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’)
