Translations of Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Texts, vol. 7, no. 1 (March, 2003) |
A Sermon on the Art of Governance
(Resāle-ye Sīyasīyyah)
by
`Abdu'l-Bahā
Translated by Sen
McGlinn
Translator’s foreword
This translation was prepared under the
supervision of Professor J. ter Haar, and with the assistance of Asghar
Seyed-Gohrab, both of the Department of Persian at the University of Leiden,
the Netherlands. I have drawn heavily on an English translation by Juan Cole
that has been published electronically in Translations of Shaykhi, Babi and
Baha'i Texts, vol. 2, no. 2 (May, 1998) and on an unpublished translation
into French by H. Dreyfus. The present provisional translation is intended for
general use in the Bahā’ī community. The Persian source used is the
typeset Persian text printed in Tehran by Muhammad Labīb in 1935. This has been checked against
the 1893 Bombay lithograph edition in the hand of Mushkin-Qalam. Both published
versions are divided into sections, which have been indicated in the
translation.
Cole’s English title for the
work is `Abdu'l-Bahā's “Treatise on Leadership,” while Dreyfus has
chosen La Politique. I have chosen the title A Sermon on the Art of
Governance, where ‘governance’ is in the first place God’s leading and
guiding of the human race, the Divine governance, which operates through two
‘powers’, the religious and the political. But it is also governance in the
conventional sense, since much of the book is devoted to the relations between
the government and the people.
The
Persian original is certainly best appreciated when read out loud. Many
sections of the Resāle-ye Sīyasīyyah are written in
exhortatory style, in rhyming Persian prose with a declamatory rhythm. Sections
with a strong cadence and rhyme alternate with prose, while analysis and
scriptural quotations alternate with historical illustrations. The overall
effect of the original is of a persuasive Persian sermon in high rhetorical
style.
Two
sentence structures dominate the more rhetorical sections. The first is a
simple pair of rhymed phrases, the rhyme usually falling on the verbs which
typically come at the end of each phrase:
chūn be-maqsūd-e
khīsh muvafaq shodand
rasm-e degar pīsh
gereftand
And when their strategy was
succeeding
they presented another
plan.
The second
consists of two phrases which share a single simple verb, placed between them
rather than in its usual place at the end of the sentence. The verb has to be
read implicitly in the second phrase, and so links the two elements:
ma`amūra-ye
īrān vīrān shod wa dīhīm-e
jahānbānī maqar o sirīr-e dīvān
The cultivated lands of Persia were
laid to waste:
demons reclined on the
throne of the kings.
The structure of
the language, with the sustained use of two-part sentences and the frequent use
of paired synonyms, reflects `Abdu’l-Bahā’s theme: that God’s guidance for
the world acts through a two-fold order, religious and political. In his words,
“This prohibition and prevention, rules and restraints,
leading and impelling, is divided into two types.”
In
the hope of giving the reader at least an impression of the literary quality of
the original, parts of the translation have been presented as free verse,
usually in pairs of short lines. This is not to say that the verse sections of
the translation correspond exactly to those in the original: at some points
where `Abdu’l-Bahā continues in high poetry, his translator has been
obliged to descend into prose. I have not found any way of reflecting the
alternation of Arabic and Persian terms, with some sections drawing on the
Persian ideal of kingship, and others drawing their terminology from Islamic thought
on governance.
`Abdu’l-Bahā employs many quotations and
allusions from the Qur`ān and Islamic traditions, and from Persian and
Arabic poetry. Some of these have been identified, with the aid of many
friends, and further assistance with this would be greatly appreciated.
The background and audience of the Sermon on the Art of Governance
‘Abdu=l-Bahā wrote his Sermon on the Art of
Governance in 1892, had it copied in a fine hand by Mushkin-Qalam, and sent
it to Bombay where it was published in 1893.[1] This is just after
the period of the >Tobacco Protest=, which had demonstrated the political power of the
‘ulamā. From a tablet which is included below as a preface to the main
text, it is evident that ‘Abdu=l-Bahā sought
to have it published again in 1907, when Iran was again in political chaos as
the period of constitutional government came to an end. However the Sermon
on the Art of Governance does not contain specific references to the events
or personalities of the time. ‘Abdu=l-Bahā seeks
rather “to briefly clarify the most basic fundamentals
of the divine teachings,” setting out the principles underlying the
relationship between religion and politics (in the broad sense) and between the
government and the people. These teachings are as relevant today as they were
when the text was written, certainly in Iran, but also elsewhere.
It is not necessary to consider the
history of the Tobacco Protest extensively here: the details are available for
example in Nikki Keddie’s Religion and Rebellion in Iran: The tobacco
Protest of 1891 – 1892.[2] They will be outlined only so
far as they help to explain the audience for whom ‘Abdu’l-Bahā wrote. The reader will note that
‘Abdu’l-Bahā addresses his
treatise to ‘the Friends of God’, and cites texts from Bahā’u’llāh as
evidence that religious leaders should not be directly involved in politics,
but also that his argument draws on texts from the Qur‘ān and from Islamic
traditions, and much of it seems to be addressed also to the ‘ulamā of
Iran and the court. So the question of audience needs to be addressed.
The background to the Tobacco Protest was an Iranian
state which suffered from chronic disorganisation, a shortage of funds, and
inflation due to financial mismanagement. In 1890 the Mullahs in Tehran had
begun to preach publicly against the Shāh. At the same time, reformers in
Iran and in exile were publishing newspapers and distributing pamphlets calling
for the end of the absolute monarchy. The immediate cause of unrest was a
concession, which Nāsiru’d‑Din Shāh granted to a British entrepreneur,
Major Talbot in March 1890, in return for royalties to be paid to the
Shāh. This was only one of many such concessions granted mainly to Russian
and British interests, including one to run the state bank. The tobacco
concession gave Major Talbot a complete monopoly over the production, sale and
export of tobacco. As the details of the agreement became public, and
particularly as the company’s agents began their work in Iran the Spring of
1891, a storm of protest arose. One centre of opposition was Shiraz, where a
leading Mullah, Sayyid Ali Akbar, preached against the sale of the tobacco
monopoly to foreigners. He was expelled from Iran and went to Iraq to see a
prominent reformer, Jamāl al-Dīn Afghāni. Sayyid Ali Akbar was a
close relative of the most prominent Shi‘ah cleric of the time, Mirza Muhammad
Hasan Shīrāzī, the sole marja‘ at-taqlīd, or
exemplary guide in matters of practice, for all of twelver Shi‘ism.[3] At Sayyid Ali
Akbar’s urging, Afghāni wrote a long letter to Shīrāzī[4] condemning the
Shāh in the most biting terms, and saying that the Persians were being
made desperate by oppression but lacked a leader. He tells
Shīrāzī that the people and ‘ulamā of Iran were waiting
only for a word from him to act:
God hath set thee
apart for this supreme vice-gerency, to represent the Most Great Proof, and
hath chosen thee out of the true communion, and hath committed to thy hands the
reins to control the people conformable to the most luminous Law .. He hath
entrusted to thee the care of those weighty interests whereby the people shall
prosper in this world and attain happiness hereafter. ... He hath assigned to
thee the throne of authority ...” “How then can it beseem one on whom God hath
bestowed such power as this to be so chary of using it ...
