The Bahá'í Fasting

Today, March 2, all the members of the Bahá'í Faith will start a sunrise-to-sunset fast.

Bahá’u’lláh designated a nineteen-day period each year when adult Bahá'ís fast from sunrise to sunset each day. This period coincides with the Bahá'í month of Ala (meaning Loftiness), from March 2 to 20, inclusive. This is the month immediately preceding the Bahá'í new year.

“O Pen of the Most High! Say: O people of the world! We have enjoined upon you fasting during a brief period, and at its close have designated for you Naw-Rúz as a feast. Thus hath the Day-Star of Utterance shone forth above the horizon of the Book as decreed by Him Who is the Lord of the beginning and the end.”

Baha'u'llah , the Kitáb Al Aqdas-p16

Spiritual nature:

Along with obligatory prayer, it is one of the greatest obligations of a Bahá'í, and its chief purpose is spiritual; to reinvigorate the soul and bring the person closer to God.

"Fasting is the cause of awakening man. The heart becomes tender and the spirituality of man increases. This is produced by the fact that man's thoughts will be confined to the commemoration of God, and through this awakening and stimulation surely ideal advancements follow... Fasting is of two kinds, material and spiritual. The material fasting is abstaining from food or drink, that is, from the appetites of the body. But spiritual, ideal fasting is this, that man abstain from selfish passions, from negligence and from satanic animal traits. Therefore, material fasting is a token of the spiritual fasting. That is: `O God! As I am fasting from the appetites of the body and not occupied with eating and drinking, even so purify and make holy my heart and my life from aught else save Thy Love, and protect and preserve my soul from self-passions... Thus may the spirit associate with the Fragrances of Holiness and fast from everything else save Thy mention."

`Abdu'l-Bahá

Laws concerning fasting:

Bahá’u’lláh n the Kitáb-i-Aqdas -the Baha'i book of laws - established a certain amount of laws and practices associated with the Nineteen Day Fast .

• The period of fasting begins with the termination of the Intercalary Days and ends with the festival of Naw-Ruz.


• Abstinence from food, drink and smoking from sunrise to sunset.


• Fasting is obligatory for men and women once they attain the age of 15.


• If one eats unconsciously during the fasting hours, this is not breaking the Fast as it is an accident.


• In regions of extremely high latitude where the duration of days and nights vary considerably, the times of the fast are fixed by the clock.

Exemptions from fasting:

There are various exemptions provided in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas to the obligation of fasting. One meeting the exemptions may, however, still choose to fast if they so wish. Those not fasting are asked to be discreet, and eat frugally and in private.

"The traveller, the ailing, those who are with child or giving suck, are not bound by the Fast; they have been exempted by God as a token of His grace. He, verily, is the Almighty, the Most Generous.”

Bahá’u’lláh , the Kitáb Al Aqdas-p16

• Those who are ill.


• Those who are younger than 15 or older than 70.


• Those who are engaged in heavy labour.


• Women who are pregnant.


• Women who are nursing.


• Women who are menstruating (instead they must perform an ablution and recite the verse Glorified be God, the Lord of Splendour and Beauty 95 times a day).


• Exemptions are also given to those travelling during the fast. Exemptions are given when the travel is longer than 9 hours (or 2 hours if travelling by foot). If the traveller breaks their journey for more than nineteen days, they are only exempt from fasting for the first three days. Also if they return home, they must begin fasting right away.

The importance of obeying God’s commandments and laws:

“O ye peoples of the world! Know assuredly that My commandments are the lamps of My loving providence among My servants, and the keys of My mercy for My creatures. Thus hath it been sent down from the heaven of the Will of your Lord, the Lord of Revelation. Were any man to taste the sweetness of the words which the lips of the All-Merciful have willed to utter, he would, though the treasures of the earth be in his possession, renounce them one and all, that he might vindicate the truth of even one of His commandments, shining above the Dayspring of His bountiful care and loving-kindness.”

