Murder

Murder forbidden

"Ye have been forbidden to commit murder or adultery, or to engage in backbiting or calumny; shun ye, then, what hath been prohibited in the holy Books and Tablets."

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, par. 19)

"Let none contend with another, and let no soul slay another; this, verily, is that which was forbidden you in a Book that hath lain concealed within the Tabernacle of glory. What! Would ye kill him whom God hath quickened, whom He hath endowed with spirit through a breath from Him? Grievous then would be your trespass before His throne! Fear God, and lift not the hand of injustice and oppression to destroy what He hath Himself raised up; nay, walk ye in the way of God, the True One. No sooner did the hosts of true knowledge appear, bearing the standards of Divine utterance, than the tribes of the religions were put to flight, save only those who willed to drink from the stream of everlasting life in a Paradise created by the breath of the All-Glorious."

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, par. 73)

Cross-reference information

"The prohibition against taking another's life is repeated by Bahá'u'lláh in paragraph 73 of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Penalties are prescribed for premeditated murder (see note 86)."

(On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Notes. 35)

Only the fundamental principles for the punishments for murder are given in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas; the application depends on the situation

"...merely the fundamental principles of the punishments for murder and arson are given in the Kitab-i-Aqdas. Willful murder is to be punished either by capital punishment or life imprisonment. Such matters as degrees of offense and whether any extenuating circumstances are to be taken into account, and which of the two prescribed punishments is to be the norm are left to the Universal House of Justice to decide in light of prevailing conditions when the law is in operation. Arson, as you yourself can see from the newspapers, is becoming an increasingly frequent offense-scarcely a day passes without some building being burned or blown up, often causing agonizing death to innocent people. Bahá'u'lláh prescribes that a person who burns a house intentionally is to be burned or imprisoned for life, bur again, the application of these punishments, the method of carrying them out and the fixing of degrees of offense are left to the Universal House of Justice. Obviously there is a tremendous difference in the degree of the offense of a person who burns down an empty warehouse from that of one who sets fire to a school full of children."

(Universal House of Justice, Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-86)

Though forbidden, punishment for murder in the Aqdas is for a future state of society; such a matter is usually covered by the civil laws of each country

"IV.D.1.y, Arson, adultery, murder and theft are all forbidden to IV.D.1.y.xiv, IV.D.1.y.xv, Bahá'ís, but the punishments prescribed for them in the IV.D.1.y.xvi & IV.D.1.y.xvii Kitab-i-Aqdas are designed for a future state of society. Such matters are usually covered by the civil laws of each country."

(On behalf of? the Universal House of Justice, at https://bahai-library.com/uhj_laws_not_binding )

See also

• capital punishment (death penalty)
• manslaughter