Law

Specific laws

• See Laws

Authoritative overviews

• https://bahai-library.com/aqdas_bahai_literature

Topics

• Equality before the law

Fixed nature of God's law (to be discovered though God's knowledge encompasses and can change)

Laws Governing Physical and Spiritual Lives

"Just as there are laws governing our physical lives, requiring that we must supply our bodies with certain foods, maintain them within a certain range of temperatures, and so forth, if we wish to avoid physical disabilities, so also there are laws governing our spiritual lives. These laws are revealed to mankind in each age by the Manifestation of God, and obedience to them is of vital importance if each human being, and mankind in general, is to develop properly and harmoniously. Moreover, these various aspects are interdependent. If an individual violates the spiritual laws for his own development, he will cause injury not only to himself but to the society in which he lives. Similarly, the condition of society has a direct effect on the individuals who must live within it."

(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; excerpts to all National Spiritual Assemblies, February 6, 1973: Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1968-1973, pp. 105-106, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1146)

Laws are source of order and joy

To-dos for this subsection

• Include verses from the Aqdas on the laws being the choice wine, etc.

Laws to be obeyed out of love for Bahá'u'lláh and because one is wholly transformed

"It is a vital and urgent duty of the Assemblies, both National and Local, not only to apply the Laws of Bahá'u'lláh with justice and firmness, but to increase the believers' understanding of and devotion to these Laws. In this way they will obey them not through fear of punishment but out of love for Bahá'u'lláh and because their whole lives have been transformed and re-oriented in the Way of God."

(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, October 11, 1965: United States Supplement to Bahá'í News, No. 97, March 1966, p. 3, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1149)

Need for usual strict adherence to

The first duty from God is recognizing His Manifestation and observing every ordinance

"The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is the recognition of Him Who is the Dayspring of His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws, Who representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His Cause and the world of creation. Whoso achieveth this duty hath attained unto all good; and whoso is deprived thereof hath gone astray, though he be the author of every righteous deed. It behoveth every one who reacheth this most sublime station, this summit of transcendent glory, to observe every ordinance of Him Who is the Desire of the world. These twin duties are inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other. Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Source of Divine inspiration."

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, par. 1

One must not stray a breadth of a hair from the "Law" as this is the secret of the "Path"

"In this Valley, the wayfarer leaveth behind him the stages of the "oneness of Being and Manifestation"+F47 and reacheth a oneness that is sanctified above these two stations. Ecstasy alone can encompass this theme, not utterance nor argument; and whosoever hath dwelt at this stage of the journey, or caught a breath from this garden land, knoweth whereof We speak.

"In all these journeys the traveler must stray not the breadth of a hair from the "Law," for this is indeed the secret of the "Path" and the fruit of the Tree of "Truth"; and in all these stages he must cling to the robe of obedience to the commandments, and hold fast to the cord of shunning all forbidden things, that he may be nourished from the cup of the Law and informed of the mysteries of Truth."+F48

(Bahá'u'lláh, Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, "Seven Valleys", pp. 39-40)

+F47 Pantheism, a Súfí doctrine derived from the formula: "Only God exists; He is in all things, and all things are in Him."

+F48 This refers to the three stages of Súfí life: 1. Sharí'at, or Religious Laws; 2. Taríqat, or the Path on which the mystic wayfarer journeys in search of the True One; this stage also includes anchoretism. 3. Haqíqat, or the Truth which, to the Súfí, is the goal of the journey through all three stages. Here Bahá'u'lláh teaches that, contrary to the belief of certain Súfís who in their search for the Truth consider themselves above all law, obedience to the Laws of Religion is essential.

"Some Súfís embraced the doctrine that they could approach God directly without assistance from Muhammad or other Prophets. This view logically led to the tenet that the Súfís were exempt from the laws of religion and that for them, even if not for the multitude, conscience was a safe guide. The greatest of the Persian mystics, Jalálu'd-Dín Rúmí and al-Ghazzálí, contested this theory, affirming that only through obedience to the laws of God as revealed by His Messengers could one attain unto the Divine Presence." To include relevant ethics topics

(The English Preface to the Seven Valleys and Four Valleys)

We Must Obey Ordinances, Even Though at First We See No Need for Them

"It is often difficult for us to do things because they are so very different from what we are used to, not because the thing itself is particularly difficult. With you, and indeed most Bahá'ís, who are now, as adults, accepting this glorious Faith, no doubt some of the ordinances, like fasting and daily prayer, are hard to understand and obey at first. But we must always think that these things are given to all men for a thousand years to come. For Bahá'í children who see these things practiced in the home, they will be as natural and necessary a thing as going to church on Sunday was to the more pious generation of Christians. Bahá'u'lláh would not have given us these things if they would not greatly benefit us, and, like children who are sensible enough to realize their father is wise and does what is good for them, we must accept to obey these ordinances even though at first we may not see any need for them. As we obey them we will gradually come to see in ourselves the benefits they confer."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, March 16, 1949, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1150)