Bahá’u’lláh , the Kitáb Al Aqdas-p3

"O SON OF BEING! Walk in My statutes for love of Me and deny thyself that which thou desirest if thou seekest My pleasure."

Bahá’u’lláh , The Arabic Hidden Words – No.38

O God! Educate these children

O God! Educate these children.

These children are the plants of Thine orchard,

the flowers of Thy meadow,

the roses of Thy garden.

Let Thy rain fall upon them;

let the Sun of Reality shine upon them with Thy love.

Let Thy breeze refresh them in order that they may be trained,

grow and develop,

and appear in the utmost beauty.

Thou art the Giver. Thou art the Compassionate.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Baha'i Prayer : Blessed is the spot - مناجاة بهائية: طوبى لمحلٍ

طوبى لمحلٍ ولبيتٍ ولمقامٍ ولمدينةٍ
ولقلبٍ ولجبلٍ ولكهفٍ ولغارٍ ولأوديةٍ ولبرٍ ولبحرٍ ولجزيرةٍ ولدسكرةٍ ارتفع فيها ذكر الله وثناؤه

حضرة بهاء الله

Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the valley, and the land, and the sea, and the island, and the meadow where mention of God hath been made, and His praise glorified.

Bahá'u'lláh

The Bahá'í Faith

The Bahá'í Faith is the youngest of the world's independent religions. Its founder, Bahá’u’lláh(1817-1892), is regarded by Bahá'ís as the most recent in the line of Messengers of God that stretches back beyond recorded time and that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad.

The aim of the Bahá’í Faith is to unify humanity. Bahá’ís believe that, we are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch. Although we differ from one another physically and emotionally, although we have different talents and capacities, we all spring from the same root; we all belong to the same human family.
“Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.”

The Bahá'í Faith in Egypt

The Baha'i Faith came to Egypt; in 1864. Two Persian Merchants introduced the Faith in Egypt and then Few Egyptians became Bahá’ís.
During 1910 – 1913 : ‘Abdu’l-Bahá , the son of the Profit founder of the Baha'i Faith came to Egypt. He visited and stayed in several cities; Port Said, Ismá`íliyyah, Al Mansoura,Tanta, Cairo, and Alexandria.

Bahá’u’lláh’s Life

Bahá’u’lláh was born in 1817 in Tihrán, the capital of Iran. From His early childhood, He showed signs of greatness. He received some instruction at home, but did not need to attend school, for He was endowed by God with innate knowledge. Bahá’u’lláh came from a noble family and when He was a young man, was offered a high position in the court of the King, but He refused it. He wished to dedicate His time to helping the oppressed, the sick and the poor, and to champion the cause of justice.

There are two aspects of Bahá’u’lláh’s life.

One is the suffering He endured.

The other is the tremendous influence He had on the hearts and minds of people.

These actually characterize the lives of all the Manifesta­tions of God.

Bahá’u’lláh’s sufferings began the mo­ment He arose to proclaim the Cause of God. His life was one of exile, imprisonment and persecution. He was put in chains in a dark and dismal dungeon in Tihrán He was exiled four times from land to land, finally being sent to the Prison City of ‘Akká in the Ottoman Empire. So in­tense were His sufferings there that He has referred to ‘Akká as the “Most Great Prison”.

“The Ancient Beauty hath consented to be bound with chains that mankind may be released from its bondage, and hath accepted to be made a prisoner within this most mighty Stronghold that the whole world may attain unto true liberty. He hath drained to its dregs the cup of sorrow, that all the peoples of the earth may attain unto abiding joy, and be filled with gladness. This is of the mercy of your Lord, the Compassionate, the Most Merciful. We have accepted to be abased, O believers in the Unity of God, that ye may be exalted, and have suffered manifold afflic­tions, that ye might prosper and flourish.” Bahá’u’lláh

Two powerful courts—those of the King of Iran and the Ottoman Emperor—made every effort to oppose Bahá’u’lláh and His Teachings. But the Light of Truth is not easily extinguished. The very water that is poured on this fire to put out its flame turns into oil, and the fire burns with more intensity. Nothing could be done to stop Bahá’u’lláh’s growing influence. The farther the authorities banished Him, the greater the number of people who were attracted to His Teachings and recognized His Power and Majesty. In spite of constant persecution, Bahá’u’lláh con­tinued to reveal the Word of God for more than forty years and brought so much love and spiritual energy into this world that the final victory of His Cause is certain.

