{"id":7302,"date":"2021-04-20T12:30:13","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T09:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahaismiran.com\/?p=7302"},"modified":"2022-06-11T12:30:37","modified_gmt":"2022-06-11T09:00:37","slug":"contradictions-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahaismiran.com\/?p=7302&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"CONTRADICTIONS – PART 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

RELIGION MUST BE IN CONFORMITY WITH SCIENCE AND\u00a0REASON<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Esslemont (Baha\u2019i author): \u201cThe religious world owes a debt of gratitude to the men of science who helped to tear such worn-out creeds and dogmas to tatters and allowed the truth to step forth free.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: J. E. Esslemont, Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h<\/a> and the New Era, p. 200.<\/p>\n

Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h<\/a>: If you don\u2019t become a Baha\u2019i you are ignorant even if you possess all the science in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf today, someone grasps all of the knowledge on earth but stops at the word \u2018yes\u2019 (meaning does not become a Baha\u2019i), the Lord will not pay attention to him and he will be considered as the most ignorant amongst the people,\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h, Iqtid\u0101r\u0101t wa chand lau\u1e25 d\u012bgar, p. 111.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom now on nobody is to be called knowledgeable, except those who have decorated themselves with the garment of this New Affair (meaning those who have become Baha\u2019is),\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h, Bad\u012b`, pp. 138\u2013\u06f1\u06f3\u06f9\u066b<\/p>\n

If you do not become a Baha\u2019i you have no reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe general criterion is what we mentioned and any soul who has success in it, meaning recognizes and realizes the Sunrise of Manifestation (meaning himself), will be mentioned in the Divine Book as someone who possesses reason or else he will be (mentioned as) ignorant even if he himself thinks that his reason equals that of the whole world,\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference:`Abd a l-\u1e24am\u012bd Ishr\u0101q Kh\u0101war\u012b, M\u0101\u2019idiy-i \u0101sim\u0101n\u012b, vol. 7, p. 160.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one has denied or will deny what has been revealed by the Ancient Pen (meaning himself) in this Most Great Manifestation regarding society, unity, manners, rites, and being occupied with what has benefits for the people, except that he completely lacks reason,\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h, Iqtid\u0101r\u0101t wa chand lau\u1e25 d\u012bgar, p. 168.<\/p>\n

\n

Was the Tablet of Wisdom Revealed in Persian?<\/span><\/p>\n

Shoghi: The tablet of wisdom was revealed in Persian.<\/p>\n

When referring to a problematic matter in the English translation of this tablet he says: \u201cWe must not take this statement too literally; \u201ccontemporary\u201d may have been meant in Persian as something far more elastic than the English word. Likewise, the whole translation probably needs revising (15 February 1947).\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: Article titled Socrates compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice:\u00a0http:\/\/bahai-library.com\/compilation_socrates_bwc<\/a>\u00a0(retrieved<\/p>\n

\u06f1\u06f7\/\u06f2\/\u06f2\u06f0\u06f1\u06f4).<\/p>\n

The tablet was revealed by Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h in Arabic!<\/p>\n

\n

Is Shoghi Infallible?<\/span><\/p>\n

Shoghi: I am only infallible in matters regarding the faith and interpreting it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe infallibility of the Guardian is confined to matters which are related strictly to the Cause and interpretations of the Teachings; he is not an infallible authority on other subjects, such as economics, science, etc,\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, p. 33\u2013\u06f3\u06f4\u066b<\/p>\n

Shoghi makes errors when speaking about Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h\u2019s Tablet of Wisdom and claims it was revealed in Persian while it was revealed in Arabic.<\/p>\n

Refer to Was the Tablet of Wisdom Revealed in Persian?<\/p>\n

\n

Can Shoghi Fit the Role of Being the Authorized Interpreter of Baha\u2019i Texts?<\/span><\/p>\n

`Abdu\u2019l-Bah\u0101: Shoghi is the authoritative interpreter of the words of God.<\/p>\n

\u201cO my loving friends! After the passing away of this wronged one, it is incumbent upon the Aghs\u0101n (Branches), the Afn\u0101n (Twigs) of the Sacred Lote-Tree, the Hands (pillars) of the Cause of God and the loved ones of the Abh\u0101 Beauty to turn unto Shoghi Effendi\u2014the youthful branch branched from the two hallowed and sacred Lote-Trees and the fruit grown from the union of the two offshoots of the Tree of Holiness,\u2014as he is the sign of God, the chosen branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God, he unto whom all the Aghs\u0101n, the Afn\u0101n, the Hands of the Cause of God and His loved ones must turn. He is the Interpreter of the Word of God and after him will succeed the first-born of his lineal descendents,\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference:`Abdu\u2019l-Bah\u0101<\/a>, The Will and Testament of `Abdu\u2019l-Bah\u0101, p. 11.<\/p>\n

