The Bahai Viewpoint

يَسْأَلُ أَيَّانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ
فَإِذَا بَرِقَ الْبَصَرُ
وَخَسَفَ الْقَمَرُ
وَجُمِعَ الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ
يَقُولُ الإِنسَانُ يَوْمَئِذٍ أَيْنَ الْمَفَرُّ
إِلَى رَبِّكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْمُسْتَقَرُّ
يُنَبَّأُ الإِنسَانُ يَوْمَئِذٍ بِمَا قَدَّمَ وَأَخَّرَ
بَلْ الإِنسَانُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ
وَلَوْ أَلْقَى مَعَاذِيرَهُ
لاَ تُحَرِّكْ بِهِ لِسَانَكَ لِتَعْجَلَ بِهِ

Our Response

1. Bahais have not brought forth the verses of this chapter before and after the above quoted verses as they explain the meaning of the word Qiyamat - Day of Judgement. For example,

   أَيَحْسَبُ الإِنسَانُ أَلَّنْ نَجْمَعَ عِظَامَهُ
   بَلَى قَادِرِينَ عَلَى أَنْ نُسَوِّيَ بَنَانَهُ
   بَلْ يُرِيدُ الإِنسَانُ لِيَفْجُرَ أَمَامَهُ
   يَسْأَلُ أَيَّانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ

   "Does man think that We cannot assemble his bones? Nay, We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers. But man wishes to do wrong (even) in the time in front of him. He questions: "When is the Day of Resurrection?"
   (Ref: Chapter of Qiyamat, verses 3-6)

   Needless to say, the Bahais are unable to establish that the one who will come on the Day of Judgement will be able to assemble the bones of all those who have passed before him, they conveniently forgot to bring forth these verses.
   
   

2. Those after the above quoted verses, bring forth the reason for the behavior of the Bahais -

   كَلاَّ بَلْ تُحِبُّونَ الْعَاجِلَةَ
   وَتَذَرُونَ الآخِرَةَ

   "Nay, (ye men!) but ye love the fleeting life, and leave alone the Hereafter." (Red: Chapter of Qiyamat, verses 20, 21)

   One of the miracles of the Quran is that in every era, it points out the characteristics and behavior of the enemies of Allah, His Messenger (pbuh) and the Holy Imams (as) and presents them in an open fashion so that the people may take heed.
   
   

3. Yet, at another place in the same Chapter we are reminded,

   يُنَبَّأُ الإِنسَانُ يَوْمَئِذٍ بِمَا قَدَّمَ وَأَخَّرَ

   "That Day will Man be told (all) that he put forward, and all that he put back"
   (Ref: Chapter of Qiyamat, verse 12)

   Bahais translate this verse wrongly as follows - "all that he has done and all what he will do." The reason why the Bahai translation is wrong is that both words are brought in the past tense. Therefore the correct translation will be - "all that he (had) put forward, and all that he (had) put back."

   With reference to this verse, Imam Mohammed Baqir (as) says, "This refers to all those things from good and evil which man did and what he did not do."
   
   

4. Bahais are advised that after completing a "full" recitation of the Chapter of Qiyamat, they should also read the Chapter of Zilzaal as also the Chapter of Waqeah, wherein the variosu signs of the Day of Judgement are mentioned. It will be interesting to see how they manage to fit all the verses related to the Day of Resurrection (about a third of the Quran) to the coming of Mirza Ali Mohammed Shirazi, Bab and Mirza Hussain Ali, Bahaullah.

Conclusion

The most apparent punishment for those who deviate from the path of the Ahle’ Bayt (as) and try to interpret Quran in their own ways is that Allah puts a seal on their intelligence and thereafter all their words are nonsense and only lead to humiliation. Not only their words, but even all their deeds, which are performed considering them as worship, also make them liable for punishment. For example, for those who consider the verses of the Chapter of Qiyamat as the advent of Mirza Ali Mohammed Bab, we anyways consider them as fools in this world and then the punishment of the Hereafter, which will commence as soon as one enters the grave will be balance for them. And Allah knows best.

We seek the help of Allah through the medium of His Messenger (pbuh), the daughter of the Messenger (as) and the Holy Imams (as) that till the end of our lives, we, our parents and family members remain protected from such deviated beliefs and that Allah grants us the opportunity to defend Islam from such innovations in religion.