A critique on the justification of two different emergences and religious laws in a short distance

Claiming by Mirza Ali Mohammad Shirazi as the new prophet of the present age and gaining followers for himself, a significant number of them claimed for his succession after his death and introduced themselves as the Promised One or the one whom God will manifest about whom that the Bab had given good news. One of these people who was able to attract more Babis to himself was Mirza Hossein Ali Nouri entitled Baha’u’llah. He introduced himself as the next advent. After this event, the Baha’is sought to justify the two consecutive emergences, the Bab and Baha’u’llah, in less than ten years, and tried to prove these two emergences by using the verses of the holy Qur’an and traditions, as well as the history of the two emergences in previous religions. This article responds these justifications and shows that the use of verses and traditions and even the history of the prophets to prove it is fundamentally wrong, and Baha’is and Baha’i leaders have interpreted the verses and traditions according to their opinions, and in fact attempted to steal and change Islamic teachings and have created credibility for their self-made and unknown religion.

  ۱- Introduction

On the night of the fifth of Jumadi al-Awli of the lunar year 1260, corresponding to May 22, 1844 AD, Mirza Ali Mohammad Shirazi claimed for being the gate for Imam of the time (PBUH) in the presence of Mullah Hossein Beshrouyee – a student who sought to find the new fourth pillar after the death of his teacher Seyyed Kazem Rashti.[1] After a while, he considered himself not only the absent Imam, but also the owner of the highest and greatest position of the owner of the world, and considered himself the evangelist of a humble order and invited the kings all over the world to leave the world and follow his teachings and called himself the inheritor of the earth and what exist in it and invited the people to the religious law, whose principles, rulings, and social principles are contrary to their Muslim limits, affairs, and beliefs[2]. He was finally executed on the 28th day of Sha’ban, 1266 AH corresponding to the 9th July 1850 AD, by the order of Amir the Great[3]. Two years after the Báb’s death, in the 9th year of Badi’, Baha’u’llah claimed a new manifestation in Tehran’s dungeon[4].

Considering this short interval between the two claimants of the emergence, that is, the Bab and Baha’u’llah, and the early abrogation of the Bab’s religious law, the Baha’is have justified these two consecutive emergences by citing reasons. This article describes these reasons and their criticism and answers to doubts 10 and 11 of the ” the Booklet Answering to Clear Doubts”.

  ۲- Using the concept of far and blind

According to the Baha’is’ claim, the prophets of the past were sent for about six thousand years, in a period of time that begins with Adam (pbuh) and ends with Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). This six-thousand-year period which is called Adam’s blindness has been compared to the period of human childhood. During this period, the Prophets prepared mankind to enter the period of maturity and youth at the end of the mentioned period (i.e. the end of time and the resurrection of the six-thousand-year period from Adam to the end according to the Baha’is). Entering the new stage of human maturity, after about six thousand years of childhood, was so sensitive and important and the need to prepare for great changes in human culture in the global dimension was so vital and required such intense spiritual powers that it was necessary for two successive emergences to occur.[5]

۱-۲- The meaning of blind

In Baha’i creed, blind means an infinitely long period of time during which the Holy Manifestations are sent with independent books and religious law and the establishment of new rules ordered by the old owner. The first blind in the chain of existing religions of the world started with the appearance of Prophet Adam six thousand years ago and became the foundation of the successive emergences of manifestations that were sent one after the other in different eras by the Lord to the mission and guidance of the creation, and despite the fact that each one has a new book.  And they were independent religious law, but all those apparitions are attributed to the blind man. The emergence of great prophets such as Prophet Moses (pbuh), Prophet Jesus (pbuh), Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his descendants, and other prophets during the past six thousand years are considered to be submissive and subservient to the Adam blind (Ghoharriz, Baha’i blind and distant, p. 5).

Shoghi Effendi says in this regard: “From Adam to the end of the Prophets, such as Musa bin Imran, Jesus ibn Maryam, and Muhammad ibn Abdullah (pbuh) each of whom was sent having a new book in different times among the various tribes and clans and were  empowered in establishing the laws and legislation of the religious law, establishing rituals and establishing traditions…[۶].

According to the belief of the Baha’is, the first blind will end in Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the second blind will be the blind of Baha’u’llah, which will last no less than five hundred thousand years. Shoghi says in this regard: “The Excellency Bab’s holy apparition is considered to be the confluence of two great divine blinds, that is, with the blessed rising, Adam blind, the beginning of the written history of religions is related to the holy Baha’i blind whose extension will not be infinitely long and will not be less than five hundred thousand years. [7]Therefore, the claim of Babism by Mirza Ali Mohammad Shirazi on the night of fifth of Jumadi al-Awali in the lunar year 1260 is the origin of blindness that must be continued for five hundred thousand years.

۲-۲ meaning of period of time

A period is a long period of time that includes unlimited and incalculable ages and covenants along which the manifestations of emergence   have been appointed and the rules has been established according to the talent of the people and lead the people towards evolution and progress. For the first time, Shoghi Effendi identified the blind divisions of Baha’i in the blessed writings. According to these divisions, the first phase of the Baha’i blind which is predicted for five hundred thousand years will begin with the Baha’i era whose founder is Hossein Ali Nouri who is both the legislator of the Baha’i era and the founder of this blind. This era will not be less than a thousand years and is considered the most honorable era because two apparitions occurred in it, one is the apparition of the Bab and the other is the apparition of Baha’u’llah.

Abdu’l-Bahá also says in the definition of an era: “Each of the manifestations of the divine appearance has an era, when during that period his laws and religious law are current and effective, when his era leads to the appearance of a new manifestation, a new era begins and in this way the eras come and ends and renews, until a whole period in the world of existence comes to an end… we call it the whole period of the world of existence, it consists of a long period of countless centuries and ages, and during that period, manifestations appear in the realm of intuition, until the  total emergence A great whole will make the horizons the center of illumination and his appearance will cause the world to mature. His period is very long. Appearances will be sent under his shadow later, and according to the expediencies of the time, they will renew some of the rules that are related to physicality and transactions, but they are under his shadow”.[8]

۲-۳- Criticisms on the concept of era and blind

۱-۳-۲- The displaced Use of two words far and blind by Baha’i leaders

First of all, it is important to mention that such a division has not been seen in the previous religions and we have not found any divine religion that has a division based on this. In addition, in various positions, Baha’i leaders have used these two words contrary to the definition they have provided. Here are some examples:

Abdu’l-Bahá says: “We are in an era whose beginning is Adam and whose total appearance is the Blessed Beauty”[9]. Here, instead of the word blind, the word era has been used about Adam. Additionally, he considered Baha’u’llah also in the framework of this period.

He also writes in another place: “Look at Al-Dur al-Musavi… and fi Kur al-Masih… and fi al-Dur al-Muhammadi” (Abdu’l-Bahá, Makatib, vol. 1, p. 130). You will notice that about the Excellency Masih (pbuh), blind is used and blind is used about the Excellency Musa (pbuh) and the Excellency Muhammad (pbuh).

He made this mistake again and wrote: “And it was a Mohammedan era and blind which is a thousand years after the sunset until the appearance of the Excellency the most high”[10] . Here, both “blind” and “era” are used about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

In this case, the Bab also used a meaning contrary to the stated definition and said: “If anyone who were in the Qur’an blind before saw this meaning… and also in the Bayan expression”[11]. Note that he used the word “blind” only for the era of the Qur’an and the expression of both, while according to the definition provided, it should be “era” and not “blind”.

۲-۳-۲ Contradiction with the discussion of the expediencies of the time

The most important criticism on the concept of era and blind is the discussion of the expediencies of time. According to the Baha’is, religion is a matter of history and time. Every religion spends its initial period of birth with initial vitality and with the change of historical conditions and requirements, it gradually reaches its meridian. With the emergence of distortions and superstitions and the spread of untrue things, the veil of illusion and imitation of the followers gradually covers the religion and they forget its advices and teachings, and the religion reaches its old age and loses its ability to illuminate and guide[12].

As mentioned, the Baha’i era extends for a thousand years, and anyone who makes a claim before that is a liar. Baha’u’llah says about this: “A person who claims a faith before the completion of a thousand complete years is a liar”[13]. Therefore, no one must claim to create a new era after Baha’u’llah for a thousand years.

Abdu’l-Baha says in the interpretation of this statement: “You asked about the verse “A person who claims a faith before the completion of a thousand complete years is a liar”. The goal is that a soul who claims a faith before the known thousand years by people is of the liars. This does not mean a general appearance as is explicitly mentioned in the blessed verses that centuries will pass and thousands of years will expire in order for this appearance to appear. However, it will be possible for some of the holy souls to be successful in a faith, but not a general appearance. Therefore; in truth; in the Blessed Beauty blind, every day is a year and every year is a thousand years… But the Blessed Beauty blind and the Great Name age is years and times. Additionally, that blind and age is not bound by one thousand and two thousands … The meaning of this phrase is that the beginning of this thousand is the appearance of the Blessed Beauty, and each day is one thousand years. The aim of age and blind is the Blessed Beauty which is for a long time and many times”[14].

Therefore; according to Abdul-Baha, not only will another age not begin in the next thousand years, but if we consider each day as a thousand years, it will take another 365 million years for another age to begin. Therefore, this is completely in contradiction with the discussion that Baha’is have about the necessity of renewing religions.

On the other hand, the appearance of a new religion shortly after the death of Bab is also in contradiction with the discussion of the expediencies of the times, because during this period of time, the times did not change in order for a new religion to come from God to guide mankind and even the commandments of the book Bayan had not yet been fully implemented. Besides, the veil of illusion had not yet fallen on it and the ritual of expression had not reached old age.

[۱] Shoqi, Qur’an Badi , p. 43

[۲] ibid., p. 52

[۳] ibid., p. 137

[۴] ibid., p. 205

[۵] pamphlet of Answers to Doubts, p. 26

[۶] Shoqi, the blessed writings addressed to the disciples of the East, p. 293

[۷] Shouqi, Qarn Badi, p. 138

[۸] Abdu’l-Bahá, Conversationations, p. 121

[۹] Abdu’l-Bahá, Discussions, p. 121

[۱۰] ibid., vol. 2, p. 75

[۱۱] Bab, the Persian Bayan, p. 175

[۱۲] Fath Azam, in Identification of Baha’i, p. 43

[۱۳] Baha’u’llah, the Aqdas, p. 34

[۱۴] Abdul-Baha, Selections from the Schools of the Excellency Abdul-Baha, Vol. 1, pp. 64 and 65