In
this letter, Shirāzī is addressed in the most laudatory terms, as the
“most mighty Pontiff.” Afghānī also wrote a similar letter addressed
to the ‘ulamā of Iran, and both letters were printed and distributed from
London.[5] Another letter in
Arabic, in which he asks Shīrāzī to order the Iranian people to
depose the Shāh, was published in Istanbul.[6]
There appears to have been a decided policy among the
reformers to seek the involvement of the ‘ulamā in order to mobilise
popular support for their programme. Another of the reformers, Mīrzā
Malkum Khān, wrote in the newspaper Qānūn “Why should the
spiritual leader of sixty million Shi‘is [i.e., Shirāzī] sit
trembling and hidden in the corner of some outlandish village? Why should not
the legitimate head of the community of God be superior to all worldly
princes?”[7] In Tabriz, wall-posters made threats against
any of the ‘ulamā who might refuse to cooperate with the protest against
the tobacco concession, and also threatened Europeans and Iran’s Armenian Christian
minority with death. The Mujtahid of Tabriz is said to have threatened to
launch a jihād.[8] At the same time,
the Tobacco Corporation was giving large bribes to some of the leading
‘ulamā to persuade them not to join the protest.[9]
At this point, a telegram was
received in Irān, purportedly from Shīrāzī, which condemned
the interference of foreigners, concessions such as the bank, tobacco and
railroad concessions, and the expulsion of Sayyid Ali Akbar.[10] In Isfahan, two of
the leading Mullahs organised demonstrations, and preached that all tobacco was
religiously unclean. One of these Mullahs was Āqā Muhammad Taqi
Najafi Isfahānī, whom Bahā’u’llāh had addressed in a book
called “The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf.” With a fine irony,
‘Abdu’l-Bahā quotes from this book in section 9 of the Sermon on the
Art of Governance, without saying to whom it was addressed. At one of the
demonstrations in Isfahān, those present swore that they would stop
smoking. The Isfahān ‘ulamā apparently wrote to
Shīrāzī for support, and rumours spread that he had ordered a
consumer boycott. In December 1891 a fatwa or legal opinion, purportedly
from Shīrāzī, was circulated. It directed all believers to
abstain from smoking. As a result, the tobacco boycott quickly spread from Isfahan
to the rest of the country. Doubts have been expressed about the authenticity
of this fatwa: the evidence appears to be conflicting. Keddie suggests
that it may have been written by Mīrzā Hasan
Āshtiyānī, the leader of the ‘ulamā in Tehran.[11] A later fatwa
in Shīrāzī’s name, calling for a jihād, was
certainly fraudulent, but some people responded by arming themselves.[12] At the end of
December, the Shah gave in, and cancelled the tobacco concession.
Afghānī’s machination did
not stop, however. In 1892 he addressed appeals to the ‘ulamā, calling on
them to depose the Shāh, as a means of annulling all of the agreements
that the Shāh had made with foreign companies. “If you protectors of the
faith oppose him with righteousness, and men know that to obey this (wicked
man) is unlawful according to the religion of God ... they will all hasten and
upset the throne of his deceit .... You are the protectors of the Nation and
the supporters of the Faith ... to War! ... to War!” [13] It is hard not to
see a reference to this appeal to the ‘ulamā in section 19 of the Sermon
on the Art of Governance. Afghānī was assisted in his attempts to
mobilise the ‘ulamā to depose the Shāh by Mīrzā Āqa
Khān Kirmānī, a politically active Azali Bābī, and by
Mīrzā Malkum Khan, a complex figure known both as a moderniser and as
one of the leading advocates and beneficiaries of granting concessions
to foreign investors.[14]
The Sermon on the Art of Governance may in part
be read as an address by ‘Abdu’l-Bahā
to the Bahā’īs and Bābīs, warning them not to become
involved in the continuing efforts of these figures to mount a revolution
against the Shāh. But it is also in part addressed to the `ulamā, and
particularly to Shīrāzī, arguing that they should not accept the
authority to direct the worldly affairs of the nation, which the ‘reformers’
were endeavouring to thrust upon them. Where Afghānī had asked
Shīrāzī to adopt a position analogous to the Pope, to become a
prince of this world, ‘Abdu’l-Bahā
presents an ideal model of the `ulamā as humble, disdainful of
worldly pomp, and devoted to the spiritual welfare of the people. But this
requires some further explanation, since ‘Abdu’l-Bahā rests his argument not only on the
Qur`ān and Islamic traditions, but also on Bahā’u’llāh’s
Kitāb-i `Ahd and Treatise to the Son of the Wolf. One might well
think that the use of texts by Bahā’u’llāh would rule out an audience
among the Shī`ah `ulamā.
We have seen above that the efforts
by reformers to enlist the `ulamā in a struggle against the concessions, and
later against the Shāh, focussed particularly on Muhammad Hasan
Shīrāzī (1815-1895), known as Mīrzāy-i
Shīrāzī, who as the sole marja‘ at-taqlīd of the
time, and bearing also the titles of Āyatu’llāh and
Hujjatu’l-Islām, was the leading Shi‘ah cleric of his day.
Shīrāzī, however, was a secret Bābī and later
Bahā’ī. He was a second cousin of the Bāb, and was converted to
the new Faith in his youth, when he met the Bāb in the house of
Manūchihr Khān in Isfahan.[15] Thus the man whom
the reformers were prompting to assume the position and political powers of the
pope and leader of the Shi‘ah
community, was a secret Bābī, and by this time apparently also a
Bahā’ī.[16]
The situation facing Shīrāzī was even
more complicated than this, for it will be recalled that the Bāb had made
tobacco and all instruments connected with it haram, forbidden.[17] Implicitly, this
means that the trade in tobacco was already “forbidden to believers” – to
Bābī’s that is. On the other hand, Bābī and
Bahā’ī teachings endorsed free trade, and the tobacco monopoly and
other monopolies granted to European investors were restraints on free trade.
Moreover, the boycott was at least a peaceful way of opposing the monopolies,
and in a climate in which violence against Europeans and jihād were being
threatened, it may have appeared the lesser evil.
On the side of the ‘reformers’,
while Afghānī was certainly not a Bābī, some of his
followers were. In Nikkie Keddie’s words:
An interesting, if
obscure, footnote to the story of the tobacco protest is the role played by the
Azali branch of the Bābī sect, many of whose members engaged in
oppositional political activity in this period and through the time of the
Constitutional Revolution. Azali Bābīs were among the editors of Akhtar
and among Sayyed Jamāl ad-Dīn al-Afghānī’s followers, and
there were also Bābīs among the group arrested for sedition in Tehran
in the spring of 1891, though some at least of these were of the
Bahā’ī branch. Already at this time there was a decisive political
split between the oppositional Azalis and the quietist Bahā’ī branch
of the Bābīs, which continued through the Constitutional Revolution.
The concern of the Bahā’īs to dissociate themselves from the
opposition is indicated by a report from Lascelles in February, 1892, saying
that the Amin os-Soltān had stressed that:
... all the enemies
of the Persian Government had taken the opportunity of the opposition to the
Tobacco Corporation to join together in an attempt to overthrow the Government
of the Shah. Among these enemies of the Government the sect of the Babis is not
the least influential element.
The Amin-es-Sultan has been careful to explain
to me that the Babis are divided into two branches, one of which, the Bahais,
are inoffensive, and abstain from any interference in the affairs of State;
whereas the other branch, known as the Azelis, seek for the destruction of all
existing institutions, and are similar to the Nihilists in Russia.
His Highness has communicated to me a letter
addressed to him by the exiled Babis belonging to the Baha branch, who are
living at Bombay, expressing their loyalty to the Shah, and pointing to the
Sayyid Jmal-ud-Din (sic) and his followers as the fomenters of trouble
and disaffection.[18]
From
the above we can see that Shirāzī, and other leading `ulamā,
reformers and journalists who were Bābīs, Azalīs or
Bahā’īs, found themselves in a complex web, in which various actors
would be pulled in different directions by their attitudes to the Shāh and
political reform, to tobacco itself, free trade, and European dominance, to
Azal and Bahā’u’llāh, and by their shared desire for progress and
modernisation (however differently they may have conceived that).
Finally, the Sermon on the Art of Governance is
in part addressed to the Shāh and his ministers, and was in fact presented
to the Shāh and leading notables.[19] An anonymous
researcher has pointed out that Mirza badi`
Bashrü’ī, who visited Haifa in November 1915, records in his notes that
Häjī Mirza Haydar `Alī told him that the book was revealed in response
to a question addressed to ‘Abdu’l-Bahā by Mirza `Alī Asghar
Khān, who was serving as the chancellor in 1893. The chancellor wanted to
know “to what extent the interference of the `ulamā in politics is
permitted and reasonable.”[20] There is no reason
to doubt that the chancellor did ask ‘Abdu’l-Bahā for his opinion, given
the publication of the letters from Afghānī to Shīrāzī
which were mentioned above. But from the contents of his reply, it is clear
that this was not the primary audience ‘Abdu’l-Bahā had in mind.
In addressing the audience at court,
‘Abdu’l-Bahā’s purpose was on the one hand to make it clear that the
Bahā’īs had nothing to do with those Azalī’s who were involved
in attempts to mount a revolution, and on the other hand to point out that,
although the `ulamā had for a generation been telling the Shāh that
the new religion was a threat and should be suppressed, it was actually other
‘parties’ that threatened the throne – implicitly referring not only to the
reformers, but to some leading anti-Bahā’ī `ulamā such as
Âqā Muhammad Najafi.