Shoghi<\/a> is unsure in interpreting the words of Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h<\/a> and uses the words may and probably.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must not take this statement too literally; \u201ccontemporary\u201d may have been meant in Persian as something far more elastic than the English word. Likewise, the whole translation probably needs revising (15 February 1947),\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: Article titled Socrates compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice:\u00a0http:\/\/bahai-library.com\/compilation_socrates_bwc<\/a><\/p>\n

(retrieved 17\/2\/2014).<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t even consider his own translations as final.<\/p>\n

\u201cConcerning the different translations of the Words. It is surely the original text that should never be changed. The translations will continue to vary as more and better translations are made. Shoghi Effendi<\/a> does not consider even his own translations as final, how much more translations made in the early days of the Cause in the West when no competent translators existed (From a letter on behalf of the Guardian to John Hyde Dunn, 14 August 1930),\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference:\u00a0http:\/\/bahai-library.com\/compilation_provisional_translations<\/a>\u00a0(retrieved 18\/2\/2014).<\/p>\n

\n

Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h and Divine Knowledge: Referring to Books<\/span><\/p>\n

Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h: Whenever I want to quote a book it is revealed in a tablet before my face.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever We desire to quote the sayings of the learned and of the wise, presently there will appear before the face of thy Lord in the form of a tablet all that which hath appeared in the world and is revealed in the Holy Books and Scriptures,\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h, Tablets of Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h Revealed After the Kit\u0101b-i-Aqdas, p. 149.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know that we did not read the books of the people and were unaware of the sciences that they possessed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h, Majm\u016b`ih\u012b az alw\u0101\u1e25 jam\u0101l aqdas abh\u0101 ki ba`d az kit\u0101b Aqdas n\u0101zil shude. (Langenhain [Germany]: Lajniyi Nashr \u0100th\u0101r Amr\u012b Bi Lis\u0101n F\u0101rs\u012b wa `Arab\u012b), p. 89.<\/p>\n

Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h: I searched in vain for a book to see what the author had written in it until I finally found it!<\/p>\n

\u201cAs We had frequently heard about him, We purposed to read some of his works. Although We never felt disposed to peruse other peoples\u2019 writings, yet as some had questioned Us concerning him, We felt it necessary to refer to his books, in order that We might answer Our questioners with knowledge and understanding. His works, in the Arabic tongue, were, however, not available, . . . We sent for the book, and kept it with Us a few days. It was probably referred to twice,\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h, The Kit\u0101b-i-\u012aq\u0101n, pp. 184\u2013\u06f1\u06f8\u06f6\u066b<\/p>\n

I used to read books when I was a child.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis oppressed one in his childhood (\u1e6duf\u016bliyyat) saw the war of the tribe of Quray\u1e93a in a book that belonged to (was authored by) Mull\u0101 B\u0101qir Majlis\u012b, and has been sad and sorrowful ever-since,\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: `Abd al-\u1e24am\u012bd Ishr\u0101q Kh\u0101war\u012b, M\u0101\u2019idiy-i \u0101sim\u0101n\u012b, vol. 7, p. 136<\/p>\n

\n

Had Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h Associated with the Learned and the `Ulam\u0101?<\/span><\/p>\n

`Abdu\u2019l-Bah\u0101: \u201cAs all the people of Persia know, He had never studied in any school, nor had He associated with the `ulam\u0101 or the men of learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: `Abdu\u2019l-Bah\u0101, Some Answered Questions, p. 27.<\/p>\n

`Abdu\u2019l-Bah\u0101: My father used to associate with the learned and the `Ulam\u0101!<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen He was only thirteen or fourteen years old He became renowned for His learning. He would converse on any subject and solve any problem presented to Him. In large gatherings He would discuss matters with the `Ulam\u0101 (leading mull\u0101s) and would explain intricate religious questions. All of them used to listen to Him with the greatest interest,\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: J. E. Esslemont, Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h and the New Era, p. 48<\/p>\n

\u201cIn whatever meeting, scientific assembly or theological discussion He was found, He became the authority of explanation upon intricate and abstruse questions presented,\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: `Abdu\u2019l-Bah\u0101, Bah\u0101\u2019\u012b World Faith\u2014Selected Writings of Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h and `Abdu\u2019l-Bah\u0101 (`Abdu\u2019l-Bah\u0101\u2019s Section Only), p. 220.<\/p>\n

\n

Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h\u2019s Childhood: Happiness or Sorrow?<\/span><\/p>\n

