# Arts and Architecture

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-19 — 1 clipping.*

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Abdu'l-Bahá, Arts and Architecture, bahai-library.com.
> ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
> 
> Arts and Architecture
> 
> Abdu'l-Bahá
> 
> Shoghi Effendi
> 
> Universal House of Justice
> 
> Universal House of Justice, Research Department
> 
> , compiler
> 
> n.d.
> 
> I.
> 
> From the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh
> 
> O people of creation!
> 
> It is incumbent upon you to build, in the cities and in
> the name of the Lord of Revelation, Houses as perfect as can
> be built on earth, and to adorn them with that which
> beseemeth them, not with images and statues. Magnify ye then
> therein the praise of your Merciful Lord in a spirit of joy
> and radiance. Lo! it is through His mention that hearts are
> illumined and eyes solaced.
> 
> (From a recently translated Tablet)
> 
> II.
> 
> From the Writings and Utterances of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
> 
> I rejoice to hear that thou takest pains with thine art,
> for in this wonderful new age, art is worship. The more thou
> strivest to perfect it, the closer wilt thou come to God.
> What bestowal could be greater than this, that one's art
> should be even as the act of worshipping the Lord? That is
> to say, when thy fingers grasp the paint brush, it is as if
> thou wert at prayer in the Temple.
> 
> (From a recently translated Tablet)
> 
> The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar must have nine sides, doors,
> fountains, paths, gateways, columns and gardens, with ground
> floor, galleries and domes, and in design and construction
> must be beautiful. The mystery of the edifice is great, and
> cannot be unveiled yet, but its erection is the most
> important undertaking of this day. The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar has
> important accessories, which are accounted of the basic
> foundations. These are: school for orphan children, hospital
> and dispensary for the poor, home for the incapable, college
> for the higher scientific education, and hospice. In every
> city a great Mashriqu'l-Adhkar must be founded after this
> order. In the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar services will be held every
> morning. There will be no organ in the Temple. In buildings
> near by, festivals, services, conventions, public meetings
> and spiritual gatherings will be held, but in the Temple the
> chanting and singing will be unaccompanied. Open ye the
> gates of the Temple to all mankind.
> 
> (
> Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era
> , Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1970, p.
> 192
> )
> 
> ...The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in 'Ishqabad is almost
> completed. It is centrally located, nine avenues leading
> into it, nine gardens, nine fountains; all the arrangement
> and construction is according to the principle and proportion
> of the number nine. It is like a beautiful bouquet. Imagine
> a very lofty, imposing edifice surrounded completely by
> gardens of variegated flowers, with nine avenues leading
> through them, nine fountains and pools of water. Such is its
> matchless, beautiful design. Now they are building a
> hospital, a school for orphans, a home for cripples, a
> hospice and a large dispensary. God willing, when it is
> fully completed, it will be a paradise.
> 
> I hope the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Chicago will be like
> this. Endeavor to have the grounds circular in shape. If
> possible, adjust and exchange the plots in order to make the
> dimensions and boundaries circular. The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar
> cannot be triangular in shape. It must be in the form of a
> circle.
> 
> (
> The Promulgation of Universal Peace
> , Wilmette:
> Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1982, p.
> 71
> )
> 
> III.
> 
> Extracts from letters written on behalf of the Guardian
> 
> ...He sincerely hopes that as the Cause grows and
> talented persons come under its banner, they will begin to
> produce in art the divine spirit that animates their soul.
> Every religion has brought with it some form of art - let us
> see what wonders this Cause is going to bring along. Such a
> glorious spirit should also give vent to a glorious art. The
> Temple with all its beauty is only the first ray of an early
> dawn; even more wondrous things are to be achieved in the
> future.
> 
> (11 December 1931, to an individual believer)
> 
> Also, you raise the question of what will be the source
> of inspiration to Bahá'í musicians and composers; the music
> of the past or the Word? We cannot possibly foresee,
> standing as we do on the threshold of Bahá'í culture, what
> forms and characteristics the arts of the future, inspired by
> this Mighty New Revelation, will have. All we can be sure of
> is that they will be wonderful; as every Faith has given rise
> to a culture which flowered in different forms, so too our
> beloved Faith may be expected to do the same thing. It is
> premature to try and grasp what they will be at present.
> 
> (23 December 1942, to an individual believer)
> 
> Music, as one of the arts, is a natural cultural
> development, and the Guardian does not feel that there should
> be any cultivation of "Bahá'í Music" any more than we are
> trying to develop a Bahá'í school of painting or writing.
> The believers are free to paint, write and compose as their
> talents guide them.
> 
> (20 July 1946, to a National Spiritual Assembly)
> 
> He personally does not believe that the Master's wish to
> have a Temple inspired by the Taj Mahal meant that it must be
> one hundred percent based on that building and fully Indian
> in all details. He feels the Master meant that the general
> impression, the beauty, contours and symmetry of that
> glorious tomb should be predominant in the Temple.
> 
> (3 July 1947, to an individual believer)
> 
> These slides of our Bahá'í Temple and various activities
> are very interesting, and open a new door on the teaching
> approach to the general public. The more interesting sets
> can be collected and circulated amongst the friends the
> better....
