Ridvan 2026 - The Universal House of Justice

Source: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/20260421_001/1#688734202
Various formats: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/#20260421_001

The Universal House of Justice

Riḍván 2026

To the Bahá’ís of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

Now begins the second, greater phase of the Nine Year Plan. We see the global Bahá’í community advancing in unison, justly confident in the course it has set. Its clarity and conviction are unmistakable. Undaunted by the world’s swelling turmoil, it is focused on its sacred mission. We rejoice in particular to see newly confirmed believers eagerly taking their place in the field of service and action alongside those long confirmed in the Faith. Third milestone clusters are proving to be fertile ground for rich experience to be harvested and propagated. And we have been pleased to see the friends everywhere reflecting on the message we addressed to the Counsellors who assembled here in December and drawing on its contents as they plan and act.

This purposeful spirit has been especially evident in the institutional meetings that have been convened around the world. Again and again, the accounts of these gatherings have reported the same phenomenon: a profound, insightful conversation based on direct experience of building vibrant communities rather than on assumptions or theory. This conversation is animated by the ongoing process of learning in each place. It is imbued with a deeper recognition of the significance of the Bahá’í community’s endeavours and the implications they hold for a troubled world in desperate need of direction. A sense of responsibility and resolve is widely felt, and there is an acute awareness of the scale of the task at hand. Often, this conversation opens up an additional, complementary perspective which recognizes the efforts of communities and individuals not simply as the pursuit of programmes and projects, but as the cultivation of a way of life patterned on the divine teachings—a shaping of actions, interactions, and aspirations.

This same earnest conversation, reflecting a commitment to learning, is being advanced across the community from the national and regional levels all the way to the village and neighbourhood, and in a variety of settings, including meetings arranged by the institutions as well as other spaces that are emerging. It will surely be a feature of National Conventions too. We look forward to seeing patterns of individual and collective action being strengthened and expanded as this conversation unfolds. As always, it is a conversation which should be extended to ever-widening circles of friends, neighbours, and other like-minded souls who identify with efforts to bring about spiritual and material progress founded on the oneness of humankind. The spaces being created for broadening this conversation—whether they are spontaneous or planned long in advance—are an indication of a deepening involvement with society, and we hope they will become more and more common.

Many in the wider society who encounter the grassroots activity of Bahá’ís are struck by its distinctive characteristics: it springs from a sincere concern for the well-being of all, it is oriented towards unity and service, and it follows clear principles yet does not presume to have an immediate answer to every problem. In a spirit of common endeavour, Bahá’ís seek to collaborate with others and to learn together; and in the relationships they form with those who occupy positions of authority and responsibility in society, they are earnest and clear-sighted. They pursue social change without political ambition or self-interest, and they recognize that, as the prominence of the Faith rises, it becomes important to ensure that its true character and aims are well understood. In many places, the growing depth of the community’s interactions with society means, inevitably, that there are new situations to navigate and new questions to answer, and this is compelling the community to further develop its own capabilities.

As we explained in our message to the recent Counsellors’ Conference, a significant development over the last four years has been the emergence of the community as a more conspicuous protagonist of the Plan, organizing itself in order to meet particular needs and advance particular fields of endeavour, to provide mutual support through collaborative arrangements, and to learn to be increasingly effective within an evolving framework for action. A striking example of this is groups of youth, working together in a locality and encouraging the participation of their peers. Naturally, their efforts benefit tremendously from the loving encouragement and guidance of the institutions, but the youth have also shown their ability to take initiative and identify fruitful avenues of service. All too often, their endeavours are occurring against a backdrop of conflict and disorder, economic inequity, and deep social divisions. We recognize the challenges the youth face in such conditions, and we commend them for resisting the impulse to criticize and condemn, finding instead constructive ways to steer around these imposing obstacles and work towards ultimately overcoming them.

Beloved friends, however turbulent the times, we urge you not to be apprehensive or disheartened. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá counsels us all to rely on the bounties of God, and so to be “ever hopeful”, to be “firm” in our hope, and to be “the cause of hope to the despairing soul”. When the world’s horizons darken, hope becomes a scarce and precious resource—but one with which the community of the Greatest Name has been richly blessed because of its conviction about the future of humanity and because of what it has learned from its own experience. Multitudes yearn for the hope you can bring to their hearts.

For a golden example of a community that has long sheltered the flame of hope, we look to the wronged yet ever-patient, ever-steadfast, ever-resilient followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the Cradle of His Faith. See how disciplined they have remained, how committed to principle over decades of unrelenting oppression—and how resolved they have been to learn from the advances made by their fellow believers in other lands, how determined to serve and console their fellow citizens in their own land. To so many of their compatriots they have been, and continue to be, a beacon of hope, a fount of compassion and insight, and trusted companions on the path of service. In recent weeks and months, these friends whom we cherish so dearly have been a constant presence in our thoughts and the repeated subject of our prayers, as we are sure they have been of yours, asking the Ever-Loving Lord to hold them in the embrace of His tender care.

Your own endeavours to advance the Cause of God are no less the focus of the supplications we offer at the Sacred Threshold—especially now, at the commencement of the new phase in the Nine Year Plan. As often as we repair to the Holy Shrines, we implore divine aid and assistance for your efforts, and beseech fortitude and strength for you in your labours. May you be swift to act and eager to learn, and may all the blessings of the celestial kingdom be yours.

