To a Baha’i, one of the worst sins is to backbite. As Abdu’l-Baha writes, “How blessed are these aims, especially the prevention of backbiting! I hope that you may become confirmed therein, because the worst human quality and the most great sin is backbiting; more especially when it emanates from the tongues of the believers of God.” (LG, p. 91). This means that in all our conversations we try not to speak ill of others.
Any Baha’i will tell you from personal experience that this is often very difficult to do. It is a struggle that takes constant vigilance to steer conversations from negative topics to positive topics. Baha’is are told to “refrain from idle talk,” (Baha’u’llah, GWB, p. 264). In this, they try not to waste the precious moments of their lives in conversations that serve no uplifting purpose.