The existence of authoritative interpretations does not preclude the individual from engaging in the study of the Teachings and thereby arriving at a personal interpretation or understanding. A clear distinction is, however, drawn in the Bahá’í Writings between authoritative interpretation and the understanding that each individual arrives at from a study of its Teachings. Individual interpretations based on a person's understanding of the Teachings constitute the fruit of man's rational power and may well contribute to a greater comprehension of the Faith. Such views, nevertheless, lack authority. In presenting their personal ideas, individuals are cautioned not to discard the authority of the revealed words, not to deny or contend with the authoritative interpretation, and not to engage in controversy; rather they should offer their thoughts as a contribution to knowledge, making it clear that their views are merely their own.
Authenticity
Although the secretaries of the Guardian convey his thoughts and instructions and these messages are authoritative, their words are in no sense the same as his, their style certainly not the same, and their authority less, for they use their own terms and not his exact words in conveying his messages.
As to the question raised by the Racine Assembly in connection with Bahá’u’lláh's statement in the 'Gleanings' concerning the sacrifice of Ishmael, although this statement does not agree with that made in the Bible, Genesis 22.9, the friends should unhesitatingly, and for reasons that are only too obvious, give precedence to the sayings of Bahá’u’lláh which, it should be pointed out, are fully corroborated by the Qur'án, which book is more authentic than the Bible including both the New and the Old Testaments. The Bible is not Wholly authentic, and in this respect is not to be compared with the Qur'án, and should be wholly subordinated to the authentic writings of Bahá’u’lláh.
Bahá’u’lláh has made it clear enough that only those things that have been revealed in the form of Tablets have a binding power over the Friends. Hearsays may be matters of interest but can in no way claim authority. This basic teaching of Bahá’u’lláh was to preserve the Faith from being corrupted like Islam which attributes binding authority to all the reported sayings of Muhammad.
He would also urge you to attach no importance to the stories told about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá or to those attributed to Him by the Friends. These should be regarded in the same light as the notes and impressions of visiting pilgrims. They need not be suppressed, but they also should not be given prominence or official recognition.
I urge them to study profoundly the revealed utterances of Bahá’u’lláh and the discourses of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and not to rely unduly on the representation and interpretation of the Teachings given by Bahá’í speakers and teachers.
I wish to add and say that whatever letters are sent in my behalf from Haifa are all read and approved by me before mailing.1 There is no exception whatever to this rule.
I wish to call your attention to certain things in "Principles of Bahá’í Administration" which has just reached the Guardian; although the material is good, he feels that the complete lack of quotation marks is very misleading. His own words, the words of his various secretaries, even the Words of Bahá’u’lláh Himself, are all lumped together as one text. This is not only not reverent in the case of Bahá’u’lláh's Words, but misleading. Although the secretaries of the Guardian convey his thoughts and instructions and these messages are authoritative, their words are in no sense the same as his, their style certainly not the same, and their authority less, for they use their own terms and not his exact words in conveying his messages. He feels that in any future edition this fault should be remedied, any quotations from Bahá’u’lláh or the Master plainly attributed to them, and the words of the Guardian clearly differentiated from those of his secretaries.
Much of the confusion that has obscured the understanding of the believers should be attributed to this double error involved in the inexact rendering of an only partially understood statement. Not infrequently has the interpreter even failed to convey the exact purport of the inquirer's specific questions, and, by his deficiency of understanding and expression in conveying the answer of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, has been responsible for reports wholly at variance with the true spirit and purpose of the Cause. It was chiefly in view of the misleading nature of the reports of the informal conversations of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with visiting pilgrims, that I have insistently urged the believers of the West to regard such statements as merely personal impressions of the sayings of their Master, and to quote and consider as authentic only such translations as are based upon the authenticated text of His recorded utterances in the original tongue.
Nothing can be considered Scripture, for which we do not have an original text.
Regarding "‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London": Nothing can be considered scripture for which we do not have an original text. A verbatim record in Persian of His talks would of course be more reliable than one in English, because He was not always accurately interpreted. However such a book is of value, and certainly has its place in our Literature.
Shoghi Effendi has laid down a principle that the Bahá’ís should not attribute much importance to talks, reported to have been given by the Master, if these have not in one form or other obtained His sanction.
The infallibility of the Guardian is confined to matters which are related strictly to the Cause and interpretation of the teachings; he is not an infallible authority on other subjects, such as economics, science, etc. When he feels that a certain thing is essential for the protection of the Cause, even if it is something that affects a person personally, he must be obeyed, but when he gives advice, such as that he gave you in a previous letter about your future, it is not binding; you are free to follow it or not as you please.
We cannot be sure of the authenticity, word for word, of any of the past Holy Scriptures except the Qur'án, as they were either not written down during the Prophet's lifetime or have been changed in the course of time and the originals lost.
