The methods and the ways of acquiring recognition will be meaningful in epistemology and it can be achieved via inspiration, wisdom, revelation perception and experience; but due to its theoretical weakness, Baha’ism hasn’t been able to present a clear image out of epistemology and its means of acquisition. To escape from the reality and the fear from confronting narrative and intellectual criticisms, it has cleansed the problem. It negates the originality of these standards and consider the grace of the holy spirit as the complete criterion for recognition.
The difficulties of epistemology and methodology of the religious recognition of Bahaism is originated from Sheikism which is considered as the intellectual and theological heir of it. Ehsaee, the founder of Sheikism couldn’t tolerate wisdom and divine law and relayed on most of his belief as gained by direct listening from the holy Imams (peace be upon them) in dream. This false attitude transferred from Sheikism to Babism and Bahaism.
Mirza Hussein Ali Nouri doesn’t consider any position for science and wisdom in the path he describes for his followers to believe in his claims, but in contrast, his suggestion for the one whom God will manifest’s recognition – that is himself- is that people must leave their science, wisdom and understanding and leave them alone. At the end parts of the book Ighan, Mirza advises the Babi scholars.[1]
Abdul Baha explains more than his father’s words and writes:
“The extent of understanding is based on four standards: 1) the extent of sense … 21 the extent of wisdom … 3) narration which is the texts of the holy books…”[۲]
The grace of the holy spirit is one of the teachings of Bahaism which says: “The world needs the revelations of the holy spirit.” In this regard, Abbas Effendi states:
“The twelfth principle of the Excellency Bahaullah is that the humane world doesn’t progress by the intellectual and material powers, but the holy spirit is needed for the superficial and spiritual development and the divine power that is the holy spirit must confirm and help the human being to progress and succeed because the human physical body needs the material powers by human spirit needs the holy spirit…”[۳]
Abbas Effendi has rejected wisdom and narration and experience as the sources of acquiring recognition and substituted the holy spirit instead of it. As a criterion against his claims concerning wisdom, he says: “The aim is to know that God has created science and wisdom to be the scale for understanding…”[۴]
Of course, Abdul Baha mentions his addressees not to resort to wisdom, understanding and science:
“It is quite clear that if the servants made their eyes, ears and hearts clean and holy confronting reality, they wouldn’t be deprived of the divine beauty.”[۵]
For this reason, he asks his addressees to merely pay attention to what he inculcates: “It means that if divine disciples cleansed their hearts and ears from what they had heard before, they would be beloved in the presence of Allah.”[۶]
These statements will clarify the meaning of the independent investigation of truth which is one of the twelve principles of Bahaism; and it means accepting Bahaism teachings without any questioning! Abdul Baha has frankly rejected all standards of recognition including palpable, intellectual and inspirational ones but they have resorted to all intellectual and narrative reasons to prove the legitimacy of this false religion from Bab to Baha and Abdul Baha.
Consequently, their teachings are nothing but illusions and superstitions which aren’t compatible with wisdom and logic. It seems that Hermann Roemer’s view concerning Bahaism and his intellectual rudiments is a correct one. He considers these two cults as gnosis, dualist having sectarian structure fighting against wisdom.
As a matter of fact, the bond between Bahaism and Colonialism and Judaism and also Sufism tendencies of Mirza Hussein Ali Nouri and his two-year relationship with Naghshbandieh dervishes in Kurdistan, Iraq has created a mixture of contradictory thoughts in Bahaism which has been existent so far
[۱] Mirza Hussein Ali Nouri, the Ighan, Egypt, 3 1352 A.H., p. 146.
[۲] Abbas Effendi (Abdul Baha), Mofavezat, pp. 224-225.
[۳] Abdul Baha, Abdul Baha’s sermons in his trip to America and Canada, part 2, Canada, P.150.
[۴] Ibid, vol.1, 227.
[۵] Mirza Hussein Ali Nouri, the Ighan, ibid, 9.
[۶] Shogi Effendi, Eghtedarat, 1310, p. 231.
