3.3 Attitudes of the Scholar
From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
56: “Amongst the people is he whose learning hath made him proud, and who hath...”
Amongst the people is he whose learning hath made him proud, and who hath been debarred thereby from recognizing My Name, the Self-Subsisting; who, when he heareth the tread of sandals following behind him, waxeth greater in his own esteem than Nimrod. Say: O rejected one! Where now is his abode? By God, it is the nethermost fire. Say: O concourse of divines! Hear ye not the shrill voice of My Most Exalted Pen? See ye not this Sun that shineth in refulgent splendour above the All-Glorious Horizon? For how long will ye worship the idols of your evil passions? Forsake your vain imaginings, and turn yourselves unto God, your Everlasting Lord.
(The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, paragraph 41) [56]
57: “Show forbearance and benevolence and love to one another. Should any...”
Show forbearance and benevolence and love to one another. Should any one among you be incapable of grasping a certain truth, or be striving to comprehend it, show forth, when conversing with him, a spirit of extreme kindliness and good-will. Help him to see and recognize the truth, without esteeming yourself to be, in the least, superior to him, or to be possessed of greater endowments.
(“Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh”, section V) [57]
58: “Beware lest ye contend with any one, nay, strive to make him aware of the truth...”
Beware lest ye contend with any one, nay, strive to make him aware of the truth with kindly manner and most convincing exhortation. If your hearer respond, he will have responded to his own behoof, and if not, turn ye away from him, and set your faces towards God’s sacred Court, the seat of resplendent holiness.
Dispute not with any one concerning the things of this world and its affairs, for God hath abandoned them to such as have set their affection upon them.
(“Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh”, section CXXVIII) [58]
59: “Warn, O Salmán, the beloved of the one true God, not to view with too...”
Warn, O Salmán, the beloved of the one true God, not to view with too critical an eye the sayings and writings of men. Let them rather approach such sayings and writings in a spirit of open-mindedness and loving sympathy. Those men, however, who, in this Day, have been led to assail, in their inflammatory writings, the tenets of the Cause of God, are to be treated differently. It is incumbent upon all men, each according to his ability, to refute the arguments of those that have attacked the Faith of God. Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the All-Powerful, the Almighty.
(“Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh”, section CLIV) [59]
From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
60: “Good behaviour and high moral character must come first, for unless the...”
Good behaviour and high moral character must come first, for unless the character be trained, acquiring knowledge will only prove injurious. Knowledge is praiseworthy when it is coupled with ethical conduct and virtuous character; otherwise it is a deadly poison, a frightful danger. A physician of evil character, and who betrayeth his trust, can bring on death, and become the source of numerous infirmities and diseases.
(From a Tablet, translated from the Persian) [60]
From Letters Written by or on Behalf of the Universal House of Justice
61: “...the believers must recognize the importance of intellectual honesty and...”
...the believers must recognize the importance of intellectual honesty and humility. In past dispensations many errors arose because the believers in God’s Revelation were over-anxious to encompass the Divine Message within the framework of their limited understanding, to define doctrines where definition was beyond their power, to explain mysteries which only the wisdom and experience of a later age would make comprehensible, to argue that something was true because it appeared desirable and necessary. Such compromises with essential truth, such intellectual pride, we must scrupulously avoid.
(27 May 1966, published in “Wellspring of Guidance: Messages 1963–1968” (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1976), pp. 87–88) [61]
62: “When studying at school or university Bahá’í youth will often find...”
When studying at school or university Bahá’í youth will often find themselves in the unusual and slightly embarrassing position of having a more profound insight into a subject than their instructors. The Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh throw light on so many aspects of human life and knowledge that a Bahá’í must learn, earlier than most, to weigh the information that is given to him rather than to accept it blindly. A Bahá’í has the advantage of the divine Revelation for this Age, which shines like a searchlight on so many problems that baffle modern thinkers; he must therefore develop the ability to learn everything from those around him, showing proper humility before his teachers, but always relating what he hears to the Bahá’í teachings, for they will enable him to sort out the gold from the dross of human error.
(10 June 1966 to Bahá’í Youth in every Land, published in “Wellspring of Guidance: Messages 1963–1968”, pp. 95–96) [62]
63: “The House of Justice agrees that it is most important for the believers,...”
The House of Justice agrees that it is most important for the believers, and especially those who hold positions of responsibility in the Administrative Order, to react calmly and with tolerant and enquiring minds to views which differ from their own, remembering that all Bahá’ís are but students of the Faith, ever striving to understand the Teachings more clearly and to apply them more faithfully, and none can claim to have a perfect understanding of this Revelation. At the same time all believers, and scholars in particular, should remember the many warnings in the Writings against the fomenting of discord among the friends. It is the duty of the institutions of the Faith to guard the community against such dangers.... [I]t cannot be denied that some of the statements that have been made recently in the name of Bahá’í scholarship by certain individuals have betrayed an intemperance, and a lack of appreciation of many of the fundamental teachings of the Faith, that would understandably arouse alarm in the breasts of the most tolerant of believers.
(18 July 1979 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer) [63]
64: “The House of Justice feels that Bahá’í scholars must beware of the...”
The House of Justice feels that Bahá’í scholars must beware of the temptations of intellectual pride. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has warned the friends in the West that they would be subjected to intellectual tests, and the Guardian reminded them of this warning. There are many aspects of western thinking which have been exalted to a status of unassailable principle in the general mind, that time may well show to have been erroneous or, at least, only partially true. Any Bahá’í who rises to eminence in academic circles will be exposed to the powerful influence of such thinking. One of the problems of modern times is the degree to which the different disciplines have become specialized and isolated from one another. Thinkers are now faced with a challenge to achieve a synthesis, or at least a coherent correlation, of the vast amount of knowledge that has been acquired during the past century. The Bahá’ís must be aware of this factor and of the moderation and all-embracing nature of this Revelation....
In the application of the social laws of the Faith, most of the also from the actions of those who, while careful to observe the letter of the difficulties can be seen to arise not only from outright disobedience, but law, try to go as far as it will permit them away from the spirit which lies at its heart. A similar tendency can be noted among some Bahá’í scholars. The great advances in knowledge and understanding in the vital field of Bahá’í scholarship will be made by those who, while well versed in their subjects and adhering to the principles of research, are also thoroughly imbued with love for the Faith and the determination to grow in the comprehension of its teachings.
(23 March 1983 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer) [64]