[signed: The Universal House of Justice]

4 January 2026 - The Universal House of Justice, Regarding the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors

Source: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/#20260104_001 
Related message: 31 December 2025 - Regarding the Nine Year Plan of the worldwide Bahá’í community
https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/#20251231_001

The Universal House of Justice

4 January 2026

To the Bahá’ís of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

Five days of earnest consultation among the Continental Counsellors, who are assembled here in the Holy Land for their conference on the next phase of the Nine Year Plan, have reached their conclusion today, and we send you this message at the close of that auspicious gathering. We have heard accounts from the Counsellors of your many endeavours, the advances being made in settings of all kinds, and how these have contributed to a flourishing process of learning at every level of the community. We have been delighted by descriptions of how, through various collaborative arrangements, the community itself is emerging as a more visible protagonist in the work of the Plan. And we have marvelled at what is occurring within populations that have a very high level of participation in Bahá’í activities, in places where the community’s relationship with society is deepening and rapidly evolving.

The significant contribution made to this progress by the Counsellors themselves, ably guided in all their efforts by the International Teaching Centre, is unmistakable. We have been struck by the keenness of their observations and the clarity of their reflections, both infused with their evident love for the communities they serve. The basis for their consultations has been the message we addressed to their conference on its opening day and which was immediately sent to all National Spiritual Assemblies so that it could be shared with you without delay. No time had passed before a veritable torrent of reports arrived of the message being studied by groups of eager friends, even those who had gathered for other purposes. We were deeply touched by these widespread evidences of a desire to quickly comprehend what the Bahá’í world has learned over the last four years and to ascertain what must be done to advance the Plan further over the next five. This will also be the focus of a series of institutional gatherings to be held in the coming months, during which, no doubt, the Counsellors will share insights that have arisen from their deliberations here.

At Riḍván, the first phase of the Nine Year Plan will conclude and the second phase will commence. This moment of progression is an ideal time to engage with the numerous souls in whose company the Plan was launched four years ago, and whose number has since expanded to include countless new friends who have been attracted to devotional meetings, educational activities, and other Bahá’í initiatives. We invite all to reflect together, whether in dedicated spaces, at regular community gatherings, or within one another’s homes, on what has been learned and what has been accomplished. And in contemplating the significance of this global enterprise, we feel sure you will also be moved to consider how your actions, and those of your household and your community, could help the aim of the Plan to be realized.

“It is the concern of the True One to reveal,” Bahá’u’lláh has stated, “and the concern of the people to spread what hath been revealed.” The devoted, spirited, diverse efforts being made to carry to every receptive heart what the True One has revealed—to offer hope to a trouble-gripped humanity, to offer the means of being a conscious agent in the work of worldwide spiritual renewal—are an abiding cause for admiration and wonder, for rejoicing and gratitude. Such are the emotions that crowd our breasts at this time, and with which we will entreat Bahá’u’lláh at His Sacred Shrine later today to send you blessings from out His measureless grace.

[signed: The Universal House of Justice]

This document has been downloaded from the Bahá’í Reference Library. You are free to use its content subject to the terms of use found at www.bahai.org/legal

31 December 2025 - The Universal House of Justice: The Second Phase of the Nine Year Plan 2026-2031

Source: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/#20251231_001 
Related message: 4 January 2026 to the Baha'is of the World
https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/#20260104_001
 

The Universal House of Justice

31 December 2025

To the Conference of the
Continental Boards of Counsellors

Dearly loved Friends,

The first phase of the Nine Year Plan has cast a light on the Bahá’í community’s considerable strengths. The unprecedented energy and determination with which the Plan was launched, at over 10,000 gatherings of Bahá’ís and interested friends, quickly raised awareness of its objectives and special character. Swift action followed. We anticipate that by Riḍván there will be a cluster where the third milestone has been passed in around half of the 160 countries and regions where, at the start of the Plan, still no such cluster existed—a dramatic accomplishment. Valuable experience has been gained as a result, not least through the dedicated efforts of an impressive number of individuals who arose as part of a coordinated strategy of pioneering. At the same time, particular attention has been directed in all countries towards third milestone clusters, and consequently, the frontiers of learning have advanced considerably and the society-building power of the Faith is becoming more apparent. Many of these clusters are acting as reservoirs of knowledge and resources to the clusters that surround them, and this is proving vital to the process of growth everywhere. Indeed, the rapid movement of clusters past the first, second, and third milestones requires that this pattern be strengthened and widely replicated. For, gratified as we are by the progress made, it is evident that a most formidable task lies ahead if each national Bahá’í community is to fulfil the aspirations for the movement of clusters that it set for itself when the Plan began. There is an urgent need to cultivate more broadly the capacities that are required to intensify a programme of growth. The primary point of reference for this work—and for all the work of the Nine Year Plan—will, of course, continue to be our 30 December 2021 message, but within these few pages, we will seek to present a number of insights that have emerged from the efforts of communities, institutions, and individuals as they have put the Plan into effect.