Bahá’u’lláh passed away in 1892. His Shrine, which Baha’is consider the Holiest Spot on earth, is located near the city of ‘Akká.

Soccer training goes beyond the pitch

Budapest, Hungary — All the soccer players were young – between 10 and 14 years of age – but at a recent match, the opposing team was fierce in its verbal taunting of the Black Stars Juniors Football Club.

“Most of the time when children play football, they swear a lot,” explains Nabil Switzer, 15, a player in a different league who helps mentor the Black Stars. “It’s very normal.”
But in some ways the Black Stars are not “normal.” For one thing, other than playing all the harder, they didn’t respond to the goading at the recent match. Not a word. Afterwards, some of the parents of the opposing players were heard scolding their sons for mouthing such abusive words.
Gabor Karagich, the 31-year-old Black Stars coach, was pleased with his boys’ behavior but said it is what he expected of them. His goal, he says, is “nurturing good human beings, not only good soccer players.”
That he is serious about this is reflected in the dual nature of his program – football practice twice a week, a Saturday class twice a month.
The boys – there are about 20 of them – have named the class the Forro Csoki Klub (Hot Chocolate Club), and while there they do talk about football. But that’s not all.
“We evaluate how the training went,” the coach says of the class. “We look at what made it possible that we played more unitedly or what happened if we were not so attentive towards each other. We also discuss topics related to our behavior, what it means to be good, one’s responsibility towards others and society….”

Mr. Karagich receives financial support for the project from a Baha’i-inspired nonprofit organization in Hungary called the Unity in Diversity Foundation.
The director of the foundation, Mrs. Furugh Switzer, said the boys in the soccer program are from disadvantaged families who normally cannot afford this type of sports training. The program, she said, is provided free of charge to participants and not only offers quality instruction but also helps keep the youngsters away from things like drugs and alcohol.
Coach Karagich, who is a Baha’i, previously worked for six years as a certified youth football trainer and said he used to be concerned only about winning.

He signed up for a moral education training program run by the Baha’is that would allow him to be what they call a youth “animator.” It gave him the idea for the new football club, which he launched last September.

“In starting this club I wasn’t looking for a career again as a soccer trainer,” he said. “I wanted to help boys find respect for themselves and for the society. I also wanted to help them see that not everything is about winning.”
Mark Molnar, 10, is one of the Black Stars and says his football club is different from others. On most teams, he says, “they laugh at people when they make mistakes.”

Coach Karagich says that at the beginning, some of the parents seemed suspicious of the motives – both his and that of the Unity in Diversity Foundation. But after the parents came to some of the training sessions, they warmed up, both to the football practice and to the Hot Chocolate Club.
He proudly quoted from a letter he received from one of the mothers: “Our friends who came to the training this Saturday for the first time could hardly believe this group. … The atmosphere of the training is so good.”

For the six years that I’ve been a trainer I have never had this type of support from the parents,” the coach said. “At first it was weird to get so many telephone calls, but now I know their support really helps the work we’re doing.”
Mr. Karagich said part of his motivation comes from his own background.
“When I was a child I had some real trouble,” he said. “I started this club to help these boys avoid some of the mistakes I made.”
He works to create a collaborative rather than a competitive spirit among the team members.
“We had a child who thought this was a team like all the others where you had to be the best player,” the coach said. “In the beginning it was hard for him to make friends with the other boys because he was in competition with them. But now he understands the way the team works. He is getting along with everyone and has a good time.”
Another of the boys used to spend all his time alone in his room on the computer. Now he likes to go to football practice and the Hot Chocolate Club to spend time with his friends, the coach said.
Mrs. Switzer of the Unity in Diversity Foundation says the program is helping the boys develop a social perspective.
“Gabor organized for them to go to play a football team at the orphanage,” she said. “Afterwards, the children at the orphanage took them around the place, and now all the boys have become friends. After their visit they discussed the importance of being kind to others and being of service to them.”

