In the Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh it is
mentioned that if a rich man neglects the duty of educating his children, the
House of Justice is authorized to compel him to assist financially and to
educate them. But this is a matter for the family of that wealthy man and comes
under the jurisdiction of the House of Justice. The point is that there are
matters greater than equality and socialism in divine religions. In the Cause
of God there were persons like the King of Martyrs [Mírzá Muhammad-Hasan] who,
in the days of tribulation, expended all their wealth and property to relieve
the sufferings of the poor and the weak. In Persia the Bahá'ís were willing to
sacrifice themselves for one another to such a degree that once when one of the
Bahá'ís was a guest in the home of another believer, and the authorities
demanded the arrest of the guest, the host gave the guest's name as his own and
surrendered himself to them, was martyred in his place, thus sacrificing his
life for his guest and brother.
(‘Abdu’l-Baha, from a talk, 17 September 1912,
Chicago, USA; ‘Mahmud’s Diary’)
