Homosexuality and Civil Rights

27 October 2010

Dear Bahá’í Friend,

Your email message of 10 July 2010, sent to the Office of Public Information at the Bahá’í World Centre, was forwarded to the Universal House of Justice, which was pleased to learn that you have recently become a Bahá’í and that you are studying the Teachings and their relationship to contemporary issues. With respect to your question concerning the position Bahá’ís are to take regarding homosexuality and civil rights, we have been asked to convey the following.

The purpose of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is the realization of the organic unity of the entire human race, and Bahá’ís are enjoined to eliminate from their lives all forms of prejudice and to manifest respect towards all. Therefore, to regard those with a homosexual orientation with prejudice or disdain would be against the spirit of the Faith. Furthermore, a Bahá’í is exhorted to be “an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression”, and it would be entirely appropriate for a believer to come to the defense of those whose fundamental rights are being denied or violated.

At the same time, you are no doubt aware of the relevant teachings of the Faith that govern the personal conduct of Bahá’ís. The Bahá’í Writings state that marriage is a union between a man and a woman and that sexual relations are restricted to a couple who are married to each other. Other passages from the Writings state that the practice of homosexuality is not permitted. The teachings of Bahá’u’lláh on personal morality are binding on Bahá’ís, who strive, as best they can, to live up to the high standards He has established.

Principles regarding Participation in the Life of Society in Iran

22 January 2010

Dear Bahá’í Friend,

The Universal House of Justice has received your letter dated 11 January 2010 inquiring about the principles that, under present conditions, should guide the Iranian believers in their participation in the life of society. The House of Justice appreciates your desire to promote the best interests of the Faith, as well as the clarity and penetrating insight of your questions, and has requested us to respond on its behalf.

As you are well aware, in present-day Iran, fundamental questions of social justice and public welfare have become entangled with sectarian political concerns. This has made it difficult for Bahá’ís, who love their country and cherish great aspirations for its progress, to determine the best course of action to take. It is hoped that the following comments will be of assistance to the friends in choosing how to proceed.

Members of the Bahá’í community, wherever they reside, avoid engaging in partisan politics or meddling in political relations among governments, refraining at all times from becoming involved in the contest for worldly power. They have chosen this path in accordance with the teachings of their Faith, that they might focus their attention on working towards the greater goal of establishing a united and prosperous society. This choice is not intended as a criticism of any particular political party or of the approach taken by other groups. Needless to say, in following this path Bahá’ís categorically reject any form of sedition or recourse to violence.

While eschewing partisan political activity, Bahá’ís are to vigorously engage in constructive public discourse and in a wide range of social endeavours aimed at the betterment of the world and the progress of their respective nations. They undertake such activities with humility, discernment and respect for prevailing laws and social conditions, in a spirit of learning and in collaboration with like-minded groups and individuals, fully confident in the power inherent in the principle of unity in diversity and in the efficacy of mutual aid and cooperation.

Restrictions on Marrying Relatives

15 January 2010

Dear Bahá’í Friend,

Your email letter of 11 October 2009, concerning Bahá’í law as regards marrying one’s relatives, has been received by the Universal House of Justice. We have been asked to convey the following in response.

The House of Justice has clearly stated that it is not permissible for a Bahá’í to marry his or her mother or father and their siblings and forebears, brothers or sisters and their descendents, or sons or daughters and their descendents. It is also not permissible to marry some corresponding categories of relations formed by bonds of marriage—such as the step-mother, step-father, step-daughter, or step-son, or the daughter-in-law, son-in-law, mother-in-law, or father-in-law—or similar categories of relations formed by legal and social bonds that create a shared family life, for example through adoption. Beyond these prohibitions, Bahá’ís should ensure they do not contract a marriage that would violate the customs or laws of the country in which they reside. While the House of Justice has refrained, at this stage, from defining other categories of relations with whom marriage is prohibited, it is important for believers everywhere to be mindful of this clear statement by the Master:

“In marriage the more distant the blood-relationship the better, for such distance in family ties between husband and wife provideth the basis for the well-being of humanity and is conducive to fellowship among mankind.”

It is hoped that the foregoing provides the clarification you seek. You are assured of the prayers of the House of Justice in the Holy Shrines on your behalf.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Department of the Secretariat

(Messages from the Universal House of Justice 2001-2022)

Date of the Tablet of “Words of Wisdom” (Asl-i-Kullu’l-Khayr)

15 November 2009

Dear Bahá’í Friend,

Further to our letter dated 27 September 2009, we have been asked to inform you that the Research Department has become aware that one of the Tablets in the volume Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Asl-i-Kullu’l-Khayr (Words of Wisdom), was actually revealed before the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and probably in Baghdad. A copy of the Tablet in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s handwriting was found among the documents confiscated by the Ottoman authorities in 1868 during Bahá’u’lláh’s exile in Adrianople (Edirne).