*

In clusters and in neighbourhoods and villages where notable progress has occurred, no matter from what starting point, an essential factor has been the capacity of the friends at the grassroots to learn together, combining insights gained from their own experience with those of advanced communities nearby or further afield, without any sense of applying a fixed formula. Although the fundamental features of a programme of growth—its aim, its guiding principles, and its basic instruments—are the same everywhere, growth is an organic process, not a mechanical one. In such a process, progress depends at each point on maintaining a clear understanding of the priorities that pertain to a place and, as we emphasized in our message to your 2021 conference, reading evolving realities and adopting approaches suited to local conditions.

The third milestone is a measurement of a journey whose beginnings are well understood. Once it is passed, clusters where progress has been consolidated can be seen to share important features. The institute’s programmes are being supported by a relatively substantial and expanding pool of human resources. Effort is being made to enable more neighbourhoods and villages to sustain intense activity. There is a capacity to embrace large numbers and manage increasing complexity through both formal and informal arrangements. Crucially, in these clusters, consistent attention is being given to sustaining effective cycles, so that there is a regular pulse of study, consultation, action, and reflection through which the community enhances its capacity to grow and to contribute to the advancement of the society to which it belongs. These cycles include periods of particular intensity, an injection of energy that is propelling the engagement of the widest possible circle of friends. Community undertakings such as family festivals, junior youth camps, service projects, arts endeavours, and collective teaching initiatives are proceeding according to their own respective rhythms. Reflection spaces bring together many friends, and the use of such spaces is thoughtful and deliberate—there is awareness that the quality and utility of reflection is measured by the purposeful action arising from it. From these clusters, resources flow to surrounding clusters to help the friends there make accelerated progress.

We have observed with particular interest how a pronounced community spirit can increasingly be felt among all those involved in the pattern of activity in third milestone clusters, even when it is not very strong in the wider society. It is often expressed as a feeling of belonging and a sense of common endeavour and mutual support. This and other advances at the level of culture are becoming especially evident in the cluster’s centres of intense activity—not only where participation can be measured as a significant proportion of the population, but in any neighbourhood or village where large numbers are attracted to the programmes and activities of the community. There is a rise, too, in various collaborative arrangements, which are doing much to build or reshape a shared social identity and collective purpose. These arrangements include the groups of families and households we mentioned in 2021 and also other natural groupings such as women or youth, farmers or educators, and animators or children’s class teachers, often with a supportive network of friends. Groups of this kind set about organizing their own efforts to improve some aspect of the life of the community, and they promote broader participation in those efforts. In other words, they are helping the growth and development of the community to become self-perpetuating, and they are doing so without the need for new layers of administrative structure. This is consequential. It demonstrates the emerging capacity of the community to be a visible protagonist in the Plan. Buttressed by the full confidence and loving guidance of the institutions, the community is steering the trajectory of its own development with creativity and ingenuity, and exploring how the principles contained in Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation can be applied to the issues that confront it within its immediate reality.

It is no surprise that the community-based initiatives we described to you in 2021 often proceed from the collaborative arrangements mentioned above. These modest but sustained initiatives of social action represent an area of endeavour which, of course, has been implicit in a programme of growth from the beginning; even in the earliest institute courses, capacity is built for actions that contribute to the betterment of the world and for meaningful conversations on matters of social significance. In the last four years, the number of community-based initiatives emerging out of the activities of the Plan has increased considerably. Some have also come about as the result of the encouragement, training, and assistance of a Bahá’í-inspired organization. All these initiatives are more likely to arise in places where the community-building process has advanced notably, and we appreciate the support that you and your auxiliaries, as well as Local Spiritual Assemblies, have given to such initiatives. The conditions that enable these to appear and flourish in different settings around the world are being actively explored by the Bahá’í International Development Organization, including how, in time, some of these initiatives develop into community-based organizations.

At the heart of a community’s progress, of course, is the institute process. So long as the capacity to work with large numbers in a cluster is still being built, it is natural for the efforts of the institute to be focused almost exclusively on raising up human resources that can carry out specific acts of service. But over time, after the third milestone has been passed and particular centres of intense activity have gained strength, the institute will also devote more serious thought to the systematic and effective delivery of the programmes it offers from childhood to adulthood, and the propagation of these programmes in other parts of the cluster. Classes for children in all the grades begin to be introduced, the number of texts being studied by junior youth groups increases, and participation in both programmes is sustained year-on-year, all of which gives these undertakings a higher degree of formalization. Often, these advances are relying on the service rendered by a growing cohort of youth. The institute’s efforts are gradually being complemented by additional educational endeavours for the development of a population, such as programmes utilizing Bahá’í-inspired materials, as well as courses available in the wider society, or even, in some places, a community school. In our 30 December 2021 message, we expressed the hope that attention would be given to helping young people access educational opportunities, and we have been pleased to see this need being met in a variety of ways, including after-school tutoring and assistance for youth wishing to enter higher education. As a broad educational path begins to take shape, a community feels a greater responsibility to stimulate and encourage each of its members, especially the young, to advance along it in pursuit of spiritual and intellectual growth.

