Free Baha'is ME

There comes a point in one’s spiritual life when quiet diplomacy becomes dishonesty. When soft words begin to feel like a veil over truths the heart already knows. And when conscience begins to rise like a tide, refusing to be hushed for the sake of courtesy. This is where I find myself when I contemplate Huququ’llah. For years, the Right of God was presented to me as a financial obligation — a sum calculated, extracted, and directed upward into the administrative arteries of the Faith. But the more I returned to the writings themselves, the more I found that the spiritual blood of this law flows in a different direction entirely. Abdu’l Baha says: “The poor are the trust of God in your midst. Their right is the right of God.” (Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, no. 79) Baha’u’llah commands: “O people of wealth! … The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust, and be not intent only on your own ease.” (Hidden Words (Arabic) no. 54) There is nothing ambiguous here. G...

History calls him the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith. Yet, when one looks beyond the titles and carefully woven narratives, a far darker truth emerges. What kind of “Guardian” celebrates persecution, excommunicates his own family, and replaces humility with hierarchy? What kind of leadership stands in the name of unity, yet divides and destroys? A Guardian Rejoicing in Tragedy In The Messiah of Shiraz (Denis MacEoin, p. 528), we find chilling evidence of how Shoghi Effendi reacted to the martyrdom of innocent Baha’is in Iran. Instead of mourning, he celebrated the global attention it brought to the Faith. Writing to the American Baha’is in August 1955, Shoghi stated: “Seldom, if at any time since its inception, has such a widespread publicity been accorded the infant Faith of God, now at long last emerging from an obscurity which has so long and so grievously oppressed it… ”To him, the shedding of Baha’i blood was publicity. The suffering of believers became a marketing opportunity. Even...

Email 2: I’ve been told there is only the UHJ can do the interpretation of the Writings, and that any personal understanding must agree with theirs and even the books that we read like Kitab-i-Iqaan or Kitab-i-Aqdas has to be read alongside a key that has been published by the Administration and obviously approved by the UHJ. But I have a question, which is that Baha’u’llah called for independent investigation of truth, and I feel like I ought to be able to interpret the Writings for myself. I’m confused. Who actually has the power to interpret? Answer: Dear Friend,  This is a sincere and important question – and one that touches the very heart of the Baha’i Faith.  From the earliest days, the Faith of Baha’u’llah has stood firmly against the idea of clergy, centralized interpretation, or institutional control over spiritual understanding. The principle of Independent Investigation of Truth means that every soul is responsible for studying the Writings and arriving at their ow...

  Email 3: I’ve heard that Free Bahais have a different understanding of the law of Huquq’ullah. Can you explain what it really means, and where the money should go? Answer: Dear Friend, That’s a beautiful and very important question—because the true meaning of Huququ’llah (the Right of God) has been misunderstood and misused by the Administration for decades. According to the writings of Baha’u’llah, Huququ’llah was never meant to become a centralized tool of fundraising or institutional wealth. It was a spiritual law, a reminder to the believers to purify their wealth and to serve humanity through selfless giving. Baha’u’llah revealed: “Should anyone acquire wealth, a portion thereof is the right of God, and should be rendered unto Him Who is the Possessor of all things…” (Kitab-i-Aqdas) Notice how Baha’u’llah says this is to be rendered unto God, not to any council, institution, or administrative body. The act was meant to be personal and voluntary, an expression of grati...