Editing Shoghi Effendi (section)

==Unexpected death==
[[File:Shoghi Effendi resting place.jpg |thumb|200px |Shoghi Effendi's resting place in London at the New Southgate Cemetery]]

Shoghi Effendi's death came unexpectedly in [[London]], on 4 November 1957, as he was travelling to Britain and caught the [[Asian Flu]],{{sfn|NY Times|1956}} during the [[pandemic]] which killed two million worldwide, and he is buried there in [[New Southgate Cemetery]].{{sfn|Smith|2000}} His wife sent the following [[Telegraphy|cable]]:
{{blockquote |text=Shoghi Effendi beloved of all hearts sacred trust given believers by Master passed away sudden heart attack in sleep following Asiatic flu. Urge believers remain steadfast cling institution Hands lovingly reared recently reinforced emphasized by beloved Guardian. Only oneness heart oneness purpose can befittingly testify loyalty all National Assemblies believers departed Guardian who sacrificed self utterly for service Faith. |source=Ruhiyyih{{sfn|Meizler|2016}}}}

Future hereditary Guardians were envisioned in the Baháʼí scripture by appointment from one to the next. Each Guardian was to be appointed by the previous from among the [[Aghsán|male descendants of Baháʼu'lláh]], preferably according to [[primogeniture]].{{sfn|Smith|2000|pp=169–170}} The appointment was to be made during the Guardian's lifetime and clearly assented to by a group of [[Hands of the Cause]].{{sfn|Smith|2000|pp=169–170}} At the time of Shoghi Effendi's death, all living male descendants of Baháʼu'lláh had been declared [[Covenant-breaker]]s by either ʻAbdu'l-Bahá or Shoghi Effendi, leaving no suitable living candidates. This created a severe crisis of leadership.{{sfn|Johnson|2020|p=xxx}} The 27 living Hands gathered in a series of six conclaves (or signed agreements if they were absent) to decide how to navigate the uncharted situation.{{sfn|Johnson|2020|pp=8–18}} The Hands of the Cause unanimously voted it was impossible to legitimately recognize and assent to a successor.{{sfn|Momen|2003|loc=§G.2.e}} They made an announcement on 25 November 1957 to assume control of the Faith, certified that Shoghi Effendi had left no will or appointment of successor, said that no appointment could have been made, and elected nine of their members to stay at the [[Baháʼí World Centre]] in Haifa to exercise the executive functions of the Guardian (these were known as the Custodians).{{sfn|Johnson|2020|pp=8–18}}

===Ministry of the Custodians===
In Shoghi Effendi's final message to the Baha'i World, dated October 1957, he named the Hands of the Cause of God, "the Chief Stewards of Baháʼu'lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth."{{cn|date=February 2025}} Following the death of Shoghi Effendi, the Baháʼí Faith was temporarily stewarded by the [[Hands of the Cause of God|Hands of the Cause]], who elected among themselves nine "[[Hands of the Cause|Custodians]]" to serve in Haifa as the head of the Faith. They oversaw the transition of the [[International Baháʼí Council]] into the [[Universal House of Justice]].{{sfn|Smith|2008|pp=176–177}} This stewardship oversaw the execution of the final years of Shoghi Effendi's ordinances of the ten year crusade (which lasted until 1963) culminating and transitioning to the election and establishment of the Universal House of Justice, at the first Baha'i World Congress in 1963.

As early as January 1959, [[Mason Remey]], one of the custodial Hands, declared that he was the second Guardian and successor to Shoghi Effendi, even though he met none of the criteria of Abdu'l-Bahá's will and had signed the Proclamations of the Hands of the Cause affirming that Shoghi Effendi had not, and could not have, appointed a successor.{{sfn|Heller|2021|p=422}}{{sfn|Johnson|2020|pp=26–27}} That summer after a conclave of the Hands in Haifa, Remey abandoned his position and moved to Washington D.C., then soon after announced his claim to absolute leadership, and attracted about 100 followers, mostly in the United States.{{sfn|Gallagher|Ashcraft|2006|p=201}} Remey was excommunicated by a unanimous decision of the remaining 26 Hands. Although initially disturbed, the mainstream Baháʼís paid little attention to his movement within a few years.

===Election of the Universal House of Justice===
At the end of the [[Ten Year Crusade]] in 1963, the Universal House of Justice was first elected. It was authorized to adjudicate on situations not covered in scripture. As its first order of business, the Universal House of Justice evaluated the situation caused by the fact that the Guardian had not appointed a successor. It determined that under the circumstances, given the criteria for succession described in the ''[[Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá]]'', there was no legitimate way for another Guardian to be appointed.{{sfn|Smith|2000|pp=169–170}}{{sfn|Universal House of Justice|1996|p=14}} Therefore, although the ''Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá'' leaves provisions for a succession of Guardians, Shoghi Effendi remains the first and last occupant of this office. [[Bahá'u'lláh]] envisioned a scenario in the [[Kitáb-i-Aqdas]] in which the line of Guardians would be broken prior to the establishment of the Universal House of Justice, and in the interim the [[Hands of the Cause|Hands of the Cause of God]] would administer the affairs of the Baha'i community.{{sfn|Saiedi|2000|pp=276–277}}