Huqúqu'lláh
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Ḥuqúqu'lláh ( ar, ﺣﻘﻮﻕ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ, "Right of God") is a voluntary wealth tax paid by adherents of the
Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
to support the work of the religion. Individuals following the practice calculate 19% of their
discretionary income Disposable income is total personal income minus current income taxes. In national accounts definitions, personal income minus personal current taxes equals disposable personal income. Subtracting personal outlays (which includes the major c ...
(after-tax income minus essential expenses) and send it to the head of the religion, which since 1963 has been the
Universal House of Justice The Universal House of Justice ( fa, بیت‌العدل اعظم) is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate o ...
. Ḥuqúqu'lláh is a Baháʼí law established by
Baháʼu'lláh Baháʼu'lláh (born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Persia, and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Bábí Faith. In 1863, in I ...
in the ''
Kitáb-i-Aqdas The Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Arabic: The Most Holy Book) is the central religious text of the Baháʼí Faith, written by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the religion, in 1873. Though it is the main source of Baháʼí laws and practices, much of the con ...
'' in 1873. It is separate and distinct from the general Baháʼí funds. It provides for the financial security of the community by funding promotional activities and the upkeep of properties, and it is a basis for a future welfare program. The Ḥuqúqu'lláh payment is considered a way to purify one's possessions. It is an individual obligation; nobody in the general community should know who has or has not contributed, nor should anyone be solicited individually for funds. Along with several other practices, it was initially only applicable to Baháʼís of the Middle East until 1992, when the authoritative English translation of the ''Kitáb-i-Aqdas'' was published and the Universal House of Justice made Ḥuqúqu'lláh universally applicable. A central office to receive payments was established at the
Baháʼí World Centre The Baháʼí World Centre is the name given to the spiritual and administrative centre of the Baháʼí Faith, representing sites in or near the cities of Acre and Haifa, Israel. Much of the international governance and coordination of the ...
in 1991, and payments are made to trustees appointed by the Universal House of Justice in every country or region. The obligation is similar to the
Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
practice of
Khums In Islam, khums ( ar, خُمْس , literally 'one fifth') refers to the required religious obligation of any Muslims to pay 20% of their acquired wealth from certain sources toward specified causes. It is treated differently in Shia and Sun ...
: a 20% wealth tax payable to the
Imams Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve ...
.


History


Gradual implementation

Baháʼu'lláh wrote down the law of Huqúqu'lláh in the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas The Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Arabic: The Most Holy Book) is the central religious text of the Baháʼí Faith, written by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the religion, in 1873. Though it is the main source of Baháʼí laws and practices, much of the con ...
in 1873, but he did not accept any payments initially. He delayed the release of the ''Kitáb-i-Aqdas'' because of apprehension that the law of Huqúq might be difficult to implement, or that some would assume that the money was for his personal use. When copies were sent to Iran, they came with instructions that Huqúqu'lláh was not to be implemented, and it remained thus for about 5 years, during which time Baháʼu'lláh returned money to donors. In 1878 he appointed the first trustee of Huqúqu'lláh, who had the responsibility of receiving the ''Huqúq'', as it is known, from the Baháʼís in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. The majority of these donations were spent caring for the poor and needy of the community, or for teaching efforts. Baháʼu'lláh and his family led an austere life. According to Baháʼí author
Adib Taherzadeh Adib Taherzadeh (29 April 1921 in Yazd, Iran – January 26, 2000) was a Baháʼí author who also served as a member of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Baháʼís, between 1988 and 2000. Biography Taherzadeh was ...
, Later the practice of Huqúqu'lláh was expanded to the Baháʼís of the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
. In 1985 information about the Huqúq was distributed worldwide and in 1992 the law was made universally applicable. As the number of payments increased, deputies and representatives to receive the payments have been appointed. In 1991 the central office of Huqúqu'lláh was established at the
Baháʼí World Centre The Baháʼí World Centre is the name given to the spiritual and administrative centre of the Baháʼí Faith, representing sites in or near the cities of Acre and Haifa, Israel. Much of the international governance and coordination of the ...
in
Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
,
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.


