Guide · Baha'i Faith
A guide for people of the Baha'i Faith.
Baha'i teaching treats service to humanity as a form of worship and speaks of tests and trials as part of spiritual growth, with deeds counting more than words. Abdu'l-Baha also urges kindness to strangers specifically. Baha'is understand these within belief in progressive revelation and in the oneness of humanity, so they sit near the guide's idea without being identical to it.
In your own tradition
“…if he seems to be lonely try to help him, give him of your willing service; if he be sad console him, if poor succour him, if oppressed rescue him, if in misery comfort him.”Abdul Baha, talk on the duty of kindness towards strangers and foreigners, Talks in Paris, 1911 to 1912 · Talks by Abdul Baha Given in Paris, 3rd edition, London: G. Bell and Sons, 1916 (notes taken and translated from French) · read it in context
“Tests are benefits from God, for which we should thank Him. Grief and sorrow do not come to us by chance, they are sent to us by the Divine Mercy for our own perfecting.”Abdul Baha, Talks in Paris, p. 45 · Talks by Abdul Baha Given in Paris, 3rd edition, London: G. Bell and Sons, 1916 · read it in context
“…those who proclaim their longing to make great sacrifices can only prove their truth by their deeds.”Abdul Baha, Talks in Paris, p. 44 · Talks by Abdul Baha Given in Paris, 3rd edition, London: G. Bell and Sons, 1916 · read it in context
“This is worship: to serve mankind and to minister to the needs of the people. Service is prayer.”Abdul Baha, Talks in Paris, section on prayer · Talks by Abdul Baha Given in Paris, 3rd edition, London: G. Bell and Sons, 1916 · read it in context
Five things to do this week
- Be kind to a strangerSpeak to someone new to your community as a friend, and ask whether you can help with anything, as Abdu'l-Baha urged.
- Treat a test as a chanceWhen something goes wrong this week, pause and ask what quality it asks of you, such as patience or gratitude, before reacting.
- Turn a skill into serviceUse your work or craft for someone else's benefit, since Abdu'l-Baha counts work done in a spirit of service as worship.
- Hold yourself accountable at day's endEach evening, review your deeds as the Baha'i writings advise, and note where words and actions did not match.
- Join a community service projectAsk a local Baha'i community or neighborhood group where help is needed, and show up for one session.
Questions to bring to your own teacher
- How do Baha'is understand the purpose of tests and trials in a person's life?
- What does it look like to serve humanity in a way nobody sees or thanks?
- How do you hold yourself accountable for your deeds from day to day?
What this guide is not claiming. These passages are from an early English rendering of notes on Abdu'l-Baha's talks, not from the authorized translations Baha'is now use, and Baha'is give primary authority to the writings of Baha'u'llah. This guide does not claim the Baha'i Faith teaches that life is a test set by a higher intelligence in the website's sense. I am not a scholar of your tradition, and no tradition or its leaders have endorsed this site. Ask your own teachers and community what these passages mean to them.
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