charmer

In the name of GOD all mighty...


who is the present sucessor of bahaullah...or did the sucession ended with abdul baha?

tonyfish58

Welcome Charmer After Abdul'baha was Shoghi Effendi appointed as the the Guardian of the Faith.

After Shoghi Effendi passed away there was no appointed Guardian so the Baha'is now turn to the Universal House of Justice.

This is all laid down in the Covenant of Baha'u'llah - here is a link to a small discussion on the covenant

The Baha'is: The Covenant of Bahá

Regards Tony

pilgrimbrent

The short answer is, the Universal House of Justice is the Successor to Baha'u'llah today.

A little fuller answer: The Successorship to Baha'u'llah is embodied in what He termed the Covenant. He designated His Will and Testament "The Book of My Covenant," and in it He designated His eldest son, now known as Abdu'l-Baha, as His Successor. He also established the twin institutions of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice to be the successors after Abdu'l-Baha.

Just as in His Book of the Covenant, Baha'u'llah told the Baha'is to "turn to" Abdu'l-Baha; in the same way, Abdu'l-Baha, in the last phrase of His Will and Testament, told the Baha'is to "seek guidance" from and "turn to" the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice.

This is what Shoghi Effendi is talking about in these passages:

". . . the apostles of Bahá'u'lláh in every land, wherever they labor and toil, have before them in clear, in unequivocal and emphatic language, all the laws, the regulations, the principles, the institutions, the guidance, they require for the prosecution and consummation of their task. Both in the administrative provisions of the Bahá'í Dispensation, and in the matter of succession, as embodied in the twin institutions of the House of Justice and of the Guardianship, the followers of Bahá'u'lláh can summon to their aid such irrefutable evidences of Divine Guidance that none can resist, that none can belittle or ignore."
(Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 21)

As he writes, the "succession" is embodied in these twin institutions. One of these institutions is appointed, one is elected. The appointed institution is the hereditary institution of the Guardianship. There is no longer a hereditary Guardian -- the line of Guardians ended with Shoghi Effendi.

Here is another phrase saying that the House of Justice is in the line of succession:

"They [Baha'u'llah and Abdu'l-Baha] have also, in unequivocal and emphatic language, appointed those twin institutions of the House of Justice and of the Guardianship as their chosen Successors..."
(Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 19)

Just as during his lifetime Shoghi Effendi acted in this capacity, now the Universal House of Justice acts in this capacity. The Universal House of Justice is the Successor to Baha'u'llah in the world today.

You can read more about the successorship on these websites: The Baha’i Covenant | The Covenant of Baha’u'llah and A Covenant Unique in the Spiritual Annals of Mankind