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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
A little longer, for confident young readers.
Áqá ‘Alí worked all day and had friends to supper almost every night, teaching them the Faith. Later, poor in ‘Akká, he lived on bread and brook water and was content, because he could come into Bahá'u'lláh's presence.
2 minWhen Áqá Faraj first heard of Bahá'u'lláh, he clapped his hands for joy and hurried to Iraq to meet Him. Later he went on foot to Adrianople and followed Bahá'u'lláh into the prison of ‘Akká, where he served Him faithfully.
2 minIn Adrianople, where food was scarce, Áqá Ḥusayn, Bahá'u'lláh's cook, saved meat and oil until he could cook a meal, and measured the coal for every brazier. When Bahá'u'lláh heard of it, He was amused and agreed such care was needed.
2 minAs a young boy, Ibn-i-Asdaq travelled with his father to Baghdad and met Bahá'u'lláh several times. Bahá'u'lláh revealed a prayer for him, and years later named him a Hand of the Cause of God.
2 minSeized by his persecutors after the upheaval in Nayríz, Muḥammad-Ibráhím Amír broke free and escaped to Iraq. There he copied sacred verses, and he served in Bahá'u'lláh's household through every exile to 'Akká.
2 minÁqá Muḥammad-Ibráhím, a coppersmith and poet from Káshán, met Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, was exiled to Mosul, and later served the believers and travellers in Haifa, spending what he earned on friends and strangers.
2 minḤájí ‘Abdu’lláh left Persia for the Holy Land, farmed for a time at Ghawr near Tiberias while spending much of his time in prayer, and then settled near Bahá'u'lláh at Junayna.
2 minWhen thieves stole a little merchandise from ‘Alí-‘Askar, the Persian Consul wanted him to say the loss was enormous. He refused to lie, even when the Consul threatened him.
3 minHájí Áqáy-i-Tabrízí was driven from his home in Ádhirbáyján because of his faith. He fled to Adrianople, went with Bahá'u'lláh as a prisoner to ‘Akká, and died there.
2 minFaraju'lláh of Tafrísh and his father left Persia to live near Bahá'u'lláh in Adrianople. He went with Bahá'u'lláh to the prison of ‘Akká, and later lived for many years in India.
2 minEarly in his ministry the Guardian added three rooms to the Shrine of the Báb, paid for by Haji Mahmud Qassabchi of Iraq. One of the Shrine's doors is named after him.
2 minMirza Hasan-i-Adib, a learned teacher and writer in Tihrán, became a Bahá'í in 1889. Bahá'u'lláh named him a Hand of the Cause, and he served the Faith as a teacher and poet and helped found the Tarbiyat School.
3 minḤájí Muḥammad-Riḍá of Shíráz served one of the Báb's relatives for many years, then came to the Holy Land and spent a long time near Bahá'u'lláh, Who often spoke in his praise.
2 minHusayn Effendi, a young merchant from Tabríz, heard of Bahá'u'lláh in Smyrna, left his business to serve Him, and later made his home in Haifa a resting place for Bahá'í travellers.
2 minMashhadí Faṭṭáḥ lost everything he owned, yet he lived content in the prison of 'Akká, always remembering God. When Bahá'u'lláh passed away, he died of grief.
2 minA learned head of a religious college in Iran saw Bahá'u'lláh's prophecies come true and became a Bahá'í. As Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl he taught the Faith in Iran, Egypt, Paris and America.
3 minMírzá Áqáy-i-Rikáb-Sáz of Shíráz asked Bahá'u'lláh to explain the isolated letters of the Qur'án, and received the Tablet of the Verse of Light. He was later martyred for his faith.
3 minAsadu'lláh Fáḍil, a scholar of Mázindarán, became a Bahá'í after reading Bahá'u'lláh's Tablets, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá later sent him to teach in America, where he spoke to crowded audiences from coast to coast.
3 minMírzá Maḥmúd-i-Zarqání kept a record of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's journey through America in 1912, copied it out by hand for 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and was later sent to India to publish it.
2 minBahá'u'lláh's younger brother, Mírzá Muḥammad-Qulí, served Him quietly all his life: passing the tea, pitching the tents on the road to Constantinople, and sharing His exile in ‘Akká.
2 minMírzá Qurbán-‘Alí, a much-loved man of Mázindarán, accepted the Báb through Mullá Husayn. Arrested in Tihrán, he told the chief minister that he had judged the Báb fairly, and he gave his life as one of the Seven Martyrs.
3 minMuḥammad-Hádí, a gifted bookbinder from Iṣfahán, left his home to live near Bahá'u'lláh in ‘Akká. He kept the square in front of Bahá'u'lláh's house so clean that Bahá'u'lláh praised him for it.