The complexity of the audience explains why
‘Abdu’l-Bahā sometimes addresses himself to the ‘Friends of God’ with
references to Bahā’u’llāh’s writings, and sometimes uses Qur`ān
and hadīth references, and employs a style that would be not be out of
place if read from the pulpit of the mosque on a Friday. We can also see why he
is careful to distinguish the principle of the institutional separation of the
religious and political spheres from anti-clericalism.
Leiden, March 2003
************
[On a page preceding the main text in the 1935 (Tehran) edition, we find
the following:]
In one of `Abdu'l-Bahā’s tablets he states:
The Sermon on the Art of Governance was
completed fourteen years ago, copied in the hand of Mushkīn-Qalam, and
printed and distributed in India. This treatise is sure to be available in
Tehran, but I am sending one copy. You may show it to the people at large,
because the treatise describes the present widespread damage, corruption and
discord in the clearest terms. The treatise outlines the sacred rights of
government, and the rights of the people that are to be respected, as well as
the relationship between the shepherd and the flock, the ties between the
governor and the governed, and the necessary relations between the leader and
the led. This is the method and course of these exiles, the path of these innocent
victims. Peace be on those who have followed the
right path.[21]
`Abdu'l-Bahā Abbas, 11 Jumādī ul-awwal, 1325 [22 June
1907]
[The following publication details are given by Muhammad Labīb, in
part below this tablet, in part at the bottom of the last page:]
In accordance with the
permission of the Central Spiritual Assembly, on the basis of an authentic copy
printed in India.
BE 91 [1935].
Published (by Muhammad
Labīb) in Tehran.
*** 1 ***
He is God.
All praise and thanksgiving be to God, who has made the appearance of
the sacred perfections of the human realm the foundation of his creation, so that the hidden
Godhead may be manifested on the plane of perception, in the form of
distinctions and signs, Decrees and Acts, essences and secrets. Thus the rays
of the reality of the saying, I was a hidden treasure and desired to be
known[22] may dawn on the horizon of the visible world.
And all praise and glorification are due to that
exalted reality of grandeur who is the sun of truth in the divine world, the most
great luminary of the human realm, the seat of the manifestation of the
Merciful, and the dawning‑place for the signs shining from the presence
of the One Being. Through his appearance, the secret of I created the
creation, so that I might be known has been confirmed on the plain of
Witness.
You see the earth lifeless: when we let rain descend upon it, it stirs
and swells, and produces plants from all the pairs, causing rejoicing.[23]
*** 2 ***
In these days and times, certain events that are contrary to all
religious laws, things that destroy human institutions and undermine the divine
edifice,[24] have been brought about by some ignorant, foolish people and by rebels
and those who love discord. They have taken God's clear Faith as a pretext and have stirred up a seditious commotion. They have dishonoured
the people of Iran in the eyes of all the nations of the world.
Gracious God! They claim to
be shepherds, but have the characters of wolves; they recite the Qur'ãn, and
wish to behave like wild animals. They have a human form, but they prefer the
manners of beasts. And when it is said to them, “Do no mischief on the
earth” they say, “We only want to make peace”
Truly, they are the ones who make mischief, but they do not realise it.[25] Therefore it has become necessary to briefly
clarify the most basic fundamentals of the divine teachings to remind the
friends to be alert and watchful.
*** 3 ***
It is evident, and indisputable, that all beings, in their inherent
disposition and natural created form, possess the power and capacity to
manifest two kinds of perfections. One is inborn perfections: these are solely
the divine creation, without any intermediary. The other kind is acquired
perfections, which are dependant on the education of a true Master. Consider
the things that exist in this world: the trees, flowers and fruits contain an
inherent freshness and delicacy which is solely the gift of God. In addition to
this, there is a vigour in growth and an indescribable sweetness of flavour
that become evident through the attentions of a careful gardener. For, if left
to itself, the garden would turn into jungle and undergrowth. The flowers and
blossoms would not open, the tree would give no fruit and would be fit for
burning. But when it comes under the training and care of a master, it becomes
a garden, a rose‑bower, or an orchard. Blossoms and fruit appear, and the
face of the earth is adorned with flowers and fragrant herbs. It is the same
with human societies and social structures: if left in their natural condition,
people would swarm like vermin, and would be considered as beasts and
predators. They would learn ferocity, cruelty and bloodthirstiness, and be
consumed in the flames of disobedience and forbidden things.
*** 4 ***
Human beings are children, studying in the school of the world, but they
fall ill and are enfeebled because of chronic defects. Those great and holy
figures, the prophets and holy ones, are the professors in the academy of God
and the doctors in the hospital of the Lord. They are messengers of grace, and
suns in the highest sphere of guidance. Through them, the radiant flame of
spiritual and outward perfection, that has cooled and died within the lamp of
human reality, may be reignited from the blazing fire of God.[26] Chronic diseases become as nothing through the over-flowing grace of
the All‑Merciful and the spirit of the Messiah.
Thus it has been demonstrated with the clearest of
proofs that human society requires the training and cultivation of a true
master, and that human souls need a governor, one who binds and restrains,
prohibits and encourages, one who impels and leads. For the garden of his
creation cannot attain beauty, delicacy and plenty except through the training
of the kindly gardener, the overflowing bounty from the realm of unicity, and
the just governance provided by the government.
*** 5 ***
Now this prohibition and prevention, rules and restraints, leading and
impelling, is divided into two types. The first protector and restrainer is the
power of governance that is related to the physical world, a power that
guarantees happiness in the external aspects of human existence. It safeguards
human life, property and honour, and the exalted quality and refined virtues of
the social life of this illustrious race. Just monarchs, accomplished
representatives, wise ministers, and intrepid military leaders constitute the
executive centre in this power of governance, the axis of the wheel of these
divine favours.
*** 6 ***
The second type of educator and governor of the human world is sacred
and spiritual power: the heavenly Books that have been sent down, the prophets of God, and spiritual souls
and devout religious leaders. For those in whom revelation descends and divine
inspiration arises are the educators of hearts and minds, the correctors of
morals. they beautify conduct and
encourage the faithful. That is, these holy souls are like spiritual powers.
They have freed human souls from the odours[27] of an ignoble character, the darkness of wicked qualities, and the coarseness
of the worlds of being. They illuminate the realities of human nature with the
lights of the virtues of the human world, with divine distinctions and the
virtues and excellencies of the Kingdom, so that the radiant reality of Blessed
be God, the best of creators,[28] and the virtue of We have created man according to the best pattern[29] might be realised in the hallowed human person. thus, through the glorious effulgences of these dawning‑places
of the divine verses, the pure and subtle reality of humanity becomes a focus
for manifestations of the holiness of the world of God.
These sacred duties are rooted in spiritual, divine
matters, and in ethical considerations. They have not been linked with material
honours, political affairs or worldly matters. On the contrary, the sacred
power of these pure and excellent persons is at work within the reality of the
soul and conscience, in the inner heart and spirit, and not in water and clay.
The banners of the signs of these pure realities are raised in the open spaces
of the soul, where the spirit takes wing, not in this world of dust. they have never had any role to play in
questions of the government and the governed, of ruling and being ruled. They
are ones chosen by the sweet-scented breezes of God, the ones closest to the
overflowing waters of the spirit of eternity. They do not seek any role in
other matters, and they do not urge the steed of ambition in the arena of greed
and power. For matters of politics and government, of the kingdom and of
subjects have a specified source and a respected place to which they refer,
while guidance, religion, insight, education, and the promotion of the morals
and virtues of humanity have a sacred centre and designated spring. These souls
have nothing to do with political affairs, nor do they seek any involvement.