Teaching kids to connect in a multicultural world

When the city council of Monrovia, Calif., recently sought to combat racially charged gang violence in this bedroom community of Los Angeles, it turned to the Monrovia Baha'i Family School as a role model for how people of different cultures can get along in our cross-cultural world.Whites, Latinos and African-Americans don’t always connect in a friendly way on the streets of Monrovia, but they do on Cypress Street -- home of the Baha'i school, whose students range from kindergarten to high school. Some students are Baha’is; others come from different faiths.

The purpose of the many Baha'i schools located throughout the country, is to teach children about the oneness of humankind. This core principle of the Baha'i Faith forms the foundation of the Faith’s other principles, which include equality of the sexes, elimination of prejudice, abolition of extremes of poverty and wealth.

Baha’i schools are populated by children of families who want their children to receive a spiritual education that stresses the importance of diversity and unity.

Students also learn the Baha'i concept of progressive revelation -- that the world's major religions are part of a single, progressive process through which God reveals His will to humanity.

The spiritual meaning of Fast

Since the beginning of the Fast month, the schedule day has been changed. There is more free time now. Because we are not busy preparing lunch, or eating sank, or cooking dinner, or having a cup of coffee, or …etc
If we compare between: The time we spent feeding our bodies and the time we spent nourishing our souls, we will realize that:
We lose our value time in something is not important, the physical food!
But do we have enough Spiritual Food?
‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains the needed of more Spiritual Food in our life:

“The spiritual food is the principal food, whereas the physical food is not so important. The effect of the spiritual food is eternal. Through the material food the body exists, but through the spiritual food the spirit will be nourished. The material food, that is, the food for the body, is simply water and bread, but the food for the intellect is knowledge and the food for the spirit is the significances of the Heavenly Words and the bounties of the Holy Spirit.”

Acording to that , we realiz the importance of Fasting. As it is:

1- A symbol for abstinence from lust:

“Fasting is a symbol. Fasting signifies abstinence from lust. Physical fasting is a symbol of that abstinence, and is a reminder; that is, just as a person abstains from physical appetites, he is to abstain from self-appetites and self-desires. But mere abstention from food has no effect on the spirit. It is only a symbol, a reminder. Otherwise it is of no importance.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá

2- A period of meditation and prayer:
Shoghi Effendi indicates that the fasting period is:

“…essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires.”
Shoghi Effendi, Directives of the Guardian (New Delhi: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1973), pp. 27-28.
3- A way to increase our spirituality:

"Fasting is the cause of awakening man. The heart becomes tender and the spirituality of man increases. This is produced by the fact that man's thoughts will be confined to the commemoration of God, and through this awakening and stimulation surely ideal advancements follow... Fasting is of two kinds, material and spiritual. The material fasting is abstaining from food or drink, that is, from the appetites of the body. But spiritual, ideal fasting is this, that man abstain from selfish passions, from negligence and from satanic animal traits. Therefore, material fasting is a token of the spiritual fasting."
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Star of the West, vol. 3, p. 305.

4- A way to show our love toward God:
By obeying His commandments and Laws.

“O ye peoples of the world! Know assuredly that My commandments are the lamps of My loving providence among My servants, and the keys of My mercy for My creatures. Thus hath it been sent down from the heaven of the Will of your Lord, the Lord of Revelation. Were any man to taste the sweetness of the words which the lips of the All-Merciful have willed to utter, he would, though the treasures of the earth be in his possession, renounce them one and all, that he might vindicate the truth of even one of His commandments, shining above the Dayspring of His bountiful care and loving-kindness.”
Baha'u'llah , the Kitáb Al Aqdas-p3

"O SON OF BEING! Walk in My statutes for love of Me and deny thyself that which thou desirest if thou seekest My pleasure."
Baha'u'llah , The Arabic Hidden Words – No.38