Shoghi Effendi has often said that the notes of the pilgrims should be for their own personal use and bear absolutely no authority. What he desires to convey to the friends at large he will always say in his general letters.
As to whether the materials prepared by the Research Department constitute the authoritative word of the Universal House of Justice on a particular subject, as raised in your third question, the House of Justice indicates that such materials, though prepared at its direction, represent the views of that Department. While such views are very useful as an aid to resolving perplexities or gaining an enhanced understanding of the Bahá’í Teachings, they should never be taken to be in the same category as the elucidations and clarifications provided by the Universal House of Justice in the exercise of its assigned functions. However, the House of Justice chooses to convey the materials prepared by the Research Department to the friends because it wishes them to be thoughtfully attended to and seriously considered.
As to whether there is a distinction between correspondence from the World Centre that has been signed "The Universal House of Justice" and that signed on behalf of the Secretariat: In brief, the manner in which each of these letters is prepared depends upon the contents of the letter. Drafts of letters which contain newly formulated policies are consulted upon and approved during a meeting of the House of Justice; correspondence dealing with previously enunciated policies, or with matters of a routine nature, are prepared, as delegated by the House of Justice, by its Secretariat and initialed by at least the majority of the members of the House of Justice before being dispatched. All letters written over the signature of the Department of the Secretariat are authorized by the Universal House of Justice.
From the above extracts it seems fairly clear that letters written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi "related strictly to the Cause and interpretation of the teachings" constitute authoritative Bahá’í text, while any personal advice which they may contain is not binding. The Guardian's statement that he reviewed every letter written on his behalf without exception makes it clear that the authority of the letters was independent of whatever personal "sufferings" might have been caused by certain secretaries, and that there was no "delegation" whatsoever of his interpretative authority, but merely a use of secretarial assistance for his huge burden of correspondence.
In a message dated 27 May 1966 (no. 35) the Universal House of Justice explains the clear distinction the Bahá’í Faith makes between authoritative interpretation and the interpretation or understanding of individuals. The Bahá’í Faith has two sources of authoritative interpretation: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Whose authority is derived from His appointment in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Ki tab-i-'Ahd (Book of the Covenant) as the Centre of Bahá’u’lláh's Covenant, and the Guardian, whose authority is derived from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's Will and Testament.
In response to your letter of 17 February 1987, asking whether it is in order to quote excerpts from “Star of the West”, “Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Abbas” and “Bahá’í Scriptures” at Nineteen Day Feasts or on other public occasions, the Universal House of Justice has directed us to advise you that there is no objection to citing verbally passages published in “Star of the West” and the other publications mentioned, in discussion groups or at Nineteen Day Feasts, etc. However, if such passages are to be included in new publications, it would be preferable to check with the World Centre, so that if original texts have become available, the original translations could be checked and, as necessary, improved upon.
Marriage Tablet attributed to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Concerning the authenticity of this Tablet attributed to the Master, a letter dated 30 June 1987, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, stated: “We are instructed to say that this is not a Tablet, but an unauthenticated record by Ahmad Sohrab of a talk by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The friends may use it, but it should be made clear that this is not Scripture and it should not be printed in a compilation of prayers and Tablets.”
'My home is the home of...': In a letter dated 5 November 1992 written on its behalf, the Universal House of Justice indicated that: “This quotation is taken from an excerpt from the Diary of Mirzá Ahmad Sohrab which was published in 'Star of the West', vol. IX, No. 3, p.39. It is not an authentic text, but is to be regarded as a pilgrim's note.”
'O Lord! Open Thou the door....' An English translation of the first sentence of the prayer submitted by Mr. ... is published in the United States Bahá’í News, May 1973, no. 506, p. 14. As to its authenticity, the opening phrases of this prayer are found in a very long prayer, revealed in Arabic, which is published in Min Makátíb ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (Rio de Janeiro: Editora Bahá’í Brasil, 1982), vol. 1, pp. 9-12. However, the remainder of the English translation, starting with 'that we may be guided', is not contained in that prayer, and the Research Department has not been able to locate an original text which could have been used for that translation. Therefore, aside from the opening phrases, the validity of this prayer is questionable.
The collection and collation of the Sacred Writings is an ongoing process, and the numbers are continually being revised. While past statistics, such as those referred to by Mr. Shafa, were based on counting the number of originals, transcriptions, and drafts held in the Archives, and included an element of double counting, the collation work has now reached a stage where estimates of the numbers of unique works can be given, as follows:
· For Bahá’u’lláh, well over 18,000 unique works have been identified, comprising over
six million words. Of these works, nearly 15,000 have been authenticated by the Archives Office so far.
· For the Báb, over 2,000 unique works have been identified, comprising almost five
million words. The works of the Báb have not yet been formally authenticated.