Now, in this most great cycle, when the world has
reached the age of discretion and maturity, this matter has been made
indisputable in the book of God: it is like a firm foundation. According to
this incontrovertible text and this brilliant proof, all must be humble and
submit to the commands of the government, all should be compliant and obedient
before the throne of sovereignty. That is, in their obedience and servitude to
rulers, they should be sincere subjects and willing servants. This is what the
Beauty of God, whose decree is decisive, whose dawn is clear, and whose morn is
true and shining, has commanded in the book of the covenant and the pledge, the
eternal pact. The indisputable command is this:
*** 7 ***
O ye the loved ones
and the trustees of God! Kings are the manifestations of the power, and the
daysprings of the might and riches, of God. Pray ye on their behalf. He hath
invested them with the rulership of the earth and hath singled out the hearts
of men as His Own domain. Conflict and contention are categorically forbidden
in His Book. This is a decree of God in this Most Great Revelation. It is
divinely preserved from annulment and is invested by Him with the splendour of
His confirmation. Verily He is the All‑Knowing, the All‑Wise. It is
incumbent upon everyone to aid those daysprings of authority and sources of
command who are adorned with the ornament of equity and justice.[30]
*** 8 ***
The same is found in an unambiguous treatise that he addressed to one of
the religious leaders. One choice citation from that blessed treatise is this:
*** 9 ***
It
is now incumbent upon His Majesty the Shah -- may God, exalted be He, protect
him -- to deal with this people with loving-kindness and mercy. This Wronged
One pledgeth Himself, before the Divine Kaaba, that, apart from truthfulness
and trustworthiness, this people will show forth nothing that can in any way
conflict with the world-adorning views of His Majesty. Every nation must have a
high regard for the position of its sovereign, must be submissive unto him,
must carry out his behests, and hold fast his authority. The sovereigns of the
earth have been and are the manifestations of the power, the grandeur and the
majesty of God. This Wronged One hath at no time dealt deceitfully with anyone.
Every one is well aware of this, and beareth witness unto it. Regard for the
rank of sovereigns is divinely ordained, as is clearly attested by the words of
the Prophets of God and His chosen ones. He Who is the Spirit (Jesus) -- may
peace be upon Him -- was asked: "O Spirit of God! Is it lawful to give
tribute to Caesar or not?" And He made reply: "Yea, render to Caesar
the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.”[31] He forbade it not. These two sayings are, in the estimation of men of
insight, one and the same, for if that which belonged to Caesar had not come
from God, He would have forbidden it. And likewise in the sacred verse:
"Obey God and obey the Apostle, and those among you invested with
authority.”[32] By "those invested with
authority" is meant primarily and more especially the Imams -- the blessings of God rest upon them! They,
verily, are the manifestations of the power of God, and the sources of His
authority, and the repositories of His knowledge, and the daysprings of His
commandments. Secondarily these words refer unto the kings and rulers -- those
through the brightness of whose justice the horizons of the world are
resplendent and luminous. We fain would hope that His Majesty the Shah will
shine forth with a light of justice whose radiance will envelop all the
kindreds of the earth. It is incumbent upon every one to beseech the one true
God on his behalf for that which is meet and seemly in this day.
O
God, my God, and my Master, and my Mainstay, and my Desire, and my Beloved! I
ask Thee by the mysteries which were hid in Thy knowledge, and by the signs
which have diffused the fragrance of Thy loving-kindness, and by the billows of
the ocean of Thy bounty, and by the heaven of Thy grace and generosity, and by
the blood spilt in Thy path, and by the hearts consumed in their love for Thee,
to assist His Majesty the Shah with Thy power and Thy sovereignty, that from
him may be manifested that which will everlastingly endure in Thy Books, and
Thy Scriptures, and Thy Tablets. Hold Thou his hand, O my Lord, with the hand
of Thine omnipotence, and illuminate him with the light of Thy knowledge, and
adorn him with the adornment of Thy virtues. Potent art Thou to do what
pleaseth Thee, and in Thy grasp are the reins of all created things. No God is
there but Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Bounteous.
In
the Epistle to the Romans Saint Paul hath written: "Let every soul be
subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God; the powers
that be are ordained of God. Whosoever
therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God." And
further: "For he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon
him that doeth evil."[33] He saith that the appearance of the kings, and their majesty and power
are of God.
Moreover,
in the traditions of old, references have been made which the divines have seen
and heard. We beseech God – blessed and glorified be He – to aid thee, O Shaykh,
to lay fast hold on that which hath been sent down from the heaven of the
bounty of God, the Lord of the worlds.[34]
*** 10 ***
Therefore, O friends of God, strive with heart and soul. Show to the
world the miraculous power of your pure and genuine intentions, in good will to
the government and obedience to the state. This command is the most important
of the duties of the manifest religion and the decisive texts of the Heavenly
Book.
It is evident that the
government, by nature, desires the security and ease of the subjects, and seeks
the prosperity and happiness of the people. It is ready and willing to
safeguard the just rights of the citizens and of subjects, it attempts by every
means to repel the wicked intruder. For the honour and prosperity of the
subjects is the dignity, grandeur and power of the glorious monarchy and the
triumphant state, the success and happiness of the people is the object of the
attention of their royal highnesses. This is so, according to the nature of
things.
When, on the contrary, the outcome is a decline in the security of the
people or a deficiency in the prosperity and happiness of high and low, the
cause is a lack of ability on the part of functionaries, or the extreme
despotism and barbarity of ill-willed people, who appear in the robes of
learning and are experts in the arts of ignorance, and from first to last are
instigators of disorder. Disorder was sleeping, may God curse the one who
woke it.
*** 11 ***
For fifty years, in the streets and from pulpits, and in councils and
gatherings in the presence of government officials, this gaggle of imbeciles ‑‑
that is, the clerical leaders ‑‑ has been accusing this oppressed
community of rebellion. They go so far as to falsely accuse them of revolt.
They say,
“This community are destroyers of the world,
they are debasing the
morals of the children of Adam.
they entice the
regions to be disloyal
and are pernicious in
every respect.
They are the flag of rebellion,
and the standard of
insurgency,
Adversaries to religion and government,
and enemies of the
souls of the subjects.”
God's justice demands that the truth about every community and group
should become manifest and clear, so that it may be evident in the councils of
the world who acts in the best interests of the people, and who is the corrupter.
who is stirring up sedition, and
which group are the mischief makers? And God distinguishes the corruptor
from the one who acts in the best interests of the people.[35]
How good it would be if a touchstone were found
that would blacken the face of every dissembler.[36]
Now, O friends of God, give thanks for His providence, because the true
Just One has lifted the veil from the activities of every religious group, and
the hidden secrets of souls have become as manifest as the gleaming star.
Praise be to God! and again, thanks be to God!
*** 12 ***
The fact is, that the functions of the religious leaders and the duties
of experts in religious law are to keep watch over spiritual matters and to
spread abroad the virtues of the Merciful. Whenever the leaders of the manifest
religion, the pillars of religious law, have sought a role in the political
sphere, have issued opinions and taken control, the unity of the believers in
the one true God has been dissolved, and schisms have encompassed the community
of the faithful.
The flames of sedition flare up,
the fires of revolt
burn the world.
The kingdom is plundered and pillaged,
the people are as
vassals, in bondage to the oppressors.
At the time of the last Safavid kings[37] (may the Lord of Creation have mercy on them), the religious leaders
sought to participate in Iranian politics. They raised a flag and devised a
plan, they showed the way and opened the door. The unfortunate outcome of that
movement became the occasion of harm and the cause of ruin. The land of Iran
became a jousting field for the Turkoman tribes and the arena for Afghan
raiding and conquest.
The blessed earth of Irān was exploited by neighbouring peoples,
the lands of glory were
fallen into the hands of strangers.
The triumphant state was erased,
a brilliant dynasty
passed into oblivion.
Oppressors extended their tyrannous hands,
malevolent people
plotted, against property, honour and life itself.
People were killed,
properties plundered.
Great men were seized by force,
and great estates were
stolen.
The cultivated lands of Persia were laid to waste:
demons reclined on the
throne of the kings.
The reins of government held in the talons of beasts,
and the royal family
enchained,
or under the sword of
bloodthirsty nomads,
and the little children
as captives.
These were the fruits, when the divines and experts in religious law became
involved in political matters.
*** 13 ***
On another occasion, at the beginning of the reign of Aqa Muhammad Khan,[38] the religious leaders of the people again made a move in political
matters, and scattered the ashes of humiliation over the heads of Iranians.
They issued opinions regarding the succession to the throne,
they sang a siren song
that confused the minds of the people.
They incited turmoil and commotion,
they raised the flag of
revolt.
A hurricane wind of rebellion sprang up,
the customs of sedition
and discord gained the upper hand.
Anarchy and chaos ensued,
a wave of unrest
reached to the highest heavens.
The chiefs of the tribes pretended to be kings,
sowing the seeds of
enmity in the rich soil of the kingdom,
and one sought to kill
another.
Peace and security were forgotten,
covenant and treaty had
no effect.
Neither life nor property remained,
there was no security,
and no tranquillity.
At last, the decisive events at Kirman took place.[39] The dust of disorder and rebellion settled, and for the people of sin
there was cutting off at the root,[40] that is, the root of the corruptors was pulled out.