Timeline

The following is a basic timeline related to Ḥuqúqu'lláh, including trustees. * Revelation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (1873) * Amínu'l-Bayán (1878-1881) * Hájí Amín, Amín-i-Iláhi (1881-1928) * Hájí Ghulám-Ridá; Amín-i-Amín (1928-1938) *
Valíyu'lláh Varqá Mírzá Valíyu'lláh Khán-i-Varqá ( fa, ‎ ; 18841955) was a prominent Persian Baháʼí who was appointed a Hand of the Cause by Shoghi Effendi. He was the son of Varqá, the martyr-poet, and the father of ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá, ( ...
(1938-1955) *
ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá ( fa, ;‎ 1911September 22, 2007) was a prominent adherent of the Baháʼí Faith. He was the longest surviving Hand of the Cause of God, an appointed position in the Baháʼí Faith whose main function is to propagate an ...
(1955-2007) * Compilation Ḥuqúqu'lláh (1985) * Central office of Ḥuqúqu'lláh (1991) * Kitáb-i-Aqdas in English, Law of Ḥuqúqu'lláh universally applicable (1992–present)


Purpose

The Ḥuquq'ullah is not meant to be a donation, but is rather meant to be a claim by God for support of the interests of all people. It is partly used to equalize wealth across different parts of the world. The payment of the Ḥuquq'ullah is also meant to increase the spiritual link between the religion's central institutions and the individual. This offering is to be considered separate from giving to the various Baháʼí funds and takes precedence over them. Furthermore, the Ḥuquq'ullah should not be solicited by anyone, and no payments of it can be accepted unless the individual was doing so "with the utmost joy".


Calculation

The payment of Ḥuqúqu'lláh is based on the calculation of the value of the individual's possessions, which includes one's merchandise, property and income, after all necessary expenses have been paid. If a person has possessions or wealth in excess of what is necessary equal in value to at least nineteen mithqáls of gold (2.2246
ounces The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman unit of measurement. The avoirdupois ounce (exactly ) is avoirdupois pound; this is the United States customa ...
or 69
gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure wate ...
s) it is a spiritual obligation to pay nineteen percent of the total amount, once only, as Ḥuqúqu'lláh. Thereafter, whenever an individual acquires more possessions or wealth from income by the amount of at least nineteen mithqáls of gold, one is to pay nineteen percent of this increase, and so on for each further increase. Certain categories of possessions are exempt from the payment of the Ḥuqúqu'lláh, such as one's residence, necessary household furnishings, business or professional equipment and furnishings, and others.
Baháʼu'lláh Baháʼu'lláh (born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Persia, and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Bábí Faith. In 1863, in I ...
has left it to the individual to decide which items are considered necessary and which are not. Specific provisions are outlined to cover cases of financial loss, the failure of investments to yield a profit and for the payment of the Ḥuqúqu'lláh in the event of the person's death.


Role in succession of authority

During the lifetime of
Baháʼu'lláh Baháʼu'lláh (born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Persia, and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Bábí Faith. In 1863, in I ...
, the Ḥuqúqu'lláh offerings were made directly to him, and following his death, to
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian language, Persian: ‎, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later C ...
. In his
Will and Testament A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person ( executor) is to manage the property until its final distributi ...
, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá indicated that payments should go to the appointed Guardian and named
Shoghi Effendi Shoghí Effendi (; 1 March 1897 – 4 November 1957) was the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, appointed to the role of Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957. He created a series of teaching plans that over ...
as the first of potentially many Guardians, following
primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...
. After Shoghi Effendi died without appointing a successor, the custodial
Hands of the Cause Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá who died in 2007. Hands of ...
headed the Faith until the first election of the
Universal House of Justice The Universal House of Justice ( fa, بیت‌العدل اعظم) is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate o ...
.


See also

* Baháʼí laws *
Socio-economic development (Baháʼí) Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local ...


Notes


References


Baháʼí sources

* * * * * * * * *


External links


Kitáb-i-Aqdas Project: Comprehensive Indices - Huqúqu'lláhRedistribution of Wealth
- a compilation by the Baha'i World Centre
Sixteen Questions about Huququ'llah
- by the Universal House of Justice (1991)
Examples of Huququ'llah Transactions
- by the Universal House of Justice (1991) {{DEFAULTSORT:Huququ'llah Bahá'í practices Bahá'í terminology Philanthropy