An in-depth Investigation of Baha’i Principles
As was also mentioned in the first principle, the Bāb and his book, Bayān hold a special importance for Baha’i’s. This is what Bahā’u’llāh says, about the book of Bayan:
Refer to it, for a letter from it will suffice the entirety of the people of the earth. And surely God has stated all things in the evident book.
The first and utmost problem is that Bahā’u’llāh, neither regards reason nor science, as a usable tool for recognizing the truth about a religion. Rather, he believes that Baha’ism is the yardstick of truth and anything uttered in it however unscientific and unreasonable that it may be is the absolute truth. He believes that the correctness of peoples’ knowledge and reason must be measured using the words of Bahā’u’llāh, not the other way around:
`Abdu’l-Bahā claims that this principle is new:
Furthermore, He proclaims that religion must be in harmony with science and reason. If it does not conform to science and reconcile with reason, it is superstition. Down to the present day it has been customary for man to accept a religious teaching, even though it was not in accord with human reason and judgment. The harmony of religious belief with reason is a new vista which Bahā’u’llāh has opened for the soul of man.
`Abdu’l-Bahā says:
If religion is a cause of enmity and a cause of war, its absence is better, and a lack of religion is better than religion. Rather, it must be the opposite. Religion must be a cause of fellowship and a cause of relations between the masses of humanity.
If religion causes divisions, its non-existence is preferred.
In contrast to what Baha’is claim, Bahā’u’llāh had a violent history. Bahā’u’llāh had claimed to be a manifestation of Ḥusayn the grandson of the Prophet Muḥammad. Ḥusayn was ruthlessly murdered by Yazīd in cold blood. Bahā’u’llāh’s actions were so violent while he was in Baghdad that according to his aunt, the people would recite the following verse of poetry when referring to him:
We showed Baha’i orders regarding non-Baha’is and covenant-breakers in the previous chapter. Was there even a speck of unity and fellowship in those words? Why is it that `Abdu’l-Bahā insists that his father caused unity and fellowship while all facts show the contrary:
If we analyze the issues of fellowship and hatred among Baha’i’s, we will see that even among the followers of Bahā’u’llāh there were many instances where there was no peace or love.
After Bahā’u’llāh put forth his claim of being the Bab’s successor, he claimed the title of Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest and attracted a number of followers, disagreements arose between him and his brother Ṣubḥ Azal, and their respective followers clashed and shed blood.
When the Bāb was imprisoned in Chihrīq, Muḥammad Shah of Qājār passed away and the princes and nobles of the court became preoccupied with the issues of succession. This put the country in a state of chaos and turmoil. The Bābīs took advantage of this situation and began to riot under the orders of the Bāb. These riots eventually lead to three bloody wars in three different regions of Persia.
The history of Bābism and Baha’ism is filled with various enmities and conflicts between their leaders and followers. Much can be said about each conflict, but we will only refer to a small number of them below: