Ye have asked concerning the wisdom of referring certain
important laws to the House of Justice. Before all else, this divine cycle is
purely heavenly and spiritual, and concerned with the matters of the soul. It
hath but little connection to physical, temporal, or worldly matters. The
Christian dispensation was in like manner solely spiritual. Thus, in the entire
New Testament, there appeareth naught but the prohibition of divorce and the
allusion to the abrogation of the Sabbath. Even as He saith, 'the Son of man
came not to judge the world but to save the world'. This most great cycle is
likewise of purely spiritual character and is the bestower of life eternal. For
the head cornerstone of the religion of God consisteth in refining the
characters, reforming the manners, and improving the attributes of men. The
purpose is that beings that are veiled may see, and that dark and defective
realities may become illumined.
All other ordinances are subservient to faith, certitude, confidence, and
understanding. This blessed cycle being however the greatest of all divine
cycles, it embraceth all spiritual and temporal matters, and is endowed with
the utmost power and sovereignty. Therefore, those matters of major importance
which constitute the foundation of the Law of God are explicitly recorded in the
Text, but subsidiary laws are left to the House of Justice. The wisdom of this
is that the times never remain the same, for change is a necessary quality and
an essential attribute of this world, and of time and place. Therefore the
House of Justice will take action accordingly.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a
Tablet included in a letter dated 18 April 2001 written on behalf of the
Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)