We have noted the benefits that come from raising awareness in the wider society of the educational value of the institute’s programmes. This has involved efforts to reach out to the parents and relatives of children and junior youth, and also to officials and senior educators with whom Bahá’ís are interacting. Such efforts are broadening the support given to institute activities by the wider society, including by public institutions and agencies as well as traditional leaders. Indeed, in clusters where the Bahá’í community’s endeavours have achieved a significant level of visibility and respect, it is not unusual for figures in authority in local government, public services, and civil society to reach out for insight and collaboration. The believers and the Local Spiritual Assemblies that represent them are open to working alongside the institutions of society and welcome such contact, while remaining vigilant to avoid becoming entangled in politics. At times, we have seen how the friends’ relationship with the organs of local government expands beyond collaboration to embrace a sense of shared mission, focused on the advancement of society—a people moving as one. In more and more places, the generality of the inhabitants are coming to regard the Local Assembly as being theirs as well, and they see the light that shines from it.

In 2021 we highlighted the possibilities that can be realized when Bahá’í activity becomes prevalent in a place, and although the settings where this has occurred remain relatively modest in number, they are a steadily growing phenomenon. These are specific places within a cluster where the society-building power of the Faith is at its most visible. Here, the workings of the Plan are becoming embedded in the everyday life of a people in ways that cannot be easily measured or described in their totality. In their collective efforts and deliberations, the friends in such locations are increasingly occupied with cultivating spaces in which people consult and share knowledge, derived from both science and religion, and find ways to apply that knowledge to family development, education, economic activity, public health, and other fundamental processes of community life, infusing them with a fresh spirit. Given the far-reaching implications of what is occurring, the term “programme of growth” no longer does full justice to such developments. Although in other parts of the cluster growth might still be at an early stage, here, where the level of participation in Bahá’í activities is so high, a new reality is coming into view as the Bahá’í community’s relationship with society evolves. Bright horizons beckon.

*

In the natural environment, combinations and connections create vibrancy and new life; likewise, a flourishing process of learning arises from countless formal and informal interactions and their emergent properties. This process is characterized by a free-flowing, uninterrupted exchange of insights, experience, and ideas among the friends at the grassroots. But it does not end there—it continues to unfold at the regional and national levels and beyond, and learning at each level is fostered by the dynamic discussions that take place in spaces created for reflection on action. These discussions draw on lessons arising from the efforts of the global Bahá’í community within the Plan’s framework as well as conclusions derived from the analysis of patterns emerging locally. Of course, these discussions are also shaped by the institutions and agencies serving at each level. For while individuals, communities, and institutions all have a contribution to make, it is the institutions of the Faith that are ultimately charged with tending to this entire ecosystem of learning. An essential requirement is to ensure that there are adequate arrangements in place, both institutional and less formal, to enable it to thrive, and that all those involved in the learning process are connected by loving relationships imbued with a spirit of humility and magnanimity.

The capacity of institutions and agencies to foster a process of learning is closely connected with their capacity to administer the work effectively and efficiently. As the various lines of action in a locality multiply and interact, Local Assemblies have increasingly been able to meet the need for coordination and planning. The Assemblies often share this responsibility with cluster agencies, and together they ensure that advice, resources, and encouragement are being directed to where they are most needed and that the process of learning continues to advance. The cluster agencies in particular see to it that lessons learned in one locality, or even in a small portion of it, benefit the rest of the cluster. Meanwhile, the approach to sharing knowledge and insights within a cluster is being mirrored by the approach to sharing knowledge and insights among clusters. The swift provision of support and exchange of experience has become possible through the development of arrangements within groups of adjoining clusters. With Regional Bahá’í Councils or a National Growth Committee now established in every country, the institutional means are in place everywhere for the process of growth to be systematically advanced. And at the national level, when the richness of what is occurring demands it, National Assemblies have developed certain structures and spaces to help them keep abreast of what is being learned. Naturally, a new feature would not be introduced unless the needs of growth demand it; nevertheless, we look to you and your auxiliaries to be alert to when existing arrangements at any level of the community need to evolve to meet the requirements of growth, and then, in your interactions with relevant institutions, to encourage the emergence of new arrangements in a suitable form.

We have also noted how the administrative arrangements that support the work of the training institute are evolving in a way that nurtures a process of learning about the accelerated spread of the institute’s programmes, delivered with the requisite quality. In the early stages, these arrangements are quite simple, but as the number of those in a cluster serving as tutors, animators, and children’s class teachers grows, the need for them to engage meaningfully in a collective learning process becomes more pressing. It is vital that they be able to maintain an ongoing conversation with one another, to reflect together in groups, and to support each other in action. These patterns of interaction develop more easily when the friends involved are accompanied effectively by coordinators and the collaborators who assist them. Of course, coordinators themselves also need to be raised up in each cluster and helped to develop their capacity over time, and this is generally the responsibility of regional or national institute coordinators, whose own endeavours, in turn, are increasingly being reinforced by teams of friends for each educational programme. In the last four years, these teams have done much to assist the regional and national coordinators to organize seminars that explore the content of a programme in depth, enabling the institute’s materials to be delivered to larger numbers with ever-greater creativity, flexibility, and agility—but without compromising a programme’s essential components.

