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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."
1935 stories.
When a Bahá’í spoke up for a young Persian, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that He would overlook any wrong done to Himself, but could never countenance or aid a deed that would injure the Faith.
Laura Dreyfus-Barney recalled a day in ‘Akká when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, looking out over the Mediterranean, spoke of how wonderful it will be to be liberated from the body and fly throughout the universe.
Riding to a hotel in Chicago, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that He bore the hardships of His travels in America because He feared that, after Him, self-seeking persons might disturb the love and unity of the friends.
Letitia, a Catholic girl who taught French in the Master's home, was embarrassed after interpreting for a pilgrim. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá assured her that no one would try to make a Bahá’í of her.
When the landlord in New York complained about His many visitors, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá did not argue but moved out, showering the staff with such love that they felt ashamed and begged Him to stay.
Given fur so that He could have a warm coat, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had it made into twenty caps for the elderly men of the town.
Given fur so that He could have a warm coat, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had it made into twenty caps for the elderly men of the town.
Nettie Tobin, who was not well off, brought a builder's rejected stone to the Wilmette Temple site by baby carriage, streetcar and a borrowed wagon, and the Master used it at the dedication of the land.
When a man ill with tuberculosis was shunned even by his family, the Master visited him every day, brought him delicacies, read to him, and was alone with him when he died.
An unhappy visitor from New York asks why ‘Abdu’l-Bahá always greets her in ‘Akká with “Be happy!” and what the spiritual life is. His answer stays with her, and she learns to know the spiritual life.
Urged to cross to America on the new Titanic, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sailed instead on the slower Cedric. Asked why, He said His heart had not prompted Him to take the Titanic.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells of a rich man who gladly left his fortune to go on pilgrimage and a poor man who could not leave his donkey, to show that fortune is not necessarily an impediment to detachment.
In Washington in April 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, though weary, was so moved by the love between Black and white friends at the Dyers’ home that He spoke, likening their union to a string of pearls and rubies.
British guns were trained on Jerusalem, then held by the Turks. Reluctant to fire on the holy city, the British command asked headquarters what to do and was told to pray. Not a gun was fired.
An American mother reached ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s house in Paris two days before He left. Her little daughter had pointed to His photograph on a magazine in a shop and cried that it was the Lord Jesus.
A woman visiting the Master in Haifa in May 1910 told Him she had had many sorrows. He told her to forget them, then shared Persian tea with her and gave her a package to take away.
In New York on 13 April 1912 a young single-taxer asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá what message to take to his friends. The Master laughed and told him that in the Kingdom of God there is plenty of land and no taxes.
In London ‘Abdu’l-Bahá heard laughter from the kitchen and went to share the joke between a Persian servant and an English housekeeper. He laughed heartily and gave each of them a small gold coin for being happy.
After a sleepless night on the train, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá reached Denver on 23 September 1912. Within hours He was meeting reporters, and that evening He spoke to a crowded gathering at the home of Mrs. Roberts.
Feny Paulson travelled from Montana to see ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Salt Lake City and spent a dismal night at the YWCA. His first words to her were about luxury and comfort, and He told her He was her father.
Before the First World War ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had villagers grow and store corn, which fed the poor of Haifa and ‘Akká through the famine years. After the British occupation He was knighted, in April 1920.
On 13 May 1912, ill with a high fever, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá still went to speak at the New York Peace Society’s meeting at the Hotel Astor, telling Juliet Thompson that He worked by the confirmations of the Holy Spirit.
As His party waited to leave London by train, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá went on calmly writing. Then a man arrived with a garland and, in the name of the disciples of Zoroaster, hailed Him as the promised Sháh Bahrám.
In a Tablet to the Bahá’ís of Canada, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalls how He was warned not to go to Montreal, and how, trusting in God, He went and found every door open and the hearts receptive.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave freely of love, time, food, money and more while gladly accepting deprivation for Himself. In America He left fine rooms for a simple apartment, yet tipped generously and spoke without pay.
Recalling a gathering of children years later, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told how He had jokingly asked a little girl to marry one of the boys, and she answered that she wanted an Eastern husband.
Comforting a woman who still grieved for a baby lost more than twenty-one years before, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told her that when His own four-year-old son died, He did not grieve, for He had given him to God as a trust.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá would begin a conversation with something simple, such as the weather, a stone or a bird, and weave it into a parable of spiritual truth, speaking easily and clearly in brief phrases.
When war came in 1914, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá moved the Bahá’ís of Haifa to the Druze village of Abú-Sinán, where vegetables He had taught them to grow and corn from ‘Adasíyyih kept many from hunger.
In October 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited Charles Tinsley, a Black believer in San Francisco confined to bed with a broken leg, and told him a parable of a ruler who trained through hardship the subject he loved.
A recollection of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s majestic presence, of the love that flowed from Him to everyone near Him, and of His constant adjuration: “Do as I do. Be as I am.”
Throughout His travels ‘Abdu’l-Bahá paid His own costs and declined offers of money; in Washington He asked Mrs Parsons to give her gift to the poor instead.
As the New York friends met to form their first Local Spiritual Assembly, a cablegram from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent them to Matthew 19:30, and they learned a lesson in humility.
Before speaking at New York’s Bowery Mission in April 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had two thousand-franc notes changed into quarters, and He pressed a gift of silver into the hand of each man there.
In Montreal ‘Abdu’l-Bahá took the streetcar to save a dollar, then gave each of the Maxwells’ servants a pound; at Phoebe Hearst’s estate each servant received ten dollars.
At the dedication of the Wilmette Temple site on 1 May 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá set aside the golden trowel He was given and broke the ground with an ordinary axe and shovel.
Though He wept over the sufferings of Bahá’u’lláh and His companions, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá lived His own teaching that the soul who lives in the spiritual Kingdom knows perpetual joy.
Worn out by the train journey from Denver in September 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stopped at Glenwood Springs, bathed in the hot springs with His companions and said He was relieved of fatigue.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá loved laughter. Once He laughed so heartily that His turban became disarranged; He told Juliet Thompson and May Maxwell that they rested Him, and He could not tell one joke for laughing.
Weakened in health on His third visit to Paris in 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá some evenings took only milk and bread, and on the 27th He moved to a hotel in Rue Lauriston for a few days' rest.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá prayed with His hands held out and slightly bent, palms turned toward His breast, as though already gathering in the blessings He prayed for.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s family dressed simply, as an example to the rich and an encouragement to the poor. When one of His daughters married in a clean dress, He explained that what she did not need He would give to the poor.
On His first morning in Washington, amid many interviews, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spent half an hour with Agnes Parsons’ young son Jeffrey, looking at his toys, books and pictures before they went up to the roof to see the view.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited the sick, sent daily to ask after them, and quietly paid a doctor to care for the poor of ‘Akká. When a poor, crippled woman with measles was shunned, He arranged her care and, at the last, her funeral.
Chains, locusts, the bombardments of Haifa and the threat of death could not shake ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s calm. Lua Getsinger wrote of the calm majesty with which He went about among the people, whose only hope and help He was.
Prayer sustained ‘Abdu’l-Bahá through deep sorrow and grave danger. At times He prayed through an entire night, and He often prayed that His conditions might become more severe so that His strength to meet them might increase.
With a smile, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told a group in America of a wife who had her husband wipe the dust from her shoes but did not do the same for him, and urged the ladies sometimes to stand up for the rights of men.
New York newspapers could not agree on how many people met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, with reports ranging from about forty to fully a thousand, and some of them added strange remarks of their own.
Unwell with a cold on His chest during His second visit to Stuttgart, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was told by physicians to stay indoors, yet He went to the waiting audience, spoke on world peace, and stopped to comfort a weeping woman.
Before leaving for Minneapolis, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked Corinne True to speak about the Faith in public; when she protested that she had no training, He told her to turn her heart wholly toward Him.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá never sought publicity and disliked being photographed, saying a picture of oneself emphasizes the personality; in London He at first refused, then consented to make the reporters and the friends happy.
To show the need for one common language, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told of four hungry travellers who quarrelled over what to buy for supper until a donkey laden with grapes showed that all four wanted the same thing.
At a luncheon in Dublin, New Hampshire, in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá set leaders of society laughing, and told them how in prison the believers had sought out funny things at the end of each day and laughed together.
Rúḥíyyih Khánum recalled how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá carried flower-pots two miles in the heat to the tomb of Bahá’u’lláh, and pumped water there until He was too stiff to walk away.
In Montreal in 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá bought gifts at Henry Birks' jewelry shop to give to people as He traveled. At the Maxwells' home He gave one pound to each of the servants.
At a hotel in Glenwood Springs in 1912, a waiter set no place for Saichiro Fujita because he was a servant; ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had a chair brought and seated him among them.
In 1906, on the anniversary of the Báb's Declaration, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá helped prepare a feast for over two hundred guests and, serving them, asked each to forgive anyone who had wounded him during the past year.
During the 1912 American election year, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said in California that a president should be free of ambition for name and fame and should seek the public good, not his own.
Howard Colby Ives recalled how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá listened patiently to a clergyman's long questions, then spoke to him with such love that the visitor was transformed, and sent him off with an armful of roses.
In Dublin, New Hampshire, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called back a ragged old man passing the inn, stepped into a shadow, and gave him His own trousers with a blessing.
After His release in 1908, American believers begged ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to visit. In 1911 He told Juliet Thompson that His invitation to America would be the unity of the believers.
Lady Blomfield told of seeing broad rays of golden light pour from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá over a London congregation as He spoke, flooding some people and avoiding others completely.
Leaving Buffalo in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá left a dollar for the absent chambermaid, yet refused a driver's overcharge, saying one should never yield to a wrongful demand.
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was very tired, Agnes Parsons suggested He rest and not worry about the constant stream of visitors. He thanked her and rested until nearly four o'clock.
On a walk in Vienna in 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave money to charity collectors and to children in the park until He and His attendants had nothing left.
At a Christmas party for the poor in London in 1912, some children took ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for Father Christmas. At East Sheen three little children sat quietly on His knee while He spoke of the purity of children’s hearts.
At the Pumpellys’ home in Dublin, New Hampshire, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told a tale with a moral and then a lively Arabian story that filled the room with laughter. On the way home He asked, with a child’s simplicity, whether they were pleased.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá would not accept money for Himself. He returned a cheque meant to buy Him a motor-car so that it could go to the poor, and asked an American lady to educate two motherless girls instead of giving to Him.
In Port Said in 1910, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained to Siyyid Asadu’lláh why He had left Haifa without telling anyone: He must always move according to the requirements of the Cause.
At the Unity Feast in West Englewood in June 1912, a sudden storm broke just as the meal was announced. Juliet Thompson watched ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sit at a distant crossroad, His face upturned to the sky, until the clouds raced away.
As the Cedric reached New York on 11 April 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had telegrams sent to the believers in East and West and remarked how easily the ocean had been crossed, while messages of welcome poured in.
Worn out after seeing a hundred and forty people and speaking at the Mortens’ home in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá went up to rest, but crowds followed. When Juliet Thompson asked to shut the door, He gently said to let them come.
At the dedication of the Temple site in Wilmette on 1 May 1912, the golden trowel could not break the ground, so ‘Abdu’l-Bahá swung an axe. Women and people of many races then dug, and He declared the Temple already built.
After the First World War the Mattoon family sailed from the United States with their two small daughters to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He told them never to forget Christ, so they also visited the Holy Places of Christianity.
Howard Colby Ives followed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to His room in New York. In the stillness the Master simply asked whether he was interested in renunciation, and Ives, without words, left His presence with his soul treading the heights.
On her second pilgrimage in 1920, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told Agnes Parsons, a speaker for the Faith who often hosted traveling teachers, to organize a convention for racial unity, a tradition-breaking task for a woman of her social standing.
On pilgrimage in ‘Akká in 1909, Juliet Thompson stayed up late instead of resting as the Master had asked, and argued about whether the New York Assembly was united. The next morning ‘Abdu’l-Bahá looked deep into her eyes and took her hand in a clasp of love.
Alice Buckton asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá about psychic forces. He told her not to tamper with them in this world. As a child in the womb has eyes and ears it does not use until it is born, He said, these forces belong to the next world.
When Ḥájí Amín brought the believers' offerings to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Master said something was missing. Praying in his room, Ḥájí Amín found a poor woman's coin in the lining of his coat, and the Master said it was worth more than all the rest.
“One year before ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd was dethroned, he sent an extremely overbearing, treacherous and insulting committee of investigation. The chairman was one of the governor’s staff, Árif Bey, and with him were three army commanders…
During 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to London in 1911, a painter asked Him whether art was a worthy vocation, and an actor raised the subject of the drama. His answers are recorded in 'Abdu'l-Bahá in London.
“After two years of the strictest confinement permission was granted me to find a house so that we could live outside the prison walls but still within the fortifications. Many believers came from Persia to join us but they were not…
Some referred to the teaching of Buddha. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: The real teaching of Buddha is the same as the teaching of Jesus Christ.
On 13 September 1911, nine days after arriving in London, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at the home of Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper and described the meeting as a reflection of the heavenly concourse.
God has created the world as one—the boundaries are marked out by man.
Question.—What is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s teaching concerning the different Divine manifestations?
How can one increase in faith? You must strive. A child does not know, in learning he obtains knowledge. search for Truth.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: Disease is of two kinds: material and spiritual.
The magnet of your love brought me to this country.
To man, the Essence of God is incomprehensible, so also are the worlds beyond this, and their condition.
During the last six thousand years nations have hated one another, it is now time to stop.
Someone asked if the Humanitarian Society was good.—Yes all societies, all organizations, working for the betterment of the human race are good, very good.
The Universal Races Congress was good, for it was intended for the furtherance and progress of unity among all nations and a better international understanding.
To most men who have not heard the message of this teaching, religion seems an outward form, a pretence, merely a seal of respectability.
In an apartment in Cadogan Gardens sits a spiritually illumined Oriental, whose recent advent in London marks the latest junction of the East and West.
We have met together to bid farewell to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and to thank God for his example and teaching, and for the power of his prayers to bring Light into confused thought, Hope into the place of dread, Faith where doubt was …
“We had no communication whatever with the out-side world. Each loaf of bread was cut open by the guard to see that it contained no message. All who believed in the Bahá’í manifestation, children, men and women, were imprisoned with us.”
“With the advent of the Young Turks’ supremacy, realized through the Society of Union and Progress, all the political prisoners of the Ottoman Empire were set free. Events took the chains from my neck and placed them about Hamíd’s;…
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was asked if he recognized the good which the Theosophical Society has done.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá encouraged the Save the Children Fund and twice gave fifty Egyptian pounds to the Haifa Relief Fund. The Military Governor wrote to thank Him for His well-known generosity and care of the poor.
As a student at Oxford, Shoghi Effendi loved tennis and excelled at it. His partner J. C. Hill remembered him switching his racket from hand to hand with lightning speed, laughing most of the time.
On Christmas night 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to a thousand homeless men at a Salvation Army shelter in London; at New York’s Bowery Mission He spoke to the men and gave each the price of a bed.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá remembers Hájí Mírzá Muhammad-Taqí, the Afnán, who believed after one reading of the Kitáb-i-Íqán, gave nearly all he owned to build the first Bahá’í House of Worship in ‘Ishqábád, and died near the Shrine of the Báb.
An American family asked if they might visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He replied that they could come when they could travel in comfort, and in 1919, after the war, it was arranged for the Randalls to start for Haifa.
At ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s table in ‘Akká an American pilgrim sat among people of many races who had come to love one another, and heard the Master speak of meeting again in the worlds of God.
Howard Colby Ives recalls how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá met every questioner first with silence, listening so completely that He seemed to listen with the speaker’s own ears.
A homeless man who had resolved to end his life saw ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s picture in a newspaper and walked thirty miles to find Him; the Master welcomed and comforted him, and he left with a new purpose.
An early pilgrim saw that in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s house, followers of religions who would ordinarily not even eat together lived in perfect love and harmony.
A governor of 'Akká who had kept the Bahá'ís from visiting their Master was dismissed. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Himself still a prisoner, sent him good wishes and a precious ring and offered to help him.
A pilgrim brought an exquisite silk carpet from Persia for 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The Master said so beautiful a gift belonged in the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, and after a joyful journey to Bahjí He spread it there Himself.
In 1919 thirteen-year-old Bahíyyih (Margaret) Randall visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Haifa. When she asked how she could serve the Faith, the Master paced the room and answered, "Study. Study. Study."
Howard Colby Ives asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá three times what detachment meant. The Master said nothing until they reached His room, then turned and gently asked whether he was interested in detachment.
During 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to segregated Washington, D.C., He shocked white socialites by insisting that Louis Gregory, an African-American Bahá'í and lawyer, be seated next to Him at a society luncheon, and He asked the Bahá'ís to hold integrated meetings.
On a drive near Thonon in 1911, peasant children selling violets crowded around 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He bought all their flowers and gave to each child bountifully, and when they held out their hands for more, He gently said, "Tell them that they have taken."
At a crowded meeting in the Hotel Rittenhouse in Philadelphia, some guests had to sit on the floor. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was delighted: the Occident was sitting on the floor like the Orient, and He called it a cause of unity.
Driving up Broadway with Juliet Thompson in April 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá smiled at the electric signs and told His companions that Bahá’u’lláh had loved light and had taught that it should be used freely.
In a time of danger in ‘Akká, the Spanish Consul offered ‘Abdu’l-Bahá an Italian ship on which to escape by night. He refused, sending word that the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh had not run away, and neither would He.
Grieving over a family rift, Juliet Thompson’s mother went through a thunderstorm to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. His words of comfort took away her bitterness, and she regarded it as a miracle.
Asked in New York about the long lives recorded of people in ancient times, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that a family was once called by the name of one person, so later ages mistook the family’s span for one founder’s life.
Near the end of a long address at Stanford University in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked why anyone would fight and kill over the earth, which is in the end only our grave.
In London, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked a suffragist why women should have the vote. When she said humanity cannot soar with only one wing, He playfully offered to prove that woman is the stronger wing.
At a meeting in New York in 1912, Ella Goodall Cooper was taken with a woman. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked what the woman had been saying and told her to be very careful. Ella heeded Him, though she did not then understand.
A high official of the United States government asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá how best to serve his country. He was told to work, as a citizen of the world, to apply the principle of federalism to the relations between nations.
Urged on by the Master's enemies, the governor of Haifa visited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wearing Bahá’u’lláh’s cloak and spectacles. The Master said nothing and treated him with courtesy, and later hastened to free him from prison.
When Juliet Thompson asked about His daughter Rúḥá Khánum, who had been very ill, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said He had put her in the hands of the Blessed Perfection and no longer worried.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave a fine wool cloak to a poor man who asked for a garment. The man complained that it was cotton and not good; the Master reproved him, then had him given a coin as well.
The Washington Bahá’ís were divided by the racial customs of the day. When a Unity Feast was booked at a hotel that refused Black guests, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá insisted that all attend, and they sat side by side.
A woman asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for a special work. He entrusted to her the orphaned son of her worst enemy, and she wept that she now knew what the Bahá’í Cause means.
On Christmas night 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to about a thousand homeless men at a Salvation Army shelter in Westminster. He left money for another dinner on New Year’s night, and the men rose to cheer Him.
When Yúnis Khán handed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá a poem full of exalted titles, the Master was deeply grieved and said He considered Himself lower than every believer. Seeing Yúnis Khán's distress, He then comforted him.
The owner of the land for the Báb's Shrine on Mount Carmel, influenced by Covenant-breakers, was unwilling to sell. After a night in which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá repeated a prayer of the Báb, the owner came and begged Him to buy it.
In Haifa, thirteen-year-old Bahíyyih Randall saw ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tenderly feed the aged Ḥaydar-‘Alí. When she asked him what he had done to serve the Faith, he said he had not done as much as an ant could do in the path of God.
O ye beloved of God!
Arise with every power to assist the Covenant of God and serve in His vineyard.
From the death of that beloved youth due to his separation from you the utmost sorrow and grief has been occasioned, for he flew away in the flower of his age and the bloom of his youth, to the heavenly nest.
If thou seekest to be intoxicated with the cup of the Most Mighty Gift, cut thyself from the world and be quit of self and desire.
It behoveth thee to sever thyself from all desires save thy Lord, the Supreme, expecting no help or aid from anyone in the universe, not even from thy father or children.
All the people of the world are, as thou dost observe, in the sleep of negligence.
Regarding the “two wings” of the soul: These signify wings of ascent.
In man five outer powers exist, which are the agents of perception, that is to say, through these five powers man perceives material beings.
A fire from the Kingdom hath been kindled in the heart of the world, in the Blessed Tree, whose flame shall ere long set aglow the pillars of the earth and its rays illumine the horizons of the nations.
...By materialists, whose belief with regard to Divinity hath been explained, is not meant philosophers in general, but rather that group of materialists of narrow vision that worship that which is sensed, that depend upon the five…
O ye friends of God! Today is the day of union and this age is the age of harmony in the world of existence. “Verily, God loveth those who are working in His path in groups, for they are a solid foundation.”
O phoenix of that immortal flame kindled in the sacred Tree!
I have come from distant lands to visit the meetings and assemblies of this country.
O thou son of the Kingdom! If one possesses the love of God, everything that he undertakes is useful, but if the undertaking is without the love of God, then it is hurtful and the cause of veiling one’s self from the Lord of the Kingdom.
You have questioned me about strikes. This question is and will be for a long time the subject of great difficulties.
With regard to the innate character, although the divine creation is purely good, yet the varieties of natural qualities in man come from the difference of degree; all are excellent, but they are more or less so, according to the degree.
The Spiritual Meeting of men and the Spiritual Meeting of women in Chicago are indeed endeavoring to serve.
Then, O ye friends of God! Ye must not only have kind and merciful feelings for mankind, but ye should also exercise the utmost kindness towards every living creature.
Although a person of good deeds is acceptable at the Threshold of the Almighty, yet it is first “to know,” and then “to do.”
Certain European philosophers agree that the species grows and develops, and that even change and alteration are also possible.
From the time of the creation of Adam to this day there have been two pathways in the world of humanity; one the natural or materialistic, the other the religious or spiritual.
The beginning of the existence of man on the terrestrial globe resembles his formation in the womb of the mother.
Know that there are two kinds of knowledge: the knowledge of the essence of a thing, and the knowledge of its qualities.
The connection between God and the creatures is that of the creator to the creation; it is like the connection between the sun and the dark bodies of contingent beings, and is the connection between the maker and the things that he has made.
O people of the world! The dawn of the Sun of Reality is assuredly for the illumination of the world and for the manifestation of mercy.
Thou hast asked regarding the means of livelihood. Trust in God and engage in your work and practice economy; the confirmations of God shall descend and you will be enabled to pay off your debts.
The foundation of the Kingdom of God is laid upon justice, fairness, mercy, sympathy and kindness to every soul.
We have now come to the question of the modification of species and of organic development: that is to say, to the point of inquiring whether man’s descent is from the animal.
This wonderful age has rent asunder the veils of superstition and has condemned the prejudice of the people of the East.
In this day, the gathering of a board for consultation is of great importance and a great necessity.
Thou hast written of a verse in the Gospels, asking if at the time of Christ all souls did hear His call.
Know that the conditions of existence are limited to the conditions of servitude, of prophethood, and of Deity, but the divine and the contingent perfections are unlimited.
When we consider beings with the seeing eye, we observe that they are limited to three sorts: that is to say, as a whole, they are either mineral, vegetable, or animal; each of these three classes containing species.
The necessity and the particularity of the assured and believing ones is to be firm in the Cause of God and withstand the hidden and evident tests.
As to the seven qualifications (of the divinely enlightened soul) of which thou hast asked an explanation, it is as follows: KNOWLEDGE.
Today I am most happy, for I see here a gathering of the servants of God.
You have written that there were several meetings of joy and happiness, one for white and another for colored people.
In these times thanksgiving for the bounty of the Merciful One consists in the illumination of the heart and the feeling of the soul.
As to what thou hast written concerning “Reincarnation”: Believing in reincarnation is one of the old tenets held by most nations and creeds, as well as by the Greek and Roman philosophers and wise men, the old Egyptians and the chief Assyrians.
The greatest bestowal of God in the world of humanity is religion; for assuredly the divine teachings of religion are above all other sources of instruction and development to man.
Religion is the outer expression of the divine reality. Therefore it must be living, vitalized, moving and progressive.
If we look with a perceiving eye upon the world of creation, we find that all existing things may be classified as follows: First—Mineral—that is to say matter or substance appearing in various forms of composition.
Thy letter was received. Praise be to God it imparted the good news of thy health and safety and indicated that thou art ready to enter into an agricultural school.
When the darkness of ignorance and heedlessness concerning the realm of eternity and bereavement from the True One had encircled the universe, then the resplendent Luminary dawned and the brilliant Light illumined the horizon of the East.
It has been before explained that spirit is universally divided into five categories: the vegetable spirit, the animal spirit, the human spirit, the spirit of faith, and the Holy Spirit.
Those souls who have the capacity and ability to receive the outpourings of the Kingdom and the confirmation of the Holy Spirit, they become attracted through one word.
According to divine philosophy, there are two important and universal conditions in the world of material phenomena; one which concerns life, the other concerning death; one relative to existence, the other non-existence; one manifest in composition, the other in decomposition.
If thou wishest the divine knowledge and recognition, purify thy heart from all beside God, be wholly attracted to the ideal, beloved One; search for and choose Him and apply thyself to rational and authoritative arguments.
We have many times demonstrated and established that man is the noblest of beings, the sum of all perfections, and that all beings and all existences are the centers from which the glory of God is reflected, that is to say …
Do ye know in what cycle ye are created and in what age ye exist?
In sooth, there will be found in those regions certain persons like the Pharisees of the time of Christ, who, night and day, will exert themselves with all heart and soul to cast forth doubts, in order that they may deprive the souls of the glad-tidings of the Holy Spirit.
Cleanliness and sanctity in all conditions are characteristics of pure beings and necessities of free souls.
Organize ye Spiritual Assemblies; lay ye the foundation of union and concord in this world; destroy ye the fabric of strife and war from the face of the earth; construct ye the temple of harmony and agreement …
The spiritual love of God maketh man pure and holy and clotheth him with the garment of virtue and purity.
If any differences of opinion may arise in those regions you must keep yourself entirely aloof and show forth love and kindness to all, saying it is better to refer to the ordained Center all the affairs.
The light hath a center and if one desire to seek it otherwise but from the center, he can never attain to it.
TO THE ASSEMBLIES AND MEETINGS OF THE BELIEVERS OF GOD AND THE MAID-SERVANTS OF THE MERCIFUL IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA: Upon them be Bahá’u’lláh El-Abhá!
O ye beloved of God, know that steadfastness and firmness in this new and wonderful Covenant is indeed the spirit that quickeneth the hearts which are overflowing with the love of the Glorious Lord; verily …
Every flock of the sheep of God which is protected under the shadow of the Divine Shepherd will not be scattered, but when the sheep are dispersed from the flock, they will necessarily be caught and torn by the wolf.
During my visit to London and Paris last year I had many talks with the materialistic philosophers of Europe.
According to the statement of philosophers the difference in degree of humankind from lowest to highest is due to education.
Know that nothing which exists remains in a state of repose, that is to say, all things are in motion.
O friend! Be set aglow with the fire of the love of God, so that the hearts of the people will become enlightened by the light of thy love.
O thou party who art assisted by the hosts of the Kingdom of El-Abhá!
Unless the Holy Spirit become intermediary, one cannot attain directly to the bounties of God.
Know that people belong to two categories, that is to say, they constitute two parties.
Note that thy Lord hath manifested the Magnet of the souls and hearts in the Pole of the existing world, to which all the sacred hearts are attracted from the far distant lands and countries.
Ye have written regarding the erection of the Temple and the purchase of the ground, or the finding of a place to be as a home for the gathering of the believers.
O ye friends of God! ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is day and night thinking of you and mentioning you, for the friends of God are dear to Him.
Today there is no greater glory for man than that of service in the cause of the “Most Great Peace.”
O ye beloved of God! O ye children of His Kingdom! Verily, verily the new heaven and the new earth are come.
Know that it is one of the most abstruse spiritual truths that the world of existence, that is to say this endless universe, has no beginning.
The greatest power in the realm and range of human existence is spirit,—the divine breath which animates and pervades all things.
In the day of Christ all nations were expecting that His Holiness Christ should come from heaven, and He came from heaven, though outwardly He came from the womb of Mary.
The advent of the prophets and the revelation of the Holy Books is intended to create love between souls and friendship between the inhabitants of the earth.
What is real unity? When we observe the human world we find various collective expressions of unity therein. For instance, man is distinguished from the animal by his degree or kingdom.
The wisdom of the appearance of the spirit in the body is this: the human spirit is a Divine Trust, and it must traverse all conditions; for its passage and movement through the conditions of existence will be the means of its acquiring perfections.
The body is composed, in truth, of corporeal elements and every composition is necessarily subject to decomposition; but the spirit is an essence, simple, pure, spiritual, eternal, perpetual and divine.
Thy letter was received. Thou hast written of the organization of an assembly in that city. Look not at the small number; nay, rather seek the pure hearts.
Thou hast questioned how thou canst accept this divine Cause, for thou art a member of the church.
Thank God for guiding thee unto the Straight Path, manifesting unto thee the Evident Light.
In our solar system, the center of illumination is the sun itself.
The Supper of the Lord which His Highness the Spirit ate with the apostles was a heavenly supper and not one of material bread and water, for material objects have no connection with spiritual objects.
All the people have formed a god in the world of thought, and that form of their own imagination they worship; when the fact is that the imagined form is finite and the human mind is infinite.
O maid-servant of God! This prison is indeed more precious and sweet than a garden to me, this fetter is greater than any liberty and the confinement is broader than the most spacious wilderness.
Praise be to God! that ye are gathered in one assembly like unto the stars of the Pleiades, are illumined with the light of the knowledge of God and through the outpouring of the cloud of the love of God …
In the estimation of historians this radiant century is equivalent to one hundred centuries of the past.
Know thou, that letter sent to thee by me, was only because of my perfect love for thee and my pity upon thee, for I had the desire that the fragrance of the Holy Spirit …
Shouldst thou come with the whole of thy being to God and be attracted to the lights of the Kingdom of God and be enkindled by the fire of the love of God, then wilt thou see that which thou canst not see today …
This recent war has proved to the world and the people that war is destruction while Universal Peace is construction; war is death while peace is life; war is rapacity and bloodthirstiness while peace is beneficence and humaneness …
Verily, I, from this brilliant and Blessed Spot, speak to you face to face, while ye are in that far distant country,…
A biography of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, from His childhood in Tehran and long years of exile and imprisonment to His ministry as Center of the Covenant, His journeys to the West, His writings and His passing in Haifa in 1921.
Mírzá Ḥasan-i-Adíb, a celebrated scholar of Tehran, became a believer in 1889 and was named a Hand of the Cause by Bahá’u’lláh; he served the Tehran Assembly, taught Bahá’í youth and helped found the Tarbiyat School.
Born in Charleston to formerly enslaved parents, Louis G. Gregory became a Bahá'í in 1909, was seated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá at His right in Washington, gave decades to teaching and race unity, and was posthumously named a Hand of the Cause.
Mírzá ‘Abdu’lláh Faráhání, a master of Persian classical music and a believer in Tihrán, was encouraged by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to preserve the old melodies; he recorded them and was still teaching when he died in 1918.
Mírzá Asadu’lláh Fáḍil of Mázindarán, a scholar who became a Bahá’í in Tihrán, carried out a dangerous mission for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Najaf, taught across America, India and Persia, and wrote a nine-volume history of the Faith.
Mírzá Maḥmúd-i-Zarqání completed the first volume of his chronicle of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s 1912 journey in America at the end of 1913; at his sudden death the Guardian cabled that his outstanding services would shine evermore.
A nephew of Vahid Darabi found certitude after long years of study, visited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in ‘Akká, taught the Faith in America and Persia, and served the Cause until his passing in 1959.
The life of Thornton Chase, whom ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called “the first American believer,” from his long spiritual search to his service in Chicago, and the Master’s visit to his grave in 1912.
Seeing that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had no time even to bathe, Yúnis Khán and Mírzá Ḥaydar-‘Alí arranged for the pilgrim architect Ustád Áqá Bálá to build a small bath in His house. Three days later the Master asked if it was finished, and answered with a story.
Each year before winter set in, 'Abdu'l-Bahá arranged for the poor of 'Akká to receive cloaks at a clothing shop, adjusting the garments on some of them Himself and keeping a record of those He helped.
Ali-Kuli Khan, Persia’s representative in Washington, longed for a prayer to say in moments of sudden need. On the drive from the station, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told him how, as a boy, He had cried “Yá Allah el Mustaghas!” all night before Bahá’u’lláh returned to Baghdad.
In April 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to several hundred men at the Bowery Mission and placed coins in each hand. The quarters left over He gave to a chambermaid, who later came to thank Him and to ask Him to pray for her.
When Corinne True tearfully told ‘Abdu’l-Bahá of the sad things she had had to bear, His answer brought peace to her heart, and she later became a great support for anyone who had lost a loved one.
At Cadogan Gardens, before leaving London in 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said that teaching the Cause called for undivided attention; for six months He had not written even to His sister and daughters, because He must teach.
Agnes Parsons, in whose Washington home ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stayed in April 1912, recorded His gifts to her family: an ink well for her son, an illuminated manuscript for her husband, and a pair of glasses for her.
Before leaving London, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá married a young Persian couple, asking each whether they loved the other with all their heart and soul. The writer recalls the simplicity of His own wedding and His words on the holiness of marriage.
Major Tudor Pole recorded, while noting that he could not vouch for it at first hand, how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá foretold that ‘Akká would be surrendered to two unarmed British soldiers, and how that came about.
O my well-beloved, deeply spiritual sister! Day and night thou livest in my memory. Whenever I remember thee my heart swelleth with sadness and my regret groweth more intense.
May the Light of Union radiate with greater clearness and brilliancy day by day among the people in your great country—for to this country God has given much and much is expected from it.
O my well-beloved sister, O Most Exalted Leaf! Thou didst leave for Akká to remain but two days or so and then return, but now thou hast been gone from us for quite a while.
O my dear sister! I have read what you wrote, and as I became aware of the content, I wept bitter tears. Then I carried the letter itself to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and He read it from beginning to end.
O thou my sister, my dear sister! Divine wisdom hath decreed this temporary separation, but I long more and more to be with thee again.
Concerning the remnants of the martyrs’ families, you have mentioned how eager they are to hear a word of commendation assuring them that this act of self-sacrifice and martyrdom will be acceptable in the sight of God.
My sister and beloved of my soul! Here on the slopes of Mount Carmel, by the cave of Elijah, we are thinking of that Most Exalted Leaf, and the beloved and handmaids of the Lord.
My sister, for a considerable period, that is, from the day of Bahá’u’lláh’s ascension, had grown so thin and feeble, and was in such a weakened condition from the anguish of her mourning, that she was close to breakdown.
O leaf that has been stirred by the breeze of God! O victim of oppression in the path of the Abhá Beauty!—may my soul and the souls of the handmaids of God be offered up as a sacrifice for the dust of His Holy Shrine.
All praise be to the Abhá Beauty, the Best-Beloved, the Desire of the world, for having enabled His well-assured leaves to remain firm in the Cause of God and steadfast in His love, even as immovable mountains …
O my spiritual sister! Thou didst go away to Haifa, supposedly for only three or four days. Now it becometh apparent that the spiritual power of the Shrine hath brought thee joy and radiance, and even as a magnet is holding thee fast.
At the exalted Threshold of our Lord, the Best-Beloved of the world, I fervently beseech Him to graciously keep that assured leaf and the other handmaids of the Merciful safe and secure under the shelter of His bounty and grace.
O my spiritual sister! God be praised, through the Ancient Beauty’s grace and bounty, we have set foot safe and sound upon this shore, and arrived in this town ...
O my affectionate sister! God be praised, through His grace and favour, my health and well-being are now restored, but it is very hard for me to bear thine absence.
On my return from Beyrouth I was sorry to find out that you had left for Italy and I missed seeing you before you left.
O my dear sister!
O my dear sister! It is quite a while now, since thou hast left us, and gone away to Nazareth and Haifa. This journey hath lasted too long.
O my cherished sister! Thou art never absent from my thoughts. I speak of thee and call thee to mind at all times.
The Festival of Ridván is come and the splendour of the light of God is shining from the invisible horizon of His mercy.
O my sister in the spirit, and the companion of my heart! God willing, the climate of Haifa hath proved favourable.
You should not think that the record of those meetings can ever be blotted out from the pages of history or that the memory of those gatherings can fade from the face of the world.
O thou my affectionate sister! In the daytime and in the night-season my thoughts ever turn to thee. Not for one moment do I cease to remember thee.
Both in the Persian and Arabic Writings of the Primal Point—may the life of all men be offered up for Him—there are several …
O thou Greatest and Most Merciful Holy Leaf!
It was through the arrival of these pilgrims, and these alone, that the gloom which had enveloped the disconsolate members of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s family was finally dispelled.
Dear and deeply spiritual sister!
The letter in which that leaf had expressed the ardent longing of her heart and revealed the depth of her devotion has received my eager attention.
Dear sister, beloved of my heart and soul! The news of thy safe arrival and pleasant stay in the land of Egypt has reached me and filled my heart with exceeding gladness.
Despite our overwhelming sorrows and afflictions, our heart-burning and depth of woes, you are always in our thoughts and we call to mind your cheerful face.
It is my earnest hope that you, His distinguished leaf, together with the other maidservants of the All-Merciful in that land …
O thou my loving, my deeply spiritual sister! I trust that by the grace and loving-kindness of the one true God thou art, and wilt be, kept safe and secure beneath the sheltering shadow of the Blessed Beauty.
After the construction of the Báb’s Shrine on Mount Carmel, it was the wish and intention of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá—may our lives be sacrificed for His holy dust—to open a path that would lead directly from the Shrine to the German Avenue.
O exalted leaf, O distinguished friend! May the glory of God and His praise, His bounty and blessing rest upon you inasmuch as you have remained faithful to the Covenant of God and His Testament.
May my life be sacrificed for those leaves who are steadfast in the Covenant of God—they whom the slander of the slanderer hinders not from holding fast to His divine Testament.
O Díyá! It is incumbent upon thee, throughout the journey, to be a close, a constant and cheerful companion to my honoured and distinguished sister.
From this hallowed and snow-white Spot, this blessed, heavenly Garden, wherefrom the fragrance of God is diffused to all regions, I hail you with salutations, most tender, most wondrous, and most glorious, and impart to you the most joyful tiding.
O thou my affectionate sister! God be praised, according to what we hear the climate in that land hath proved not unfavourable.
A number of your spiritual sisters, namely the handmaidens who have embraced His Cause, have arrived here from Paris and the United States on pilgrimage.
O my dear sister!
During the Great War, Haifa was crowded with the destitute, the orphaned, and the sick. From the household at the foot of Mount Carmel, the Greatest Holy Leaf — already in advanced age — distributed daily food, money, clothing, and remedies she had herself prepared.
The Bahá’í glad tidings disclose a vision of the Bounty of God and of the future progress of humanity, which is surely the greatest and most glorious Revelation ever given to mankind, the development and fulfillment of all previous Revelations.
Seated by the window of a Pilgrim House in Haifa on February 14, 1914, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá foretold that Akká and Haifa would join into one mighty metropolis, and that Mount Carmel would become a sublime spectacle of light.
In the Book of Aqdas, revealed in Akká in 1873, Bahá’u’lláh appealed to America as follows:— O Rulers of America and the Presidents of the Republics therein ...
In order that the power of spiritual healing may be brought fully into operation certain requirements are necessary on the part of the patient, of the healer, of the patient’s friends and of the community at large.
Bahá’u’lláh states that a person should be free to dispose of his possessions during his lifetime in any way he chooses, and it is incumbent on everyone to write a will stating how his property is to be disposed of after his death.
According to the Bahá’í teaching the human body serves a temporary purpose in the development of the soul, and, when that purpose has been served, is laid aside …
Education and religion are alike based on the assumption that it is possible to change human nature.
Bahá’u’lláh indicated in many ways that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was to direct the Cause after His own ascension.
The thing of paramount importance in education is character training.
Bahá’u’lláh says, in the Book of Aqdas:— Be the essence of cleanliness among mankind ... under all circumstances conform yourselves to refined manners ... let no trace of uncleanliness appear on your clothes....
Amid these troublous times, however, the Cause of God will prosper.
One of the fundamental teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is that true science and true religion must always be in harmony.
During the past century scientists have devoted an immense amount of study to the struggle for existence in the plant and animal world, and, amid the perplexities of social life …
The prayers which Bahá’u’lláh has ordained as a daily obligation for Bahá’ís are to be said privately.
“Prayer,” says ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “is conversation with God.” In order that God may make known His Mind and Will to men, He must speak to them in a language which they can understand, and this He does by the mouths of His Holy Prophets.
Bahá’u’lláh says:— O people of God! I exhort you to courtesy. Courtesy is indeed ... the lord of all virtues. Blessed is he who is adorned with the mantle of Uprightness and illumined with the light of Courtesy.
Bahá’u’lláh teaches that the universe is without beginning in time.
According to the teaching of the Prophets, disease and all other forms of calamity are due to disobedience to the Divine Commands.
In order to attain to the Bahá’í life in all its fullness, conscious and direct relations with Bahá’u’lláh are as necessary as is sunshine for the unfolding of the lily or the rose.
There are, of course, difficulties in the way of the student who seeks to get at the truth about this Cause.
In the matter of divorce, as in that of marriage, the instructions of the Prophets have varied in accordance with the circumstances of the times.
Education—the instruction and guidance of men and the development and training of their innate faculties—has been the supreme aim of all the Holy Prophets since the world began …
The bearing on health of these commands relating to the simple life, hygiene, abstinence from alcohol and opium, etcetera, is too obvious to call for much comment, although their vital importance is apt to be greatly underestimated.
The Bahá’í teaching is based on moderation, not as asceticism.
One of the social principles to which Bahá’u’lláh attaches great importance is that women should be regarded as the equals of men and should enjoy equal rights and privileges, equal education and equal opportunities.
The nineteenth month, following immediately on the hospitality of the intercalary days, is the month of the fast.
The essential joyousness of the Bahá’í religion finds expression in numerous feasts and holidays throughout the year.
As a means of promoting religious unity Bahá’u’lláh advocates the utmost charity and tolerance, and calls on His followers to “consort with the people of all religions with joy and gladness.”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá writes:— When Christ appeared, twenty centuries ago, although the Jews were eagerly awaiting His Coming, and prayed ever day, with tears, saying: “O God, hasten the Revelation of the Messiah,” yet when the Sun of Truth…
He teaches that there are also many methods of healing without material means.
Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá regard the descriptions of Heaven and Hell given in some of the older religious writings as symbolic, like the Biblical story of the Creation, and not as literally true.
Bahá’u’lláh’s mission in the world is to bring about Unity—Unity of all mankind in and through God.
The work of healing the sick, however, is a matter that concerns not the patient and the practitioner only, but everyone.
While we are commanded to overlook the faults of others, and see their virtues, we are commanded, on the other hand, to find out our own faults and take no account of our virtues.
Bahá’u’lláh teaches that everyone endowed with the Station of Prophethood is given sufficient proofs of His Mission, is entitled to claim obedience from all men and has authority to abrogate, alter or add to the teachings of His predecessors.
In the Bahá’í view the child’s nature is not like so much wax that can be molded indifferently to any shape according to the will of the teacher.
Bahá’u’lláh also advocated the establishment of an international court of arbitration, so that differences arising between nations might be settled in accordance with justice and reason, instead of by appeal to the ordeal of battle.
The interpretation of prophecy is notoriously difficult, and on no subject do the opinions of the learned differ more widely.
But if the essence is unknowable, the manifestations of its bounty are everywhere apparent.
During the winter of 1919–1920 the writer had the great privilege of spending two and half months as the guest of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at Haifa and intimately observing His daily life.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:— By a general agreement all the governments of the world must disarm simultaneously.
When asked on one occasion: “What is a Bahá’í?” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá replied: “To be a Bahá’í simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood.”
Bahá’u’lláh left instructions that temples of worship should be built by His followers in every country and city.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá attaches the greatest importance to regular meetings of the believers for united worship, for the exposition and study of the teachings and for consultation regarding the progress of the Movement.
In bringing about the emancipation of women as in other matters, Bahá’u’lláh counsels His followers to avoid methods of violence.
According to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:— A mediator is necessary between man and the Creator—one who receives the full light of the Divine Splendor and radiates it over the human world, as the earth’s atmosphere receives and diffuses the warmth of the sun’s rays.
The unification of the world of humanity, the welding together of the world’s different religions, the reconciliation of Religion and Science, the establishment of Universal Peace …
In the Book of Aqdas Bahá’u’lláh forbids slavery, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has explained that not only chattel slavery, but also industrial slavery, is contrary to the law of God.
One other feature of the Bahá’í organization must be specially mentioned, and that is the absence of a professional priesthood.
Devotion to God involves implicit obedience to His revealed Commands even when the reason for these Commands is not understood.
The essential oneness of all the myriad forms and grades of life is one of the fundamental teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.
The unity of humanity as taught by Bahá’u’lláh refers not only to men still in the flesh, but to all human beings, whether embodied or disembodied.
The great Prophets of religion have always been, at Their coming, despised and rejected of men.
Many find a difficulty in believing in the efficacy of prayer because they think that answers to prayer would involve arbitrary interference with the laws of nature.
To someone who asked whether prayer was necessary, since presumably God knows the wishes of all hearts, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá replied:— If one friend loves another, is it not natural that he should wish to say so?
‘Abdu’l-Bahá suggests that each town and village or district should be entrusted as far as possible with the administration of fiscal matters within its own area and should contribute its due proportion for the expenses of the general government.
In order to see clearly how the Most Great Peace may be established, let us first examine the principle causes that have led to war in the past and see how Bahá’u’lláh proposes to deal with each.
He was then in His seventieth year, and His long and arduous labors, culminating in these strenuous Western tours, had worn out His physical frame.
In concluding this chapter it will be well to recall ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s teaching as to the right use of physical health.
Although Bahá’u’lláh, like Christ, counsels His follows as individuals and as a religious body to adopt an attitude of nonresistance and forgiveness toward their enemies, He teaches that it is the duty of the community to prevent injustice and oppression.
Devotion to God implies a life of service to our fellow-creatures.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:— Economy is the foundation of human prosperity.
Both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá also foretold a period of great social upheaval, conflict and calamity as an inevitable result of the irreligion and prejudices, the ignorance and superstition, prevalent throughout the world.
In consequence of this and other equally unfounded charges, in 1901, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and His family, who for more than twenty years had been allowed the freedom of the country for some miles around Akká, were again, for over seven years …
Both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on many occasions foretold with surprising accuracy the coming of the Great War of 1914–1918.
After the Báb’s martyrdom, His remains, with those of His devoted companion, were thrown on the edge of the moat outside the city wall.
In 1904 and 1907 commissions were appointed by the Turkish Government to inquire into the charges against ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and lying witnesses gave evidence against Him.
In a letter to the Central Organization for a Durable Peace, written in 1919, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:— Among the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is voluntary sharing of one’s property with others among mankind.
A remarkable instance of the foresight of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was supplied during the months immediately preceding the war.
After His release, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá continued the same holy life of ceaseless activity in teaching, correspondence, ministering to the poor and the sick, with merely the change from Akká to Haifa and from Haifa to Alexandria …
When woman’s point of view receives due consideration and woman’s will is allowed adequate expression in the arrangement of social affairs …
The Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are very numerous and are mostly in the form of letter to believers and inquirers.
On his 1901 pilgrimage to 'Akká, young William Dodge knocked soup onto the whiskers of a Persian believer at dinner. 'Abdu'l-Bahá laughed and told him not to worry: it was a blessing.
A Persian pilgrim in Haifa in 1920 describes how 'Abdu'l-Bahá, burdened with countless letters, signed stacks of registered mail, replied at a bench piled with letters, and dictated answers while walking in the garden.
In 'Akká, after listening kindly to a Western visitor's complaints, 'Abdu'l-Bahá brought in Hájí Mírzá Haydar-'Alí, saying he had had many troubles. Asked about them, he replied that he had never had any.
In New York in June 1912, Valíyu’lláh Varqá told Juliet Thompson and Lua Getsinger how Bahá’u’lláh had taught his father, the poet Varqá, about the power of the Great Ether and the station of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
In Pittsburgh in 1912, when the friends kept asking how He liked His fine hotel rooms, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalled how in the barracks of ‘Akká He had lived for about two years in the morgue so that the crowded families could be at ease.
Two pilgrims in ‘Akká argued over which kind of martyrdom was best. When they entered ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s room, His words, spoken without any notice of their arrival, affirmed first one choice and then the other.
Sutherland Maxwell, not yet a Bahá’í, planned to lodge ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in a Montreal hotel. The day before He arrived, he bought new furniture for the largest bedroom, and he met the Master at the train and begged Him to stay in his home.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá told a story of Christ from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh: Jesus helped a seller of thorns marry a king’s daughter, and on his wedding night the young man left everything to follow Him.
In London in September 1911 a journalist asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá about His prison life. He told of exile, the first terrible summer in ‘Akká, the Sultan’s hostile committee and His release, and said that freedom is not a matter of place.
Lady Blomfield recalls how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, arriving home very tired after a crowded meeting, suddenly ran up the stairs to the flat and told the astonished friends that through the power of Bahá’u’lláh all things can be done.
At dinner on Christmas Eve 1912 in London, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said playfully that two despotic monarchs of the East had not been able to command Him, but the ladies of America and Europe, because they were free, gave Him orders.
Shoghi Effendi told how a coachman at Ramleh demanded an exorbitant fare from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and pulled Him roughly by His sash. The Master stayed calm, refused to give in, and paid exactly what He owed, without the tip.
On the first Western pilgrimage, a young American said she was now an orphan because her parents did not believe. Munírih Khánum embraced her and brought her to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Who told her that the ties of the spirit are all.
In April 1912 John Bosch set out to meet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and, after a detour to Washington, found Him in New York. The Master told him that with him it was the heart that speaks, and welcomed him as one of the family.
On pilgrimage to 'Akká in 1901, William and Wendell Dodge were told to bow, clasp their hands and avoid smiling before the Master. When they came in smiling instead, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá embraced them and told them to be natural.
In ‘Akká, Dr. Yúnis Khán watched ‘Abdu’l-Bahá dictate a long Arabic Tablet that two visiting Muslim divines had asked to carry to Iran, then overheard the visitors marvelling at what they had witnessed.
On her 1906 pilgrimage to ‘Akká, Florence Khan longed to gaze fully upon ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s face; that evening, as He paced His room revealing Tablets, He twice stood still in the doorway.
As a boy newly arrived in Tehran from Qum, the future Hand of the Cause Faizi enrolls at the Bahá'í Tarbiyat School and, following his friends, finds his way to a Friday Bahá'í class that shapes his whole life.
The great scholar Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl credited all his learning to Bahá'u'lláh, and when American pilgrims praised him in the presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, he wept, feeling unworthy of any praise.
Speaking to the Esperanto Society in Edinburgh in January 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told of two friends in Baghdad whose gestures were misunderstood because they had no language in common.
In New York in 1912, John Bosch rode beside ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on the way to a luncheon at the Kinneys’ home, and the Master slept on his shoulder for the whole drive.
In his pilgrimage journal of 1911, Louis Gregory recalls a vision he had soon after accepting the Faith and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s explanation of it as four classes of people.
In London on 22 December 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told how Mary Magdalene went to the emperor of Rome on behalf of the Christians and asked that no one exact vengeance for the death of Christ.
May Bolles, one of the first Western pilgrims, recalls her journey from Marseilles by way of Port Said to Haifa and the morning she first met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
In 1920, while Shoghi Effendi was resting in Paris on his way to England, the pilgrim Núru’d-Dín Mumtází met him at a gathering, and Shoghi Effendi later visited his party and chanted a prayer for their pilgrimage.
Speaking at the Bowery Mission in New York in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told of a rainy night when Jesus, with no shelter, called Himself the richest man on earth because God had given Him the poor.
During their 1906 pilgrimage to 'Akká, 'Abdu'l-Bahá came to Ali Kuli Khan's door with a handkerchief full of white roses for his wife Florence, fulfilling her long prayer to receive a rose from His hand.
On March 25, 1912, with His daughter Rúhá Khánum seriously ill, 'Abdu'l-Bahá bade farewell to the grieving friends at Alexandria and sailed on the S. S. Cedric with six companions, among them Shoghi Effendi.
Sarah Farmer's vision of Green Acre as a place of peace and learning for all races and religions found its true purpose when she met 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 'Akká in 1900, and He visited Green Acre in 1912.
When the infant Shoghi Effendi woke crying one night, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had him brought so that He could comfort him, and told the Greatest Holy Leaf, “See, already he has dreams!”
When the young Shoghi Effendi took up 'Abdu'l-Bahá's pen and tried to write, the Master drew him close and told him it was time to play, for he would write a lot in the future.
At ‘Akká in January 1908 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told pilgrims of a king who found a ninety-year-old man planting date trees for the next generation, and whose grateful, witty answers earned him three gifts.
Visiting ‘Akká in 1905, the American pilgrim Mary Lucas watched ‘Abdu’l-Bahá listen gravely to His two-year-old granddaughter's troubles, and gently prompt her when she forgot a word while chanting Him a Tablet.
Unable to give money for the Temple, the Chicago seamstress Nettie Tobin hauled a discarded building stone to the Temple site in 1908; on May 1, 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá used it when He dedicated the ground.
Jináb-i-Fáḍil's 1924 account of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's life, from His birth on the night of the Báb's declaration through the exiles and His years in 'Akká to His release by the Young Turk revolution of 1908.
In 'Akká 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked May Maxwell whether she would like a child, and she answered that she chose whatever God chose. In 1910 her daughter Mary was born, and the Master urged her to raise the child as a real Bahá'í.
As a child of five or six on a visit to Beirut, Shoghi Effendi watched Dr. Baghdadi dissect a wildcat and afterwards repeated the main points of the lesson word for word.
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's wife had a fine new coat made for Him before a visit from the Governor of ‘Akká, He asked her to send it back and have five ordinary coats made for the same price, four of them to give away.
In the last months of His life ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told of two dreams: in one He raised the call to prayer before a vast multitude and went out; in the other Bahá’u’lláh told Him, “Destroy this room.”
On the evening of April 21, 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá toured the Library of Congress with the Parsons and insisted on seeing each part thoroughly, until the superintendent ordered that the lights be left on.
In Paris in 1901, Thomas Breakwell heard a voice in the wind say “Christ has come again!” He learned of Bahá'u'lláh from May Bolles, visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 'Akká, and gave the rest of his short life to service.
Early one morning at an inn in Dublin, New Hampshire, 'Abdu'l-Bahá called in a ragged old man, cheered him, and gave him His own trousers, then went back to His dictation as if nothing had happened.
In April 1913 about fifty children in Esslingen, Germany, lined up with flowers to welcome 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He gave them chocolates and sweets, spoke to them all, and was photographed seated in their midst.
During the First World War 'Abdu'l-Bahá grew wheat near Tiberias to feed the hungry of Haifa and 'Akká. In 1920 the British knighted Him for this work, and He came to the ceremony in His old servant's carriage.
A governor of 'Akká who tried to shut the Bahá'ís' shops was suddenly dismissed. 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited him, comforted him, and sent his family safely to Damascus, and the humbled governor wrote to beg His pardon.
In 1912 Nettie Tobin, a Chicago Bahá'í with little money, hauled a stone a builder had rejected all the way to the House of Worship site, where 'Abdu'l-Bahá used it at the dedication.
After Bahá'u'lláh's passing, 'Abdu'l-Bahá made a garden by His Father's Shrine and carried water for it Himself. On Holy Days He led the pilgrims, carrying pots of flowers, to the Shrine.
Shoghi Effendi's boyhood in the household of his grandfather 'Abdu'l-Bahá: his name, morning prayers and breakfast with the Master, the Tablet telling him to memorize and chant prayers, and the surname Rabbani.
Boys who had shouted and thrown sticks at 'Abdu'l-Bahá's party in New York came to meet Him. He welcomed each one, called the only black boy a black rose, and gave them all chocolates.
A little girl in America tells her mother that Jesus is in the world again. Out walking, she points to a picture of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in a shop window, and her mother sets out at once for Paris to see Him.
In a story told by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, a ninety-year-old man planting date seeds tells a king that he plants for the next generation. His answers so please the king that he gives him three pieces of money.
Sent by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to care for a poor, sick friend in 'Akká, Lua Getsinger fled from the filthy house. The Master sternly sent her back to serve him, as He Himself had done many times.
'Abdu'l-Bahá walked rather than rode to visit His Father, saying He would not ride where Christ had walked. Later He insisted on the ordinary stagecoach, asking why He should travel in a carriage when the poor need money.
When a little girl was ill, 'Abdu'l-Bahá brought her two pink roses. After she passed away, He consoled her mother by describing the Garden of God, where the Divine Gardener transplants a little tree to a more beautiful place.
Gran'pa tells George and Ann how, as a homeless man with no purpose, he walked thirty miles to see 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and how the Master's loving welcome gave him a new life of work and service.
Thornton Chase, the first Western believer, felt the Bahá'ís were not ready for the Master's visit to California, and died in Los Angeles as He reached San Francisco. He left his Bahá'í papers to John Bosch.
At a New York meeting on 14 April 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá compared hearts to mirrors that receive the same sunlight in different degrees, and said that our duty is to polish the mirrors of our hearts.
Speaking in New York on 14 April 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá compared humanity to one great tree and used the image of a seed, which holds the whole tree within it, to explain the unity of the world of humanity.
At the Baptist Temple in Philadelphia on 9 June 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá explained the unity of mankind: the child must be patiently trained rather than censured, and the sick must be given compassion and healing, not neglected.
Visitors from far countries who stayed on while the Master taught were invited to lunch with Him. So often were there nineteen at table that Lady Blomfield's household came to expect it, and He often served the guests with His own hands.
In His last days 'Abdu'l-Bahá still gave alms to the poor, blessed a servant's wedding and received visitors. He passed away in the early hours of 28 November 1921, with two of His daughters beside Him.
On 17 September 1911, at the invitation of Archdeacon Wilberforce, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed the congregation of St. John the Divine, Westminster, and the congregation knelt to receive His blessing.
Corinne True's son Davis was critically ill when 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited him in Chicago on 30 April. Davis died while the Master kept Corinne busy; yet she was at the Temple site the next day, and the Master later prayed at the cemetery.
While 'Abdu'l-Bahá was again confined to 'Akká, Corinne True brought Him a petition signed by over a thousand American believers asking to build a House of Worship. He held it high with joy and told her to make a beginning.
On pilgrimage, Corinne True met the martyr's widow who served tea to the Master's family each morning, and marvelled at His household of over forty people of many races and nations, where no word of dispute was heard.
A cleaning woman, ashamed of her rough, work-worn hands, meant only to touch 'Abdu'l-Bahá's robe and slip away. He took her hand, raised her up, looked at it with deep love, and said one word: “Sacrifice!”
Corinne True's daughter Arna feared she had tuberculosis and felt she could not marry Leo Perron. 'Abdu'l-Bahá took her thermometer, broke it in two, and told her she would be well and could marry. She soon recovered.
At Lady Blomfield's table in London, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke of the blessings of freedom and wished the courses could be shared with the poor and hungry. His hosts at once resolved to simplify their dinners.
When Shoghi Effendi, aged five, begged the Master to write something for him, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told him to memorize and chant the prayers of Bahá'u'lláh. The boy chanted them so loudly the whole neighbourhood heard.
Dr J. E. Esslemont, 'Abdu'l-Bahá's guest in Haifa in the winter of 1919–20, recalled how the Master charmed pilgrims at His table with humorous stories and gathered people of every race and religion in friendship.
Driving back to Thonon in 1911, 'Abdu'l-Bahá stopped the car to sit above a spectacular waterfall and delighted in the beauty of the countryside. He then told Juliet Thompson that His invitation to America would be the unity of the believers.
Before leaving America, 'Abdu'l-Bahá refused the believers' money and asked that the presents they brought for His family be sold for the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, saying the love of God is the best of all gifts.
On the last night of His life, when 'Abdu'l-Bahá's night-robe needed changing to cool His fever, no other could be found. He had given it away.
On an evening visit to the Library of Congress, 'Abdu'l-Bahá insisted on seeing each bronze figure in the rotunda, saying, “When one undertakes to see a thing one should see it.” The superintendent ordered the lights left on.
Travelling east across America, 'Abdu'l-Bahá refused sleeping-car berths so as not to depend on bodily comfort. The next night He had six berths reserved, saying too much austerity was not good, and insisted that all share equally.
After an afternoon of long conversations with Professor Ignaz Goldziher and other notable visitors, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá reached a public meeting in Budapest barely able to speak, yet He delivered a powerful talk.
As British guns prepared to shell Haifa in 1918, frightened Bahá’ís came to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He called them to prayer and assured them all would be well, and the shells passed harmlessly over the town.
A 1936 United States government report describes how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá organized farming near Tiberias during the First World War, averting famine for the Bahá’ís and for many of the poor of all religions, and was afterwards knighted for these services.
When some of His Persian companions remarked that there was better tea than the one Corinne True served in Chicago, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá drank it and said it was very good because it had been prepared with love.
After ‘Abdu’l-Bahá saved Haifa’s people from wartime starvation, the British knighted Him in 1920. He came to the ceremony quietly, not in the elegant car sent for Him but in the horse-drawn carriage that His faithful servant Isfandíyár brought for Him.
At a public meeting in San Francisco in October 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said that nations at the apex of material progress were like healthy bodies empty of spirit, and that Americans would attain perfection when the spirit of divine civilization was breathed into them.
During Ethel Rosenberg’s eight-month stay in ‘Akká in 1904, she asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá why He had to endure such suffering. He answered that God’s teachers could not guide others unless they themselves underwent every kind of suffering.
During ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s stay at the Parsons home in Washington in April 1912, the household was called together for His short talk and blessing, and He gave each servant a silk handkerchief.
In Egypt a carriage driver demanded an unfair fare and shook ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by His sash, but the Master paid only what He owed and told him honesty would have earned a handsome tip.
Visiting the poet Elizabeth Gibson Cheyne and her invalid husband, Dr T. K. Cheyne, in Oxford, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was moved to tears by her loving care and called her an angelic woman.
Even amid crowded days in London, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stayed calm and clear about His purpose. Before leaving in 1913 He told the friends that teaching the Cause called for undivided attention.
Returning late at night after an exhausting day of speaking in America, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had to be almost carried to His room, yet within fifteen minutes He was calling for His secretary with renewed energy.
On the voyage to America in 1912, American friends asked that the Persians travelling with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá alter their attire to suit the time and place. He replied that there was no harm in it and that such matters were trifles.
Florence Khánum recalls two sayings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: “Be patient, be as I am,” and, to someone discouraged about acquiring every virtue, “Little by little; day by day.”
Thornton Chase recalls a meal in ‘Akká in 1907: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would not eat until all His guests were served, then bade them begin with “Bismillah!” and spoke of the love that had drawn them together.
When His wife ordered a fine new coat for a visit from the Governor of ‘Akká, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked her to send it back and have five ordinary coats made for the same price, so that He could give four away.
Through the spring and summer of 1912 the California Bahá’ís longed for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to come west, while His messages wavered between hope and doubt, until in August He wired John Bosch that He would travel to the West.
In Geneva in 1911 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked Juliet Thompson whether she could come on to London, and she said her steamer ticket could not be exchanged. Back in New York, a Tablet reached her with a small sum of money: exactly the cost of the ticket.
Invited to the Plaza Hotel in New York in July 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá sat in a small room and declined the manager's offer to show Him the rest. Mahmúd's Diary records why, and records how often that year He refused gifts.
In New York on 19 June 1912, while Juliet Thompson was painting His portrait, 'Abdu'l-Bahá opened His eyes and named Lua Getsinger the Herald of the Covenant, telling her to go forth and proclaim it.
In May 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at the peace conference at Lake Mohonk in New York State. Mahmúd's Diary records His address, His comparison of some peace workers to wine sellers, and His farewell gift of a Persian carpet.
On a train journey from Salt Lake City to California in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke of Peter's spiritual education and remembered seeing, as a child in Tihrán, the learned Vahíd fall at the muddy feet of a servant of the Báb.
When Howard Colby Ives wrote in 1912 that his Brotherhood Church had closed for lack of funds, 'Abdu'l-Bahá's reply joked about the philosophy of the age and urged him to give his whole life to spreading the teachings.
In the summer of 1911 Juliet Thompson met two professors from New York near 'Abdu'l-Bahá on Lake Geneva. One lunched with Him and asked his questions; the other stayed away and watched from a window.
During the First World War, when no one could be found to carry a Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Bahá from Haifa to Tihrán, Hájí Ramaḍán, an Arab believer of seventy-five and nearly blind, asked to go, walked there, and came back.
Speaking in Chicago in November 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told the believers how the Bahá'ís of Yazd, though strong enough to resist, met their executioners without raising a hand, some even offering them sweets.
On 13 May 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá lay ill in New York with a high fever. Asked by Juliet Thompson whether He must still go to the peace meeting at the Hotel Astor, He answered that He worked by the confirmations of the Holy Spirit, and went.
Julia Grundy visits the Riḍván garden near 'Akká with the daughters of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and kneels at Bahá'u'lláh's chair. Its old gardener, Abu'l-Qásim, told May Maxwell what Bahá'u'lláh said of the garden and of the locusts.
In October 1912 'Abdu'l-Baha stayed three nights at Phoebe Hearst's house near Pleasanton, California. On the last evening she asked Him to speak to her relatives and guests about the Faith, and He read them a prayer in Arabic.
In 1912 the minister Howard Colby Ives received a Tablet from 'Abdu'l-Baha that he took at first for simply a beautiful letter. When his church closed, a second Tablet consoled him with humour and called him to teach the Faith.
In Haifa in July 1909 Juliet Thompson watched 'Abdu'l-Baha dictate Tablets. He answered a believer whose father had driven him out, and told Carrie Kinney, who had said nothing of her own trouble, that the reply was for her too.
In 'Akká in 1909 Juliet Thompson gave 'Abdu'l-Bahá her mother's wish that she give up teaching the Faith for her painting. He told her to do both, and gave her a message about her two arts to take home.
In Dublin, New Hampshire, in August 1912, the minister Howard Colby Ives spent a Sunday with 'Abdu'l-Bahá and said he would never doubt again. He later wrote that he had spoken many months too soon.
In London in 1911 'Abdu'l-Bahá told a society's representative that knowledge must be put into practice, and told of a learned man who said he understood the Bahá'í teachings but flared in anger at a single question.
In 'Akká in 1897 Dr Yúnis Khán asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá whether the one who would follow Him had already been born. 'Abdu'l-Bahá said it was true, and Yúnis Khán kept the answer to himself for many years.
At the Brooklands aviation ground in September 1911, a young Hindu learning to fly asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá's friends who their visitor was. Told it was 'Abdu'l-Bahá, whose teachings he had studied, he went to meet Him.
In Paris in 1911 'Abdu'l-Bahá told an artist that all true art is a gift of the Holy Spirit. The artist's questions led to the blind eyes that cannot see the Sun of Truth, and the Master answered with a prayer.
After the Unity Feast at West Englewood in 1912, a seeker asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá what this Cause taught that earlier religions did not. He answered in the moonlit garden, naming its teachings one by one.
Haifa, 1909. When 'Abdu'l-Bahá left for 'Akká without her, Juliet Thompson spoke her submission to His Will aloud on Mount Carmel. His Tablet to her repeated the very words she had spoken there.
In 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá meant to take His grandson Shoghi Effendi, then fifteen, with Him to America. At Naples, doctors ordered the boy off the ship, and the Master asked him to obey, saying there was a wisdom in it.
In 1912 Lua Getsinger, asked by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to go to California, walked through poison ivy so that she could not travel. He sent her an apple and a pomegranate to cure her, and she went.
In 1917, with the usual roads closed by war, Haji Ramadan, a nearly blind believer of seventy-five, offered to carry a Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Bahá on foot from Haifa to Tihrán, and returned with letters and gold.
'Abdu'l-Bahá sent Sulaymán Khán to Qum with a letter promising the banished Prime Minister, Amínu's-Sultán, his return to power. The promise came true, but the Minister later failed to protect the believers of Yazd.
'Abdu'l-Bahá wished to open a path from the Shrine of the Báb down to the German Avenue, but a settler's house and landowners holding out for a fortune blocked it for years. The Greatest Holy Leaf tells how the way was opened.
Juliet Thompson, a painter with debts and a mother to care for, offered the proceeds of photographs of her 1912 portrait of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the House of Worship. The day before He sailed from New York, He told her to keep the money.
In March 1916 Agnes Alexander wrote from Tokyo of new people at her Friday meeting, students at her door, a blind Russian friend hearing Some Answered Questions, and Bahá'í books placed in a library, one of which a stranger had already found.
In Washington in 1912, while Juliet Thompson waited at Mrs Parsons' house, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told her that her heart, not her eloquence, was what taught, and promised that her tongue would be loosed.
In June 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá said He had spoken in America according to the capacity of His hearers. On 16 June, in a Congregational church in Brooklyn, He spoke on the truth of Islam, and no one offered a single objection.
Resting in a Montclair park in June 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá recalled days in Baghdád without fifteen paras for a bath. Back at the hotel, two wealthy ladies remarked that He seemed very rich, and He told them what His riches were.
In 'Akká in July 1909, some believers met to settle how the Master's station should be spoken of. At lunch that day 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke of Bahá'u'lláh's warnings to the kings and ended by declaring that His only name was 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Early in 1916, though tired and unwell, 'Abdu'l-Bahá drove from Haifa to Nazareth to meet Jamál Páshá. On the way He prayed for a gravely ill girl in the village of Majdal, and in Nazareth the general who had been His enemy treated Him with every courtesy.
In 1911 a reporter from The Weekly Budget asked 'Abdu'l-Baha in London about His imprisonment. He described the first summer in 'Akka, when all one hundred and fifty prisoners fell ill, and laughed about the broth He had made for them.
In New York in 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá praised Juliet Thompson again and again for her truthfulness, and in November He tested whether her heart was still in the same state.
At Thonon in 1911 Zillu's-Sultán, whose orders had sent Bahá'ís to their deaths, met 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Who embraced him and told him never to think of the past again. Later one of the prince's sons wept over his family's deeds.
In April 1912, four years after the Ottoman Empire released 'Abdu'l-Bahá from prison, its ambassador in Washington gave a dinner in His honour, read Him a tribute, and walked Him to His carriage.
George Townshend, once a canon of St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, writes that spirituality was the dominant element in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s character, whose single aim was servitude to God.
Gloria Faizi explains the Master's wide love through an example He once gave: a crushed letter from a beloved is no less precious for its condition, and so we can love anyone as God's creature.
Thornton Chase became a Bahá'í in Chicago in 1894. 'Abdu'l-Bahá named him Thábit, the Steadfast, and in 1912 made a special journey to his grave in Inglewood, California.
On 1 May 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá dedicated the site of the first Bahá'í House of Worship in the West at Wilmette, laying as its first stone a discarded block brought by Nettie Tobin.
After Bahá'u'lláh's passing, His eldest Son set aside the exalted titles His Father had given Him and asked to be known only as 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Servant of Bahá.
Grace very much wanted to attend the Unity Feast at West Englewood, but Dr Krug wanted her to play golf with him. 'Abdu'l-Bahá told her she must always consider the Doctor, who later became a Bahá'í.
Trying to live by guidance, Harry Randall walked all afternoon, praying at every corner, until he reached a house where a woman had dreamed the night before of the visitor who would bring her wonderful news.
Taken reluctantly to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Harry Randall found the Master accepting a tea invitation he had never given. At the tea He went straight to Harry's frail wife, Ruth, whose doctor found her healed the next day.
Late in August 1912 Harry Randall asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá to help his wife Ruth, who had tuberculosis. The Master visited her that afternoon, and two weeks later her doctor found her well.
'Abdu'l-Bahá passed away in Haifa on 28 November 1921. At His funeral some ten thousand people of every religion and race followed His coffin up Mount Carmel to the Shrine of the Báb, where He was laid to rest.
When the Bahá'ís begged for a day to celebrate as His, 'Abdu'l-Bahá would not let it be His birthday, which belonged to the Báb, and gave them 26 November instead. A tablet of His calls the believers to be firm.
In 1912, on the Feast of Naw-Rúz in Alexandria, Egypt, 'Abdu'l-Bahá explained the meaning of the blessed days appointed in every dispensation — days for rejoicing together, for unity, and for leaving "tangible philanthropic or ideal traces" reaching all mankind.
A man twice prevented from seeing 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote a heartbreaking letter showing that he thought himself rebuffed. When it was translated, the Master at once put on His coat and, deeply grieved, went out alone.
At their first meeting in New York in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá sat knee to knee with Howard Colby Ives, wiped away his tears, told him one must always be happy, and laughed.
Sailing for America in March 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá called the table set for morning tea a divine table, spoke of gratitude, and asked for His first good bath in several months.
In Montclair, New Jersey, in June 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá went to the market, oversaw the kitchen and often cooked for His guests, while for Himself a piece of bread and some cheese sufficed.
In Denver in 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá told of a traveller who could not sleep for fear that a gift of a robe would be stolen, and threw it away to find rest.
Juliet Thompson describes the Cedric reaching New York in April 1912, and Siyyid Asadu'lláh's report that 'Abdu'l-Bahá laughed at His first sight of the Wall Street skyscrapers and called them the minarets of the West.
At the Golden Links Club in Boston in July 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said Arabic would not become the universal language and explained how Esperanto could become universal.
Myron Phelps tells how 'Abdu'l-Bahá met a man in 'Akká who denounced Him for twenty-four years with food, clothing and care, until the man came weeping to ask His forgiveness.
On His third visit to Paris, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was often too weak to go to meetings in the Bahá’ís’ homes, yet He kept receiving visitors at His hotel, saying that Bahá’u’lláh had trained Him to shoulder the burdens of others.
Wary after years of disappointed hopes, Howard Colby Ives was persuaded to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at the Hotel Ansonia, where he was called into the Master's room and, in a long silence with Him, found the faith he had sought.
Howard Colby Ives explains that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's courtesy was really reverence for the soul in every person, and recalls how the husband of His hostess in Dublin called Him the most perfect gentleman he had ever known.
Howard Colby Ives recalls ‘Abdu’l-Bahá serving His guests with His own hands while eating nothing Himself, and His simple answer when asked to be honorary chairman of a Bahá’í Assembly.
When Howard Colby Ives's Brotherhood Church in Jersey City had to close for lack of funds, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote to him that this had happened so that he might be free to call the people to the Kingdom.
When a group of boys came to meet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in New York, He greeted the only Black boy among them as “a black rose,” and the other boys looked at him with new eyes.
An unschooled miner who travelled far on foot to hear ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in San Francisco was so absorbed in His words that he took the interpreter for an intruder, never realizing the Master was speaking Persian.
Howard Colby Ives describes how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá taught souls: He never argued, pressed a point or told him what to believe, but showed by His own voice and manner how one should be.
In April 1912 the explosives inventor Hudson Maxim argued the case for modern weapons with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at the Hotel Ansonia; the Master urged him instead to practise the science of peace and invent “guns of love.”
On April 10, 1911, the day he landed at Alexandria, Louis G. Gregory of Washington met 'Abdu'l-Bahá for the first time. The Master kissed his head, asked after his health and told him, "I am happy to have you here."
In April 1911 Louis G. Gregory visited the Tomb of the Báb on Mount Carmel, where the pilgrims removed their shoes and heard prayers chanted, and that evening met the believers of Haifa.
In New York in June 1912, before a few days' rest at Montclair, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told the friends of His wish to give an outdoor feast of unity, like a Persian garden, at which all would be His guests.
Howard Colby Ives asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá why he should believe in Bahá’u’lláh. After a long silence the Master spoke of the sincerity a minister's heart must have, and only months later did Ives realize his question had been answered.
On 14 April 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave His first public address in America at New York's Church of the Ascension. Juliet Thompson recalls how He likened material civilization to a lamp's glass and spiritual civilization to its light.
Longing to be perfect yet despairing of his own weakness, Howard Colby Ives asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá how he could ever reach so high a goal. The Master answered that it is accomplished little by little.
Struggling to give up smoking, Howard Colby Ives asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for help. Instead of a lecture, the Master told him not to let it trouble him, and two days later the desire left him for seven years.
When a car given to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá reached port as a weekend began, Shoghi Effendi went to officials' homes for their signatures and had it at the Master's door though it was not a business day.
Myron Phelps, a visitor to ‘Akká, describes a crowd of the poor, blind and aged waiting in the street, and the Master coming out to give each of them coins and a kindly word.
In 1907 Corinne True watched from her window as the Master gave money and words of kindness to two or three hundred of the poor of ‘Akká, as He did every Friday morning.
On pilgrimage in 1909, Ethel Rosenberg asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá how the friends could increase their numbers. He answered that they should love each other very much, for love is the foundation of everything.
Reluctantly brought to hear ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Boston in 1912, William Randall carried Him some grape juice and was asked to sit. After twenty restless minutes the Master spoke words that became a turning point in his life.
In 1914 The Christian Commonwealth described ‘Abdu’l-Bahá going about ‘Akká doing good, honoured by the officials who visited Him, and working from sunrise till midnight despite broken health.
In a letter to the friends in Denver and in talks in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá counselled that the Faith be taught through sociability, pure deeds and sweet speech, through love and sacrifice for one another, and with care for the listener’s needs.
Visiting Haifa at thirteen in 1919, Margaret (Bahíyyih) Randall was told by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that her name means light, but that there is no light without something within. Asked how she could serve, He answered, “Study. Study. Study.”
Besides His own family, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s household included orphan children and widows of martyrs, and Mary Lucas saw in it a home where everything was done in the spirit of love.
In ‘Akká the Master kept giving His own bed to feverish people He found lying on bare ground, sleeping on the floor or the roof Himself until His situation was discovered and a kind friend gave Him another.
Dr. Florian Krug raged against his wife Grace’s new faith and threatened to have ‘Abdu’l-Bahá thrown out of his house. When the Master came, He asked him, ‘Dr. Krug, are you happy?’ and his opposition ended.
In California, despite fatigue and physical ailments, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá welcomed everyone with a beaming smile and asked, ‘Are you happy?’
At Thonon in 1911 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá embraced the exiled prince Ẓillu’s-Sulṭán, whose family had persecuted the Bahá’ís, and asked to meet his sons; the elder of them later became a Bahá’í.
In late May 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had to leave His New York lodgings because of the stream of visitors, but when the staff saw His kindness as He departed, they were ashamed and begged Him to stay.
Years later Leroy Ioas described the visitors who came to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá from dawn onward, and the swift answers with which, in a single moment, He might decide someone’s destiny.
In London, inquirers who stayed on at mealtimes were invited to dine. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá led the humblest guest to the seat at His right and put each one at ease, and as many as eighteen might be served by the Master Himself.
In Minneapolis a rabbi asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to speak in his synagogue. When the Master mentioned His years of imprisonment, the rabbi remarked that we are all in prison in this world, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said He had been resigned and joyful even then.
In New York a young supporter of tax reform asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá what message to take back to friends. Laughing, the Master said to invite them into the Kingdom of God, where there is plenty of land and no taxes on it.
In Paris a man from India told ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that his aim in life was to spread the message of Krishna. The Master did not argue; He replied that Krishna’s message, like that of all God’s prophets, is the message of love.
In San Francisco on 22 October 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá foretold a great war and said the generality of mankind would one day reproach statesmen who send them into war while they themselves live in comfort.
At Glenwood Springs, Colorado, in 1912, Saichiro Fujita brought a big watermelon back to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The Master began eating it at once with His hand, declining a knife and fork, and it was shared with all the Bahá’ís.
On a drive through Montreal in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stopped at the quiet Roman Catholic cathedral and went in. There He spoke of the sacrifice of Christ’s disciples, which had carried their faith so far, and urged His companions to follow in their footsteps.
In Shoghi Effendi’s childhood the family rose at dawn to pray and take breakfast with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His room. The children sat quietly and chanted when asked, and Shoghi Effendi learned to be always the first up and on time.
On the morning of 30 June 1912 in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá served His companions tea with His own hand and told them that every confirmation they received came from Bahá'u'lláh.
On the morning of 20 September 1912, before leaving Minneapolis, 'Abdu'l-Bahá urged the friends to love one another, visit each other and act on God's commandments rather than be Bahá'ís in word alone.
Warned in 1918 that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was in serious danger, Lady Blomfield sought Lord Lamington's help; Lord Balfour had a cable sent to General Allenby to protect Him, and when Allenby took Haifa he cabled that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was safe.
Loulie Mathews tried to teach the Faith in Paris through elegant teas, until a visitor scarred by the chains of prison with his Lord showed her how much she had to learn. 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote that she would one day be a lion roaring through the Cause of God.
When Dr Yúnis Khán handed the Master a believer's poem addressing Him in exalted terms, 'Abdu'l-Bahá was grieved and affirmed His servitude, then comforted him with such loving words that his anguish turned to joy.
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá heard in San Francisco in 1912 that Thornton Chase, the first Bahá’í in America, had passed away, He spoke of the fruitfulness of his life, and later prayed at his grave.
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá came to Egypt, some newspapers wrote against Him. Rather than let the Bahá’ís answer them, He called the papers heralds of the Kingdom, and events turned out as He had said.
A floor maid came out of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s suite with her arms full of roses He had given her, and showed them to Ella Quant, exclaiming, “See what He gave me!”
In a Tablet about backbiting, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells how Christ, passing a dead animal with His apostles, saw only the whiteness of its teeth, and calls this the conduct of the real Bahá’ís.
Rúḥíyyih Khánum recalls that the Guardian as a small boy was the high-spirited ringleader of the children, and that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá once wrote a short sentence about how much he ran about.
Before leaving New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave Edward Kinney a pair of His boots. When the treasured boots vanished, Mr. Kinney examined his own conduct, prayed for forgiveness, and found them back in their drawer.
In New York in 1912, Lua Getsinger told Grace Robarts that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wished her to marry Harlan Ober, a man she scarcely knew. Grace obeyed, and the Master Himself performed their marriage.
Nine days before His passing, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá addressed a talk in Haifa to John Bosch, the only Westerner present, explaining that hearts can speak without words and that real love shows itself in self-sacrifice.
Swiss-born winemaker John Bosch became a Bahá’í in 1905 and took “Justice” as his watchword. When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote to him that the Book of Aqdas forbids both light and strong drinks, he thought it over and soon decided to retire.
In April 1912 John Bosch hurried from California to New York to meet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. When he said he had come three thousand miles to see Him, the Master laughed and answered that He had come eight thousand miles to see John.
On 23 April 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá addressed the more than 1,000 students of Howard University, with the faculty and many guests. Joseph Hannen recorded the audience’s breathless attention and the ovation that followed.
On a drive near Thonon in August 1911, 'Abdu'l-Bahá bought violets from peasant children and stopped at a waterfall. When Juliet Thompson wished she could follow Him all her life, He told her to be happy in the present.
On 19 April 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to three hundred homeless men at the Bowery Mission in New York, then stood at the end of the aisle and pressed coins into the hand of each man as he filed past.
In New York in April 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent for Juliet Thompson's grieving mother, who had opposed her daughter's work for the Faith, and comforted her. The next day she told Juliet that all her bitterness had gone.
At Thonon in August 1911, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told Juliet Thompson, through His interpreter, that He bore witness to the purity of her heart and had sent for her out of nothing but affection.
At a Washington luncheon in April 1912, asked whether the spirit could heal broken bones, 'Abdu'l-Bahá laughed that all the spirits in the air could not create a salad. Two days later, at the Turkish Embassy, He answered high praise very simply.
In June 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá sat for the painter Juliet Thompson in New York. At the first sitting, in a cramped and dark entrance hall, He asked her to paint His Servitude to God.
On 4 July 1909 'Abdu'l-Bahá took Juliet Thompson and other pilgrims to Bahjí, sat on the floor to sweeten the children's tea, led the pilgrims to the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh, and told them that the world is one.
In 'Akká in July 1909, 'Abdu'l-Bahá called Juliet Thompson to His room and asked for the messages she had brought from the American believers. She asked His prayers for her godchild, her brother and a friend.
Julia Grundy, an early pilgrim, described a simple supper in ‘Akká at which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá welcomed and seated each guest, anointed them with attar of rose and served them Himself.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá told the artist Juliet Thompson that, though she was not eloquent, she taught well, because her heart taught and her feeling made people ask what she had.
On an outing for the Master’s birthday, a group of boys in a Bronx park jeered at ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and threw stones. He asked for the birthday cake, cut it into a piece for each boy, and they ran off happily.
In ‘Akká, Juliet Thompson told ‘Abdu’l-Bahá she was afraid she was not dressed well enough to meet the Persian believers. He answered that they do not look at the dress but at the heart.
At a Washington reception in April 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá congratulated Admiral Peary on reaching the North Pole and gently observed that, having found nothing there, he had relieved the public mind. Juliet Thompson recorded the scene.
While Juliet Thompson painted ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s portrait in America, He told May Maxwell she had a kind heart, Lua Getsinger a tender heart and Juliet an emotional one, and said that united they would make a great heart.
In Chicago, as John Bosch was paying his hotel bill before leaving for the West Coast, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá took his hand, brought him up to His room, and sent him off with a big cake and armfuls of fruit.
As Mrs C prepared to leave the household of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in ‘Akká, He came to bid her farewell and asked her, when she returned to New York, to talk to people about the love of God.
Kanichi Yamamoto, who became a Bahá’í in Hawaii, wrote to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Japanese. When one of his letters arrived that His secretary could not read, the Master said He would rely on the Blessed Beauty and reply.
The poet Kahlil Gibran, Juliet Thompson's neighbor, asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to sit for him and came to love Him deeply. Years later, seeing the Master on film, he wept before the gathering.
Mirza 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.
Louis Gregory, a Black lawyer from Charleston whose parents had been enslaved, became a Bahá'í in 1909. 'Abdu'l-Bahá seated him in the place of honor at a Washington luncheon, and he spent his life working for unity between the races.
Mírzá 'Abdu'lláh, a master of Persian music, kept teaching though mobs attacked his school. 'Abdu'l-Bahá called him "Divine musician" and encouraged him to preserve the old melodies by writing them down.
Asadu'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.
Mírzá 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.
Mirza Yusuf, nephew of the martyr Vahid, searched for years before becoming a Bahá'í. In 1902 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent him to teach in America, and later gave him his uncle's name.
Muḥammad 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.
On a drive near Lake Geneva in 1911, 'Abdu'l-Bahá bought all the violets a group of village children were selling. Later, when Juliet wished she could follow Him all her life, He told her to be happy in the present.
At 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.
In September 1911 Archdeacon Wilberforce invited 'Abdu'l-Bahá to speak at his London church, and the whole congregation knelt to receive His blessing.
Thornton 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.
In 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá laid the first stone of the House of Worship at Wilmette. The stone He used was one that builders had thrown away, brought there by a Chicago Bahá'í named Nettie Tobin.
After 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.
When '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.
The 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.
At 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.
A lady who could not walk longed to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá. When He heard about her wish, He went to her home to see her.
Before 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.
When '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.
In Boston in 1912, a speaker warned a large audience that a false Christ had come to America. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, speaking next, told them of the truth of all the Prophets of God, and especially of Christ.
In 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.
On December 5, 1912, many friends came aboard the ship Celtic in New York to say goodbye to 'Abdu'l-Bahá. In His last words to them He said that the whole earth is one globe and all nations are one family.
Nettie 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.
At a children's event in Brooklyn, Admiral Peary, the explorer of the North Pole, asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá to make a short speech. He had not planned to speak, but His talk captured everyone's attention.
On His last evening in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to students and professors at Columbia University about the powers of the human mind and spirit, and about the love that joins East and West. Afterwards, people did not want to leave Him.
When '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.
When 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.
In a San Francisco synagogue, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke about Moses and then asked His Jewish listeners why they should not also praise Christ and Muḥammad.
When 'Abdu'l-Bahá left Minneapolis, His friends went with Him to the train. Before He left, He asked them to be kind to the poor and help them.
Louis 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.
On His journey through America in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá often served tea and food to His companions and guests with His own hands.
In city after city on His journey across America, 'Abdu'l-Bahá met the children, hugged and blessed them, and gave them flowers and sweets.
'Abdu'l-Bahá could stay only two days in Minneapolis and St. Paul. In that time He spoke at His hotel, a club, a synagogue and two friends' homes.
Nettie 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.
At 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.
In 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.
In Pittsburgh in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá taught that laws should help the poor and that the rich should give to them from willing hearts.
'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.
After traveling across America and back, 'Abdu'l-Bahá returned to New York in November 1912 and welcomed the many friends and visitors who came to see Him before He sailed away.
About eighteen hundred students filled a university hall at Stanford to hear 'Abdu'l-Bahá speak about science, peace, and the whole human race as one family.
As He left a country house in Milford, 'Abdu'l-Bahá looked at the green countryside all around and began to cry, because He was remembering the sufferings of His Father, Bahá'u'lláh.
When '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.
A 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.
In 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.
The president of Clark University invited 'Abdu'l-Bahá to visit. He spoke to more than a thousand students and teachers about the value of science, and told the president He would never forget the meeting.
Howard 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.
A 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.
'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.
Howard Colby Ives invited 'Abdu'l-Bahá to speak at the church he had named the Brotherhood Church. When 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke on brotherhood, Howard felt ashamed of how little he had lived the word.
A 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.
Howard 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.
Saying goodbye to 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the ship that took Him from America, Howard Colby Ives knelt and placed the Master's hand on his head. He never forgot how still that hand lay.
After 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.
'Abdu'l-Bahá listened while a committee in New York talked things over. Then He stopped at the door and asked them one question.
At 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.
At Oxford, the young Shoghi Effendi worked day and night to perfect his English so that he could translate the holy writings, until the news of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's passing called him home.
Shoghi Effendi, the grandson of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, was often unhappy at school in Beirut, but he studied hard so that one day he could serve his grandfather and translate His letters into English.
In '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.
On a July morning in 1909 at Bahjí, 'Abdu'l-Bahá sat on the floor among four children, sweetened their tea and fed it to them. Later, looking out over the sea, He said that America and the Holy Land are one.
A 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.
On 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.
Early one morning a lady looked out of her window and saw 'Abdu'l-Bahá give a poor old man the trousers He was wearing.
On 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.
In 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.
A 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.
As a small boy, Shoghi Effendi learned from his grandfather, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to be on time, and became the first to get up for the family’s early prayers and breakfast in the Master’s room.
At Lake Mohonk in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told some young people the fable of the mice who could not decide who would bell the cat, and likened it to the peace conferences of the day.
In 1907 a Commission of investigation came to ‘Akká, and a ship stood ready to carry ‘Abdu’l-Bahá away. As His dream had foretold, the danger passed; the ship sailed for Constantinople, and in 1908 He was freed.
During her 1909 pilgrimage, Juliet Thompson, held back by shyness, was called to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s room. As she wept, He wiped away her tears and said to her, “Speak. Speak to Me!”
On Christmas Day 1912 in London, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called on Lord Lamington, then spoke to some five hundred people at a Salvation Army hostel and paid for their meal and another night’s lodging, as His guests.
When Helen Goodall, Ella Cooper and Harriet Wise came from California to New York in 1912, they found ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sitting on the steps of the house where He was staying, waiting for them. Days later He spoke to them of the kindness of God.
At the 1912 Lake Mohonk Peace Conference, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent Dr Zia Bagdadi overnight to New York for a Persian rug to give Albert Smiley, who received it with joy just as the Master was leaving.
After His Friday-morning gifts to the poor of ‘Akká in 1907, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told Corinne True that some of them were His enemies, yet He was kind to them, and explained how scarce work was in the city.
In Chicago in 1912 young Leroy Ioas bought white carnations for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá but asked his father to present them. After the talk, the Master turned to the boy and gave him the red rose from His own coat.
In Haifa, where shootings were common, Yúnis Khán secretly followed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá home one night. Three shots rang out, yet the Master walked on at the same pace, quietly praying, and bade him goodbye at His gate.
Near the end of Louis Gregory’s pilgrimage, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá expressed the wish that he and Louisa Mathew, a white English pilgrim, should marry. They did, and their marriage endured many pressures as a symbol of the unity of the races.
In ‘Akká, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent Lua Getsinger to care for a poor, sick friend of His. When she fled the filthy house, He sent her back to clean it, bathe the man and feed him, as He Himself had done many times.
For eighteen years after her first pilgrimage in 1898, Lua Getsinger was taught and sent on teaching missions by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Sending her to India, He urged her never to let outward circumstances worry her.
Visiting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1918, Wellesley Tudor Pole gave Him a Persian camel-hair cloak, for winter had come and He had given away the only cloak He possessed.
For weeks Mable Rice-Wray felt an unexplained urge to leave her Baltimore streetcar halfway down a long hill. When she finally did, a woman in a small shop there told her of the Bahá’í Faith.
Maria Ioas longed for a flower from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. On His first day in Chicago she waited all afternoon at His hotel, and He invited her in and gave her a rose.
On her pilgrimage May Bolles heard ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tell how Bahá’u’lláh stayed three days with a poor hermit in his cave and shared his dry meat, dark bread and spring water as though it were a banquet.
Mary Lucas, a pilgrim to ‘Akká in 1905, saw that the Master usually ate one simple meal a day, and that the family supper was packed up and sent to anyone known to have gone without.
Mary Lucas learned in ‘Akká in 1905 that the Master gave away the gifts sent to Him, and that when a wealthy woman pressed money on Him He asked her to give it for a poor man’s son’s education.
Mary Revell of Philadelphia secretly hoped to kiss the hem of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s robe, as a Bahá’í in Iran had asked her to. The Master crossed the crowd and stood before her just long enough.
On her 1898–99 pilgrimage May Bolles found joy in the Master’s presence, then spoke unkindly of a fellow believer. His gentle, compassionate gaze at supper moved her to tears, and His smile restored her.
When the Cedric reached New York on 11 April 1912, reporters came aboard to ask 'Abdu'l-Bahá why He had come. He told them His object was universal peace and the unity of humankind.
'Abdu'l-Bahá visited Boston three times in 1912. He addressed the Unitarian conference at Tremont Temple and the Free Religious Association at Ford Hall, spoke to journalists about peace, and later stayed a week at Malden.
Mahmúd's Diary records 'Abdu'l-Bahá's voyage on the Cedric from Alexandria to New York in March and April 1912, including the day at Naples when three of His companions, Shoghi Effendi among them, had to leave the ship.
On December 5, 1912, Mahmúd's Diary records, a great crowd of believers from New York and other cities filled the lounge of the SS *Celtic* to bid 'Abdu'l-Bahá farewell. In His parting address He summed up the teaching of His American journey: the whole earth is one globe, and all nations one family.
On May 1, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá dug the ground for the House of Worship at Wilmette with a golden trowel, American delegates and Eastern believers continued the digging, and He set in place the stone Nettie Tobin had brought.
At a children's event given by the Unity Club in Brooklyn on June 5, 1912, Admiral Robert E. Peary asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá to make a short speech. He had not planned to speak, but His talk on education captured everyone's attention.
On 19 April 1912, His last evening in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at Earl Hall, Columbia University, on science, the power of the human spirit and the oneness of humanity. Afterwards so many came to meet Him that a planned tour of the university was given up.
From 25 July to 16 August 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá stayed at Dublin, New Hampshire, where Mrs Parsons had hoped He might rest. He said He had come for work and service, and the weeks filled with Tablets, talks and many visitors.
When two Japanese Bahá'ís called on 'Abdu'l-Bahá in San Francisco on 4 October 1912, He called their meeting an historic event, brought about through the power of Bahá'u'lláh.
In July 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá learned that the mother of Mrs Zieglar, unable to walk, longed to see Him. On His return to New York He went straight to her home.
Taking leave of Phoebe Hearst's house near Pleasanton, California, 'Abdu'l-Bahá called for the maids, orderlies, cooks and butler, thanked them, and gave each a gift, while the guests stood by, astonished.
On October 12, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to some two thousand people at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco. He honoured Moses, showed how Christ and Muḥammad had upheld Him, and asked why Jews should not now praise Them in turn.
On September 20, 1912, the friends went with 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the station as He left Minneapolis. His parting words asked them to love and help the poor.
