1. QUESTION: Concerning the Most Great Festival.

ANSWER: The Most Great Festival commenceth late in the afternoon of the thirteenth day of the second month of the year according to the Bayan.  On the first, ninth and twelfth days of this Festival, work is forbidden.

2. QUESTION: Concerning the Festival of the Twin Birthdays.

ANSWER: The Birth of the Abha Beautyš was at the hour of dawn on the second day of the month of Muharram,˛ the first day of which marketh the Birth of His Herald. These two days are accounted as one in the sight of God.

3. QUESTION: Concerning the Marriage Verses.ł

ANSWER: For men: "We will all, verily, abide by the Will of God." For women: "We will all,
verily, abide by the Will of God."

4. QUESTION: Should a man go on a journey without specifying a time for his return -- without indicating, in other words, the expected period of his absence -- and should no word be heard of him thereafter, and all trace of him be lost, what course should be followed by his wife?

ANSWER: Should he have omitted to fix a time for his return despite being aware of the stipulation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas in this regard, his wife should wait for one full year, after which she shall be free either to adopt the course that is praiseworthy, or to choose for herself another husband. If, however, he be unaware of this stipulation, she should abide in patience until such time as God shall please to disclose to her his fate. By the course that is praiseworthy in this connection is meant the exercise of patience.

5. QUESTION: Concerning the holy verse: "When We heard the clamour of the children as yet unborn, We doubled their share and decreased those of the rest."

ANSWER: According to the Book of God, the estate of the deceased is divided into 2,520 shares, which number is the lowest common multiple of all integers up to nine, and these shares are then distributed into seven portions, each of which is allocated, as mentioned in the Book, to a particular category of heirs. The children, for example, are allotted nine blocks of 60 shares, comprising 540 shares in all. The meaning of the statement "We doubled their share" is thus that the children receive a further nine blocks of 60 shares, entitling them to a total of 18 blocks all told. The extra shares that they receive are deducted from the portions of the other categories of heirs, so that, although it is revealed, for instance, that the spouse is entitled to "eight parts comprising four hundred and eighty shares", which is the equivalent of eight blocks of 60 shares, now, by virtue of this rearrangement, one and a half blocks of shares, comprising 90 shares in all, have been subtracted from the spouse's portion and reallocated to the children, and similarly in the case of the others. The result is that the total amount subtracted is equivalent to the nine extra blocks of shares allotted to the children.

6. QUESTION: Is it necessary that the brother, in order to qualify for his portion of the inheritance, be descended from both the father and the mother of the deceased, or is it sufficient merely that there be one parent in common?

ANSWER: If the brother be descended from the father he shall receive his share of the inheritance in the prescribed measure recorded in the Book; but if he be descended from the mother, he shall receive only two thirds of his entitlement, the remaining third reverting to the House of Justice. This ruling is also applicable to the sister.

7. QUESTION: Amongst the provisions concerning inheritance it hath been laid down that, should the deceased leave no offspring, their share of the estate is to revert to the House of Justice. In the event of other categories of heirs, such as the father, mother, brother, sister and teacher being similarly absent, do their shares of the inheritance also revert to the House of Justice, or are they dealt with in some other fashion? 

ANSWER: The sacred verse sufficeth. He saith, exalted be His Word: "Should the deceased leave no offspring, their share shall revert to the House of Justice" etc. and "Should the deceased leave offspring, but none of the other categories of heirs that have been specified in the Book, they shall receive two thirds of the inheritance and the remaining third shall revert to the House of Justice" etc. In other words, where there are no offspring, their allotted portion of the inheritance reverteth to the House of Justice; and where there
are offspring but the other categories of heirs are lacking, two thirds of the inheritance pass to the offspring, the remaining third reverting to the House of Justice. This ruling hath both general and specific application, which is to say that whenever any category of this latter class of heirs is absent, two thirds of their inheritance pass to the offspring and the remaining third to the House of Justice.

8. QUESTION: Concerning the basic sum on which Huququ'lláh is payable.

ANSWER: The basic sum on which Huququ'lláh is payable is nineteen mithqals of gold. In other words, when money to the value of this sum hath been acquired, a payment of Huquq falleth due.  Likewise Huquq is payable when the value, not the number, of other forms of property reacheth the prescribed amount. Huququ'lláh is payable no more than once. A person, for instance, who acquireth a thousand mithqals of gold, and payeth the Huquq, is not liable to make a further such payment on this sum, but only on what accrueth to it through commerce, business and the like. When this increase, namely the profit realized, reacheth the prescribed sum, one must carry out what God hath decreed. Only when the principal changeth hands is it once more subject to payment of Huquq, as it was the first time. The Primal Point hath directed that Huququ'lláh must be paid on the value of whatsoever one possesseth; yet, in this Most Mighty Dispensation, We have exempted the household furnishings, that is such furnishings as are needed, and the residence itself.

9. QUESTION: Which is to take precedence: the Huququ'lláh, the debts of the deceased or the cost of the funeral and burial?

ANSWER: The funeral and burial take precedence, then settlement of debts, then payment of Huququ'lláh. Should the property of the deceased prove insufficient to cover his debts, the remainder of his estate should be distributed among these debts in proportion to their size.

10. QUESTION: Shaving the head hath been forbidden in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas but enjoined in the Suriy-i-Hajj.

ANSWER: All are charged with obedience to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas; whatsoever is revealed therein is the Law of God amid His servants. The injunction on pilgrims to the sacred House to shave the head hath been lifted.

11. QUESTION: If intercourse take place between a couple during their year of patience, and they become estranged again thereafter, must they recommence their year of patience, or may the days preceding the intercourse be included in the reckoning of the year? And once divorce hath taken place, is it necessary that a further period of waiting be observed?

ANSWER: Should affection be renewed between the couple during their year of patience, the marriage tie is valid, and what is commanded in the Book of God must be observed; but once the year of patience hath been completed and that which is decreed by God taketh place, a further period of waiting is not required. Sexual intercourse between husband and wife is forbidden during their year of patience, and whoso committeth this act must seek God's forgiveness, and, as a punishment, render to the House of Justice a fine of nineteen mithqals of gold.

12. QUESTION: Should antipathy develop between a couple after the Marriage Verses have been read and the dowry paid, may divorce take place without observance of the year of patience?

ANSWER: Divorce may legitimately be sought after the reading of the Marriage Verses and
payment of the dowry, but before the consummation of the marriage. In such circumstances there is no need for observance of a year of patience, but recovery of the dowry payment is not permissible.

Footnotes

1. Bahá'u'lláh

2. First month of the Islamic lunar calendar

3. In Arabic the two verses differ in gender