All the while, the experience and insights emerging from what an institute is learning are being collected, analysed, and shared. This work is benefiting greatly from gatherings for consultation, periodically convened by the institute, that bring together Auxiliary Board members, representatives of the Regional Bahá’í Council or National Growth Committee, resource persons from the learning site, and other individuals whose experience has become a valued asset. The meetings of this collaborative group help to strengthen the institute’s connections with other institutions and agencies, ensuring that its learning process unfolds within the broader context of learning about the overall process of growth. The institute board is also fostering the strength of all other aspects of the institute, including its administrative capacity, so that it can sustain a progressively more complex system of spiritual education. And almost all institutes have now been organized into groupings to facilitate the flow of both practical support and valuable insights; the development of these networks has proven to be an important strategy for institutes to advance rapidly.

*

It has consistently brought us joy to see the enkindled souls described in our message to your 2021 conference, in cluster after cluster and in greater and greater numbers, pursuing the Plan with whole-hearted devotion and, critically, a dedication to the process of learning. This is the surest foundation for the progress that needs to be made in the Plan’s second phase.

The processes unfolding in the Plan are of course exerting a profound, transformative impact on the individual. What we observe is eager friends learning how to more closely align their pursuits with the Will of God. Through engagement with the Plan’s framework for action, individuals are discovering ways to improve life—in all its aspects—for themselves, for their children, for their wider family, and for their community. Theirs is a heightened spiritual consciousness that leads to a life of purpose and meaning, a life dedicated to developing their God-given potentialities and labouring for the transformation of society. They recognize the value of knowledge in propelling progress, are committed to its generation, and share it freely and humbly. Learning is a habit of mind for them, an orientation in all they do. In every face they see a fellow seeker after truth. They wholly devote themselves to the spiritual, intellectual, and material advancement of a population. They are not swept off course by the world’s unabating distractions. Steady do they go, patient and perseverant, pledged to long-term endeavour. And in the company of many others, they are building havens of peace.

It has been seen again and again that as individuals become more conscious of the significance of an expansive pattern of activity in their surroundings, they readily volunteer time and creative energy to develop it further. More generally, believers also help their community by contributing to the Fund and offering other types of material resources. While all believers make contributions of this kind, for some believers of means, this is a way of advancing the Plan that they are especially well positioned to utilize. Whatever form a person’s service takes, it emerges from the unique interaction between, on the one hand, the needs of the Faith and, on the other, the possibilities afforded by the circumstances of each individual and the sacrifices that he or she chooses to make.

And the believers increasingly appreciate the privilege of being able to acquaint a soul with the mission of Bahá’u’lláh—and, beyond this, to lovingly help a soul who stands at the doors of the Faith to step within. In 2021 we drew attention to this infinitely precious moment in a spiritual journey. We have noted with interest that, since then, the friends in many places have focused attention on how to recognize when the city of the heart is open, and on the conversations that lead to this moment and that follow it. Much remains to be learned in this regard, both about how to discern receptivity in different settings and how to acknowledge when it has already matured into faith.

Looking back over one’s life, there can be no greater joy and comfort than to know that it was spent in acute awareness of the divine remedy, that no effort was spared to proffer that remedy to receptive souls, and that during those fleeting years when opportunity was at hand, even in the midst of difficulties, every chance was seized to respond to humanity’s intense need. With ardour and longing we beseech Bahá’u’lláh, every time we present ourselves at His Threshold, for the success of all the friends.

[signed: The Universal House of Justice]

This document has been downloaded from the Bahá’í Reference Library. You are free to use its content subject to the terms of use found at www.bahai.org/legal

Ridvan 2025 - The Universal House of Justice

(Source: https://universalhouseofjustice.bahai.org/ridvan-messages/20250420_001

Various formats: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/#20250420_001)  

The Universal House of Justice

Riḍván 2025

To the Bahá’ís of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

With but a year remaining before the first phase of the Nine Year Plan concludes, we are eager to report on its progress—how, through shining examples of noble endeavour, the vision offered by the Faith is filling more and more hearts with hope.

The process of growth continues to advance. Striking breakthroughs have occurred in varied climes, where significant progress had not previously been witnessed, as the seed of the Faith has yielded new green shoots and the capacity for working with many souls at once has begun to emerge. These advances have often been made possible by devoted pioneers who, hearts aglow with the love of their Lord, have hastened to posts on the home front and abroad in impressive numbers. In clusters where a programme of growth had already begun, renewed attention has been given to applying, with creativity and ingenuity, those recognized strategies and lines of action that will enable the friends to pass the second and third milestones. And in clusters of proven strength, glimmerings of the society-building power of the Faith are becoming more visible, as a vibrant and transformative pattern of Bahá’í life is embraced by a growing company of galvanized souls.

Meanwhile, grassroots engagement with society has taken remarkable strides forward. Community-based initiatives of social action focused on education have multiplied the most rapidly, but other initiatives have progressed too, in fields such as agriculture, health, the environment, the empowerment of women, and the arts. Advances of this kind are most evident in the strongest clusters, where many a village or neighbourhood—even a single street or high-density building—is home to a population that is experiencing the upliftment which comes from translating the principles of the Faith into tangible reality. In places, civic leaders and individuals with responsibility for children’s education or social development at the local level are not just turning to the Bahá’ís for perspectives, but are seeking to collaborate in the search for practical solutions. Further, we are pleased to see that at the national and international levels, the Bahá’í approach to certain important discourses is attracting growing consideration and admiration.