*** 14 ***
A third such incident occurred during the reign of Fath‑`Alī
Shāh:[41]
The leaders of religion once more stirred up a commotion.
They hoisted an ill-fated standard aloft,
They made ready for jihād, fighting the Russians.[42]
They set out on the roads,
with their drums and
their tabors,
and thus they arrived
at the border.
When they began their attack,
they fled from a
hostile reception.[43]
at a single volley of
muskets,
they left their honour
on the field of battle,
and chose to flee with
disgrace.
Like the locusts scattered abroad[44] and the palm trunks rooted out,[45]
they were confounded
and strewn on the banks of the Aras,
and the desert plain of
Mughān.[46]
Half of the province of Azerbaijan,
and three and a half
million tumāns were lost,
along with the Caspian
Sea.[47]
*** 15 ***
The best example of all is the sad case of the last days of the late
Sultan Abdulazīz[48] (may his soul rest in peace), as follows:
The spiritual leaders of the Ottoman people began a rebellion,
they raised the banner
of enmity.
In their madness, they started a movement
they wanted a role and
a share in running affairs.
They stirred up unrest, and provoked a dispute with government
officials.
They took for their pretext the manifest Faith and the God-given Law,
they spoke of "the
good of the nation,"
and demanded the
dismissal of Ministers.
They destroyed the foundations of fairness and chivalry.
People of good will were sent into exile
while they made the
malicious ones happy.
They made trustworthy people the object of public anger,
and turned traitors
into popular favourites.
And when their strategy was succeeding
they presented another
plan.
They challenged the throne of the sultanate,
belittled the ruler and
government.
They issued a fatwa that spoke of ‘depose’,
and sought to
‘extirpate’ and ‘suppress’.
They disgraced the name of chivalry,
and raised up the dust
of tyranny.
They approved of a violent deed that disgraced the perspicuous faith and
the law of the Lord of the Messengers. Because of this movement, regret and
sorrow burned in the breasts of the world's inhabitants, and the hearts of the
world and its peoples were seared, for the wrong done to that great ruler.
In the end, they insisted on combat,
and practiced with
talon and claw.
They strapped on their battle-gear,
and war was declared.
They persuaded the common people to say,
"Russia is a state beyond hope,
its armies and troops are a form without spirit,
its commanders are cowardly, its men are as weaklings,
its dynasty has no ferocity left,
its government has neither power nor dignity.
But we are the conquering nation, the glorious people:
Let us wage jihad, and crush the roots of rebellion.[49]
So will we win renown around the world,
and the absolute leadership[50] of peoples and nations."
When the results of this movement were out in the open,
and the fruits of these notions were seen,
they were vengeance incarnate and poison distilled,
retribution personified, and the humiliation of the government and the
people.
The earth was stained with the blood of the innocent,
the bodies of the dead made the field of battle a landscape of horror.
The people as a whole tasted the cup of affliction,
three hundred thousand young men of the nation,
three hundred thousand youth of the empire,
tasted the poison of death.
How many great monuments were razed to the ground,
how many old families faced extinction or poverty!
Of thousands of well‑ordered villages, nothing remained but the
cellars,
the crop-growing regions were turned into wastelands.
The contents of treasuries thrown to the winds,
the wealth of the state and the people, plundered and gone.
A million subjects were forced into exile, leaving the lands that they
knew.
A multitude of the chief men of the kingdom, the notables of these
provinces, having been deprived of everything, fled the nest. Children of
tender years and old men bearing the weight of the years wandered in the
wilderness and the desert, completely destitute. At the first setback, the
quarrelsome religious leaders who had raised the cry of "War, to
war!" and "Come to the holy war!" began to whimper "Where
can we hide, where can we flee?" At the smallest encounter they forgot
about great rewards and glorious recompense: they turned and fled, and they
harvested this colossal catastrophe.[51]
Gracious God! Shall a people who are not able to manage their own little
nests, or to instruct their own households, who are unaware of domestic and
foreign affairs, shall these interfere in the weighty affairs of the kingdom
and its subjects, and raise opposition in the complexities of political
matters? If you refer to history, you would find countless examples of this
sort, all based on the involvement of religious leaders in political matters.
These souls are the fountainhead of the interpretation of God’s commandments,
not of implementation. That is, when the government requests an explanation
concerning the requirements of the Law of God and the realities of the divine
ordinances, in principle or in a specific case, they must explain what they
have deduced from the commands of God and what is in accordance with the law of
God. Apart from this, what awareness do they have of questions of leadership
and social development, the administration and control of weighty matters, the
welfare and prosperity of the kingdom, the improvement of procedures and codes
of law, or foreign affairs and domestic policy?
Likewise, in all
previous ages and eras, the sources of opposition to the friends of God, and of
disputation with those who believed in the divine verses, have been certain
individuals who have been outwardly graced with the jewel of knowledge, but
piety and the fear[52] of God have faded from their hearts. They are learned in form, and
ignorant in truth, devout of speech but deniers at heart, devotees in the
flesh, but lifeless in spirit.
For example, in the
days when the One who bestowed the spirit, the Messiah, was giving life to the
body of the world, when the holy and fragrant Christ-spirit was granting the
contingent world a soul, the religious leaders of the children of Israel such
as Anas and Caiaphas voiced their opposition to that jewel of existence, that
evident beauty and praiseworthy spirit. They turned their backs on him,
declaring him to be no true believer, seeking to destroy him, and they
persecuted him and issued a licence to harm him. They punished the apostles and
inflicted the most severe punishment and vengeance. They issued fatwas of
death, and imprisoned and exiled them. They used torture and pain, they
martyred them with the worst afflictions and caused their pure blood to flow in
the path of God. This opposition, harshness, punishment and torment were all
due to the religious leaders of the community.
*** 16 ***
Similarly, consider the days of that mystery of existence, the promised
beauty who has been confirmed in the dignity of ‘the praised one’, Muhammad, the
Messenger of God, peace be upon him. Those argumentative and proud people
who opposed and rejected him were the learned among the Jews, intransigent
Christian divines, and ignorant and envious soothsayers such as Abu `Âmir
Rāhib, Ka`b ibn ’Ashraf, Nadr ibn Hārith, `Âs ibn Wā'il,
Hay ibn ’Akhtab, and ’Umayyah ibn Hilāl.[53] These leaders of the community engaged in anathematising and reviling,
striking and killing, that rising[54] sun of prophethood. They were so fanatical in injuring the one who was
the lamp in the assembly of humanity that he voiced a complaint, saying, "No
prophet has been persecuted as I have been persecuted."
Consider, then, that in
every dispensation and age, the injustice, persecution and restrictions, the
most severe cruelty and unprecedented oppression, have come from some faithless
divines. Moreover, whenever the government has offered opposition or[55] has been biased, it has all been as a result of the defamatory
innuendos, signs and winks of these rebellious individuals. Likewise, in these
days, if you look carefully, the things that have occurred have been due to the
opposition of unjust religious leaders, who are shut out from the fear of God,
and are far from the Law of God, and who seethe with the fire of envy and
jealousy.
*** 17 ***
But as for the learned who are pure of heart and soul,
each one is a mercy
from the Lord and a gift of God.
They are a candle for guidance and a lantern of God’s grace,
the lightning bolt of
truth and the guardians of the law.
They are the scales of justice and the sovereigns of trustworthiness.
They are the true dawn and the towering palm,
the bright star, and a
planet clearly seen.
They are the fountainhead of mystical insight,
the spreading of the
sweet waters of life.
They are the educators of souls
they bring glad tidings
to the hearts.
They are a guide to the nations,
the heralds of God
among the children of Adam.
They are the greatest sign and the loftiest banner,
the jewels of being and
the Graces of existence.
They are the manifestations of detachment,
the dawning place of
the sun of sanctity.
This ephemeral mortal existence has no attractions for them,
they hold themselves apart from the lusts and passion of the human
world.
In the meetings of the enraptured ones,[56]
they are drunk with the
virtues and praises of their beloved Lord,
but in that court where
God is manifest and seen,
they are performing the
rites of prayer.
They are firm pillars of the divine edifice,
an impregnable fortress
for the manifest religion.
They are the sweet waters of the Euphrates for the thirsty,
and the path of
salvation for those who have lost the way.
They are birds giving thanks in the gardens of “God is One”,
and candles giving
light in the councils of “I renounce all else.”
