Story: "...thousands of worlds of incomparable splendor were unveiled to my eyes…” – a spiritual experience by a youth

Mirza Aqa Jan embraced the religion of the Báb when he was about sixteen years old and became instantly “aflame with devotion.” He was neither learned nor rich and made his living in his hometown of Kashan making and selling soap. Soap-making was a humble trade in those days, often carried out at home by people who were not well educated.

Mirza Aqa jan was also a seeker of truth who had seen the Báb in his dreams and believed in Him. He had also read the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and felt the urge to attain His presence. He left his home in Kashan unexpectedly and traveled to Iraq.

When he reached Baghdad, he learned that Bahá’u’lláh was visiting the Babís in the neighboring town of Karbila, and there He was the guest of one of the resident Bábis. This was before Baha’u’llah’s Declaration in the Garden of Ridvan. Mirza Aqa Jan followed Baha’u’llah to Karbila.

This is Faith -- a poem by Ruhiyyih Khanum

To walk where there is no path,

To breathe where there is no air,

To see where there is no light-

This is Faith.

To cry out in the silence,

The silence of the night,

And hearing no echo believe

And believe again and again

This is Faith.

To hold pebbles and see jewels

To raise sticks and see forests

To smile with weeping eyes

This is Faith.

We should thank Baha’u’llah for allowing us to “offer Him the Right of God”

Thank thou and bless thou the Lord for He hath allowed thee to offer Him the Right of God [1].  This is verily a special favour on His part, for thee; praise Him then for this commandment that is set forth in the Scriptures of thy Lord, of Him that is the Ancient of Days. Verily is He the Loving, the Tender, the Ever-Bestowing. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)

[1] Huququ’llah

Huqúqu’lláh Conference at Landegg Academy, Switzerland--August 1991

Ridvan 1991: The Universal House of Justice announces that “as of Ridván 1992, the beginning of the Holy Year, the Law of Huqúqu’lláh, the Right of God, will become universally applicable.”

Such an exceptional confluence of imminent achievements—the publication of the Kitáb-i- Aqdas, the progress of the building projects on Mount Carmel, the conclusion of the Six Year Plan, the inception of the Holy Year—animates the expectations of the Bahá’í world, sets the stage for mightier endeavours than have already been attempted, and points us all to the opening of a new phase of history. It seems fitting, then, that the sacred law which enables each one to express his or her personal sense of devotion to God in a profoundly private act of conscience that promotes the common good, which directly connects the individual believer with the Central Institution of the Faith, and which, above all, ensures to the obedient and the sincere the ineffable grace and abundant blessings of Providence, should, at this favourable juncture, be embraced by all who profess their belief in the Supreme Manifestation of God. With humility before our sovereign Lord, we now announce that as of Ridván 1992, the beginning of the Holy Year, the Law of Huqúqu’lláh, the Right of God, will become universally applicable. All are lovingly called to observe it. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (Ridvan 1991)

Offering of Huqúqu'lláh should be made “willingly, with joy and awareness”

After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas had been revealed in response to the pleas of the friends, Bahá'u'lláh withheld it from publication for some time and even then, when a number of devoted Bahá'ís, having learned of the law, endeavoured to offer Huqúqu'lláh, the payment was not accepted. The Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh show His acute consciousness of the way in which material wealth has been permitted to degrade religion in the past, and He preferred the Faith to sacrifice all material benefits rather than soil to the slightest degree its dignity and purity. Herein is a lesson for all Bahá'í institutions for all time.

However, as the beloved Guardian explained, funds are the life-blood of the Cause. God Himself, as Bahá'u'lláh stated, has made achievement dependent on material means. Therefore, as the awareness of the friends grew, He permitted Huqúqu'lláh to be accepted, provided the donor made the offering willingly, with joy and awareness. 

(From a document titled "The Development of the Institution of Huqúqu'lláh ", prepared by the Research Department at the Bahá'í World Centre and sent by the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies on 25 March 1987. A revised version was subsequently prepared and sent to all NSAs on 31 July 2002)

Huqúqu'lláh - “…ranking in importance immediately after the two great obligations of recognition of God and steadfastness in His Cause...”

In one of His Tablets Bahá'u'lláh refers to the law of Huququ'lláh as ranking in importance immediately after the two great obligations of recognition of God and steadfastness in His Cause, and yet the introduction and implementation of this law are characterized by kindness, forgiveness, tolerance and magnanimity. Although it deals with the material things of this world, it is placed among those spiritual obligations resting on the individual soul, such as prayer and fasting, the fulfilment of which is a direct responsibility of each believer towards God, not subject to the sanctions or impositions of His institutions in this world. It is, indeed, a clear expression of the priorities with which Bahá'u'lláh views the duties of mankind. First comes the spiritual, and then the material -- however important in practice the latter may be. 

(From a document titled "The Development of the Institution for the Huququ'lláh", prepared by the Research Department at the Bahá'í World Centre and sent to all National Spiritual Assemblies on 25 March 1987. A revised version was subsequently prepared and sent to all NSAs on 31 July 2002)

January 1987: First Huqúqu'lláh Conference in the Holy Land

"...nineteen per cent of one's capital is payable as Huqúqu'lláh..."

This Law [Huqúqu'lláh] of the Aqdas stipulates that nineteen per cent of one's capital is payable as Huqúqu'lláh when such capital has reached an amount of at least "nineteen mithqáls in gold".... In determining the amount a believer should pay, he should first deduct any debts and expenses he may have, and pay nineteen per cent of the remainder of his capital if it is equal to at least nineteen mithqáls of gold. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 21 January 1973; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Huququ’llah)

Huqúqu'lláh is the "source of blessings", the "mainspring of God's loving-kindness and tender love vouchsafed unto men"

As to the Huqúqu'lláh: This is the source of blessings, and the mainspring of God's loving-kindness and tender love vouchsafed unto men. Verily He can dispense with whatsoever hath been and will be. Until two years ago the matter of Huquq was undisclosed. When it was revealed it was by virtue of His grace. If a person be privileged to fulfil that which is prescribed in the Most Holy Book, it would assuredly be better for him, and to his greater behoof. However the observation of this injunction dependeth upon one's circumstances. Verily He speaketh the truth and guideth aright. 

- Baha’u’llah  (The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, Huququ’llah)