As to the way the Huqúq must be paid: Having deducted the
expenses incurred during the year, any excess of income derived from one's property,
profession or business is subject to the payment of Huqúq. 
Such hindrances, no matter how severe and insuperable they
may at first seem, can and should be effectively overcome through the combined
and sustained power of prayer and of determined and continued effort. For have
not Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá both repeatedly assured us that the Divine and
unseen hosts of victory will ever reinforce and strengthen those who valiantly
and confidently labour in their name? This assurance should indeed enable you to
overcome any feeling of unworthiness, of incapacity to serve, and any inner or
outer limitation which threatens to handicap your labours for the Cause. You
should therefore arise, and with a heart filled with joy and confidence
endeavour to contribute any share that is in your power toward the wider
diffusion and greater consolidation of our beloved Faith.
In a Tablet addressed to the American believers, a few days
before He [‘Abdu’l-Baha] passed away, He thus vented His pent-up longing to
depart from this world: “I have renounced the world and the people thereof...
In the cage of this world I flutter even as a frightened bird, and yearn every
day to take My flight unto Thy Kingdom. Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá! Make Me drink of the
cup of sacrifice, and set Me free.”
The work in which you are engaged is dear and near to my
heart and constitutes one of the most vital aspects of the manifold activities
of our beloved Faith. The highest standards of purity, of integrity, of
detachment and sacrifice must be maintained by the members of your group in
order to enable you to play a decisive part in the spread and consolidation of
the Faith. A tremendous responsibility has been laid upon you, and nothing
short of a pure, a virtuous, an active and truly exemplary life can enable you
to fulfil your high destiny....
…the Universal House of Justice is not omniscient; like the
Guardian, it wants to be provided with facts when called upon to render a
decision, and like him it may well change its decision when new facts emerge. .
. .
The fundamental purpose of the Faith of Baha'u'llah is the
realization of the organic unity of the entire human race. Bearing this
glorious destiny in mind, and with entire reliance on the promises of the
Blessed Beauty, we should follow His exhortation:
An orientation to process is apparent throughout the
writings of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi concerning the attainment of world
peace. For example, the Guardian reported the Master as having acclaimed
actions taken at the conclusion of the First World War to have signalized
"the dawn of the Most Great Peace". This stands in contrast to
pre-occupation with the short term in the wider society today which focuses
exclusively on events rather than on evolutionary processes.
After a revolution of well nigh one hundred years what is it
that the eye encounters as one surveys the international scene and looks back
upon the early beginnings of Bahá’í history? A world convulsed by the agonies
of contending systems, races and nations, entangled in the mesh of its
accumulated falsities, receding farther and farther from Him Who is the sole
Author of its destinies, and sinking deeper and deeper into a suicidal carnage
which its neglect and persecution of Him Who is its Redeemer have precipitated.
During the ministries of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi,
the first community of sufficient size that could begin to systematically apply
Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings to unite material and spiritual progress was that of
the believers in the Cradle of the Faith. The steady flow of guidance from the
Holy Land enabled the Bahá’ís of Iran to make tremendous strides in but one or
two generations and to contribute a distinctive share to the progress of their
nation. A network of schools that provided moral and academic education,
including for girls, flourished. Illiteracy was virtually eliminated in the
Bahá’í community. Philanthropic enterprises were created. Prejudices among
ethnic and religious groups, aflame in the wider society, were extinguished
within the community’s loving embrace. Villages became distinguished for their
cleanliness, order, and progress. And believers from that land were
instrumental in raising in another land the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár with its
dependencies designed to “afford relief to the suffering, sustenance to the
poor, shelter to the wayfarer, solace to the bereaved, and education to the
ignorant.”
As the process of the disintegration of a lamentably
defective world order gathers momentum in all parts of the planet, engendering
hopelessness, confusion, hostility, and insecurity, the hearts of the friends
everywhere must be assured, their eyes clear-sighted, their feet firm, as they
work patiently and sacrificially to raise a new order in its stead. The
guidance of Bahá’u’lláh is the foundation upon which you build. His instruction
is clear: “This servant appealeth to every diligent and enterprising soul to
exert his utmost endeavor and arise to rehabilitate the conditions in all
regions and to quicken the dead with the living waters of wisdom and utterance,
by virtue of the love he cherisheth for God, the One, the Peerless, the Almighty,
the Beneficent.”
