Lights of Guidance/Believers Forbidden to Associate with Covenant-Breakers
607. Ex-Communication
"Ex-communication is a spiritual thing …. Only actual enemies of the Cause are ex-communicated. On the other hand, those who conspicuously disgrace the Faith or refuse to abide by its laws can be deprived, as a punishment, of their voting rights; this in itself is a severe action, and he therefore always urges all National Assemblies (who can take such action) to first warn and repeatedly warn the evil-doer before taking the step of depriving him of his voting rights. He feels your Assembly must act with the greatest wisdom in such matters, and only impose this sanction if a believer is seriously injuring the Faith in the eyes of the public through his conduct or flagrantly breaking the laws of God. If such a sanction were lightly used the friends would come to attach no importance to it, or to feel the N.S.A. used it every time they got angry with some individual's disobedience to them. We must always remember that, sad and often childish as it seems, some of those who make the worst nuisances of themselves to their National Bodies are often very loyal believers, who think they are protecting the true interests of their Faith by attacking N.S.A. decisions!"
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of India, May 8, 1948)
608. No One Has the Right to See Covenant-Breakers Without Permission
"No one has any right to see the Covenant-Breakers without the permission of the N.S.A., and Mrs. … in doing so should realize she is putting herself in contact with a dangerous, contagious, spiritual disease, as the Master pointed out over and over again! She is also disobeying express instructions of the Master and the Guardian by contacting Covenant-Breakers."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to two individual believers, May 5, 1947)
609. Bahá’ís Cannot Associate with Those Who Have Left the Cause and are Associating with Covenant-Breakers
"There is no excuse for believers continuing to associate with … and those who, knowing everything, still insist on doing so, should be shunned by their fellow-Bahá’ís. The same applies to people who have left the Cause and associate with …. The point is that if the believers know and meet with people who are acquainted with Covenant-breakers there is no harm in this, for such individuals are not Bahá’ís and have nothing to do with the issues concerned. But those who have left the Cause, knowing all about such matters, and deliberately associate with Covenant-breakers, are well aware of what they do, and we must not associate with them at all. It is for the Local Assembly, guided by the N.S.A., to enforce such decisions and protect the Cause in its area of jurisdiction.
"The friends should, without too much dwelling on these negative things, be made to understand that some people are spiritually sick and that their disease is, alas, contagious. Some recover from it, as did Mr. … whose heart could not rest till he returned to the fold; others do not. The Master and Bahá’u’lláh have taught us that associating with these souls is not likely to heal them at all, but on the contrary exposes one to grave danger of contagion. The history of the Faith has proved this over and over again. The only way we can prove to such people that they are wrong is to censure their conduct; if we sympathise with them we only fortify their perversity and waywardness."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, January 23, 1945)
610. Bahá’í May Remain at Non-Bahá’í Meeting if Covenant-Breaker Appears
"With regard to avoiding association with declared Covenant-breakers. Shoghi Effendi says that this does not mean that if one or more of these attends a non-Bahá’í meeting any Bahá’ís present should feel compelled to leave the meeting or to refuse to take part in the meeting, especially if that part has been prearranged. Also if in the course of some business transaction it should become necessary to negotiate with one of these people, in order to clear up the business, that is permissible, provided the association is confined to the matter of the business in hand. It is different if one of these people should come to Bahá’í meeting. Then it would become necessary to ask him in a most tactful and dignified way to leave the meeting as Bahá’ís are forbidden to associate with him."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, May 16, 1925)
611. Personal Relations with Covenant-Breakers
"To read the writings of Covenant-breakers is not forbidden to the believers and does not constitute in itself an act of Covenant-breaking. Indeed, some of the Bahá’ís have the unpleasant duty to read such literature as part of their responsibilities for protecting the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. However, the friends are warned in the strongest terms against reading such literature because Covenant-breaking is a spiritual poison and the calumnies and distortions of the truth which the Covenant-breakers give out are such that they can undermine the faith of the believer and plant the seeds of doubt unless he is forearmed with an unshakable belief in Bahá’u’lláh and His Covenant and a knowledge of the true facts.
"Personal relations with Covenant-breakers, however, such as personal contact or entering into correspondence with one is strictly forbidden. In this connection, however, it is important to remember two qualifications:
"First, the civil rights of Covenant-breakers must be scrupulously upheld. For example, if a Bahá’í owes a debt to a person who breaks the Covenant he must be sure that it is repaid and that his obligations are met.
"Secondly, although the believers are required to avoid, if possible, all contact with Covenant-breakers it sometimes happens that contact on business matters cannot be avoided. For example, in one city the head of the rate collection department was a Covenant-breaker. In such situations the believers should restrict their contact with the Covenant-breaker to a purely formal business level and to an absolute minimum."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly, October 29, 1974)
612. All Covenant-Breakers Regardless of Nature of Disobedience Must Be Treated in Exactly the Same Manner
"Reference is made to your letter of April 8th in which you ask: 'Does a disciplinary action for disobedience to the Guardian carry the same implications as Covenant-breaking of an ideological order?' There is no distinction between the two concepts. All Covenant-breakers, regardless of the nature of their disobedience to the Covenant should be treated in exactly the same manner."