Prayer

“O God! As I am fasting from the appetites of the body and not occupied with eating and drinking, even so purify and make holy my heart and my life from aught else save Thy Love, and protect and preserve my soul from self-passions... Thus may the spirit associate with the Fragrances of Holiness and fast from everything else save Thy mention.”
`Abdu'l-Bahá

Baha’i children’s classes broadcast on NPR’s Morning Edition March 07, 2008 by Barbara Bradley Hagerty

Class Teaches Virtues to Children of Many Faiths
by Barbara Bradley Hagerty

Morning Edition, March 7, 2008 ·
It sounds like the start of a bad joke:
A Jew, a Baptist and a Baha'i get together every Sunday morning ...


But it's a new kind of Sunday school, where families from a range of religions gather to teach virtues to their young children. On a recent Sunday in Falls Church, Va., Layli and Gil Miller-Muro invited parents and children — aged 14 months to 6 years old — to their home to learn about helpfulness.

"Parents of my generation feel incredible pressure to make our kids read earlier, to know math sooner and better, to get into the top preschools and then the best schools," Layli explains. "But what many of us forget is the other side of the character of our children, not just the academic side, but the spiritual side and their character side."
And so last September, the Miller-Muros, who are Baha'i, approached their religious community and asked them to sponsor a virtues class — where the children learn virtues such as obedience, service and friendliness.

In the past decade, the Baha'i faith has sponsored about 900 such classes nationwide. They're based on the central Baha'i tenet that all religions are different but come from the same source, God. Gil says the couple then asked their friends if they'd be interested.
"When we proposed this idea to them, they said that was something they'd like to do to," Gil says. "So we realized we had a critical mass and it was time to get started."
The parents come from Muslim, Jewish, Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, Greek Orthodox and Baha'i backgrounds. Rachel Galoob-Ortega, who is Jewish, says she wants her son Luka to learn about and accept all religions.

"What I really want for Luka is when he grows up and someone says to him, 'I'm Baha'i' or 'I'm Zoroastrian' — if he doesn't know, for him to say, 'Well, tell me about that,"" Galoob-Ortega says. "I want him to show a level of curiosity, rather thinking, 'Well, that's not Judaism, that's not what I know.' And to me, that would be important to the development of his character."

Learning Virtues

And to that end, Layli calls the children to the dining room table. In front of each child sits a little lamp shade.
"Remember how we talked about how religions are a lot like lamp shades?" she asks the group. "They may look different, they may be different colors or sit in different rooms, but they all have the light of God inside of them."
The kids glue symbols of various religions onto the shades — a Christian cross, a Buddhist wheel, a star and crescent for Islam. Then Layli calls out, "Come to the light!" And the children, one by one, place their decorated lamp shades on a light bulb.

Layli then turns to the core of the program: virtues.

She starts by asking about last week's lesson.
"Did anyone exhibit contentment this week?" she asks the group sitting in the living room.
"Not me!" one boy announces.
"Not you?" she laughs. "We'll work on that. But we're good at honesty."
Each week, the children learn a different virtue. They studied "justice" for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. For service, they made chocolate chip cookies and delivered them to a retirement home.
Mimi Alamayehou realized that she needed to expose her 5-year-old son, Yacob, to the notion of virtues after she had an epiphany a year ago. She and Jacob were visiting family in Ethiopia, and they saw some children begging.
"And I was telling him, 'These kids don't have any food and don't have anything,'" she recalls. "And he said to me, 'Mommy, I think you need to tell their mommies where the Whole Foods is.'" She laughs. "I was so shocked! I said, 'Oh my God, I really have a lot of work to do if he thinks the only problem is that there's no Whole Foods around!'"

So, do the virtues stick?