Shoghi Effendi was asked several times during his ministry
to define the sphere of his operation and his infallibility. The replies he
gave and which were written on his behalf are most illuminating. He explains
that he is not an infallible authority on subjects such as economics and
science, nor does he go into technical matters since his infallibility is
confined to "matters which are related strictly to the Cause." He
further points out that "he is not, like the Prophet, omniscient at
will," that his "infallibility covers interpretation of the revealed
word and its application," and that he is also "infallible in the
protection of the Faith."
…there is nothing in the authoritative Bahá'í Writings to
indicate that the Lesser Peace would be established before the end of the
twentieth century. However, there are clear statements affirming that the unity
of nations would be, in the words of `Abdu'l-Bahá, "securely
established" during the twentieth century.
If we allow prejudice of any kind to manifest itself in us,
we shall be guilty before God of causing a setback to the progress and real
growth of the Faith of Baha'u'llah. It is incumbent upon every believer to
endeavour with a fierce determination to eliminate this defect from his
thoughts and acts. It is the duty of the institutions of the Faith to inculcate
this principle in the hearts of the friends through every means at their
disposal including summer schools, conferences, institutes and study classes.
The existence of institutions of such exalted rank, [Hands,
Counsellors, Auxiliary Boards] comprising individuals who play such a vital
role, who yet have no legislative, administrative or judicial authority, and
are entirely devoid of priestly functions or the right to make authoritative
interpretations, is a feature of Baha'i administration unparalleled in the
religions of the past. The newness and uniqueness, of this concept make it
difficult to grasp; only as the Baha'i Community grows and the believers are
increasingly able to contemplate its administrative structure uninfluenced by
concepts from past ages, will the vital interdependence of the
"rulers" and "learned" in the Faith be properly understood,
and the inestimable value of their interaction be fully recognized.
It should also be borne in mind that, great as is the power
manifested by this Revelation and however vast the range of the Dispensation
its Author has inaugurated, it emphatically repudiates the claim to be regarded
as the final revelation of God’s will and purpose for mankind. To hold such a
conception of its character and functions would be tantamount to a betrayal of
its cause and a denial of its truth. It must necessarily conflict with the
fundamental principle which constitutes the bedrock of Bahá’í belief, the
principle that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine
Revelation is orderly, continuous and progressive and not spasmodic or final.
That Bahá’u’lláh should, notwithstanding the overwhelming
intensity of His Revelation, be regarded as essentially one of these
Manifestations of God, never to be identified with that invisible Reality, the
Essence of Divinity itself, is one of the major beliefs of our Faith—a belief
which should never be obscured and the integrity of which no one of its
followers should allow to be compromised.
Anticipating the System which the irresistible power of His
Law was destined to unfold in a later age, He writes: “The world’s equilibrium
hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new
World Order. Mankind’s ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency
of this unique, this wondrous System—the like of which mortal eyes have never
witnessed.” “The Hand of Omnipotence hath established His Revelation upon an
unassailable, an enduring foundation. Storms of human strife are powerless to
undermine its basis, nor will men’s fanciful theories succeed in damaging its
structure.”
Stressing the superlative character of His Revelation as
compared with the Dispensation preceding it, Bahá’u’lláh makes the following
affirmation: … “So tremendous is the outpouring of Divine grace in this
Dispensation that if mortal hands could be swift enough to record them, within
the space of a single day and night there would stream verses of such number as
to be equivalent to the whole of the Persian Bayán.”
Expatiating on the forces latent in His Revelation
Bahá’u’lláh reveals the following: “Through the movement of Our Pen of glory We
have, at the bidding of the omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new life into every
human frame and instilled into every word a fresh potency. All created things
proclaim the evidences of this world-wide regeneration.”
