We beseech God to adorn His servants with the ornament of justice and fairness, that they may see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1306 ? [1888-1889], to Yusuf -- BH08621)
Fairmindedness and the independent eye
fairmindedness; personal justice [insaf]
Editorial introduction
See with your own eyes and hear with your own ears: Bahá’u’lláh prays that His servants may be adorned with justice, and He means something this intimate. Fairness, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá adds, is the first quality of human nature, the one on which all other matters depend. Its enemies are not only tyrants but the quieter forces of desire, prejudice and inherited opinion, which bend what we perceive before we have said a word. The Qur’án sharpens the test by demanding equitable witness even toward a people one resents [1]. So fairmindedness turns out to be a discipline rather than a pleasant temperament: investigate for yourself, weigh evidence, speak without regard to inclination, and grant to others the protection you claim for yourself. The inward eye that learns to see justly soon finds itself answerable for conduct, for trusteeship over the earth’s people, for the honesty and trustworthiness of ordinary dealings, and for justice as it reaches into institutions and public life. Where the longing outruns the ability, there is a prayer for exactly this.
Selected passages
O Ali! Say to the loved ones of God that the first quality of human nature is fairness, and all matters depend upon it.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-'Ali, ca. 1289-1290?, to Mulla Ali Akbar Shahmirzadi et al -- BH00718)
Likewise, from the Dawning-place of the utterance of the All-Merciful, say to the loved ones of God that the first quality of humanity is fairness, and all matters depend upon it.
(Bahá’u’lláh -- BH00445)
Beware lest desire deprive you of equity or prejudice cause you to rise up against God, the Protector, the Mighty, the Powerful.
(Bahá’u’lláh, ca. 1289-1290? -- BH05508)
Blessed is he who speaketh with justice and fairness, not according to the promptings of his desires.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1305 ? [1887-1888], to Ramadan Ali -- BH06836)
Say: O heedless ones! By what proof and evidence did ye acknowledge the Bayan? Depart not from justice and equity.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1304-10-14 [1887-Jul-6], to Ustad Hasan Najar -- BH04435)
We beseech God to bestow the pure wine of fairness, that perchance it may open an eye and enable it to recognize Him.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1299-09 [1882-Jul] -- BH07551)
We beseech God to adorn them with the ornament of justice and fairness that they may recognize this Day and what hath appeared therein.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1305 ? [1887-1888], to Zaynul-Abidin -- BH10461)
Be calm and self-dependent in your relations with your fellowmen, and deal with them in fairness and justice. Turn treachery to trust, slander to brotherly counsel, oppression to justice, heedlessness to the remembrance of God.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Misc. unmatched passages translated by Shoghi Effendi -- BH02503)
Deal with one another with the utmost justice and equity. Transform treachery into trustworthiness, backbiting into self-purification, tyranny into justice, and heedlessness into remembrance.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Pisar-'Amm (Tablet to the Cousin), to Cousin of Baha'u'llah -- BH00647)
O Afnan! Regarding the blessed leaf who is related to you, you must treat her according to divine decree with kindness and justice - either summon them to Tehran or hasten yourself to Yazd.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1904 ca., to Afnan, Haji Mirza Muhammad son of Muhammad Taqi Afnan -- AB01301)
Share thou this among thy brothers, and in this sharing be praiseworthy and just, and be not an rejected oppressor.
(Bahá’u’lláh -- BH09471)
I hope you will always avoid tyranny and oppression, and that you will always uphold and practice justice towards all men and keep your hearts pure.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken in 1911 -- ABU2032)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Azizullah Varqa -- AB06831)
It is established by this proof that gratitude is befitting the friends of God, glorified be His majesty - those souls who hold fast to justice and are adorned with fairness. They are the trustees of the earth and its people amongst the servants.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1306-02-12 [1888-Oct-18], to Ahmad Yazdi, son in law of Abdu'l-Baha -- BH01731)
O people of the world! The fruit of the human tree is justice and fairness. If it be devoid of this fruit, it is worthy of the fire. Pride hath blinded their eyes and their insight. The world is in need of two things: order and justice. Verily, kingdoms have need of a system to protect them and justice to cultivate them.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1304 ? [1886-1887], to Baha'is of the Caucasus -- BH00558)
Justice hath ever been and shall ever be beloved in every station.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1291-03 [1874-Apr] -- BH02751)
Blessed is he who hath cast tyranny behind him, holding fast to My manifest justice, and blessed is he who hath cast oppression behind him, holding fast to fairness - he is of those brought nigh.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1307 ? [1889-1890], to Mulla Baqir Hi Vav -- BH04809)
It is hoped that in gratitude for this divine confirmation, the foundation of justice will be established and the edifice of oppression will fall, the hands of the oppressors will be shortened and signs of justice and fairness will become manifest and clear, so that divine confirmation may continue and success may be sustained.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1908-Sep-26+, to Siyyid Zaynu'l-Abidin -- AB00817)
O Lord! Assist His Excellency the Governor to execute Thy commandments with justice and fairness, and ordain for him from Thy Most Exalted Pen the good of this world and the next.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Muin -- BH10577)
Be ye dawning-places of justice and equity and daysprings of loving-kindness and bounty unto all who are on earth.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1291-10-29 [1874-Dec-9], to Mulla Muhammad Shafi Nayrizi son of Mulla Ali Naqi -- BH02778)
Blessed are they that act, blessed are they that are fair-minded, and blessed are they that are steadfast.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1307 ? [1889-1890], to Sadiq -- BH04700)
O Nabil, upon thee be the glory of thy Glorious Lord! During nights and days We have commanded the peoples of the world to observe justice, fairness, trustworthiness and piety, and counseled them thereto, yet most have preferred passion over guidance, and transgression and vice over righteousness and fear of God.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1306 ? [1888-1889], to Muhammad et al -- BH01857)
Then adorn thy body with the raiment of equity, which is among the garments of the All-Merciful between His near servants.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier, to Harfu'l-Ha -- BH07021)
We beseech God to open before thy face the gate of justice and adorn thee with the ornament of fairness, that thou mayest behold with thine own eyes that for whose vision eyes were created - His radiant and wondrous beauty.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1306-10 [1889-May], to Abdu'l-Rahim -- BH02303)
Beseech ye God that He may adorn all with the ornament of fairness and guide them with the light of justice.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1302 ? [1884-1885], to Haji Mulla Muhammad Kazim Nasrabadi -- BH04661)
The breezes of revelation have perfumed the world of justice and fairness, and the hand of power hath unlocked the doors of grace and bounty with the Most Great Name.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1307 ? [1889-1890], to Muhammad -- BH03761)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Hidden Words - Arabic, 1274 ca. [1857-1858] -- BH00386)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Asl-i-Kullu'l-Khayr (Words of Wisdom) -- BH02183)
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
The friends of God must be adorned with the ornament of justice, equity, kindness and love. As they do not allow the infliction of tyranny and oppression upon themselves, they must not allow it upon the handmaidens of God.
BH00086
Continue exploring
For thought and discussion
Questions to carry forward
- How does the responsibility to investigate for oneself relate to the willingness to learn from others?
- What desires or loyalties most easily distort a judgment, and how might we become aware of them?
- Where do these passages move from fairness in perception to fairness in conduct and institutions?
- How could the principle of extending to others the protection we seek for ourselves change a difficult relationship?