The world order of Baha'u'llah

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The book The World Order of Baha'u'llah contains seven letters from Shoghi Effendi written in English to the Baha'i of the West in Haifa between 1929 and 1936 . According to this book, this world order of Baha'u'llah is the divine culture, the establishment of which is the main task of the Baha'i Faith. The Baha'i administrative order is the core and the model of this world order, which rises barely noticeably from the confusion and chaos of contemporary civilization. The English original was published in 1938 under the title "The World Order of Baha'u'llah". Revised versions appeared in 1955 and 1973. The German translation was published in 1977 and comprises more than 300 pages.

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After an introduction and a preface to the edition 1955 of the Hand of the Cause Horace Holley, the seven letters are reproduced.

The first letter is dated February 27, 1929 and is addressed to the members of the Baha'i National Spiritual Council in the United States and Canada . This letter deals with the Kitab-i-Aqdas and the Abdul-Baha testament as sources of the Baha'i world order, with the local and national houses of justice, the institution of guardianship, the purpose and main tasks of the Baha'i institutions as well as the precarious legal situation of the Baha'i in Egypt .

The second letter is dated March 21, 1930 and is addressed to the Lord's Beloved and the Servants of the Merciful in the western world. The letter deals with the attacks on the Baha'i faith and the difference between the Baha'i world order and the spiritual organizations of Christianity and Islam . Shoghi Effendi also discusses the adaptability of the administrative apparatus of the Baha'i Faith. In this context he cites statements by Abdul-Baha and Baha'u'llah that allow the House of Justice to enact or repeal laws that are not expressly disclosed in the book.

The third letter is dated November 28, 1931 and is addressed to the Companions in the Faith of Baha'u'llah. Shoghi Effendi brought this letter in connection with the 10th anniversary of Abdul-Baha's death. The letter shows in detail the desolate state of the world and that, based on the Baha'i principle of the unity of mankind, a federal world superstate is to be developed. The formation of the world superstate is compared to the formation of the United States.

The fourth letter, dated March 21, 1932, is addressed to the Beloved of God and the Servants of the Merciful in the United States and Canada. It describes America's contribution to the Baha'i Faith and once again explains the relationship of this revelation to those of the past. It also sets out the stage of Bab , explains the Baha'i relationship to politics , and urges its successful completion in the establishment of the House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois .

The fifth letter is dated April 21, 1933 and is addressed to the Lord's Beloved and the Servants of the Merciful in the United States and Canada. It mainly deals with the role God has destined America to play in this age. Among other things, it commemorates the first public mention of Baha'u'llah on the American continent in 1893 and Abdul-Baha's travels to the West, and recapitulates the successes that this community has already achieved for the faith.

The sixth letter is dated February 8, 1934 and is addressed to the Beloved of God and the Servants of the Most Merciful in the West. It explains the nature of the Baha'u'llah religious system, the revelations of the past, the stage of Bab and Abdul-Baha, and the administrative and social order.

The seventh and final letter is dated March 11, 1936 and is addressed to the Beloved and Servants of the Merciful throughout the West. It is another account of the state of the world, the apparent rapid political, economic, and moral decay in it, and the weakening of both Christianity and Islam.

literature

  • Shoghi Effendi: The World Order of Baha'u'llah . Bahai-Verlag, Hofheim-Langenhain 1977, ISBN 3-87037-087-4 ( online ).
  • Shoghi Effendi: The World Order of Baha'u'llah . Bahai-Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois 1991, ISBN 0-87743-231-7 ( online ).