tag name Wealth and poverty type: Miscellaneous; Principles, teachings; Science: natural, social, and applied web link bahai-library.com/tags/Wealth_and_poverty variations or mis-spellings elimination of extremes of related tags – Concepts, Philosophical; – Concepts, Religious; – Concepts, Science; – Social issues; Economics; Equality; Huqúqu'lláh; Moderation referring tags Begging and mendicancy; Finance and money; Food security; Homelessness; Livelihood Inventory subject Assistance to the poor and lowly; the orphan; the sick; Status of material wealth; wealth and poverty; Wealth inequality and its moderation notes Elimination of Extremes of Wealth and Poverty:
"One of the basic social teachings of Bahá'u'lláh..."
– from A Basic Bahá'í Dictionary (1989)
See also:
– Bahá'í Sacred Writings, chapter 7, section "Attitude Towards Material Possessions" (Bahá'u'lláh), chapter 13, section Progress in the Material World" and chapter 18, sections Material Prosperity" and "Eliminating Extremes of Wealth and Poverty" ('Abdu'l-Bahá)
– Bahai.org: An Ever-Advancing Civilization – Coherence Between the Spiritual and Material
– Covenant Library Unified Index:
Wealth and Poverty
selected quotations
(authoritative sources)These quotations reflect common presentations of Bahá’í views; the materials below may show a wider range of interpretations and contexts:
"Should prosperity befall thee, rejoice not, and should abasement come upon thee, grieve not, for both shall pass away and be no more." "Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants."
"Thou dost wish for gold and I desire thy freedom from it. Thou thinkest thyself rich in its possession, and I recognize thy wealth in thy sanctity therefrom..."
– Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, Arabic no. 52, 55, 56 (BH00386)"Tell the rich of the midnight sighing of the poor, lest heedlessness lead them into the path of destruction, and deprive them of the Tree of Wealth. To give and to be generous are attributes of Mine; well is it with him that adorneth himself with My virtues.
The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust, and be not intent only on your own ease."
– Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, Persian no. 49 and 54 (BH00113)
"... Thus you can observe, on the one hand, a single person who has amassed a fortune, made an entire country his personal colony, acquired immense wealth, and secured an unceasing flow of gains and profits, and, on the other, a hundred thousand helpless souls—weak, powerless, and wanting even a mouthful of bread. There is neither equality here nor benevolence. Observe how, as a result, general peace and happiness have become so wanting, and the welfare of humanity so undermined, that the lives of a vast multitude have been rendered fruitless! For all the wealth, power, commerce, and industry are concentrated in the hands of a few individuals, while all others toil under the burden of endless hardships and difficulties, are bereft of advantages and benefits, and remain deprived of comfort and peace. One must therefore enact such laws and regulations as will moderate the excessive fortunes of the few and meet the basic needs of the myriad millions of the poor, that a degree of moderation may be achieved..."
– 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, chapter 78 (AB00099)
"Social inequality is the inevitable outcome of the natural inequality of man. Human beings are different in ability and should, therefore, be different in their social and economic standing. Extremes of wealth and poverty should, however, be abolished..."
– From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, January 26, 1935, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1865
"... The welfare of any segment of humanity is inextricably bound up with the welfare of the whole. Humanity’s collective life suffers when any one group thinks of its own well-being in isolation from that of its neighbours or pursues economic gain without regard for how the natural environment, which provides sustenance for all, is affected. A stubborn obstruction, then, stands in the way of meaningful social progress: time and again, avarice and self-interest prevail at the expense of the common good. Unconscionable quantities of wealth are being amassed, and the instability this creates is made worse by how income and opportunity are spread so unevenly both between nations and within nations. But it need not be so. However much such conditions are the outcome of history, they do not have to define the future, and even if current approaches to economic life satisfied humanity’s stage of adolescence, they are certainly inadequate for its dawning age of maturity..."
– Universal House of Justice, letter dated 1 March 2017, to the Bahá’ís of the World
bahaidata.org Q4240 · Links to Bahá'í wikis (bahai9, bahaipedia, etc.) references en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty; bahaiquotes.com/subject/wealth; bahaiquotes.com/subject/poverty; www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/search#q=Wealth; www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/search#q=Rich; www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/search#q=Poverty; www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/search#q=Poor
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