House of Worship beauty

To be built with great beauty

Houses of Worship to be as perfect as is possible

"O people of the world! Build ye houses of worship throughout the lands in the name of Him Who is the Lord of all religions. Make them as perfect as is possible in the world of being, and adorn them with that which befitteth them, not with images and effigies. Then, with radiance and joy, celebrate therein the praise of your Lord, the Most Compassionate. Verily, by His remembrance the eye is cheered and the heart is filled with light."

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, par. 31)

To strive night and day to erect the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in the utmost solidity and beauty

"In fine, I hope that all the beloved of God, collectively, in the continent of America, men and women, will strive night and day until the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar be erected in the utmost solidity and beauty."

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í World Faith, pp. 419)

Prophecy regarding the future beauty of Houses of Worship in America

Houses of Worship to have infinite architectural beauty, art, and be with pleasing proportion and handsome and attractive appearances

"God willing, in all the states of America in the future there will be erected Temples with infinite architectural beauty, art, with pleasing proportion and handsome and attractive appearances; especially in New York. But for the present, be ye satisfied with a rented place."

(Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas, p. 437)

Beauty of the House of Worship and teaching

Despite its beauty, it is for the present to be regarded as no more than an instrument for the more effective propagation of the Cause and its teachings

"Superb and irresistible as is the beauty of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the West, majestic as are its dimensions, unique as is its architecture, and priceless as are the ideals and the aspirations which it symbolizes, it should be regarded, at the present time, as no more than an instrument for a more effective propagation of the Cause and a wider diffusion of its teachings. In this respect it should be viewed in the same light as the administrative institutions of the Faith which are designed as vehicles for the proper dissemination of its ideals, its tenets, and its verities."

(The Advent of Divine Justice, pp. 44-5)

House of Worship's majestic and graceful beauty cannot but impress the mass of its daily visitors with the power of the Cause of God

"The wide and deep interest which this glorious Edifice has created in all circles is, indeed, the full realization of the promises of our beloved Master concerning the future glory of the Temple. The latter, as a matter of fact, has become the most effective medium through which the friends can spread the Teachings. Its physical beauty, which combines majesty with grace, its slow, though continued and uninterrupted construction, despite the severe and unprecedented economic crisis in which the entire world is deeply plunged, and above all the spirit of fellowship, of goodwill and of co-operation between peoples of various races and cultural backgrounds which it has been able to create, all these combined cannot but impress the masses of visitors who daily throng its doors with the beauty, power and effectiveness of this mighty Cause of God."

(On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 7 November 1933 to an individual at https://bahai-library.com/compilation_functions_importance_hazirat-quds#sel8-9 )

See also

• House of Worship avenues, gardens, and pools