On April 23, 1912, at a Washington luncheon given in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's honor by Ali-Kuli Khan, the Master asked for Louis Gregory, who had not been invited, and gave him the seat of honor at His right.
Mahmúd's Diary records 'Abdu'l-Bahá serving tea to His companions with His own hand, cooking for guests, and waiting on the friends at dinner during His 1912 journey through America.
In Washington, Chicago, Kenosha, St. Paul, San Francisco and New York, Mahmúd's Diary records 'Abdu'l-Bahá meeting children during His 1912 journey: embracing and kissing them, taking them on His lap, and giving them flowers and sweets.
In September 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spent two days in Minneapolis and St. Paul, speaking at His hotel, the Commercial Club, a synagogue and the homes of Albert Hall and Dr Clement Woolson.
On 1 May 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá dedicated the site of the first Bahá'í House of Worship in the West. For the cornerstone He chose a rejected building stone that Nettie Tobin had brought from Chicago by baby carriage and streetcar.
On 10 September 1912, during His stay in Buffalo, 'Abdu'l-Bahá took the trolley to Niagara Falls, recalled the small waterfalls Bahá'u'lláh had loved in Mázindarán, and told His companions He could not stay even half a day.
In June 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at two churches in Philadelphia. At the Baptist Temple He described the pathway of nature and the pathway of religion, and set out the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.
On May 7, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spent a day in Pittsburgh. At the Hotel Schenley He met visitors, set out the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh at an evening meeting, and then spoke with a group of philosophers, doctors and journalists.
In April 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at the Bowery Mission in New York to about four hundred poor men, telling them that Jesus Himself had been poor and that the poor are very dear to God. Then He stood at the door and gave each man a coin.
After His journey to California and back, 'Abdu'l-Bahá returned to New York in November 1912 and received crowds of friends and seekers until He sailed on the Celtic on 5 December.
On October 8, 1912, at the invitation of its president, David Starr Jordan, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to some 1,800 students and 180 professors at Leland Stanford Junior University in Palo Alto.
As 'Abdu'l-Bahá left a country estate at Milford, Pennsylvania, in June 1912, He looked at its lush greenery and wept, remembering the sufferings of Bahá'u'lláh.
On December 5, 1912, believers crowded aboard the Celtic in New York to bid 'Abdu'l-Bahá farewell. He gave them His parting words, and as the ship sailed, a throng stretching as far as the eye could see waved goodbye.
On May 1, 1912, at the site of the future House of Worship in Wilmette, 'Abdu'l-Bahá dug the ground for the foundation stone with a golden trowel. Believers of many backgrounds followed, and He set the stone in place.
In Dublin, New Hampshire, in August 1912, a woman told 'Abdu'l-Bahá that a friend had warned her the meeting might be a trap. He answered that it was a trap, but one that frees people.
After 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at the Church of the Ascension in New York in April 1912, a weeping woman in the crowd held fast to the hem of His robe, and He calmed her with loving words.
In Chicago in November 1912 a visitor from Russia began complaining to 'Abdu'l-Bahá about his country. The Master told him to speak ill of no one and reminded him of Christ's words about a dead dog.
On 23 May 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá drove from Boston to Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the invitation of its president, G. Stanley Hall, and spoke to more than a thousand students and faculty on the value and importance of science.
In Montreal, when a Protestant asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá a question about St. Paul, the Master answered with thunderous emphasis, "Peter, not Paul!" and would speak only of Peter.
At a luncheon where His hostess hoped He would speak on Immortality, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told humorous stories instead and recalled how, in prison, He and His companions laughed together each evening. A hush of reverence settled over the group.
When Muriel Ives met 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1912, at fifteen, He told her she would grow like a tree and have many branches. Twenty years later she declared her belief in Bahá'u'lláh, and she came to have four children and fifteen grandchildren.
The Haneys' baby, the future Hand of the Cause Paul Haney, had screamed on seeing 'Abdu'l-Bahá. When Agnes Parsons told the Master she thought the child had been conscious of more than the adults were, He replied, "You have much insight."
George Latimer recorded 'Abdu'l-Bahá's counsel to be moderate in speech and writing and to consider the taste of the public, as the Lord bade Moses and Aaron speak to Pharaoh in moderate, sweet language.
Horace Holley recalled a cheerful dinner with 'Abdu'l-Bahá at Thonon-les-Bains on Lake Geneva, where the Master answered questions, spoke of religion in the West and laughed heartily.
On pilgrimage to 'Akká, 'Abdu'l-Bahá noticed that Robert Turner, Phoebe Hearst's butler, was absent, asked for him, and rose to greet him with words of love. Shoghi Effendi later praised the tenacity of his faith.
While Juliet Thompson was painting 'Abdu'l-Bahá's portrait in New York on June 19, 1912, the Master suddenly appointed Lua Getsinger the Herald of the Covenant and declared that He was the Covenant appointed by Bahá'u'lláh.
At a luncheon in segregated Washington, D.C., 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent for Louis Gregory, who had not been invited, gave him the seat of honor at His right, and spoke on the oneness of mankind.
When Agnes Parsons asked whether the spirit could heal even broken bones, 'Abdu'l-Bahá laughed that all the spirits in the air could not create a salad, yet the spirit of man can do far greater things.
Munírih Khánum writes that the fifty years of her married life with 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and His love, mercy and bounty, could never be adequately described.
Nabíl, who compiled the Tablet of Visitation at 'Abdu'l-Bahá's request, was inconsolable after the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh and, a few months later, took his own life.
Whether life was relaxed or arduous, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá found humor: in a purring cat, a polar bear in the Paris Zoo, a man reluctant to be seen carrying his own basket, and a letter asking where He was.
No one could claim to be ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s teacher, yet Bahá’u’lláh approved His answers to religious questions with “very good”; His wisdom and love brought a change of heart to people such as Horace Holley.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá held cleanliness to be of vital importance: Florence Khánum found Him spotless even at noon in summer, and once, when He had guests, He had a lamp chimney replaced because it was not polished enough.
J. E. Esslemont describes the nineteen-day Fast of the month of 'Alá', whose reality he calls severance from all save God, and quotes 'Abdu'l-Bahá's words that fasting is a symbol and that moderation is necessary.
Ḥájí Mírzá Muḥammad-Taqí, the Afnán, a kinsman of the Báb, gave up his business and estates after Bahá'u'lláh's ascension and spent nearly all he owned building the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of 'Ishqábád, the first Bahá'í House of Worship.
When 'Abdu'l-Bahá passed away in Haifa in November 1921, messages of sympathy came from Winston Churchill, Viscount Allenby and the ministers of 'Iráq, and the High Commissioner for Palestine walked in His funeral procession among ten thousand mourners.
In 1909 'Abdu'l-Bahá laid the remains of the Báb in the Shrine He had built on Mount Carmel. Twelve years later, after His own funeral, His coffin was lowered into a vault beside that of the Báb in the same Shrine.
After the Great War lifted the danger to His life, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spent His last three years receiving pilgrims, revealing Tablets and helping the poor, until He passed away in November 1921.
Dr J. E. Esslemont, who had been 'Abdu'l-Bahá's guest in Haifa, describes His peaceful passing and a funeral attended by about ten thousand people of many faiths, which he saw as proof that His life's work had not been in vain.
In November 1921 the Bahá'ís of Springfield, Massachusetts, cabled 'Abdu'l-Bahá for approval of a second race amity convention. He answered, "Approved; God confirms." The convention met on 5 and 6 December, a week after His passing.
On the Friday before His passing in November 1921, 'Abdu'l-Bahá went to the noonday prayer and afterward, despite great fatigue, gave alms to the poor of Haifa as was His custom.
About two months before His passing, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told His family of a dream in which He raised the call to prayer in a great mosque. Weeks later He dreamed that Bahá'u'lláh came and said to Him, "Destroy this room."
On Friday, 25 November 1921, 'Abdu'l-Bahá went to the noon prayer and gave alms to the poor. On Sunday, unable to leave the house, He received the Muftí and the Mayor of Haifa, and early on Monday He passed away.
'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament, written entirely in His own hand in three parts, was read aloud in January 1922. It named Shoghi Effendi the Guardian of the Cause of God and provided for the Universal House of Justice.
On the Tuesday after 'Abdu'l-Bahá passed away in Haifa in November 1921, no fewer than ten thousand people of every religion and race followed His coffin up Mount Carmel, where nine speakers of the Muslim, Jewish and Christian Faiths gave funeral orations.
On Naw-Rúz 1909, after the Báb's remains had been hidden and moved for decades, 'Abdu'l-Bahá laid them with His own hands in the Shrine He had built on Mount Carmel, and wept so that all who were present wept with Him.
'Abdu'l-Bahá would not let His birthday be kept, for May 23 belonged to the Báb's Declaration. When the Bahá'ís begged for a day of His own, He gave them November 26. Star of the West records how they kept it.
After Bahá'u'lláh's passing, enemies within His own family slandered 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Ottoman officials. The Chosen Highway recalls the Commission of Inquiry, the family's anxious waiting, and the Master's release in 1908.
In New York in 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá declared His station as Centre of the Covenant and named the city the City of the Covenant. Three days before He sailed, He spoke there of the Covenant as Bahá'u'lláh's safeguard against division.
In December 1898 the first pilgrims from the West began to reach 'Akká to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá. One of them, Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper, later described entering the prison-city by night with Phoebe Hearst and being led up to the Master by candlelight.
On her 1905 pilgrimage to 'Akká, Julia Grundy wrote down a talk of 'Abdu'l-Bahá on obedience, in which He likened the Covenant of God to a Lifeboat and an Ark of Salvation, and the believers to fishes in the sea.
Between 1904 and 1906 Laura Clifford Barney put her questions to 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 'Akká, often at the lunch table. His answers were taken down in Persian, and He corrected the text twice in His own hand before it was published in 1908.
In 1920 Shoghi Effendi entered Balliol College, Oxford, to perfect his English so that he could better translate the Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The Master's passing in November 1921 cut his studies short.
A Paris lawyer who heard of the Faith in 1901 became the first French Bahá'í. He left the law to study Persian and Arabic, translated the Writings into French, travelled widely for the Faith and served 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris.
During her long visits to 'Akká between 1904 and 1906, Laura Clifford Barney put her questions to 'Abdu'l-Bahá at His table. His answers became Some Answered Questions, which includes His talk on the four ways people seek to understand the truth.
A doctor at a Bournemouth sanatorium first met the Bahá'í teachings in December 1914 and set out to write a book about them. 'Abdu'l-Bahá corrected part of the manuscript, and Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era appeared in 1923.
In Paris in 1913 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked the teacher Stanwood Cobb what he taught, then asked, "Do you teach the spiritual things?" Cobb counted it his most important interview with the Master.
The poet Varqá and his twelve-year-old son Rúḥu'lláh were imprisoned in Ṭihrán. After the Sháh's assassination in 1896, the Ḥájibu'd-Dawlih killed Varqá before the boy's eyes, then had Rúḥu'lláh strangled when he refused to recant.
In 1904 and 1907 Ottoman commissions came to 'Akká to investigate false charges against 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He declared Himself ready for any sentence, refused an offer of escape, and went on with His daily life until the 1908 revolution set Him free.
When Agnes Parsons made her pilgrimage in 1920, 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked her to arrange a convention in Washington for amity between the white and colored races. It met in May 1921, and Mountfort Mills read a message from the Master to it.
In 'Akká, 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent Lua Getsinger to care for a poor, sick friend of His. She fled the filthy house, and He sent her back to clean it and to bathe and feed the man, telling her to see in him the image and likeness of God.
On Christmas night 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to about a thousand homeless men at the Salvation Army shelter in Westminster, and left money so that they could have another dinner on New Year's night.
On 29 September 1911, the eve of His departure for Paris, 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave His farewell address to London at the Passmore Edwards Settlement, telling some four hundred and sixty people that the whole earth is one home.
Louis Gregory, an African American lawyer, and Louisa Mathew, an Englishwoman, met as pilgrims in 1911. 'Abdu'l-Bahá expressed the wish that they marry, and on 27 September 1912 they became the first interracial Bahá'í couple in America.
In Paris on 28 October 1911 'Abdu'l-Bahá compared humanity to a garden. A garden where every plant was the same would be dull, He said, and the diversity of the human family should be the cause of love and harmony.
During her 1905 pilgrimage to 'Akká, Julia Grundy recorded 'Abdu'l-Bahá telling His guests at dinner that they were all of one family, joined in spiritual relationship, and serving a Feast where believers of East and West sat together.
In December 1919 'Abdu'l-Bahá answered a wartime letter from the Central Organization for a Durable Peace at The Hague. He praised their aim and set out the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh on which a lasting peace must rest.
During the First World War 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote fourteen Tablets to the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada, giving them a mission to carry the Faith to every land. They were unveiled in New York in April 1919.
In September 1921 'Abdu'l-Bahá answered a letter from the Swiss scientist Auguste Forel with a Tablet on the soul, the mind and the existence of God. Shoghi Effendi records that Forel was converted to the Faith through it.
A Governor of 'Akká tried to close the Bahá'ís' shops and was dismissed from office the same morning. 'Abdu'l-Bahá comforted him and sent his family safely to Damascus, and the Governor wrote asking His pardon.
Howard Colby Ives, a minister who had long searched for God without finding Him, met 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York in 1912. His doubts did not end that day; certainty came months later, after the Master had left America.
Between 1904 and 1906 Laura Clifford Barney made several long visits to 'Akká and put her questions to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, often at the lunch table. His replies, written down and corrected by Him, became Some Answered Questions.
In the summer of 1901 a young Englishman met May Bolles in Paris and within three days accepted the Bahá'í Faith. On pilgrimage to 'Akká he told 'Abdu'l-Bahá that the mill he worked for relied on child labour, and resigned at the Master's word.
A Scottish doctor who learned of the Bahá'í teachings in 1914 wrote a book about them and brought it to 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Haifa. The Master discussed it with him and later corrected part of it. It became Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era.
While the Sultán's commissions of inquiry threatened 'Abdu'l-Bahá with exile or death, He refused every offer of escape and went on serenely with His work, until the Young Turk Revolution of 1908 set Him free.
In 'Akká 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave coins to the poor in the street, a warm garment each winter to every poor person in the town, and help to the sick of every faith. During the First World War He saved the civilians of Haifa from starvation.
As financial secretary of Bahai Temple Unity, Corinne True of Chicago gathered gifts from across America and the East for the House of Worship at Wilmette. She lived to see it dedicated in 1953 and was known as the Mother of the Temple.
In 'Ishqábád, in Russian Turkistán, the Bahá'ís raised the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the Bahá'í world, begun in 1902 under 'Abdu'l-Bahá's guidance, with a school, a travellers' house and a building for a hospital in its garden.
In 1894 Sarah Farmer opened Green Acre in Eliot, Maine, as a summer platform for speakers of every religion. After her pilgrimage to 'Akká in 1900 she offered it to the Bahá'ís, and in 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spent a week there and prayed for her.
In March 1909 thirty-nine delegates from thirty-six cities met in Chicago and formed Bahá'í Temple Unity, the national body that would hold the land and raise the funds for the first House of Worship in the West.
Ḥájí Mírzá Muḥammad-Taqí, the Vakílu'd-Dawlih, a cousin of the Báb, gave up his business and estates to build the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of 'Ishqábád, the first Bahá'í House of Worship, spending almost everything he owned on it.
In December 1898 the first of fifteen Western pilgrims, travelling in three parties arranged by Phoebe Hearst, reached 'Akká and met 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Shoghi Effendi saw in their visit the opening of a new epoch for the Faith in the West.
Thornton Chase, the first American believer, served the young Chicago community for years through its House of Spirituality and its publishing work. When he died in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá travelled to Los Angeles to visit his grave.
In 1920 the American Bahá'ís chose Louis Bourgeois's design for the House of Worship at Wilmette. He then showed his drawings to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who called the design "the most beautiful in the world."
During the First World War 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself cooked the Naw-Rúz feast for the friends at Bahjí. On feast days He gathered the poor children of 'Akká for sweets and sharbat.
On 13 April 1912, three weeks after Naw-Rúz, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at a New York home about the seasons. The coming of each Manifestation of God, He said, is a divine springtime, and Bahá'u'lláh has renewed that springtime.
In Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, J. E. Esslemont describes the close of the Bahá'í year: the intercalary days of hospitality and giving, the nineteen-day Fast, and then Naw-Rúz at the March equinox.
In two Tablets, one written in 1906 to American believers who had sent Him a New Year's greeting, 'Abdu'l-Bahá described a new cycle and a spiritual springtime, and hoped the believers would become "a new people."
Howard Colby Ives, an unhappy minister, met 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York in 1912. Months of study and turmoil followed, and when his Brotherhood Church had to close, 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote to him that it had happened to free him to call people to the Kingdom.
In 1910 the American Bahá'í physician Dr. Susan I. Moody wrote home from Tehran about her medical work, the Bahá'í women she met, and the community's plans for a girls' school, which it raised funds to open.
For nearly sixty years believers kept the remains of the Báb hidden from His enemies. On Naw-Rúz 1909 'Abdu'l-Bahá laid them with His own hands in a tomb on Mount Carmel, on the spot Bahá'u'lláh had chosen, and wept over the casket.
On 23 April 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at Howard University in Washington to an audience of Black and white listeners. He told them there are no whites and blacks before God, and compared humanity to a garden of many-colored flowers.
At 'Abdu'l-Bahá's instruction, Agnes Parsons organized a convention for amity between the white and colored races, held in Washington in May 1921. There Mountfort Mills read the Master's message to the gathering.
On 10 September 1911, His first Sunday in England, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke from the pulpit of the City Temple in London at the invitation of its pastor, R. J. Campbell. It was the first public address of His life.
In 1902, when Muẓaffari'd-Dín Sháh of Persia was in Paris, Lua Getsinger, received at first only by his Grand Vizier, persisted until she could hand the Sháh a petition asking him to protect the Bahá'ís of Persia.
Returning to Paris from her 1898–99 pilgrimage to 'Akká, May Bolles established, at 'Abdu'l-Bahá's instruction, the first Bahá'í centre on the European continent, where Thomas Breakwell, Hippolyte Dreyfus and Laura Barney came to the Faith.
Years before the First World War, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had Bahá'í villagers near the Jordan grow and store grain. In the famine years He fed the poor of Haifa, 'Akká and the surrounding district, and afterwards the British Government conferred a knighthood on Him.
In London in 1911 the journalist Isabel Fraser asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá how He had felt in prison. He told her the story of His exile and imprisonment and said He had been happy all that time, for the prison of self is the greater prison.
When an unfriendly governor of 'Akká fell from office, 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent him a precious ring and His good wishes. When another official asked for His cloak, He offered the only one He had.
During His years of strict confinement in 'Akká, 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited the sick in their homes, brought doctors and medicine to the poor, and gave the city's poor warm clothing each winter, whatever their religion.
During His nine weeks in Paris in 1911, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to a poor congregation in a mission hall, walked through a rowdy crowd that parted for Him, and comforted a weeping widow whose son faced a dangerous operation.
Bahíyyih Khánum, daughter of Bahá'u'lláh, knew poverty and exile from early childhood. Shoghi Effendi recalls her kindness in 'Akká, her care for the hungry who came to 'Abdu'l-Bahá's house during the First World War, and the support she gave him after 'Abdu'l-Bahá's passing.
Robert Turner, Phoebe Hearst's butler, went with her party on the first Western pilgrimage to 'Akká. When he was missing from a gathering, 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked for him, rose to greet him and had him sit with the other pilgrims.
In the First World War the Ottoman commander Jamál Páshá, turned against 'Abdu'l-Bahá by false accusations, threatened to crucify Him. The threat was never carried out: the general's campaigns failed and he fled in defeat.
Lady Blomfield recalls meals with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in her London home: He served guests with His own hands, shared a poor workman’s gift of dry bread, and seated the humblest guests at His right hand.
John Bosch, a Swiss-born believer who felt he could not be a speaker, told ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that all he did was give away pamphlets and books; the Master assured him that with him it was the heart that speaks.
Speaking at Green Acre in August 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá contrasted knowledge confined to the senses, which even animals possess, with the true virtue of man: the power to investigate the ideals of the Kingdom.
On 5 May 1912 in Chicago, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called each of some 35 children to Him with great tenderness, told them they were His spiritual children, and invited them all to Lincoln Park for a photograph.
When Black friends decided to stay away from a Unity Feast arranged at a hotel known for racial exclusion, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá insisted that all attend, and the banquet passed in happiness without one unpleasant incident.
On 23 May 1912 Alice Breed baked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá a cake with sixty-eight candles; but He, who had forbidden the celebration of His birthday, spoke only of the Báb’s Declaration and soon left the festivities.
While ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was staying at the Maxwell home in Montreal in 1912, little Mary Maxwell slipped into His room as He rested, pushed up His eyelids, and He took her in His arms.
Fred Mortensen, a former street tough, rode under and on top of railway trains to reach Green Acre and meet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who, on hearing how he had come, kissed his cheeks and his dirty hat.
On Christmas night 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to a thousand homeless men at a Salvation Army shelter in London and left money to buy them a similar dinner on New Year’s night.
On pilgrimage in 1911 Louis Gregory heard ‘Abdu’l-Bahá urge the races to intermarry; the next year the Master encouraged his marriage to Louisa Mathew, the first marriage between a Black and a white Bahá’í.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá told a story of a Muslim, a Christian and a Jew caught in a storm at sea to show that prayer can be selfish.
When young Shoghi Effendi and his cousin came before ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Master held up Shoghi Effendi’s happy, pleasant expression as the example to follow.
Agnes Parsons told ‘Abdu’l-Bahá she had tried not to dwell on her late mother, and He said she had done right, for the spirit of the departed rejoices in the joy of the loved one.
When May Maxwell fell ill on pilgrimage, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá cancelled the pilgrims’ meeting on Mount Carmel, saying none of them could be happy unless all the beloved were happy.
When Stanwood Cobb arrived in Haifa ill with dysentery, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent His own physician, visited him Himself, and said He wished He could take the illness upon Himself.
On Naw-Rúz 1909, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the casket holding the remains of the Báb and His companion in the marble sarcophagus on Mount Carmel with His own hands, and wept so that all present wept with Him.
Howard Colby Ives recalls how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, after listening to the executive committee of the New York Spiritual Assembly deliberate for half an hour, paused at the door and asked why they did not execute.
Driving through the English countryside near Bristol in September 1911, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá admired the old trees and green downs, and likened the country to the soul and the city to the body.
On the voyage to America in March 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told Mírzá Maḥmúd that He had slept well at last, and spoke of why the air at sea was better for health than the humid coast.
At His first dinner in Lady Blomfield's London home, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gently wished the many courses could be shared with the hungry, and afterwards the dinners were greatly simplified.
Driving back to His hotel through the park roads of New York in April 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá foresaw America's rapid progress but voiced concern about high buildings and crowded cities.
When a salesman came through the train selling school pennants, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá joked that he should bring the banner of universal peace, and other passengers gathered to talk with Him.
After His visit to the Bowery Mission in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá emptied the leftover quarters into a hotel chambermaid's apron, and she resolved to give every cent of it away.
When a London reporter remarked on His good English pronunciation, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá paced the room reciting complicated English words such as "hippopotamus", then laughingly said they were very difficult.
Asked why His guests always came away with shining faces, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá smiled and said that in everyone He looked upon He saw only His Father’s Face.
Before a journey, the Master’s wife left a spare cloak for Him with one of their daughters. When He learned of it, He gave it away, unwilling to keep two cloaks while others had none.
Asked what a Bahá’í is, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá answered that it means to love all the world, to love and serve humanity, and to work for universal peace and brotherhood.
Two ladies who met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on a walk told Him they thought He must be extremely wealthy. He answered that His riches were of the Kingdom and not of this world.
At the Masonic Temple in Chicago in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told Mrs. Dealy, who was going blind, that she must choose between spiritual and physical sight. She chose spiritual sight, as Leroy Ioas, seated beside her, witnessed.
Georgiana Dean had left California at ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s request to care for the blind Mrs. Dealy. Homesick, she took her trouble to Him; He asked her to stay as long as needed, and within days she was free to return.
In New York in 1912 a grieving young woman told ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that the more she trusted in God, the worse things became. He told her that to pray is to trust in God, and urged her to be a strong ship.
When Howard Colby Ives, then a Unitarian minister, impatiently disputed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s interpretation of Christ’s words, the Master looked at him with love and said softly that Ives should try his way and He would try His.
On pilgrimage to ‘Akká in 1909, Charles Haney told ‘Abdu’l-Bahá he feared “Spiritual indigestion” from all he was receiving. The Master assured him that the One who gives the food also gives the power to digest it.
Asked how one should live, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá answered, “Be kind to everyone.” He told Juliet Thompson never to let anyone speak unkindly of another in her presence.
Travelling from ‘Akká to Haifa, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá took a seat in the stage coach rather than a private carriage, and gave five francs to a fisherwoman whose family was hungry.
On His third visit to Paris in 1913, though His strength had suffered greatly, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá kept receiving visitors at His hotel, and said that Bahá’u’lláh had trained Him to shoulder the burdens of others.
Asked in Paris how a new civilization would come about, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá answered, “Through solidarity,” and recalled young locusts on Mt. Carmel that flung themselves into a stream so that the others might cross.
Ali Kuli Khan, interpreter for Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl in America, three times asked him what happens to the soul after death. Years later a ship slipping over the horizon gave him the answer.
Writing in Chicago in 1912, Mírzá Maḥmúd recorded that Dr. Zia Bagdadi was told to leave his home for inviting Louis Gregory, and that black and white Bahá’ís still associated as brothers and sisters.
Resting in Central Park after a visit to the Museum of Natural History, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told a puzzled watchman that one does not lose the material world by attaining the spiritual, just as going upstairs does not mean leaving the house.
In New York in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá held up the book of the Hidden Words and said that whoever does not live up to its words is not of Him.
On a twelve-hour train journey from Pittsburgh to Washington in May 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá's companions begged Him to take a special compartment or a berth, but He refused.
In London 'Abdu'l-Bahá joined the laughter in the kitchen, where a Persian servant and an English housekeeper were joking about the lot of women in East and West.
Out driving in London, Mrs Thornburgh-Cropper asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá whether He longed to be back with His family in Haifa. He told her and Lady Blomfield that they were as beloved to Him as His own.
In London a woman without an appointment was turned away from 'Abdu'l-Bahá's door. As she went down the stairs, He sent a messenger after her.
In London 'Abdu'l-Bahá described how people have always complained that the Prophets took away their pleasures, and how the Prophets have always answered them.
A man who had resolved to end his life saw 'Abdu'l-Bahá's picture in a shop window and walked thirty miles to find Him in London. The Master welcomed him and gave him new hope.
In September 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá missed a connecting train on the way to Kenosha, telling His friends there was wisdom in it. The train they missed was later damaged in a collision.
'Abdu'l-Bahá told Harlan Ober he was to go to India, and a few days later told him to go to America instead. When Ober protested, the Master answered with a joke.
Walking with one of His daughters, the Master met a local woman, the daughter of a desert chief. He answered her greeting kindly, pressed a coin into her hand, and thanked her when she said she would pray for Him.
On a carriage ride near Thonon-les-Bains, 'Abdu'l-Bahá stopped at an old inn, where children selling violets clustered around Him. He gave them francs from His pocket.
When a pilgrim noticed that no grace was said before meals, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that His heart was always giving thanks. Thornton Chase saw Him begin a meal with ‘In the Name of God’, and He told Lua Getsinger to have spiritual food each morning before breakfast.
At a pilgrim's banquet at Bahjí in July 1919, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá served the guests Himself, the Bedouins camping nearby received a generous share, and He gave each of their children a coin. Next morning their fathers came to thank Him.
One June day in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá slept long enough to keep His audience waiting. He told them He had awoken with one word on His lips, ‘Imtiyáz’ (Distinction), and would speak on that subject.
A parrot in the Pilgrim House had been taught to say ‘Allah-u-Abhá’ and ‘Say O Bahá.’ When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá meant to give it to the governor of ‘Akká, the bird said ‘Say, say’ and then ‘O Bahá!’, and He decided to keep it.
Speaking with physicians in San Francisco in October 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said that dogmas contrary to science and reason are a chief cause of irreligion, and He quoted Bahá’u’lláh's words that such matters are an obstacle to progress.
A Western pilgrim describes ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on Mount Carmel in 1909 moving the remains of the Báb into the marble sarcophagus with His own hands, and weeping aloud as the believers wept with Him.
Anna Kunz, one of the last pilgrims to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in 1921, later recalled above all His great simplicity, His humility and His boundless love.
A member of the Commission of Inquiry sent from Constantinople against ‘Abdu’l-Bahá later fled to Egypt, was robbed and asked for help. The Master at once directed the believers to give him a sum on His behalf.
Kept in Paris at ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's wish, May Maxwell met Thomas Breakwell and gave him the Message. On the evening of the day he wrote his supplication to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, a cablegram arrived for her: ‘You may leave Paris.’
When false accusations brought a Commission of enquiry and threats of exile or execution, 'Abdu'l-Bahá stayed serene, kept the work on the Báb's Shrine going, wrote tirelessly and planted trees and vines in His garden.
After 'Abdu'l-Bahá blessed a youth by patting his shoulder, a seeker at the same table silently wished for the same sign; the Master left the room, then returned and placed His hands on the seeker's shoulders.
Asked by a reporter what He thought of America, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said He liked it: Americans are optimistic, always answering "All right!", and this cheerful attitude is good.
In Scotland, 'Abdu'l-Bahá came to an evening meeting looking very tired after speaking that afternoon; after sitting a few moments in silence, He rose with joyous animation and spoke with great power.
In New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá invited a believer to come at dawn to learn to pray. After hours kneeling in silence across from the Master, he found himself truly praying, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá told him how to pray.
When a discouraged believer despaired of ever acquiring the virtues Bahá'ís are required to possess, 'Abdu'l-Bahá answered with the greatest compassion and encouragement: "little by little; day by day."
The American friends asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá to have His Persian companions change their attire to suit the time and place, keeping only their Persian hats and coats; He replied that such things were trifles.
On May 23, 1912, over a hundred guests gathered at the Breed home in Cambridge, where a cake with sixty-eight candles awaited 'Abdu'l-Bahá; He spoke only of the Báb's Declaration and soon left.
Pauline Hannen once feared Black people, but studying Bahá'u'lláh's writings changed her; she taught the Faith to her washerwoman, and she and Joseph began inviting Black people to meetings in their home.
Howard Colby Ives made a special journey to ask 'Abdu'l-Bahá about renunciation. On the walk back the Master spoke only of horizons; then, in His room, He asked Ives whether he was interested in renunciation.
Howard Colby Ives recalls a Sunday in New York in April 1912 when some twenty or thirty boys from the East Side came to see 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and He welcomed the only Black boy among them, before them all, as a black rose.
On pilgrimage in 'Akká, Lua Getsinger was sent by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to care for a sick, poor friend of His, and fled from the filthy house. He sent her back, telling her He had done this for the man many times.
On May 19, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke on brotherhood at the Brotherhood Church in Jersey City, where Howard Colby Ives was the unpaid minister. Ives, who had named the church, felt ashamed of how little he had lived the word.
On December 2, 1912, three days before He sailed from America, 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave His last instructions to a group of friends in New York. Howard Colby Ives, sitting close to Him, later quoted the talk in full.
A group of boys from New York's East Side came to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The only Black boy among them feared he might not be welcome, and the Master greeted him before them all as "a black rose."
On a trolley to Newark, Howard Colby Ives shared his copy of Some Answered Questions with the young woman beside him. At the end of the ride she asked who the author was, and the next Sunday she came to hear 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
In April 1912 Howard Colby Ives went without an appointment to the Hotel Ansonia in New York. 'Abdu'l-Bahá beckoned him across a crowded room, sent everyone else out, and sat with him alone.
On 17 July 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá united Harlan Ober and Grace Robarts in marriage. At the evening ceremony, performed by Howard Colby Ives before guests from many lands, the Master chanted a prayer for the couple.
At the farewell aboard the S.S. Celtic in December 1912, Howard Colby Ives knelt and placed 'Abdu'l-Bahá's hand on his head. The hand lay still, and Ives remembered it ever after as a sign of the Master's humility.
After an exhausting day of speaking, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had to be almost carried into the house. Within fifteen minutes He was calling for His secretary with more than His usual energy. An incident recorded by Howard Colby Ives.
