The Kitáb-i-Aqdas
Notes
That
ablutions have a significance beyond washing may be seen from the fact that even should one have bathed oneself immediately before reciting the
Obligatory Prayer, it would still be necessary to perform ablutions (Q and A
18).
When no water is available for ablutions, a prescribed verse is to be repeated five times (see note
16), and this provision is extended to those for whom the use of water would be physically harmful (Q and A
51).
The detailed provisions of the law concerning ablutions are set out in the Synopsis and Codification, section
IV.A.10.a.-g., as well as in Questions and Answers numbers
51,
62,
66,
77 and
86.
35.Ye have been forbidden to commit murder
¶19
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). In the case of manslaughter, it is necessary to pay a specified indemnity to the family of the deceased (see Kitáb-i-Aqdas,
¶188).
The Arabic word “ziná”, here translated as “
adultery”, signifies both fornication and adultery. It applies not only to sexual relations between a married person and someone who is not his or her spouse, but also to extramarital sexual intercourse in general. One form of “ziná” is rape. The only penalty prescribed by Bahá’u’lláh is for those who commit fornication (see note
77); penalties for other kinds of sexual offence are left to the
Universal House of Justice to determine.
37.backbiting or calumny
¶19
Backbiting, slander and dwelling on the faults of others have been repeatedly condemned by Bahá’u’lláh. In the
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