Islam VS Baha’i Faith - Belief in God

IMRAN SHAYKH

Visit any Baha’i forum, website or pick up any beginner’s book on the Baha’i Faith, it is sure to have a discourse on how the Baha’i Faith is the Universal Religion which unites in itself all major religions of the world viz. Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism.

While I do not wish to embroil myself in a debate on other religions, especially Judaism for its evident superior principles and laws than the Baha’i Faith, I am still trying to fathom after so many years how the Baha’i Faith bears any resemblance to Islam.

Why I believe Judaism is superior to the Baha’i Faith

While there are more differences between Islam and the Baha’i Faith than can be listed, I will take my readers through the fundamental disparities between the two faiths.

Belief in God - Tawheed

Even after reading several original books of the Baha’i Faith (as opposed to the distorted translations) and engaging in repeated dialogues with learned Baha’is, I am yet to comprehend how the Belief in God according to the Baha’i Faith bears any resemblance to Islam.

My fundamental question at the beginning and in the aftermath of these dialogues remains the same:

Does the Baha’i Faith espouse a belief in One God (monotheism) or multiple gods (polytheism)? Does God have god-like characteristics (omnipotence, omniscient) or man-like weaknesses? Can God be comprehended or is he incomprehensible?

My confusion stems from the fact that Baha’is giving varying answers depending on who is posing the question.

Religion:

Islam

Concept of God:

One God - Allah, the Unique. Cannot be fathomed by His creation and bears no similarity to any creation. Has no partners/ son.

Religion:

Christianity

Concept of God:

Trinity of God (the Father), Jesus (His son) and Holy Ghost.

Religion:

Judaism

Concept of God:

One god, who is creator of everything.

Religion:

Hinduism

Concept of God:

Multiple gods (polytheism), god assumes avatar of man and has man-like traits and frailties.

Religion:

Buddhism

Concept of God:

No absolute creator god.

Religion:

Zoroastrianism

Concept of God:

Dualism - god of good and god of evil

Religion:

Baha’i Faith

Concept of God:

One god who cannot be known and manifests Himself in an avatar across eras very similar to the concept of God in Hinduism who assumes avatar of man.

To the Baha’i:

There exists only one God, who is creator of all things. His omnipotence and omniscience is indisputable. God is too subtle to be comprehended by man’s limited intellectual faculties. The god regardless of how we call him – Allah, Brahma, Jehowah, Jesus/Father/Spirit, Buddha is the same.

The only problem with the Baha’i concept of God, as I will explain in the ensuing sections, is that the other faiths that supposedly belong to the same origin as the Baha’i Faith do not have the same concept of God. Many believe in more than one God, some believe that God has man-like attributes and weaknesses and can be comprehended.

There is no reconciliation forthcoming from the Baha’is in the wide disparities between the Baha’i Faith on the one hand and Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism on the other hand, except to glib over it as if these differences are too insignificant to merit any intelligent debate.

To the Hindu

The Baha’i Faith’s belief in God is about the plurality of gods. So if in the Hindu pantheon there are said to be 333 million Gods, the Baha’i Faith agrees with this completely. So there are two faiths that maintain such a belief – Hinduism and the Baha’i Faith. Note that the point over here is not to criticize or praise polytheism, the point is to underline that the Baha’i Faith maintains that plurality of Gods is a reality.

Of course, it does not end there. Every concept of divinity that defines Hinduism inevitably forms part of the Baha’i doctrine. So God assumes the form of man (or manifests Himself as the Baha’is claim) and descends on earth (Lord Rama, Lord Krishna), marries, has children, etc.

Clearly, the Baha’i F aith advocates belief in multiple gods (polytheism) as a fundamental belief. Moreover, concept of God closely resembles human traits of hunger, thirst, lust, anger, etc. Notice how different this belief is from the original belief of the Baha’i Faith in God – one God, incomprehensible by man, with no traits similar to man.

To the Christian

The Baha’i Faith’s belief in God closely resembles the Holy Trinity. So like the Christians the Baha’is too believe in God (Father), Jesus (His Son) and the Holy Ghost.

Akin to Christianity, the Baha’is believe that God is One (monotheistic) but shares His divinity with His Son and the Holy Ghost. He can at will take the shape of man (Jesus) and live among the people as one of them. God assumes the shape of man, he is afflicted with human frailties, emotions, hunger and thirst is overcome by a bunch of rabid fanatics who finally put him on the cross where He dies to rise again.

