131. approach not the public pools of Persian baths # 106 

Bahá'u'lláh prohibits the use of the pools found in the traditional public bath-houses of Persia. In these baths it was the custom for many people to wash themselves in the same pool and for the water to be changed at infrequent intervals. Consequently, the water was discoloured, befouled and unhygienic, and had a highly offensive stench. 

132. Avoid ye likewise the malodorous pools in the courtyards of Persian homes # 106 

Most houses in Persia used to have a pool in their courtyard which served as a reservoir for water used for cleaning, washing and other domestic purposes. Since the water in the pool was stagnant and was not usually changed for weeks at a time, it tended to develop a very unpleasant odour. 

133. It is forbidden you to wed your fathers' wives. # 107 

Marriage with one's stepmother is here explicitly prohibited. This prohibition also applies to marrying one's stepfather. Where Bahá'u'lláh has expressed a law between a man and a woman it applies mutatis mutandis as between a woman and a man unless the context should make this impossible.

'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi confirmed that, while stepmothers are the only category of relatives mentioned in the text, this does not mean that all other unions within a family are permissible. Bahá'u'lláh states that it devolves upon the House of Justice to legislate "concerning the legitimacy or otherwise of marrying one's relatives" (Q and A 50). 'Abdu'l-Bahá has written that the more distant the blood-relationship between the couple the  better, since such marriages provide the basis for the physical well-being of humanity and are conducive to fellowship among mankind. 

134. the subject of boys # 107 

The word translated here as "boys" has, in this context, in the Arabic original, the implication of paederasty. Shoghi Effendi has interpreted this reference as a prohibition on all homosexual relations. 

The Bahá'í teachings on sexual morality centre on marriage and the family as the bedrock of the whole structure of human society and are designed to protect and strengthen that divine institution. Bahá'í law thus restricts permissible sexual intercourse to that between a man and the woman to whom he is married. In a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi it is stated: 

No matter how devoted and fine the love may be between people of the same sex, to let it find expression in sexual acts is wrong. To say that it is ideal is no excuse. Immorality of every sort is really forbidden by Bahá'u'lláh, and homosexual relationships He looks upon as such, besides being against nature. To be afflicted this way is a great burden to a conscientious soul. But through the advice and help of doctors, through a strong and determined effort, and through prayer, a soul can overcome this handicap. 

Bahá'u'lláh makes provision for the Universal House of Justice to determine, according to the degree of the offence, penalties for adultery and sodomy (Q and A 49). 

135. To none is it permitted to mutter sacred verses before the public gaze as he walketh in the street or marketplace # 108 

This is an allusion to the practice of certain clerics and religious leaders of earlier Dispensations who, out of hypocrisy and affectation, and in order to win the praise of their followers, would ostentatiously mutter prayers in public places as a demonstration of their piety. Bahá'u'lláh forbids such behaviour and stresses the importance of humility and genuine devotion to God. 

136. Unto everyone hath been enjoined the writing of a will. # 109 

According to the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, the individual has a duty to write a will and testament, and is free to dispose of his estate in whatever manner he chooses (see note 38).

Bahá'u'lláh affirms that in drawing up his will "a person hath full jurisdiction over his property", since God has permitted the individual "to deal with that which He hath bestowed upon him in whatever manner he may desire" (Q and A 69). Provisions are set out in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas for the distribution of inheritance in the case of intestacy. (See notes 38-48.) 

137. the Most Great Name # 109 

As explained in note 33, the Greatest Name of God can take various forms, all based on the word "Baha". The Bahá'ís in the East have implemented this injunction of the Aqdas by heading their wills with such phrases as "O Thou Glory of the All-Glorious", "In the name of God, the All-Glorious" or "He is the All-Glorious" and the like. 

138. All Feasts have attained their consummation in the two Most Great Festivals, and in the two other Festivals that fall on the twin days # 110 

This passage establishes four great festivals of the Bahá'í year. The two designated by Bahá'u'lláh as "the two Most Great Festivals" are, first, the Festival of Ridvan, which commemorates Bahá'u'lláh's Declaration of His Prophetic Mission in the Garden of Ridvan in Baghdad during twelve days in April/May 1863 and is referred to by Him as "the  225  King of Festivals" and, second, the Báb's Declaration, which occurred in May 1844 in Shiraz. The first, ninth and twelfth days of the Festival of Ridvan are Holy Days (Q and A 1), as is the day of the Declaration of the Báb.

The "two other Festivals" are the anniversaries of the births of Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb. In the Muslim lunar calendar these fall on consecutive days, the birth of Bahá'u'lláh on the second day of the month of Muharram 1233 A.H. (12 November 1817), and the birth of the Bab on the first day of the same month 1235 A.H. (20 October 1819), respectively. They are thus referred to as the "Twin Birthdays" and Bahá'u'lláh states that these two days are accounted as one in the sight of God (Q and A 2). He states that, should they fall within the month of fasting, the command to fast shall not apply on those days (Q and A 36). Given that the Bahá'í calendar (see notes 26 and 147) is a solar calendar, it remains for the Universal House of Justice to determine whether the Twin Holy Birthdays are to be celebrated on a solar or lunar basis. 

139. the first day of the month of Baha # 111 

In the Bahá'í calendar the first month of the year and the first day of each month are given the name "Baha". The day of Baha of the month of Baha is thus the Bahá'í New Year, Naw-Ruz, which was ordained by the Báb as a festival and is here confirmed by Bahá'u'lláh (see notes 26 and 147). In addition to the seven Holy Days ordained in these passages of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Báb was also commemorated as a Holy Day in the lifetime of Bahá'u'lláh and, as a corollary to this, Abdu'l-Bahá added the observance of the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh, making nine Holy Days in all. Two other anniversaries which are observed, but on which work is not suspended, are the Day of the Covenant and the anniversary of the Passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. See the section on the Bahá'í calendar in The Bahá'í World, volume XVIII.  