'Abdu'l-Bahá listened for half an hour to a meeting of the executive committee of the New York Spiritual Assembly. Then He rose, paused at the door, and asked why they did not execute.
Early one morning in Dublin, New Hampshire, a guest at the inn saw 'Abdu'l-Bahá call back a ragged old man and give him the trousers He was wearing.
Walking behind ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on the sands near ‘Akká, Lua Getsinger placed her feet in His footprints. A scorpion’s sting, and the Master’s words afterwards, taught her what it means to walk in His footsteps.
At lunch in Haifa in November 1919, a dish called "the mouthful of the judge" was served, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá told the story behind its name: a judge who reversed a verdict for a better dinner.
Shoghi Effendi once described to Rúḥíyyih Khánum the noisy family lunches of his childhood, when the grandchildren watched for the mouthful of food the Greatest Holy Leaf would give to one of them. It usually went to him.
In 1920 Shoghi Effendi went to Balliol College, Oxford, to perfect his English so that he could translate the sacred writings. His studies ended in November 1921 with the news of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's passing.
Unhappy at school in Haifa and Beirut, the young Shoghi Effendi was moved by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the Syrian Protestant College, where he aimed all his studies at serving the Master and translating His letters into English.
In 'Akká in 1899 the American pilgrim Ella Goodall Cooper watched the small Shoghi Effendi walk up to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who greeted him with a silent nod; the boy kissed the hem of His robe and ran off to play.
Before the war ‘Abdu’l-Bahá taught the people of three villages how to grow corn, and with the stored harvest He fed the poor of Haifa and ‘Akká through the famine years. When the British arrived, He had corn for their army too.
Even in prison ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote that His prison was His garden and paradise. Through illness, exile, imprisonment and the death of His sons He remained cheerful, teaching that happiness in hardship is the proof of nobility.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November 28th In these gatherings where we have met and spoken together you have all become acquainted with the principles of this dispensation, and with the reality of facts.
Sunday, January 12th, 1913 About one thousand years ago a society was formed in Persia called the Society of the Friends, who gathered together for silent communion with the Almighty.
November 7th ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: I will speak to you today of Bahá’u’lláh.
October 28th The Creator of all is One God. From this same God all creation sprang into existence, and He is the one goal, towards which everything in nature yearns.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, Friday morning, November 17th There are in the world of humanity three degrees; those of the body, the soul, and spirit.
Salle de l’Athenée, St Germain, Paris, November 9th I wish to express my gratitude for your hospitality, and my joy that you are spiritually minded.
‘What is evil?’ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.—‘Evil is imperfection.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November 12th ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: I have spoken to you of some of the principles of Bahá’u’lláh: The Search after Truth and The Unity of Mankind.
Friday evening, October 20th ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: Numerous meetings are held in Paris every day for different purposes, to discuss politics, commerce, education, art, science and many other subjects.
October 19th All true healing comes from God! There are two causes for sickness, one is material, the other spiritual.
Thursday, October 26th God’s greatest gift to man is that of intellect, or understanding.
November 8th All over the world one hears beautiful sayings extolled and noble precepts admired.
November 6th This is in truth a Bahá’í house. Every time such a house or meeting place is founded it becomes one of the greatest aids to the general development of the town and country to which it belongs.
November 2nd ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: How beautiful the weather is today, the sky is clear, the sun shines, and the heart of man is made glad thereby!
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November 17th In the conduct of life, man is actuated by two main motives: ‘The Hope for Reward’ and ‘The Fear of Punishment’.
Monday, November 20th From the beginning of the world until the present time each ‘Manifestation’ sent from God has been opposed by an embodiment of the ‘Powers of Darkness’.
November 22nd In this world we are influenced by two sentiments, Joy and Pain.
97 Cadogan Gardens, London, December 26th, 1912 ‘Should Prayer take the form of action?’
October 27th The basis of the teaching of Bahá’u’lláh is the Unity of Mankind, and his greatest desire was that love and goodwill should live in the heart of men.
‘The Laws of God are not imposition of will, or of power, or pleasure, but the resolutions of truth, reason and justice.’
‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: You are very welcome! From Eastern lands I have come to the West to sojourn awhile among you.
August 28th, 1913 O Thou my beloved daughter! Thine eloquent and fluent letter was perused in a garden, under the cool shade of a tree, while the gentle breeze was wafting.
November 19th How joyful it is to see such a meeting as this, for it is in truth a gathering together of ‘heavenly men’.
4 Avenue de Camöens, October 27th God alone ordereth all things and is all-powerful.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Morning of Friday, October 27th The day is fine, the air is pure, the sun shines, no mist nor cloud obscures its radiance.
November 24th ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: I have just been told that there has been a terrible accident in this country.
November 15th ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: You are all very welcome, and I love you all most dearly.
October 16th and 17th, 1911 When a man turns his face to God he finds sunshine everywhere.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris A Supreme Tribunal shall be established by the peoples and Governments of every nation, composed of members elected from each country and Government.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November 18th In the teaching of Bahá’u’lláh, it is written: ‘By the Power of the Holy Spirit alone is man able to progress, for the power of man is limited and the Divine Power is boundless.’
November 3rd Paris is becoming very cold, so cold that I shall soon be obliged to go away, but the warmth of your love still keeps me here.
15 Rue Greuze, Paris, November 10th ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: Tonight I will speak of the evolution or progress of the spirit.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November 13th All prejudices, whether of religion, race, politics or nation, must be renounced, for these prejudices have caused the world’s sickness.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris November 10th The first principle of the Teaching of Bahá’u’lláh is: The Search after Truth If a man would succeed in his search after truth, he must, in the first place, shut his eyes to all the traditional superstitions of the past.
97 Cadogan Gardens, London, Saturday, January 4th, 1913 What a power is love!
4 Avenue de Camöens, October 31st The Divine Reality is Unthinkable, Limitless, Eternal, Immortal and Invisible.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Wednesday, October 25th I regret much that I have kept you waiting this morning, but I have so much to do in a short time for the Cause of the love of God.
15 Rue Greuze, Paris, December 1st When I arrived in Paris some time ago for the first time, I looked around me with much interest, and in my mind I likened this beautiful city to a large garden.
Monday, October 23rd When a man has found the joy of life in one place, he returns to that same spot to find more joy.
Friday, October 20th ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: In the past, as in the present, the Spiritual Sun of Truth has always shone from the horizon of the East.
November 23rd ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: You should all be very happy and thankful to God for the great privilege that is yours.
October 21st ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: I hope you are all happy and well.
October 18th The reality of man is his thought, not his material body.
‘Does the soul progress more through sorrow or through the joy in this world?’
November 11th I spoke yesterday of the first principle of the Teaching of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘The Search for Truth’; how it is necessary for a man to put aside all in the nature of superstition, and every tradition which would blind his eyes to the existence of truth in all religions.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris One of the most important principles of the Teaching of Bahá’u’lláh is: The right of every human being to the daily bread whereby they exist, or the equalization of the means of livelihood.
November 4th All over Europe today one hears of meetings and assemblies, and societies of all kinds are formed.
October 22nd ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: It is a lovely day, the sun shines brightly upon the earth, giving light and warmth to all creatures.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November 14th The Tenth Principle of the teaching of Bahá’u’lláh is the equality of the sexes.
November 9th In the Gospel according to St John, Christ has said: ‘Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.’
October 30th In the Bible there are prophecies of the coming of Christ.
November 5th Today the weather is gloomy and dull! In the East there is continual sunshine, the stars are never veiled, and there are very few clouds.
November 1st Today is a day of rejoicing in Paris! They are celebrating the Festival of ‘All Saints’. Why do you think that these people were called ‘Saints’?
October 24th An Indian said to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: ‘My aim in life is to transmit as far as in me lies the message of Krishna to the world.’
Since my arrival in Paris, I have been told of the Theosophical Society, and I know that it is composed of honoured and respected men.
November 21st Ferocity and savagery are natural to animals, but men should show forth the qualities of love and affection.
November 25th When Christ appeared He manifested Himself at Jerusalem.
November 26th I am deeply touched by the sympathetic words which have been addressed to me, and I hope that day by day true love and affection may grow among us.
On April 19, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to several hundred poor and homeless men at the Bowery Mission in New York, called them His friends and comrades, and afterwards placed silver coins in each man's hand.
At the Central Congregational Church in Brooklyn in June 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá praised a pulpit open to every belief, and said that religious discord comes from ancestral imitations, not from the one reality all religions share.
On June 2, 1912, speaking for the second time at the Church of the Ascension in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá described the church as a collective center and the Manifestations of God as the real Collective Centers of mankind.
On June 15, 1912, in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told the Bahá'ís that He did not want them distinguished by wealth or worldly success, but by love, justice, steadfastness and service to humanity.
At the Church of the Divine Paternity in New York on May 19, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá taught that religions are many but the reality of religion is one, that religion must agree with science, and that it must bring unity.
In Montreal in September 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed a Socialist Club. An address on economics He gave in Montreal compares humanity to one family and one body, and proposes a village storehouse so that no one remains in want.
At a Washington synagogue on 8 November 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá argued that Christ had spread the Torah and the name of Moses throughout the world, and that Christians and Jews should therefore love one another.
At the Town Hall in Fanwood, New Jersey, on 31 May 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá traced the weakness of religion to the hatred between sects and to blind imitation, and said that the Prophets, as true shepherds, come to unite people.
On 5 December 1912, before sailing from New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to the believers who crowded aboard the Celtic to say goodbye, telling them that the earth is one native land and asking them to offend no heart.
On the morning of 5 November 1912, at the Grand Hotel in Cincinnati, 'Abdu'l-Bahá dictated a statement for the people of America on peace and on Bahá'u'lláh's call for an international conference of the nations.
At Green Acre on 16 August 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá described four ways of reaching knowledge and showed that none is reliable alone, spoke on love and the immortality of the spirit, and prayed for the recovery of Sarah Farmer.
At a reception given by the New York Peace Society at the Hotel Astor on 13 May 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told some two thousand people that there is no greater glory than service in the cause of the Most Great Peace.
At the Hotel Plaza in Chicago on 3 May 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said that philosophers can educate only a few, while the Prophets of God bestow universal education, and He commended Bahá'u'lláh's Hidden Words.
On April 23, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed Howard University in Washington, D.C., one of the foremost Black universities in the country. Rejoicing to see white and black seated together, He told them that before God there are no whites and blacks, and that humanity is a garden whose many-colored flowers are its adornment.
At the International Peace Forum in New York on May 12, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá expressed the hope that America would be first to raise the banner of peace, since a nation with no colonies to protect could not be suspected of selfish motives.
On April 30, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at Hull House, the Chicago settlement house founded by Jane Addams in 1889. With Miss Addams presiding, He spoke to a crowded hall of white and Black listeners on the unity of the races, whose differences of color He likened to the flowers of one garden.
At the dedication of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár grounds in Wilmette on May 1, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá foretold thousands of Houses of Worship in East and West, described the one at 'Ishqábád, and said the Chicago Temple must be circular, not triangular.
Speaking at the Maxwell home in Montreal on September 2, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá compared human nature left untrained to land overgrown with thorns, and the Prophets of God to Gardeners who turn the wild field into an orchard.
Addressing the NAACP's Fourth Annual Conference in Chicago on April 30, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said that color is accidental, that the true measure of a person is spirit and intelligence, and that the purity of the heart is what matters.
At the Orient-Occident-Unity Conference in Washington on April 20, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke of a bond between Persia and America, recalled that Bahá'u'lláh called all people leaves of one tree, and hoped America would be first to establish international agreement.
At the Hotel Schenley in Pittsburgh on May 7, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá set out six principles of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings, from the investigation of truth to the equality of man and woman, and said universal peace must come through spiritual power.
On October 7, 1912, at the Japanese Independent Church in Oakland, California, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told the Japanese Young Men's Christian Association that all war has come from prejudice, recalling a religious war He had seen in Rumelia.
At the Krug home on Park Avenue, New York, on July 15, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá contrasted thanks spoken by the tongue with thanks felt in the heart and shown in deeds, and asked the friends to love one another.
Speaking in Sacramento on October 26, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá warned that Europe was like an arsenal that one spark would set aflame, called international peace the greatest need of the day, and said that divine revelation never ceases.
On October 8, 1912, at the invitation of President David Starr Jordan, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at Stanford University on the sovereignty of science and the oneness of all things, and asked why man, endowed with mind, should make war on his fellowman.
On October 12, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco. He praised Moses and asked His Jewish hearers why they, in turn, should not acknowledge Christ and Muḥammad.
About a week after the Titanic sank, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke of the disaster at the Parsons home in Washington, likening the soul's passage through death to an infant's birth into the wider world.
At the Hotel Plaza in Chicago on May 2, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá contrasted true consultation with parliamentary quarrelling, and described the disciples of Christ taking counsel together on the mount after His ascension.
At a dinner at the Parsons home in Washington on April 22, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told how a Zoroastrian high priest lost his prejudice against Muḥammad, and compared it with the power that had brought East and West to one table.
On 1 October 1911 in London, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá performed the marriage of Mírzá Yuhanna Dáwúd and Núr Mahal Khánum, telling them He had never before united anyone in marriage except His own daughters.
Ella Cooper recalled glimpsing Bahíyyih Khánum in the kitchen, dividing a lamb into broth, meals and portions for the poor, and realizing the hours of work that went into caring for the visitors.
Rene made a basket of flowers for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. When she saw another girl leaving His room with it, she was upset at first, then came to understand the true meaning of giving.
When Ridvaniyyih Khánum’s little daughter died, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá comforted her with the image of a Divine Gardener moving a young tree to a better place. Lady Blomfield adds that after her own mother died, a friend dreamed of seeing her young and joyful in a garden.
An early pilgrim describes ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Friday mornings in ‘Akká, when He gave a coin and a kind word to each of a hundred or more poor people, and His early-morning visits to the sick.
The pilgrim Roy Wilhelm observed that people of all classes and religions in ‘Akká came to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for explanation of their scriptures and settlement of their disputes, and that a just Governor sent his son to Him for instruction.
In the opening chapter of *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá defines nature as the composition and decomposition of all things and shows that nature, though governed by one universal law, has neither will nor intelligence.
Nature is that condition, that reality, which in appearance consists in life and death, or, in other words, in the composition and decomposition of all things.
Today, at table, let us speak for a little of proofs.
In the beginning of the eleventh chapter of the Revelation of St.
In Isaiah, chapter 11, verses 1 to 10, it is said: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and…
We have before explained that what is most frequently meant by the Holy City, the Jerusalem of God, which is mentioned in the Holy Book, is the Law of God.
In this material world time has cycles; places change through alternating seasons, and for souls there are progress, retrogression and education.
The honor and exaltation of every existing being depends upon causes and circumstances.
A subject that is essential for the comprehension of the questions that we have mentioned, and of others of which we are about to speak, so that the essence of the problems may be understood, is this: that human knowledge is of two kinds.
Question.—How was Christ born of the Holy Spirit? Answer.—In regard to this question, theologians and materialists disagree.
A great man is a great man, whether born of a human father or not.
Question.—It is said in the Gospel of St. Matthew, chapter 3, verses 13, 14, 15: “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest…
One of the proofs and demonstrations of the existence of God is the fact that man did not create himself: nay, his creator and designer is another than himself.
Question.—Is the ablution of baptism useful and necessary, or is it useless and unnecessary?
Question.—The Christ said: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die.”
'Abdu'l-Bahá affirms that the Manifestations of God are the sources of miracles, yet teaches that outward wonders prove nothing to those who were not present, and that the miracles of the Holy Books carry an inner meaning.
Question.—It is recorded that miracles were performed by Christ.
Question.—What is the meaning of Christ’s resurrection after three days?
Question.—What is the manner, and what is the meaning, of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, as described in the Gospel?
Question.—What is the Holy Spirit?
In a group of chapters of *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá takes up the theory that man is descended from the animal, and teaches that although humanity's form developed gradually, like an embryo in the womb, man was from the beginning a distinct species, with mind and spirit present though hidden.
It is said in the Holy Books that Christ will come again, and that His coming depends upon the fulfillment of certain signs: when He comes, it will be with these signs.
Question.—What is the meaning of the Trinity, of the Three Persons in One?
“And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.”
Question.—In verse 22 of chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians it is written: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
In *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá argues that the mineral, vegetable, animal and human worlds all need an educator, and that humanity needs a Universal Educator, at once its material, human and spiritual educator, whose power is divine.
When we consider existence, we see that the mineral, vegetable, animal and human worlds are all in need of an educator.
Question.—What is the truth of the story of Adam, and His eating of the fruit of the tree?
Question.—“Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be…
Question.—In the Gospel Christ said: “Many are called, but few are chosen,” and in the Qur’án it is written: “He will confer particular mercy on whom He pleaseth.”
Question.—Will you explain the subject of Return? Answer.—Bahá’u’lláh has explained this question fully and clearly in the Íqán.
Question.—In the Gospel of St. Matthew it is said: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.”
Question.—If God has knowledge of an action which will be performed by someone, and it has been written on the Tablet of Fate, is it possible to resist it?
Know that, speaking generally, there are five divisions of the spirit.
Question.—What connection has the Reality of Divinity with the Lordly Rising-places and the Divine Dawning-points?
Know that the Holy Manifestations, though They have the degrees of endless perfections, yet, speaking generally, have only three stations.
We said that the Manifestations have three planes.
One of those Who possessed this power and was assisted by it was Abraham.
Question.—One of the powers possessed by the Divine Manifestations is knowledge.
Question.—What is the real explanation of the cycles which occur in the world of existence?
Question.—What is the degree of the power and the perfections of the Thrones of Reality, the Manifestations of God, and what is the limit of Their influence?
Question.—How many kinds of Prophets are there? Answer.—Universally, the Prophets are of two kinds. One are the independent Prophets Who are followed; the other kind are not independent and are themselves followers.
Question.—In the Holy Books there are some addresses of reproach and rebuke directed to the Prophets.
It is said in the holy verse: “There is no partner for Him Who is the Dayspring of Revelation136 in His Most Great Infallibility. He is, in truth, the exponent of ‘God doeth whatsoever He willeth’ in the kingdom of creation. Indeed the…
In *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá comments on the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, with its Branch out of the stem of Jesse and its peaceable kingdom of the wolf and the lamb, and applies its verses to Bahá'u'lláh and His cycle.
Moses was for a long time a shepherd in the wilderness. Regarded outwardly, He was a Man brought up in a tyrannical household, and was known among men as One Who had committed a murder and become a shepherd.
Question.—In the Bible it is said that God breathed the spirit into the body of man.
Question.—Of what degree is the perception of the human world, and what are its limitations?
Afterward Christ came, saying, “I am born of the Holy Spirit.”
Having shown that the spirit of man exists, we must prove its immortality.
Yesterday we were occupied in discussing the immortality of the spirit.
Question.—It is said in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas “...whoso is deprived thereof, hath gone astray, though he be the author of every righteous deed.”
Question.—After the body is put aside and the spirit has obtained freedom, in what way will the rational soul exist?
You question about eternal life and the entrance into the Kingdom.
Question.—Is the predestination which is mentioned in the Holy Books a decreed thing?
Question.—Have the stars of the heavens any influence upon the human soul, or have they not?
Now we come to Muḥammad.
Question.—Is man a free agent in all his actions, or is he compelled and constrained?
In a series of chapters of *Some Answered Questions*, 'Abdu'l-Bahá offers rational proofs that the human spirit survives the death of the body, and teaches that, because the perfections of humanity are endless, the soul can continue to progress after leaving this world.
Question.—Some people believe that they achieve spiritual discoveries—that is to say, that they converse with spirits.
Question.—Some people heal the sick by spiritual means—that is to say, without medicine.
Yesterday at table we spoke of curative treatment and spiritual healing, which consists in treating maladies through the spiritual powers.
The true explanation of this subject is very difficult. Know that beings are of two kinds: material and spiritual, those perceptible to the senses and those intellectual.
Know that there are two kinds of torment: subtile and gross.
Know that to do justice is to give to everyone according to his deserts.
Question.—Should a criminal be punished, or forgiven and his crime overlooked?
Certain sophists think that existence is an illusion, that each being is an absolute illusion which has no existence—in other words, that the existence of beings is like a mirage, or like the reflection of an image in water or in a mirror …
As for the Báb—may my soul be His sacrifice!—at a youthful age, that is to say, when He had reached the twenty-fifth year of His blessed life, He stood forth to proclaim His Cause.
Question.—How many kinds of preexistence and of phenomena are there?
Question.—What is the truth of the question of reincarnation, which is believed by some people?
Question.—How do the Theosophists and the Súfís understand the question of pantheism?
There are only four accepted methods of comprehension—that is to say, the realities of things are understood by these four methods.
Question.—Those who are blessed with good actions and universal benevolence, who have praiseworthy characteristics, who act with love and kindness toward all creatures, who care for the poor …
Question.—What is the condition of children who die before attaining the age of discretion or before the appointed time of birth?
Sarah Farmer opened Green Acre in 1894 for the study of all religions. After she visited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá its courses turned towards the Bahá’í teachings, and when the Master came in 1912 He called it hallowed ground.
O peoples of the world! The Sun of Truth hath risen to illumine the whole earth, and to spiritualize the community of man.
O thou dear handmaid of God! Thy letter hath been received and its contents noted. Thou didst ask for a rule whereby to guide thy life.
My wish is that these children should receive a Bahá’í education, so that they may progress both here and in the Kingdom, and rejoice thy heart.
O ye who have peace of soul!
O true companions! All humankind are as children in a school, and the Dawning-Points of Light, the Sources of divine revelation, are the teachers, wondrous and without peer.
The education and training of children is among the most meritorious acts of humankind and draweth down the grace and favour of the All-Merciful …
O loved ones of God and handmaids of the Merciful! A large body of scholars is of the opinion that variations among minds and differing degrees of perception are due to differences in education, training and culture.
As to the difference between that material civilization now prevailing, and the divine civilization which will be one of the benefits to derive from the House of Justice, it is this: material civilization …
Among the greatest of all services that can possibly be rendered by man to Almighty God is the education and training of children, young plants of the Abhá Paradise, so that these children, fostered by grace in the way of salvation …
Ye should consider the question of goodly character as of the first importance.
O ye recipients of the favours of God! In this new and wondrous Age, the unshakeable foundation is the teaching of sciences and arts.
As to the organization of the schools: if possible the children should all wear the same kind of clothing, even if the fabric is varied.
The root cause of wrongdoing is ignorance, and we must therefore hold fast to the tools of perception and knowledge.
In this holy Cause the question of orphans hath the utmost importance.
O handmaid of God!... To the mothers must be given the divine Teachings and effective counsel, and they must be encouraged and made eager to train their children, for the mother is the first educator of the child.
O ye loving mothers, know ye that in God’s sight, the best of all ways to worship Him is to educate the children and train them in all the perfections of humankind; and no nobler deed than this can be imagined.
O ye two well-loved handmaids of God! Whatever a man’s tongue speaketh, that let him prove by his deeds. If he claimeth to be a believer, then let him act in accordance with the precepts of the Abhá Kingdom.
O thou daughter of the Kingdom! Thy letters were received. Their contents indicated that thy mother hath ascended to the invisible realm and that thou hast been left alone.
Know thou of a certainty that Love is the secret of God’s holy Dispensation, the manifestation of the All-Merciful, the fountain of spiritual outpourings.
O my dear children! Your letter was received.
O thou whose years are few, yet whose mental gifts are many!
As to thy question regarding the education of children: it behoveth thee to nurture them at the breast of the love of God, and urge them onward to the things of the spirit, that they may turn their faces unto God …
O thou who gazest upon the Kingdom of God!
The Sunday school for the children in which the Tablets and Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh are read, and the Word of God is recited for the children is indeed a blessed thing.
The changing of teachers should be neither too frequent nor too much delayed; moderation is preferable.
O thou servant of the One true God! In this universal dispensation man’s wondrous craftsmanship is reckoned as worship of the Resplendent Beauty.
Thy letter was received. I hope that thou mayest be protected and assisted under the providence of the True One, be occupied always in mentioning the Lord and display effort to complete thy profession.
O Friends of the Pure and Omnipotent God! To be pure and holy in all things is an attribute of the consecrated soul and a necessary characteristic of the unenslaved mind.
O thou daughter of the Kingdom! Thy letter dated 5 December 1918 was received.
O thou distinguished physician!... Praise be to God that thou hast two powers: one to undertake physical healing and the other spiritual healing.
When giving medical treatment turn to the Blessed Beauty, then follow the dictates of thy heart.
There are two ways of healing sickness, material means and spiritual means.
O thou who art attracted to the fragrant breathings of God! I have read thy letter addressed to Mrs. Lua Getsinger.
O thou who art voicing the praises of thy Lord! I have read thy letter, wherein thou didst express astonishment at some of the laws of God, such as that concerning the hunting of innocent animals, creatures who are guilty of no wrong.
O ye beloved of the Lord! The Kingdom of God is founded upon equity and justice, and also upon mercy, compassion, and kindness to every living soul.
O thou handmaid of God! The heavenly glad tidings must be delivered with the utmost dignity and magnanimity. And until a soul ariseth with qualities which are essential for the bearer of these tidings, his words will take no effect.
O ye two blessed souls! Your letters were received.
Thou didst ask as to the transfiguration of Jesus, with Moses and Elias and the Heavenly Father on Mount Tabor, as referred to in the Bible.
O thou yearning flame, thou who art afire with the love of God!
O thou dear handmaid of God! Praise thou God, because thou art favoured at His Holy Threshold, and cherished in the Kingdom of His might.
O thou who hast drawn nigh unto the spirit of Christ in the Kingdom of God!
O lover of humankind! Thy letter hath been received, and it telleth, God be praised, of thy health and well-being.
Thou didst write as to the question of spiritual discoveries.
O thou handmaid afire with the love of God! I have considered thine excellent letter, and thanked God for thy safe arrival in that great city.
O ye sons and daughters of the Kingdom! Thankful, the birds of the spirit seek only to fly in the high heavens and to sing out their songs with wondrous art.
O thou who hast eyes to see! That which thou didst witness is the very truth, and it pertaineth to the realm of vision.
O captive of the love of God! The letter which thou didst write at the time of thy departure hath been received.
O thou handmaid aflame with the fire of God’s love! Grieve thou not over the troubles and hardships of this nether world, nor be thou glad in times of ease and comfort, for both shall pass away.
O thou believer in the oneness of God! Know thou that nothing profiteth a soul save the love of the All-Merciful, nothing lighteth up a heart save the splendour that shineth from the realm of the Lord.
As to the question regarding the soul of a murderer, and what his punishment would be, the answer given was that the murderer must expiate his crime: that is, if they put the murderer to death, his death is his atonement for his crime …
O thou handmaid of God! In this day, to thank God for His bounties consisteth in possessing a radiant heart, and a soul open to the promptings of the spirit.
O thou son of the Kingdom! Thy most agreeable letters, with their pleasing style, ever gladden our hearts. When the song is of the Kingdom, it rejoiceth the soul.
O thou flame of God’s love! What thou hast written hath brought great joy, for thy letter was as a garden from which roses of inner meanings spread abroad the sweet exhalations of the love of God.
O thou servant of the Holy Threshold! We have read what flowed out from thy pen in thy love for God, and found the contents of thy letter most pleasing.
O ye who are strongly attracted! O ye who are mindful! O ye who are advancing unto the Kingdom of God!
Grieve thou not over the ascension of my beloved Breakwell, for he hath risen unto a rose garden of splendours within the Abhá Paradise, sheltered by the mercy of his mighty Lord, and he is crying at the top of his voice …
As to thy question, doth every soul without exception achieve life everlasting?
O ye illumined loved ones and ye handmaids of the Merciful!
O thou sincere and loyal handmaid of the Lord! I have read thy letter. Thou art truly attached to the Kingdom and devoted to the All-Glorious Horizon.
O thou who seekest the Kingdom of heaven! This world is even as the body of man, and the Kingdom of God is as the spirit of life.
O ye two seekers after truth! Your letter was received and its contents noted.
O ye two faithful and assured souls! The letter was received. Praise be to God, it imparted good tidings. California is ready for the promulgation of the Teachings of God.
O my God! O my God!
Thou hadst asked about fate, predestination and will. Fate and predestination consist in the necessary and indispensable relationships which exist in the realities of things.
O thou lady of the Kingdom! Praise thou God that in this age, the age of the dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, thou hast been awakened, hast been made aware of the Manifestation of the Lord of Hosts.
O ye two patient souls! Your letter was received.
O ye who are the chosen ones of the Abhá Kingdom!
O thou seeker of the Kingdom! Thy letter was received. Thou hast written of the severe calamity that hath befallen thee—the death of thy respected husband.
O thou beloved maidservant of God, although the loss of a son is indeed heart-breaking and beyond the limits of human endurance, yet one who knoweth and understandeth is assured that the son hath not been lost but, rather …
Praise be to God, thy heart is engaged in the commemoration of God, thy soul is gladdened by the glad tidings of God and thou art absorbed in prayer.
Those souls that, in this day, enter the divine kingdom and attain everlasting life, although materially dwelling on earth, yet in reality soar in the realm of heaven.
Mortal charm shall fade away, roses shall give way to thorns, and beauty and youth shall live their day and be no more.
O thou who art attracted to the Kingdom of God! Every soul seeketh an object and cherisheth a desire, and day and night striveth to attain his aim.
O living flame of heavenly love! Thine heart hath been so fired with the love of God that from ten thousand leagues afar its warmth and radiance may be felt and seen.
O maidservant of God! Thy letter dated 9 December 1918 was received. Its contents were noted. Never lose thy trust in God.
O thou possessor of a seeing heart! Although, materially speaking, thou art deprived of physical sight, yet, praise be to God, spiritual insight is thine.
I hope that in this nether world thou shalt attain unto heavenly light, thou wilt free the souls from the gloom of nature, which is the animal kingdom, and cause them to reach lofty stations in the human kingdom.
Regarding the statement in The Hidden Words, that man must renounce his own self, the meaning is that he must renounce his inordinate desires, his selfish purposes and the promptings of his human self …
O ye who are holding fast unto the Covenant and Testament! This day, from the realms of the All-Glorious, from the Kingdom of Holiness where hosannas of glorification and praise rise up, the Company on high direct their gaze upon you.
O thou daughter of the Kingdom! Thy letter was received. It was like the melody of the divine nightingale, whose song delighteth the hearts.
O ye blessed souls!
O ye friends and maidservants of the Merciful! From the Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles a letter hath been received.
O thou who art firm in the Covenant! Three consecutive letters have been received from thee.
O thou who art firm in the Covenant! Thy letter was received. Thou hast expressed satisfaction with the Convention, that this gathering hath been the means of the elevation of the Cause of God and the demonstration of the power of His Word.
Today, every wise, vigilant and foresighted person is awakened, and to him are unveiled the mysteries of the future which show that nothing save the power of the Covenant is able to stir and move the heart of humanity …
Praise be to Him through Whose splendours the earth and the heavens are aglow, through Whose fragrant breathings the gardens of holiness that adorn the hearts of the chosen are trembling for joy, to Him Who hath shed His light and brightened the face of the firmament.
Thou seest me, O my God, bowed down in lowliness, humbling myself before Thy commandments, submitting to Thy sovereignty, trembling at the might of Thy dominion, fleeing from Thy wrath, entreating Thy grace, relying upon Thy forgiveness, shaking with awe at Thy fury.
O thou who hast been sore afflicted on the pathway of the Covenant!
Today, the Lord of Hosts is the defender of the Covenant, the forces of the Kingdom protect it, heavenly souls tender their services, and heavenly angels promulgate and spread it broadcast.
It is daybreak, and from the rising-point of the invisible realms of God, the light of unity is dawning; and streaming and beating down from the hidden world of the Kingdom of oneness there cometh a flood of abounding grace.
O ye the sincere loved ones of the Abhá Beauty! In these days the Cause of God, the world over, is fast growing in power and, day by day, is spreading further and further to the utmost bounds of the earth.
O thou exalted bough of the divine Lote-Tree! ...When thou art disdained and rejected by the wicked doers be not cast down; and at the power and stiffneckedness of the presumptuous be neither vexed nor sick at heart; for such is the way of heedless souls, from time out of mind.
O thou who art steadfast in the Covenant! Thy letter of 9 September 1909 hath been received. Be thou neither grieved nor despondent over what hath come to pass.
