This file consists of three letters about William Miller's book The Baha'i Faith: Its History and Teachings (see review, also at this site), its covenant-breaker content, and the photo of Baha'u'llah it contains. First is a query sent to the Universal House of Justice by a believer, followed by the House's response. This contains two brief compilations, the first on Photographs of Baha'u'llah and the second on Writings of Covenant-breakers and other Enemies of the Faith. Third are two brief paragraphs from two different letters appended here because of their relevance. Letters submitted by and posted with permission of recipient.-J.W.
Part One: To the Universal House of Justice
Part Two: Response from the Universal House of Justice 2Photographs of Baha'u'llahPart Three: Paragraphs from two related letters
Writings of Covenant-breakers and other Enemies of the FaithI. From 'Abdu'l-Baha
II. From Shoghi Effendi
III. From the Universal House of JusticeLetter One
Letter Two
The Universal House of Justice
Research Department
Dear friends:
I have a few questions I wonder if you can answer from your files. If it is not possible to answer them without referring to the House of Justice, I would prefer not having them answered, as I do not wish to trouble the House of Justice.
1. I have heard many reasons why the friends do not have copies of the photograph of Baha'u'llah, such as the friends should avoid praying to it, etc., but I have never heard an official reason. Have the Guardian or the House of Justice pronounced on this?
2. I have heard that Baha'is are forbidden from reading Covenant-breaker materials, whether old Covenant-breakers or current ones. I assume that this is the case, and do not read them when I come across them. However, I have not read an express directive on this subject. I have, of course, read the materials on the subject of avoidance of the Covenant-breakers themselves.
One final thing I have heard we should not have: 3. The book attacking the Faith, by William Miller.
I assure you that it is not that I feel deprived; I merely want to separate rumor from actual Baha'i teachings. These questions come up with some regularity. I am very grateful for your assistance.
With warmest Baha'i love, xxxx
June 26, 1980
Mr. xxxx,
Dear Baha'i Friend,
[Personal greetings deleted...] The House of Justice requests us to reply to your questions as follows.
It is apparent in letters written on behalf of the Guardian that he did not approve the publication of any photograph of Baha'u'llah, and regarded such publication to be offensive to religious feeling. Nor did he approve that the photograph be exposed openly to the public, even in Baha'i homes. Only on special occasions did he permit the photograph to be displayed, and then he urged that it be done with the utmost reverence. The House of Justice, basing its comments on these instructions, has written a few letters to friends who have inquired about this subject and related matters, and for your guidance a compilation of extracts of these letters is enclosed.
In reply to your inquiry about the writings of Covenant-breakers and your reference to the book on the Faith by William Miller, a selection of instructions and guidelines on these subjects is also attached. The House of Justice hopes you will find the material useful.
We have been requested to assure you that prayers will be offered at the Holy Shrines as you request.
With loving Baha'i greetings,
For Department the Secretariat
Encs.
"It would be good to advise the young Persian believer who has this
picture that, while we do not wish to suggest that he should remove the
photograph from his book, it would be inappropriate for him to show it to
others in a casual manner. As you know, the photograph of Baha'u'llah is
very precious and it should be handled with due reverence and respect."
(From a letter dated 7 February 1972 written by the Universal House of
Justice to an individual believer)
"The portraits of the Bab and Baha'u'llah should be shown infrequently and on very special occasions, such as a special observance connected with an event intimately associated with the Forerunner or Founder of our Faith.
"We do not think that the regular National Convention is such a special
occasion, and we feel that the privilege of displaying these very precious
portraits should not be abused."
(From a letter dated 12 July 1973 written by the Universal House of
Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of Panama)
"As to Khayru'llah's book: The blessing of God will be cut off from the
house in which a copy of it is found, inasmuch as it is sheer slander.
Should one compare his first book with his second, one would readily
discover to what extent their texts are contradictory and how much he has
lied. In fact the motive behind his second book was but to deceive and
mislead the people. Hence God uprooted him, humbled him to dust and
reduced him to utter perdition.
(From a letter dated 2 October 1906 to
an individual believer)
"It is better not to read books by Covenant Breakers because they are
haters of the Light, sufferers from a spiritual leprosy, so to speak. But
books by well meaning yet unenlightened enemies of the Cause can be read
so as to refute their charges."
(From a letter dated 19 March 1945 written on behalf of the Guardian to
an individual believer)
"Regarding the pamphlets of the Covenant-breakers received in Tihran the
Guardian stated that these papers which are not worthy of any attention
whatsoever were received in the Holy Land. Any further material sent in
the future should be ignored, and no refutation or reply be given, because
the material is regarded as baseless distortion of truth."
(From a letter dated 16 November 1947 written on behalf of the Guardian
to the National Spiritual Assembly of Persia - translated from the Persian)
III. From the Universal House of Justice
"To read the writings of Covenant-breakers is not forbidden to the believers and does not constitute in itself an act of Covenant-breaking. Indeed, some of the Baha'is have the unpleasant duty to read such literature as part of their responsibilities for protecting the Cause of Baha'u'llah. However, the friends are warned in the strongest terms against reading such literature because Covenant-breaking is a spiritual
poison and the calumnies and distortions of the truth which the
Covenant-breakers give out are such that they can undermine the faith of
the believer and plant the seeds of doubt unless he is forearmed with an
unshakable belief in Baha'u'llah and His Covenant and a knowledge of the
true facts."
(From a letter dated 29 October 1974 to the National Spiritual Assembly of
Switzerland)
"In reply to your letter of 16 March 1976 (regarding books by William
Miller) the Universal House of Justice instructs us to say that it is to
be expected that books will be written against the Faith attempting to
distort its teachings, to denigrate its accomplishments, to vilify its
Founders and leaders and to destroy its very foundations. The friends
should not be unduly exercised when these books appear and certainly no
issue should be made of them. There should be no attempt made to destroy
or remove such books from libraries. On the other hand there is no need at
all for the friends to acquire them, and indeed, the best plan is to
ignore them entirely."
(From a letter dated 30 March 1976 to the National Spiritual Assembly of
Hong Kong)
"It is true that should a believer read the writings of Covenant-breakers
or enemies of the Cause and permit these words to instill doubts about the
truth of Baha'u'llah's Cause such a believer would then be considered as
having been infected by the poison of Covenant-breaking. However, since
you returned the book to your local library upon being informed of the true
nature of its contents and told your District Teaching Committee and your
National Spiritual Assembly about the matter, it is clear that you took
the correct steps and should therefore, with complete confidence, turn to
Baha'u'llah for protection and guidance, fully assured that His promise to
assist those who turn to Him will be fulfilled."
(From a letter dated 29 March 1977 to an individual believer)
"The House of Justice has instructed us to say that, as you are no doubt
aware, it is not prohibited for Baha'âs to read the writings of
Covenant-breakers, but they are warned strongly of the dangers of doing
so, as the misrepresentations and calumnies in such writings can erode
one's faith."
(From a letter dated 12 October 1978 to an individual believer)
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