The Role of the Feminine in the Bahá’í Faith

Abstract

This article will propose a non-gendered understanding of the terms “Masculine” and “Feminine,” in which the terms refer to two completely interdependent forces or energies at work within the Manifestation as the Revealer of the Word, as well as throughout the creation including the human individual. It will then focus upon the unprecedented role of the Feminine in the Bahá’í Faith, particularly as it corrects the oppositional imbalance between the Masculine and the Feminine in the Adamic cycle. A close examination of Bahá’u’lláh’s address to Carmel as his consort or New Jerusalem bride and the role played by the Maid[s] of Heaven in his Revelation, will stress the importance of what Bahá’u’lláh in the Kitáb-i-Íqán calls “the brides of inner meaning” who issue unveiled from a new revelation of the Word. Understanding the importance of the Feminine in its nuptial union with, rather than subordination to, the Masculine may, one hopes, lead to a deeper understanding of what it now means to be created in the image and likeness of God.