The integrity of the family bond must be constantly
considered and the rights of the individual members must not be transgressed.
The rights of the son, the father, the mother -- none of them must be
transgressed, none of them must be arbitrary. Just as the son has certain
obligations to his father, the father, likewise, has certain obligations to his
son. The mother, the sister and other members of the household have their
certain prerogatives. All these rights and prerogatives must be conserved...
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Quoted by the Universal House of Justice in a letter dated 24
January 1993 written on its behalf to an individual believer)
