a- The punishment for Arson

Is this law about arson logical?

Should anyone intentionally destroy a house by fire, him also shall ye burn; should anyone deliberately take another’s life, him also shall ye put to death. Take ye hold of the precepts of God with all your strength and power, and abandon the ways of the ignorant. Should ye condemn the arsonist and the murderer to life imprisonment, it would be permissible according to the provisions of the Book. He, verily, hath power to ordain whatsoever He pleaseth.[1]

Bahā’u’llāh announces that arsons who destroy a house are to be burned alive or alternatively they can be imprisoned for life. No conditions have been specified whatsoever about the severity and extremity of the offence that will lead to this punishment. This law must be implemented irrespective of anyone dying as a result of this fire. This law is so harsh and illogical that in the complementary notes of the Book of Aqdas, the following explanation has been added:

The details of the Baha’i law of punishment for murder and arson, a law designed for a future state of society, were not specified by Bahā’u’llāh. The various details of the law, such as degrees of offence, whether extenuating circumstances are to be taken into account, and which of the two prescribed punishments is to be the norm are left to the Universal House of Justice to decide in light of prevailing conditions when the law is to be in operation. The manner in which the punishment is to be carried out is also left to the Universal House of Justice to decide. In relation to arson, this depends on what “house” is burned. There is obviously a tremendous difference in the degree of offence between the person who burns down an empty warehouse and one who sets fire to a school full of children.

The interesting point is the fact that the above statement was neither uttered by Bahā’u’llāh, nor `Abdu’l-Bahā, nor Shoghi, and none of these characters had stated anything about these conditions and matters whatsoever. They had all accepted the law as it had been announced without the need for further interpretation. As can be seen elsewhere, the Universal House of Justice has put forward an interpretation for one of Bahā’u’llāh’s laws that none of the authorized interpreters of Bahā’u’llāh’s teachings—meaning `Abdu’l-Bahā and Shoghi[2]—had mentioned. The unauthorized interpreter of this law (the UHJ) has designated it as one being “designed for a future state of society,” to prevent it from being implemented and to silence any criticism that might occur. This attitude can be seen in many problematic Baha’i laws in which they are simply ignored and disregarded, by claiming this law is for the future.

b- Nuclear Physics or Alchemy?!

The following quote is propagated by Baha’is in a bid to prove Bahā’u’llāh had spoken about nuclear physics:

Consider the doubts which they who have joined partners with God have instilled into the hearts of the people of this land. “Is it ever possible,” they ask, “for copper to be transmuted into gold?” Say, Yes, by my Lord, it is possible. Its secret, however, lieth hidden in Our Knowledge. We will reveal it unto whom We will. Whoso doubteth Our power, let him ask the Lord his God, that He may disclose unto him the secret, and assure him of its truth. That copper can be turned into gold is in itself sufficient proof that gold can, in like manner, be transmuted into copper, if they be of them that can apprehend this truth. Every mineral can be made to acquire the density, form, and substance of each and every other mineral. The knowledge thereof is with Us in the Hidden Book.[3]

This text is completely misleading for it has a number of errors in the translation and has been taken out of context. We have translated the complete text from the original Farsi words below:

From amongst the doubts that the polytheists have induced in this land is [the question] that how is it possible for gold to transmute into copper? Say, “Yes [it is possible], by my Lord, but we have the knowledge and teach it to whoever we want through a knowledge from our side. Whoever has doubts should ask his Lord to show him so that he becomes one of those who has certitude.” The [fact] that copper can attain the state of gold is a clear reason that gold can retain its original state (meaning copper), [they would understand] this if they had any sense. All metals can attain the weight (wazn), face (ṣūrat), and substance (māddih) of each other, but we have this knowledge in a hidden book. We say that the knowledge of the deniers has not reached a state for them to understand that gold transmutes into gold and they have not understood yet that it can turn into earth. This state is visible for all those who have any sense, that they all originated from earth and to earth they will return. Earths importance and price is cheaper than copper for [earth] is from the masses (ajsām) and copper is from the bodies (ajsād). This is very obvious and evident and if the people had been mature and worthy we would have definitely uttered some of the secret Divine Sciences.[4]

In this quote Bahā’u’llāh has used a number of terms that are peculiar to alchemy. Such as weight, face (ṣūrat), masses (ajṣad), bodies (ajṣam), copper and gold transmuting to each other, earth being less important and cheaper than copper, etc. The esoteric language that he has used, which is customary of alchemists is further proof that he is explaining his own alchemical beliefs in a strictly alchemical language.

