Know thou, it is an
established principle that man hath not the right to seek revenge, for
vengeance is verily a thing blameworthy and detestable in the sight of God. He
chastiseth whomsoever He willeth, with whatsoever means He chooseth. But legal
punishment, far from being an act of vengeance, is in reality a bounty, and
kindness itself. Although to outward seeming it is vengeance, it is like the
requital by a father who punisheth his son for the son's wrongdoing: seemingly
infliction, but truly benediction. For this kind of torment proceedeth from the
father's tender and pitying heart, warding off from his child all that is base,
driving him on to all excellence; and from it, step by step, will the cherished
son be led into perfections and all good ways of life.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a
Tablet; included in a Memorandum from the Research Department of the Universal
House of Justice dated 23 May 1991, forwarded to an individual believer by the
Department of the Secretariat of the Universal House of Justice)
