Istijlál, 05 Sulțán (Sovereignty), 182 B.E.
Quotes for Reflection
You have written on the question of how the friends should proceed in their business dealings with one another. This is a question of the greatest importance and a matter that deserveth the liveliest concern. In relations of this kind, the friends of God should act with the utmost trustworthiness and integrity. To be remiss in this area would be to turn one’s face away from the counsels of the Blessed Beauty and the holy precepts of God. If a man in his own home doth not treat his relations and friends with entire trustworthiness and integrity, his dealings with the outside world—no matter how much trustworthiness and honesty he may bring to them—will prove barren and unproductive. First one should order one’s own domestic affairs, then attend to one’s business with the public. One should certainly not argue that the friends need not be treated with undue care, or that it is unnecessary for them to attach too great importance to the practice of trustworthiness in their dealings with one another, but that it is in their relations with strangers that correct behaviour is essential. Talk like this is sheer fantasy and will lead to detriment and loss. Blessed be the soul that shineth with the light of trustworthiness among the people and becometh a sign of perfection amidst all men. — ‘Abdu’l-Bahá 1
Question for Consideration
In terms of one’s behavior, how does one conduct one’s domestic affairs compared to one’s business with the public?
Perplexity Pro Response 2
One should conduct both domestic affairs and business with the public by the same standard of utter trustworthiness and integrity, giving priority to ordering one’s conduct at home before looking outward. In other words, there is no double standard: the way one treats family, friends, and fellow believers becomes the foundation and measure of the value of one’s dealings with society at large. [1]
Same standard in both spheres
- The passage states that in dealings “with one another” the friends of God “should act with the utmost trustworthiness and integrity,” and that being remiss here is to turn away from God’s counsels. [1]
- It rejects the idea that correct behavior is only essential “in relations with strangers,” calling such talk “sheer fantasy” that leads to “detriment and loss.” [1]
Priority of domestic conduct
- The text explains that “first one should order one’s own domestic affairs, then attend to one’s business with the public.” [1]
- It adds that if a man does not treat his relations and friends at home with “entire trustworthiness and integrity,” his outward dealings “no matter how much trustworthiness and honesty he may bring to them—will prove barren and unproductive.” [1]
Inner consistency of character
- The teaching links true effectiveness in public life to inner consistency of character, beginning with those closest to oneself. [1]
- The “soul that shineth with the light of trustworthiness among the people” and “becometh a sign of perfection amidst all men” is one whose private and public behavior are aligned to the same divine standard. [1]
Follow-Up Questions Proposed by Perplexity
Some especially helpful questions are those that connect the principle of trustworthiness with concrete situations in one’s own life. The texts on trustworthiness and on aligning domestic life with public conduct invite examination of motives, habits, and relationships at home, at work, and in service to the community. [1]
Questions about the home
- In what specific ways do I show “entire trustworthiness and integrity” to my family and close friends in financial, emotional, and practical matters? [1]
- Are there any small compromises, exaggerations, or broken promises in my domestic life that would make my public honesty “barren and unproductive”? [1]
Questions about business dealings
- How do my business practices reflect “fairness and equity” so that others could honestly say, “How high their trustworthiness, and how true is their good will!”? [1]
- Where do I feel pressure to bend the truth, hide information, or put profit over justice, and what would it look like to uphold divine standards there? [1]
Questions about consistency
- Are there ways in which my conduct with “strangers” is actually better than my conduct with the friends and my own household, and why? [1]
- If someone watched my life at home and at work, would they see one seamless standard of trustworthiness, or two different codes? [1]
Questions about spiritual motive
- Do I see trustworthiness as “the bedrock of His Faith and the foundation of all virtues and perfections,” or mainly as a social or professional advantage? [1]
- How often do I consciously ask God to “clothe [me] in the robe of justice and to illumine [my] being with the light of trustworthiness,” and what practices could deepen that orientation? [1]
Questions about community and example
- In what ways can my dealings in the Bahá’í community and wider society help others “become edified and enlightened” by an example of integrity and rectitude? [1]
- What practical steps could my family, business, or local community take so that our collective conduct becomes “a model for other societies”? [1]
Citations
- Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá’í Virtue. Compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, Revised August 1990 – Bahá’í Reference Library
Footnotes
- Research Department of the Universal House of Justice.“ Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá’í Virtue.” Bahá’í Reference Library, Revised August 1990. https://www.bahai.org/r/061587563. ↩︎
- Perplexity Pro. “There Is No Double Standard.” Edited by Steve Bosserman. January 21, 2025. https://www.perplexity.ai/search/you-have-written-on-the-questi-Yz0QaP6DTEe16QTrJYWIgg#0 ↩︎
Frameworks for Understanding the World 