“I testify before God,” proclaims Bahá’u’lláh, “to the
greatness, the inconceivable greatness of this Revelation. Again and again have
We in most of Our Tablets borne witness to this truth, that mankind may be
roused from its heedlessness.” “In this most mighty Revelation,” He
unequivocally announces, “all the Dispensations of the past have attained their
highest, their final consummation.” “That which hath been made manifest in this
préeminent, this most exalted Revelation, stands unparalleled in the annals of
the past, nor will future ages witness its like.”
“And when the appointed hour hath struck,” He [the Báb]
again addresses Bahá’u’lláh in that same commentary, [the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá] “do
Thou, by the leave of God, the All-Wise, reveal from the heights of the Most
Lofty and Mystic Mount a faint, an infinitesimal glimmer of Thy impenetrable
Mystery, that they who have recognized the radiance of the Sinaic Splendor may
faint away and die as they catch a lightening glimpse of the fierce and crimson
Light that envelops Thy Revelation.”
To strive to obtain a more adequate understanding of the
significance of Bahá’u’lláh’s stupendous Revelation must, it is my unalterable
conviction, remain the first obligation and the object of the constant endeavor
of each one of its loyal adherents. An exact and thorough comprehension of so
vast a system, so sublime a revelation, so sacred a trust, is for obvious
reasons beyond the reach and ken of our finite minds. We can, however, and it
is our bounden duty to seek to derive fresh inspiration and added sustenance as
we labor for the propagation of His Faith through a clearer apprehension of the
truths it enshrines and the principles on which it is based.
There have been many instances in which a couple, through a
consecrated and determined effort, aided by the power of prayer and the advice
of experts, succeeded in overcoming seemingly insuperable obstacles to their
reconciliation and in reconstructing a strong foundation for their marriage.
There are also innumerable examples of individuals who have been able to effect
drastic and enduring changes in their behaviour, through drawing on the
spiritual powers available by the bounty of God.
The House of Justice sympathizes with your urgent desire to
see the application of the Bahá'í idea of a spiritual solution to economic
problems.... The solution to these problems lies not so much in the formulation
of workable theories; it is related to the overall spiritual transformation
which is to take place through the gradual influence of the Bahá'í teachings on
the lives of people throughout the world -- a transformation which will itself
be the matrix for the solution so anxiously sought. In the meantime,
governments, through hard experience, will, no doubt, take steps which are in
harmony with the progressive spirit of the times.
The income tax, according to the Bahá'í teachings, mounts at
quite a steep rate so that great sums of money would be very heavily taxed. But
the individual is free to make his will as he pleases. What he has laboured for
he has the right to dispose of. The greater the sum inherited, the higher the
tax will be.
The House of Justice is distressed to learn that you and
your husband are continuing to experience marital difficulties. It has
frequently advised believers in such situations to turn to the Spiritual
Assemblies for advice and counsel, and to follow this advice in their efforts
to preserve the unity of their marital relationship. It has been found useful
in many instances to also seek the assistance of competent professional
marriage counsellors, who can provide useful insights and guidance in the use
of constructive measures to bring about a greater degree of unity.
…as the Cause of God spreads in every land, as our
institutions become more perfected, as the number of believers increases over
the face of the planet, our individual lives must increasingly mirror forth
each day the teachings of Baha'u'llah and we must so live our lives that all
will see in us a different people. The acts we perform, the attitudes we
manifest, the very words we speak should be an attraction, a magnet, drawing
the sincere to the Divine Teachings.
In this holy cycle the "learned" are, on the one
hand, the Hands of the Cause of God, and, on the other, the teachers and
diffusers of His teachings who do not rank as Hands, but who have attained an
eminent position in the teaching work. As to the "rulers" they refer
to the members of the Local, National and International Houses of Justice…
Though the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh has been delivered, the
World Order which such a Revelation must needs beget is as yet unborn. Though
the Heroic Age of His Faith is passed, the creative energies which that Age has
released have not as yet crystallized into that world society which, in the
fullness of time, is to mirror forth the brightness of His glory. Though the
framework of His Administrative Order has been erected, and the Formative
Period of the Baha'i Era has begun, yet the promised Kingdom into which the seed
of His institutions must ripen remains as yet uninaugurated. ...