##### First International Baha'i Council / Guardian Charles Mason Remey # **Explanation of the Word "Bada"** #### From a letter dated June 1, 1960 found in *The Question of the Guardianship of the Baha'i Faith*… #### **1960, p. 7, unpublished, privately circulated.**\[1] *** The Persians call this state of affairs “BADA.” When the Almighty God puts aside and does away with even that which was ordained by the Manifestation Himself — this they call BADA. Such was the case of the inheritance of the Guardianship of the Faith. It was the written intent of the *Will and Testament of ’Abdu’l-Baha* that the Guardianship be kept within the line of descent from Baha’u’llah and this was understood by all the Baha′i world. But because of their violation of the *Will and Testament* by all of the members of his own family — all of them without exception — the Beloved Guardian was obliged to cut them all off from any possibility that any of them inherit the Guardianship from him. This the Beloved Guardian declared to the Baha′i world and all Baha′is should know this without question. As is well known the Beloved Guardian himself had no issue to carry on any such inheritance from him. Here God the Almighty stepped in and changed the entire possibility of the Beloved Guardian’s carrying out this order of inheritance that was written in the *Will and Testament*. In other words, this particular command had gone BADA and that was definitely all that there was to it — BADA. Then it was that the Beloved Guardian in his infallibility designated that I, Mason Remey, succeed him in the Guardianship of the Faith. This must be accepted without question by every firm and steadfast believer for what Baha′i would presume to question the infallibility of the Guardianship of the Faith? Only those who violate the command and the word of the Guardian would question this, and this is the state of the Hands of the Faith and those who follow them at this particular juncture in the affairs of the Baha′i world — those Baha′is who do not accept the Beloved Guardian’s appointment of me as their Guardian are violating the command of Shoghi Effendi and are definitely enemies of Shoghi Effendi and enemies of the Administration that he founded upon the precepts of the *Will and Testament*. *** **Endnotes** **1.** \[Editors note: The full title of this document is *The Question of the Guardianship of the Baha'i Faith, Several Letters Received by the Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land Relative to the Continuation of the Guardianship of the Baha'i Faith, Now Circulated by Mason Remey, Hand of the Faith , President of the Baha'i International Council and Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, in the Year 117 of the Baha'i Era*. The collection of letters includes those written by Charles Mason Remey and others.] *** `Posted: 9 September 2025`