Singing or chanting prayers in unison - 6 February 1973

We have your letter of 22 January, 1973 asking whether it is proper for choirs or groups to sing or chant prayers in unison.

In answering a similar from the National Spiritual Assembly of Uganda and Central Africa about congregation singing in services at the House of Worship we said:

“Singing by a congregation present at a service in the House of Worship should not be confused with congregational prayer prescribed by Bahá'u'lláh for the dead...

“Regarding singing in the Temple, we must bear in mind the reference made by Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas to the need for the person who enters the Temple to sit silent to the chanting of the verses of God...

“In connection with the desire of the Africans to sing, this aptitude in them should be encouraged. The Guardian elucidated this principle in letter written on his behalf by his secretary: 'Shoghi Effendi would urge that choir singing by men, women and children be encouraged in the Auditorium, and that rigidity in the Bahá'í service be scrupulously avoided.’(Bahá'í News, September, 1931)” 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia, February 6, 1973; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

Setting prayers to music - 6 February 1973

It is entirely proper to set prayers to music, and the friends are free to sing prayers in unison. Indeed, assuming that the music is appropriate and that the believers do not make a ritual out of it, it is highly praiseworthy for choirs to sing appropriate verses revealed by Bahá'u'lláh and the Master...

We would assume also that the friends will always keep in mind that whether read, chanted or sung, prayers should be uttered with proper sense of reverence." 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia, February 6, 1973; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

The “purpose of this life is to prepare the soul for the next” - 6 February 1973

In considering the effect of obedience to the laws on individual lives, one must remember that the purpose of this life is to prepare the soul for the next. Here one must learn to control and direct one's animal impulses, not to be a slave to them. Life in this world is a succession of tests and achievements, of falling short and of making new spiritual advances. Sometimes the course may seem very hard, but one can witness, again and again, that the soul who steadfastly obeys the Law of Bahá'u'lláh, however hard it may seem, grows spiritually, while the one who compromises with the law for the sake of his own apparent happiness is seen to have been following a chimera: he does not attain the happiness he sought, he retards his spiritual advance and often brings new problems upon himself. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter to an individual believer, excerpts from letter to all National Spiritual Assemblies, February 6, 1973; compilations: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

“marriage is by no means an obligation” - 6 February 1973

...Of course, under normal circumstances, every person should consider it his moral duty to marry. And this is what Bahá'u'lláh has encouraged the believers to do. But marriage is by no means an obligation. In the last resort it is for the individual to decide whether he wishes to lead a family life or live in a state of celibacy. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter to an individual believer, May 3, 1936; cited by the Universal House of Justice, in a letter to an individual believer, February 6, 1973: ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1968-1973’; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

Sexual intercourse “permissible only between a man and the woman who is his wife” - 6 February 1973

The Bahá'í teaching on sexual intercourse is very clear. It is permissible only between a man and the woman who is his wife ... 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated February 6, 1973 to all National Spiritual Assemblies; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)