Shazia Philipsen thinks so, especially when she receives an occasional lecture from her daughter, Serena.
"It's things like patience," she says. "In the car, when I'm driving, Serena will say, 'Mommy, you have to be patient!' So she understands through the books, through the storytelling, what it means. I don't think she learns that at school. She's changed, and it's great."
And the children have been so patient for more than an hour, waiting for the highlight of the class, Cowboy Hay. Gil Miller Muro's stepfather strides into the room, sporting a long white beard, a hillbilly hat and a banjo. He begins strumming and the kids join in, perhaps not realizing they are crooning a theological message.

"We are drops ... of one ocean.
We are waves… of one sea.
Won't you come and join us in our quest for unity.
It's the way of life for you and me," they sing.

The parents collapse into comfortable chairs, as Cowboy Hay and his young virtuosos sing about unity in the complex future they face.

The Sciences and Arts

"In accordance with the divine teachings the acquisition of sciences and the perfection of arts are considered acts of worship. If a man engageth with all his power in the acquistion of a science or in the perfection of an art, it is as if he has been worshipping God in churches and temples."
Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l Baha

What age to Begin Formal Children's Classes ?

"As to the Children: From the age of five their formal education must begin. That is, during the daytime they should be looked after in a place where there are teachers, and should learn good conduct."
Abdu'l Baha, in Baha'i Education: A Compilation, p. 39


"And when the child hath reached the age where he can make distinctions, let him be placed in a Baha'i School, in which at the beginning the Holy Texts are recited and religious concepts are taught. At this school the child is to study reading and writing as well as some fundamentals of the various branches of knowledge, such as can be learned by children."
Abdu'l Baha, in Baha'i Education: A Compliation, p. 40

Family Rules

The parents have the duty to educate their children but not vice versa; the children have the duty to obey their parents-the parents do not obey the children

"According to the teachings of Baha'u'llah the family, being a human unit, must be educated according to the rules of sanctity. All the virtues must be taught the family. The integrity of the family bond must be constantly considered, and the rights of the individual members must not be transgressed. The rights of the son, the father, the mother-none of them must be transgressed, none of them must be arbitrary. Just as the son has certain obligations to his father, the father, likewise, has certain obligations to his son. The mother, the sister and other members of the household have their certain prerogatives. All these rights and prerogatives must be conserved, yet the unity of the family must be sustained. The injury of one shall be considered the injury of all; the comfort of each, the comfort of all; the honor of one, the honor of all."
'Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 168


Fathers

"Unto every father hath been enjoined the instruction of his son and daughter in the art of reading and writing and in all that hath been laid down in the Holy Tablet."
Baha'u'llah: Kitab Alaqdas-Translation from Arabic

"God hath prescribed unto every father to educate his children, both boys and girls, in the sciences and in morals, and in crafts and professions..."
Baha'u'llah: The Arts, p 1-2


Mothers

"For mothers are the first educators, the first mentors; and truly it is the mother who determine the happiness, the future greatness, the courteous ways and learning and judgment, the understanding and the faith of their little ones."
Abd'l-Baha: Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, p 126

"Work ye for the guidance of the women in that land, teach the young girls and the children, so that the mothers may educate their little ones from their earliest days, thoroughly train them, rear them to have a goodly character and good morals, guide them to all virtues of humankind, prevent the development of any behavior that would be worthy of blame, and faster them in the embrace of Baha'i education."
'Abdu'l-Baha: Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, p 124-125


Parents

"He that bringeth up his son or the son of another, it is as though he hath brought up a son of Mine; upon him rest My Glory, My loving-kindness, My Mercy, that have compassed the world."
Baha'u'llah: Kitab Alaqdas p. 37 - Translations from Arabic

"That is, it is enjoined upon the father and mother, as a duty, to strive with all effort to train the daughter and the son, to nurse them from the breast of knowledge and to rear them in the bosom of sciences and arts. Should they neglect this matter, they shall be held responsible and worthy of reproach in the presence of the stern Lord."
'Abdu'l-Baha: Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 127

"The parents must exert every effort to rear their offspring to be religious, for should the children not attain this greatest of adornments, they will not obey their parents, which in a certain sense means that they will not obey God. Indeed, such children will show no consideration to anyone, and will do exactly as they please."
Baha'u'llah: Baha'i Education p. 248

