Conflict of the sons of Baha'u'llah

Bahá'u'lláh indeed indicated in his will that the position of the eldest son is higher - at least while both sons were alive. Abdu'l-Bahá interpreted this as giving him sole power and authority in the Baha'i Faith and its community, and expected only obedience from his brother. Muhammad Ali, on the other hand, interpreted the will as meaning that he should retain under 'Abdu'l-Bahá the same position of responsibility that he had under Bahá'u'lláh, regarding his elder brother as first among equals. Initially, a shaky parity of power was established for a short time, as a result of which 'Abdu'l-Bahá became the manager of the financial resources of the community and the representative of the Baha'is before the Turkish authorities, and Muhammad Ali received pilgrims from other countries and disposed of the literary and other heritage of Baha'u'llah.

As time went on, it became increasingly clear that 'Abdu'l-Bahá did not want to share any power with his brother - he assumed that he had a status very close to the Messenger of God, expecting all Bahá'ís to consider him morally blameless, perfect in the service of God. and Baha'u'llah. He claimed that he alone had the right to expound the writings of Baha'u'llah, not content with merely being an interpreter, but seeing himself as the recipient of divine inspiration. He considered his own writings to carry the same weight as the divine writings - despite the fact that some of his interpretations were quite radical and were more like making changes to the laws of religion, rather than explaining its incomprehensible moments . 'Abdu'l-Bahá also declared his authority to control all funds collected by Bahá'ís around the world and to distribute them unilaterally, no longer giving a share to the families of the descendants of Bahá'u'lláh, thus jeopardizing their very existence.

Muhammad Ali kept aloof for a long time and did not interfere in what was happening, not wanting to bring discord and strife among his followers. However, over time, more and more believers opposed 'Abdu'l-Bahá's claim to sole power and the exclusive right to interpret the scriptures, as well as encouraged his idolization by supporters and admirers. They even held their meeting outside the walls of Akko, which was attended by the personal secretary of Baha'u'llah Mirza Agha Jan, and conveyed through two younger brothers a request to Muhammad Ali to speak openly against gross violations of the teachings of Baha'u'llah. Having warned supporters about the possible consequences and received the answer that they were ready to be condemned and even die for their faith, in 1896 Gusn-i-Akbar wrote the message "The Essence of Unity", containing evidence of the Unity and Oneness of God based on excerpts from the writings of his father . From the day it was read, Abdu'l-Bahá severed all relations with his brother and excommunicated him from the faith. In the collections published in Egypt "Evidence presented for those who want to take the straight path" (June 1900) |title=Sobhi's life memories and Baha'i history|year=2011|publisher=Islamic Revolution Documents Center|pages=96|link=https://www.noorlib.ir/View/en/Book/BookView/Text/25840 /1/96|language=fa|ref=Mohtadi|author=Mohtadi, Fazlullah}} Template:Wayback</ref>|"comm."}} and "Authoritative statement concerning what is known about the Cause and its basis" (April 1902) Muhammad Ali's supporters once again refute his brother's claims to Template:Np3 and "Covenant Center" by links to sacred texts. In response, 'Abdu'l-Bahá instructed supporters to write and disseminate as much as possible their own responses, which he personally reviewed. Template:More