Some Reflections on the Concept of Law in the Bahá’í Faith

Abstract

This article examines the concept of law in the Bahá’í Faith through aspects of the Islamic context within which Bahá’u’lláh promulgated laws as well as the nature of legal language and discourse in Bahá’u’lláh’s writings. What emerges is a portrait of Bahá’u’lláh’s concept of law that indicates a sharp and radical break from conceptions of law extant at the time. He revealed laws and, more broadly, a distinct concept of religious law rooted in conscious knowledge and the dynamics of love that rejects rigid and legalistic preoccupations with rules.