They are God's scholars,[57] and the heirs of the prophets,[58]
the initiates of
mysteries, and the commanders of the company of the pious.
They turn the private chapel, where dhikr is chanted,
into a cloister in the
Kingdom of heaven (malakūt).
They consider the surrender of all that is other,
as attainment to the
threshold of divinity (lāhūt).
If they are not like this, they are as lifeless bodies and images on
walls. As it is written in the authoritative text of the Qur'ān, “And
God has led him astray by means of some knowledge.” [59]
*** 18 ***
Human collective life naturally entails a need for binding rules and
relationships, for without these ties, no protection or security can be
attained,[60] there can be no sociability[61] or happiness. The sacred dignity of human beings would not be unveiled,
the face of the desire of all hearts would remain concealed. The country and
regions would not be cultivated, there could be no structure[62] and system in cities and villages. The world could not be set in order,
and the human race would not be able to wax and mature. Repose for the soul and
tranquillity of conscience would not be possible. The distinctive human
attributes would not shine, and the candle of God's bestowals would give no
light. The human essence would not discover the reality of the contingent
world, or become aware of God’s universal wisdom. The glorious arts would not
be spread abroad, and great discoveries would not yield their benefits. This
house of clay would not be the observatory of the heavens, and industry and
inventions would not amaze the mind. The east and west of the world could not
be drawn together, and the power of steam could not connect the continents.
These rules and relationships that comprise the foundation for the
edifice of happiness, and are the medium of grace, are the religious law and a
social system. These are the guardian of prosperity, the guarantor of good
repute, the preserver of the humane quality of life. If you study the matter in
detail, and look with a keen eye, it will be evident that the religious law and
social system are necessary relationships that derive from the realities of
things. If it was not so, there could be no order in collective life, no reason
for tranquillity, and no happiness for human society. For the collective
condition is analogous to a human person. Because it has been composed from
individual substances and diverse opposing and contradictory elements, it is
inevitably subject to accidents and illnesses. Whenever it is thrown into
disorder because of deficiencies, a skilful doctor and superior physician must
diagnose the disease, and then explain its cause. The doctor must consider the
essentials and the details of the illness and the requirements of Nature,
giving attention to causes and consequences, and to the means and necessities,
and distinguishing between particulars and universals. Then the doctor
considers what the exigencies and requirements of this disease are, and he
begins treatment and effects a cure.
From this it is clear that the effective treatment and medication comes
from the real essence of Nature, of the patient's constitution and of the
illness. In the same way, social life and the body of the world are subject to
systemic disorders, and are under the sway of various illnesses. The religious
law, the social order, and commandments are like a powerful remedy and a cure
for the creatures.
Could any knowledgeable
person imagine that he, by himself, has discovered the chronic diseases of the
world and is aware of the various disorders and accidents of contingent
existence, that he can diagnose the infirmities of the people of the earth and
can explain the painful condition of human society, or that he can uncover the
hidden secrets of the ages, to such an extent that he penetrates to the
necessary connections originating in the realities of things,[63] and so establish that system and those regulations that constitute a
swift remedy and a complete cure? There is no doubt that this is absurd and
impossible. Now, it is evident and proven that the founder of the commandments,
system, religious law and regulations among humans is God, the Mighty, the
Knowing. For none but the exalted Lord is aware and informed of the realities
of existence, the particularities of every being, and the hidden mysteries and
guarded enigmas of ages and centuries. This is why the laws of European
countries, which are in fact the product of several thousand years of thought
on the part of experts in administration and law, nevertheless remain
incomplete and imperfect, and subject to change, repeal and correction, because
the learned men of the past had not discovered the unsuitability of some
regulations, whereas later scholars became aware of it. Therefore, they have
corrected some laws, reaffirmed some, and replaced a few, and this continues.
Let us return to the main topic:
the religious law is
like the spirit of life,
the government is the
locus of the force of deliverance.
The religious law is the shining sun,
and government is the
clouds of April.
These two bright stars are like twin lights in the heavens of the
contingent world,
they have cast their
rays upon the people of the world.
One has illuminated the world of the soul,
the other caused the
earth to flower.
One sowed pearls in the oceans of conscience,
while the other made
the surface of the earth a garden of paradise.
It has turned this mound of dust into the envy of the heavens,
and made this dark
house of shadows the cynosure of the world of lights.
The cloud of mercy rose, the gentle rain of benevolence came down,
the fragrant breeze of
grace diffused musk and ambergris.
The dawn breeze blows, wafting the perfume that quickens the soul.
The face of the earth has become like heaven on high,
the agreeable season of
spring has arrived.
The showers of the heavenly spring have conferred
a wondrous freshness on
the garden of the world.
the sun of ancient
grandeur has lavished new radiance
on the horizon of the
contingent world.
The tawny dust has been turned into sandalwood and ambergris.
the blackened furnace
has become
the rose arbour of the
Merciful,
the flowering garden of
illumination.
The point is this, that each of these two signs of grandeur is the aid
and assistant of the other, like milk and honey, or the twins of Gemini in the
sky. Thus, contempt for one is betrayal of the other, and any negligence in
obedience to one is sinful rebellion against the other.
*** 19 ***
The divine Law (which is the life of existence, the light of the visible
world, and is consistent with the purpose of creation) needs an effective power
and decisive means. A clearly identifiable champion is required, a resolute
propagator is needed. There is no doubt that the institutions of government and
the sword of sovereignty are the source of this mighty power. When the one has
been strong and victorious, the other was manifest and refulgent. Whenever the
first is elevated and radiant, the second has been resplendent and widely
diffused. Thus, a just government is government in accordance with the divine
law, and a well‑ordered realm is a universal blessing. The royal throne
is encompassed with divine confirmations, and the royal crown is adorned with
the gems of heavenly bounty. In the Qur`ān it is clearly written, “Say:
O God, Lord of sovereignty, you grant sovereignty to whoever you will, and you
take it from whoever you please.”[64] Therefore, it is clear and evident that this bestowal is a divine gift
and a favour from the Lord. Likewise, it is clearly said in an authentic
tradition that “The king is the shadow of God on earth.” [65] Given the existence of these texts, which are like a solid foundation,
any other talk, of the king being “an usurper who imposes” is evidently futile
speculation and sheer imagination without argument or proof.
Note that in the
scriptural verse and the clear tradition, the statements are absolute and not
bounded: it is a general reference and not a specific matter.
However, the dignity of
the Imams of guidance, the station of those close to the court of grandeur, is
the honour and respect due to holiness.
Their prerogative is the patronage of the All‑Merciful,
their garland of glory
is the dust in the path of the Merciful,
their gleaming crown is
the lights of the bounty of God.
Their seat of justice is the throne-room of the hearts,
their sublime and
glorious throne is this,
that they are faithful
to the world of the Kingdom.
They are lords of the worlds of life and soul,
and not of water and
clay.
They are kings of the realms of immeasurable space,
not of the straight
places of this contingent world.
No-one can usurp or plunder
this glorious station,
this ancient honour.
Yet in the human world their throne is the mat, their seat of high
honour is the row of shoes.[66] The pinnacle of prestige for them is the lowest rank of servitude, and
the court of their sovereignty is some secluded corner. They see well-furnished
palaces as graves underground, and worldly pomp as an intolerable nuisance.
They know that wealth and riches are toil and sorrow, and a great entourage is
a burden to the soul. Like grateful birds in this house of vanity, they are
satisfied with a few grains. In the arbour of "God is One", at the
tip of the branch of detachment, they busy themselves with singing the virtues
and praises of the Ancient and the Living in an eloquent tongue.
In short, the point of
that which has been expressed in the clear verse and sound tradition is that
kingship is the gift of the Lord of grandeur, and government is a mercy from the
Lord of divinity.[67] The object of such gradations is that[68] perfect rulers and just kings, out of gratitude for this gift of God
and these glorious marks of favour, should be justice incarnate and wisdom
personified. They should be bounty unalloyed and the very picture of
generosity, the sun of loving kindness and the clouds of compassion, the banner
of the Lord, and the sign of the All‑Merciful.