O thou servant of God! Do not grieve at the afflictions and calamities that have befallen thee. All calamities and afflictions have been created for man so that he may spurn this mortal world—a world to which he is much attached.
O thou who art enamoured of the breaths of God! I have read thy letter, which cried out with thy love for God and thine irresistible attraction to His Beauty, and its wondrous theme did cheer my heart.
O ye sincere ones, ye longing ones, ye who are drawn as if magnetized, ye who have risen up to serve the Cause of God, to exalt His Word and scatter His sweet savours far and wide!
O my Lord!
O my spiritual loved ones!
O thou who art carried away by the love of God! The Sun of Truth hath risen above the horizon of this world and cast down its beams of guidance.
O ye lovers of truth, ye servants of humankind! Out of the flowering of your thoughts and hopes, fragrant emanations have come my way, wherefore an inner sense of obligation compelleth me to pen these words.
O thou who art enamoured of the Covenant!
O ye respected souls! From the continual imitation of ancient and worn-out ways, the world had grown dark as darksome night.
Praise be to Him Who hath rent the dark asunder, hath blotted out the night, hath drawn aside the coverings and torn away the veils; Whose light thereupon shone out, Whose signs and tokens were spread abroad, and His mysteries laid bare.
O ye who have turned your faces toward the Exalted Beauty!
O ye servants of the Sacred Threshold!
O ye servants of the Blessed Beauty!... It is clear that in this day, confirmations from the unseen world are encompassing all those who deliver the divine Message.
O thou distinguished personage, thou seeker after truth! Thy letter of 4 April 1921, hath been read with love.
O ye roses in the garden of God’s love! O ye bright lamps in the assemblage of His knowledge! May the soft breathings of God pass over you, may the Glory of God illumine the horizon of your hearts.
When the friends do not endeavour to spread the message, they fail to remember God befittingly, and will not witness the tokens of assistance and confirmation from the Abhá Kingdom nor comprehend the divine mysteries.
It is at such times that the friends of God avail themselves of the occasion, seize the opportunity, rush forth and win the prize.
The teaching work should under all conditions be actively pursued by the believers because divine confirmations are dependent upon it.
Follow thou the way of thy Lord, and say not that which the ears cannot bear to hear, for such speech is like luscious food given to small children.
My hope from the grace of the One true Lord is that thou wilt be enabled to spread the fragrances of God among the tribes.
Rest assured that the breathings of the Holy Spirit will loosen thy tongue.
The teacher, when teaching, must be himself fully enkindled, so that his utterance, like unto a flame of fire, may exert influence and consume the veil of self and passion.
O ye sons and daughters of the Kingdom! Your letter, which was surely inspired of heaven, hath been received. Its contents were most pleasing, its sentiments arising out of luminous hearts.
O thou who art turning thy face towards God! Close thine eyes to all things else, and open them to the realm of the All-Glorious.
The Lord of all mankind hath fashioned this human realm to be a Garden of Eden, an earthly paradise.
O ye who are steadfast in the Covenant!
O ye homeless and wanderers in the Path of God!
O ye sons and daughters of the Kingdom! Your letter was received. From its contents it was known that, praise be to God, your hearts are in the utmost purity and your souls rejoice in the glad tidings of God.
O thou servant of God! Thy letter was received. Its contents were lofty and sublime, and its aim high and far-reaching.
O ye concourse of the Kingdom of Abhá!
O thou servant of God! Thy letter was received, and was the cause of gladness. Thou hast expressed thine ardent wish that I should attend the Peace Congress.
O sincere servant of the True One! I hear thou art grieved and distressed at the happenings of the world and the vicissitudes of fortune.
O thou who dost search after truth! Thy letter of 13 December 1920 hath come.
O respected personage! Thy second letter dated 19 December 1918 was received.
O thou blossom on the Tree of Life!
As to President Wilson, the fourteen principles which he hath enunciated are mostly found in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and I therefore hope that he will be confirmed and assisted.
O ye faithful friends, O ye sincere servants of Bahá’u’lláh!
O thou who art enraptured by the sweet breathings of the Lord!
O God, my God! Illumine the brows of Thy true lovers and support them with angelic hosts of certain triumph.
O Thou, my God, Who guidest the seeker to the pathway that leadeth aright, Who deliverest the lost and blinded soul out of the wastes of perdition, Thou Who bestowest upon the sincere great bounties and favours …
Whoso reciteth this prayer with lowliness and fervour will bring gladness and joy to the heart of this Servant; it will be even as meeting Him face to face.
O spiritual youth! Praise thou God that thou hast found thy way into the Kingdom of Splendours, and hast rent asunder the veil of vain imaginings, and that the core of the inner mystery hath been made known unto thee.
O thou handmaid of God!
O thou who seekest the Kingdom of Heaven! Thy letter hath been received and its contents noted. The Holy Manifestations of God possess two stations: one is the physical station, and one the spiritual.
In cycles gone by, each one of the Manifestations of God hath had His own rank in the world of existence, and each hath represented a stage in the development of humanity.
O leaf upon the Tree of Life! The Tree of Life, of which mention is made in the Bible, is Bahá’u’lláh, and the daughters of the Kingdom are the leaves upon that blessed Tree.
O thou who art captivated by the truth and magnetized by the Heavenly Kingdom!
Existence is of two kinds: one is the existence of God which is beyond the comprehension of man.
O thou who art dear, and wise! Thy letter dated 27 May 1906 hath been received and its contents are most pleasing and have brought great joy.
O ye handmaids of the Lord! In this century—the century of the Almighty Lord—the Day-Star of the Realms above, the Light of Truth, shineth in its meridian splendour and its rays illuminate all regions.
O servant of God!
O thou who art serving the world of humanity! Thy letter was received and from its contents we felt exceedingly glad.
O army of God! A letter signed jointly by all of you hath been received. It was most eloquent and full of flavour, and reading it was a delight.
O ye two favoured handmaids of the Lord! The letter from Mother Beecher hath been received, and truly it spoke for you both, wherefore I address the two of you together.
O handmaid of God, who tremblest even as a fresh and tender branch in the winds of the love of God!
O handmaid of God! Thy letter hath been received, bringing its news that an Assembly hath been established in that city.
Praise be to Him Who hath made the world of being, and hath fashioned all that is, Him Who hath raised up the sincere to a station of honour and hath made the invisible world to appear on the plane of the visible—yet still, in their drunken stupor, do men wander and stray.
O thou who art steadfast in the Covenant, and staunch! The letter which thou didst write ... hath been shown to me, and the opinions expressed therein were most commendable.
O ye co-workers who are supported by armies from the realm of the All-Glorious!
The prime requisites for them that take counsel together are purity of motive, radiance of spirit, detachment from all else save God, attraction to His Divine Fragrances, humility and lowliness amongst His loved ones …
The members thereof must take counsel together in such wise that no occasion for ill-feeling or discord may arise.
The first condition is absolute love and harmony amongst the members of the assembly.
O ye true friends! Your letter hath been received and it brought great joy. God be praised, ye had made ready an entertainment and established the feast which is to be held every nineteen days.
O ye loyal servants of the Ancient Beauty! In every cycle and dispensation, the feast hath been favoured and loved, and the spreading of a table for the lovers of God hath been considered a praiseworthy act.
Thy letter hath been received. Thou didst write of the Nineteen Day festivity, and this rejoiced my heart. These gatherings cause the divine table to descend from heaven, and draw down the confirmations of the All-Merciful.
The world’s great Light, once resplendent upon all mankind, hath set, to shine everlastingly from the Abhá Horizon, His Kingdom of fadeless glory, shedding splendour upon His loved ones from on high and breathing into their hearts and souls the breath of eternal life.
As to the Nineteen Day Feast, it rejoiceth mind and heart. If this feast be held in the proper fashion, the friends will, once in nineteen days, find themselves spiritually restored, and endued with a power that is not of this world.
O servant of the One true God! The Lord be praised, the loved ones of God are found in every land, and are, one and all, neath the shadow of the Tree of Life and under the protection of His good providence.
Ye have written as to the meetings of the friends, and how filled they are with peace and joy.
It befitteth the friends to hold a gathering, a meeting, where they shall glorify God and fix their hearts upon Him, and read and recite the Holy Writings of the Blessed Beauty—may my soul be the ransom of His lovers!
Whensoever a company of people shall gather in a meeting place, shall engage in glorifying God, and shall speak with one another of the mysteries of God, beyond any doubt the breathings of the Holy Spirit will blow gently over them, and each shall receive a share thereof.
We hear that thou hast in mind to embellish thy house from time to time with a meeting of Bahá’ís, where some among them will engage in glorifying the All-Glorious Lord...
Thou hast asked about places of worship and the underlying reason therefor.
O ye peoples of the Kingdom!
Although to outward seeming the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is a material structure, yet it hath a spiritual effect.
O Lord, O Thou Who dost bless all those who stand firm in the Covenant by enabling them, out of their love for the Light of the World, to expend what they have as an offering to the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár …
O my well-beloved daughter of the Kingdom! The letter thou hadst written to Dr. Esslemont was forwarded by him to the Land of Desire [The Holy Land].
O ye blessed souls! The letter ye had written to Rahmatu’lláh hath been perused.
The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is one of the most vital institutions in the world, and it hath many subsidiary branches.
O thou favoured handmaid of the heavenly Kingdom! Thy letter hath been received.
O thou who hast sought illumination from the light of guidance!
O thou lady of the Kingdom! Thy letter sent from New York hath been received.
O ye who are firm in the Covenant and the Testament! Your letter was received and your blessed names were one by one perused.
Thou hast written concerning organization. The divine teachings and the admonitions and exhortations of Bahá’u’lláh are manifestly evident.
O thou ignited candle! Thy letter was received.
O thou beloved maidservant of God! Thy letter was received and its contents revealed the fact that the friends, in perfect energy and vitality are engaged in the propagation of the heavenly teachings.
O thou true friend! Read, in the school of God, the lessons of the spirit, and learn from love’s Teacher the innermost truths.
O daughter of the Kingdom! Thy letter hath come and its contents make clear the fact that thou hast directed all thy thoughts toward acquiring light from the realms of mystery.
O bird that singeth sweetly of the Abhá Beauty! In this new and wondrous dispensation the veils of superstition have been torn asunder and the prejudices of eastern peoples stand condemned.
Strive with heart and soul in order to bring about union and harmony among the white and the black and prove thereby the unity of the Bahá’í world wherein distinction of colour findeth no place, but where hearts only are considered.
O thou who hast an illumined heart! Thou art even as the pupil of the eye, the very wellspring of the light, for God’s love hath cast its rays upon thine inmost being and thou hast turned thy face toward the Kingdom of thy Lord.
O thou revered maidservant of God! Thy letter from Los Angeles was received.
O thou who art pure in heart, sanctified in spirit, peerless in character, beauteous in face!
O respected personage! I have read your work, The Gospel of Wealth, and noted therein truly apposite and sound recommendations for easing the lot of humankind.
O thou who art turning thy face to God! Thy letter was received. From its contents it became known that thy wish is to serve the poor.
Those souls who during the war have served the poor and have been in the Red Cross Mission work, their services are accepted at the Kingdom of God and are the cause of their everlasting life.
O thou who art firm in the Covenant, thy letter was received.
O thou dear handmaid of God! Thy letter hath been received, and its contents were noted.
As for the question regarding marriage under the Law of God: first thou must choose one who is pleasing to thee, and then the matter is subject to the consent of father and mother.
O thou memento of him who died for the Blessed Beauty! In recent days, the joyful news of thy marriage to that luminous leaf hath been received, and hath infinitely gladdened the hearts of the people of God.
O ye my two beloved children! The news of your union, as soon as it reached me, imparted infinite joy and gratitude.
O thou who art firm in the Covenant! The letter thou hadst written on 2 May 1919 was received. Praise thou God that in tests thou art firm and steadfast and art holding fast to the Abhá Kingdom.
O thou whose heart overfloweth with love for the Lord!
O God, my God!
O thou who hast bowed thyself down in prayer before the Kingdom of God!
O ye two believers in God! The Lord, peerless is He, hath made woman and man to abide with each other in the closest companionship, and to be even as a single soul.
O thou maidservant of God!
O handmaids of the beauty of Abhá! Your letter hath come, and its perusal brought great joy.
O handmaids of the Lord! The spiritual assemblage that ye established in that illumined city is most propitious.
O handmaids of the Merciful! Render ye thanks unto the Ancient Beauty that ye have been raised up and gathered together in this mightiest of centuries, this most illumined of ages.
There are certain pillars which have been established as the unshakeable supports of the Faith of God.
Were there no educator, all souls would remain savage, and were it not for the teacher, the children would be ignorant creatures.
Thou didst write as to the children: from the very beginning, the children must receive divine education and must continually be reminded to remember their God.
Soon after reaching London in 1911, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá warmly greeted the Rev. R. J. Campbell; on 10 September He gave His first public address in the West from the City Temple pulpit and wrote a tribute in its Bible.
Before leaving Denver in September 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was asked about eating meat and explained how God has provided for each creature, saying that man was created blessed and not rapacious and bloodthirsty.
Lady Blomfield describes how Ásíyih Khánum, Bahíyyih Khánum, Munírih Khánum and the Master’s daughters bore the long years of privation in ‘Akká without complaint, meeting every hardship with radiant acquiescence.
During His third visit to Paris in 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sometimes ate only milk and bread in the evening, calling it a healthy meal and recalling that Bahá’u’lláh had lived mostly on milk in Sulaymáníyyih.
Before travelling to the West of America, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wished first to visit Montreal, where May Maxwell, founder of the first Bahá’í community in France, had established the first permanent Bahá’í community in Canada.
When war broke out and Haifa feared bombardment, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá accepted the invitation of the Druze chief of Abu-Sinan and moved the Bahá’ís and their children to his village, where they lived simply and recovered their health and calm.
In April 1913 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited Budapest, where about eight hundred people heard His public address. He charged Leopold Stark with uniting those likely to form the first nucleus of the Faith in the city.
In 1914 'Abdu'l-Bahá advised Agnes Alexander to go to Japan. Her 1916 letter from Tokyo, printed in the Star of the West, tells of her weekly meetings, the students who came to her, and the Esperantists who helped spread the teachings.
The first Bahá'í House of Worship was begun about 1902 at 'Ishqábád in Russian Central Asia. In 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá held it up to the American believers as the example for their own Temple.
In a Tablet to Mrs. Harriet Cline of Los Angeles, printed in the Star of the West in 1913, 'Abdu'l-Bahá praised her firmness in the Covenant and asked her to make others firm in it.
In June 1917 the Star of the West looked ahead to the summer at Green Acre, the Maine conference ground founded by Sarah Farmer, and printed words 'Abdu'l-Bahá had spoken after His return to the Holy Land, praising the place for offering *a free and unrestricted platform* to people of every nation and religion.
In October 1918, soon after British forces took Haifa, the *Star of the West* printed a telegram with the news the American Bahá'ís had waited for through the war: *Master well and protected.*
In 1914 the Star of the West reprinted a letter from 'Akká describing Indian pilgrims at Haifa, among them a young Hindu of high caste, living in the pilgrim house with Zoroastrians, Jews and Muslims, and the Master's daily service to the people of 'Akká.
In 1916 the Star of the West printed the Tablet in which 'Abdu'l-Bahá urged Agnes Alexander to go directly to Japan, and her letter from Tokyo about the weekly Friday meetings and Fukuta San, the first Japanese Bahá'í in Japan.
Juliet Thompson's diary records how, in April 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had her change a thousand-franc note into quarters for the men of New York's Bowery Mission, and how He gave the coins that were left to a hotel chambermaid.
On 27 April 1920 'Abdu'l-Bahá was knighted at Haifa for His relief of famine in the Holy Land during the First World War. The Star of the West printed a Persian believer's account of the ceremony.
When little Leslie Armstrong of Montreal died in January 1913, his parents recalled that 'Abdu'l-Bahá had filled the boy's hands with fruit, kissed him, and said he would be a shining light for God.
In 1911 Louis G. Gregory spent four days in London on his way home from visiting 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The London Bahá'ís wrote that a few such men, aflame with God's Word, could change the problems between the races.
The Star of the West reproduced the one-line cable in which the Greatest Holy Leaf announced 'Abdu'l-Bahá's passing, and in later issues printed accounts of His last days and funeral.
In a letter printed in March 1912, May Maxwell described Montreal's preparation for 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visit: talks heard by socialists and labour groups, and a friendly article in the leading Canadian newspaper.
The first issues of the Star of the West in 1910 carried letters from Tehran about Dr. Susan I. Moody: a reception in her honour, and her own news of a hospital, a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár and a school for girls.
In early 1922 the Star of the West printed the first detailed American accounts of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Haifa on 28 November 1921 and of His funeral on Mount Carmel.
In March 1911 the Star of the West reported that the Persian-American Educational Society had sent seven hundred dollars to Tehran and enrolled sixty-three scholarships, and printed 'Abdu'l-Bahá's request for two American teachers for the Tarbíyat School.
In June 1913 the Star of the West printed Edward Theodore Hall's tribute to Sarah Ann Ridgway, a silk weaver of Pendleton and the first Bahá'í in Manchester, who taught the Faith there quietly for many years.
In April 1919 the Star of the West printed part of a letter Elizabeth H. Stewart wrote in Tehran in November 1918, describing teaching meetings, a luncheon to which every Persian man brought his wife, and the hardships of the war years.
In 1919 the Star of the West reported the unveiling of nine of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan at the Convention of the Covenant in New York, and printed them in the issues that followed.
On September 8, 1916, in the middle of the First World War, the Star of the West printed five Tablets from 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the Bahá'ís of the Northeastern, Western, Southern and Central States and of Canada, the first of the Tablets of the Divine Plan to reach America.
Thornton Chase, the first American believer, died in Los Angeles on September 30, 1912, while 'Abdu'l-Bahá was travelling west to California. The Star of the West told of his last days, and less than three weeks later the Master visited his grave.
In words printed in the Star of the West in June 1913, 'Abdu'l-Bahá described three kinds of persecution He met in 'Akká. The chains and the accusations of spies were easy to bear; the bitter words and criticisms of the friends were not.
At Los Angeles on October 19, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told the believers not to look at their small number: if they attained faith, firmness and self-sacrifice, even two people would be equivalent in strength of character to the whole world.
At his last meeting with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the United States, Stanwood Cobb was embraced and told three times, “Be on fire with the love of the Kingdom!” He later reflected that these nine words summed up the Master’s teaching.
In Paris in 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked Stanwood Cobb, then teaching at a travel school for boys, whether he taught spiritual things. Cobb answered that there was no time, and the Master’s silence showed him that spiritual things should come first.
Visiting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in ‘Akká in 1908 while troubled by depression, Stanwood Cobb was visited in his room by the Master, Who sat beside him and held his hand. From that moment, Cobb wrote, his depressive moods left him for good.
Stanwood Cobb recalled that joy was the keynote of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s teaching: He would greet visitors with “Are you happy?”, smile at the tears of the unhappy, and sometimes wipe those tears away with His own hands.
Stanwood Cobb took his elderly father to meet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Boston and was shocked when his father spent the interview expounding his own spiritual views. The Master smiled and listened, and the father came away feeling he had had a wonderful interview.
Stanwood Cobb recalled how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave His addresses: pacing as He spoke, then smiling and nodding while the translator rendered His words, so that each talk became “a work of art, as well as a spiritual service.”
Stanwood Cobb recalls ‘Abdu’l-Bahá teaching that Bahá’ís must endure people even when they are unendurable, and beaming as He said it, as if such patience would be a joy.
Sending Lua Getsinger to India in 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told her that no storm could change His purpose, and urged her to strive day and night for the same firmness.
When an unfriendly Governor of ‘Akká fell from office, the Master sent him a ring and good wishes; when another official demanded His cloak, He gave him His only one and promised a better.
In New York on 19 June 1912, as Juliet Thompson painted His portrait, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá appointed Lua Getsinger the Herald of the Covenant and declared Himself the Covenant appointed by Bahá’u’lláh.
Reserved by nature, Sutherland Maxwell first planned to lodge ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in a Montreal hotel, but the day before He came bought new furniture for Him and begged Him at the station to stay in their home.
In August 1910 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá quietly left Haifa for Egypt, His first departure from the Holy Land in forty-two years; Sydney Sprague and His attendant describe how no one knew beforehand.
In a Tablet to the House of Spirituality of Chicago, 'Abdu'l-Bahá tells the friends not to grieve at storms of trial, for after the storm "the divine spring will arrive."
262 Announce greeting on my behalf to the two young Japanese263 and…
Announce on my behalf respectful greeting to the maid-servant of God, Madam ........., and say …
As to [what thou hast heard concerning] the child born from Russian parentage, this is pure imagination.
300 Convey my respectful greeting to Mr. ......... and say: “Praise be to God! that there exists in thee capacity and endowment to enter into the Kingdom of God, and that thy wisdom and intelligence are known to the republic.301…
317 Convey my respectful greeting to Mrs. ......... and say: “We hope that day by day thou mayest take higher flights, attain to greater spiritual attractions, thy word become more penetrative through the power of the Spirit and…
Convey my respectful greetings to [Dr.] ... and say: “Have confidence in heavenly bounty and be sure of the favor of the Lord of the Kingdom. Soon thou shalt see that the East hath embraced the West and that the Occident and Orient are…
El-Baha, praise, light, blessing and peace be upon thee, O thou fire of the Love of God, thou light of the Kingdom of God, thou radiance of the Gift of God, thou peerless pearl in the Sea of the Mercy of God, thou sturdy lion in the Jungle of the Guidance of God!
Express my affection to Mrs. ... and say: “The grace of God hath chosen thee and distinguished thee for His love, that thou mayest thank Him, a thousand times in every moment. Because of this bounty, you must choose to serve the maid-servants of the Merciful.”
“In reality thou art spiritually hungry and athirst for the Water of Life. Therefore I send thee spiritual food and bestow upon thee the Water of Life Eternal. That food is the divine advices and exhortations revealed in the Tablets and…
Glory be unto Thee, O my God! I supplicate unto Thee, O Thou my Helper! I invoke Thee, O Thou my Refuge! I utter to Thee my agonies, O Thou my Physician, and entreat Thee with all my heart, my soul and my spirit, saying: O my God!
Glory be unto Thee, O my God!
Glory be unto Thee, O Thou whose mercy hath encompassed all things, whose gift is made perfect, whose power hath encircled the world, whose proof is demonstrated, whose signs have become manifest, whose words are promulgated …
He is God! O ye heavenly Assemblage! Your letter was received and its contents became known. Ye have written concerning the printing and publication of the Tablets.
Honorable Dr. ......... According to what is heard you have received the permission of medication and the certificate of graduation (diploma) from the College of Medicine.
I ask God that thou mayest find a perceiving eye, an attentive ear and an eloquent tongue; that thou mayest loosen thy tongue in delivering the Cause of God, promoting the Word of God in that country …
If you arise in accord with the exhortations and commands of the Blessed Perfection—may my life be a sacrifice to His beloved ones! —before long agreeable results will be obtained …
130 Inquire after the health of Miss .........., send her my greeting and say: “Many ideas rise up in the human mind; some of them concern truth and some untruth. Among such ideas those which owe their source to the Light of Truth will…
“It is hoped that wonderful effects will be displayed in the future, that the friends of God may live and act in accord with the heavenly teachings, in order that the region of America may become the Paradise of Abha, that desert and…
My God! My God! Elohim.
My God! My God! I am a servant, miserable, humbled, submissive and low at the door of Thy Oneness, supplicating Thee with a heart full of Thy love and a face rejoiced at Thy glad-tidings!
My Lord! My Lord! Thou hast caused me to hear the Call, guided me unto the sea of favor, awakened me through Thy fragrant breeze, and quickened me by the spirit of Thy greatest guidance.
O attracted maid-servant of God! The epistle written (and sent) through Mirza...... was received.
O bird of the Rose-garden of Fidelity! Be of no cheerless heart; have no wing nor feather broken; sigh not, neither do thou wail, and sit not chilled in a corner.
O bird without a nest! It is reported thy home and shelter is burnt, thy resting place and habitation is become desolate.
“O Compassionate God! Thanks be to Thee for Thou hast awakened and made (me) conscious. Thou hast given me a seeing eye and favored me with a hearing ear; hast led me to Thy Kingdom and guided me to Thy Path. Thou hast shown me the…
O dear servant of God! Observe how dear thou wert that He guided thee to the Kingdom of Light, and how near to His Threshold, that He granted thee admission into His Court.
O God! O God!
O God! O thou Attracted of the hearts of the favored ones toward the Manifest Horizon!
O God who art without likeness! The servant of Thy Kingdom, Mr. ........, reached the Holy Threshold in the utmost of sincerity and longing and sought Thy good will.
O God! Grant Washington happiness and peace! Illuminate that land with the light of the faces of the friends, make it a paradise of Glory, let it become an envy of the green gardens of the earth!
O heavenly one! The maid-servant of God ... hath praised thee!
O Lord! O Beloved! The truthful servant, Mr. ........, abandoned home, left his native land and crossed the great ocean until he reached the shore of the Holy Land and arrived at the Blessed Spot.
“O loving God! I am a young child, a suppliant, a captive. Be Thou my refuge, my support, my protector. I am in distress: give me the means of tranquillity. I am needy: bestow upon me the treasure of the Kingdom. I am dead: give me the…
O maid-servant of God, thou who hast given up thy life to the service of the Kingdom of God!
O maid-servant of God, who art supplicating unto the Sublime Kingdom!
O maid-servant of God who art swayed like a strong branch by the breeze of God!
O maid-servant of God! Thy letter reached me and I prayed God to bless thee by His heavenly blessing in thy marriage with Mr. ........ and to confirm both of you with comfort and repose and the turning of your heart to the Kingdom of God.
O maid-servant of the Beauty of Abha! The valued epistle was received and the contents understood.
O my dear friend!
O my dear, intimate friend!
O my God, my God! I am a servant attracted to Thee, humbly coming to the door of Thy Oneness and addressing the kingdom of Thy mercy.
O my God! O my God!
O my God! O my God! These are servants who have turned to Thy Kingdom and hearkened unto Thy voice.
O my Lord, my Beloved, my Desire!
O my Lord, my Hope! Praise be unto Thee, for Thou hast sent down unto us this spiritual table, supreme benefit and heavenly blessing.
O my Lord! O my Lord! I am a child of tender years. Nourish me from the breast of Thy mercy, train me in the bosom of Thy love, educate me in the school of Thy guidance and develop me under the shadow of Thy bounty!
O my Lord! Thou knowest that the people are encircled with pain and calamities and are environed with hardships and trouble.
O my spiritual beloved! The days of association and intimacy are not forgotten and the sweetness of that love and meeting is still tasted in my heart.
O my spiritual friends! What you have written is perused, all of which was an entreaty and invocation unto God and a desire for devotion unto the Most High.
O my tender friend! Verily, the union between myself and thee is on a solid foundation and a well made basis. Neither the winds can remove it nor the events of time annihilate it.
O seeker of the truth! There are two ways of healing diseases, the material way and the spiritual way. The first is the remedies of the physician; the second prayers and turning one’s self to God.
O seeker of Truth!
O servant of Baha’! Thy letter written to his honor, Mirza ........, with the enclosed map of the ground of the Mashrak-el-Azcar, hath been seen.
O servant of God! What thou hast written and that which thou hast retained in mind are evident. Appreciate Mrs. ...... who reminds you of God and explains His divine mysteries.
O servants of the Blessed Beauty! It is a well known fact that, owing to the frequency of disturbances, the work of delivering the Message hath been for a short time discontinued.
O Spiritual Assembly! Everything produces an impression in existence and results in the course of ages.
O Spiritual ........! Thy letter is received; likewise that of Mr. ........ Print soon the booklet (Mirza Badi Ullah’s Epistle to the Bahai world) and spread it broadcast.
O thou dear friend! The maid-servant of God ........ hath remembered thee in her letter and hath thus made my heart busy with thy thought.
O thou advancer to God! Verily, I have read thy brilliant letter which is elegantly composed. I supplicate God to alleviate thy trials and look upon thee with the eye of His mercy under all aspects.
O thou advancing maid-servant of God! Thy letter was received and I was informed of its contents. Thanks be to God! thou art guided to the Light of guidance and hast attained to this most great gift.
O thou artery pulsating in the body of the world! Verily I read thy recent letter which indicated conscious joy and abundant happiness from the glad-tidings of the Kingdom of El-Abha.
O thou at whose mention I am rejoiced! By God, the True One, verily pure hearts are as clear and brilliant mirrors which imprint the one on the other, and hearts discover the secrets of hearts.
O thou attracted maid-servant of God! This is a blessed address.
O thou attracted one of the Kingdom! The epistle was received; likewise the enclosed epistle was read. The personage (Mr. .........) is in reality enraptured with the truth and seeketh the discovery of the mysteries of God.
O thou attracted one! Thy letter was an evidence of the happiness and rejoicing of thy heart and soul and a proof of knowing the True One and severing thyself from all else save Him.
O thou bearer of the Great-tidings of the Kingdom of God! Thy letter was received.
O thou believer in God! Thy letter was received and from its contents happiness was realized. It was a proof of faith and assurance and of firmness in the Covenant and Testament.
O thou beloved and benevolent daughter of the Kingdom of God!
O thou beloved maid-servant of God! The letter, which thou hast forwarded through Mrs. ........ was received.
O thou beloved of my heart! Verily, my soul longs for thee, for the lamp of the love of Baha’ is lighted within thy heart and I love to look upon thy face, for it is glittering with the light of guidance among the creatures.
O thou bird of pleasing tones! Thy little book of poems, which were very sweet, was read. It was a source of joy, for it was a spiritual anthem and a melody of the love of God.
O thou bird of the Garden of God! Why art thou sad and sorrowful, disappointed and grieved!
O thou bird of the Rose-garden of the Kingdom! In appearance there hath some time elapsed since news hath been received from thee, but in spirit the arrival of the news is uninterrupted.
O thou bird of the Rose-garden of the Love of God!
O thou bird warbling in the Garden of the Love of God!
O thou bird who art warbling in the Garden of the Guidance of God!
O thou blooming rose in the garden of the Love of God! Verily, the heavenly angels address thee from the Supreme Horizon, saying …
O thou bright pearl! Endeavor, and spare no effort, and hasten to the Kingdom of thy Lord, the Lord of the shining and clear evidences and arguments.
O thou candle of the Love of God!
O thou candle shining by the light of the Love of God! That which thou hast inscribed and conceived of in thy mind was manifest and clear.
O thou child of the Kingdom and firm in the Covenant!
O thou confident leaf!
O thou confident soul who art content and patient!
O thou confirmed by an inspiration from the Kingdom! Blessed thou art, for thou hast delivered the Word of thy Lord to ........, the maid-servant of God!
O thou cup overflowing with the Wine of the Love of God! Know, verily, that the doors of the Kingdom are being opened to the East and West.
O thou darling dear! Turn thy face toward the Supreme Kingdom and chant thou this commune: O Thou Pure God!
O thou daughter of the Kingdom! Thank and praise God that He hath cause thee to drink from the cup of the gifts and caused thee to suckle from the bosom of guidance while yet very young and didst possess but a few years of age.
O thou dazzling gem by the light of the Love of God!
O thou dear and honorable! I received thy last letter through his honor ........ and its contents imparted to me spiritual joy, for it indicated the high and good friendship between thee and the respectful maid-servant of God, .........
O thou dear friend! What thou hast written was perused.
O thou dear maid-servant of God! Thy likeness (photograph) was received through Mrs. .......... and was seen. The light of faith shone in thy brow and the smile of the Kingdom in thy face.
O thou dear one! Blessed art thou, for thou hast entered into the bosom of the training of God and drunk the cup of knowledge while thou art young in age among girls.
O thou dear servant of God! Thy letter was received and its contents noted.
O thou dear sister! The letter arrived at a time when—praise be to God! —calamities and sufferings in the path of God have surrounded us from every direction and arrows and darts are flying from every bow.
O thou dear wise man! They letter was considered. Its contents were in the utmost of beauty and great joy was realized therefrom.
O thou effulgence of the Kingdom! I read thy letter and was informed of thy speech, the contents of which were full of the feelings within thy consciousness, and of thy spiritual sympathies.
O thou esteemed maid-servant of God! Be thou hopeful and be thou happy and rejoiced.
O thou esteemed maid-servant of the Loving Lord! What thou hast written in recommendation of a number of Christians was perused.