2 minMuḥammad-Ḥusayn of Marághih, one of the Seven Martyrs of Ṭihrán, would not say a word to his captors. At the end he embraced the body of the friend who had taught him the Faith and would not be parted from him.
2 minMuḥammad Labíb started a savings company for schoolchildren that 'Abdu'l-Bahá blessed. Later he travelled across Persia with Effie Baker as she photographed the places of early Bahá'í history.
3 minMullá ‘Alí-Akbar studied for years without finding joy until he found the new Faith. Mocked and often arrested in Ṭihrán, he stayed calm and faithful, and he was kept safe from harm.
3 minAt a mission hall in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to three hundred homeless men, then shook each man's hand and gave him coins for a night's bed.
2 minWhen Bahá'u'lláh was arrested and chained in a dark prison in Tihrán, His wife Ásíyih Khánum hid their three children and went out at night to learn whether He was still alive.
3 minOn a visit to 'Akká in 1922, Lady Blomfield slept in the room that had belonged to Ásíyih Khánum, the wife of Bahá'u'lláh, and wrote to her daughter about the peaceful feeling of that room.
3 minAs a child in Shíráz, the Báb would not recite the first words of the Qur'án until He knew their meaning, and then He explained them so well that His teacher took Him home to His uncle.
2 minThe Báb told Shaykh Ḥasan to wait in Karbilá, where he would see the promised Ḥusayn. Years later, at the gate of a shrine there, Bahá'u'lláh took him by the hand.
3 minIn a garden outside Baghdád, roses were piled so high in Bahá'u'lláh's tent that His friends could not see one another across them, and at night the nightingales sang until dawn.
3 minNear the end of his life, Siyyid Káẓim urged his students to go and search for the Promised One. A shepherd's dream foretold the day of his death, and soon afterwards Mullá Ḥusayn found the Báb.
3 minShaykh Sálih, a follower of the Báb who had learned of the Faith from Ṭáhirih, was blamed for a crime he did not commit and went joyfully to his death.
2 minFourteen followers of the Báb in Ṭihrán were told to give up their Faith or die. Seven would not give it up, among them the Báb's own uncle.
2 minThornton Chase of Chicago became the first American Bahá'í in 1894. 'Abdu'l-Bahá called him Thábit, the Steadfast, and in 1912 visited his grave in California.
3 minAfter Bahá'u'lláh passed away, His eldest Son set aside the high titles He had been given and asked to be called by one name only: 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Servant of Bahá.
3 minWhen 'Abdu'l-Bahá passed away in Haifa, about ten thousand people of every religion and race followed His coffin up Mount Carmel to the Shrine of the Báb.
3 minThe Báb was born in Shíráz in 1819 and raised by His uncle. As a young merchant He was known for His good character and for never failing in His prayers.
3 minThe friends wanted to celebrate 'Abdu'l-Bahá's birthday, but that day belonged to the Báb. So He gave them 26 November, the Day of the Covenant. In one of His tablets He urged the believers to be firm.
3 minAnís, a young believer in Tabríz, begged to stay with the Báb to the end. Before He was martyred, the Báb told the watching crowd that they should have followed the youth's example.
3 minAt Naw-Rúz in Alexandria in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said that a holy day should bring people together and leave behind something good that reaches everyone, not only Bahá'ís.
2 minOnce every Bahá'í month the friends gather for the Nineteen Day Feast. They pray and read from the Holy Books, talk over the work of their community, and then spend time together.
3 minWhen Bahá'u'lláh went to the Garden of Riḍván, the river overflowed, and His family could not join Him there until the ninth day.
3 minBahá'u'lláh was being sent far away from Baghdád, yet in His last days there He showed great joy, and crowds, even the Governor, came to honor Him before He rode away.
3 minBefore leaving Mrs Phoebe Hearst's house in California, 'Abdu'l-Bahá called for the maids, cooks and butler, thanked them, and gave each of them a gift.
1 minMullá Ḥusayn had been searching for the Promised One. Outside the gate of Shíráz he was welcomed by the Báb, who invited him home and showed him the signs he was looking for.
3 minWhen 'Abdu'l-Bahá's ship reached New York in April 1912, reporters came on board to ask why He had come. He told them He had come for universal peace and the unity of humankind.
2 minIn 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá sailed from Egypt to New York on the ship Cedric. He cared for His companions, spoke to the passengers, and had to say goodbye to three friends, Shoghi Effendi among them, at Naples.
3 minNettie Tobin had no money to give, so she brought a stone the builders did not want to the land for a House of Worship. On May 1, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá set her stone in the ground with His own hands.