· For ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, over 30,000 unique works have been identified, comprising over
five million words. Of these works, over 27,000 have been authenticated by the
Archives Office to date.
· For Shoghi Effendi, well over 34,000 unique works have been identified, also comprising over five million words. Of these works, over 33,000 have been authenticated by the Archives Office.
The instructions of the Master and the Guardian make it very clear that pilgrims' notes are hearsay and cannot claim the authority and binding power of the Sacred Text.... Moreover, the fact that the pilgrim writing of his experience is a reliable or well-known believer, or that the reported statement seems to be repeated in the notes of several pilgrims, does not in itself confer authority upon the pilgrim's note in question.
The original of "Some Answered Questions" in Persian is preserved in the Holy Land; its text was read in full and corrected by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself. Unfortunately, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá did not read and authenticate all transcripts of His other talks, some of which have been translated into various languages and published. For many of His addresses included in "The Promulgation of Universal Peace" and "Paris Talks", for example, no original authenticated text has yet been found. However, the Guardian allowed such compilations to continue to be used by the friends. In the future each talk will have to be identified and those which are unauthenticated will have to be clearly distinguished from those which form a part of Bahá’í Scripture. This does not mean that the unauthenticated talks will have to cease to be used -- merely that the degree of authenticity of every document will have to be known and understood.
The passage sometimes attributed to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which begins, 'Yá Bahá'u'l-Abhá! In this cry, all the cries of the universe are sounded...' cannot be considered authentic. The Research Department has been unable to find, either in English or in Persian, such a statement attributed to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
The Research Department can not, at present, provide a detailed listing of which extracts from "Foundations of World Unity" and "Bahá’í World Faith" are authentic and which are not as, to date, such a listing has not been compiled . . . We note that the majority of the passages in "Foundations of World Unity" are extracted from talks of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá published in "The Promulgation of Universal Peace".
The Research Department has no information about why, specifically, the editors of "Unfolding Destiny" decided that letters written by the Guardian's secretaries on his behalf could not be included in the book unless they were accompanied by notations in the Guardian's handwriting. Mr. ... may wish to inquire further from Mr. XXX or from the Publishing Trust in this regard.
There is also an important distinction made in the Faith between authoritative interpretation, as described above, and the interpretation which every believer is fully entitled to voice. Believers are free, indeed are encouraged, to study the Writings for themselves and to express their understanding of them. Such personal interpretations can be most illuminating, but all Bahá’ís, including the one expressing the view, however learned he may be, should realize that it is only a personal view and can never be upheld as a standard for others to accept, nor should disputes ever be permitted to arise over differences in such opinions.
The Star of the West is, as you will realize, historically unique, not only because of its position in the early history of the Cause in the West, but most important, because of its close association with the Master. He highly commended its publication and even wrote for it. In view of this, the House of Justice felt that republication in its exact text, would be a valuable addition to available Bahá’í literature, and give the friends some insight into the early days of the Faith in the West.
With regard to the status of the prayer, "O God! Refresh and gladden my spirit" . . . all attempts to locate the original text of the prayer have, so far, proved unsuccessful. In the absence of the text it is not possible to authenticate, completely, the prayer in question.
Divine Philosophy and Bahá’í Scripturesboth are in Oceanhave not been reprinted, and do not appear on the Bahá’í Reference Library site. The unauthenticated content of these works is not addressed in the House’s 1996 letter because it was written prior to the creation of Ocean.
In the future, each talk or Tablet will have to be identified and those which are unauthenticated will have to be clearly distinguished from those which form a part of Bahá’í Scripture. This does not mean that the use of unauthenticated talks or Tablets will have to cease; it merely means that the degree of authenticity or every document will have to be known and understood.
One general issue that will need to be addressed is that the manuscript frequently uses old, unreliable sources, primarily for words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. There are many citations to Divine Philosophy, Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Abbas, Star of the West, the ‘Abdu’l-Bahá section of Bahá’í World Faith, a book found in Ocean called Bahá’í Prayers 9, and Bahá’í Scriptures. Based on guidance from the Bahá’í World Center, it is best in new publications to replace these quotes with similar passages from more recent reliable sources, unless one wishes to check their authenticity / translation with the World Center. For oral statements recorded in Star of the West or Divine Philosophy, if more recently published equivalents cannot be found it might be suitable to use the quotes but introduce them as “‘Abdu’l-Bahá is reported to have said . . . .” Statements that purport to be from His Writings, however, need to be clearly authenticated and well translated. We expect that given the general nature of most of these quotes, replacing them should not be too difficult.
Thou hast written concerning the pilgrims and pilgrim's notes. Any narrative that is not authenticated by a Text should not be trusted. Narratives, even if true, cause confusion. For the people of Bahá, the Text, and only the Text, is authentic.
