I have moved on from A Short Introduction of the Baha’i Faith, and have started in earnest on the Katab-I-Iqan, the Book of Certitude written by Baha’u'llah himself. I won’t be able to finish it, as I have gotten too far behind on my university readings as it is. But I am almost half way through part one, so I hope to finish at least that much before the month is up.

The Iqan is the Baha’i primary theological work, and one of the most sacred texts. It was written whilst Baha’u'llah was exiled in Baghdad, over the course of two days and two nights, in order to prove himself as a prophet to his uncle. The book is divided into two parts, the first sets up the principles of progressive revelation over time, and the unity of religions. The second part is made up of arguments for the Bab’s position as a prophet.

It is a really fascinating read, full of some very eloquent passages that I would like to share here.

The essence of these words is this: they that tread the path of faith, they that thirst for the wine of certitude, must cleanse themselves of all that is earthly—their ears from idle talk, their minds from vain imaginings, their hearts from worldly affections, their eyes from that which perisheth. They should put their trust in God, and, holding fast unto Him, follow in His way. Then will they be made worthy of the effulgent glories of the sun of divine knowledge and understanding, and become the recipients of a grace that is infinite and unseen, inasmuch as man can never hope to attain unto the knowledge of the All-Glorious, can never quaff from the stream of divine knowledge and wisdom, can never enter the abode of immortality, nor partake of the cup of divine nearness and favour, unless and until he ceases to regard the words and deeds of mortal men as a standard for the true understanding and recognition of God and His Prophets.

This opening passage reminded me of the philosophical life of Socrates, Plato, and some of the later Hellenistic thinkers. They all put the emphasis on study and ignoring the sensual pleasures, and of trying to attain knowledge in the face of old beliefs and arguments. It is also something they have in common with the Jainists. Though the passage does not posit the need for an ascetic life, the message seems clear: seek for certain knowledge above all else, because that which you seek is far more valuable than anything found on Earth.

Should you acquaint yourself with the indignities heaped upon the Prophets of God, and apprehend the true causes of the objections voiced by their oppressors, you will surely appreciate the significance of their position. Moreover, the more closely you observe the denials of those who have opposed the Manifestations of the divine attributes, the firmer will be your faith in the Cause of God.

This passage seemed practically torn from the pages of J.S. Mill’s On Liberty, one of my favourite books. In it Mill defends the right of freedom of speech, for when you allow things to be said which are contrary to your position, or only partly contrary, you gain more wisdom of your own views and opinions. Free speech allows us to better discover for ourselves what is true, both by affirming it, and being able to study the objections without condemning them out of hand. This seems to be the message being put forth in these few sentences of the Iqan, and it convinces me that Baha’u'llah must have been quite the wise philosopher himself, to have such potential insights into toleration.

Leaders of religion, in every age, have hindered their people from attaining the shores of eternal salvation, inasmuch as they held the reins of authority in their mighty grasp. Some for the lust of leadership, others through want of knowledge and understanding, have been the cause of the deprivation of the people. By their sanction and authority, every Prophet of God hath drunk from the chalice of sacrifice, and winged His flight unto the heights of glory. What unspeakable cruelties they that have occupied the seats of authority and learning have inflicted upon the true Monarchs of the world, those Gems of divine virtue!

This was what got me thinking that if the next prophet were to fulfill Baha’u'llah’s description of repeated resistance by the religious authority of the day, he or she would surely go against the customs of the Baha’i faith, and challenge many doctrines upheld by the Universal House of Justice. I like to think they would preach whilst wearing a rainbow cape.

Also, it reminded me of Socrates and his sacrifice for philosophy, and of Galileo and his fight against the church. It seems that in all areas of thought and philosophy, progress is met with resistance and the dogma of tradition. I shudder to think what challenges could arise in my lifetime, of which values I would have to sacrifice in order to pave the way for new and better ideas.

In God We put Our trust, and to Him We cry for help, that haply there may flow from this pen that which shall quicken the souls of men, that they may all arise from their beds of heedlessness and hearken unto the rustling of the leaves of Paradise…

This bit was just pretty. I tend to read past the supernatural connotations and see it as a call to cast aside your worldy doubts and tribulations and rejoice in our oneness, in our combined and progressive search for the truth.

O the pity! that man should deprive himself of this goodly gift, this imperishable bounty, this everlasting life. It behooveth him to prize this food that cometh from heaven, that perchance, through the wondrous favours of the Sun of Truth, the dead may be brought to life, and withered souls be quickened by the infinite Spirit. Make haste, O my brother, that while there is yet time our lips may taste of the immortal draught, for the breeze of life, now blowing from the city of the Well-Beloved, cannot last, and the streaming river of holy utterance must needs be stilled, and the portals of the Riḍván cannot for ever remain open. The day will surely come when the Nightingale of Paradise will have winged its flight away from its earthly abode unto its heavenly nest. Then will its melody be heard no more, and the beauty of the rose cease to shine. Seize the time, therefore, ere the glory of the divine springtime hath spent itself, and the Bird of Eternity ceased to warble its melody, that thy inner hearing may not be deprived of hearkening unto its call. This is My counsel unto thee and unto the beloved of God. Whosoever wisheth, let him turn thereunto; whosoever wisheth, let him turn away. God, verily, is independent of him and of that which he may see and witness.

Those of you who subscribe to the philosophy of carpe diem, or “seize the day” should find this passage to be very affirming. This is my favourite section so far. Not only does it urge us to make the most out of our lives, but it encourages us to use that time to understand the world and ourselves. It also implores us to understand that there are those who “turn away” from this philosophy. Some people just insist on worrying and acting as if they had more than one chance to get this whole life business right, and that is ok. No matter what you believe, no matter how salient it may seem to you, someone will always think otherwise and remain unconvinced. And you know what, that’s OK.

But there is also danger in this approach, for one could easily assume their views of God to be dogma, and to refuse any evidence to the contrary. Galileo pleaded with the holy men of Florence to look through his telescope as it was pointing at the moons of Jupiter, pointing at the evidence that would throw away the unnecessary teachings of Aristotle to which they had been holding as Divine Law for centuries. But they refused to look, for if what they saw contradicted their doctrines, then surely it was already false and need not be observed.

This is one of the quintessential parts of the Baha’i Faith that I am coming to understand and love. The Baha’i are, or in my eyes should, be against dogma and dead doctrines. This faith is much like the old Skeptic school in Greece; based on the staunch refusal that truth or knowledge was static and known at that moment in entirety. They both looked at all the competing schools of thought, at all the different Houses of God and thought, ‘No, no this cannot be right. It cannot be that we have the whole, entire, unquestionably accurate picture at this very moment.’ Truth and God are dynamic, our conceptions of them grow and evolve and get better as time moves on. Although the picturesque, idealistic versions of these essential things are never changing because we never have direct access to them, our ideas and fractured theories of them are, but they get better. We cannot, with honesty, say that we got it right the first time, or this time, but we are progressively getting the whole picture. We just need to remember to listen to all the possibilities, no matter how crazy or contrary they may sound. We will all be judged not by how steadfastly we hang onto our old beliefs, but by how well we can accept the new ones, and grow with the times-that-are-a-changing.

I cannot believe I only have one more day left to go. I feel like I am just starting to get the hang of this.

Allah’u'Abha.