Bahá'í laws

Bahá'í laws are laws and ordinances used in the Bahá'í Faith and are a fundamental part of Bahá'í practice. The laws are based on authenticated texts from Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and also includes subsequent interpretations from `Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, and legislation by the Universal House of Justice. Bahá'í law is presented as a set of general principles and guidelines and individuals must apply them as they best seem fit. While some of the social laws are enforced by Bahá'í institutions, the emphasis is placed on individuals following the laws based on their conscience, understanding and reasoning, and Bahá'ís are expected to follow the laws for the love of Bahá'u'lláh. The laws are seen as the method of the maintenance of order and security in the world.

The Bahá'í Faith had its roots in the Bábí Religion which was started by the Báb in the mid-19th century in Persia. Originally Bábís adhered to the Islamic laws, but this changed when the Báb wrote a Bábí code of law in the Bayán, which replaced them.

However, the Báb's laws were not widely practiced by the Bábís, and instead many Bábís became antinomian; they also marked their new religious identity by deliberately not abiding by Islamic practice.

Bahá'u'lláh, as both his initial role as Bábí leader, and then as Bábí messianic figure, condemned the antinomian tendencies of the community. At the request of his followers, he eventually wrote a book of laws, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, while he was in Acre, Palestine.

The main source of Bahá'í law is the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, but it is supplemented by some supplementary texts written by Bahá'u'lláh, as well as further interpretations by `Abdu'l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi, heads of the religion after Bahá'u'lláh's death, as well as legislation by the Universal House of Justice, the international governing body of the Bahá'ís. The writings of Bahá'u'lláh, `Abdu'l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi are considered fundamental and unchangeable, while the application of some of them depends on decisions by the Universal House of Justice. Legislation by the Universal House of Justice is seen as subsidiary and is subject to alteration and/or repeal by the Universal House of Justice to account for changing circumstances. The laws written by the Báb are not applicable, except when Bahá'u'lláh specifically reiterated them.

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