Why treat a body with reverence once the soul has gone? ‘Abdu’l-Bahá answers with an image of relationship rather than a claim about the grave: the human temple deserves honour because this chalice once brimmed with the wine of the spirit. Bahá’u’lláh’s law gives that reverence a shape, a prayer for the dead, a coffin of durable material, a ring inscribed with the words of one who came forth from God and returns to Him, and concessions for the poor and for differing circumstances. Behind the law lies a vision of the body’s place in nature. Just as the body was formed slowly, it must disperse slowly, passing through the earth into flowers and fragrant herbs; to burn it is to break the chain of transferences that binds all creatures together. Ecclesiastes sets the same double movement side by side, dust returning to the earth and spirit returning to God [1]. There are practical rulings too, about expenses, about graves kept from disrespect, about a cemetery laid out as a garden with a pool and flower beds. Together they open onto the law of transformation and change, the laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, and the ordering of inheritance among those who remain.
O thou who art attracted by the divine fragrances!
Although those souls who hasten from this world of darkness to the luminous realm are sanctified from the conditions of the physical world and have no attachment to this mortal life, nevertheless the human temple is honored and respected, for this chalice was once brimming with that wine, and this garment was once worn by that graceful form. Therefore, respect for it is necessary from every direction.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1904 ca., to Yahya Khan -- AB08433)
The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.
02
The Blessed Beauty used to say that it is even a pity that the dead body of man should be buried under the ground.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on the subway on 1912-Jul-06 -- ABU3301)
03
In the Prayer for the Dead six specific passages have been sent down by God, the Revealer of Verses.
… The Lord hath decreed that the dead should be interred in coffins made of crystal, of hard, resistant stone, or of wood that is both fine and durable, and that graven rings should be placed upon their fingers.
… If the following verse, which hath at this moment been sent down by God, be engraved upon the burial-rings of both men and women, it shall be better for them; We, of a certainty, are the Supreme Ordainer: "I came forth from God, and return unto Him, detached from all save Him, holding fast to His Name, the Merciful, the Compassionate."
(Bahá’u’lláh, Kitab-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book), 1290-05-15 [1873-Jul-11] -- BH00001)
04
Regarding what you wrote about the shroud, five full-length cloths have been ordained to be wrapped one over another, and in this Most Great Dispensation, a concession hath been granted to the poor, that they may use perfume and rose water in place of cedar water and camphor.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1297 ? [1880], to Mulla Ali Jan -- BH00991)
05
In the eleventh: Ye shall wash your dead if possible five times with pure water, then shroud them in five pieces of silk or cotton after placing the ring upon their finger - a gift from God to the living - that perchance ye may believe in Him Whom We shall manifest on the Day of Resurrection.
(The Báb, Bayan-i-Arabi (Arabic Bayan) -- BB00020)
06
Just as the human body gradually comes into being in the beginning, similarly it must gradually decompose. This is in accordance with the true and natural order and divine law. … But the natural order established by divine decree is that after death this body must pass through different states until, according to the relationships that exist in the world of being, it systematically mixes and combines with other beings, passes through various stages, undergoes chemical decomposition, transfers to the plant kingdom, becomes flowers and fragrant herbs, and transforms into trees of the highest paradise, acquiring a musk-like fragrance and seeking delicate colors.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1920-Jun-02, to Louise Waite -- AB00949)
07
The best method is to bury the body. This body has grown into its present form by the slow process of evolution and it must be disintegrated by the same process. This is the law of nature and it is the Universal law of God. If the body is cremated in the crematory, the elements making up the composition of the body are instantaneously disintegrated and are deprived of the slow process of dissolution. Therefore, according to the law of nature and God the physical body must disintegrate slowly and after death crumble into dust, because its origin is of dust.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Latimer and Remey, spoken on 1914-Oct-14 -- ABU2001)
08
A letter was received about a friend stating that she has cremated the body of some one died in the family.
The Master said: "This is not good. Why do they stop so suddenly the wheels of evolution? The body is composed of so many elements and each element in its dissolution must return to its original constituent substance. Now cremation arrests too suddenly this process of the returning of each element to its original part. Someday this body will become flowers and adorn the field with loveliness and charm. Why should we then hinder this charming transformation? What would we gain by incarcerating the ashes this body in a glass bottle?"
