April 12. On this date in 1933, Shoghi Effendi and Ruhi Afnan addressed a letter to Louise Drake Wright, concerning her pioneering to Holland and noting that J.E. Esslemont's Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era "is being translated into fifteen additional languages!" Ruhi Afnan was Shoghi Effendi's close friend, first cousin, and secretary with whom he took many travels, but Shoghi Effendi would later declare him a Covenant-breaker.
letter to Louise Drake Wright
Dear Miss Wright:There is also a young man by the name of Grosfeld, who is Dutch and has been living in the Dutch East Indies, who is coming back to reside in Holland. He is travelling through the United States to meet the friends there.
Shoghi Effendi was delighted to receive you letter of March 31st, 1933 and obtain the news of your safe arrival to Holland. He sincerely hopes that you will pick up the threads of the work you did there last year and gradually confirm in the teachings those you had interested.
You may be interested to know that Mr. and Mrs. Max Greeven will soon be in Rotterdam, if they are not there already, to attend to the publication of Dr. Esslemont’s book into Dutch. As they are expecting to get in touch with Captain Liebau who is now in Holland, you can therefore reach them through him.
With all you people centered in Holland some really lasting and wonderful work should be accomplished. But, naturally, much will depend upon you, who will act as the teacher and will stay in the country for some time. They can be very helpful to create for you new contacts, and introduce you to circles where they are known, and in which you could not otherwise enter, or obtain access to. The introductions that you possess are also very valuable and helpful.The cablegrams concerning the declaration of Ruhi Afnan a Covenant-breaker include one from December 13, 1951 titled "Old and New Covenant-Breakers" where Shoghi Effendi says, "Evidences multiplying attesting Ruhi's increasing rebelliousness, efforts exerted my eldest sister pave way fourth alliance members family Siyyid 'Alí involving marriage his granddaughter with Ruha's son and personal contact recently established my own treacherous, despicable brother Riaz with Majdi'd-Din, redoubtable enemy Faith, former henchman Muhammad-'Ali, Archbreaker Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant. Another cablegram sent May 17, 1953, titled "Treacherous Ruhi Afnan", stated "Treacherous Ruhi Afnan, not content with previous disobedience, correspondence with Ahmad Sohrab, contact with old Covenant-breakers, sale, in conjunction with other members of family, of sacred property purchased by Founder of Faith, and allowing his sister to marry son of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's enemy, is now openly lecturing on Bahá'í movement, claiming to be its exponent and is misrepresenting the teachings and deliberately causing confusion in minds of authorities and the local population. Inform National Assemblies."
Shoghi Effendi wishes me to assure you of his prayers and best wishes for a successful campaign. He trusts that God will guide you and enable you to create a strong and permanent center in that country. He will be eagerly awaiting the news of your activities and the progress of your work.
With best wishes, yours ever sincerely, Rúhí Afnán
Dear and precious co-worker:
Your two letters dated April 6th and 7th have just arrived and I am delighted to learn of the splendid start you have made. I wish you could induce Mr. [...] to undertake and finish as soon as he can the translation of the Iqán, which has already been published into four languages, the latest being the Chinese version. The book constitutes an essential preliminary to an intensive and intelligent campaign of teaching in Holland. I wish he could complete the translation before the end of the present year! If he cannot undertake it in person, I trust his collaborators may enable him to complete it. The "New Era” is being translated into fifteen additional languages! May the Beloved bless richly your historic work. Rest assured, I will continue to pray for you. Your true brother, Shoghi
John Esslemont was a leading Bahá'í who appears repeatedly at key points in Bahá'í history. For example, at the time of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's death in Acre on November 28, 1921, Shoghi Effendi was a twenty-four-year-old student enrolled at Balliol College, Oxford. Upon reading the telegram announcing 'Abdu'l-Bahá's death, in the home of Wellesley Tudor Pole who was Secretary of the London Local Spiritual Assembly, Shoghi Effendi passed out. Only after spending a few days with John Esslemont did Shoghi Effendi leave England, on December 16, 1921, accompanied by Lady Blomfield and his eldest sister, Ruhangiz, who he would later declare a Covenant-breaker.
John Esslemont's book Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era remains an important text that has been used in Bahá'í missionary activity. However, from in its initial publication to later editions, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era has been significantly edited, with references to Avarih removed in subsequent editions published after Avarih's apostasy from the Bahá'í Faith.
Other significant edits include...
Perhaps the most important change in Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era was made on page 212 of the 1923 edition. Recorded as a Bahá'í prophecy (59) concerning the "Coming of the Kingdom of God," Esslemont cited Abdu'l-Bahá's interpretation of the last two verses of the Book of Daniel from the Bible. He stated that the 1335 days spoken of by Daniel represented 1335 solar years from Muhammad's flight to Medina in 622 A.D., which would equal 1957 A.D.. When asked "'What shall we see at the end of the 1335 days?'," Abdu'l-Bahá's reply was: "'Universal Peace will be firmly established, a Universal language promoted. Misunderstandings will pass away. The Bahá'í Cause will be promulgated in all parts and the oneness of mankind established. It will be most glorious!'" (60) In editions published after his death, Esslemont's words have been changed to say that Abdu'l-Bahá "reckoned the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy from the date of the beginning of the Muhammadan era " (61) and one of Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets is quoted on the same subject in which he writes, "'For according to this calculation a century will have elapsed from the dawn of the Sun of Truth....'" Esslemont appears to conclude that Abdu'l-Bahá was referring to the year 1963 and the one hundredth anniversary of Bahá'u'lláh's public claim to be a Manifestation of God. (62) These words, however, were never written by the author, but were added posthumously. And, it should be noted that the phrase "'the dawn of the Sun of Truth'" is not a reference to a particular year, in this case 1863, but to a period of years when the Bab and his followers were preparing the way for the Manifestation of Bahá'u'lláh. Hence, they are commonly referred to as the "Dawn-Breakers." (63) Further, in another quotation which originally appeared on the same page, but was also removed from later editions, Abdu'l-Bahá plainly stated, "' This is the Century of the Sun of Truth. This is the Century of the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon the earth.'" (64) Esslemont recorded Abdu'l-Bahá as declaring explicitly that the prophecy was to be computed from the Hijra or 622 A.D. and that specific conditions would exist in the world upon it's fulfillment in 1957. When it became apparent that this Bahá'í prophecy would not be fulfilled, it was replaced with the ambiguous material which has remained in the text to the present. This is evident from the fact that, although Esslemont's other eyewitness accounts were removed in the 1937 revision, the record of Abdu'l-Bahá's prophecy was left intact by the American National Spiritual Assembly and Shoghi Effendi. It was not changed until after 1957. (65) Also, Abdu'l-Bahá's conviction that all of these events would take place in this century have been expressed in other writings and it is evident that Shoghi Effendi shared his optimism as well. (66)
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