The consumption of wine and other intoxicants is prohibited
in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.
Reference to the use of “wine” in an allegorical sense—such
as being the cause of spiritual ecstasy—is found, not only in the Revelation of
Bahá’u’lláh, but in the Bible, in the Qur’án, and in ancient Hindu traditions. For example, in the Qur’án the righteous are promised that
they will be given to drink of the “choice sealed wine”. In His Tablets,
Bahá’u’lláh identifies the “choice Wine” with His Revelation whose “musk-laden
fragrance” has been wafted “upon all created things”. He states that He has
“unsealed” this “Wine”, thereby disclosing spiritual truths that were hitherto
unknown, and enabling those who quaff thereof to “discern the splendours of the
light of divine unity” and to “grasp the essential purpose underlying the
Scriptures of God”.
In one of His meditations, Bahá’u’lláh entreats God to
supply the believers with “the choice Wine of Thy mercy, that it may cause them
to be forgetful of any one except Thee, and to arise to serve Thy Cause, and to
be steadfast in their love for Thee”. (From the “Notes” section of the
Kitab-i-Aqdas, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of
Justice)
