Passages in sequential order from a letter by Shoghi Effendi known as ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’, 25 December 1938
“In origin and intention of creation mankind is one. Distinctions of race and color have arisen afterward.” “Man is endowed with superior reasoning power and the faculty of perception”; He [‘Abdu’l-Baha] further explains, “he is the manifestation of divine bestowals. Shall racial ideas prevail and obscure the creative purpose of unity in his kingdom?”
- Shoghi Effendi (Quoting ‘Abdu’l-Baha in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)
“Throughout the animal kingdom,” He [‘Abdu’l-Baha] explains, “we do not find the creatures separated because of color. They recognize unity of species and oneness of kind. If we do not find color distinction drawn in a kingdom of lower intelligence and reason, how can it be justified among human beings, especially when we know that all have come from the same source and belong to the same household?”
- Shoghi Effendi (Quoting ‘Abdu’l-Baha in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)
“Color is not important; the heart is all-important. It mattereth not what the exterior may be if the heart is pure and white within. God doth not behold differences of hue and complexion. He looketh at the hearts. He whose morals and virtues are praiseworthy is preferred in the presence of God; he who is devoted to the Kingdom is most beloved. In the realm of genesis and creation the question of color is of least importance.”
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)
“In the estimation of God,” He [‘Abdu’l-Baha] states, “all men are equal. There is no distinction or preference for any soul, in the realm of His justice and equity.” “God did not make these divisions,” He affirms; “these divisions have had their origin in man himself. Therefore, as they are against the plan and purpose of God they are false and imaginary.” “In the estimation of God,” He again affirms, “there is no distinction of color; all are one in the color and beauty of servitude to Him.”
- Shoghi Effendi (Quoting ‘Abdu’l-Baha in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)
“God,” ‘Abdu’l Bahá Himself declares, “maketh no distinction between the white and the black. If the hearts are pure both are acceptable unto Him. God is no respecter of persons on account of either color or race. All colors are acceptable unto Him, be they white, black, or yellow. Inasmuch as all were created in the image of God, we must bring ourselves to realize that all embody divine possibilities.”
- Shoghi Effendi (Quoting ‘Abdu’l-Baha in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)
“Bahá’u’lláh,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá moreover has said, “once compared the colored people to the black pupil of the eye surrounded by the white. In this black pupil is seen the reflection of that which is before it, and through it the light of the spirit shineth forth.”
- Shoghi Effendi (Quoting ‘Abdu’l-Baha in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)
“Bahá’u’lláh hath said,” writes ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “that the various races of humankind lend a composite harmony and beauty of color to the whole. Let all associate, therefore, in this great human garden even as flowers grow and blend together side by side without discord or disagreement between them.”
- Shoghi Effendi (Quoting ‘Abdu’l-Baha in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)
“We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the nations,” He proclaims, “…that all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened; that diversity of religion should cease, and differences of race be annulled.”
- Shoghi Effendi (Quoting Bahá’u’lláh in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)
“O ye discerning ones!” Bahá’u’lláh has written, “Verily, the words which have descended from the heaven of the Will of God are the source of unity and harmony for the world. Close your eyes to racial differences, and welcome all with the light of oneness.”
- Shoghi Effendi (Quoting Bahá’u’lláh in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)
Freedom from racial prejudice, in any of its forms, should, at such a time as this when an increasingly large section of the human race is falling a victim to its devastating ferocity, be adopted as the watchword of the entire body of the American believers, in whichever state they reside, in whatever circles they move, whatever their age, traditions, tastes, and habits. It should be consistently demonstrated in every phase of their activity and life, whether in the Bahá’í community or outside it, in public or in private, formally as well as informally, individually as well as in their official capacity as organized groups, committees and Assemblies. It should be deliberately cultivated through the various and everyday opportunities, no matter how insignificant, that present themselves, whether in their homes, their business offices, their schools and colleges, their social parties and recreation grounds, their Bahá’í meetings, conferences, conventions, summer schools and Assemblies. It should, above all else, become the keynote of the policy of that august body which, in its capacity as the national representative, and the director and coordinator of the affairs of the community, must set the example, and facilitate the application of such a vital principle to the lives and activities of those whose interests it safeguards and represents.
- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)