‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Secret of Divine Civilization

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An Introduction to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s The Secret of Divine Civilization
by Dr. Nader Saiedi
The Secret of Divine Civilization is a masterpiece in social and political theory. Although written
in 19th century regarding the question of modernization of Iran, its vision is not outdated. On the
contrary, the questions addressed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s book have become even more urgent and
relevant for humanity at the end of 20th century. The vision of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá offers a novel
perspective for a new world order, one which is qualitatively different from all existing models of
political theory. Consequently, an adequate reading of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s treatise requires a dynamic
perspective which is oriented simultaneously to both the specific conditions of Iran in the second
half of 19th century, and the problems and problematics confronting humanity at the present time.
This is due to the fact that while The Secret of Divine Civilization is written in response to the
specific conditions of Iranian society in 19th century, its theoretical vision transcends the
boundaries of both Iran and 19th century. It is truly a work for all humanity and all seasons.
In this brief introduction of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s historic text I will first briefly discuss the purpose and
the historical context of the writing of The Secret . Therefore, I will locate ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s treatise
in the context of both Iranian social and political situation, and the overall message of the Bahá’í
Faith. After that I would explicate the organization of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s treatise and differentiate
four levels of discourse in His work. The next four sections will be devoted to those four levels of
discourse. The first level would address the debate concerning traditionalist patrimonialism and
rationalist bureaucratization. The second debate is oriented to the controversy between religious
traditionalism and atheist rationalism. The third layer is devoted to the historicist as opposed to the
objectivist definitions of social and economic development. Finally, the fourth debate will address
the question of nationalism and internationalism. This introduction will be concluded by a brief
discussion of the concept of modernity in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s vision.
1. The context and purpose of The Secret
The Secret of Divine Civilization is one of the early writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which occupies a
unique theoretical and historical position among the Bahá’í sacred writings. Unlike general Bahá’í
Writings, The Secret is addressed to the Muslim population of Iran, written as an anonymous
Muslim text, devoted to a sociological analysis of the conditions of socioeconomic development
of Iranian society, and aimed at a general theory of development and modernity which transcends
and combines the two opposing theories of conservative traditionalism and technocratic
rationalism. It argues for a new approach to modernity and rationality which harmonizes science
and spiritual values in the context of a historical and international approach to culture and society.
It becomes obvious that The Secret must be viewed simultaneously as an expression of the inspired
vision of the Bahá’í Faith on the one hand, and Iranian intellectual social and political discourse
on the other. What makes this particular text unique is precisely the intersection of these two
currents. The inspired character of The Secret implies that the message of this text is qualitatively
different from secular debates on the issue of social and economic development and that its vision
is not limited to the particular situation of 19th century Iran. On the other hand, it is directly
addressing the fundamental questions of modernity and development from an explicitly
sociological point of view, offering explicit and specific solutions to the cultural, economic,