- (From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, July 19, 1964)
613. Opposition Due to Ignorance or Lack of Proper Training is Not Covenant-Breaking
"Whenever we find a person who opposes some fundamental of our Faith, such as the Institution of the Guardianship, we must first be sure this is not due to ignorance or lack of proper training, before we take action. We must not suppose immediately that that person is necessarily tainted by the spirit of the Covenant-Breakers. If, however, this should prove to be the case, then strong action must be taken by the Assembly."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, June 24, 1948)
614. Role of Auxiliary Board Member for Protection*
"The need to protect the Faith from the attacks of its enemies, both within and outside the Faith, is not generally appreciated by the friends, particularly in the West where such attacks have so far been intermittent. One of the vital functions of the Protection Boards is the deepening of the friends' knowledge of the Covenant and increasing their love and loyalty to it, and fostering the spirit of love and unity within the Bahá’í community."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of Venezuela, October 1, 1979)
*(See also: No. 1112)
615. God's Mercy Exceeds His Justice
"…we believe that God's Mercy exceeds His Justice, and that through the repentance of a soul, the prayers and supplications of other souls, and the goodness of God, even a person who has passed away in great spiritual darkness can be forgiven, educated spiritually in the next world and progress.
"Owing to …'s deliberate choice in leaving the Guardian to join the Covenant-breakers, and in his continuous association with them, it is evident he certainly has a spiritual disease."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, February 7, 1947)
616. To be the Enemy of the Enemies of God is Good Characteristic
"To be the enemy of the enemies of God is a good characteristic. We are not against them personally, just as any intelligent man is not personally against a man who has a dangerous contagious disease. But he carefully isolates the sick individual so that the contagion will not spread. So we shun the spiritually sick, wishing for their cure, but keeping clear of them. You are right to take a firm stand regarding Orientals. One would think that world events would be opening the eyes of the Americans to certain unreliable and mischievous characteristics of nationals of the Middle East."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, November 22, 1951)
617. It Is Better to Be Too Vigilant Than to Be Too Lax
"The Guardian feels that your attitude of vigilance and intense loyalty is quite right. In such matters as the Covenant it is far better to be too vigilant than too lax. However, he does not feel Mr. … is lacking in firmness and Faith. Many of the Bahá’ís, … while loyal to the Cause and the Guardian, do not fully grasp the implications of the Master's Will and the full station of the Guardians of the Cause. They need to study more deeply the spiritual side of the Teachings and the Will itself. And this he has advised the… to do."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, July 5, 1949)
618. Possibly no Group Have Softer Tongues Than the Covenant-Breakers
"… It is a pity that some of the Western friends, with remarkable naivete, do not grasp the fact that there is absolutely nothing keeping those who have broken the Covenant, whether Bahá’u’lláh's or the Master's, out of the Cause of God except their own inner spiritually sick condition. If they were sound, instead of diseased, and wanted to enter the service of our Faith, they would apply direct to the Guardian, and he would be able to adjudge of their sincerity and, if sincere, would welcome them into the ranks of the faithful as he did with Sydney Sprague. Unfortunately a man who is ill is not made well just by asserting there is nothing wrong with him! Facts, actual states, are what count. Probably no group of people in the world have softer tongues, or proclaim more loudly their innocence, than those who in their heart of hearts, and by their every act, are enemies of the Center of the Covenant. The Master well knew this, and that is why He said we must shun their company, but pray for them. If you put a leper in a room with healthy people, he cannot catch their health; on the contrary they are very likely to catch his horrible ailment."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, April 11, 1949)
619. National Assembly Should Consider Itself as Committee of Vigilance
"He feels that your Assembly should redouble its vigilance, in fact he feels that the National Assembly should consider itself, aside from its other duties, as a Committee of Vigilance to watch over the Faith and protect it from its internal enemies, and from the constantly carried on and insidious activities…."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, September 21, 1957)
620. Bahá’ís Need more Than Anything Else in the World Deeper Understanding Covenants of Bahá’u’lláh and Master
"The Guardian has been considerably disturbed by the inharmony that has arisen in … He feels that what the … Bahá’ís need—and must have—more than anything else in the world is a far deeper understanding of the Covenants of both Bahá’u’lláh and the Master. This is the rock-foundation without which no sound super-structure can be built. Neither the administration, nor the general teaching work of the Cause…, will progress, or be able to accomplish anything, unless the believers are truly firm, deep, spiritually convinced Bahá’ís. An intellectual grasp of the Teachings is purely superficial; with the first real test such believers are shaken from the bough! But once a Bahá’í has the profound conviction of the authority from God, vested in the Prophet, passed on to the Master, and by Him, to the Guardians, and which flows out through the Assemblies and creates order based on obedience—once a Bahá’í has this, nothing can shake him. He, therefore, urges you, and the other members of the …, to devote as much time as you possibly can, to educating the believers in the Covenant."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, April 11, 1949)