He claims that all metals can transmute into each other but mechanisms involved are Divine secrets that he will not speak about because people are not worthy and mature enough to know these sciences. The first thing that would come to the mind is that he was probably speaking about nuclear physics and the mechanisms that can be performed in particle accelerators—by consuming large amounts of energy—to transmute very minute amounts of elements to others. Baha’is would want you to think that since the laws governing nuclear physics were not known in those times, the phrase that the people are not mature means they currently lack the means to understand these sciences. Fortunately, Bahā’u’llāh has revealed elsewhere the exact mechanism by which he believes copper transmutes into gold.    

When Bahā’u’llāh wants to speak about the “Divine Elixir” that can transform people[5] in an instant, he gives the example of the transformation of copper to gold. He explains that just as copper transforms into gold, the Divine Elixir can transform the people. Then he explains how this transformation happens in detail:

For instance, consider the substance of copper. Were it to be protected in its own mine from becoming solidified, it would, within the space of seventy years, attain to the state of gold. There are some, however, who maintain that copper itself is gold, which by becoming solidified is in a diseased condition, and hath not therefore reached its own state. Be that as it may, the real elixir will, in one instant, cause the substance of copper to attain the state of gold, and will traverse the seventy-year stages in a single moment.[6]

Bahā’u’llāh states that if copper is prevented from becoming dry in a mine, it will turn to gold after 70 years! The fallacies in this statement are unjustifiable. Shoghi has used the word “solidified” to translate “yubūsat.” This must not be confused with solid as opposed to liquid or gas, for “yubūsat” was used by alchemists to refer to dryness as opposed to wetness. Either way, the statement is completely wrong and contradicts established physical laws about the conversion of elements, for copper does not turn into gold if left in a wet (or liquified) state for 70 years.

Some Baha’is try to justify these words by claiming that Bahā’u’llāh was merely narrating the beliefs of others. The context of the words prove elsewise and the only sentence that might be the belief of others is the one that comes after his statement: “There are some, however, who maintain that copper itself is gold . . .” This shows that the first statement was his own and the second the belief of others.  Furthermore, there are other alchemical statements in Baha’i scripture that clearly show he was uttering his own beliefs:

The King of the Names (God) has made the possibility in some things to change and in others He hasn’t. For instance, copper can transmute into Gold but earth/soil (turab) does not have this possibility in actualness (bil-fi`l). Since the scientists [meaning alchemists] have already mentioned these subjects this servant did not like to mention it comprehensively.[7]

The last sentence clearly shows that his beliefs about alchemy were based on the science of those days and he had nothing new to utter. Most—if not all—of those beliefs about alchemy have been proven wrong today. If, Religion Must Be in Conformity with Science and Reason, Bahā’u’llāh’s words in no means fulfill this criterion.

c- Earth’s Age

Bahā’u’llāh claims:

The learned men, that have fixed at several thousand years the life of this earth [the age of this world], have failed, throughout the long period of their observation, to consider either the number or the age of the other planets. Consider, moreover, the manifold divergencies that have resulted from the theories propounded by these men.[8]

What we have placed in square-brackets is the correct translation of the original Farsi text that has been distorted by the Baha’i translation committee. There are more errors in the translation of this quote that we will ignore for now.

The fallacy in these words is that the learned men had noy fixed the age of the earth at several thousand years during Bahā’u’llāh’s life. The estimates ranged from tens of thousands to the millions. In the mid-eighteenth century, Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov—widely viewed as the founder of modern Russian science­—concluded that earth had been created several hundred thousand years ago. The French naturalist, Comte du Buffon, gave an estimate of 75000 years in 1779. The physicist, William Thomson of Glasgow, gave the estimate of between 20–400 million years in 1862.