O thou esteemed maid-servant of the Word of God! Praise be to God! upon thy departure from Acca, thou hast been assisted and rendered successful in serving the Kingdom of God.
O thou excellent maid-servant of God!
O thou faithful and confident! Thanks be to God that thou hast obtained that which was sought by all prophets and holy souls; namely, the knowledge of God and the love of god.
O thou faithful maid-servant of God! What thou has written me hath been seen. Indeed thou belongest to the Kingdom and thou turnest towards the Horizon of Abha.
O thou faithful one!
O thou faithful servant of the True One! I received thy letter and its contents caused the utmost joy and fragrance within me, because it showed thy firmness in the Cause of God and proved thy steadfastness in the love of the Word of God.
O thou favored maid-servant in the Threshold of the Almighty!
O thou favored maid-servant of God! Thy letter was received. Thou hast expressed joy on account of thy visit to the friends of Chicago.
O thou favored maid-servant of the Kingdom of God! The letter, which thou hast written, was received.
O thou flame of the Love of God! What thou hast written caused joy, for that letter was like unto a rose-garden whose roses of significances bestowed the sweet odor of the love of God upon the nostrils.
O thou flower of the Rose-garden of God! Thou hast presented thy life. I have also accepted it, in order that thou mayest sacrifice thyself in the path of God and attain to the ultimate desire of the spiritual ones.
O thou flower of the Rose-Garden of the Love of God! The letter which thou hast written was read.
O thou flower perfumed by the Breaths of the Love of God!
O Thou Forgiving Lord! Although certain souls finished the days of life in ignorance, were estranged and selfish, yet the ocean of Thy forgiveness is, verily, able to redeem and make free the sinners by one of its waves.
O thou fortunate and righteous, sincere and pious! Thank thou God for that by reason of which the breath of God hath awakened thee and the spirit of God hath quickened thee and raised thee from among the dead with a joyful spirit of life.
O thou fragrant rose blooming in the Garden of Guidance!
O thou fresh, slender branch saturated with the abundant rain of His bounty!
O thou friend of old and O thou incomparable companion! Many letters have so far been received from thee and lengthy answers have been written to them, but it is strange that they have not reached thee.
O thou gem of the Kingdom and brilliant leaf!
O thou Glorious Lord!
O thou Godlike person and spiritual friend!
O thou handsome child! Thy spiritual father and thy good mother sent me thy radiant picture and I rejoiced on seeing it.
O thou heavenly, brilliant and precious pearl!
O thou herald of the Kingdom of God!
O thou herald of the Kingdom! Thou wast not alone in the trip that thou didst undertake in various places. The spirit and soul of Abdul-Baha was with thee.
O thou honorable lady! Verily, I received thy excellent letter and read it and my heart was gladdened with its content, which shows thy guidance.
O thou honorable one! Thank thou God that that art instructed in music and melody, singing with pleasant voice the glorification and praise of the Eternal, the Living.
O thou honored friend! Verily the sight of Providence is far reaching and the divine glance is perfect. Thou hast always been a recipient of favors and the object of the bounty of the glorious Beauty of Abha.
O thou ignited candle! The real light is the light of the love o God.
O thou illumined maid-servant of God! Thy letter was received. Praise be to God! that thou art assisted and confirmed and, through the light of the love of God, thou art an ignited candle.
O thou illumined youth! Thank thou God, for that the tongues spoke in thy praise and the pends moved with thy love, thy knowledge and thy enkindlement by the fire of the love of God.
O thou kind friend! Thy letter was received and its contents considered. Man must, under all conditions, be thankful to God, the One, for it is said in the blessed text: “If ye be thankful I will increase thee.”
O Thou kind God! That scattered assembly is Thine, and that gathering of friends is of Thee. Their eyes are opened, their hearts in tune with Thy love, and their ears in communion with Thy hidden mysteries.
O thou kind maid-servant of God! Truly, I say, thou art worthy of the service in the Kingdom and art meriting to be a maid-servant in the threshold of the love of the realm of Might.
O thou lamp glowing with the fire of the Love of God! Know that the garden drew near and the paradise hath been adorned with the sweet-basils of the knowledge of God.
O thou lamp ignited by the fire of the Love of God! I ask God to make thee a sign of love, standard of agreement, means of union and harmony and spreader of peace among the people.
O thou lamp of the Love of God!
O thou lamp who art enkindled with the fire of the Love of God!
O thou lamp who art illuminated with the light of the Love of God!
O thou leaf who art moved by the Breeze of God!
O thou leaf who art well watered through the out-pouring of the cloud of favor from God!
O thou lover of humanity! Thy letter was received and its contents imparted spiritual significances.
O thou loving torch, flaming by the fire of the Love of God!
O thou maid-servant of God who art attracted to the Fragrances of God!
O thou maid-servant of God who art attracted unto Him! Verily, I read thy letter and was informed of its words.
O thou maid-servant of God, who art guided to the Light of Guidance!
O thou maid-servant of God! Thy writing was considered.
O thou maid-servant of the Blessed Perfection! Thy letter was received. It was written in Persian. I was very much pleased.
O thou messenger in the command of God! Blessed art thou for guiding ........ unto the Fountain of the Water of Life, caused him to enter the Ark of Safety, demonstrated unto him the manifest signs, and proved to him the elegant proofs.
O thou my beloved friend! For a long time thou didst have the longing to visit the Blessed Spot and the yearning to meet this imprisoned one.
O thou my dear friend, my associate and companion! The times of (our) meeting are still remembered and the sweetness of thy company is lastingly established in the recess of (my) life.
O thou my dear friend! I am now viewing the flowers in the little garden and remembering thy rose-like face. This material rose, although it is beautiful and fragrant, yet it cannot be compared with the beauty of the friends.
O thou my spiritual companion! Two letter have reached me from you, and the contents of both I have considered.
O thou near servant to the Threshold of God! Thy letter was received and thy desire became known. Thou wishest to serve the Threshold of God.
O thou opened rose in the garden of El-ABHA! I have perused thy excellently worded letter showing what is moving in thy heart by the emotions of the love of God.
O thou peerless, matchless, glorious martyr!
O thou plant in the Garden of the Kingdom! God created man in the utmost perfection, for He inscribed the edict of the divine likeness on his brow.
O thou plant in the garden of the Love of God! Open the tongue of praise to the Horizon of ABHA, for having received light from Him in the age of youth, and for having been planted by Him in the paradise of glory.
O thou plant of the Garden of the Love of God! Thy letter was received. Its content was of utmost grace and sweetness.
O thou pure and spiritual one!
O Thou Pure God! Gaze providently at the beloved ones and the dear maid-servants in Chicago. Confer upon them Thy bounty and grace.
O thou pure soul who art kindled by the fire of the love of Baha’!
O thou pure soul who art turning toward the Lord of the creatures!
O thou pure soul who hath turned with a submissive heart to the Kingdom of God!
O thou respectful soul! Thy letter with its great and expressive contents gave me satisfaction. It gave utterance to the feelings of thy heart and to thy contentment.
O thou revered sincere one! Know thou, verily, the brilliant realities and sanctified spirits are likened to a shining crescent.
O thou rose of the Rose-Garden of the Love of God! His Holiness Christ—may my spirit be His sacrifice! —said in the Gospel, “Many are called, but few chosen.”
O thou Secretary of the meanings emanated from the hearts of the people of the Kingdom.
O thou seeing one! Know thou, verily, God hath preferred the insight to the sight, because the sight seeth the material things, while the insight apprehendeth the spiritual.
O thou seeker after the Beauty of the True One! What thou hast written was perused. It indicated thy yearning and advancement toward the Kingdom of God.
O thou seeker after Truth! The question of the Trinity, since the time of His Holiness Christ until now, is the belief of the Christians, and to the present time all the learned among them are perplexed and confounded.
O thou seeker of the Divine Kingdom!
O thou seeker of the Heavenly Kingdom! This world resembles the human body and the Kingdom of God is like the spirit of life.
O thou seeker of the Kingdom! Thou hast forwarded thy photograph and it was considered. In thy face a brilliant light is apparent and that sparkling light is the love of God.
O thou seeker of Truth! I received the photograph of thy shining figure and I looked at it with thorough attention.
O thou servant of Baha’! Thy visit is accepted and thy name ever mentioned in the presence of Abdul-Baha. I forget thee not for a moment but remember thee always.
O thou servant of the Beauty of Abha! We considered all that thou hast written. It seems that the maid-servant of God, Mrs. ........., hath arisen to deliver (the truth).
O thou servant of the True One! Thy letter was received. The meeting which was arranged with the utmost union in the studio of Miss ......... was in reality spiritual, merciful and illumined.
O thou servant who art near and dear to the Glorious Threshold!
O thou shining ray! Verily, the ray, being transmitted from the etheric sphere, rends the space and reaches the surface of the earth and dispels the gloomy darkness.
O thou sign of the Kingdom and the bird singing with the most wonderful melodies in the rose-garden of Paradise!
O thou sign of the Love of God!
O thou sincere servant of Baha’o’llah! Thy letter was received and its content was the cause of infinite happiness, for it was an indication of thy firmness in the faith and thy steadfastness in the Covenant and Testament.
O thou sincere servant of God! Be not sad nor sorrowful over what hath occurred. What hath transpired is for the best and in it is a sacred wisdom concealed which ere long will become manifest.
O thou sincere servant of the Lord of the Kingdom! Thou art favored and accepted in the Threshold of His Highness the Incomparable One, and art beloved and praised in the presence of Abdul-Baha.
O thou sincere servant of the True One! Thy letter caused joy to the hearts. Its meanings perfumed the nostrils like unto a tender flower and a red rose.
O thou slave of the Beauty of ABHA! Thy letter was received. Praise be to God! It indicated thy firmness and steadfastness in the love of God—therefore, it was the cause of happiness.
O thou son of the associate and companion of Abdul-Baha! You brought many letters with you from those regions, but on account of the great disturbance it was not possible to write the answers.
O thou son of the Kingdom! Consider the bounty of the Lord and the gifts of thy Creator.
O thou speaker in the remembrance of God! Verily I say unto thee, O servant of God!
O thou spiritual beloved! I have carefully looked at thy picture and found that from thy face emanates the spiritual glad-tidings, the merciful complaisance and the heavenly brightness.
O thou spiritual clarion! The voice of the physical clarion may travel the distance of three miles, but the harmony of the spiritual Clarion reacheth to the East and the West.
O thou spiritual friend!
O thou spiritual lad! May God uphold thee and edify thee in the flower of thy youth and in the spring-time of thy life and may He illumine thy face with the lights of advancement unto God and turning unto the Kingdom of God.
O thou spiritual leaf who art verdant and well-watered by the outpouring from the Kingdom of God!
O thou spiritual maid-servant of God! Thy letter was received and its contents became known. God willing, the vision will become actualized.
O thou spiritual man and merciful being! I have read thy brilliant letter which showeth the utterance of thy praise upon the Beauty of El-ABHA, the Most Glorious.
O thou spiritual person and heavenly man—may God confirm thee!
O thou spiritual son! Verily I have received thy lettter … and its contents were known. I supplicate God to open to thee a way and prepare for thee and guide thee in thy affair.
O thou spiritual temple whose heart is drawn unto the Horizon of Certainty!
O thou spiritual youth and merciful young man!
O thou spiritual youth! Japan hath made wonderful progress in material civilization, but she will become perfect when she also becometh spiritually developed and the power of the Kingdom becometh manifest in her.
O thou Thahbet (Firm) in the Covenant! Thy letter was received. It indicated firmness and steadfastness; therefore, it gave me joy and gladness.
O thou that mirror in which the Light of Guidance is printed!
O thou that virtuous soul and individual who art ready for the confirmation of the Holy Spirit!
O thou thrall of the Lord of the Kingdom! Thy photograph was considered with utmost insight. This picture is an emblem of an enlightened face, that is, a countenance which hath taken a share of the outpouring of the manifest Light.
O thou tree, developed in the garden of the Love of God!
O thou tree planted in the Garden of the Love of God! Although thou art absent in body, yet, praise God! thou art present in spirit and art illuminated by the lights of the Divine Love.
O thou tree planted in the Vineyard of God!
O thou who are enkindled by the fire of the Love of God! Verily, I received thy good and beautiful letter and I found it to be a sign of thy love and an evidence of thy being attracted to the Beauty of El-ABHA.
O thou who are firm in the Covenant! Thou has written regarding the articles and papers which are written by the believers of God and the forwarding of them to this land for correction.
O thou who art a young tree in the Garden of the Love of God!
O thou who art ablaze with the fire of the Love of God!
O thou who art accepted of God! Know thou that, verily, the eye of favors is directed to thee and is beholding thee with a divine glance, so that thou mayest, with clear eyes, see the lights of the Kingdom upon the horizon.
O thou who art acknowledging the Oneness of God!
O thou who art advanced toward God! Thy letter was received. Its contents indicated that thou hast become alive through the spiritual breaths of his honor, Mr. .........
O thou who art advanced toward the Kingdom! Thy letter was received and its contents created joy, for it showed thy faith and assurance.
O thou who art advanced towards God!
O thou who art advancing to the Dawning-point of Lights! Extend the hands of communion unto the sacred and brilliant Threshold and read the following prayer: O my God!
O thou who art advancing to the Kingdom of God! I have considered thy writing, which indicates brightness of heart and the love of God.
O thou who art advancing toward God! Verily I read thy letter of wonderful expression and eloquent composition and thanked God that He hath poured upon thee the bounty of guidance and hath made thy heart a lamp of piety.
O thou who art advancing toward the Divine Kingdom! What thou hast written was understood and noted. Thou hast asked concerning the station of this servant.
O thou who art advancing toward the Kingdom of God! Thy letter was read; its contents had bearing upon Guidance.
O thou who art advancing toward the Kingdom of God!
O thou who art advancing toward the Kingdom! Thy letter was received.
O thou who art advancing toward the Threshold of Mercifulness!
O thou who art advancing towards God! I have already read thy letter sent to his honor, .....
O thou who art advancing towards the Shining Orb of the Horizons!
O thou who art advancing unto God!
O thou who art advancing unto the Face of God!
O thou who art advancing unto the Kingdom of God!
O thou who art afflicted by a visitation by which thine eyes are overflowing with tears!
O thou who art agitated as oceans by the winds blown from the direction of the Kingdom of God!
O thou who art always calling on God! Thank thou God for He hath guided thee to the path of His Kingdom and provided thee with the fruit of the Tree of Life, which is planted in the middle of the Ferdowee (i.e., the highest Paradise).
O thou who art anticipating the appearance of the Gift of God!
O thou who art anticipating the descent of the Gift of God! The sweetness of the expressions contained in thy words reached the taste of my perception and I was informed of the glorious aim embodied in thy sentences.
O thou who art arisen for the service of the Cause of God!
O thou who art assured in God! Verily we read thy letter and asked for thee confirmation. Verily thy Lord will strengthen thee in great spirituality and cause thy heart to overflow with the gifts of God.
O thou who art assuredly believing in God!
O thou who art attached to the Beauty of God! Verily, I was rejoiced when I read thy excellent letter, which portrayed a spiritual attraction and a rejoicing at the (news) of the merciful Kingdom!
O thou who art attracted by a Breath that passed upon thee from the Holy Garden, the Blessed Spot—the Paradise of El-Abha!
O thou who art attracted by the Breath of God!
O thou who art attracted by the Breaths of God! —may God confirm thee!
O thou who art attracted by the brilliant lights of the Merciful One, shining from the Supreme Kingdom!
O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of God and enkindled with the Fire wherein Moses, the Speaker, found Guidance!
O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of God!
O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of Holiness!
O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of the Kingdom of El-Abha!
O thou who art attracted by the Love of God! In the Persian tongue has thou written a letter; I was happy to read it.
O thou who art attracted by the Speech of Abdul-Baha! Verily I speak unto thee through the tongue of my spirit, from the spiritual direction, and explain for thee the mysteries of the kingdom and the meanings of the sacred, heavenly books.
O thou who art attracted by the Word of god to the Kingdom of God!
O thou who art attracted by the Word of God! Verily, I read thy letter which contained new significances.
O thou who art attracted to God!
O thou who art attracted to the Beauty of Abha! For a period of time no news hath been outwardly received from thee, but spiritual communications are continual (between us).
O thou who art attracted to the Beauty of God! Thy letter was received. I ask from God, supplicating and entreating in the Threshold of Oneness, that thy utmost desire may become realized.
O thou who art attracted to the Beauty of the Deity!
O thou who art attracted to the Bounty of El-ABHA!
O thou who art attracted to the Call of the Kingdom! Thy letter was presented and I was informed of thy expression.
O thou who art attracted to the Fire of the Love of God! I am cognizant of all thou hast written in thy letters.
O thou who art attracted to the Fragrances of God!
O thou who art attracted to the Fragrances of Holiness!
O thou who art attracted to the Fragrances of the Garden of the Covenant and art speaking the praise of the Orb of the Universe!
O thou who art attracted to the Holy Fragrances!
O thou who art attracted to the Holy Spirit! It is some time since news hath come from thee, though I have the utmost kindness toward that favored maid-servant of the Threshold of the Almighty.
O thou who art attracted to the Kingdom of God! The letter written by you […] was received. Its contents became evident.
O thou who art attracted to the Kingdom! Thy letter contained meanings full of sweetness. I therefore took it in my hand with the utmost love and became informed of thy desire.
O thou who art attracted to the Light of Guidance!
O thou who art attracted to the Light of the Kingdom!
O thou who art attracted to the Spirit of Truth! In whatsoever matter man wisheth to engage, he must first acquire some capability and make provisions and preparations therefor.
O thou who art attracted to the Word of God!
O thou who art attracted toward the Kingdom!
O thou who art attracted unto the Beauty of ABHA!
O thou who art attracted unto the Beauty of God! Verily I have read thy excellent letter and was gladdened by its wonderful meaning.
O thou who art awakened from the sleep of negligence and forgetfulness!
O thou who art awakened to the Cause of God!
O thou who art baptized by the Spirit of the Love of God! Be rejoiced with this great bounty and gladdened by this mighty gift!
O thou who art calling in the cities, the bearer of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God!
O thou who art calling in the Name of God and heralding unto the Kingdom of God!
O thou who art cheered through the Fragrances of God!
O thou who art cheerful in heart, by the Fragrances of the Merciful!
O thou who art cheerfully moving by the Fragrances of God!
O thou who art commemorating the Name of God! Verily, I read thy interesting letter and my heart was made happy by its beautiful contents.
O thou who art commemorating the praises of God!
O thou who art confessing the Oneness of God!
O thou who art confident in the appearance of the Kingdom of God!
O thou who art conscious! At last thou didst learn of the path of salvation and didst find the straight way. Now remain firm that thou mayest attain confirmation and victory.
O thou who art controlled by the attraction of the Fragrances of God!
O thou who art controlled by the attraction of the Holy fragrances of the gardens of God’s Kingdom!
O thou who art controlled by the attractions of the Fragrance of God!
O thou who art desirous of the Kingdom of God! Thy letter was the cause of happiness and its contents were the proof of thy turning to the Shining Beauty.
O thou who art directed to the Light of Guidance! Thank thou God, for thou hast chanted the verses of the Mighty guidance in the assemblage of knowledge and hast unfurled the banner of attraction in those most extensive places.
O thou who art directed toward the Light of Guidance!
O thou who art directed unto God! Thy revered wife, Mrs. ........, is indeed confirmed by the fragrances of the spirit and rendered victorious by the hosts of the Kingdom.
O thou who art drawn unto God and kindled by the Fire which burned on Mt.
O thou who art enkindled by the fire of the Love of God!
O thou who art enkindled with the fire of the Love of God!
O thou who art enkindled with the Fire of the Love of God! Thy letter was received and I was informed of the contents.
O thou who art esteemed and guarded! Thank God for that by reason of which thy picture hath come into the court of holiness of perfumed breaths.
O thou who art esteemed in the Threshold of the Almighty!
O thou who art exhilarated by the Wine of the Love of God—young in age and old in soul!
O thou who art favored in the Kingdom of the almighty! The letter that thou hast written with the utmost eloquence, compassion, humility and submission of heart and spiritual emotions, hath been read.
O thou who art firm in the Covenant and Testament! Thy letter \\\ was received and its contents became known. Thou hast written regarding the election of a committee.
O thou who art firm in the Covenant of God! Mayest thou enjoy this cup which is overflowing with the pure wine of the love of God!
O thou who art firm in the Covenant! The means of communication being severed, your letter of \\\ was received only in these days.
O thou who art firm in the love of God! Verily I read thy recent letter \\\ and I praised God for His glorious mercy and His blessings which are successively poured into the pure hearts.
O thou who art gazing toward…
O thou who art gazing toward the Kingdom of the Testament! I already received thy letter which announced thy receipt of the loving letter sent to thee by the pen of Abdul-Baha.
O thou who art gazing toward the Kingdom! Thy letter was received. Its contents became known. Thank thou God that thy house became the shelter and the nest of the birds of the Kingdom.
O thou who art guided by the Light of Guidance! Verily, I am informed of thy confession of the Oneness of God and thy being attracted to the fragrances of God.
O thou who art honorable and faithful to God! How many men and women awaited the manifestation of the Messiah after Moses?
O thou who art honored and dear! Thy letter was received and was the source of pleasure, for thou hast not forgotten this imprisoned one and remembered Acca.
O thou who art hoping for the Kingdom! Thank thou God that He hath guided thee, led thee to the Kingdom of Being, ushered thee under the shade of the bounties of the Lord of Hosts, and that thou hast stepped into the Paradise of ABHA.
O thou who art ignited through the brilliant Flame which is blazing in this Blessed Spot!
O thou who art illuminated by the Light of Knowledge! Verily, I beseech God and supplicate Him to increase thine assurance, thy knowledge and thine attraction and enkindlement by the fire of the love of God, day by day.
O thou who art imploring God!
O thou who art kindled as a lamp with the Fire of the Love of God!
O thou who art kindled by the Fire of Guidance which blazed and burnt in the Tree of Sinai!
O thou who art kindled by the fire of the Love of God! Rejoice through the fragrance of God and be attracted by the melodies of the holy birds in the garden of the gifts of God!
O thou who art kindled with the fire of the Love of God! Blessed art thou, for thy letter was presented at the Blessed Spot and was read by Abdul-Baha with a delight and love which is journeying out towards all directions.
O thou who art longing for the Heavenly Kingdom! Mrs. ......... became the guide and directed thee to the path of the Kingdom and informed thee of my love.
O thou who art longing for the Kingdom! Mr. ......... in thy behalf hath made a great endeavor.
O thou who art longing for the Orb of the Horizons!
O thou who art longing to witness the lights from the Beauty of El-ABHA!
O thou who art made happy by the Fragrances of God! Verily, I have not forgotten thee and will never forget thee.
O thou who art marching onward to God! I have read thy beautiful letter which contained delicate meanings, and I am made glad by its contents which expressed spiritual feelings.
O thou who art marching unto God! Thy letter was read. Its contents indicated thy devotion to the Horizon of the Living God and thy love for the Promised Perfection.
O thou who art near to the Threshold of ABHA! I have considered what thou hast written to Mirza ...... as well as the letter addressed to me.
O thou who art nurtured from the breasts of the Kingdom of God, who wert brought up in the lap of the Guidance of God!
O thou who art partaking of the Heavenly Food!
O thou who art patient and resigning thyself to the judgment (of God)!
O thou who art preparing to receive knowledge from the Herald of the Kingdom!
O thou who art quickened by the Divine Fragrances! I considered thy letter. Its expression was wonderful and indicated the brilliancy of thy heart and conscience.
O thou who art rejoiced at the explanation of the maid-servant of God .........!
O thou who art rejoiced at the Kingdom of God! The letter indicating thy great wish to be a maid-servant of the Cause of God in His wonderful and excellent vineyard, was received.
O thou who art rejoiced by the Appearance of God!
O thou who art rejoiced by the Divine Glad-tidings! Verily I have received thy last letter and thanked God that thou didst reach Paris protected and guarded (by Him).
O thou who art rejoicing at the Glad-tidings of God! Thank thou God for that by reason of which He hath enabled thee to traverse the seas and countries and come safe to a Spot wherein the lights are shining with great brilliancy.
O thou who art rejoicing by the Glad-tidings of God! The contents of thy letter clearly show that thou art drawn by the love of God, pondering over the Cause of God and that the cover hath been removed from off thine eyes.
O thou who art remembered by Abdul-Baha!
O thou who art seeking fire from the Fire of the Love of God!
O thou who art seeking for the Power of the Holy Spirit! The reality of man is like unto a sea, and the Holy Power is like unto brilliant pearls.
O thou who art set aglow with the Fire burning in the Tree of Sinai!
O thou who art set aglow with the Fire of the Love of God! Verily, I read thy long letter and was informed of thy visions, which art for whosoever follows the path of the Kingdom of God.
O thou who art set aglow with the Fire of the Love of God! Thy letter reached me and I noted its beautiful contents.
O thou who art shining with the Kingdom’s Lights! Verily, I am informed of thine earnest desire for the Kingdom of God, thy sparkling by the love of God and thy longing for the service of the sacred and effulgent Threshold.
O thou who art sincere in the Religion of God!
O thou who art skilled in the Knowledge of God and wise in the Wisdom of the Almighty!
O thou who art speaking the praise of god in that vast and extensive region!
O thou who art spreading the Cause of God!
O thou who art submissive and humble before the Holy Threshold!
O thou who art supplicating unto God! Verily I mention thee always and shall never forget thee forever and ever.
O thou who art supplicating unto the Kingdom of God!
O thou who art sweet tongued! Thy poem is a wonder to the minds and intellects and thy composition an evidence of the gift of the great Lord.
O thou who art tested with a great calamity!
O thou who art the single one of Japan and the unique one of the extreme Orient!
O thou who art tranquilized by the Call of the Kingdom at this time!
O thou who art turned to the Kingdom of the Lord, the Forgiving!
O thou who art turned to the Kingdom! Thou shouldst establish a divine and heavenly transaction. By God the Truth!
O thou who art turning thy heart unto the Kingdom of God! Verily, I read thy recent letter and praised God for having blessed thee with two babes, as a mercy on His part.
O thou who art turning to the divine Kingdom! The lengthy epistle was considered. Notwithstanding lack of time and opportunity, on account of exceeding love an answer will be written.
O thou who art turning toward the Kingdom of God!
O thou who art turning unto God!
O thou who art turning unto the Kingdom of God, and looking unto the Day-spring of the lights of God!
O thou who art turning unto the Kingdom of God!
O thou who art uttering the mention of God!
O thou who art uttering the praise of God! Verily I read thy letter, which expressed thy surprise at some of the commandments of the law of God, such as that concerning the hunting of innocent animals.
O thou who art waiting for the Appearance of the Kingdom!
O thou who art wholly advancing unto God!
O thou who art witnessing the Light of Guidance!
O thou who art yearning for the Glad-tidings of God!
O thou who dost believe in the Unity of God! Know verily nothing will benefit a person save the love of the Merciful One.
O thou who has advanced towards Baha’! Truly, I say unto thee, wert thou to spend all that is on earth, thou couldst not obtain this gift which God hath strengthened thee to take freely.
O thou who has sought shelter in the Impregnable Cave! Verily, the glad-tidings of God have encompassed Abdul-Baha from all directions.
O thou who has turned towards the Lights of the Alliance!
O thou who hast acknowledged the Kingdom of God!
O thou who hast addressed Abdul-Baha!
O thou who hast approached the Kingdom of God and hast looked toward the Center of the Covenant!
O thou who hast approached toward God!
O thou who hast arisen to render service to the Cause of God in His Great Vineyard!
O thou who hast attained to Truth! I beg of God that the divine light which is spoken of in the Twelfth Chapter of John may shed its rays upon thee forever, so that thou mayest always be in light.
O thou who hast confessed and believed in the Words of God!
O thou who hast gained illumination from the Light of Guidance!
O thou who hast humbled thyself before the Kingdom of God! Blessed art thou that thine heart is attracted to the Beauty of God, is illumined with the light of knowledge and the ray of the Kingdom hath shone within it.
O thou who hast prayed to the Kingdom of God! I have read thy letter and I have taken knowledge of God as to thy conduct towards the Kingdom of God and also thy conflagration with the fire of God’s love.
O thou who hast sought illumination from the Light of the Guidance of God!
O thou who hast spread the Fragrance of God!—may God confirm thee!
O thou who hast turned thy face toward the Kingdom of God!
O thou who hath advanced to the Kingdom of his Lord, the Glorious!
O thou who in truth art attracted through the Breaths of the Holy Spirit!
O thou who seekest for the Will of God! Give thanks to God that thou entered the divine Kingdom and knowest the heavenly Lord of Hosts!
O thou whom I mention with my heart and tongue!
O thou whose breast is dilated by the Fragrances of God!
O thou whose breast is dilated (with joy) for the Kingdom of Truth!
O thou whose breast is dilated with the Fragrances of God! I received thy letter which showed thine advance toward the Kingdom of God.
O thou whose face is illumined with the Light of the Love of God!
O thou whose face is radiant with the light of the Love of God!
O thou whose heart hath been filled with the love of the Beauty of God!
O thou whose heart is attracted and whose breast is dilated with joy by the Holy Fragrances!
O thou whose heart is empty and pure through the Light of the word of God shining therein!
O thou whose heart is filled with the Love of God! I was informed of thy longing for meeting (me) and that thy breast is boiling with the love of God.
O thou whose heart is moved by a breeze blowing from the Garden of El-Abha!
O thou whose heart is overflowing with the love of God! Verily, I received thy beautiful letter and praised God for kindling the fire of His love in thy heart and cheering thy spirit with the cup of the gift of thy Lord.
O thou whose heart is pure and whose souls is rejoiced! Verily, thy revered wife sent unto us thy photograph and we say and rejoiced at witnessing thy face, even though it was a (mere) image, for, verily, this image indicateth the reality.
O thou whose heart is soaring in the sky of the love of God!
O thou whose nostrils are perfumed with the Fragrances of God!
O thou whose tongue is uttering the Name of God!
O thou wonderful leaf of the Tree of the Love of God! All that thou hast written was perused. It was read from beginning to end, and it caused joy and fragrance.
O thou wooer of Truth and attracted one toward the Kingdom of God!
O thou yearner after the Kingdom of God! The maid-servant of God, Aseyeh, hath mentioned thy name in her letter, praising and commending thee.
O thou yearner after the Kingdom! Thy letter was received. It was brief and expressive of meaning.
O thou yearner after Truth! I know in what condition thou art, and how much thou longest for the meeting. The real meeting consists in the communication of heart.
O thou yearning one! Be thou a physician to every sick one and teach thou every ignorant one; that is, show thou to others the way of the Kingdom and guide them to life eternal.
O thou young in age and great in mind! [There is] many a young child who is mature and grown up, and many an aged [one] who is ignorant and stupid.
O thou young, incomparable tree of the Rose-garden of the Love of God!
O visitant of the Resort of spirits (who are) sincere in the Religion of God!
O ye beloved friends of Abdul-Baha! The detailed letter which you have written was received and it was read with the greatest attention.
O ye beloved! O ye maid-servants of the Merciful! What a wonderful meeting ye have arranged and longed for the beauty of service and have arisen to spread the fragrances of God!
O ye beloved of God and His sincere friends! By the life of God!
O ye beloved ones! It is the moment of the ecstasy of the soul and consciousness and the season of running in the arena of sacrifice!
O ye beloved ones of Abdul-Baha! This servant longeth to write a special Tablet to each one of the friends of God—but what can be done!
O ye beloved servants of Abdul-Baha and the maid-servants of the Merciful One!
O ye blessed maid-servant of the Beauty of Abha! If ye have written letters to Abdul-Baha and answers to them are delayed, know ye of a certainty that untold hindrances have been the cause.
O ye blessed souls! On the night of the feast ye entertained the beloved and were occupied in the service of the friends of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful One.
O ye brilliant realities!
O ye children of the Kingdom! It is New Year; that is to say, the rounding of the cycle of the year.
O ye Cohorts of God! A letter which was signed by you in general was received. Its content was of the utmost beauty, sweetness, eloquence and perfection.
O ye crying voices in the region of America! Make level the path of the Covenant of God! Be firm in the Alliance of God!
O ye dear children! Your father is compassionate, clement and merciful unto you and desireth for you success, prosperity and eternal life in the Kingdom of God.