3 minWhen 'Abdu'l-Bahá went to stay in the green hills of New Hampshire, His hostess hoped He could rest. But He said He had come to work and to serve, and He welcomed the many people who came to see Him.
3 minWhen two Japanese Bahá'ís came to see 'Abdu'l-Bahá in San Francisco, He was very happy and said that their meeting was an historic event.
1 minLouis Gregory had not been invited to a luncheon for 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Washington, but 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked for him and gave him the seat of honor beside Himself.
3 minOn His journey through America in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá often served tea and food to His companions and guests with His own hands.
2 minIn city after city on His journey across America, 'Abdu'l-Bahá met the children, hugged and blessed them, and gave them flowers and sweets.
3 minNettie Tobin wanted to give something for the new temple, so she brought a rejected stone from Chicago in an old baby carriage. 'Abdu'l-Bahá chose it as the cornerstone.
3 minAt the edge of Niagara Falls, 'Abdu'l-Bahá remembered the waterfalls Bahá'u'lláh had loved, and told His companions why He could not stay even half a day.
3 minIn a large church in Philadelphia, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke about two pathways, the way of nature and the way of religion, and said that religion must bring people together.
3 min'Abdu'l-Bahá visited about four hundred poor men at the Bowery Mission, called them His friends and companions, and placed a coin in every hand.
3 minWhen 'Abdu'l-Bahá sailed from New York in December 1912, so many friends came to say goodbye that the ship's lounge overflowed. He asked them to live by His teachings, and they waved to Him as the ship sailed away.
2 minA woman's friend warned her that going to hear 'Abdu'l-Bahá might be a trap. He told her it was a trap, but a trap that sets people free.
2 minIn a New York church crowded with two thousand people, a crying woman held on to the hem of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's robe, and He comforted her with loving words.
2 minHoward Colby Ives went to ask 'Abdu'l-Bahá what renunciation means. The Master talked about something else on the walk back, and then asked Howard a question of His own.
3 minA crowd of boys came to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York. The only Black boy among them was afraid he would not be welcome, but 'Abdu'l-Bahá greeted him, loud enough for all to hear, as a black rose.
2 min'Abdu'l-Bahá asked Lua Getsinger to take food to a sick, poor man and care for him. She ran from the dirty house, and He sent her back, telling her He had done it for the man many times.
2 minA few days before 'Abdu'l-Bahá sailed from America, Howard Colby Ives sat close to Him as He gave His last instructions to His friends, and later put all of the words into his book.
2 minHoward Colby Ives wished he could meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá alone, without even an interpreter. At a crowded New York hotel, 'Abdu'l-Bahá called him over, sent everyone out, and sat with him in silence.
3 minAfter a long, tiring day, 'Abdu'l-Bahá came home so weak that His friends had to help Him inside. Fifteen minutes later His strong voice rang through the house again.
2 min'Abdu'l-Bahá listened while a committee in New York talked things over. Then He stopped at the door and asked them one question.
2 minAt noisy family lunches in the Master's house, the children watched for the mouthful of food the Greatest Holy Leaf would give to one of them. Shoghi Effendi usually got it.
2 minIn 'Akká a small boy, Shoghi, walked up to his grandfather 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who greeted him with a quiet nod; the boy kissed the hem of His robe and ran off to play.
2 minWhile studying in England, Shoghi Effendi learned that his grandfather 'Abdu'l-Bahá had passed away; back home in Haifa, he learned from the Master's Will that he had been chosen as Guardian.
3 min'Abdu'l-Bahá's gardener said grass would not grow in that land, but Shoghi Effendi kept sending for seed until his lawns grew.
2 minShoghi Effendi translated The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh into English, and worked hard all his life to make his English as good as it could be.
2 minA boy of about thirteen, the only Black boy in a group visiting 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York, was afraid he might not be welcome. 'Abdu'l-Bahá called him "a black rose" in front of everyone.
2 minOn a long trolley ride, Howard Colby Ives noticed the young woman beside him looking at his book, so he moved it over to share. By the end of the ride she wanted to know who had written it.
2 minOn a field beside a great lake, 'Abdu'l-Bahá dug the earth for the first stone of a House of Worship that still stands today, and friends from many lands took turns digging after Him.
2 minWhile a learned visitor argued with Bahá'u'lláh in the next room, Ṭáhirih, with the little boy 'Abbás on her knee, called out that it was the time for deeds.
2 minIn 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá united two American Bahá'ís in marriage. At the wedding, before guests from many countries, He chanted a prayer for them.
2 minA visitor began complaining to 'Abdu'l-Bahá about his country. 'Abdu'l-Bahá told him to speak well of everyone and reminded him of a story about Jesus and a dog.
2 min