…the Laws revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in the Aqdas are, whenever
practicable and not in direct conflict with the Civil Law of the land,
absolutely binding on every believer or Bahá'í institution whether in the East
or in the West. Certain laws, such as fasting, obligatory prayers, the consent
of the parents before marriage, avoidance of alcoholic drinks, monogamy, should
be regarded by all believers as universally and vitally applicable at the
present time. Others have been formulated in anticipation of a state of society
destined to emerge from the chaotic conditions that prevail to-day. When the
Aqdas is published this matter will be further explained and elucidated. What
has not been formulated in the Aqdas, in addition to matters of detail and of
secondary importance arising out of the applications of the Laws already
formulated by Bahá'u'lláh, will have to be enacted by the Universal House of
Justice. This body can supplement but never invalidate or modify in the least
degree what has already been formulated by Bahá'u'lláh.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter written
on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United
States and Canada, August 1, 1935; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)
