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The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh
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Pages 5-7
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Local and National Houses of Justice
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It should be carefully borne in mind that the local as well as the
international Houses of Justice have been expressly enjoined by
the Kitáb-i-Aqdas; that the institution of the National Spiritual
Assembly, as an intermediary body, and referred to in the Master's
Will as the "Secondary House of Justice," has the express sanction
of `Abdu'l-Bahá; and that the method to be pursued for the election
of the International and National Houses of Justice has been set
forth by Him in His Will, as well as in a number of His Tablets.
Moreover, the institutions of the local and national Funds, that
are now the necessary adjuncts to all local and national spiritual
assemblies, have not only been established by `Abdu'l-Bahá in the
Tablets He revealed to the Bahá'ís of the Orient, but their importance
and necessity have been repeatedly emphasized by Him in His
utterances and writings. The concentration of authority in the hands
of the elected representatives of the believers; the necessity of the
submission of every adherent of the Faith to the considered judgment
of Bahá'í Assemblies; His preference for unanimity in decision;
the decisive character of the majority vote; and even the
desirability for the exercise of close supervision over all Bahá'í
publications, have been sedulously instilled by `Abdu'l-Bahá, as evidenced
by His authenticated and widely-scattered Tablets. To accept
His broad and humanitarian Teachings on one hand, and to reject
and dismiss with neglectful indifference His more challenging and
distinguishing precepts, would be an act of manifest disloyalty to
that which He has cherished most in His life.
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That the Spiritual Assemblies of today will be replaced in time
by the Houses of Justice, and are to all intents and purposes identical
and not separate bodies, is abundantly confirmed by `Abdu'l-Bahá
Himself. He has in fact in a Tablet addressed to the members of the
first Chicago Spiritual Assembly, the first elected Bahá'í body instituted
in the United States, referred to them as the members of the
"House of Justice" for that city, and has thus with His own pen
established beyond any doubt the identity of the present Bahá'í
Spiritual Assemblies with the Houses of Justice referred to by
Bahá'u'lláh. For reasons which are not difficult to discover, it has
been found advisable to bestow upon the elected representatives of
Bahá'í communities throughout the world the temporary appellation
of Spiritual Assemblies, a term which, as the position and aims of
the Bahá'í Faith are better understood and more fully recognized,
will gradually be superseded by the permanent and more appropriate
designation of House of Justice. Not only will the present-day Spiritual
Assemblies be styled differently in future, but they will be enabled
also to add to their present functions those powers, duties,
and prerogatives necessitated by the recognition of the Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh, not merely as one of the recognized religious systems
of the world, but as the State Religion of an independent and Sovereign
Power. And as the Bahá'í Faith permeates the masses of
the peoples of East and West, and its truth is embraced by the
majority of the peoples of a number of the Sovereign States of the
world, will the Universal House of Justice attain the plenitude of
its power, and exercise, as the supreme organ of the Bahá'í Commonwealth,
all the rights, the duties, and responsibilities incumbent
upon the world's future super-state.
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It must be pointed out, however, in this connection that, contrary
to what has been confidently asserted, the establishment of
the Supreme House of Justice is in no way dependent upon the
adoption of the Bahá'í Faith by the mass of the peoples of the world,
nor does it presuppose its acceptance by the majority of the inhabitants
of any one country. In fact, `Abdu'l-Bahá, Himself, in one of
His earliest Tablets, contemplated the possibility of the formation
of the Universal House of Justice in His own lifetime, and but for
the unfavorable circumstances prevailing under the Turkish régime,
would have, in all probability, taken the preliminary steps for its
establishment. It will be evident, therefore, that given favorable
circumstances, under which the Bahá'ís of Persia and of the adjoining
countries under Soviet rule, may be enabled to elect their
national representatives, in accordance with the guiding principles
laid down in `Abdu'l-Bahá's writings, the only remaining obstacle
in the way of the definite formation of the International House of
Justice will have been removed. For upon the National Houses of
Justice of the East and the West devolves the task, in conformity
with the explicit provisions of the Will, of electing directly the
members of the International House of Justice. Not until they are
themselves fully representative of the rank and file of the believers
in their respective countries, not until they have acquired the weight
and the experience that will enable them to function vigorously in
the organic life of the Cause, can they approach their sacred task,
and provide the spiritual basis for the constitution of so august a
body in the Bahá'í world.
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