Ḥuqúqu’lláh—The Right of God

‘Abdu’l-Bahá in one of His Tablets has stated: “Disposition of the Ḥuqúq, wholly or partly, is permissible, but this should be done by permission of the authority in the Cause to whom all must turn.” The provision in His Will and Testament that the Ḥuqúqu’lláh “is to be offered through the Guardian of the Cause of God…” is clearly in accord with this principle. In another Tablet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá referred to the Universal House of Justice as “the authority in the Cause to whom all must turn” and it is clear that in the absence of the Guardian it is the supreme and central institution of the Cause. Moreover, before ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’u’lláh had revealed the following: “There is a prescribed ruling for the Ḥuqúqu’lláh. After the House of Justice hath come into being, the law thereof will be made manifest, in conformity with the Will of God.” In accordance with these explicit texts it is clearly within the jurisdiction of the Universal House of Justice to decide about the receipt and disbursement of Ḥuqúqu’lláh at the present time.