Should either accept the Cause without qualification or cease calling ourselves Bahá'ís

"...The believers, and particularly those who have not had sufficient experience in teaching, should be very careful in the way they present the teachings of the Cause. Sincerity, devotion and faith are not the sole conditions of successful teaching. Tactfulness, extreme caution and wisdom are equally important. We should not be in a hurry when we announce the message to the public and we should be careful to present the teachings in their entirety and not to alter them for the sake of others. Allegiance to the Faith cannot be partial and half-hearted. Either we should accept the Cause without any qualification whatever, or cease calling ourselves Bahá'ís. The new believers should be made to realize that it is not sufficient for them to accept some aspects of the teachings and reject those which cannot suit their mentality in order to become fully recognized and active followers of the Faith. In this way all sorts of misunderstandings will vanish and the organic unity of the Cause will be preserved."

(From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, June 12, 1933: Bahá'í News, No. 80, p. 5, January 1934, in Lights of Guidance, no. 241)

Cannot accept the Cause and refuse to accept the Admininstration

"...To accept the Cause without the administration is like to accept the teachings without acknowledging the divine station of Bahá'u'lláh. To be a Bahá'í is to accept the Cause in its entirety. To take exception to one basic principle is to deny the authority and sovereignty of Bahá'u'lláh, and therefore is to deny the Cause. The administration is the social order of Bahá'u'lláh. Without it all the principles of the Cause will remain abortive. To take exception to this, therefore, is to take exception to the fabric that Bahá'u'lláh has prescribed; it is to disobey His law."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, May 30, 1930: Bahá'í News, No. 43, August 1930, p. 3; in Lights of Guidance, no. 5)

See also

• Religion#Need for recognition of infallibility in human vessels (cannot accept Cause and fail to accept infallibility of Central Figures)

See also

• Literal vs. figurative

Sometime occasion for exceptions to the law

Necessities (such as medical commands) make forbidden things lawful

"Another point remains, and it is this: that in case of contagious diseases, such as the plague and cholera, whether cremation of bodies with lime or other chemicals is allowable or not? In such cases, hygiene and preservation is necessarily more important; for according to the clear Divine texts, medical commands are lawful, and 'necessities make forbidden things lawful' is one of the certain rules."

(Wisdom of Burying the Dead in the Earth: Tablet of Cremation)

See also

• Explaining illness to patients (for exception to virtue of honesty)

Not to have too many exceptions as may lose clear definition and encourage other exceptions

"He was sorry to refuse the request of the National Assembly to, under certain circumstances, permit the localities that would achieve Assembly status by next Ridvan, to have a delegate at the National Convention. He feels that, although this would no doubt have provided a great stimulus to the friends, it was an unjustifiable breach of the general administrative procedure. If there are too many exceptions, the rule has a tendency to lose its clearly defined character, not to mention encouraging other communities to want to be exceptions too, under various circumstances!"

(On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Unfolding Destiny, p. 367)

The Universal House of Justice will not over-legislate or mislegislate as in past religions (nor should believers)

"Briefly, this is the wisdom of referring the laws of society to the House of Justice. In the religion of Islam, similarly, not every ordinance was explicitly revealed; nay not a tenth part of a tenth part was included in the Text; although all matters of major importance were specifically referred to, there were undoubtedly thousands of laws which were unspecified. These were devised by the divines of a later age according to the laws of Islamic jurisprudence, and individual divines made conflicting deductions from the original revealed ordinances. All these were enforced. Today this process of deduction is the right of the body of the House of Justice, and the deductions and conclusions of individual learned men have no authority, unless they are endorsed by the House of Justice. The difference is precisely this, that from the conclusions and endorsements of the body of the House of Justice whose members are elected by and known to the worldwide Bahá'í community, no differences will arise; whereas the conclusions of individual divines and scholars would definitely lead to differences, and result in schism, division, and dispersion. The oneness of the Word would be destroyed, the unity of the Faith would disappear, and the edifice of the Faith of God would be shaken."