*** 20 ***
[69] The government, the defender of the people, is worthy of obedience, and
obedience to it leads to nearness to God.[70] The justice of God requires the observation of mutual rights, and the
divine law is the preservation of distinct ranks. The governed have the right
to protection and consideration from the governor, the ruled have a right to
security and kind treatment from the ruler. Subjects are under the protective
guardianship of kings, and the common folk are under the protective shadow of
the monarch, who dispenses justice. Every shepherd is responsible for his
flock.[71] This, so that government might be a sure fortress for the people, and a
cave of assurance, an inviolable sanctuary and a refuge in a high place,
preserving and protecting the rights of subjects and of all creatures with all
its powers, observing and promoting the dignity and happiness of subjects and
subordinates, for the people are a trust from God, and the poor are a charge
from the Lord of unicity.
*** 21 ***
In the same way, obedience and loyalty have been decreed for subjects.
They must be upright in their duties as subordinates, and sincere in their
service. Good intentions and gratitude are obligatory, to the extent that they
pay their property taxes with unmixed gratitude, and bear the annual levies
willingly. They must exert themselves to increase the loftiness of the dignity
of kings, and give generously of their wealth and lives in support of the power
of government and to increase the glory of the royal throne.
For the benefit from this bargain, the fruits of this obedience
are enjoyed by every
citizen.
All are partners and equals in the profits from this great boon,
and the benefits of
this noble station.
Rights are mutual, dignities are reciprocal,
and all are under the
protection of the just Lord.[72]
*** 22 ***
The state and the government are like the head and the brain. The people
and subjects are like limbs, hands and feet, the pillars and parts of the
body. When the head and the brain (which are the centre of the senses and
faculties, the managers of the whole body and all of its limbs), when these
have effective power and complete authority, they make guardianship their motto
and provide for the means of security. They organise the necessary
pre-requisites and ensure the desired results and consequences. All the organs
and limbs enjoy complete well-being, resting in the bed of ease and in the
greatest peace.
But if there is any slackening in their effective control,
any deficiency in their
power,
the kingdom of the body becomes a wasteland
the corporeal realm
knows neither safety nor security.
A thousand ills of various sorts gain the ascendant,
the well-being and
repose of all its parts are broken.
Likewise, when the government’s power is effective and its orders
prevail,
the kingdom will be
embellished, the people will be at peace.
But if its power slackens, an earthquake shakes
the structures of the
people’s well-being and comfort,
and down they come.
For the required constraint and restraint, the harness and reins,
the night watchman and
sentinel, is government.
When the government is a shepherd to the people,
and the people take on
the duties of citizens,
the ties that bind them are put in order,
the links of solidarity
are strengthened.
The powers of one kingdom and the capacities of all of the people are
brought together and anchored in one point, one eminent individual, and there
is no doubt that it attains the greatest possible potency. When the rays of the
sun fall on the surface of a curved magnifying[73] glass, all the heat is concentrated at the focal point of that glass,
and such efficacy, penetration and combustive power result that any obdurately
solid body placed before this point must melt, even if it can endure fire.
Consider: the subjects of every resplendent government and victorious
empire enjoy the utmost honour and well-being. The dependents and ordinary folk
in every great and respected country are extremely well treated. They advance
rapidly in every respect, they progress steadily in learning and wealth, in
commerce and in industry. This is evident and accepted, beyond any doubt or
ambiguity, among all the wise and learned.
O friends of God! Open the ears of wisdom, shun those who love discord.
If you detect the odour of villainy from any person, even from an outwardly
important person or a peerless scholar, know that he sets out to deceive
powerful men, and opposes the order of the possessor of Majesty. He is an enemy
of God, a destroyer of foundations, a breaker of the covenant and treaty, an
outcast from the court of the Merciful.
A person who is knowledgeable and intelligent
is like a radiant lamp, a cause of happiness and virtue in the greater and
lesser world. Such a person works for the well-being and peace of the people of
the world, in accordance with the doctrine and covenant.
O Friends of God, the divine order is in the
epoch of youth,
the
wondrous Cause in the season of spring.
The modern age is the first sign of growth.
This age is the chosen age of the one true God.
The horizons of the contingent world are
radiant, resplendent,
lit
by the sun of mystical knowledge.
The east and the west of the world,
in
the fragrant breezes of holiness,
are
as attar and ambergris.
The face of the new creation is most comely and
fair,
the
body of the wonderful Cause is flexible and strong.
Listen with understanding to the counsels and
precepts of God, and then, in all sincerity, demonstrate your high calling
through a natural[74] genuineness, an upright disposition, and good
will to the authorities.[75] In this way it will become clear and
established in world society and in the council of nations that you are[76] the shining candle of the world of humanity
and the rose in the garden of the divine realm. Mere speech yields no harvest,
and the sapling of hope has no fruit. It is necessary to arise and set to work.
Potentially, all things are laid ready, all things are completed. Some are easy
to accomplish and others are difficult. But what is this worth? The human
person must, in actuality, become the sign of the All‑Merciful and the
banner of generosity[77] of the Lord.
Peace be on those who have followed the right
path.[78]
Notes
[1] See `Abdu'l-Hamid Ishraq-Khavari, Baha’i Encyclopaedia
(available on-line at http:// www2.h-net.msu.edu/ ~bahai/ abtext.htm), under
"Risalih." A more extensive introduction to The Sermon on
Art of Governance by Juan Cole has been published in Translations of
Shaykhī, Bābī and Bahā'ī Texts, vol. 2, no. 2
(May, 1998), which is available from the same web site.
[2] London, Frank
Cass & Co., 1966.
[3] Keddie, Religion and Rebellion, page 73. Abdul-Hadi Hairi, Shī`īsm
and Constitutionalism in Iran: A study of the role played by the Persian
residents of Iraq in Iranian politics, Leiden, Brill, 1977, page 64.
[4] Partial translation by E.G. Brown in The Persian Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 1910),
pages 15 – 21.
[5] See Hamid Algar, Mīrzā Malkum Khān: a study in the
history of Iranian Modernism, Berkeley, University of California Press,
1973, page 211.
[6] Hairi, Shī`īsm and Constitutionalism, page 80.
[7] Qānūn, no. 29, page 3,
translated in Hamid Algar, op cit., page 212.
[8] Keddie,
Religion and Rebellion, pages 75, 76.
[9] Keddie, Religion
and Revolution, page 79.
[10] Translated in
Keddie, Religion and Revolution, page 89.
[11] Keddie, Religion
and Revolution, pages 95 – 96.
[12] Keddie, Religion
and Revolution, pages 101 – 102.
[13] Keddie, Religion
and Revolution, pages 148 – 151. Afghani is said to have made an earlier
call for the deposition of the Shāh, in a newspaper called Dhiyyā
al-Khāfiqaīn that he published in London: see A.M. Goichon’s
preface to his translation of Afghani’s Réfutation des Matérialistes,
page 10n. In 1896, one of his followers was to assassinate the Shah.
[14] For more details see Keddie, Religion and Revolution, page 132.
[15] See H. M. Balyuzi, Eminent Bahā’īs in the time of
Bahā’u’llāh, chapter 19.
[16] Afghānī
himself was accused in Iran of being a Bābī (Hairi,
Shī`īsm and Constitutionalism, page 77) and he complains of this
accusation in his letter to Shīrāzī! (Browne, The Persian
Revolution, page 21) Shirāzī however knew that
Afghānī had previously sought
to establish his own orthodox credentials and discredit the Bahā’īs
by interpolating iconoclastic and anti-Muslim sentiments into a Turkish
translation of the Kitāb-i Aqdas, but Afghānī did not
know that Shirāzī knew this. (Balyuzi, Eminent
Bahā’īs, page 259. In his Refutation of the
Materialists, Afghānī adopts a similar tactic: he presents himself
as the orthodox Muslim and progressive Muslim thinkers as apostates.) In the circumstances, there was not the slightest possibility that
Shirāzī would cooperate with the revolutionary plans of
Afghānī and Mīrzā Malkum Khān.
[17] Le Béyan Persan, traduit
du Persan, A.-L.-M. Nicolas, vol. 4, Paris. Librairie Paul Geuthner, 1914, page
161.
[18] Keddie, Religion and Revolution, pages 107 – 108.
[19] Balyuzi, Eminent Bahā’īs, p. 176.
[20] Piyām-i
Bahā’ī, No. 275, October 2002, page 22 and page 27 note 2. The
article supposes that ‘Abdu’l-Bahā’s tablet of 1912 which is printed as a preface in the Tehran edition is also
addressed to Mirza `Alī Asghar Khān, but this cannot be correct: it
is addressed to Muhammad Labīb himself or at any rate to a
Bahā’ī in or near Tehran who has asked permission to publish the Sermon
on Art of Governance.
[21] Qur`ān
20:47.