The moot point is that the Baha’i Faith advocates monotheism of Christianity while at the same time embracing the polytheism of the Hindu Faith. Moreover, the monotheism is unique in that it allows God to have a partner/equal in the form of a son as also a Holy Ghost. Again, all this runs contrary to the belief of the Baha’i Faith that God is One and indivisible and does not have human qualities so a son is ruled out and He is Supreme in His divinity so that rules a trinity.

To the Jew

The Baha’i Faith advocates monotheism. Although the Baha’is dare not propagate their faith to the Jews of Israel under the terms imposed by Israel in exchange for Haifa, the fact remains that the Baha’i scriptures mention that Baha’i Faith is the natural consequence of Judaism and is in fact superior to it.

Once again, we find the Baha’i Faith advocating the monotheism of Judaism after accepting the polytheism of the Hindu Faith.

To the Zoroastrian

The Baha’i Faith advocates belief in two gods – a god of evil – Ahriman and a god of goodness – Ahura Mazda. The two gods are constantly in conflict, which in a way serves to maintain equilibrium between god and evil in the world.

While the Zoroastrian belief in two gods – duality is the anti-thesis of the Baha’i belief in one god, it does not prevent the Baha’is from claiming that the Baha’i Faith is a natural progression of Zoroastrianism. In fact, many Zoroastrians have converted to the Baha’i Faith as Iran, the country of origin of the Baha’i Faith, is home to a large number of Zoroastrians.

Even a casual observer will find the link between two faiths practicing contradictory beliefs of unity and duality incredible. Just like he will find links between faiths practicing monotheism, polytheism, trinity altogether inconceivable.

To the Buddhist

The Baha’i Faith advocates the concept of God in Buddhism despite the fact that Buddhism does not believe in a God. Buddhism has no place for an absolute creator god. In fact it is debatable whether Buddhism is a religion at all, since it resembles a spiritual philosophy that pursues an empirical approach to the truth.

Of all the religions that the Baha’i Faith professes to resemble, Buddhism is the least resembling of the Baha’i Faith. But that does not seem to pose a problem to the Baha’i Faith as the non-godlike nature of Buddhism is considered similar to the monotheistic nature of the Baha’i Faith. Just like the monotheistic nature of the Baha’i Faith is similar to the polytheistic nature of Hinduism.

To the Muslim

For some reason, a faith which claims to be a universal religion that combines in itself all world religions, Baha’i scriptures focus disproportionately on Islam leading one to believe that Islam and Muslims were always the focus of the Baha’i Faith and other religions were a mere afterthought to disguise their true intentions.

The comparisons I have drawn thus far between the Baha’i Faith and other religions make it amply clear that there is no way the concept of God in Islam can in anyway reconcile with that of the Baha’i Faith.

1. Every Muslim confesses to the dual testimony – There is no God except Allah. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. If there is no God except Allah, Who has been described in various places in the Holy Quran as being unique, without parallel, unseeable but All-Seeing, unknowable but All-Knowing, how can Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism have anything to do with Islam since their concept of God bears no resemblance to Allah even after accounting for all twisted interpretations advanced by the Baha’is to make all these Gods appear one and the same?

2. Islam believes that God exists. But Baha’is espouse the Buddhist belief that a spiritual creator does not exist.

3. Islam believes in unity of God – monotheism and there is no place for duality of Zoroastrians or the trinity of Christians or the polytheism of Hinduism. The Baha’is however, maintain that their Faith is the confluence of all religions notwithstanding the diversity in the belief in God.

4. Islam believes in a God that has no equal and was neither born nor gave birth (Surah Tawheed, verses 1-4). Baha’is espouse the Christian belief that Jesus was the son of God.

5. Islam believes that God can see everyone but none can see Him (Surah Anaam, verse 103). Baha’is espouse the belief of Hinduism and Christianity that God can assume physical form and can be seen.

6. Islam believes that God is unlike anything else (Surah Tawheed, verse 4 and Surah Shura, verse 11). So He cannot possess any attribute similar to any created thing. Baha’is advocate the belief of Hinduism and Christianity that God possesses man-like traits.

7. Islam believes in a God that communicates with His creatures through messengers and prophets who were mortals like other creatures (Surah Kahf, verse 110). The Baha’i Faith believes in a God that manifests Himself regularly and acquires immortal traits despite possessing man-like attributes (body, soul).

The disparities are too many to be listed. Suffice to say that the widest chasm between the Baha’i Faith and Islam relates to the belief in God. There is no way the two religions can reconcile their beliefs on Godhood as I have shown and this puts paid to the claim that the Baha’i Faith is a natural progression of Islam.

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