Trustworthiness

...we, and the friends of God, should on no account slacken our efforts to be loyal, sincere and men of good will. We should at all times manifest our truthfulness and sincerity, nay rather, we must be constant in our faithfulness and trustworthiness, and occupy ourselves in offering prayers for the good of all. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá'í Virtue)

Trustworthiness

In their homes, ... in the daily contact of business transactions, ... the community of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh should satisfy themselves that in the eyes of the world at large and in the sight of their vigilant Master they are the living witnesses of those truths which He fondly cherished and tirelessly championed to the very end of His days....  

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a message dated 12 April 1927 addressed to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, published in "Bahá'í Administration: Selected Messages 1922-1932"; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá'í Virtue)

Trustworthiness

Commerce, agriculture and industry should not, in truth, be a bar to service of the one true God. Indeed, such occupations are most potent instruments and clear proofs for the manifestation of the evidences of one's piety, of one's trustworthiness and of the virtues of the All-Merciful Lord. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá'í Virtue)

Trustworthiness

A process of community development, however, needs to reach beyond the level of activity and concern itself with those modes of expression and patterns of thought and behaviour that are to characterize a humanity which has come of age. In short, it must enter into the realm of culture. Viewed in this light, social action can become an occasion to raise collective consciousness of such vital principles as oneness, justice, and the equality of women and men; to promote an environment distinguished by traits such as truthfulness, equity, trustworthiness, and generosity; to enhance the ability of a community to resist the influence of destructive social forces; to demonstrate the value of cooperation as an organizing principle for activity; to fortify collective volition; and to infuse practice with insight from the teachings. For, in the final analysis, many of the questions most central to the emergence of a prosperous global civilization are to be addressed at the level of culture. 

(From a Statement prepared by the Office of Social and Economic Development at the Bahá’í World Centre on the subject of social action, attached to a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies dated 26 November 2012) 

Trustworthiness

Nothing but the abundance of our actions, nothing but the purity of our lives and the integrity of our character, can in the last resort establish our claim that the Bahá'í spirit is in this day the sole agency that can translate a long-cherished ideal into an enduring achievement. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a message dated 24 November 1924 addressed to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, published in "Bahá'í Administration: Selected Messages 1922-1932"; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá'í Virtue)

Trustworthiness

As for those who are engaged in government service, they should perform their duties with the utmost fidelity, trustworthiness, rectitude, uprightness, integrity and high-mindedness. Let them not tarnish their good repute by pursuing personal interests, nor, for the sake of transient worldly benefits, make themselves objects of public odium and outcasts of the Threshold of Grandeur. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá'í Virtue)

Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness is the greatest of doors leading to the tranquility and security of the people of the world. 

- Baha’u’llah  (Quoted by the Universal House of Justice in a letter dated 26 November 2003 addressed to the Followers of Baha’u’llah in the Cradle of the Faith)

Trustworthiness

Referring to rectitude of conduct, Shoghi Effendi spoke of the “justice, equity, truthfulness, honesty, fair-mindedness, reliability, and trustworthiness” that must “distinguish every phase of the life of the Bahá’í community.” Though applicable to all its members, this requisite was directed principally, he underscored, to its “elected representatives, whether local, regional, or national,” whose sense of moral rectitude should stand in clear contrast to “the demoralizing influences which a corruption-ridden political life so strikingly manifests”. The Guardian called for “an abiding sense of undeviating justice” in a “strangely disordered world” and quoted extensively from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, setting the sights of the friends on the highest standards of honesty and trustworthiness. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 28 December, 2010, addressed to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors)

Trustworthiness

The people of Baha, under the jurisdiction of whatsoever state or government they may be residing, should conduct themselves with honesty and sincerity, trustworthiness and rectitude. They should concern themselves with men's hearts, and hold themselves aloof from the fluctuations and limitations of the contingent world. They are neither thirsty for prominence, nor acquisitive of power; they are neither adepts at dissimulation and hypocrisy, nor are they seekers after wealth and influence; they neither crave for the pomp and circumstance of high office, nor do they lust after the glory of titles and ranks. They are averse to affectation and ostentation, and shrink from the use of coercive force; they have closed their eyes to all but God, and set their hearts on the firm and incontrovertible promises of their Lord; they have severed the bonds of earthly expectations and attachments, and connected their lives to the One Peerless Beloved. Oblivious to themselves, they have occupied their energies in working towards the good of society; and, steadfastly adhering to the sound and wholesome principles of God's Faith, they have turned their backs on the morbid imaginings, the incoherent theories, and pernicious ideas of the victims of caprice and folly. While vigilantly refusing to accept political posts, they should whole-heartedly welcome the chance to assume administrative positions; for the primary purpose of the people of Baha is to advance the interests and promote the welfare of the nation, not to further the devious ends and designs of the profligate and shameless. Such is the method of the Bahá'ís; such is the conduct of all spiritually illumined souls; and aught else is manifest error. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a message dated February 1927 addressed to the believers throughout the East - translated from the Persian; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá'í Virtue)

Trustworthiness

The friends of God should, through the instrumentality of their business, lead the people to God's path, and make them so astonished as to exclaim: "How great is their truthfulness, how high their trustworthiness, and how true their good-will." 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; compilation ‘Professions’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice - Merchants)

Trustworthiness

O people! The goodliest vesture in the sight of God in this day is trustworthiness. All bounty and honour shall be the portion of the soul that arrayeth itself with this greatest of adornments.  

- Baha’u’llah  (The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Trustworthiness)

Trustworthiness

The members of the younger generation would do well to ponder the above statement of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in which He conditions the acquisition of wealth on diligent work and the grace of God. Let them weigh carefully in their hearts and minds the difference between gaining wealth through earnest effort in fields such as agriculture, commerce, the arts, and industry, on the one hand, and, on the other, obtaining it without exertion or through dishonourable means. Let them consider the consequences of each for the spiritual development of the individual, as well as the progress of society, and ask themselves what possibilities exist for generating income and acquiring wealth that will draw down confirmations from on high. It will surely become evident, as they do so, that what will attract God’s blessings and ensure true happiness both in this world and in the next is the development of spiritual qualities, such as honesty, trustworthiness, generosity, justice, and consideration for others, and the recognition that material means are to be expended for the betterment of the world. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 2 April 2010, addressed to the Believers in the Cradle of the Faith)

Trustworthiness

The responsibilities of the members of the Spiritual Assemblies that are engaged in teaching the Cause of God in Eastern lands have been clearly laid down in the holy Texts…

They further impress upon them the virtue of trustworthiness and godliness, of purity of motive, kindliness of heart, and detachment from the fetters of this material world … They urge them to make detailed inquiry into the various branches of contemporary learning – arts and sciences alike – and to concentrate their attention on serving the general interests of the people; to deepen themselves by attentive study of the sacred Texts, and to apply the divine guidance they contain to the circumstances, needs and conditions of society today; to refrain from entering into the tangled affairs of political parties and to have neither concern for, nor involvement in, the controversies of politicians, the wranglings of theologians or any of the ailing social theories current amongst men.

They finally exhort them to be sincerely obedient, in both thought and word, to the laws duly enacted by the government of the realm, and to distance themselves from the methods, concepts and ill-grounded arguments of extreme traditionalists and modernists alike; to accord honour, veneration and respect to – and endorse the efforts of – exponents of the arts and sciences, and to esteem and revere those who are possessed of extensive knowledge and scholarly erudition; to uphold the right of freedom of conscience; and to abstain from criticizing and disparaging the manners, customs and beliefs of other individuals, peoples and nations.

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 30 January 1926 written by Shoghi Effendi to the Spiritual Assemblies in Iran, translated from the Persian) The Compilation of Compilations, vol. III, Scholarship)

Trustworthiness

Other attributes of perfection are to fear God, to love God by loving His servants, to exercise mildness and forbearance and calm, to be sincere, amenable, clement and compassionate; to have resolution and courage, trustworthiness and energy, to strive and struggle, to be generous, loyal, without malice, to have zeal and a sense of honor, to be high-minded and magnanimous, and to have regard for the rights of others. Whoever is lacking in these excellent human qualities is defective. If We were to explain the inner meanings of each one of these attributes, "the poem would take up seventy maunds [1] of paper." 

- ‘Abdu'l-Baha  (The Secret of Divine Civilization)

[1] A measure of weight, in Tihran equivalent to six and two-thirds pounds.

Trustworthiness

O people of Bahá! Trustworthiness is in truth the best of vestures for your temples and the most glorious crown for your heads. Take ye fast hold of it at the behest of Him Who is the Ordainer, the All-Informed. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

Trustworthiness

…the projects of social and economic development now to be undertaken are a natural stage of the growth of the Bahá'í community and are needed by the community itself, although they will, of course, benefit a much wider segment of society. The Bahá'í world is in no position, financially or from the point of view of manpower, to launch undertakings for the economic and social development of populations in areas where there are but few believers. The greatest need of all peoples is for the Faith itself, so that they may know the destiny towards which they as individuals and as members of society must strive, and will learn from the teachings those virtues and methods which will enable them to work together in harmony, forbearance and trustworthiness. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 8 May 1984, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly; compilation ‘Agriculture and Rural Life’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

Trustworthiness

Let them so shape their lives and regulate their conduct that no charge of secrecy, of fraud, of bribery or of intimidation may, however ill-founded, be brought against them.... 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 21 March 1932 to the believers throughout North America, published in "The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh: Selected Letters", rev. ed.; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá'í Virtue)

Trustworthiness

The primary characteristic of true believers is trustworthiness whereas the primary characteristic of the rebellious is faithlessness. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet, The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá'í Virtue)

Trustworthiness

Regard thou faith as a tree. Its fruits, leaves, boughs and branches are, and have ever been, trustworthiness, truthfulness, uprightness and forbearance.  

- Baha’u’llah  (The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Trustworthiness)

Trustworthiness

Adorn your heads with the garlands of trustworthiness and fidelity, your hearts with the attire of the fear of God, your tongues with absolute truthfulness, your bodies with the vesture of courtesy. These are in truth seemly adornings unto the temple of man, if ye be of them that reflect. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘The Kitab-i-Iqan)

Angels

Never is it the wish of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to see any being hurt, nor will He make anyone to grieve; for man can receive no greater gift than this, that he rejoice another's heart. I beg of God that ye will be bringers of joy, even as are the angels in Heaven. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá)

Angels

Verily, We behold you from Our realm of glory, and shall aid whosoever will arise for the triumph of Our Cause with the hosts of the Concourse on high and a company of Our favoured angels. 

- Baha'u'llah  (The Kitab-i-Aqdas)

Angels

The angels and the spirits, arrayed rank upon rank, descend, by the leave of God, upon this Gate [cf. Qur’án 78:38] and circle round this Focal Point in a far-stretching line. Greet them with salutations, O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn, for the dawn hath indeed broken; then proclaim unto the concourse of the faithful: ‘Is not the rising of the Morn, foreshadowed in the Mother Book, to be near at hand? [cf. Qur’án 11:83]...’

O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! Turn Thou eagerly unto God in Thy Cause, for the peoples of the world have risen in iniquity, and but for the outpouring of the grace of God and Thy mercy unto them, no one could purge even a single soul for evermore. [cf. Qur’án 24:21] O Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! The life to come is indeed far more advantageous unto Thee and unto such as follow Thy Cause than this earthly life and its pleasures. This is what hath been foreordained according to the dispensations of Providence... 

- The Báb, (Excerpt from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

Angels

Man is in the ultimate degree of materiality and the beginning of spirituality; that is, he is at the end of imperfection and the beginning of perfection. He is at the furthermost degree of darkness and the beginning of the light. That is why the station of man is said to be the end of night and the beginning of day, meaning that he encompasses all the degrees of imperfection and that he potentially possesses all the degrees of perfection. He has both an animal side and an angelic side, and the role of the educator is to so train human souls that the angelic side may overcome the animal. Thus, should the divine powers, which are identical with perfection, overcome in man the satanic powers, which are absolute imperfection, he becomes the noblest of all creatures, but should the converse take place, he becomes the vilest of all beings. That is why he is the end of imperfection and the beginning of perfection. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Table talks in Akka, authenticated by ‘Abdu’l-Baha; ‘Some Answered Questions’ – 2014 revised translation by the Baha’i World Center)

Angels

This is the Day whereon the All-Merciful hath come down in the clouds of knowledge, clothed with manifest sovereignty. He well knoweth the actions of men. He it is Whose glory none can mistake, could ye but comprehend it. The heaven of every religion hath been rent, and the earth of human understanding been cleft asunder, and the angels of God are seen descending. Say: This is the Day of mutual deceit; whither do ye flee? The mountains have passed away, and the heavens have been folded together, and the whole earth is held within His grasp, could ye but understand it. 

