Richard Gravelly wrote: > Below is a narration of those new laws of the Bab'i > Dispensation, Revealed by Tahirih and possibly Quddus as two of the > Successors of the Bab.
And quoted from the Dawn-breakers: > Still others who > recognized the authority of both Tahirih and Quddus viewed the whole > episode as a God-sent test designed to separate the true from the false > and distinguish the faithful from the disloyal. I appreciate your comments, Richard. It does seem that Tahirih and Quddus had a kind of spiritual authority, in the sense of being exemplary believers. And true, the rank of Quddus was second only to that of the Bab. So in that sense, you are confirming what I asked in my posting, perhaps it was the Letters of the Living who aided in maintaining the unity of the Babi community. I would not go so far as to say that the two of them were "successors" because the Guardian has stated that the Bab named no successor. But in the sense I think you mean it, I think this is a really good observation. I also agree with Khazeh, that the Lesser and Greater Covenants of the Bab may be conflated into one, in the sense that turning the believers eyes towards Him Whom God will manifest was designed both to lead the Babis to the next Manifestation, and also to keep His community united for the duration of the Babi Dispensation. It seems to me that it has to be these things -- what else could there be, to which the Guardian refers as the Lesser Covenant of the Bab? Also, when the Guardian refers to Baha'u'llah's explusion of Mirza Yahya and Siyyid Muhammad-i-Isfahani from the Babi community, he states that the Covenant of the Bab insured the integrity of the Community. (GPB 170) Interesting, as this was during the Dispensation of Baha'u'llah, and after His public Declaration. Thank you both, and thank you, too, to Kendal for referring me to Saeidi's book, one of the finest Baha'i books I've read in a decade. Brent ---------- You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://list.jccc.net/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=bahai-st news://list.jccc.net/bahai-st http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist (public) http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] (public)
