elenagabrielle

hello! I would love to get a tattoo of the hidden word: "Should prosperity befall thee, rejoice not and should abasement come upon thee, grieve not, for both shall pass away and be no more." -Bahá'u'lláh

however, i don't want to get it if it's inappropriate. I would not get a symbol of the faith, but i'm not sure if a quote would be disrespectful.

Fadl

Hi, what a great quote! No wonder why you want it for always!

I am reasonably sure that this is not prohibited, however, personally, I wouldn't do it. Think of how a tattoo is there always. In the bathroom, in the shower, in the bedroom, at the football game, etc., etc. Would you bring the Hidden Words to all these places, even if the paper could withstand it? Probably not. In that sense, I don't imagine it the best idea if only because it will be every where you go, whether dignified or not. Better to just brand it in your heart and on your mind! This is just my opinion.

By all means do ask your LSA though, that's one of things they are there for!

arthra

I've seen lately a couple of people asking about tattoos on the Forum..There's nothing as above that explicitly forbids a tattoo...however you may consider some of the following..

When this tattoo "Should prosperity befall thee, rejoice not and should abasement come upon thee, grieve not, for both shall pass away and be no more." -Bahá'u'lláh is inscribed on your skin

(1) it will be painful and cover a likely a fairly largely area so people can read it...

(2) In time tattoo inscriptions are known to blur and fade... eventually it may become illegible, a blur..

(3) If you ever decide to remove the tattoo for whatever reasons the process will be far more painful and expensive than when you first had it applied..

So I would definitely consider these things before getting one...

Essence of GOD

tattoo or no tattoo, both shall pass away and be no more.

MAWillsey

I thought there was discouragement of obligatory religious tattoos, tattoos as a requirement. Voluntarily tattooing yourself, with religious sayings or designs IMHO of your own free will should be OK, as long as they are in good taste and inconspicuous, as in, not on your forehead.

arthra

Permissibility of tattoos
by Universal House of Justice
2003

19 August 2003

Dear Bahá’í Friend,

Your email letter of 17 August 2003 regarding tattoos has been received at the Bahá’í World Centre and referred to our Department for response.

In reply to your enquiry, nothing at all has been found in the Holy Texts on the matter of tattooing. There is, of course, the following general counsel given by Bahá’u’lláh:

Let there be naught in your demeanour of which sound and upright minds would disapprove, and make not yourselves the playthings of the ignorant. Well is it with him who hath adorned himself with the vesture of seemly conduct and a praiseworthy character. (The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, paragraph 159)

Generally, what is appropriate in such matters will clearly vary from culture to culture.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Department of the Secretariat

and from a compilation:

Compiled and edited by Jonah Winters from
answers and quotations provided by Dianne Bradford and Fiona Missaghian

with input from Bill Garlington, Jason Sandlin, Robert Stauffer, Robert Stockman
prefaced with introduction by Udo Schaefer


26. Are there rules about body modification e.g. tattoos, cosmetic surgery or amputations?

There are no specific injunctions against them, but moderation should be observed. One is not to become a cause of displeasure to others, as pertains to one's dress and appearance.

On a similar subject, the Guardian has written:

Regarding Bahá'í women using facial make-up: individuals are entirely free to do as they please in such purely personal matters. As Bahá'ís are enjoined to use moderation in all things, and to seek the Golden mean, the National Spiritual Assembly can, if it deems it necessary or advisable, counsel the believers to use moderation in this respect also.

Shoghi Effendi: Dawn of a New Day, p. 193


Most especially, nothing should be done that would be harmful to one's body. Bahá'u'lláh says:

... Beware of using any substance that induceth sluggishness and torpor in the human temple and inflicteth harm upon the body. We, verily, desire for you naught save what shall profit you, and to this bear witness all created things, had ye but ears to hear.

The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Par. 155, p. 75

Fifty-five Questions on Bahá'í Ethics

Chrisshiz

I am a little late to respond. Tattoo's in moderation is the key. There are no laws against getting ink. Make sure your choice is for you and you alone. Anything, well mostly anything related to God is a pure and good deed. I myself have the Greatest Name on my left chest ( over my heart ) the whole design covers up my whole left side of my chest. I have received many compliments and even an elderly persian bahai, jumping in joy because she was so amazed. That ink will never go away and im glad. Rings, necklaces etc are cool and pretty, but in my opinion no metal can never beat a tattoo. It's with me until i die

cire perdue

I have been rather shocked to have people pulling their clothes apart or down to show me a tatoo. I think a quote would not be in good taste. I have been tempted to have my Baha'i ID number tatoo'd on my wrist like a holocaust survivor. I am very proud to be a Baha'i. We can't tell each other what to do. Us older people are still not use to tatoos and if the quote showed it could reflect negatively on the Faith. Another thing that bothers me is that there are so many poor quality tatoos, rather than of the quality I have seen on the Japanese. I see no attraction for these dark ink barely clear images. Why bother. Now if we are talking about 5 color images, then yeah, I could like those, but the dark ones are a disappointment and not attractive to me at all.

arthra

"Let there be naught in your demeanour of which sound and upright minds would disapprove, and make not yourselves the playthings of the ignorant. Well is it with him who hath adorned himself with the vesture of seemly conduct and a praiseworthy character."

The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, paragraph 159

Oh yeah.. adorning oneself with

"the vesture of seemly conduct and a praiseworthy character"

...that about says it "für mich"!