These are estimates about the “age of the earth.” The original Farsi words used by Baha’u’llah translate to “the age of this world.” Many scientists contemporary to Baha’u’llah believed that this world is eternal (not a few thousand years claimed by Baha’u’llah).

d- Aliens

Bahā’u’llāh says:

Know thou that every fixed star hath its own planets, and every planet its own creatures, whose number no man can compute.[9]

Science has already proven the falsity of this claim. We will leave it to the readers to judge for themselves how the founder of a religion that claims divine knowledge can come up with such words.

To justify this fallacy Baha’is have uttered a few arguments that are all invalid. In the first argument they claim he is referring to “fixed stars” and most stars are not fixed but are in motion thus, these words are referring to specific fixed stars which do indeed have life on their planets but we do not have the means to view these life forms from deep within space. This argument is wrong because the Farsi word used is thawābit which is used to refer to celestial bodies that appear to have fixed positions with respect to each other from the viewpoint of an observer on earth. Planets do not fit this criterion but all stars do.[10] The correct translation thus would be all stars not fixed stars.

The second justification is that ‘creatures’ refers to minerals and non-living matter! Should we thank Bahā’u’llāh for telling us that there are incomputable numbers of minerals and dead matter on other planets? Gary L. Mathews, a prominent Baha’i author explains this in depth:

Furthermore, Bahā’u’llāh’s teachings explicitly state that even “minerals are endowed with a spirit and life according to the requirements of that stage . . . [sic] even as He saith in the Qur’ān, ‘All things are living.’” Thus rocks, ponds, clouds, and other inanimate objects may, in some rudimentary sense, fall within Bahā’u’llāh’s definition of “creatures.”[11] 

Mathews believes that rocks, ponds, and clouds are creatures endowed with a spirit and life! He has reached this conclusion through a verse of the Quran that `Abdu’l-Bahā has quoted: ‘All things are living.’ This verse does not exist in the Quran and has been forged by `Abdu’l-Bahā to back-up his false claims about everything possessing spirit and life. Here is the real verse:

We made from water everything living.[12]

Compare again with the distorted version put forward by Bahā’u’llāh: ‘All things are living.’ These two sentences have two completely different meanings.

Pay attention to the quote we mentioned from G. Mathews: “minerals are endowed with a spirit and life according to the requirements of that stage . . . [sic] even as He saith in the Qur’ān.” Why has he removed a section of the quote by using three periods? To hide a bitter truth; here is the quote as it had been uttered by `Abdu’l-Bahā:

As to the existence of spirit in the mineral: it is indubitable that minerals are endowed with a spirit and life according to the requirements of that stage. This unknown secret, too, hath become known unto the materialists[13] who now maintain that all beings are endowed with life, even as He saith in the Qur’ān, ‘All things are living.’[14]

As if distorting the Quran wasn’t enough `Abdu’l-Bahā puts the burden of his lies upon the materialists: “materialists who now maintain that all beings are endowed with life.” The Farsi words translated to ‘beings’ are jamī` kā’ināt which means all things existing. `Abdu’l-Bahā is basically telling us that materialistics believe all things in existence are endowed with life. Materialists have never maintained such a belief!

Whatever the justification, Shoghi too has made it clear that he believes there are creatures on all other planets and science must find them some day:

 Regarding the passage on p. 163 of the ‘Gleanings’: The creatures which Bahā’u’llāh states to be found on every planet cannot be considered to be necessarily similar or different from human beings on this earth. Bahā’u’llāh does not specifically state whether such creatures are like or unlike us. He simply refers to the fact that there are creatures on every planet. It remains for science to discover one day the exact nature of these creatures. (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, February 9, 1937)[15]

These words from Shoghi are further proof that in the Baha’i creed it is not religion that must be in conformity with science, rather it is science that must try to prove the unscientific words uttered by the leaders of Baha’ism.

`Abdu’l-Bahā too has extensively spoken about Aliens. His words are even more unscientific and unreasonable than his father’s. We will analyze them in the next sections.

e- Pythagoras Lived in the days of Solomon!

