I am strong believer that frank questions are necessary for an Independent Investigation of Truth, that dialogue is the crucible of Truth. An internally contradictory proposition can not conform to reason, and I was raised to believe that faith and reason should be in harmony. I want to share the questions I have about the Bahai Faith, and the experiences I've had asking them. I am always open to new evidence, and I certainly appreciate being corrected, with reason and evidence, where I am incorrect, or have misunderstood.

I am not from a religious family, but the Bahai faith was present in my home. When I took interest in religion at 15 I read the Bible and the Book of Certitude. With the Bible the historical authenticity of the text did not withstand scrutiny. With the Book of Certitude I had many reservations about the basic message. It just seemed to me at the time that the Bahia Faith was so broad, so inclusive, so relentless in its acceptance of everything... that it couldn't be true. Like it was so inclusive it didn't even exclude falsehood. If all religions are valid... then why this religion? If all scriptures are true, what about the contradictions? This frustration actually drove me away from God for years.

In college I read a book titled "The Mystics of Islam" by Reynold A. Nicholson. I knew a little something about Muhammad and Islam from my Baha'i background, but very little. What I discovered in this book is that the Quran is preserved in its original language. So, I was convinced of its historical authenticity. Then I read the account of the Isra Miraj, or the Night Journey and Ascension of Muhammad which convinced me of Muhammad's station as a prophet of God, and therefor the authenticity of his message. I knew very little else about Islam at the time, but entering Islam only meant testifying to the oneness of God and that Muhammad was his prophet. I made that testification simply because I believed those two things are true. This is the first, and to some extent only, religious certainty I have found.

This sparked an avalanche of religious studies. I wanted to know everything there was to know about any religion that believed these two things, that God is One, and Muhammad is His prophet. This meant examining the Sunnis and the Shia. Also, the Submitters, the Nation of Islam, and Thelema. And of course it meant returning to the Bahai Faith.

So, I returned to the Book of Certitude. I found that it confirmed the Quran was, "the surest testimony of God unto men." I also found the positive Truth claim I was looking for which could confirm Bahaulla's ministry rationally. Bahaullah writes that, "all the Prophets of God, whenever made manifest unto the peoples of the world, have invariably foretold the coming of yet another Prophet after them, and have established such signs as would herald the advent of the future Dispensation." Alhamdullilah! Praise be to God! A testable hypothesis! So I eagerly Emailed the most knowledgeable Bahais that I knew with a simple question, "Where did Muhammad foretell the coming of Bahaullah?"

The first response I got was a list of popular Quranic verses in Bahaullah's writings. This is not an answer. Indeed, Aliester Crowly implemented Quranic verses in his writings, as did Rashad Khalifa. In regards to evidence of authenticity, this is a total non sequitur. So I tried again.

The second response I got was a list of verses in the Bible that foretold a coming prophet. This is also not an answer. The Quran tells us that the previous scriptures were changed. So, how can I accept them as evidence now? Logic dictates that if you believe in both the Bible and the Quran, and the Quran says that the Bible was changed, and the Bible and the Quran contradict, you must believe in the account in the Quran. So, when the Bible says that Mary gave birth in a manger with Joseph and three wise men, but the Quran says that Mary gave birth alone under a palm tree, you must accept the Quranic narrative. But even if the Bible was reliable, the specific verses which are claimed to herald the coming of Bahuallah, (John 16:7-14, John 14:16 and Deuteronomy 18:18-19) are exactly the verses the Islamic scholars claim describe Muhammad. The claim made by Bahaullah is that each prophet tells us of the next. If that statement is the answer must be from Muhammad, not from the Bible. So I tried again.

The third and final response I got was an argument which was basically that if Muhammad warned of a false prophet that must logically mean that a true prophet is coming also. This too, is not an answer. If I came to you and said, "There's a man going to door to door in your neighborhood selling Bibles. If you see him send him away because he's a con artists" would you assume that I actually meant that there were two men going to door to door selling Bibles and one of them was a con artist and one of them was an honest salesman? But even if this was a logical argument, it still doesn't answer the question... Where did Muhammad foretell the coming of Bahaullah?