- Baha’u’llah  (’Gleanings form the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)

Angels

It was in such dramatic circumstances, recalling the experience of Moses when face to face with the Burning Bush in the wilderness of Sinai, the successive visions of Zoroaster, the opening of the heavens and the descent of the Dove upon Christ in the Jordan, the cry of Gabriel heard by Muhammad in the Cave of Hira, and the dream of the Báb, in which the blood of the Imam Husayn touched and sanctified His lips, that Bahá'u'lláh, He "around Whom the Point of the Bayan hath revolved," and the Vehicle of the greatest Revelation the world has yet seen, received the first intimation of His sublime Mission, and that a ministry which, alike in its duration and fecundity, is unsurpassed in the religious history of mankind, was inaugurated. It was on that occasion that the "Most Great Spirit," as designated by Bahá'u'lláh Himself, revealed itself to Him, in the form of a "Maiden," and bade Him "lift up" His "voice between earth and heaven" -- that same Spirit which, in the Zoroastrian, the Mosaic, the Christian, and Muhammadan Dispensations, had been respectively symbolized by the "Sacred Fire," the "Burning Bush," the "Dove," and the "Angel Gabriel." 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Messages to America)

Angels

…angel refers to human souls who have been endowed with heavenly attributes and invested with an angelic nature and disposition. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Table talks in Akka, authenticated by ‘Abdu’l-Baha; ‘Some Answered Questions’ – 2014 revised translation by the Baha’i World Centre)

Angels

When God created the Remembrance He presented Him to the assemblage of all created beings upon the altar of His Will. Thereupon the concourse of the angels bowed low in adoration to God, the Peerless, the Incomparable; while Satan waxed proud, refusing to submit to His Remembrance; hence he is identified in the Book of God as the arrogant one and the accursed. [Qur’án 2:32; 38:74–78] 

- The Báb  (Excerpt from the Qayyumu’l-Asma, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

Angels

And now, concerning His words: “And He shall send His angels....” By “angels” is meant those who, reinforced by the power of the spirit, have consumed, with the fire of the love of God, all human traits and limitations, and have clothed themselves with the attributes of the most exalted Beings and of the Cherubim… And… inasmuch as these holy beings have sanctified themselves from every human limitation, have become endowed with the attributes of the spiritual, and have been adorned with the noble traits of the blessed, they therefore have been designated as “angels.” 

- Baha'u'llah  (The Kitab-i-Iqan)

Angels

The Americas have been a melting pot and a meeting place for the races of men, and the need is acute for the fulfillment of God's promises of the realization of the oneness of mankind. Particularly do the Master and the Guardian point to the AfroAmericans and the Amerindians, two great ethnic groups whose spiritual powers will be released through their response to the Creative Word. But our Teachings must touch all, must include all people. And, in this hour of your tireless activity what special rewards shall come to those who will arise, summoned by 'Abdu'l-Baha's Words: 'Now is the time to divest yourselves of the garment of attachment to this phenomenal realm, be wholly severed from the physical world, become angels of heaven, and travel and teach through all these regions." 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message to the Caribbean Conference, May 1971; compilation: Lights of Guidance) 

Angels

To Him [Baha’u’llah] Jesus Christ had referred as the “Prince of this world,” as the “Comforter” Who will “reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment,” as the “Spirit of Truth” Who “will guide you into all truth,” Who “shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak,” as the “Lord of the Vineyard,” and as the “Son of Man” Who “shall come in the glory of His Father” “in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory,” with “all the holy angels” about Him, and “all nations” gathered before His throne. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)