BAHÁ'Í FAITH

Freedom of Choice, But use Moderation 

 

There are no strict regulations--or even norms--regarding what congregants should wear to services. One may find a variety of formal and informal dress at any Baha’i function, according to the weather and the preferences of each individual. As long as one is clean and uses moderation, the dress can vary from person to person. In this dispensation, we have been relieved of the restrictions that formerly applied to clothing. Baha’u’llah has left such matter entirely to the discretion of the believers. He did, however, exhort believers not to transgress the bounds of propriety and to exercise moderation in dress, as in all things.

 

The Baha’i Holy Book, the Kitab-i-Aqdas, provides the following general guidelines for dress:

                  *To be the essence of cleanliness

                  *To wash one’s feet

                  * To perfume oneself

                  *To bathe in clean water

                  * To cut one’s nails

                  * To be stainless in one’s dress