> 
> (28 December 1946, to an individual believer)
> 
> There now remains the important consideration of a
> design for the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar. It does not matter whether
> it is executed by a Bahá'í or a non-Bahá'í architect, but the
> essential thing is that it must be beautiful and dignified.
> There must be none of this hideous, exaggerated, bizarre
> style, which one sees in many modern buildings. It is not
> befitting for our House of Worship. He thinks that you
> should impress this on any architects wishing to submit
> drawings. The essentials of the design, as stipulated by
> 'Abdu'l-Bahá, are that the building should be nine-sided, and
> circular in shape. Aside from this, the architect is not
> restricted in any way in choosing his style of design.
> 
> (25 June 1954, to a National Spiritual Assembly)
> 
> In passing, there is one point to be mentioned; and that
> is that the Temple in Wilmette does not constitute a pattern
> for other Temples, nor does it represent a new type of Bahá'í
> architecture. Therefore it is not necessary for your
> architects to endeavour to follow that pattern. What should
> be done is to follow the Master's instructions as to the
> Temple, and then create something that will be desirable and
> appropriate for your area.
> 
> (10 February 1955, to a National Spiritual Assembly)
> 
> He was very happy to hear that the National Assembly is
> pressing the work as regards having designs made for the
> Temple to be built in Frankfurt. He attaches the greatest
> importance to this enterprise, as you know; and considers
> that two points must be constantly borne in mind by the
> architects; one, that the building must not be too expensive,
> and two, that the design must be beautiful and dignified, and
> not show the influence of the extremes of modern
> architecture, which are transient in style, for the most part
> ugly, and altogether too utilitarian in aspect for a House of
> Worship.
> 
> (9 April 1955, to an individual believer)
> 
> The Guardian feels very strongly that, regardless of
> what the opinion of the latest school of architecture may be
> on the subject, the styles represented at present all over
> the world in architecture are not only very ugly, but
> completely lack the dignity and grace which must be at least
> partially present in a Bahá'í House of Worship. One must
> always bear in mind that the vast majority of human beings
> are neither very modern nor very extreme in their tastes, and
> that what the advanced school may think is marvelous is often
> very distasteful indeed to just plain, simple people.
> 
> (11 July 1956, to a National Spiritual Assembly)
> 
> IV.
> 
> Extracts from letters written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice
> 
> Thank you for your letter concerning the design for the
> building which is to serve as the Seat of the Universal House
> of Justice on Mount Carmel.
> 
> The beloved Guardian made it clear that the flowering of
> the arts which is the result of a divine revelation comes
> only after a number of centuries. The Bahá'í Faith offers
> the world the complete rebuilding of human society - a
> rebuilding of such far-reaching effect that it has been
> looked forward to in all the revelations of the past and has
> been called the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth.
> The new architecture to which this revelation will give birth
> will blossom many generations hence. We are now merely at
> the beginning of this great process.
> 
> The present time is a period of turmoil and change.
> Architecture, like all arts and sciences, is undergoing very
> rapid development; one has only to consider the changes that
> have taken place in the course of the last few decades to
> have some idea of what is likely to happen during the years
> immediately ahead. Some modern buildings have, no doubt,
> qualities of greatness and will endure, but very much of what
> is being constructed now may be outgrown and may appear ugly
> but a few generations hence. Modern architecture, in other
> words, may be considered a new development in its primitive
> stage. Classical Greek architecture, however, is an example
> of a mature art style. It is very beautiful now, just as it
> has been beautiful for some two thousand years or more.
> 
> The edifice we are now about to build is intended to
> serve for hundreds of years and is part of a complex of
> buildings around the arc on Mount Carmel which are to be
> harmonious in style. This is why we have chosen a style that
> is proven and has long endured, rather than a modern style
> which may well be ephemeral.
> 
> (18 July 1974, to an individual believer)
> 
> The House of Justice has no objection in principle to
> the holding of an exhibition such as you propose, but this is
> a matter for the National Spiritual Assemblies to decide.
> Therefore you should refer the suggestion to your National
> Assembly. Believers in Europe have on previous occasions
> used the illuminations of Tablets for various purposes, and
> the House of Justice suggests that you might be able to
> obtain samples from them through the various National
> Assemblies or directly. The actual Tablets should not, of
> course, be used in any such posters as you propose.
> 
> (29 December 1981, to an individual believer)
> 
> Your letter of 8 September 1983 requesting guidance in
> the matter of visual representation of the personages
> connected with the Heroic Age of the Faith has been received.
> The Universal House of Justice wishes you to know that there
> is nothing in the instructions of the Guardian, nor of the
> House of Justice, copies of which you enclosed with your
> letter, to prohibit artists, such as the person whose letter
> of 8 February 1983 you also enclosed, to make drawings of
> Letters of the Living in surroundings, or participating in
> events, which are historically accurate. Obviously, in
> addition to accuracy, it is important to uphold the dignity
> of the personages being portrayed.
> 
> (5 October 1983, to a National Spiritual Assembly)
> 
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> Formatted 2010-08 by Jonah Winters;  Proofread 2010-08 by Romane Takkenberg.
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> — *Arts and Architecture (Used by permission of the curator)*