O ye dear friends and maid-servants of God! A good fragrance is coming from the rose-garden of Kenosha and a pleasing breeze is blowing from the orchard of the hearts of the friends and maid-servants of the Merciful.
O ye dear friends of Abdul-Baha! The blessed letter indicating the election of the Spiritual Meeting was received and proved a source of joy.
O ye dear servants of God! Your letter received and the contents proved excellent.
O ye dwellers of the Kingdom! Thank ye God that ye have turned your faces toward the Kingdom of Abha, and are yearning for the outpouring of the Exalted Realm.
O ye elect and chosen ones of the Kingdom! Thank God that the Greatest Name selected and elected that gathering, ushered it into the Kingdom of Eternal Glory, honored and crowned it amid the Supreme Concourse.
O ye esteemed maid-servants of God, and ye revered beloved ones (or men believers) of the Merciful!
O ye firm ones in the Covenant! The report of [your meeting] was noted. All the arrangements of the meeting are suitable and acceptable.
O ye friends of Abdul-Baha! Verily I read your reports with great joy. They are a cause of spirituality and fragrance and a source of dilation of souls.
O ye friends of God and daughters of the Kingdom! The letter you have written was considered. It caused abundant spirit and fragrance.
O ye friends of this prisoner!
O ye friends! Thank God that the Light of Truth shone in that city, the bounty of guidance was granted, the fire of the love of God was ignited and the veil of superstition was burned away.
O ye illumined faces! O ye divine souls! and O ye spiritual temples!
O ye leaves of the Paradise of El-ABHA, and the maid-servants of the Merciful!
O ye longing ones! O ye cheered ones! O ye attracted ones! O ye who are beseeching the Kingdom of God!
O ye maid-servants of God and leaves of the Tree of Eternal Life!
O ye maid-servants of His Majesty, the Lord—daughters and sons of the Kingdom!
O ye maid-servants of the Merciful! Leaves of the Tree of Life!
O ye maid-servants of the Merciful!
O ye members of the shining assembly! Each one of you must resist doubts (or false rumors) in those parts like unto a great barrier, until the invisible confirmations may appear and merciful assistance may become manifest.
O ye members of the shining assembly! The letter which was written by you, was not a letter, but a musk sack.
O ye my dear friends! Your letter was received and its contents were wonderful and beautiful for it evinced the spreading of the light of Guidance.
O ye my divine friends!
O ye real companions! Day and night Abdul-Baha is engaged in the remembrances of the friends, and time after time doth he associate with them and behold their blessed faces.
O ye real friends of Abdul-Baha! From the gathering of those illuminated faces and flowers of the rose-garden (of God) in Camp Mineola utmost joy and fragrance (to me) was the result.
O ye seekers of Truth! Your letter was received and its contents became known. The new Kingdom hath raised its tents in all regions and hath enveloped East and West, but the blind ones cannot see and the deaf ones cannot hear.
O ye servants of God and maid-servants of the Merciful! The letter, which was in reality the congratulation for the entrance of the day of the anniversary of His Highness the Promised One, was received.
O ye servants of the Threshold of God! The weekly reports of ........ were received and I was informed of their beautiful meanings which proved firmness and steadfastness in the Cause of God and solidity in the Covenant of God.
O ye servants of the True One and the maid-servants of the Merciful!
O ye shining Assembly! The meeting that you organized hath attracted the divine gaze and the subject of your conversation was the divine commemoration.
O ye shining faces and spiritual beings! Verily, I was rejoiced at beholding those merciful faces in whose brows the lights of guidance shine on account of their turning unto the Kingdom of El-Abha!
O ye sincere, O ye firm and steadfast in the Testament of God!
O ye sincere ones and ye who are attracted and moved by the breeze of the favor of God!
O ye sincere ones! O ye favored ones! O ye beseeching ones! O ye supplicating ones!
O ye sincere ones! O ye firm ones! O ye heralds of the Kingdom of God! Fly away with joy! Flutter in the open of the Kingdom!
O ye sons of the Kingdom! At a time when conditions were most difficult and oppressive and the reception of letters hard and impracticable, your letter was received.
O ye spiritual assembly! As ye were gathered in the meeting of hospitality with the utmost longing for the knowledge of God, that meeting was mentioned in the divine Kingdom and you became favored with special bounty.
O ye spiritual friends of Abdul-Baha! Your long letter was considered and its contents were a source of happiness.
O ye spiritual ones! O ye heavenly ones! The assembly which you have established in that city is a splendor from the congregation of the Supreme Concourse.
O ye two accepted ones in the Kingdom of God! Your letter was read and its contents caused joy and happiness.
O ye two advancers towards the Kingdom of God!
O ye two birds in the open-space of the Love of God! Verily I read your letter and I inhaled therefrom a spiritual fragrance which perfumes the nostrils of the spirit.
O ye two birds warbling in the Garden of Wisdom. Verily, I saw your photographs, whose beauty proved the turning of your hearts unto the Center of Guidance and the dilation of your breasts by the appearance of the Kingdom of God.
O ye two dear maid-servants of God! Your longing to visit the Sacred Soil is expressed and evident and your presence will be a source of pleasure to me.
O ye two doves, flying in the verdant Gardens of the Kingdom!
O ye two kind and beloved maid-servants of God! A splendour from the Supper of the Lord was cast upon the table that ye have spread and the spiritual food descended.
O ye two lamps of the Love of God! Your letter to ........ was read and its contents considered. Its meanings expressed the feelings of spiritual hearts and emanated from the spring of the conscience.
O ye two maid-servants of God! The Lord of the Kingdom hath invited, chosen and guided you through His pure favor, feeding you from the heavenly table of divine knowledge!
O ye two merciful assemblies! Praise be to God! that through the outpouring of guidance, India is rapidly becoming a Rose-garden of Abha, for many souls have lately embraced the truth and are in the utmost attraction and enkindlement.
O ye two pilgrims of the Holy Shrine! The news of your protected and safe arrival in Paris, France, reached here and made me glad and happy.
O ye two revered persons, ye servants in the vineyard of God!
O ye two, servant and maid-servant of the Beauty of Abha!
O ye two singing birds in the Garden of Belief!
O ye two truthful believers! Your letter was received. Its contents were faith, certainty and sincerity. It was an evidence of perceiving eyes, attentive ears and acute mind.
O ye verdant and flourishing leaves of the Blessed Tree!
O ye who are advancing towards the Kingdom of God!
O ye who are attracted! O ye who are firm! O ye who are zealous in the service of the Cause of God and are sacrificers of possessions and lives for the promotion of the Word of God!
O ye who are attracted! O ye who are remembered! O ye who are directed unto the Kingdom of God!
O ye who are attracted! O ye who are united! O ye who are believers and assured!
O ye who are attracted to the Heavenly Kingdom! O ye who are enlightened by the Light of Guidance! O ye lamps lighted by the Light of Love and Affection!
O ye who are chosen! O ye who are firm! O ye who are calling! O ye who are sincere!
O ye who are considering the Kingdom of your august Savior! I know the ardor which enflames you both with the desire to present yourselves in the Sacred Place and I desire, also, to see you both.
O ye who are firm in the Covenant! The report of the Spiritual Gathering, which is dated and sent by you, was received and its contents were a source of great fragrance and spirituality.
O ye who are longing for the beauty of El-ABHA!
O ye who are set aglow with the fire of God’s Love! Blessed are ye for having been chosen by God for His love, in this new age, and joy be to you for having been guided to the Great Kingdom!
O ye who are sincere! O ye who are attracted! O ye who are yearning! O ye who are arising for service to the Cause of God, for the promotion of the Word of God and the spreading of the Fragrances of God!
O ye who are sincere! O ye who are firm in the Covenant of God in this new cycle! Verily I praise God for that He confirmed you in the service of the Cause of God in His great vineyard.
O ye who are sincere! O ye who are firm! O ye who are steadfast! Verily, I received a letter from that brilliant body and Spiritual Gathering—those who have arisen and called out for the Kingdom of God among the peoples of America.
O ye who have advanced! O ye who are rejoiced!
O ye whom God hath chosen from among those who are called!—know that “many are called but few are chosen”!—upon whom He caused the evident Light to descend; whom He guided into the right Path, and to whom He gave the Glad-tidings of the Great Success!
Rejoice, O maid-servant of God! —for that thou hast known God and heard His call and art attracted to His breaths!
The first light which shone forth from the horizon of Eternity, the first radiance which was cast forth from the Morn of Guidance, and the first mercy which descended from the Kingdom of Heaven, be upon thee, O thou manifest light …
Thou has written concerning the Board of Consultation.
Thou hast written concerning the universal peace, that before long the congress of The Hague will be opened and discussion will be made in regard to the universal peace.
Thy letter was received. It became conducive to happiness. Up to the present thou hast been serving in the Kingdom of God and hast been assisted.
Thy letters were received.
To him who is looking unto God! O thou who art gazing unto the Center of the Covenant—may God confirm thee!
To the beloved of God in Persia! O ye dear friends of Abdul-Baha! It is some time since any heart-thrilling melody hath reached the ear of life from certain countries, and life and conscience have not found happiness and joy.
To the servant of God!
In a brief Tablet to the Secretary of the House of Spirituality of Chicago, 'Abdu'l-Bahá warns that those who come claiming faith should be trusted only after careful investigation and a long period of waiting.
Verily I approach Thee, O my God, in the darkest hour of this dark night, and pray Thee with my inmost heart, while I am moving by Thy fragrances, which are being diffused from Thy Kingdom of Abha, and say: O my Lord …
Verily, I read thy magnificent letter, thy brilliant writing, and found its meanings as the chanting of the verses of guidance and its foundation based on righteousness and piety.
When you assemble in the meeting of teaching (the truth), it is incumbent on you to chant the following supplication and commune: O God, O God!
Your letters have been received.
Your three reports, together with the public announcement, were received.
When an American guest apologized for eating so much at His table, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told her that virtue lies in true faith in God, not in appetite, and recalled that Ṭáhirih had a good appetite.
‘Abdu'l-Bahá sent for me. I went to Him in the little room where He writes. He said, “Be strong! Be firm! You are not leaving Me; it is only your body that is going away. Your spirit will always be here. I shall always see you. There is…
‘Abdu'l-Bahá came in to see us unexpectedly. He said, “I wish I might he with you always, hut unfortunately other things claim My time and keep Me sway from you. But My heart is filled with love and the thought of you. The important…
‘Akká is the home of exiles and prisoners of the Turkish Government.
Tonight we met ‘Abdu'l-Bahá and a large number of believers from all parts of the East at the Feast, or Supper, under the shadow of the Blessed Perfection.
Julia Grundy describes her party's 1905 visit to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí: the shoes removed at the entrance, the silent prayer at the Tomb, and the tea served afterward in a small side room.
In her 1905 pilgrim notes Julia Grundy records that at dinner 'Abdu'l-Bahá ate entirely with His fingers — and then spoke of respect for one another's customs, and of a food that needs neither knife nor fork: the food spiritual.
The question was asked, “What is real Faith?” “Faith outwardly means to believe the Message a Manifestation brings to the world and accept the fulfillment in Him of that which the Prophets have announced. But, in reality, Faith embodies…
“Moral life consists in the government of one's self. Immortality is government of a human soul by the Divine Will.”
“What is meant by 'Heaven' in the Bible?” “Christ said that nothing could ascend into Heaven except that which came down from Heaven. He also said, 'I came from Heaven and will return to Heaven,' and 'The Son of Man is in Heaven.' He…
“God has favored us by bringing us together again at His Table. May His Mercy and Bounty make night as day and make the Day everlasting! For night and day are according to the motions of the earth, but, in relation to the sun, day and…
We looked again at the faces of the Blessed Perfection and the Báb in the inner room.
I realize that the doors of a new Life are opening within me and that I have been awakened as if from a sleep.
In Julia Grundy's pilgrim notes from 'Akká, 'Abdu'l-Bahá is asked how we can love someone whose personality is unpleasant. His answer points to Christ, who loved even those who crucified Him, and to the tree whose fruit is love.
“How can we love another whose personality is unpleasant?” “See how the enemies of Christ persecuted and crucified Him, yet He loved them all. Man is like a tree. The tree lives to produce fruit. The fruit of man is love. It is easy for…
“The history of Mount Carmel is holy history. A spiritual atmosphere surrounds this 'Mountain of God.' Elijah and Jesus spent part of their precious lives upon it. ‘Abdu'l-Bahá loves Mount Carmel and has often visited it, sometimes…
“Today we will speak about Obedience! The Manifestation of God is a perfect example of real obedience. Like Him, we must sacrifice everything; every plan, every longing and ideal must be given up completely to the Will of God. We must…
Julia Grundy records a private talk with 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 'Akká in 1905. He told her she would be a source of guidance to others and, when she regretted leaving, said she would never be absent.
"In the Book of Íqán we can read the Word of God concerning the true Reincarnation, which is the Return of the Spiritual Qualities in the Servants of God.[3] In the Gospel it is written that they asked John the Baptist if he was Elijah…
(Compiled from ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's Teachings) Soul is the human will to live temporally.
‘Abdu'l-Bahá sent for me. I found Him in a little room opening from the courtyard. He was sitting upon a raised chair, His beautiful face, majestic in repose and strength, turned toward the only window.
At dinner a violent rainstorm swept in from the sea. “May we all live in the Sea of Reality and be filled with the Love of God. Thank God we are in the Ark of the Covenant. See what great blessings God has showered upon us. How many…
“Soon it will be the time of Spring. Already the signs of the flowers may be seen upon the mountains and in the valleys. When Spring comes, there is a Divine Wisdom in its appearance. God has a special object in renewing the earth with…
“When you give the Message of this Manifestation many say, 'This is nothing new—I prefer the home of my old religious belief which has been so serviceable and trustworthy.'” ‘Abdu'l-Bahá answered …
“What is the Second Coming of Christ in this Dispensation?” ‘Abdu'l-Bahá answered: “In the Book of the Zend-Avesta the Zoroastrians are awaiting the Coming of two Manifestations. Also, in the Old Testament Scriptures there is the…
“The disciples of Jesus, passing along the road and seeing a dead dog, remarked how offensive and disgusting a spectacle it was. Then Christ turning to them said, 'Yes, but see how white and beautiful are his teeth'—thus teaching that there is some good in everything.”
We went to the Ridván with the holy daughters of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá.
In an English village the Master gave so many sixpences to children that His hostesses tried to turn away a late visitor with his babies, until ‘Abdu’l-Bahá came out and embraced them all.
On a drive meant to show Him New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid His head on John Bosch's shoulder and slept for nearly half an hour, waking just as the car stopped at the Kinneys' home.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá remained calm to the end of His earthly life: knowing His time had come, He declined the food offered Him and gave His two daughters a beautiful look.
In 1912, before ‘Abdu’l-Bahá reached Kenosha, opponents of the Covenant attacked Him in the local newspaper; He ignored the attacks and told the worried believers that nothing would come of them.
The day after her son Davis died, Corinne True came to the dedication of the Temple site in Wilmette, where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá singled her out for a short drive and then broke ground for the House of Worship.
Tired after a day of visitors in Montreal, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá went out alone, rode a tram out of the city, and, not knowing the name of His hotel, told the taxi driver to go straight ahead, which brought Him back to it.
At the Lake Mohonk peace conference, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave its president, Albert Smiley, a Persian rug fetched overnight from New York; it replaced one the Smileys had lost in a fire.
In London a woman without an appointment was turned away from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s door, but before she reached the bottom of the steps He sent a messenger to bring her back.
An imposing motor-car was sent to bring ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to the ceremony at which He was knighted, but seeing the sorrow of His old coachman Isfandiyar, He went in His own carriage instead.
After ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke at Rabbi Meyer's synagogue in San Francisco, the congregation lent its building to a neighbouring church for nine months, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote that the deed would become eternal.
Though Bahá’u’lláh conferred exalted titles on Him, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá never applied them to Himself; after the Ascension He took the name ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Servant of Bahá, and urged the believers to call Him only by it.
In Chicago in April 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to the Bahá’í Temple Unity Convention on the purpose of houses of worship, and Corinne True realized the Temple was meant to unite all humankind.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá seldom spoke in the first person. Once, while Lua Getsinger and Georgie Ralston talked on during a drive with Him, He opened His eyes and laughed at their words.
Boys who had followed the Master's party noisily on the way to the Bowery Mission came to see Him; He welcomed each one, called a dark-skinned boy a black rose, and shared chocolates.
At table with His guests, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá received a poor workman's dinner of dry bread and a shrivelled apple, left His own luncheon untasted, and shared the gift with everyone present.
Before visiting the Master's home, Amelia Collins's husband anxiously asked her how he should behave. She told him that in the family of 'Abdu'l-Bahá simplicity reigns and nothing but love is accepted.
In Paris, the wife of a Japanese ambassador longed to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá but was ill and leaving early the next morning. Though it was late and He was tired, He went to call on her Himself.
Mary Hanford Ford describes the practical skill of the women of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's household in 'Akká, and how the Greatest Holy Leaf sewed a simple print dress for a finely dressed Western visitor who had arrived without a trunk.
Speaking to a packed opera house in America, Abu'l-Faḍl felt proud of his success and his mind went completely blank. He turned to Bahá'u'lláh in shame and prayer, and his words returned.
After Juliet Thompson lost her temper with her mother and stormed out, 'Abdu'l-Bahá greeted her by asking whether her mother was happy, and sent her straight home to her.
'Abdu'l-Bahá helped carry the coffin of a beloved friend who had taken his own life. He taught that God never gives us a burden greater than we can carry, and that in hard times we should remember that this too will pass.
'Abdu'l-Bahá kept little clothing and ate little food: tea, goat's milk cheese and wheat bread to begin the day, while at the evening meal a cup of milk and a piece of bread might suffice.
'Abdu'l-Bahá held cleanliness to be of vital importance. Florence Khánum found Him spotless and fresh-looking at high noon in summer, as though He had not been visiting the sick since early morning.
'Abdu'l-Bahá had His caterer send the Covenant-breakers at the Mansion whatever food and supplies they asked for, and passed on to them gifts and funds, yet they took His generosity for weakness.
Túbá Khánum recalls her little sister Rúḥ-Angíz, who longed to follow Bahá'u'lláh to Heaven and passed away the year after Him, while the Master's time was taken up by the needs of the poor.
'Abdu'l-Bahá placed His affairs in God's hands. When the military commanders of Jerusalem and Damascus invited Him to Jerusalem, He answered, 'Inshá'lláh' (If God is willing).
'Abdu'l-Bahá, who felt children were nearer to the Kingdom of God than adults, listened attentively as a granddaughter of about two chanted a Tablet, gently chanting any word she missed.
'Abdu'l-Bahá often spoke with His arm around a child, and urged parents to give their children the best education they could afford and to encourage spirituality in them.
John David Bosch felt he could not be a speaker and instead circulated pamphlets and books. 'Abdu'l-Bahá assured him that he was doing better than talking, for with him it was the heart that spoke.
At a Washington luncheon held in His honour in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked for Louis Gregory, who had not been on the guest list, and seated him at His right hand before the meal began.
'Abdu'l-Bahá desired no title but His own name, 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He forbade pilgrims to fall at His feet, cooked for His fellow prisoners in 'Akká, and sometimes served His guests Himself.
'Abdu'l-Bahá disliked photographs of Himself and allowed them only to please His friends, explaining that the personality is merely the lamp, while the light within it alone has real significance.
The Master was joyful in circumstances that would have filled most people with sorrow, and He likened sorrow to furrows: the deeper they go, the more fruit they yield.
Speaking to Mary Hanford Ford of the confinement of His family’s life in ‘Akká, the Master explained that a heart full of the love of God knows no prison.
In a Tablet to a woman who longed for the Heavenly Kingdom, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá counselled her to recite the Greatest Name every morning and turn to the Kingdom of Abhá.
Speaking through an interpreter to an early pilgrim, the Master rejoiced that the believers were becoming more united, and urged them to love one another and sacrifice themselves for each other.
The Master told of a merchant who, seeing the crowds that came out to greet Him, asked to become a Bahá’í for the sake of his business, and was frankly told to remain as he was.
The Master wanted people to be happy so that they could know the spiritual life and make others happy, and He told one of His daughters travelling with her aunt to be a cheerful companion.
The Master taught that divorce should not be made easier, but marriage more difficult. Lady Blomfield records two cases from the years of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the Holy Land.
On 27 November 1921 the Master sent the friends to the Shrine of the Báb for the Day of the Covenant and received Haifa’s officials; that night, the last of His life, He asked after everyone’s health.
During the First World War, when the breadwinners of ‘Akká and Haifa had been taken for the army, the Master kept the poor from starvation, opened a dispensary at Abú-Sinán and arranged schools for the children.
The morning after He arrived in Montréal, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited a sickly girl across the street from the Maxwells and told her parents she must be let out into the sunlight; she soon recovered completely.
On April 30, 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told an NAACP conference in Chicago that color is of no importance. That evening, across the road, a tied Bahá’í election ended with Louis Gregory joining the governing board of Bahá’í Temple Unity.
In Budapest, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was about to leave for Vienna when the president of the Turanian Society asked Him to stay for a meeting already advertised. He agreed, and that evening addressed a large and appreciative gathering.
Learning that Juliet Thompson's mother was grieving, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent for her in the midst of a thunderstorm. Though exhausted, He welcomed and comforted her, and the next day she said all her bitterness had gone.
At the Bowery Mission in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke on the station of poverty, then stood by the door and gave coins to each of some four hundred men, with money left over for others.
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stayed at Mrs True's home in Chicago in September 1912, visitors filled its rooms, hallways and stairs; when He grew tired, He would take a walk outside and then return.
In an essay written as a student in Beirut in 1914–15, the young Shoghi Effendi argues that well-conducted sports and athletics refresh the body, enlighten the mind and develop moral character.
When war came and Haifa feared bombardment, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá accepted a Druze chief’s invitation and moved the Bahá’ís to the village of Abu-Sinan, where they lived simply, regained their health and were kept from hunger.
At the Bowery Mission in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá addressed some four hundred of the city’s poorest men, shook every hand and placed coins in each palm; back at His hotel a moved chambermaid resolved to give as He had given.
Grace Robarts begged to serve in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s household in New York. For days He ignored her as she worked from five in the morning until long after midnight; when she grasped the spirit of true service, He welcomed her.
Walking on the beach with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Lua Getsinger stepped in His footprints and three times said she wished to follow in them. A tarantula then bit her, and when fever and delirium set in, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá healed her.
On His last afternoon in London, a reporter was surprised by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s English pronunciation; laughing, He strode about the drawing room reciting elaborate English words, then turned in a moment to earnest matters.
Annamarie Honnold describes ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s love for every human being, and records His counsel to the pilgrim Anna Kunz and her husband in 1921 to be affectionate to all, like a shepherd with his sheep.
A coal miner who had walked many miles to hear ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in California grew impatient with the interpreter, insisting that nothing ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said needed translating.
In Salt Lake City in September 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá toured the agricultural exhibition at the State Fair, praised American farming, and had seeds of fruits and flowers bought to be planted at the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh.
A man in Haifa who disliked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá proudly announced, “I am Moses.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá invited him to serve the people as Moses did; after three long days of His work, the man gave up the name.
Jináb-i-Fádil, disowned by his father for becoming a Bahá’í, thought of asking ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to forgive him; the next day the Master told him that many souls would be forgiven because of his faith.
Urged on by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s enemies, the Deputy-Governor of Haifa visited Him wearing Bahá’u’lláh’s cloak and spectacles; later, dismissed from his post, he begged the Master’s forgiveness and was shown utmost kindness.
Speaking to the Edinburgh Esperanto Society in January 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalled Bahá’u’lláh’s call for an auxiliary language and urged His listeners to spread Esperanto.
From Paris, the ailing Thomas Breakwell wrote to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá through Dr Yúnis Khán, refused to leave his post, asked the Master to pray for his parents, and soon reported that his father had become a Bahá’í.
A portrait of L. L. Zamenhof, reprinted in Star of the West: an oculist who struggled to support his family, sought neither profit nor power from Esperanto, and worked tirelessly to spare humanity the suffering of dissension and war.
Hurrying to breakfast without her morning prayers, Lua Getsinger met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the hallway, and He told her never to eat material food in the morning until she had had spiritual food.
At his first meeting with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Howard Colby Ives could not speak; after a long silence the Master placed His hand upon his breast, saying that it was the heart that speaks.
Myron Phelps describes how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in ‘Akká lived simply in order to give to the poor, gave away a second cloak His wife had left for Him, and slept on the floor rather than in a bed.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited a widow who had come from California to Massachusetts to see Him after her son was killed, and told her that the son's only grief was his mother's tears.
Thomas Breakwell died in June 1902, hardly a year after becoming a Bahá’í. Yúnis Khán recalls how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told him of the death, though no news of it had passed through his hands, and wrote a prayer of visitation for Breakwell.
On pilgrimage to ‘Akká, Thomas Breakwell told ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that the cotton mills where he held his post were run on child labour; the Master told him to cable his resignation, and he gladly obeyed.
Ill with tuberculosis, Thomas Breakwell sent ever more joyful letters to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, never asked to be healed, and told the other patients he was not going to die but merely departing for the Kingdom of God.
When Thornton Chase, a member of Chicago's all-male House of Spirituality, asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá about the Temple, He told the three visiting men to consult Corinne True, to whom He had given complete instructions.
After speaking with visitors at Vanners in Byfleet, 'Abdu'l-Bahá walked out alone into the village, where ragged children clustered about Him, mothers followed with their little ones, and even the roughest men fell silent.
Near Lake Dublin, New Hampshire, in August 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to a gathering of Black people about unity between Black and white, and told them of the coming marriage of Louisa Mathew and Louis Gregory.
'Abdu'l-Bahá accepted no money or costly gifts; when a lady offered a friend's cheque to buy Him a motor-car, He thanked her, held it as though blessing it, and returned it to be used for gifts to the poor.
When a minister called on 'Abdu'l-Bahá at the Maxwell home in Montreal, He gave him an armful of American Beauty roses, and the visitor left in awe of His regal manners and gentle courtesy.
On her pilgrimage in 1901, Ethel Rosenberg, the first English woman to embrace the Bahá'í Faith in England, heard 'Abdu'l-Bahá say that we must strive to change our bad qualities into good ones.
To Mrs Smith, a new Bahá'í from a distinguished Philadelphia family who was suffering with a headache, 'Abdu'l-Bahá explained that happiness keeps our health while depression of spirit begets diseases.
In a 1911 report, Wellesley Tudor Pole described ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s days in London: correspondence from about 5 a.m., interviews until midday, drives and visits in the afternoon, and gatherings of friends nearly every evening.
Two days before ‘Abdu’l-Bahá left Paris, a mother arrived from America. Her small daughter had pointed at His picture in a magazine store window, and she had caught a boat that same night.
When a reporter burst in on two Scottish visitors’ evening with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London, the Master led him away to His room, then explained that their wish for his absence had made the man uncomfortable.
In New York, two women wept when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told Margaret He prayed for her late parents. With hands outstretched to calm them, He exclaimed in English, “Laugh! Laugh!”
At lunch in ‘Akká in 1908, two pilgrims told ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that their own faults made them unhappy. He told them to think of the Bounty of God, and smiled as He recalled an Arabic saying about the peacock.
In Chicago in 1912, under trees near Lake Michigan, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told His friends He had not called attention to their shortcomings, and asked them to be as considerate with one another.
Early one morning in Dublin, New Hampshire, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called over a ragged old man passing the inn, stepped into the shadow of the porch, and gave him His own trousers.
The mention of Mary Magdalene always brought joy to the face of Bahá’u’lláh. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained to Ethel Rosenberg what the "seven devils" cast out of her meant, and why she was greater than all the disciples.
On pilgrimage in ‘Akká, May Bolles (Maxwell) spoke against a fellow-believer. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá knew of it at once; at supper His gaze of compassion moved her to tears, and then He smiled and called her name.
Sent by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to Chicago in 1901, Mírzá Abu’l-Faḍl and ‘Alí-Kuli Khán found believers confused by dream-reading and the occult, and taught them to weigh every inner prompting against the revealed Teachings.
An early pilgrim called ‘Roy’ was struck by the love and harmony among the Bahá’ís in the Most Great Prison. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told him that the more the believers are united, the more they receive God’s confirmation.
A dying Turkish man in Haifa told his children that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would be their father. The Master cared for the family, arranged the funeral and provided for their journey home to Turkey.
Harry Randall did not want to meet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, but he carried Him a glass of grape juice and was told to sit down. After twenty restless minutes the Master spoke to him of the intellect and the heart.
Staying in a village near London, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave sixpences to the poor children who followed Him. When His hostess and another guest turned away a man who had walked six miles with his babies, the Master came out and embraced them all.
On meeting the polar explorer Admiral Peary in America, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told him He hoped he would explore the invisibilities of the Kingdom.
Asked what He thought about women’s fashions, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá replied that He looked not at the dress but at the wearer: her chastity, culture and heavenly morality.
In spring ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wanted to visit the Chicago zoo. Though warned that mother animals hide their young from strangers, He went ahead alone, and each mother brought out her babies to show Him.
In San Francisco ‘Abdu’l-Bahá kept delaying His departure for a reception in Berkeley, to His hostess’s dismay, until a poor stranger who had walked fifteen miles to see Him rang the bell.
In Stuttgart in 1913 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalled how, as a child of eight or nine, He taught an educated man who was not convinced, and told him to go and receive seeing eyes and hearing ears.
On pilgrimage in 1921, Anna and Jakob Kunz heard ‘Abdu’l-Bahá counsel moderation in everything, even in thinking.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá told pilgrims how a Governor had stopped a Bahá’í from sailing from Haifa, and how, when that Governor later fell from power and was imprisoned, the Master showed him kindness and never let him know He remembered.
On pilgrimage in 1907 Corinne True brought ‘Abdu’l-Bahá a petition from Chicago to build a House of Worship. He described the Temple’s design, warned her she would suffer, and asked her to work for it.
Housed in comfort in London, 'Abdu'l-Bahá was saddened by the hunger of people living nearby, as in New York, and foretold a time when the wealthy would spend their riches to improve their communities.
A woman who had enjoyed a talk by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in America complained that He repeated Himself; smiling, He asked her what it was He repeated, and she could not tell Him.
When someone criticized Lua Getsinger to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, He answered the critic with a smile: "But she loves her Lord."
Provisions 'Abdu'l-Bahá had grown and stored from 1912 onward saved Haifa's civilians from starvation in 1917 and 1918, and the British Government conferred a knighthood on Him, which He accepted as a gift "from a just king."
In the Chicago area, 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited the grave of Davis True at Oak Woods Cemetery with Corinne True and others, reciting the Prayer for the Dead and praying for all who were buried there.
On board the steamship Celtic, a woman told 'Abdu'l-Bahá that she was afraid of death. He urged her to enter the Divine Kingdom and spoke of the need to ride in the Ship of God.
When wealthy Western visitors prepared an elaborate hand-washing ceremony for 'Abdu'l-Bahá, He washed at a small water-trough, dried His hands on the gardener's cloth, and used their preparations for His guests instead.
A newly declared believer asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá what he should do and was told to study the Teachings. Eighteen years later he asked again, and received the same answer.
When a poor Black man who often visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá at His Paris hotel was turned away by the management, the Master had him sought out and said He had come to establish the standard of Bahá'u'lláh.
Warned in Paris of danger if He visited a certain country, 'Abdu'l-Bahá smilingly told Lady Blomfield that He had never been a day out of danger, and that His enemies had no power over His life.
In San Francisco, 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited Charles Tinsley, a Black believer long confined to bed with a broken leg, and told him not to be sad, for this affliction would make him spiritually stronger.
In 1909 a pilgrim asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá whether He would come to America if the believers built the Temple quickly. In 1911 He wrote that they must first put away their differences if they longed for His visit.
On 23 May 1912, after speaking at a university in Worcester, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá joined the Boston Bahá’ís at Alice Breed's home to commemorate the Declaration of the Báb, spoke about the Báb's life, and lit the first candle on a birthday cake.
On Riverside Drive in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá met a poor man whose trousers were in rags, took him behind some shrubbery and gave him His own, then came back laughing with His aba wrapped around Him.
Dr Yúnis Khán recalls how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, sensing a fragrance from one sealed envelope, had it opened first; it held a violet picked from Thomas Breakwell's grave, and the Master wept.