…Following the story of the life of the Báb as we celebrate the bicentenary of His Birth (1819)

March 12, 2019

An example of the Báb’s undeviating fairness in business transactions

His [the Báb’s] scrupulous attention to detail and His undeviating fairness in transactions became widely known in the region. A man who had consigned to Him some goods to sell was astonished to find, when he received his money, that it was more than could be obtained at current prices. He wanted to return some of it. The Báb told him that it was only fair and just that he should be given that particular sum, because his goods would have fetched exactly that amount had they been offered for sale when the market was at its best. 

- Hand of the Cause Balyuzi ('The Báb - The Herald of the Day of Days')

A certain man confided to His care a trust, requesting Him to dispose of it at a fixed price. When the Báb sent him the value of that article, the man found that the sum which he had been offered considerably exceeded the limit which he had fixed. He immediately wrote to the Báb, requesting Him to explain the reason. The Báb replied: ‘What I have sent you is entirely your due. There is not a single farthing in excess of what is your right. there was a time when the trust you had delivered to Me had attained this value. Failing to sell it at that price, I now feel it My duty to offer you the whole of that sum.’ However much the Báb’s client entreated Him to receive back the sum in excess, the Báb persisted in refusing. 

- Hájí Siyyid Javád-i-Karbilá’í (Quoted by Nabil, ‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)


March 5, 2019

The Báb “associated with all strata of society” while in Búshihr

In Búshihr the Báb “associated with all strata of society, including the ‘ulamá, the merchants, and the shopkeepers, and dealt with all in such wise that they were very satisfied and grateful in every respect. In every gathering and assembly, men praised His splendid qualities.” 

- ‘Mirza Habibu’llah Afnan (‘Tarikh Amr-i-Fars va Shiraz’, translated and annotated as ‘The Genesis of the Bábi-Baha’i Faiths in Shiraz and Fars’, by Ahang Rabbani)