ANSWER: The basic sum on which Huququ'llah is payable is nineteen
mit{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}qals 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'llah is payable no more than once.
A person, for instance, who acquireth a thousand mit{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}qals 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'llah
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'llah, 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'llah. 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 Kitab-i-Aqdas
but enjoined in the Suriy-i-Hajj.
ANSWER: All are charged with obedience to the Kitab-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 mit{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}qals 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.
13. QUESTION: Is the consent of the parents on both sides prerequisite to
marriage, or is that of the parents on one side sufficient? Is this law
applicable only to virgins or to others as well?
ANSWER: Marriage is conditional upon the consent of the parents of both
parties to the marriage, and in this respect it maketh no difference
whether the bride be a virgin or otherwise.
14. QUESTION: The believers have been enjoined to face in the direction of
the Qiblih when reciting their Obligatory Prayers; in what direction
should they turn when offering other prayers and devotions?
ANSWER: Facing in the direction of the Qiblih is a fixed requirement for
the recitation of obligatory prayer, but for other prayers and devotions
one may follow what the merciful Lord hath revealed in the Qur'an:
"Whichever way ye turn, there is the face of God."
15. QUESTION: Concerning the remembrance of God in the
Mas{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}riqu'l-Ad{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}kar "at the hour of dawn".
ANSWER: Although the words "at the hour of dawn" are used in the Book of
God, it is acceptable to God at the earliest dawn of day, between dawn and
sunrise, or even up to two hours after sunrise.
16. QUESTION: Is the ordinance that the body of the deceased should be
carried no greater distance than one hour's journey applicable to
transport by both land and sea?
ANSWER: This command applieth to distances by sea as well as by land,
whether it is an hour by steamship or by rail; the intention is the hour's
time, whatever the means of transport. The sooner the burial taketh place,
however, the more fitting and acceptable will it be.
17. QUESTION: What procedure should be followed on the discovery of lost
property?
ANSWER: If such property be found in the town, its discovery is to be
announced once by the town crier. If the owner of the property is then
found, it should be delivered up to him. Otherwise, the finder of the
property should wait one year, and if, during this period, the owner
cometh to light, the finder should receive from him the crier's fee and
restore to him his property; only if the year should pass without the
owner's being identified may the finder take possession of the property
himself. If the value of the property is less than or equal to the crier's
fee, the finder should wait a single day from the time of its discovery,
at the end of which, if the owner hath not come to light, he may himself
appropriate it; and in the case of property discovered in an uninhabited
area, the finder should observe a three days' wait, on the passing of
which period, if the identity of the owner remain unknown, he is free to
take possession of his find.
18. QUESTION: With reference to the ablutions: if, for example, a person
hath just bathed his entire body, must he still perform his ablutions?
ANSWER: The commandment regarding ablutions must, in any case, be
observed.
19. QUESTION: Should a person plan to migrate from his country, and his
wife be opposed and the disagreement culminate in divorce, and should his
preparations for the journey extend until a year hath passed, may this
period be counted as the year of patience, or should the day the couple
part be regarded as the starting-point of that year?
ANSWER: The starting-point for computation is the day the couple part, and
if, therefore, they have separated a year before the husband's departure,
and if the fragrance of affection hath not been renewed between the
couple, divorce may take place. Otherwise the year must be counted from
the day of his departure, and the conditions set forth in the
Kitab-i-Aqdas observed.
20. QUESTION: Concerning the age of maturity with respect to religious
duties.
ANSWER: The age of maturity is fifteen for both men and women.
21. QUESTION: Concerning the holy verse: "When travelling, if ye should
stop and rest in some safe spot, perform ye ... a single prostration in
place of each unsaid Obligatory Prayer..."
ANSWER: This prostration is to compensate for obligatory prayer omitted in
the course of travel, and by reason of insecure circumstances. If, at the
time of prayer, the traveller should find himself at rest in a secure
place, he should perform that prayer. This provision regarding the
compensating prostration applieth both at home and on a journey.