Hello again ProudMuslim! Excellent questions as usual.
ProudMuslim said:
1. There is one thing that captured my attention and that is the legal/justice system. I would like to know more about it. What do you mean by "only segment of it is reinforced and the rest will be in the future"? Can you explain and/or give examples of already-enforced laws and which kind of laws are to be implemented in the future? When exactly in the future and who will have the authority to say "well we have reached that point and it is time to implement the remaining laws"?
Examples of already-enforced laws include but are not limited to the recitation of the Greatest Name (Allah'u'abha) 95 times a day, practicing obligatory prayer, and performing Huquq'u'llah* ("the Right of God"), which is an annual payment of 19% of an individual's capital gain (profit
after all mandatory expenses have been paid off, such as that of a car or house) to the Universal House of Justice, the governing body of the Baha'i Faith. That money could be used for various Baha'i projects, such as funding for programs to contribute to the growth of the Baha'i Faith; assistance for communities across the globe in dire need; and upkeep of important Baha'i sites.
Future laws mainly have to do with societal conditions, such as criminal law. When a Baha'i state is established, there will be a specific way to deal with criminals (for example, if thieves repeat a particular offense three times, a mark will be placed on their forehead so that others may know of his status - you'd think after three tries he'd quit stealing!). Another example is the age of maturity: while it is 15 in the Baha'i Faith for both genders, that only applies to the Baha'i Faith itself and not civil law for the time being (meaning you don't get to purchase tobacco at a convenience store just because you're mature according to Baha'i law; you have to obey civil standards).
"When exactly in the future" would be whenever a prominent Baha'i population in a country is achieved or when a Baha'i State is formed, and the Universal House of Justice gets to say "when."
*It should be noted that while Huquq'u'llah is obligatory if one has the means for it, this law
cannot be enforced by any individual, and the fulfillment thereof is strictly a matter of conscience. People can't go around asking others to pay their Huquq'u'llah or harass an individual if they say they haven't done so - all the judging should be left to God.
ProudMuslim said:
2. Do you believe Baha'ullah is the seal of Prophets and Messengers?
He can answer that!
"Were any of the all-embracing Manifestations of God to declare: “I am God!” He verily speaketh the truth, and no doubt attacheth thereto. For it hath been repeatedly demonstrated that through their Revelation, their attributes and names, the Revelation of God, His name and His attributes, are made manifest in the world. Thus, He hath revealed: “Those shafts were God’s, not Thine!” And also He saith: “In truth, they who plighted fealty unto thee, really plighted that fealty unto God.” And were any of them to voice the utterance: “I am the Messenger of God,” He also speaketh the truth, the indubitable truth. Even as He saith: “Muḥammad is not the father of any man among you, but He is the Messenger of God.” Viewed in this light, they are all but Messengers of that ideal King, that unchangeable Essence. And were they all to proclaim: “I am the Seal of the Prophets,” they verily utter but the truth, beyond the faintest shadow of doubt. For they are all but one person, one soul, one spirit, one being, one revelation. They are all the manifestation of the “Beginning” and the “End,” the “First” and the “Last,” the “Seen” and “Hidden”—all of which pertain to Him Who is the innermost Spirit of Spirits and eternal Essence of Essences." [Emphasis mine]
(Kitab-i-Iqan, pp. 178-179)
"Manifestation of God" in Baha'i terminology refers to those personages that perfectly mirror forth the attributes of God (not incarnation, there's a difference here). The Manifestations of God whom we know by name are Abraham, Krishna, the Buddha, Zoroaster, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab (Baha'u'llah's forerunner, similar to John the Baptist in Christianity), and Baha'u'llah. However, according to our Writings, there were also other Manifestations of God whose names have been lost to time and history.
That being said, Jesus, Muhammad, Baha'u'llah etc. are
all the "Seal of the Prophets" because they are one and the same in essence, and all animated by the same Holy Spirit.
ProudMuslim said:
3. Is the Kitab Al Aqdas written in a specific language (e.g. persian) or can it be written in various languages?
Actually, the Kitab-i-Aqdas was originally written in Arabic, and my guess for that is because it's such a rich language and it allowed Baha'u'llah to fully express the meaning behind all of his laws and ordinances as potently as possible. In fact, he has numerous writings in Arabic.
It was officially translated into English in 1992 and is still being translated into other languages (in English, we had a summary of the book until 1992 known as
The Synopsis and Codification of the Kitab-i-Aqdas). I believe the most recent version is Norwegian, done sometime last year.
ProudMuslim said:
4. I understand that Kitab Al Aqdas is the main source of Bahai but is it the only, i mean do you have the equivilant of 'sunnah/hadiths' in Bahai?
Actually we regard all of Baha'u'llah's works as well as those of `Abdu'l-Baha, his son, as scripture. The Aqdas focuses on the laws of the Faith, as you know, and Baha'u'llah's other writings focus on other subjects. He wrote over 15,000 documents in his lifetime, although many of them were individual letters to Persian believers.
But back to your question. I suppose the closest equivalent to hadiths or sunnah in the Baha'i Faith would be pilgrims' notes, which are the notes that individuals would write down when in the company of either `Abdu'l-Baha or Shoghi Effendi (`Abdu'l-Baha's grandson and "Guardian" of the Baha'i Faith). However, Baha'is generally consider pilgrims' notes to be unreliable and certainly not authoritative like the works written by Baha'u'llah, `Abdu'l-Baha, or Shoghi Effendi themselves.
ProudMuslim said:
5. From my understanding of your replies, 'Hell and Heaven' are state of mind/spirituality and not actual destination. Can you clarify please if what i got is right or wrong?
Essentially, yes. Remember that in the afterlife, heaven and hell are the
spiritual states of closeness to and remoteness from God, respectively.
ProudMuslim said:
6. Can i have access to Al Kitab Al Aqdas online?
Most certainly!
You can choose from the following languages:
At one point, you could listen to an entire oral recitation of the Aqdas at
Al-Aqdas - I'm not sure if that feature is still available.
As always, please ask more as more comes to you!
Adib
