Huqu’qu’lla’h (Rights of God) in the Baha’i Organization
There is a great importance of Huququllah in the Bahá’í Faith.
Huququllah is an Arabic word comprised of two words. Huquq meaning “Right” and “Allah” meaning “God”. Therefore, Huququllah means “Right of God”, a part of the individual’s possession and income offered at the Threshold of God. Huququllah being the Right of God and bounty for the people is clear from the Bahá’í Holy writings of sayings of The Bab, Bahaullah and Abdul-Baha.
Writings of the Bab
“O people of the world, whatever ye have offered up in the way of the one true God, ye shall indeed find preserved by God, The Preserver, and Intact at Gods Holy Gate.”
Thus, the embryo of the sacred law of Huququllah was established by the Bab in the Persian Bayan, His book of Laws.
Writings of Bahaullah
Bahaullah brought some modifications in its content and fashioned it as one of the world’s shaping ordinances of His stupendous Revelation.
Bahaullah affirms:
“… the payment to the Right of God is conducive to prosperity, to blessing and to honor and divine protection” “As to Huququllah, this is the source of blessing and the mainspring of God’s loving kindness and tender love vouchsafed unto men.”
In Kitab-i Aqdas verse 97, it has been revealed by Bahaullah:
“Should anyone acquire one hundred mithqals of gold, nineteen mithqals thereof are Gods and to be rendered unto him, the fashioner of the earth and heaven. Take heed o people, lest you deprive yourselves of such a great bounty. This we have commanded you, though we are well able to dispense with you and with all those who are in the heavens and on earth, in it there are benefits and wisdoms beyond the ken of anyone but God, the Omniscient, the all-informed say, by this means He hath desired to purify what ye possess and to enable you to draw nigh unto such stations as none can comprehend save those whom God hath willed, He in truth is the Beneficent the Gracious, The Merciful .O people deal not faithlessly with the Right of God , nor without His leave, make free with its disposal .Thus, hath his commandments been established in the holy tablets and in this Exalted book. He who dealeth faithlessly with God shall in justice meet with faithlessness himself, He, however, who acted in accordance with God’s bidding shall receive a blessing from the heaven of the bounty of His lord, the Gracious, the Bestower, the Generous, the Ancient of Days. He verily hath willed for you that which is yet beyond your knowledge, but shall be known to you when, after this fleeting life, your souls shall soar heaven wards and the trappings of your earthly joys are folded up. Thus, admonished you He in Whose possession is the Guarded Tablet.”
Writings of Abdul-Baha
“O friends of Abdul-Baha the Lord as a sign of his infinite bounties hath graciously favored His servants by providing for a fixed money offering (Huquq) to be dutifully presented unto Him, though him, the true One and His servants have been at all times independent of all created things, and God verily is the all possessing, exalted above the need of any gift from His creatures. This fixed money offering however caused people to become firm and steadfast and draweth Divine increase upon them.” (Will and Testament of Abdul-Baha)
Abdul-Baha commenting on the manifold powers latent in the Law of Huququllah writes:
“…In accordance with His inscrutable wisdom and in order to apply a unique test to distinguish the friend from the stranger, He hath enjoined the Huquq upon His servants and made it obligatory.”
From all the above quotations it is amply clear that the source of energy for upholding the law of Huququllah is the individuals love and loyalty to the covenant. also, it should be gotten by the Guardian of God, only.
As Abdul-Baha, He says that it distinguishes the friend from the stranger; this is nothing more or less than a test of one’s firmness in the covenant.
It is become more interesting when the universal house of justice gets the Huququllah and excommunicated a Baha’i as he didn’t pay it. there is an attractive memory of Michael Zargarov in Rights of God.
Michael Zargarov an American Baha’i
Michael Zargarov was born in 1960 in Texas, USA. He became a Baha’i at the age of 20. He undertook numerous missionary travels across America and even served as an international pioneering missionary in Mexico, Central America, the former Soviet Union, and other places.
