Know
that infallibility is of two kinds: essential infallibility and
acquired
infallibility. In like manner there is essential knowledge and
acquired
knowledge; and so it is with other names and attributes.
Essential
infallibility is peculiar to the supreme Manifestation, for it
is
His essential requirement, and an essential requirement cannot be
separated
from the thing itself. The rays are the essential necessity of
the
sun and are inseparable from it. Knowledge is an essential necessity
of
God and is inseparable from Him. Power is an essential necessity of
God
and is inseparable from Him. If it could be separated from Him,
He
would not be God. If the rays could be separated from the sun, it
would
not be the sun. Therefore, if one imagines separation of the Most
Great
Infallibility from the supreme Manifestation, He would not be the
supreme
Manifestation, and He would lack the essential perfections.
But
acquired
infallibility is not a natural necessity; on the contrary, it
is
a ray of the bounty of infallibility which shines from the Sun of
Reality
upon hearts, and grants a share and portion of itself to souls.
Although
these souls have not essential infallibility, still they are under
the
protection of God--that is to say, God preserves them from error.
Thus
many of the holy beings who were not dawning-points of the Most
Great
Infallibility, were yet kept and preserved from error under the shadow
of
the protection and guardianship of God, for they were the mediators of
grace
between God and men. If God did not protect them from error,
their
error would cause believing souls to fall into error, and thus the
foundation
of the Religion of God would be overturned, which would not
be
fitting nor worthy of God.
To
epitomize: essential infallibility belongs especially to the supreme
Manifestations,
and acquired infallibility is granted to every holy soul.
For
instance, the Universal House of Justice, if it be established under
the
necessary conditions--with members elected from all the people--that
House
of Justice will be under the protection and the unerring guidance
of
God. If that House of Justice shall decide unanimously, or by a
majority,
upon any question not mentioned in the Book, that decision and
command
will be guarded from mistake. Now the members of the House of
Justice
have not, individually, essential infallibility; but the body of
the
House of Justice is under the protection and unerring guidance of
God:
this is called conferred infallibility.
--
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 171
The passage above is essentially
in agreement with the one below from the
Tablets of Baha'u'llah
except the passage from the writings of Baha'u'llah
makes no mention of infallibility
belonging to groups of people (for example,
belonging to the Universal
House of Justice), only belonging to the
two
classes of prophets - Independent and Dependent (or "Lesser") prophets.
It therefore can be said
to contradict Baha'u'llah's statement: "the Most
Great
Infallibility is confined to the One Whose station is immeasurably
exalted
beyond ordinances or prohibitions and is sanctified from errors
and
omissions."
O
thou who hast set thy face towards the Realm on High and hast quaffed
My
sealed wine from the hand of bounteousness! Know thou that the term
`Infallibility'
hath numerous meanings and divers stations. In one sense
it
is applicable to the One Whom God hath made immune from error.
Similarly
it is applied to every soul whom God hath guarded against
sin,
transgression, rebellion, impiety, disbelief and the like. However,
the
Most
Great Infallibility is confined to the One Whose station is
immeasurably
exalted beyond ordinances or prohibitions and is sanctified
from
errors and omissions. Indeed He is a Light which is not followed
by
darkness and a Truth not overtaken by error. Were He to pronounce
water
to be wine or heaven to be earth or light to be fire, He speaketh
the
truth and no doubt would there be about it; and unto no one is given
the
right to question His authority or to say why or wherefore.
--
Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 108
It
is also stated, "For instance, the
Universal House of Justice, if it .." --
However,
neither the body of the Universal House of Justice nor its members
are
an
instance of the "supreme manifestation"
(the Most Great Infallibility) or
of
"holy
beings who were not dawning-points of the Most Great Infallibility"
(Dependent
or Lesser prophets) as explained earlier. Also, the statement "Now
the
members of the House of Justice have not, individually, essential infallibility"
is in error because as
explained earlier in some detail (and later below), only
the supreme Manifestation
can have "essential infallibility". So,
logically the
members
of the House (or indeed anyone else) cannot have "essential
infallibility".
Briefly,
it is said that the "Dayspring of Revelation" is the manifestation of
these
words, "He doeth whatsoever He willeth"; this condition is peculiar to
that
Holy Being, and others have no share of this essential perfection. That
is
to say, that as the supreme Manifestations certainly possess essential
infallibility,
therefore whatever emanates from Them is identical with the
truth,
and conformable to reality. They are not under the shadow of the
former
laws. Whatever They say is the word of God, and whatever They
perform
is an upright action. No believer has any right to criticize; his
condition
must be one of absolute submission, for the Manifestation arises
with
perfect wisdom--so that whatever the supreme Manifestation says and
does
is absolute wisdom, and is in accordance with reality.
--
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 173