The Nine Year Plan relies on a vast, global process of learning that is as effective in the highlands of Bolivia as in the suburbs of Sydney. This process of learning has given rise to strategies and actions adaptable to every setting. It is systematic; it is organic; it is all-embracing. It creates connections, blossoming into dynamic relationships, among families, among neighbours, among youth, and among all who are ready to be protagonists in this glorious undertaking. It raises up communities that brim with potential. It enables the fulfilment of high aspirations shared by people who had been kept apart by geography, language, culture, or conditioning but have now heard and responded to Bahá’u’lláh’s universal call to “ceaselessly strive for the betterment of the lives of one another”. And it is wholly reliant on the invigorating potency of the Word of God—that “unifying force”, “the mover of souls and the binder and regulator in the world of humanity”—and on the sustained action it inspires.

Against the gloom of a stormy sky, how bright the light that gleams from your devoted efforts! Even as the tempest rages in the world, the havens that will shelter humanity are being built in countries, regions, and clusters. But there is much to do. Each national community has its own expectations for the progress to be made during this, the Plan’s opening phase. Time is passing. Beloved friends, and promulgators of the divine teachings, and champions of the Blessed Beauty—your efforts are needed now. Every advance made in the fleeting months before next Riḍván will better equip the community of the Greatest Name for what it must accomplish in the Plan’s second phase. May you be granted success. For this we beseech the sovereign Lord; for this we implore His unfailing aid; for this we entreat Him to send forth His favoured angels to assist each one of you.

[signed: The Universal House of Justice]

(Source: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/20250319_001/1#010142019
Formats: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/#20250319_001) 

The Universal House of Justice

19 March 2025

To the Bahá’ís of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

The nature of the flourishing communities that the Bahá’í world is striving to raise has profound implications for the family. It is within the family that the individual is born and nurtured, and within the family that individuals begin to learn how to live together with others. The family unit is the basic building block of community, and beyond, of the entire social order. Therefore, a society fashioned to meet the requirements of the age of the maturity of the human race requires both a mature conception of family and an ability to extend the insights derived from that conception to the relationships that shape the nation and the world. “A family is a nation in miniature”, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains. “The conditions surrounding the family surround the nation.” Learning about a new pattern of family life is, therefore, an integral part of the effort to learn about the release of the society-building power of the Faith.

Historically, the family has taken different forms in response to the exigencies of the various stages of human social development. As society advanced, arrangements and definitions that may have been beneficial in a previous age reached their limits and were no longer suited to the next stage of human development. Expectations of parents suited to one period of history could hinder the development of their children’s abilities in another. Likewise, certain strong allegiances within kinship groups that allowed them to flourish at one stage could in a later one become obstacles to unity within wider social arrangements. And certain gender roles that characterized an early stage of human development could eventually impede the advancement of women and of society at another. Thoughts and theories of past ages must be re-evaluated, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains. Humanity “must now become imbued with new virtues and powers, new moral standards, new capacities.” For “the gifts and blessings of the period of youth, although timely and sufficient during the adolescence of mankind, are now incapable of meeting the requirements of its maturity.” A challenge for Bahá’í communities worldwide, then, is to examine the present practices in their societies, weigh them in light of the Teachings, weed out any undesirable tendencies, and learn to establish new patterns of family life suited to the needs of a new age.

It is, of course, not possible at this relatively early stage to describe the nature of family arrangements that must ultimately appear in the fullness of the Dispensation. And different societies in different parts of the world, while recognizing the importance of strong families, face an array of forces that undermine the family in various ways. Nevertheless, the learning process that contributes to the movement towards a new pattern of life within and among families will accelerate as the Bahá’í world grows in capacity to apply certain essential insights from the Teachings.

Among the questions to be considered are the following: What are the characteristics of Bahá’í family life and how are they distinguished from the way family life is understood in society today? What is the distinctive nature of Bahá’í marriage and how does it foster family life? How do Bahá’í families contribute to the process of transformation in neighbourhoods and villages, and beyond? What are the current pitfalls and obstacles facing Bahá’í families that prevent them from achieving this aim? How does the framework for action of the current stage of the Divine Plan both strengthen family life and create opportunities for vibrant families to contribute to the process of community building?

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A new conception of family begins with a new conception of marriage. Bahá’u’lláh observes that marriage is not only “the key to the perpetuation of life for the peoples of the world”, but “the inscrutable instrument for the fulfilment of their destiny.”

For Bahá’ís, marriage is not only a physical bond, but a spiritual one as well, with implications for life in this world and the next. Bahá’í marriage, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains, “is the commitment of the two parties one to the other, and their mutual attachment of mind and heart”, so that they “may ever improve the spiritual life of each other,” and so that they may “abide with each other in the closest companionship” and “be even as a single soul.” In Bahá’í marriage, two souls learn how to assist one another so that both may achieve their twofold moral purpose—to develop their inherent God-given potentialities and to contribute to an ever-advancing civilization. The relationship the couple establishes beginning with their marriage ceremony will, throughout space and time, affect the forging of countless new relationships among other people that can constructively reshape lives and communities.

