By way of introduction, we note that, as Mr. …is no doubt
aware, the Bahá'í Faith is the first religion to explicitly ban slavery in its
Sacred Scripture. Bahá'u'lláh prohibited this practice in clear and
un-ambiguous language. In the Kitab-i-Aqdas (paragraph 72), it is stated:
It is forbidden you to trade in slaves, be they men or women.
It is not for him who is himself a servant to buy another of God's servants,
and this hath been prohibited in His Holy Tablet. Thus, by His mercy, hath the
commandment been recorded by the Pen of justice. Let no man exalt himself above
another; all are but bondslaves before the Lord, and all exemplify the truth
that there is none other God but Him. He, verily, is the All-Wise, Whose wisdom
encompasseth all things. (Memorandum from the Research Department of the
Universal House of Justice dated 2 February 2000)
