Thou shouldst
alert the company of the faithful to the need for all to exert every effort and
to spare no pains in preserving and honouring the Tablets and Holy Writings.
Blessed the regions in which the fragrance of the Pen of the Most High is
spread abroad. The preservation of the peerless, incomparable and blessed
Tablets is highly requisite and beloved in the sight of God, lest either the
pages of which they are composed or the ink in which they are inscribed should
lose their pristine quality. Do thou guide and instruct the friends in the
method of preservation. All that hath been said in this regard was at His
sacred and exalted behest. Blessed are those who do His bidding.
This Tablet is in the form of a letter from Áqá Ján
Khádim’u’lláh quoting words of
Bahá’u’lláh, and dictated in its entirety by Him.
...undertakings
of great institutional significance were initiated by these newly founded
Assemblies, among which the institution of the Hazíratu’l-Quds—the seat of the Bahá’í
National Assembly and pivot of all Bahá’í administrative activity in
future—must rank as one of the most important. Originating first in Persia, now
universally known by its official and distinctive title signifying “the Sacred
Fold,” ... this institution, still in the early stages of its development, has
already lent its share to the consolidation of the internal functions of the
organic Bahá’í community, and provided a further visible evidence of its steady
growth and rising power. Complementary in its functions to those of the
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár—an edifice exclusively reserved for Bahá’í worship—this
institution, whether local or national, will, as its component parts, such as
the Secretariat, the Treasury, the Archives, the Library, the Publishing
Office, the Assembly Hall, the Council Chamber, the Pilgrims’ Hostel, are
brought together and made jointly to operate in one spot, be increasingly
regarded as the focus of all Bahá’í administrative activity, and symbolize, in
a befitting manner, the ideal of service animating the Bahá’í community in its
relation alike to the Faith and to mankind in general.
God Passes By (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1974,
1999 printing), pages 339–340)
Reference
should, moreover, be made to the establishment of National Archives for the
authentication, the collection, the translation, the cataloguing and the
preservation of the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh and of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and for the
preservation of sacred relics and historical documents…
God Passes By, page 342
Finally a
reference should be made to the establishment of the international Bahá’í
archives on Mount Carmel occupying the two chambers adjoining the Shrine of the
Báb. Here have been collected, arranged and preserved the relics,
articles of clothing, writings and photographs of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and the
Master, as well as a mass of invaluable documents and manuscripts, consisting
mostly of unpublished and untranslated and authenticated Tablets of
Bahá’u’lláh, some of them beautifully illuminated and mounted. Some of these
have been so arranged that the pilgrims visiting the Holy Land will be able to
view these priceless relics. This institution, Shoghi Effendi hopes, will
serve as a model and stimulus to the National Spiritual Assemblies in the
different parts of the world to establish similar institutions which will serve
to collect, arrange and preserve for posterity any documents, sacred or
otherwise, connected with the Bahá’í Faith.
From a letter dated 16 January 1932 to a National
Spiritual Assembly
He trusts that
his gift, offered to your National Archives through the kind care of Miss ___
will serve to remind the ... believers of the importance and sacred character
of that institution, and to encourage them to help in contributing their full
share towards its further development and expansion. The institution of the
National Bahá’í Archives, which all the National Assemblies have already
established, is, indeed, highly important, the significance of which will be
increasingly realized as years go by. It is now that so many precious sacred
relics are still in the possession of individual believers, that steps must be
taken in order to ensure their safe preservation in the National Archives. The
friends must be encouraged to co-operate with their National Spiritual Assembly
for the attainment of this objective.
From a letter dated 5 July 1935 to an individual
National
archives are in the process of formation in Egypt, Persia, Germany, America and
India. As soon as these national archives are established, local archives will
be formed under the direct supervision of the Local Assemblies.
From a letter dated 10 June 1936 to a National
Spiritual Assembly
Regarding the
preservation of relics associated with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the general principle
should be that any object used by Him in person should be preserved for
posterity, whether in the local or the national archives. It is the duty and
responsibility of the Bahá’í Assemblies to ascertain carefully whether such
objects are genuine or not, and to exercise the utmost care and caution in this
matter.
28 July 1936 to a National Spiritual Assembly
The importance
of the institution of Bahá’í Archives is not due only to the many teaching
facilities it procures, but is essentially to be found in the vast amount of
historical data and information it offers both to the present-day
administrators of the Cause, and to the Bahá’í historians of the future. The
institution of Bahá’í Archives is indeed a most valuable storehouse of
information regarding all the aspects of the Faith, historical, administrative
as well as doctrinal. Future generations of believers will be surely in a
better position than we are to truly and adequately appreciate the many
advantages and facilities which the institution of the Archives offers to
individual believers and also to the community at large.
Now that the Cause is rapidly passing through so many
different phases of its evolution is the time for the friends to exert their
utmost in order to preserve as much as they can of the sacred relics and
various other precious objects that are associated with the lives of the
Founders of the Faith, and particularly the Tablets They have revealed.
Every believer should realize that he has a definite
responsibility to shoulder in this matter, and to help, to whatever extent he
can, in rendering successful the valuable work which National and Local Bahá’í
Archives Committees are so devotedly accomplishing for the Faith in America.