The Bahá’í perspective on marriage transcends dichotomies arising from permissive and regressive perspectives prevalent in society. In Bahá’í marriage, love, equality, intimacy, fidelity, sexual relations, childbearing, and childrearing are integrated and their interconnection strengthened, establishing a fortress for personal and social well-being. Permissive social practices undermine marriage and the family by disaggregating these features that are essential to human flourishing, while regressive practices overemphasize or distort one or another of these features to oppress family members. Adherence to the Teachings helps to resolve such problems. Much needs to be learned across diverse cultural settings throughout the world about the implications of all the features of Bahá’í marriage found in the Teachings. For example, central to the development of a new pattern of Bahá’í married life is the principle of the equality of women and men. As this principle is applied between the wife and husband within the marriage, the relationship is strengthened and thrives, and girls and boys will be raised with a new understanding of equality and its practical expression. The ramifications of this principle will thus gradually extend to future generations and contribute to the advancement of women until ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s expectation that women will “participate fully and equally in the affairs of the world” is entirely realized.

Marriage creates family. And the sound relationships that are to bind members of a Bahá’í family are based on justice and reciprocity. Each member must receive the rights due; each must fulfil the responsibilities owed. “According to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh the family, being a human unit, must be educated according to the rules of sanctity”, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains. “The integrity of the family bond must be constantly considered, and the rights of the individual members must not be transgressed.” These sound relationships among family members require conscious cultivation.

In the Bahá’í family, the married couple are true partners; one is not subordinated to the other. Together they navigate life’s challenges—whether spiritual, material, or social—through prayer, study, consultation, and reflection on action. Consider, for example, decisions pertaining to the education of children. The Bahá’í Writings acknowledge the mother as the first educator of the child and uphold her prerogatives in this regard. As ‘Abdu’l-Bahá observes, “truly it is the mothers who determine the happiness, the future greatness, the courteous ways and learning and judgement, the understanding and the faith of their little ones.” Yet, the father also bears responsibility for their education and upbringing, and cannot abdicate such a vital duty and leave it to the mother alone. And while, to support the mother in this role and ensure she is not disadvantaged by it, the father bears a corollary obligation to support the family financially, this does not mean roles are inflexibly fixed. Based on their understanding of the Teachings, the couple determine the best way to manage the family’s affairs in response to different personal and social circumstances. Each stage of married life will present corresponding challenges and opportunities a couple must strive to manage, cooperatively and effectively, while ensuring both the wife and husband’s spiritual, intellectual, and professional progress.

In the supportive environment of the family, parents offer attentive guidance to their children to learn to live a meaningful and purposeful life of devotion, virtue, and service. To this end, through their example and the pattern of their daily lives and interactions, as well as countless conversations, parents lovingly nurture in their children a host of qualities, attitudes, habits and capabilities of increasing complexity, adapting their methods and approaches across every stage of child development, from infancy to maturity. From an early age children learn to turn to God and to love Him, to pray and recite the Word of God daily, to see themselves as noble souls striving to develop spiritual qualities, to prefer others before themselves, and to express these qualities in caring and cooperative relationships. As they progress, they learn to become accustomed to hardship, to practice self-discipline and accountability, to become forgetful of self, and to acquire knowledge of the arts and sciences. And as they increasingly step into the world on their own, they learn to develop an attitude of service, to diffuse and apply the divine teachings, to resolve differences and participate in consultation, to remain steadfast in the Covenant, to work for the betterment of the world, and to direct themselves to those things that lead to everlasting honour. The Bahá’í Writings offer parents a boundless source of insight with which to cultivate these and so many other vital attitudes, skills, and abilities, and the training institute provides essential support for the family by enhancing the understanding and capabilities of all its members. There may also be other resources available to assist in the material, social, and spiritual education of young people of which the family can take advantage—schools, community life, service projects, and so on. Yet the ultimate responsibility to ensure the proper and complete education of children resides with the parents.

As time goes by, the relationships among family members evolve and assume different forms. Carefully nurtured bonds of love and unity among siblings offer a lifetime of support and upliftment, and serve as a bulwark against the petty jealousies and divisions that can arise in the life of the family. Clearly, the rights and responsibilities of adult children are not the same as when they were young. Parents have to be sensitive to such changes as they prepare their children for maturity, attentively fostering autonomy and responsibility within the next generation as they grow up. Young people continue throughout their lifetime to respect and honour their parents, yet as they mature, they must take charge of their own lives and choices. In time, obligations change, and a child may increasingly be called upon by circumstances to extend assistance as the parents age.

The relationships of the nuclear family are embedded in ever-wider circles of relationships, beginning with the extended family. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins extend care and support that help to fulfil the purpose and responsibilities of the family. The characteristics of such familial relationships also extend to fellow Bahá’ís and other friends, who can assist a family in various ways. In the close social network forged in a vibrant community, elders offer deepening, wise counsel, and distinctive example. Others step in as spiritual aunts and uncles to share affection and concern for the progress of young people and provide support that reinforces the labours and lofty aspirations of parents. Youth act as older brothers and sisters who, in numerous ways, assist and inspire those younger than themselves. In this way, the sense of oneness, of love, care, trust, and solidarity that are initially cultivated in the family begin to be woven into the fabric of relationships in the community.