In the Tablet of Wisdom Bahā’u’llāh claims that all philosophers have acquired their knowledge from Divine Prophets and then he brings forward two examples:

Empedocles, who distinguished himself in philosophy, was a contemporary of David, while Pythagoras lived in the days of Solomon, son of David, and acquired Wisdom from the treasury of prophethood. It is he who claimed to have heard the whispering sound of the heavens and to have attained the station of the angels. In truth thy Lord will clearly set forth all things, if He pleaseth. Verily, He is the Wise, the All-Pervading.[16]

He claims that Empedocles was a contemporary of David and Pythagoras lived in the days of Solomon. These two examples are both wrong, very wrong. Empedocles lived between 490–440 BC, while David is believed to have lived sometime around 1040–970 BC. Pythagoras lived between 570–495 BC, while Solomon is believed to have lived sometime around 970–931 BC.

Seeing this great fallacy, the Baha’i administration has tried to justify these words by inserting the following footnote in the published version of this tablet:

In many of the passages that follow concerning the Greek philosophers, Bahā’u’llāh quotes verbatim from the works of such Muslim historians as Abu’l-Fatḥ-i-Shāhristānā (1076–1153 A.D.) and Imādu’d-Dān Abu’l-Fidá (1273–1331 A.D.).[17]

So the infallible Bahā’u’llāh with all his divine knowledge quotes wrong historical facts from two Muslim historians, and verbatim?! What happened to all his divine knowledge and infallibility?!

The absurdity of this justification can be seen more clearly by referring to the First words of this tablet:

This is an Epistle which the All-Merciful hath sent down from the Kingdom of Utterance.[18]

Bahā’u’llāh is clearly stating that this tablet is the word of God, the All-Merciful. The justification put forward by the Baha’i administration basically boils down to this: God revealed a tablet in which He quoted verbatim two wrong historical facts from the history books of two of his erring servants!

The fallacies don’t end here. In an article titled Socrates[19], compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, Shoghi has been quoted as saying regarding the previous quote: 

We must not take this statement too literally; “contemporary” may have been meant in Persian as something far more elastic than the English word. Likewise, the whole translation probably needs revising (15 February 1947).

This is a clear admittance by Shoghi—the authorized interpreter and translator of Baha’i scripture—that he does not have enough knowledge about the Persian language to produce an appropriate translation. This is not the disturbing point in this quote. What is disturbing, is the fact that the original tablet was revealed by Bahā’u’llāh in Arabic, NOT Persian as Shoghi claims! Shoghi’s words clearly contradict the claim (written on his behalf) that he was infallible regarding matters related to the cause:

The infallibility of the Guardian is confined to matters which are related strictly to the Cause and interpretations of the Teachings; he is not an infallible authority on other subjects, such as economics, science, etc.[20]

f- Bahā’u’llāh’s Opinion About the Book of Bayān

We showed in the previous sections the illogical and unreasonable orders uttered by the Bāb in the book of Bayān. Orders like beheading non-Babis, burning their books, destroying their monuments, massacring them, eating the leaves of trees, walking above the earth with legs, not consuming medicine, etc.

These instructions and orders are so inhumane, illogical, and unreasonable that they are never mentioned by Baha’is. When approached by questions regarding these matters, they respond by saying Bābism has been abrogated and what orders the Bāb gave, have nothing to do with Baha’ism. Bahā’u’llāh considers his own book the Aqdas as the abrogator of the Bayān:

The book of Aqdas abrogates all the decrees of the book of Bayān . . . everyone’s [religious] source is [now] the book of Aqdas not the book of Bayān. The decrees of the Bayān are [now] abrogated.^[21]

Nevertheless, the author of this violent, irrational, and unreasonable book is considered as the Starting Point (nuqtiyi aulā) and herald to Bahā’u’llāh. Baha’is celebrate his birth, rush to visit his shrine, and consider visiting his home (in Shiraz, Iran) to be like performing the Islamic Hajj.^[22] So how is it that they deny having any relation to the Bāb, and declare Bābism to be abrogated? Furthermore, Bahā’u’llāh had affirmed the status and position of the book of Bayān by telling his followers to refer to this book:

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.^[23]

Claiming that the book of Bayān has been abrogated does not resolve the problem, for Bahā’u’llāh had stated multiple times that he did not intend to abrogate this book:

Say, the polytheists thought that we might want to abrogate what was revealed unto the Point of Bayan (Nuqṭat al-Bayān which means the Bab) . . . but God has desired by this manifestation [meaning Bahā’u’llāh himself] to reinforce what has been revealed by the Point of Bayan . . . thus we will reinforce his decrees and will prove his writings [or signs] on earth with an evident power and authority.^[24]

Although everyone knows that by this great manifestation what has been revealed in the Bayān has been proved/made firm, made obvious, and has been fulfilled; the name of God has been elevated; the remnants of God have been distributed to the West and East; and the Farsi Bayān has been endorsed particularly for this manifestation, but they have been constantly writing “that they (meaning the Baha’is) have abrogated the Bayān” so that they may induce doubts in the hearts and the calf^[25] may be worshipped.^[26]

They have attributed to this Station (meaning Bahā’u’llāh)—by whose authority all [divine] Books speak— that he has abrogated the decrees of the Bayān. May the curse of God fall upon the unjust.^[27]

I swear to God that if an individual from the followers of the Bayān mentions the abrogation of that book, God will break the mouth of the speaker and defamer.^[28]

Bahā’u’llāh had even stated that

I [swear by] He who in His hand is my soul and my essence, a single letter from the Bayān is dearer to me than everything that is in the heavens and the earth.^[29]

According to what Bahā’u’llāh states—irrespective of the Bayān being abrogated or not—the savage acts of murder^[30], looting^[31], and the crimes against humanity^[32] that Ali Muḥammad Bāb ordered his followers to commit in the Bayān, were more dear to Bahā’u’llāh than everything that is in the heavens and earth. This is the true face of Bahā’u’llāh that Baha’is are trying to hide today. One is truly lost in amazement at how Bahā’u’llāh glorifies the acts of savagery ordered by the Bāb while at the same time whines about other people taking glory in savage acts:

Gracious God! The great and the noble in Persia glory in acts of such savagery that one is lost in amazement at the tales thereof.[33]

g- Baha’u’llah is the Creator of Multiple Gods

Baha’u’llah claims:

All Gods became Gods from the flow of my affairs and all Lords became Lords by the overflowing of my decree.[34]

These words make no sense and are against reason and the teachings of all monotheistic religions.

[1] Bahā’u’llāh, The Kitābi Aqdas, p. 203.

[2] “Bahā’u’llāh designated ‘Abdu’l-Bahā, His eldest Son, as His Successor and the Interpreter of His Teachings. ‘Abdu’l-Bahā in His turn appointed His eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, to succeed Him as interpreter of the holy Writ and Guardian of the Cause. The interpretations of ‘Abdu’l-Bahā and Shoghi Effendi are considered divinely guided and are binding on the Baha’is,” Bahā’u’llāh, The Kitābi Aqdas, p. 221.

[3] Bahā’u’llāh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahā’u’llāh, pp. 197–198.

[4] `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Mā’idiy-i āsimānī, vol. 7, pp. 18-19.

[5] These metaphors are in exact accordance with alchemist beliefs, for in the spiritual aspect of alchemy, it was believed that the philosophers stone (elixir) would transmute the bad souls into pure souls.

[6] Bahā’u’llāh, The Kitāb-i-Īqān, p. 157.

[7] `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Mā’idiy-i āsimānī, vol. 7, p. 44.

[8] Bahā’u’llāh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 163. The original Fārsī quote can be found in Bahā’u’llāh, Muntakhabātī az āthār Ḥaḍrat Bahā’u’llāh, p. 109.

[9] Bahā’u’llāh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 163. The original Fārsī quote can be found in Bahā’u’llāh, Muntakhabātī az āthār Ḥaḍrat Bahā’u’llāh, p. 109.

[10] See Dihkhudā and Mu`īn dictionaries under the word thawābit.

[11] Gary L. Mathews, The Challenge of Bahā’u’llāh: Does God Still Speak to Humanity Today (George Ronald Pub Ltd, 2001), p. 86.

[12] Quran, 21:30

[13] This is how `Abdu’l-Bahā defines materialists: “By materialists, whose belief with regard to Divinity hath been explained, is not meant philosophers in general, but rather that group of materialists of narrow vision who worship that which is sensed, who depend upon the five senses only, and whose criterion of knowledge is limited to that which can be perceived by the senses. All that can be sensed is to them real, whilst whatever falleth not under the power of the senses is either unreal or doubtful. The existence of the Deity they regard as wholly doubtful,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Tablet to August Forel (George Ronald Publishers, 1978), p. 7.

[14] `Abdu’l-Bahā, Tablet to August Forel, p. 9.

[15] Helen Bassett Hornby, Lights of Guidance: A Bahā’ī Reference File, chap. XLI, no. 1581.

[16] Bahā’u’llāh, Tablets of Bahā’u’llāh Revealed After the Kitāb-i-Aqdas (US Bahā’ī Publishing Trust, 1988 [pocket-size edition]), p. 145.

[17] Bahā’u’llāh, Tablets of Bahā’u’llāh Revealed After the Kitāb-i-Aqdas, p. 144 (footnote).

[18] Bahā’u’llāh, Tablets of Bahā’u’llāh Revealed After the Kitāb-i-Aqdas, p. 137.

[19] Available online: http://bahai-library.com/compilation_socrates_bwc (retrieved 17/2/2014). This article points out to a few more historical errors in `Abdu’l-Bahā’s words regarding the prophets and philosophers.

[20] Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, pp. 33–34.

[21] Asad-Allāh Fāḍil Māzandarānī, Asrār al-āthār khuṣūṣī, vol. 2, p. 106.

[22] Hajj is a special Islamic pilgrimage that every Muslims is required to perform in the city of Mecca at least once in their lifetime if the conditions are met.

[23] Asad-Allāh Fāḍil Māzandarānī, Asrār al-āthār khuṣūṣī, vol. 2, p. 102.

[24] Bahā’u’llāh, Badī`, p. 390.

[25] Calf or `Ijl, was used by Bahā’u’llāh to refer to his brother Mīrzā Yaḥyā who opposed him and was widely believed by the Bābīs to be the successor of the Bāb.

[26] Bahā’u’llāh, Iqtidārāt wa chand lauḥ dīgar, pp. 45-46.

[27] Bahā’u’llāh, Iqtidārāt wa chand lauḥ dīgar, p. 103.

[28] Asad-Allāh Fāḍil Māzandarānī, Asrār al-āthār khuṣūṣī, vol. 5, p. 333.

[29] Asad-Allāh Fāḍil Māzandarānī, Asrār al-āthār khuṣūṣī, vol. 5, p. 333.

[30] Chapter 7 of the 16^th unit of the Farsi Bayan: “The sixteenth chapter of the seventh unit which is about [the decree] that all rulers who rise who are [followers] of the religion of the Bayan, leave no-one in their land who is not a follower of this religion. This is compulsory upon all the people too”; “The utterance of the [book or religion] of Bayān in the day of the appearance of his Highness A`lā (meaning the Bāb) was to behead, burn the books, destroy the monuments, and massacre [everyone] but those who believed [in the Bāb’s religion] and verified it,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Makātīb (Egypt: 1330 AH), vol. 2, p. 266.

[31] Chapter 5 of the 5^th unit of the Farsi Bayan: “The fifth chapter of the fifth unit which is about the decree of taking the property of those who do not believe in [the religion] of Bayan and giving it back if they become believers in this religion, except in the lands where taking [property] is not possible.”

[32] “The utterance of the [book or religion] of Bayān in the day of the appearance of his Highness A`lā (meaning the Bāb) was to behead, burn the books, destroy the monuments, and massacre [everyone] but those who believed [in the Bāb’s religion] and verified it,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Makātīb (Egypt: 1330 AH), vol. 2, p. 266; Farsi Bayān: “Chapter six of the sixth unit which is about destroying all books but those that have been written or will be written about this order (meaning the Bab’s creed).”

[33] Bahā’u’llāh, Tablets of Bahā’u’llāh Revealed After the Kitāb-i-Aqdas, p. 90.

[34] `Abdu’l-Bahā, Makātīb, vol. 2, p. 255.