140. The Most Great Festival is, indeed, the King of Festivals # 112 

A reference to the Ridvan Festival (see notes 107 and 138). 

141. God had formerly laid upon each one of the believers the duty of offering before Our throne priceless gifts from among his possessions. Now ... We have absolved them of this obligation. # 114 

This passage abrogates a provision of the Bayan which decreed that all objects unparalleled of their kind should, upon the appearance of Him Whom God will make manifest, be rendered unto Him. The Báb explained that, since the Manifestation of God is beyond compare, whatever is peerless in its kind should rightfully be reserved for Him, unless He decrees otherwise. 

142. the hour of dawn # 115 

With reference to attending dawn prayers in the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, the Bahá'í House of Worship, Bahá'u'lláh has explained that, although the actual time specified in the Book of God is "the hour of dawn", it is acceptable at any time from "the earliest dawn of day, between dawn and sunrise, or even up to two hours after sunrise" (Q and A 15). 

143. These Tablets are embellished with the seal of Him Who causeth the dawn to appear, Who lifteth up His voice between the heavens and the earth. # 117 

Bahá'u'lláh repeatedly affirms the absolute integrity of His Writings as the Word of God. Some of His Tablets also bear the mark of one of His seals. The Bahá'í World, volume V, p. 4, contains a photograph of a number of Bahá'u'lláh's seals. 

144. It is inadmissible that man, who hath been endowed with reason, should consume that which stealeth it away. # 119 

There are many references in the Bahá'í Writings which prohibit the use of wine and other intoxicating drinks and which describe the deleterious effect of such intoxicants on the individual. In one of His Tablets, Bahá'u'lláh states: 

Beware lest ye exchange the Wine of God for your own wine, for it will stupefy your minds, and turn your faces away from the Countenance of God, the All-Glorious, the Peerless, the Inaccessible. Approach it not, for it hath been forbidden unto you by the behest of God, the Exalted, the Almighty. 

'Abdu'l-Bahá explains that the Aqdas prohibits "both light and strong drinks", and He states that the reason for prohibiting the use of alcoholic drinks is because "alcohol leadeth the mind astray and causeth the weakening of the body". Shoghi Effendi, in letters written on his behalf, states that this prohibition includes not only the consumption of wine but of "everything that deranges the mind", and he clarifies that the use of alcohol is permitted only when it constitutes part of a medical treatment which is implemented "under the advice of a competent and conscientious physician, who may have to prescribe it for the cure of some special ailment".

145. turn your faces toward Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root # 121

Bahá'u'lláh here alludes to 'Abdu'l-Bahá as His Successor and calls upon the believers to turn towards Him. In the Book of the Covenant, His Will and Testament, Bahá'u'lláh discloses the intention of this verse. He states: "The object of this sacred verse is none other except the Most Mighty Branch." The "Most Mighty Branch" is one of the titles conferred by Bahá'u'lláh on 'Abdu'l-Bahá. (See also notes 66 and 184.)

146. In the Bayan it had been forbidden you to ask Us questions. # 126

The Báb forbade His followers to ask questions of Him Whom God will make manifest (Bahá'u'lláh), unless their questions were submitted in writing and pertained to subjects worthy of His lofty station. See Selections from the Writings of the Báb.

Bahá'u'lláh removes this prohibition of the Báb. He invites the believers to ask such questions as they "need to ask", and He cautions them to refrain from posing "idle questions" of the kind which preoccupied "the men of former times".

147. The number of months in a year, appointed in the Book of God, is nineteen. # 127

The Bahá'í year, in accordance with the Badi' calendar, consists of nineteen months of nineteen days each, with the addition of certain intercalary days (four in an ordinary year and five in a leap year) between the eighteenth and nineteenth months in order to adjust the calendar to the solar year. The Báb named the months after certain attributes of God. The Bahá'í New Year, Naw-Ruz, is astronomically fixed, coinciding with the March equinox (see note 26). For further details, including the names of the days of the week and the months, see the section on the Bahá'í calendar in The Bahá'í World, volume XVIII.

148. the first hath been adorned with this Name which overshadoweth the whole of creation # 127

In the Persian Bayan, the Báb bestowed the name "Baha" on the first month of the year (see note 139).

149. The Lord hath decreed that the dead should be interred in coffins # 128

In the Bayan, the Báb prescribed that the deceased should be interred in a coffin made of crystal or polished stone. Shoghi Effendi, in a letter written on his behalf, explained that the significance of this provision was to show respect for the human body which "was once exalted by the immortal soul of man".

In brief, the Bahá'í law for the burial of the dead states that it is forbidden to carry the body for more than one hour's journey from the place of death; that the body should be wrapped in a shroud of silk or cotton, and on its finger should be placed a ring bearing the inscription "I came forth from God, and return unto Him, detached from all save Him, holding fast to His Name, the Merciful, the Compassionate"; and that the coffin should be of crystal, stone or hard fine wood. A specific Prayer for the Dead (see note 10) is ordained, to be said before interment. As affirmed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Guardian, this law precludes cremation of the dead. The formal prayer and the ring are meant to be used for those who have attained the age of maturity, i.e. 15 years of age (Q and A 70).

With regard to the material from which the coffin is to be made, the spirit of the law is that coffins should be of as durable a material as possible. Hence, the Universal House of Justice has explained that, in addition to the materials specified in the Aqdas, there is no objection to using the hardest wood available or concrete for the casket. For the present, the Bahá'ís are left free to make their own choices in this matter.