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1913-11 ca. in Ramleh -- ABU2899)
09
Build his illumined grave in whatever manner you deem advisable so that it does not become a place of disrespect by others.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1911 ca., to Spiritual Assembly of Tihran -- AB05874)
10
Regarding the remains of his honor the beloved Breakwell--him who hath attained to the meeting of the countenance of his Lord in His great Kingdom--must be interred in that very land, not in some other place, for to transfer the remains of the believers from one city to another city is against the text of the Book.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1908-Feb ca., to Charles Mason Remey -- AB02536)
11
In the Bisharat, it is revealed that it is not necessary to journey for visiting the resting-place of the dead. The meaning here is that it is not permissible to journey from one country to another solely for the purpose of visiting graves. Consider: undertaking such journeys have kept many wholly occupied. Therefore, this command is general unless otherwise is stated specifically.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1921-May-17, to Avaz Muhammad Sanai Sangsari -- AB09288)
12
As for what you mentioned regarding burial expenses, this matter in the Book of God pertains to the spouse if means allow, otherwise it falls to the wife's own property....
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1299-10-27 [1882-Sep-11], to Aqa Siyyid Nasrullah Attar et al -- BH03000)
The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.
13
As for what you wrote about the orientation of the graves of the righteous - since at present it would cause great alarm if built according to the previous practice, it is permissible [to build them differently], for "Whichever way ye turn, there is the face of God." However, in the future when there is no impediment, they must certainly be built and constructed facing the Qiblih of the people of Baha.
As for the matter of the tower of silence, although there is no clear sacred text about it and the permissibility or impermissibility of this matter is referred to the House of Justice - this servant's duty is to explain the clear sacred texts, but everything beyond what is explicitly in the Book is referred to the House of Justice - whenever it is established they will make a decision about this.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1905 ca., to Mirza Muhammad Taqi Tabasi -- AB01806)
15
But regarding the announcement of the Zoroastrians that whoever is not steadfast in the religion of their forefathers is barred from the burial ground - be as accommodating as you can about this, because if you don't show accommodation, separation will occur and teaching will become difficult. If such a case occurs and they don't allow burial in the burial ground and show strong resistance, then bury [the deceased] in the cemetery that will soon be completed.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1909 or <, to Ardishir Hakim -- AB02992)
16
My wish for you all is this: if something should happen to me, if my time comes, bury me between Haifa and Akka in the sands there, for it is the pathway of the loved ones and pilgrims. Build nothing over it. Place neither stone nor tree over it, so that even the location remains unknown. If anything else is done, my spirit will be troubled. If I am crucified somewhere, retrieve my body and bury it in this same place so that I may be on the pathway of the loved ones.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1916-Apr-16 in Bahji -- ABU0463)
17
And just as the composition, the formation, and growth and development of the physical body have come about by degrees, so too must its decomposition and dispersal be gradual.
… In short, the composition and decomposition, the gathering and scattering and journeying of all creatures must proceed according to the natural order, divine rule, and the most great law of God, so that no marring nor impairment may affect the essential relationships which arise out of the inner realities of created things. This is why, according to the law of God, we are bidden to bury the dead.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1902-Jun, to Dreyfus-Barney, Laura et al -- AB00273)
18
As to the question of burying the dead, for the present it is better that it remain as before; for nothing should be done in such wise as to cause a complete severance and separation between friend and stranger, since separation is an obstacle to teaching. But when the time shall come that the execution of the laws will in no wise cause hearts to be affrighted, and the Cause of God shall be openly proclaimed, then in Turkistan the dead should be laid so that, from the east, they face toward the west, inclining northward; their heads should be toward the Qiblih, and their feet toward the north.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1919-Jul-04, to Spiritual Assembly of Ishqabad -- AB00178)
19
Elijah revived the religion of Moses after Jeroboam and Rehoboam had destroyed it. He too, like Moses, rested in a cave on Mount Carmel and passed away, and no one knows his tomb.
Each grave should have a one-yard-wide flower bed to its right, left, top, and bottom. In other words, the graves should not be joined together. Each grave must have its own flower bed, and if beautiful trees were planted all around the cemetery as well as the water pond, it would be pleasing indeed.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1908-Mar-02, to Spiritual Assembly of Bombay, India -- AB11864)
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21
The body of man, which has been formed gradually, must similarly be decomposed gradually. This is according to the real and natural order and divine law.... the divine order formulated by the heavenly ordinance is that after death, this body shall be transferred from one stage to another different from the preceding one, so that according to the relations which exist in the world, it may gradually combine and mix other elements, thus going through stages until it arrives in the vegetable kingdom...