So, I returned to the text, and searched the Internet to find the answer myself.

Everything seems to orbit around the meaning of, "Seal of the Prophets." Muslims say this means that no prophet is coming after Muhammad. Bahais have lots of creative ways of getting around this verse. They say a seal can be closed and reopened. They tell me that Muhammad was the final Prophet in his line. They bombard me with Biblical verses that imply that Moses or Jesus were the final prophet. But the favorite seems to be the Bahai belief in the unity of the prophets. They say that Muhammad is the last prophet when he says he is the Seal, just like Jesus is the final prophet when he says that he is the "Alpha and the Omega." And all the Prophets are the same being, the same soul, the same spirit. And every prophet is a metaphysical return of all the other prophets. So every prophet from Adam to Bahaullah is the "Seal of the Prophets." First off... that renders the phrase meaningless. But here's the real problem. Jesus and John were alive at the same time... so who's got the soul? Is Moses the metaphysical return of Aaron or is Aaron the metaphysical return of Moses? Were Isaac and Ishmael both perfect reflections of God's light in their time at the same time that Abraham was the perfect reflection of God's light? But really it's this... if the world ends... if the day of judgment comes... as every scripture confirms... there must logically be a final prophet. But regardless that still doesn't tell me how Bahaullah fulfilled signs that Muhammad gave.

The answer cannot be in the Quran. The Book of the Law states, "The Quran which, though explicit in the laws and ordinances formulated by the Apostle of God, is silent on the all-important subject of succession." So the answer to this question must be in the Hadith. Bahais seem to accept some Hadith. I've seen them quoted, and referenced in Bahaullah's writings. And many Bahais online have sent me to prophecies about the Mehdi saying that this is the answer to my question. That Bahaullah was the Mehdi. But they also tell the Christians that Bahaullah was the second coming of Jesus, and Jesus and the Mehdi are so clearly distinct characters in Islamic eschatology. But, more important than that, if you're going to accept Hadith, you've got a much larger mountain to climb than just defining "Seal." Here's a limited selection:

"I am the last in the sense that no prophet shall succeed me."

"The tribe of Israel was guided by prophets. When a prophet passed away, another succeeded him. But no prophet will come after me."

"Messengership and Prophethood have come to an end, and there will be no more Messengers or Prophets."

"The parable of myself and the Prophets is that of a man who built a house except for the space of one brick. Whoever entered it would look at that space and say, how good it is, apart from the space of that brick. My position is like that of that brick, and the Prophets end with me."

"No Prophet will come after me and there will, therefore, be no other community of followers of any new prophet."

Hadith like this are innumerable, and related by almost all of his closest companions. We're not talking about the Council of Nicaea here. We're talking about dozens of men and women who walked with and talked with the prophet himself who all unanimously agree that he spoke this way unambiguously. The Prophet even says this in his farewell sermon, during his final pilgrimage, "O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me, and no new faith will be born." This sermon was in front of 120,000 and it's recorded in every major Hadith collection. Portions of it are quoted in Bahaullah's writings. And even though slight differences in recollection exist, this statement is in EVERY narration. If Bahaullah quotes portions of this sermon... that must mean that he has confidence in the authenticity of at least one narration. Logic dictates that he must have confidence in the authenticity of this statement.

So, these are the difficulties I have with accepting the Bahai Faith. Everything circles around the question of authenticity. Nothing this man has written holds any theological weight if his authority is not rooted in the prophetic tradition. So, the central, inescapable question remains, "Where did Muhammad foretell the coming of Bahaullah?" But in my experience, any Bahai who I have pressed with this question becomes hysterically angry. But I need this answer, and so should you, before I can believe the Bahai Faith has any validity. So, I'll leave you with the advice of Bahaullah himself... if religion is the source of your anger, you're better off without the religion.