be advised which additional laws are binding upon believers, and any
guidance or supplementary legislation necessary for their application will
be provided.

In general, the laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas are stated succinctly. An
example of this conciseness can be seen in the fact that many are
expressed only as they apply to a man, but it is apparent from the
Guardian’s writings that, where Bahá’u’lláh has given a law as between a
man and a woman, it applies mutatis mutandis between a woman and a man
unless the context makes this impossible. For example, the text of the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas forbids a man to marry his father’s wife (i.e. his
stepmother), and the Guardian has indicated that likewise a woman is
forbidden to marry her stepfather. This understanding of the implications
of the Law has far-reaching effects in light of the fundamental Bahá’í
principle of the equality of the sexes, and should be borne in mind when
the sacred Text is studied. That men and women differ from one another in
certain characteristics and functions is an inescapable fact of nature and
makes possible their complementary roles in certain areas of the life of
society; but it is significant that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has stated that in this
Dispensation "Equality of men and women, except in some negligible
instances, has been fully and categorically announced."

Mention has already been made of the intimate relationship between the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Holy Books of previous Dispensations. Especially
close is the relationship to the Bayán, the Book of Laws revealed by the
Báb. It is elucidated in the following excerpts from letters written on
behalf of the Guardian:


Shoghi Effendi feels that the unity of the Bahá’í Revelation as