From a letter dated 25 September 1936 to a National
Spiritual Assembly
He thinks that
when things are collected for the archives as much information as possible
should be given about them. It is easier now, while the old Bahá’ís dating from
the early days of the Cause in America are still living, to collect accurate
information than it will be later on, and every attempt should be made to
amplify local records and accumulate historical data.
From a letter dated 25 November 1948 to an
individual
It is very
important that the old Bahá’ís should accurately record their experiences with
the Master, and events in the Cause’s progress, for these things form data for
future histories of the Cause. They have not, however, the authority of the
revealed Word or the Tablets, etc.
From a letter dated 23 October 1949 to an
individual
As regards the
things you have, associated with the beloved Master, he feels that, unless you
have some objection to the suggestion, the best thing you could do would be to
entrust them to the Bahá’ís of France....
He is trying to assist the friends to build up, in a modest
way, National Archives; and any object associated with the Master is naturally
a very prized possession. Also it seems to him befitting that you, as one of
the older “French” Bahá’ís, should be associated with this institution, which
in the future will no doubt grow to be of considerable importance.
From a letter dated 26 March 1956 to an individual
It was the wish
of the beloved Guardian that both national and local archives be instituted as
one of the component parts of every Hazíratu’l-Quds.
From a letter dated 5 July 1973 from the Universal
House of Justice to an individual
When friends
offer sacred relics for preservation in the International Archives they are
invariably asked to give any and all information they have about each relic, specifying
the manner in which it came into their possession. If the information they give
is complete and reliable, the relic is included in the Archives, properly
identified, and usually together with the information which has been provided
about its authenticity. The House of Justice suggests that this is what you
ought to do with the hair now received by you.
From a letter dated 25 April 1977 written on behalf
of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly
The organization
of your archives and the extent to which archival material is shared with
individual believers is within the discretion of your National Spiritual
Assembly. However, those responsible for the archives should be sure that
material released in response to requests of individual believers is not of a
nature which, if disclosed at the time, would harm the interests of the Faith.
Also, personal items, particularly if the individuals concerned are still
living, should only be made available to researchers after the most careful
consideration, even referring back to the National Spiritual Assembly if
necessary.
From a letter dated 16 June 1982 written on behalf
of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly
The archives of
the Faith at the World Centre and in Iran, and indeed in most national
communities, are as yet in no condition to permit access to just anyone who
wishes to study them. Most of these archives still need to be studied, sorted,
preserved and catalogued by competent archivists so that vital historical
evidence is not lost and so that easy access will be possible in future.
From a letter dated 23 March 1983 written on behalf
of the Universal House of Justice to an individual
The Universal
House of Justice has received your letter ... concerning the precious relics
which are in the possession of your Assembly...
Each of these relics should be preserved with the utmost
reverence in a safe place, together with a meticulous record of its provenance
to ensure that, in future, no question of its authenticity will arise. A
separate list of the relics owned by your Assembly should also be kept in
another location, describing them and stating where they are being held.
As to the actual preservation of the relics themselves, the
House of Justice suggest that you consult a local authority ... such as one of
the museums, which will have expertise not only in the preservation of such
objects, but also concerning the conditions in ... or wherever they are being
held.
From a letter dated 19 October 1983 written on
behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly
The archives of
a Spiritual Assembly are its responsibility and are held in trust for the
Cause. Their confidentiality is an element of the confidentiality with which a
Spiritual Assembly must deal with the personal problems of the members of its
community. To give or deny access to the archives lies within the authority of
the Assembly...
From a letter dated 23 July 1985 written on behalf
of the Universal House of Justice to an individual
While the House
of Justice requests your National Spiritual Assembly to give every
encouragement to ... in spearheading the collection of such materials from the
children of early believers in your country, you should impress upon them that
ultimately such archival material should be deposited in your National
Archives. Time is of the essence, and the sooner a systematic effort is
undertaken to collect material such as tablets to the early believers, diaries,
old photographs properly identified, and correspondence with the prominent
early believers, the more productive it will be. Many of the important historic
documents may have already been destroyed by the descendants of early believers
who do not realize their importance.
From a letter dated 6 August 1985 written on behalf
of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly
As you can
understand, it is very important for such details of the provenance of any
relic to accompany it so that doubts of authenticity which might arise in
future will have reliable information against which the matter can be checked.
From a letter dated 28 November 1985 written on
behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual
The House of
Justice understands that much has already been done to collect in note form or
on tape recordings the recollections of the older faithful believers in.… These
recollections will be of great value to the history of the Faith there, and you
have, no doubt, given Mr. ___ access to whatever is not of a confidential
nature. In his efforts to collect additional recollections or to obtain access
to documents still in private hands, Mr. ___ may find that some of the friends
are reluctant to divulge their memories to a young researcher, especially if
some of them are painful. It is, however, most important that as many as
possible be recorded while there is still time, so that there will be numerous
sources of information for future historians. The House of Justice
therefore suggests that the committee or individual whom your Assembly has made
responsible for collecting and preserving such historical archives and
information, could collaborate with Mr. ___ and could arrange for friends who
would be acceptable to the older believers to approach them and obtain tape
recordings or other records of their reminiscences, as well as alerting them to
the need to preserve for the Faith whatever historically valuable documents
they may have in their possession.
From a letter dated 3 December 1985 written on
behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly