Chastity Implies Before Marriage Absolutely Chaste, After Marriage Absolutely Faithful to One's Chosen Companion[edit]
"The question you raise as to the place in one's life that a deep bond of love with someone we meet other than our husband or wife can have is easily defined in view of the teachings. Chastity implies both before and after marriage an unsullied, chaste sex life. Before marriage absolutely chaste, after marriage absolutely faithful to one's chosen companion. Faithful in all sexual acts, faithful in word and in deed."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, September 28, 1941: Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1968-1973, pp. 108-109, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1212)
In a law not currently applicable, those committing pre-marital sex would be fined[edit]
(Though the following refers to "adulterer", the note below clarifies that the punishment is for those who are unmarried:)
"God hath imposed a fine on every adulterer and adulteress, to be paid to the House of Justice: nine mithqáls of gold, to be doubled if they should repeat the offence. Such is the penalty which He Who is the Lord of Names hath assigned them in this world; and in the world to come He hath ordained for them a humiliating torment. Should anyone be afflicted by a sin, it behoveth him to repent thereof and return unto his Lord. He, verily, granteth forgiveness unto whomsoever He willeth, and none may question that which it pleaseth Him to ordain. He is, in truth, the Ever-Forgiving, the Almighty, the All-Praised."
- (Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, par. 49)
"Although the term translated here as adultery refers, in its broadest sense, to unlawful sexual intercourse between either married or unmarried individuals (see note 36 for a definition of the term), 'Abdu'l-Bahá has specified that the punishment here prescribed is for sexual intercourse between persons who are unmarried. He indicates that it remains for the Universal House of Justice to determine the penalty for adultery committed by a married individual. (See also Q and A 49.)
"In one of His Tablets, 'Abdu'l-Bahá refers to some of the spiritual and social implications of the violation of the laws of morality and, concerning the penalty here described, He indicates that the aim of this law is to make clear to all that such an action is shameful in the eyes of God and that, in the event that the offence can be established and the fine imposed, the principal purpose is the exposure of the offenders--that they are shamed and disgraced in the eyes of society. He affirms that such exposure is in itself the greatest punishment.
"The House of Justice referred to in this verse is presumably the Local House of Justice, currently known as the Local Spiritual Assembly."
- (Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 77)
"A mithqál is a unit of weight. The weight of the traditional mithqál used in the Middle East is equivalent to 24 nakhuds. However, the mithqál used by the Bahá'ís consists of 19 nakhuds, "in accordance with the specification of the Bayán" (Q and A 23). The weight of nine of these mithqáls equals 32.775 grammes or 1.05374 troy ounces.
"In relation to the application of the fine, Bahá'u'lláh clearly specifies that each succeeding fine is double the preceding one (Q and A 23); thus the fine imposed increases in geometrical progression. The imposition of this fine is intended for a future condition of society, at which time the law will be supplemented and applied by the Universal House of Justice."
- (Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 78)
