tag name Guardianship type: Shoghi Effendi; Terminology web link bahai-library.com/tags/Guardianship variations or mis-spellings Arabic: wiláyah (ولاية); Persian: viláyat (ولایت); Valíyy-i-Amru'lláh ( ولی امرالله ; Guardian of the Cause of God) related tags Covenant referring tags - Shoghi Effendi; Walaya Inventory subject Shoghi Effendi and the Guardianship notes Guardian:
"The Guardianship as an institution was anticipated in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and formally stated in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament, in which He named Shoghi Effendi as 'the guardian of the Cause of God' and 'the expounder of the words of God', whose word was to be infallible and binding on all. His successor was to be appointed by him from his descendants. The Guardian was to act as sole Interpreter of the Bahá'í Scriptures, while power to legislate on questions not mentioned in the Sacred Texts was given exclusively to the Universal House of Justice as whose permanent head he was to serve. When Shoghi Effendi died in 1957, however, the Universal House of Justice had not yet been elected. The successor to the Guardian was to be his first-born son or another male member of the family of Bahá'u'lláh. However, Shoghi Effendi died without children and was unable to appoint a successor from among the members of Bahá'u'lláh's family as they had all broken the Covenant. In 1963 the Universal House of Justice sent the following cable to the Bahá'ís of the world: "After prayerful and careful study of the Holy Texts bearing upon the question of the appointment of the successor to Shoghi Effendi as Guardian of the Cause of God, and after prolonged consultation...the Universal House of Justice finds that there is no way to appoint or legislate to make it possible to appoint a second Guardian to succeed Shoghi Effendi." Thus in one sense the institution of the Guardianship came to an end, because there could be no new Guardians; but in another sense the institution continues on, as the voluminous writings of Shoghi Effendi set a lasting standard of guidance for the future."
Guardianship:
"Institution created by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament to carry on into the future the function of authoritative interpretation of the Sacred Writings and the care and protection of the Bahá'í Faith provided by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The Guardian is the "sacred head and the distinguished member for life" of the Universal House of Justice. The Guardian and the Universal House of Justice are "under the care and protection of the Abhá Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of His Holiness, the Exalted One..." 'Abdu'l-Bahá appointed his grandson Shoghi Effendi as the first Guardian. He provided that "after him will succeed the first-born of his lineal descendants" or, if his child should not manifest the necessary characteristics, that the Guardian would "choose another branch to succeed him". Shoghi Effendi had no children nor did he appoint a successor from among the family of Bahá'u'lláh and therefore no further Guardians can be appointed. The institution of the Guardianship, however, continues. The Universal House of Justice wrote in 1977: "...the word 'guardianship'; is used with various meanings in different contexts. In certain contexts it indicates the office and function of the Guardian himself, in others it refers to the line of Guardians, in still others it bears a more extended meaning embracing the Guardian and his attendant institutions...In the specific sense of referring to the office and function of the Guardian himself, the House of Justice finds that the prerogatives and duties vested in him are of three kinds. First...there are a number of functions and objects which the Guardianship shares with the Universal House of Justice and which the House of Justice must continue to pursue. Secondly, there are functions of the Guardianship which, in the absence of a Guardian devolve upon the Universal House of Justice, for example the Headship of the Faith, the responsibility for directing the work of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause and of ensuring the continuing discharge of the functions of protection and propagation vested in that Institution, and the right to administer the Huqúq'u'lláh. Thirdly, there are those prerogatives and duties which lie exclusively within the sphere of the Guardian himself and, therefore, in the absence of a Guardian, are inoperative except insofar as the monumental work already performed by Shoghi Effendi continues to be of enduring benefit to the Faith. Such a function is that of authoritative interpretation of the Teachings."
– from A Basic Bahá'í Dictionary (1989)
See also:
– Covenant Library Unified Index
bahaidata.org Q4260 · Links to Bahá'í wikis (bahai9, bahaipedia, etc.) references www.lampofsearch.com/p/compilation-wilayah-in-the-bahai; bahaiquotes.com/subject/guardian-second; www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/search#q=Guardianship
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