.. the validity of a Bahá'í marriage is conditioned upon the consent of the two parties and their parents only. So that in case the other members of your family show any dislike or opposition to your sister's union with ....., their approval does under no circumstances invalidate it. Your parents' approval would be sufficient, even through all the rest of your family may violently oppose it.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 31 March 1937 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; compilation ‘Consent of Parents to Marriage’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)
