Literal vs. figurative
From Bahai9
Wrong to divorce either the letter or the spirit from the other[edit]
"In this Cause we cannot divorce the letter from the spirit of the words. As Bahá'u'lláh says we should take the outward significance and super-impose upon it the inner. Either without the other is wrong and defective."
- (From a letter dated 16 February 1932 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, Importance of Deepening Our Knowledge and Understanding of the Faith, no. 103)
We must adhere to explicit, literal text, not deviating a hair's breadth from the Tablets[edit]
"We must...adhere to the explicit text, to the literal meaning of what is written in the Tablets, and must not deviate from this even to a hair's breadth."
