405. Understanding the Laws of the Faith

405

Understanding the Laws of the Faith

12 August 1984

To: An individual Bahá’í

From: The Universal House of Justice

405.1 ... We are very glad to see that the Assembly is taking steps to educate the friends in the laws of the Faith and to emphasize the importance of obedience to them....

1. 1. It would seem to be important to make clear to the friends that the “laws” of the Faith

must be regarded in various lights. There are laws, ordinances, exhortations and

principles, all of which are sometimes loosely referred to as “laws.” All are very

important for the life of the community and the spiritual life of the individual, but they are

applied differently. Some affect the society and the social relationships, and the Spiritual

Assemblies are responsible for their enforcement. If a believer breaks such a law, he is

subject to the imposition of sanctions. Others, although of very great importance, are not

sanctionable, because their observance is a matter of conscience between the individual

and God; among these fall the laws of prayer and fasting and the law of Ḥuqúqu’lláh.

Then there are those high ethical standards to which Bahá’u’lláh calls His followers, such

as trustworthiness, abstention from backbiting, and so on; generally speaking, obedience

to these is a matter for individual conscience, and the Assemblies should not pry into

people's lives to see whether or not they are following them; nevertheless, if a believer's

conduct falls so far below the standard set by Bahá’u’lláh that it becomes a flagrant

disgrace and brings the name of the Faith into disrepute, the Assembly would have to

intervene, to encourage the believer to correct his ways, to warn him of the consequences

of continued misconduct, and possibly, if he does not respond, to deprive him of his

administrative rights.

405.3 In other words, the friends should realize the importance of following all the teachings and not assume that merely because an offence is not punishable it is therefore less grave. Assemblies, on the other hand, should distinguish clearly between those laws which it is their duty to enforce, those which should be left strictly to the conscience of the individual, and those in which it may have to intervene if the misbehavior is blatant and injurious to the good name of the Faith....

The Universal House of Justice

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