Human society is by nature in need of binding rules and
relationships, for otherwise it would not experience peace and protection, nor
enjoy happiness and security. Without them, the sacred glory of the human
condition would not be unveiled and the desire of all hearts would remain
unrealized. The country would not prosper, and its cities and villages would
not find order and arrangement.
The duty of the doctors and divines is, however, to attend to the matters of
the spirit and to promote the attributes of the All-Merciful. Whenever the
leaders of God's glorious Religion and the pillars of His mighty Law have
intervened in political affairs, and designed schemes and devised plans, it
hath inevitably shattered the unity of the believers and scattered the ranks of
the faithful; the flame of sedition hath been kindled and the fire of hostility
hath consumed the world; the country hath been pillaged and plundered; and the
people have fallen into the hands of the mediocre.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Extract
from Risaliy-i-Siyasiyyih, authorized translation by the Baha’i World Center;
included in a letter dated 18 April 2001 written on behalf of the Universal
House of Justice to an individual believer)
