the Appeal Court in Cairo, Egypt has refused to legally recognize the marriage of a Baha’i couple who have been married for almost 45 years, on account of their religious belief. In its verdict, the Appeal Court said:
‘There is a difference between the freedom of belief guaranteed by the constitution and the legal consequences of this belief. Freedom of belief means that an individual may adopt whatever beliefs they wish, provided that this does not disturb the public order and the stability of the state. The Baha’i faith is not a heavenly religion, and practicing it involves harming the established systems in the state. Therefore, it is not permissible to register it in civil status documents or in any other official documents issued by any official body. The legal texts regulating all these rules are considered part of the public order; it is not permissible therefore to prove anything that contradicts or conflicts with them.’
It is difficult not to feel saddened by a statement such as this coming from a court.
Courts play an important role in interpreting and applying the law, but questions of faith and spirituality touch a much deeper dimension of human experience. When a court declares that a particular faith is not a "heavenly religion," it seems to move beyond the legal sphere and into matters that people have debated, reflected upon, and prayed about for centuries.
History reminds us that this is not a new phenomenon. Nearly every religion faced rejection when it first appeared. If the rejection of a faith by existing religious authorities were sufficient proof that it was false, then the same argument could have been made against Islam when Prophet Muhammad first proclaimed His message in Mecca, or against Christianity when Jesus was rejected by many of the religious leaders of His time.
Ultimately, the truth of a religious claim cannot be determined simply by whether it is accepted or rejected by authorities. It should be examined with openness, fairness, and sincerity, considering its teachings, its principles, and the impact it has on the lives of those who follow it. History has often shown that today's rejection can become tomorrow's acceptance, and that spiritual truth is not always recognized immediately by the institutions of its age.
What did Baha'u'llah say about human mind?
"So perfect and comprehensive is His creation that no mind nor heart, however keen or pure, can ever grasp the nature of the most insignificant of His creatures; how much less can it comprehend the mystery of Him Who is the Daystar of Truth, Who is the invisible and unknowable Essence." Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh
The Bahá'í teachings do not say that God cannot be known at all. Rather, they say that God's Essence cannot be comprehended by the finite human mind. We know God through His attributes, such as love, justice, mercy, wisdom, and through His Manifestations, including Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, the Báb, and Bahá'u'lláh.
A useful analogy often used by 'Abdu'l-Bahá is that a mirror cannot contain the sun itself, but it can reflect the sun's light and qualities. Likewise, the human mind cannot encompass the Creator, but it can perceive His signs and attributes.
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