As a cult which has been founded in the 19th century and followed its development in current 200 years, Bahaism doesn’t possess many teachings about epistemology. While the epistemological approach hasn’t been indifferent with investigating intellectual issues during this period of time in the western world and among the Islamic worlds.
Abdul Baha‘s speech during his trip to Europe and America in his various visits included epistemological issues found in the Baha’i leaders’ works.
The topic of most of these speeches are concerning the means and extent of recognition. Citing three recognition means (sense, wisdom and narration) and in another place (sense, wisdom and witness) which practically includes four recognition means, Abdul Baha has considered them as inadequate and doesn’t confirm the mentioned standards. Instead, he mentions the worthy of the grace of holy spirit as individualistic recognition means which is infallible.[1]
The first note in presenting the grace of the holy spirit as recognition means occurring in person’s mind is that basically receiving the grace of the holy spirit totally is merely fulfilled for prophets who have religious laws.
Contrary to other recognition means (sense, wisdom, narration and even inspiration), this grace with its total form is not available naturally for mankind; thus, it can’t be counted as a general means and criterion to recognize human being correctly.
Additionally, there isn’t any sign of recognizing the owner of the holy spirit’s grace or the very source of the faith in the Baha’i leaders’ statements. Basically the criterion for recognizing inspiration for them is nothing but the claiming of the claimant of receiving inspiration or the grace of the holy spirit.
Bahaullah and his son Abdul Baha have considered science as the criterion for evaluating the religion, while science is resulted by using sense and wisdom power by human being in an exploratory manner.
Consequently, the explanation of the Baha’is concerning the relationship between religion and science, has two problems:
Firstly, that which is indisputably infallible and free from blemish-namely, the emanations of the Holy Spirit-is made contingent upon the judgment of another faculty (reason); the implication of this contingency is an admission that religion is incomplete and that there is a possibility of error in the very source of religion-the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Secondly, knowledge and learning are posited as the criteria for judging religion, yet knowledge and learning are the products of reason and the senses-both of which are prone to error and, as explicitly stated by Abdul-Baha, are unreliable.
Source: Hossein Rahnamaei, *The Baha’i Movement*, pp.
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[۱] Abdul Baha, Mofavezat, p. 225.