"A very important element in the attainment of such equality is Baha'u'llah's provision that boys and girls must follow essentially the same curriculum in schools."
UHJ


Children

"Show honor to your parents and pay homage to them. This will cause blessings to descend upon you from the clouds of the bounty of your lord, the Exalted, the Great."
Baha'u'llah, in Family life

"Every child without exception must from his earliest years make a thorough study of the art of reading and writing, and according to his own tastes and inclinations and the degree of his capacity and powers, devote extreme diligence to the acquisition of learning, beneficial arts and skills, various languages, speech and contemporary technology."

Shoghi Effendi, in Baha'i administration: p. 58

THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF BAHA'I MARRIAGE

Baha’i marriage is an everlasting relationship between a husband and a wife; their aim is to become one united family materially and spiritually and to achieve spiritual growth throughout there live in this world and the world to come.

“ Thus the husband and wife are brought into affinity, are united and harmonized, even as though they were one person. Through their mutual union, companionship and love great results are produced in the world, both material and spiritual. The spiritual result is the appearance of divine bounties. The material result is the children who are born in the cradle of the love of God, who are nurtured by the breast of the knowledge of God, who are brought up in the bosom of the gift of God, and who are fostered in the lap of the training of God. Such children are those of whom it was said by Christ, ‘Verily, they are the children of the Kingdom!"
Abdu’l-Baha (Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas III, 605-06)

“ Baha’i marriage is union and cordial affection between the two parties. They must, however, exercise the utmost care and become acquainted with each other’s character. This eternal bond should be made secure by a firm covenant, and the intention should be to foster harmony, fellowship and unity to attain everlasting life”
Abdu’l-Baha (Published in Baha’I World Faith, P. 372)

If the marriage was based on spiritual principles then it will be an everlasting marriage and the husband and wife will be with each other eternally.

“Among the majority of the people marriage consists of physical relationship and this union and relationship is temporary for at the end physical separation is destined and ordained. But the marriage of the people of Baha must consist of both physical and spiritual relationship for both of them are intoxicated with the wine of one cup, are attracted by one Peerless Countenance, are quickened with one Life and are illumined with one Light. This is the spiritual relationship and everlasting union. Likewise in the physical world they are bound together with strong and unbreakable ties."
Abdu’l-Baha (Published in Baha’I World Faith, PP. 372-73)

“When, therefore, the people of Baha undertake to marry, the union must be a true relationship, a spiritual coming together as well as a physical one, so that throughout every phase of life, and in all the worlds of God, their union will endure; for this real oneness is a gleaming out of the love of God.”
Abdu’l-Baha

The physical relationship must be established on the spiritual relationship.

“It should not happen that upon the occurrence of a slight friction of displeasure between husband and wife, the husband would think of union with some other woman or, God forbid, the wife also think of another husband. This is contrary to the standard of heavenly value and true chastity. The friends of God must so live and conduct themselves, and evince such excellence of character and conduct, as to make others astonished. The love between husband and wife should not be purely physical, nay rather it must be spiritual and heavenly. These two souls should be considered as one soul. How difficult it would be to divide a single soul! Nay, great would be the difficulty!"
Abdu’l-Baha

The marriage vow

When a man and a woman marry in the Baha’i marriage, each says to the other, before witnesses:

“We will all, verily, abide by the Will of God.”

Baha’u’llah

There is a relationship that the husband and wife will establish when they say the marriage vow that each one of them accepting the other one and they all abided by God’s will. God is witnessing and supporting them for the successes of their marriage if both husband and wife are sincer on this relationship, and then it will be an everlasting marriage.

We only can understand Baha’i marriage from the Baha’i writings.

