A Compilaton on Women

the Writings o

ause is mentioned in the T

ost High, and hath adorned herself with the garb of the love of the Desire of the world. This is God's grace which He bestoweth upon whomsoever He pleaseth. By the Day-Star of ancient mysteries! The sweet-scented fragrance of every breath breathed in the love of God is wafted in the court of the presence of the Lord of Revelation. The reward of no good deed is or ever will be lost. Bles

of God. God willing, thou shalt circumambulate the True One in eve

nslated from the Per

n this regard attain the s

in the sight of God. The Dawning-Place of the Light of God sheddeth its radiance upon all with the same effulgence. Verily God created women for men, and me

bject of cruelty and transgression, in like manner they should not allow such tyranny to visit the handmaidens of God. He, verily, spea

nslated from the Per

ritings and Utteran

e, hath made woman and man

e closest companionship, and to be even as a single soul. They are two helpmates

e the object of divine grace and favour in the Kingdom of heaven. But if they do other than this, they will live ou

ith each other as two doves in the nest,

ritings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá

ts of God and the holy Law,

a universal education, and rear them so that from their earliest days, within their inmost heart, their ve

thers who determine the happiness, the future greatness, the courteous ways an

ritings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá

the father and mother, as a

e son, to nurse them from the breast of knowledge and to rear them in the bosom of sciences and arts. Should th

ritings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá

now ye that in God's sight

to worship Him is to educate the children and train them in all the p

ritings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá

re unity existeth in a give

family make, how they prosper in the world. Their concerns are in order, they enjoy comfort and tranquillity, they are secure, their pos

ritings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá

a husband would be able t

of God. In truth neither of them could prevent the other from entering into the Kingdom, unless the husband hath an excessive attachment to the wife or the wife to

the Arabic, published in "Famil

he attitude of your bel

attitude of your bel

t 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 memb

livered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the

ehalf of Shoghi Effendi to individ

opinion and belief occurs be

er, that it could be remedied is not by acting in such wise as to alienate the other party. One of the objects of the Cause is actually to bring about a closer bond in the homes. In all such cases, therefore, the Master used to advise obedience

ly 192

that as a result of his ca

more time to her family, but he also hopes that you will be able to assist her in obtaining the time and opp

ne 193

marks ... about parents' an

for children to be too independent of the wishes of their parents and lacking in the respect due to them. Also wives, in some cases, have a tendency to

ly 194

ntial teachings of the Fa

rse this does not mean that any member of the family has a right to influence the faith of any other

y 1952

preciates your desire to

n areas, but you should not go against the wishes of your husband, and force him to give up everything in order that you might

n where you are, certainly there is

ly 195

ahá'í family, those conce

orce is strongly condemned in the Teachings, whereas harmony, unity and love are held up as the highest ideals in

ational Spiritual Assembl

of the Universal House of Justice to ind

of the child is the mother

ntation of the infant is to its mother. This provision of nature in no way minimizes the role o

ne 197

blems that you and your wi

came to bring unity to the world, and a fundamental unity is that of the family. Therefore, we must believe that the Faith is intended to strengthen the family, not weaken it. For example, servi

ministrative institutions of the Cause. Family consultation employing full and frank discussion, and animated by awareness of the need for mode

ust 19

r husband have consulted ab

hout success, the House of Justice feels it most essential for your husband and you to understand that marriage can be a source of well-being, conveying a sense of security and spiritual happiness.

ne 197

y all have duties and resp

er-not the father-bears the children, nurses them in babyhood, and is thus their first educator; hence daughters have a prior right to education over sons and, as the Guardian's secretary has written on his behalf, "The task of bringing up a Bahá'í child, as emphasized time and again in Bahá'í Writings, is the chief responsibility of the mother, whose unique privilege is indeed to create in h

.

ties are involved, as in the case of a husband and wife. There are, therefore, times when a wife should defer to her husband, and times when a husband should defer to his wife, but neither should ever unjustly dominate the other. In short, the relationship

although the mother is the first educator of the child, and the most important formative influence in his development, the father also has the responsibility of educating his children, and this responsibility is so weighty that Bahá'u'lláh has stated that a fat

National Spiritual Asse

er, for specific rules of

ompilation on this subject. For example the principle that the rights of each and all in the family unit must be upheld, and the advice that loving consultation should be the keynote, that all matters should be settled in h

y 1982

nition that everyone must

e requested to enclose for your perusal an excerpt, "The twelfth Glad-Tidings", from Bahá'u'lláh's "Tablet of Bishárát".3 You will see that the directive is for the fri

ne 198

stion whether mothers shoul

and the woman is the chief and primary educator of the children. This by no means implies that these functions are inflexibly fixed and cannot be changed and adjusted to suit particular family situations, nor does it mean that the place of the woman is confined to the home. Rather, while

may spend in working outside the home depends on circumstances existing within the home,

ust 19

ttached to the mother's ro

ood designed for it, and it is intended that, if possible, she should be with the baby to train and nurture it in its earliest days and months. This does not mean that the father does not also love, pray for, and care for his baby, but as he has the primary responsibility of providing for the family, his time to be with his child is usually limited, w

984 to two b