Zargarov recounts in his memoirs:
“However, when I saw that the leadership of the Baha’i organization, namely the ‘Universal House of Justice,’ was incapable of establishing peace in the world, unity of mankind, creating a golden age for human society, and worse, they were utterly unprepared to hear critical viewpoints, I left the Baha’i Faith.”
“I was a devout Baha’i. Baha’is are supposed to pay a sum of money annually as the ‘Rights of God.’ Baha’i texts assert that the Rights of God should be given to the ‘Guardian of the Cause of God,’ meaning the successors of Baha’u’llah. Without paying attention to this, I sent amounts to the account of the Universal House of Justice. When I later learned about this matter and realized it should not have been sent there, I contacted them and requested that they return the amount, which they never did!
This incident was the beginning of a doubt and hesitation about how I should entrust my entire life to nine individuals who are like me, yet I must believe that the decisions of those nine are infallible and must be followed 100%!”
Seeing this manner of interaction and treatment cemented Zargarov’s doubts about the Baha’i organization. After 20 years of extensive missionary activity, he left the Baha’i Faith. There are other examples of organizational contradictions in the Baha’i administration from Zargarov’s perspective.
Behavioral Contradictions of the Universal House of Justice, the Global Center of the Baha’i organization
1-Excommunication and the Unity of the World of Humanity
Bahareh Moghaddam, an Iranian Baha’i girl residing in America, had critical views regarding the Universal House of Justice. This was enough for the Baha’i institutions to compel, on September 17, 2019, all Baha’is to be instructed not to contact her under any circumstances and to prevent her from even contacting a single Baha’i!
Let’s set aside that this is a completely medieval order! But we must know that this effort comes from those who claim to strive for the unity of the human world. This is where it should be said: “No! They only want yes-men, not free thinkers!”
2- The Infallibility of the Nine-Member Council of the Universal House of Justice
When Zargaroff expressed his opinions about the Universal House of Justice, questioning how the decisions and opinions of nine individuals could be considered divine. Especially when these individuals are not infallible and are even prone to errors and lawbreaking!
This truth was not well received by the Baha’i institutions, and they denounced Zargaroff as a covenant-breaker and expelled him. Subsequently, all Baha’is shunned him! Can the expulsion of a person and the removal of their human rights be reconciled with the Baha’i slogan of the unity of the human world?
Zargaroff asserts that believing the nine individuals, who are like all Baha’is, to be free from error and mistake, is the destruction of thought and reason. With such a belief, new ideas, innovation, and initiatives in society will disappear. Also, personal projects that are supported or encouraged will fade away.
3- Elections or Appointments of the Universal House of Justice
The elections for the Universal House of Justice are also corrupt and a sham. Every five years, members of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Baha’is from all over gather to vote for nine individuals. Candidates are not allowed to campaign. Everyone knows that all members of the Universal House of Justice are selected from among the men of the Continental Boards of Counsellors! And the Baha’is do not know them at all! Therefore, Baha’is are forced to blindly obey those whom they do not know.
As an example:
Mr. Ali Nakhjavani was a member of the Universal House of Justice for 40 years, from 1963 to 2003! Which elections have consecutively selected him for eight terms?! Zargaroff confidently said:
“I can now predict who will be the members of the Universal House of Justice in 2023, because in the Baha’i system, there is no election, it is entirely appointment-based!”
4- The Moral Corruption of Shoghi Effendi, the Leader of the Baha’i Community
“The moral standing of Shoghi Effendi was the next issue that disgusted Zargarov with this organization. Shoghi Effendi transformed Baha’ism from a religious group into a party with a complex structure, seeking authority and governance. He almost expelled all his own family members because they did not recognize him as the the legitimate leader of Bahaism .
Most importantly, according to people around Shoghi, he had the moral corruption of homosexuality.
This matter is proven with the confirmation of the Universal House of Justice in the 2014 message. It quotes Shoghi saying: “Baha’is should not shun them but should support and even encourage him!”
Others close to and contemporaneous with Shoghi have also confessed to his ethics. Among them, one can refer to the memoirs of Mr. Sobhi who disclosed in his memoirs.