To receive Huququ'lláh, Bahá'u'lláh brought into being one
of the great institutions of the Faith, the Trusteeship of Huququ'lláh.
The first to be honoured with being appointed Trustee of
Huququ'lláh was Jinab-i-Shah Muhammad from Manshad, Yazd, who eventually
received from the Blessed Beauty the title of Aminu'l-Bayan (Trustee of the
Bayan). Aminu'l-Bayan had embraced the Faith in its early years and had the
bounty of entering the presence of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad. The fire of love
kindled in his heart made him impatient to offer his services to the Threshold
of his Beloved, and this undertaking he followed until the last moment of his
life, surrendering all material belongings in the path of service. Encompassed
by hardship, danger and lack of means, this trusted servant of Bahá'u'lláh, in
journey after journey, would carry the friends' donations of Huququ'lláh and
their petitions to the Sacred Threshold and, in return, bring them news and
Tablets from the Blessed Perfection.
One of the most sacred tasks entrusted to Aminu'l-Bayan was
to go to Iran to receive the Remains of the Báb from their custodian, the
devoted and valiant Hand of the Cause of God Jinab-i-Haji Akhund, and to transfer
them through innumerable dangers to a safe hiding place in the Mosque of the
Imamzadih Zayd in Tihran, where they lay concealed until the time when, at the
behest of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, they were transferred to the Holy Land to be laid in
their permanent resting place on the slopes of Mount Carmel.
The attention of Aminu'l-Bayan was drawn to the rare
qualities of nobility and detachment of one of the believers, Haji Abu'l-Hasan
Ardakani, who was also from Yazd. The bond of fellowship between them became so
strong that it made them the closest of companions. Aminu'l-Bayan chose Haji
Abu'l-Hasan to be his assistant and confidant in his services as the Trustee of
Huququ'lláh. They were among the first group of pilgrims who, after
encountering grave hardships and difficulties, were able to visit Bahá'u'lláh
in 'Akká. On their return to Iran they decided to make numerous journeys
together, and on one of these journeys, in 1881, they were attacked and caught
during a Kurdish revolt, and Aminu'l-Bayan was seriously wounded. Bahá'u'lláh
instructed that, following the passing of Aminu'l-Bayan, the office of Trustee
of Huququ'lláh should be conferred upon his loyal assistant and companion, Haji
Abu'l-Hasan, who was subsequently entitled Amin (the Trusted One) or Jinab-i-
Haji Amin.
(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 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)