`Abdu\u2019l-Bah\u0101: \u201cThe early part of His life was passed in the greatest happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: `Abdu\u2019l-Bah\u0101, Some Answered Questions, p. 27.<\/p>\n

Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h: \u201cThis oppressed one in his childhood (\u1e6duf\u016bliyyat) saw the war of the tribe of Quray\u1e93a in a book that belonged to (was authored by) Mull\u0101 B\u0101qir Majlis\u012b, and has been sad and sorrowful ever-since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: `Abd al-\u1e24am\u012bd Ishr\u0101q Kh\u0101war\u012b, M\u0101\u2019idiy-i \u0101sim\u0101n\u012b, vol. 7, p. 136.<\/p>\n

\n

When and Where to Bury the Dead<\/span><\/p>\n

Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h: \u201cIt is forbidden you to transport the body of the deceased a greater distance than one hour\u2019s journey from the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h, The Kit\u0101bi Aqdas, p. 230.<\/p>\n

Under Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h and `Abdu\u2019l-Bah\u0101\u2019s orders, this one hour limit changes to fifty years and thousands of kilometers for the B\u0101b!<\/p>\n

\u201cAs observed in a previous chapter the mangled bodies of the B\u0101b and His fellow-martyr, M\u012brz\u0101 Mu\u1e25ammad-`Al\u012b, were removed, in the middle of the second night following their execution, through the pious intervention of \u1e24\u0101j\u012b Sulaym\u0101n Kh\u0101n, from the edge of the moat where they had been cast to a silk factory owned by one of the believers of Mil\u0101n, and were laid the next day in a wooden casket, and thence carried to a place of safety. Subsequently, according to Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h\u2019s instructions, they were transported to \u1e6cihr\u0101n and placed in the shrine of Im\u0101m-Z\u0101dih \u1e24asan. They were later removed to the residence of \u1e24\u0101j\u012b Sulaym\u0101n Kh\u0101n himself in the Sar-Chashmih quarter of the city, and from his house were taken to the shrine of Im\u0101m-Z\u0101dih Ma`\u1e63\u016bm, where they remained concealed until the year 274 1284 A.H. (1867\u2013\u06f1\u06f8\u06f6\u06f8), when a Tablet, revealed by Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h in Adrianople, directed Mull\u0101 `Al\u012b-Akbar-i-Sh\u0101hm\u012brz\u0101d\u012b and Jam\u0101l-i-Bur\u016bjird\u012b to transfer them without delay to some other spot . . . \u1e24\u0101j\u012b Sh\u0101h Mu\u1e25ammad buried the casket beneath the floor of the inner sanctuary of the shrine of Im\u0101m-Z\u0101dih Zayd, where it lay undetected until M\u012brz\u0101 Asadu\u2019ll\u0101h-i-I\u1e63fah\u0101n\u012b was informed of its exact location through a chart forwarded to him by Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h. Instructed by Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h to conceal it elsewhere, he first removed the remains to his own house in \u1e6cihr\u0101n, after which they were deposited in several other localities such as the house of \u1e24usayn-\u2018Al\u012by-i-I\u1e63fah\u0101n\u012b and that of Mu\u1e25ammad-Kar\u012bm-i-\u2018A\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101r, where they remained hidden until the year 1316 (1899) A.H., when, in pursuance of directions issued by \u2018Abdu\u2019l-Bah\u0101, this same M\u012brz\u0101 Asadu\u2019ll\u0101h, together with a number of other believers, transported them by way of I\u1e63fah\u0101n, Kirmansh\u0101h, Baghd\u0101d and Damascus, to Beirut and thence by sea to \u2018Akk\u0101, arriving at their destination on the 19th of the month of Ramad\u0101n 1316 A.H. (January 31, 1899), fifty lunar years after the B\u0101b\u2019s execution in Tabr\u012bz,\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, pp. 273\u2013\u06f2\u06f7\u06f4\u066b<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RELIGION MUST BE IN CONFORMITY WITH SCIENCE AND\u00a0REASON Esslemont (Baha\u2019i author): \u201cThe religious world owes a debt of gratitude to the men of science who helped to tear such worn-out creeds and dogmas to tatters and allowed the truth to step forth free.\u201d Reference: J. E. Esslemont, Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h and the New Era, p. 200. Bah\u0101\u2019u\u2019ll\u0101h: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[685],"tags":[1692,6051,6053,6055],"class_list":["post-7302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category---en","tag-bahai-creed","tag-criterion","tag-knowledgeable","tag-reasonable"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaismiran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaismiran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaismiran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaismiran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaismiran.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7302"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bahaismiran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7304,"href":"https:\/\/bahaismiran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7302\/revisions\/7304"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaismiran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaismiran.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaismiran.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaismiran.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}