('Abdu'l-Bahá, cited in https://bahai-library.com/uhj_guardianship_uhj_relationship )

"The Universal House of Justice does not feel that the time has come for it to provide detailed legislation on subjects such as abortion, homosexuality and other moral issues. The principles pertaining to these issues are available in the book "Lights of Guidance" and elsewhere. In studying these principles, it should be noted that in most areas of human behaviour there are acts which are clearly contrary to the law of God and others which are clearly approved or permissible; between these there is often a grey area where it is not immediately apparent what should be done. It has been a human tendency to wish to eliminate these grey areas so that every aspect of life is clearly prescribed. A result of this tendency has been the tremendous accretion of interpretation and subsidiary legislation which has smothered the spirit of certain of the older religions. In the Bahá'í Faith moderation, which is so strongly upheld by Bahá'u'lláh, is applied here also. Provision is made for supplementary legislation by the Universal House of Justice -- legislation which it can itself abrogate and amend as conditions change. There is also a clear pattern already established in the Sacred Scriptures, in the interpretations made by `Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, and in the decisions so far made by the Universal House of Justice, whereby an area of the application of the laws is intentionally left to the conscience of each individual believer. This is the age in which mankind must attain maturity, and one aspect of this is the assumption by individuals of the responsibility for deciding, with the assistance of consultation, their own course of action in areas which are left open by the law of God."

(On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, Legislating on Morality, at https://bahai-library.com/uhj_legislating_morality )

Difference Between Advice (Exhortation, Counsel) and a Binding Command

"Now, as regards your questions as to in what way can one determine whether a particular passage from the Master's Writings is in the nature of an exhortation, or is a positively binding statement. Just as in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, the text of the Tablet itself shows whether it is an exhortation, a counsel or advice, or whether it constitutes a positive and binding command. Obviously, there might be found certain passages that are doubtful, and these should be referred to the Guardian[+F1 (Now the Universal House of Justice] for interpretation and clarification."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, March 14, 1939, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1153)

Need to communicate law according to capacity of listener

• Progressive Revelation
• Introducing the laws to seekers and new believers

Progressive application

• Progressive application of laws

Difficulties of following

Obedience to the Laws of Bahá'u'lláh Will Impose Hardships and Tests in Individual Cases

"Obedience to the Laws of Bahá'u'lláh will necessarily impose hardships in individual cases. No one should expect, upon becoming a Bahá'í, that his faith will not be tested, and to our finite understanding of such matters these tests may occasionally seem unbearable. But we are aware of the assurance which Bahá'u'lláh Himself has given the believers that they will never be called upon to meet a test greater than their capacity to endure."

(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, September 7, 1965, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1144)

It is Difficult to Follow the Laws of Bahá'u'lláh

"As you point out, it is particularly difficult to follow the laws of Bahá'u'lláh in present-day society whose accepted practice is so at variance with the standards of the Faith. However, there are certain laws that are so fundamental to the healthy functioning of human society that they must be upheld whatever the circumstances. Realising the degree of human frailty, Bahá'u'lláh has provided that other laws are to be applied only gradually, but these too, once they are applied, must be followed, or else society will not be reformed but will sink into an ever worsening condition. It is the challenging task of the Bahá'ís to obey the law of God in their own lives, and gradually to win the rest of mankind to its acceptance."

(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; excerpts to all National Spiritual Assemblies, February 6, 1973: Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1968-1973, p. 106, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1147)

Application of the laws by the Local Spiritual Assembly

Apply the laws with justice and firmness but also increase believers' understanding of and devotion to them

"It is a vital and urgent duty of the Assemblies, both National and Local, not only to apply the Laws of Bahá'u'lláh with justice and firmness, but to increase the believers' understanding of and devotion to these Laws. In this way they will obey them not through fear of punishment but out of love for Bahá'u'lláh and because their whole lives have been transformed and re-oriented in the Way of God."

(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, October 11, 1965: United States Supplement to Bahá'í News, No. 97, March 1966, p. 3, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1149)

While individuals to be loving and forgiving to other individuals, the Spiritual Assemblies are to administer the law of God with justice

"You express surprise at the Guardian's reference to 'the necessary punishment from society'. In the Kitab-i-Aqdas Bahá'u'lláh prohibits sexual immorality and in the Annex to that Book states that the various degrees of sexual offences and the punishments for them are to be decided by the Universal House of Justice. In this connection it should be realised that there is distinction drawn in the Faith between the attitudes which should characterize individuals in their relationship to other people, namely, loving forgiveness, forbearance, and concern with one's own sins not the sins of others, and those attitudes which should be shown by the Spiritual Assemblies, whose duty is to administer the law of God with justice."

(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; excerpts to all National Spiritual Assemblies, February 6, 1973: Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1968-1973, p. 110, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1148)

See also

• Local Spiritual Assembly#Not to confuse distinct role of Assemblies vs. individuals

See also

• Kitáb-i-Aqdas
• Crime

To-dos for this page

• Quote from 'Abdu'l-Bahá on exceptions causing chaos?
• Quotes on NSAs not being too rigid in formulizing too many rules