Attention to financial affairs is an essential aspect of a coherent and flourishing family life and of the involvement of the family in a burgeoning community. Consultation between the wife and husband, and with children as appropriate, will determine how this material concern is to be balanced with the many other features and obligations of family life. Wise and attentive stewardship of family finances must take into account many considerations, including how money is earned, spent, and saved; how the education and well-being of the children are maintained; how much is to be allocated for the Funds of the Faith or to support community affairs; and how to discharge the obligation of Ḥuqúqu’lláh. In responding to these and other such questions, the family provides a space to learn in practice about generosity, responsibility, the difference between needs and wants, and the management of material means.

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Bahá’í family life opens an arena for dynamic interaction with the wider society. This interaction flourishes as family members strive to express in their lives the fundamental Bahá’í teachings. For example, the application of the principle of the equality of women and men, already mentioned, creates a distinctive relationship between wife and husband as well as among the children and the family as a whole, preparing family members to contribute to interactions in society that release the potential of all. Similarly, adherence to the principle of the oneness of humanity requires that children are provided with experiences that guard them from prejudice of all kinds and enhance their appreciation of diversity, which contributes to the ability to create relationships of unity and oneness in a divided world. In addition, fostering the capacity for the investigation of truth, for appreciation of the harmony of science and religion, for resolving differences of opinion and making decisions through consultation and cooperation rather than contention and contest empowers family members as effective protagonists in a process of social transformation. And developing qualities such as justice and compassion among family members prepares the children to establish sound and balanced relationships with others in society. Thus, the effort to learn to apply the Teachings within the family both generates within children a vision that transcends the family itself and raises consciousness about the conditions and needs of the peoples of the world.

Cultivating a new pattern of family life also counters the forces of disintegration that are an inseparable feature of an age in transition. These forces assailing society have particularly affected the family, sundering its ties, and taking a heavy toll on its members, especially on children. They can expose family members to some of the most destructive social pathologies: an absence of love and care, neglect of the things of the spirit, dehumanization, poverty, insecurity, and violence. Individuals are tempted to surrender to a life of material distractions or personal gratification, thereby becoming mere objects to be manipulated by those who seek to impose their designs on society. Contrasting ideologies and identities, incompatible with the ideals of the oneness of humanity and a peaceful world, vie for the allegiance of the masses and contend for superiority with one another. Some of these movements plant seeds of prejudice and fanaticism which ultimately yield estrangement, conflict, and contention among the peoples of the world. Others may seem to conform to some aspect of the Teachings, only to subtly lead the friends away from Bahá’u’lláh’s straight path. The forces associated with the process of disintegration affect different populations in different ways. The family, and the community as a whole, will need to learn to examine existing circumstances, grasp the nature and impact of such forces, and, with full reliance on divine assistance, develop preventive and remedial measures in order to weather the tumultuous storms of a perilous age.

The family members’ intimate association and their earnest desire to serve others opens a unique social space: a Bahá’í home. A vibrant Bahá’í home is an irreplaceable element in the process of community building at the grassroots. In the loving environs of the home, family members support one another in becoming capable and confident protagonists of the Divine Plan, and they welcome and assist others to play a part in transforming society. In a Bahá’í home, warm hospitality combines with spiritual quickening and intellectual progress. Through activities that every Bahá’í family can offer in its home, it can demonstrate a way of life that can be emulated by all those who seek to counteract the divisive forces that feed discontent, conflict, and self-interest, and to weave the bonds of trust, cooperation, and constructive action upon which a healthy community depends. Indeed, in a range of clusters worldwide, groups of families are already opening their homes and working together to help to consolidate local activities and to greatly extend their reach and influence.

The concept of a coherent life of service is as relevant to the life of the family as it is to the life of an individual. The complex demands and opportunities the family faces continually evolve over time. Generally, advancing together on the path of service strengthens the family, and helps it address its many responsibilities across every stage of the life of its members. At certain times when a possibility for a more demanding service arises—whether for a member or for the family as a whole—the bonds of support within a dedicated Bahá’í family can make the wholehearted embrace of such a sacrificial endeavour possible. At such times it is vital to keep in mind the essential nature of sacrifice, which, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains, is to give up the concerns of the human condition for the things of God. Sacrifice makes possible greater service, but it is not the family itself that is to be sacrificed.

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As we survey the progress of the Nine Year Plan, we are filled with awe and deep appreciation for the devoted labours of the friends. Across diverse settings worldwide, we witness a range of sacrificial endeavours resulting from the cooperation of individuals, communities, and institutions, as the friends engage eager populations in a process of community building, initiate a range of projects for education and social betterment, carry the work of the Faith to new places, and harmonize the many commitments inherent in a coherent life of service. And despite the restraints of oppression or the upheavals of a disordered world, the friends persevere in their high aims. Countless souls worldwide are striving, within the limits of their circumstances and capabilities, to release the society-building power of the Faith in ever-greater measures. Toward these ends, the part played by Bahá’í families will be increasingly necessary and impactful in the years and decades ahead. All the friends have a vital contribution to make to strengthen this essential component of Bahá’í life.

“My home is the home of peace”, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is reported to have said. “My home is the home of joy and delight. My home is the home of laughter and exultation. Whosoever enters through the portals of this home, must go out with gladsome heart. This is the home of light; whosoever enters here must become illumined.” May your families and homes, dear friends, increasingly become a haven and pillar to sustain all humanity.

[signed: The Universal House of Justice]