‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ WRITES OFF THE AGHSAN IN THE THIRD PART OF HIS WILL AND TESTAMENT

‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ WRITES OFF THE AGHSÁN IN PART THREE OF HIS WILL AND TESTAMENT

NOTE THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORDING OF PART ONE AND PART THREE OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ’S WILL AND TESTAMENT AND THE IMPLICATION IN THE FACT THAT HE HAS SIGNIFICANTLY OMITTED REFERENCE TO THE AGHSÁN IN PART THREE, WHEN ENJOINING OBEDIENCE AND FIDELITY TO THE GUARDIAN OF THE CAUSE OF GOD:

PART ONE: (page 11)

"It is incumbent upon the members of the House of Justice, upon all the Aghsán, the Afnán, the Hands of the Cause of God to show their obedience, submissiveness and subordination unto the guardian of the Cause of God.

PART THREE (page 25, written at a later date)

"For he is, after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the guardian of the Cause of God, the Afnán, the Hands (pillars) of the Cause and the beloved of the Lord must obey him and turn unto him."

Why would ‘Abdu’l-Bahá have omitted reference to the Aghsán in Part Three of His Will and Testament and only mentioned the Afnán and the Hands when enjoining fidelity to the guardian. Obviously it was because by the time He had come to write Part Three, they had already shown their disloyalty to Him and were therefore out of the Faith.

How then could any believer claim that it was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s intention that only the Aghsán would be eligible to inherit the Guardianship, quite aside from the fact that Shoghi Effendi has defined the Aghsán as the sons of Bahá’u’lláh (p. 239 GPB) and therefore, as the brothers of ‘Abdu-l’Bahá, they would certainly not have survived Shoghi Effendi. This further proves the undeniable fact that those believers are completely in error who argue that the passage in the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which authorizes the Guardian, in the absence of a worthy first born son, to "choose another branch" to succeed him refers to the Aghsán.

Further conclusive proof is found in the fact that Shoghi Effendi, in the absence of a son, exercised this option of choosing "another branch" to succeed him, when he chose a believer whom he had previously named a Hand of the Cause, whose exemplary fidelity and devotion to the Covenant had been frequently eulogized by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (published in the "Star of the West"), whose authorship of early books on the Faith, his many architectural accomplishments, such as his designs for several Bahá’í Temples (including those yet to be built on Mount Carmel and in Tihrán) and the International Archives building already constructed at the World Center, will bear eloquent testimony to the record of his unique service to the Faith down through the centuries to come, as well as his outstanding teaching endeavors on every continent of the globe, save one, and his other manifold services to the Faith, covering more than half a century, which have earned him a record of service unparalleled by any other male believer in the Faith. Little wonder therefore that Shoghi Effendi, the first beloved Guardian of the Faith, should have chosen Mason Remey to be his successor.

Joel Bray Marangella

Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith

30 October 2004