“Aghsán” (plural of Ghusn) is the Arabic word for
“Branches.” This term is used by Bahá’u’lláh to designate His male descendants.
It has particular implications not only for the disposition of endowments but
also for the succession of authority following the passing of Bahá’u’lláh (see
note 145 of the Kitab-i-Aqdas) and of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá.
Bahá’u’lláh, in the Book of His Covenant, appointed ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá,
His eldest son, as the Center of His Covenant and the Head of the Faith. ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá,
in His Will and Testament, appointed Shoghi Effendi, His eldest grandson, as
the Guardian and Head of the Faith. This passage of the Aqdas, [paragraph 42]
therefore, anticipates the succession of chosen Aghsán and thus the institution
of the Guardianship and envisages the possibility of a break in their line. The
passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957 precipitated the very situation provided for
in this passage, in that the line of Aghsán ended before the Universal House of
Justice had been established.
Bahá’u’lláh provides for the possibility that the line of
Aghsán would terminate prior to the establishment of the Universal House of
Justice. He designated that in such a situation “endowments shall revert to the
people of Bahá.” The term “people of Bahá” is used with a number of different
meanings in the Bahá’í Writings. In this instance, they are described as those
“who speak not except by His leave and judge not save in accordance with what
God hath decreed in this Tablet.” Following the passing of Shoghi Effendi in
1957, the Hands of the Cause of God directed the affairs of the Cause until the
election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963.
- The Universal House of
Justice (The “Notes’ section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas)
