its authority, its rights and prerogatives."

"Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle" which as 'Abdu'l-Bahá has written, has been invariably upheld by the Law of God."[ the Guardian-to-be inheriting his station from an appointment made 'in his own life-time' by his predecessor in office]

"Without such an institution, [the Guardianship] the integrity of the Faith would be imperilled and the stability of the entire fabric would be gravely endangered. Its prestige would suffer, the means required to enable it to take a long and uninterrupted view over a series of generations would be completely lacking, and the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally withdrawn [the living Guardian providing this guidance when presiding as the irreplaceable and indispensable "sacred head" of the Universal House of Justice].

" . . .the Guardian of the Faith has been made the Interpreter of the Word" of God.

"The interpretation of the Guardian, functioning within his own sphere, is as authoritative and binding as the enactments of the International House of Justice. . . "

The Guardian "is bound to insist upon a reconsideration by them (the Universal House of Justice) of any enactment he conscientiously believes to conflict with the meaning and to depart from the spirit of Bahá'u'lláh's revealed utterance."

The above statements by Shoghi Effendi make it clear that the future World Order of Bahá'u'lláh can never become a reality with only a single institution — the Universal House of Justice — that has assumed both legislative and executive functions in directing the affairs of the Faith, and a body, moreover, that is obviously incomplete, deformed and fallible, without a living Guardian presiding as its "sacred head." For the divinely-conceived, sacred and immutable provisions of the Will and Testament bequeathed to us by 'Abdu'l-Bahá — the "perfect Architect" of the Administrative Order — call for twin institutions — the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice — that are, as Shoghi Effendi has stated, "inseparable" neither of which "can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other."

Lest the believers tend to elevate the Guardian to "a station coequal with those Whose words he is called upon to interpret" Shoghi Effendi has stressed that "He can exercise that right and discharge this obligation and yet remain inferior to both of Them in rank and different in nature" and has significantly promised that: "To the integrity of this cardinal principle of our Faith the words, the deeds of its present and FUTURE Guardians must abundantly testify,"

It should be clear from the foregoing that those who have abandoned the Guardianship have, in so doing, not only declared the major provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá null and void — a Document whose sacredness and immutability Shoghi Effendi has equated with Bahá'u'lláh's Most Holy Book , the Kitáb-i-Aqdas — but repudiated, as well, the words of Shoghi Effendi quoted above. What greater violation of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh can there be than this?

Notes:

1. The following statement is found in the renowned and well-known Haifa Notes of May Maxwell, Disciple of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, which were actually co-authored by her and her daughter Mary Maxwell who would soon after their pilgrimage in 1937 become the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the late Rúhíyyih Khanum:

"There was a danger that the friends might misunderstand the Master's Will, and thus the 'Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh' was written, Shoghi Effendi's spiritual testament. He has fixed in it the relation of things to each other. We cannot go beyond what he has defined. However, the second Guardian can interpret the 'Dispensation' itself. He has the same promise to be the inspired interpreter. The Guardian is the interpreter, expounder of the Cause and the protector of the Cause."

2. Emphasis has been added throughout for obvious reasons.

Joel Bray Marangella