Murder
From Bahai9
Murder forbidden
"Ye have been forbidden to commit murder or adultery, or to engage in backbiting or calumny; shun ye, then, what hath been prohibited in the holy Books and Tablets."
- (Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, par. 19)
Cross-reference information
"The prohibition against taking another's life is repeated by Bahá'u'lláh in paragraph 73 of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Penalties are prescribed for premeditated murder (see note 86). In the case of manslaughter, it is necessary to pay a specified indemnity to the family of the deceased (see Kitáb-i-Aqdas, # 188)."
- (On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Notes. 35)
Only the fundamental principles for the punishments for murder are given in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas; the application depends on the situation
"...merely the fundamental principles of the punishments for murder and arson are given in the Kitab-i-Aqdas. Willful murder is to be punished either by capital punishment or life imprisonment. Such matters as degrees of offense and whether any extenuating circumstances are to be taken into account, and which of the two prescribed punishments is to be the norm are left to the Universal House of Justice to decide in light of prevailing conditions when the law is in operation. Arson, as you yourself can see from the newspapers, is becoming an increasingly frequent offense-scarcely a day passes without some building being burned or blown up, often causing agonizing death to innocent people. Bahá'u'lláh prescribes that a person who burns a house intentionally is to be burned or imprisoned for life, bur again, the application of these punishments, the method of carrying them out and the fixing of degrees of offense are left to the Universal House of Justice. Obviously there is a tremendous difference in the degree of the offense of a person who burns down an empty warehouse from that of one who sets fire to a school full of children."
Though forbidden, punishment for murder in the Aqdas is for a future state of society; such a matter is usually covered by the civil laws of each country
"IV.D.1.y, Arson, adultery, murder and theft are all forbidden to IV.D.1.y.xiv, IV.D.1.y.xv, Bahá'ís, but the punishments prescribed for them in the IV.D.1.y.xvi & IV.D.1.y.xvii Kitab-i-Aqdas are designed for a future state of society. Such matters are usually covered by the civil laws of each country."
- (On behalf of? the Universal House of Justice, at http://bahai-library.com/?file=uhj_laws_not_binding.html )
See also
- capital punishment (death penalty)
- murder