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Department of the Secretariat

(Baha’i Library Online)

Source of a passage from a talk by ‘Abdu’l-Baha concerning “’spiritual consultation’ that the disciples of Christ participated in after His ascension”

1 November 2009

Dear Bahá’í Friend,

Your email letter of 13 October 2009, seeking the source of a passage from a talk given by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on 2 May 1912 describing a “spiritual consultation” that the disciples of Christ participated in after His ascension, has been received at the Bahá’í World Centre and forwarded to the Research Department for study.

The Research Department states that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke extemporaneously and did not refer to notes. His talks in The Promulgation of Universal Peace were translated as He spoke and stenographically recorded into English and Persian, but He did not have the opportunity to read and authenticate all of the transcripts. Further, the passage in question appears in a talk for which, to date, no original Persian transcript has been identified. The talk remains unauthenticated, and the English text cannot be taken necessarily to be his exact words.

Regarding the story in the passage in question, the Research Department has not yet found a rendering of it in the Biblical and Christian sources available to them.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Department of the Secretariat

(Baha’i Library Online)

When the Blessed Beauty was first addressed by the title Bahá’u’lláh

9 August 2009

Dear Bahá’í Friend,

Your email letter of 29 May 2009, asking when the Blessed Beauty was first addressed by the title Bahá’u’lláh, has been received at the Bahá’í World Centre and forwarded to our Department for response.

In a letter written on his behalf dated 16 February 1929, the beloved Guardian provides the following explanation:

“...the Báb definitely uses the name Bahá’u’lláh for the promised One. This name was first given to Bahá’u’lláh in Badasht, but who first used it is not known. Some say it was Qurratu’l-‘Ayn. Some say that she gave Him this name because the Báb had written her to that effect. Anyhow what is sure is that when Mullá Báqir, one of the Letters of the Living, visited the Báb in Chihríq, just before the latter was martyred, the Báb gave him a box containing His writings and told him to take it to Mullá Abdu’l-Karim of Qazvín, through whom most of His correspondence was made. Then the Báb added that the box was to go to Bahá’u’lláh, the son of Mírzá Buzurg of Núr. This was the first time the Báb was heard to attribute that name to Bahá’u’lláh. When Mullá Báqir received the box many of the friends asked him to open it. When he did so he found on the top of its contents a blue sheet of paper on which the Báb had written in His own handwriting and in the form of a five-pointed star, which stands for the body of man, three hundred and sixty-one derivatives of the word Bahá’u’lláh. This box was given to Bahá’u’lláh in Tihrán. The Báb had also told Mullá Báqir that he would meet Him Whom God would manifest and this person was one of those who visited Bahá’u’lláh in 'Akká.”

It is hoped that the above passage provides you with the information you seek.

With loving Bahá'í greetings,

Department of the Secretariat

(Baha’i Library Online)

Guidance on teaching the Faith

April 26, 2009

Dear Bahá’í Friend,

Your email letter of 14 February 2009, in which you describe some concerns felt by members of your community regarding different ways of teaching the Faith, has been received by the Universal House of Justice. We have been asked to convey the following.

In your letter, you raise various questions relating to teaching, with reference to different opinions held by members of the Bahá’í community. As mentioned in the 2008 Ridván message, the friends everywhere are learning how best to apply a range of approaches and methods in sharing Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation, in keeping with the receptivity of their listeners. In this context, the House of Justice has been pleased to see that two developments are occurring in all parts of the globe, irrespective of the nature of the society in question.

First, the practice of discussing the principles and precepts of the Faith in a general way, which has resulted in a great many admirers of the Cause but few enrolments, is being complemented by an increasingly direct approach to sharing Bahá’u’lláh’s Message. More often than not, the friends have found the presentation of the Faith outlined in Book 6 of the Ruhi Institute most useful in this respect. It is clear, however, that those making such a presentation need to avoid the trap of reducing it merely to a series of points of information that are enumerated for the listener. Results worldwide leave little doubt that the heart of the listener is touched when the teacher understands the logic underlying the presentation and is prepared to offer it in its fullness. That so many believers who have been taught the Faith in this way have, through study of the courses of the institute, become active supporters of the Cause in their communities stands as ample testimony to the validity of the method. This development represents an important milestone, indeed, in the progress of the Faith.