Dispensation
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In Bahá'í usage, a dispensation is the period of time during which the revelation of a particular Manifestation of God is assumed to apply. From the time of Abraham until the time of Moses can, therefore, be termed the Dispensation of Abraham. The promulgation of the laws of Moses opened a new Dispensation, sometimes termed the Mosaic Dispensation. The use of these terms is not necessarily worldwide in its ramifications. For example, discussion of the Abrahamic Dispensation can only have real meaning in so far as it refers to those parts of the world which were touched by the life and revelation of Abraham.
Bahá'ís generally use the term "Muslim" to refer to someone who is following, or believes themselves to be following, the laws promulgated in the Qur'an, and "Islamic" to refer to such laws. Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Faith, used the term "Mohammedan" to refer to the dispensation of time between the Revelation of Muhammad and that of the Báb. This would be consistent with terms such as Mosaic, which relate the identification of the dispensation with the name or title of the Founder. (It is also of note that Muslims themselves, in line with the practice set out in the Qur'án, use the term Muslim to refer to anyone who follows God's law, even before the advent of the Mohammedan dispensation. Anyone, therefore, who followed Abraham (Ibrahim) is termed a Muslim.)
The declaration of The Báb began the Bábi Dispensation, which was replaced nine years later by the Bahá'í Dispensation.
The Bábí Dispensation[edit]
The Bábí Dispensation is considered to have started with the Declaration of the Báb to His first disciple, Mullá Husayn-i-Bushruí, on 22nd May, 1844 C.E. Circumstance had of course caused the Báb to announce His station to His wife before this, but as no Laws or Teachings were promulgated, this event is not referred to as the beginning of the Dispensation. The Badí Calendar is dated from the time of the Báb's Declaration, although for the sake of convenience and completeness it is in effect back-dated to Náw Ruz of that year.
The Bahá'í dispensation[edit]
The term "Bahá'í Dispensation" refers to the period of time from the revelation to Bahá'u'lláh of His station, in the Siyáh-Chál, to the point of the revelation to the next Manifestation of God, which Bahá'u'lláh stated would be in not less than a thousand years' time. It also refers to the accompanying scriptures, the resulting institutions and the results thereof.
It is understood from Bahá'í Scripture that the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh is also the first in a major cycle of revelations, as an unknown number of successive Manifestations will be under the shadow of the world system inaugurated by Bahá'u'lláh. Each of these Manifestations, however, will have his/her own dispensation. Thus, whereas every dispensation from that of Adam until the time of the Báb can be termed "The Adamic Cycle", the cycle of religions of world-wide application from Bahá'u'lláh onwards can be referred to as a new cycle.
See also[edit]
- The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, a letter written by Shoghi Effendi in 1934 and included in the publication The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh
