World Order of Bahá'u'lláh

The book The World Order of Baha'u'llah contains seven letters of Shoghi Effendi, written 1929-1936 in Haifa in English to the Bahai of the West. According to this book, this World Order of Baha'u'llah is the divine culture, whose construction is the main task of the Bahai faith. The Baha'i Administrative Order is the essence and form of this world order, which almost imperceptibly rises from the confusion and chaos of the present civilization. The English original appeared in 1938 under the title "The World Order of Baha'u'llah ". Revised versions appeared in 1955 and 1973. The German translation was published in 1977 and includes more than 300 pages.

Content

After an introduction and a preface to the 1955 Edition of the Hand of the Cause Horace Holley, the seven letters are reproduced.

The first letter is dated 27 February 1929 and is addressed to the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is in the United States and Canada. This letter deals with the Kitab -i -Aqdas and the Testament Abdul- Baha as sources of the Bahai world order, with local and national houses of justice, the institution of the Guardianship, the existence of objective and the main tasks of the Baha'i institutions as well as with the precarious legal situation of the Baha'is in Egypt.

The second letter is dated 21 March 1930 and is addressed to the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful in the Western world. The letter dealt with the attacks on the Baha'i faith and the difference between the Bahai world order and the spiritual organizations of Christianity and Islam. Moreover, Shoghi Effendi discusses the adaptability of the administrative apparatus of the Bahai faith. He cites in this context, statements of Abdul- Baha and Baha'u'llah, which allow the House of Justice, to set laws that are not expressly disclosed in the book into force or repeal again.

The third letter is dated November 28, 1931 and is addressed to the companions in the faith of Baha'u'llah. Shoghi Effendi brought this letter in connection with the 10th death anniversary Abdul- Baha. In the letter, the world is full of desolate state pointed out and that was to develop based on the Baha'i principle of unity of mankind, a federal super-state world. The formation of the world - over state is compared with the formation of the United States.

The fourth letter is dated March 21, 1932 and is addressed to the beloved of God and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout the United States and Canada. This America's contribution to the Bahai faith is described and explained again the relationship of this disclosure, to those of the past. In addition, the stage of the Bab is presented, explaining the relationship of the Baha'is towards politics and pushed for the successful completion of the construction of the House of Worship in Wilmette (Illinois ).

The fifth letter of 21 April 1933 and is addressed to the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout the United States and Canada. This primary role is dealt with, the God America has determined to play in this age. It is used together with the first public mention of Baha'u'llah in the Americas in 1893 and the travel Abdul- Baha's remembered in the west and the successes recapitulates that have already been earned by this community of faith.

The sixth letter is dated February 8, 1934, and is addressed to the beloved of God and the handmaids of the Merciful in the West. This nature of the religious system of Baha'u'llah, the revelations of the past that stage of the Bab and Abdul- Baha and the administrative and social order is explained.

The seventh and last letter is dated 11 March 1936 and is addressed to the mistress and the servants of the Merciful throughout the West. It is a further illustration of the state of the world, the apparent rapid political, economic and moral decay in it, and the weakening of both Christianity and Islam.