“The true marriage…of Baha’is is this, that husband and wife should be united both physically and spiritually, that they may ever improve the spiritual life of each other, and may enjoy everlasting unity throughout all the worlds of God. This is Baha’I Marriage."
Abdu’l-Baha

"Such a chaste and holy life, with its implications of modesty, purity, temperance, decency, and clean-mindedness, involves no less than the exercise of moderation in all that pertains to dress, language, amusements, and all artistic and literary avocations. It demands daily vigilance in the control of one’s carnal desires and corrupt inclinations. It calls for the abandonment of a frivolous conduct, with its excessive attachment to trivial and often misdirected pleasures. It requires total abstinence from all alcoholic drinks, from opium, and from similar habit-forming drugs. It condemns the prostitution of art and of literature, marriage, infidelity in marital relationships, and all manner of promiscuity, of easy familiarity, and of sexual vices. It can tolerate no compromise with the theories, the standards, the habits, and the excesses of a decadent age. Nay rather it seeks to demonstrate, through the dynamic force of its example, the pernicious character of such theories, the falsity of such standards, the hollowness of such claims, the perversity of such habits, and the sacrilegious character of such excesses."
Shoghi Effendi (The advent of Divine Justice, P. 25)

A FAMILY IS A NATION IN MINIATURE

"Compare the nation of the world to the members of a family. A family is a nation in miniature. Simply enlarge the circle of the household, and you have the nation. Enlarge the circle of nations, and you have all humanity. The conditions surrounding the family surround the nation. The happenings in the family are the happenings in the life of the nation. Would it add to the progress and advancement of a family if dissensions should arise among its members, all fighting, pillaging each other, jealous and revengeful of injury, seeking selfish advantage? Nay, this would be the cause of the effacement of progress and advancement. So it is in the great family of nations, for nations are but an aggregate of families. Therefore, as strife and dissension destroy a family and prevent its progress, so nations are destroyed and advancement hindered."

Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 157

A SELLECTION FROM KITÁB ALAQDAS WRITTEN BY BAHA'U'LLAH THE FOUNDER OF THE BAHA'I FAITH

مقتطفات من كتاب الأقدس

“THIS IS A TRANSLATION FROM ITS ORIGINAL ARABIC LANGUAGE"


"IN THE NAME OF HIM WHO IS THE SUPREME RULER OVER ALL THAT HATH BEEN AND ALL THAT IS TO BE
1
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.
2
They whom God hath endued with insight will readily recognize that the precepts laid down by God constitute the highest means for the maintenance of order in the world and the security of its peoples. He that turneth away from them is accounted among the abject and foolish. We, verily, have commanded you to refuse the dictates of your evil passions and corrupt desires, and not to transgress the bounds which the Pen of the Most High hath fixed, for these are the breath of life unto all created things. The seas of Divine wisdom and Divine utterance have risen under the breath of the breeze of the All-Merciful. Hasten to drink your fill, O men of understanding! They that have violated the Covenant of God by breaking His commandments, and have turned back on their heels, these have erred grievously in the sight of God, the All-Possessing, the Most High.
3
ye peoples of the world! Know assuredly that My commandments are the lamps of My loving providence among My servants, and the keys of My mercy for My creatures. Thus hath it been sent down from the heaven of the Will of your Lord, the Lord of Revelation. Were any man to taste the sweetness of the words which the lips of the All-Merciful have willed to utter, he would, though the treasures of the earth be in his possession, renounce them one and all, that he might vindicate the truth of even one of His commandments, shining above the Dayspring of His bountiful care and loving-kindness.
4
Say: From My laws the sweet-smelling savour of My garment can be smelled, and by their aid the standards of Victory will be planted upon the highest peaks. The Tongue of My power hath, from the heaven of My omnipotent glory, addressed to My creation these words: “Observe My commandments, for the love of My beauty.” Happy is the lover that hath inhaled the divine fragrance of his Best-Beloved from these words, laden with the perfume of a grace which no tongue can describe. By My life! He who hath drunk the choice wine of fairness from the hands of My bountiful favour will circle around My commandments that shine above the Dayspring of My creation.
5
Think not that We have revealed unto you a mere code of laws. Nay, rather, We have unsealed the choice Wine with the fingers of might and power. To this beareth witness that which the Pen of Revelation hath revealed. Meditate upon this, O men of insight!"