[22] Passages in italics are citations translated from the Arabic. Here
`Abdu'l-Bahā cites a well-known hadith qudsi, an
Islamic tradition in which the words are supposed to be spoken by God. In B.
Furūzānfar, Ahādith-i Mathnavī, Tehran, 1335 AH (1955), this is tradition 70.
[23] Qur’ān 22:5.
[24] The Bombay printing is unclear here: the
reading bunyān in the Tehran printing seem most likely.
[25] Qur’ān 2:11-12.
[26] cf. Qur’ān
104:6.
[27] The Tehran printing has sha’mat, the
Bombay edition shama’mat. The former is used by `Abdu’l-Bahā, in
the sense of ill-fortunes (Tehran edition page 21), but in this case I believe
the Bombay edition is closer to the truth.
[28] Qur’ān 23:14
[29] Qur’ān 95:4.
[30] The citation is from Bahā'u'llāh’s Kitāb-i `Ahd (The Book of the Covenant):
the authorised translation quoted here is published in Tablets of
Baha’u’llah, pp. 220-221.
[31] See Matt 22: 15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:
20-26.
[32] Qur’ān, 4: 62.
[33] See Romans
13:1-7.
[34] `Abdu'l-Bahā cites Baha'u'llāh's Epistle to the Son of the
Wolf. The authorised translation used here is by Shoghi Effendi Rabbani
(Wilmette, Ill.: Bahā'ī Publishing Trust, 1971), in which this passage
appears at pp. 89–91.
[35] Qur`ān 2:220.
[36] From a ghazal by Hāfez concerning a hypocritical sufi.
'Black-faced' is an idiom for infamy. The ghazal begins Nāqd-i
sūfī na hame sāfī bāshad.
[37] The Safavid period extends from 1501 to 1722. Under Sultān-Husayn (r. 1694 – 1722) the Shi`ih `ulamā, led
by Majlisi the younger (Muhammad Bāqir Majlisi) had an unprecedented role
in public life. They were able to enlist state support for action against
Sunnis, Sufis and other religious minorities. One history writes that "the
repression he [Majlisi] instituted can be counted as an important cause of the
Afghan invasion and the overthrow of the Safavid dynasty." (S.A.
Arjomand., The Shadow of God and the Hidden Imam, 191)
[38] The first Qājār king, reigned 1785‑1797.
[39] In 1794 the last Zand ruler, holding out in Kirman, was defeated. The
'decisive events' included betrayal, the slaughter of male Zand prisoners, and
the killing of rivals to the Qajar throne.
[40] Qur`ān 6:45
[41] Reigned 1797‑1834.
[42] The war of 1826-8.
[43] The Tehran edition has be-rajūmī,
at a hail of stones, but the Bombay edition reads bar jauhī.
[44] Qur`ān 54:7, “The day that the Caller will call to a terrible
affair, they will come out, their eyes humbled, from (graves), like locusts
scattered abroad.”
[45] Qur`ān 54:20, “We sent against them a furious wind, on a day of
violent disaster, uprooting men as if they were the stumps of uprooted palm
trees.”
[46] Now in Azerbaijan, at that time on the Perso-Russian border.
[47] The 'sea' was surrendered in the sense that the Persians were not
permitted to station warships on it.
[48] Reigned 1861‑1876.
[49] The reference may well be to the brutal suppression of a rising in
Bulgaria.
[50] Cole reads surūr, the delight of
nations, Dreyfus reads sarvar, leadership. Both are possible, but the
latter is in accordance with the preceding lines which refer to the belief that
God has destined the Muslims to rule over other peoples. The position of ‘ila
itlāq at the end of the sentence could mean that it modifies the whole preceding
phrase: ‘over the peoples and nations, without exception’, but its position is
determined by the demands of the rhyme. I have read it as applying particularly
to sarvar.
[51] The reference was so recent that
`Abdu’l-Bahā’s readers would have required no further explanation. The
‘Eastern Crisis’ of 1875-8 began with the revolt of Christian peasants in
Bosnia-Hercegovina, followed by a rising in Bulgaria which was suppressed with
great cruelty. Serbia entered the war with Russian backing. Initial Ottoman
victories and a settlement under the auspices of the European powers was
unsatisfactory to Russia, and in 1877 Russia launched a war on her own account.
The war in fact lasted some ten months, ending with the Ottomans forced to
accept terms dictated by the Russians, which involved the loss of four
provinces to the Russians and the independence of Romania, Serbia and
Montenegro. This is the ‘catastrophe’ to which `Abdu’l-Baha refers.
[52] The Bombay
edition has hashīya, which must be a copyist’s error for khashīya,
as found in the Tehran edition.
[53] Abu `Âmir
Rāhib fought against the prophet, and became a ‘hypocrite’, a believer of
dubious sincerity. He is known for founding a mosque which seems to have been
intended to be in competition with that of Muhammad (Surah 9:108-9).
Ka`b ibn ’Ashraf, a Jewish opponent of Muhammad at
Medina. A poem quoted by Ibn Hishām implies he was a scholar, and he is
known to have been a poet.
Nadr ibn Hārith was a rich Meccan merchant, who is
said to have brought back books from Persia and to have been an admirer of the
Persian dynasty. He accused Muhammad of merely repeating stories he had heard
from others. See Surahs 8:31 and 83:13.
[54] The text can be read mashriq,
rising, or mushriq, shining.
[55] The Tehrān edition inserts a wa
before the yā, for no apparent reason (cf. Bombay edition, page 24
line 1).
[56] Wajūd
means existence, presence or essence, but wajūd is also the plural
of wajd, ecstasy, and I have taken it in this sense.
[57] The Bombay edition has rabbāyand:
the Tehrān edition rabbānīand, which seems more likely.
[58] A famous Islamic
tradition: “The ‘ulamā are the heirs to the prophets.”
[59] Qur’ān 45:23.
[60] The Tehrān edition’s niyābad
appears to be a simple error: the Bombay edition has niyāyad, rhyming
thus with the following nanemāyad.
[61] The Tehrān
edition has ’amniyyat (security), which would be a plausible word in the
context. The Bombay edition is unclear, but appears to read ’unsiyyat,
which alliterates with sa`ādat which follows.
[62] The Bombay
edition is unclear: the last letter bears both the double points of the ‘t’ and the single point of the ‘b’. The
reading of tartīb, in the Tehrān edition, seems as probable as
any other.
[63] The Tehrān edition has a printing fault
here: the Bombay edition clearly has ’ashyā
pey bord.
[64] Qur`ān 3:26.
[65] The saying is
old and well known: it is cited for instance by Najm al Dīn
Rāzī, in the second chapter of his Mersād al -`ebād men
al mabdā’ elā’lma`ād, in 1221, and by Badr al-din ibn Jama’a
(1241 B 1333) in Tahrīr al ahkam fī tadbīr ahl al-Islām,
(ed. Kofler) in Islamica vi
(1934) p. 355. Al-Beyhaqī, in his Sho`ab
al-īmān, says that the tradition is weak. The title was used by
Persian kings in pre-Islamic times.
[66] That is, the seat nearest to the door, the seat furthest from the door
being the seat of honour.
[67] The Tehran edition has this in bold text, as
if it were a citation.
[68] My copy of the Bombay edition is unclear
here, due to a printing fault: it may read marātibāt ast. The
Tehrān edition reads marātib īn ast. The meaning is not
affected.
[69] The following section has a parallel in the Nahj al-Balaghah,
sermon 215.
[70] “Obedience to it
leads to nearness” (implicitly, ‘to God’) is a quotation from the opening lines
of Sa`dī’s Gulistān.
[71] A well-know Islamic tradition (`Ale’ Al
Muttaq, Kanz al-ummal, Hyderabad, 1958, vol. 6 no. 88).
[72] The Bombay
edition reads parvardegār wa `ādel: I have followed the
Tehrān edition in reading parvardegār-e `ādel.
[73] The Bombay
editions reads mu`aqqir or mu`aqqar, the Tehran edition has muqa``ar,
concave, which is also possible, if the ‘glass’ here is a mirror.
[74] The Tehrān
edition has ikhlūs, the Bombay edition ikhlās
here.
[75] The Bombay edition reads khayr-khwah-ye daulat, the Tehrān edition has just khayr-ye daulat.
[76] The Tehran edition incorrectly has hastand, the Bombay edition
reads hastīd.
[77] The Tehran
edition omits mauhibat.