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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."
885 stories in the library.
As a child, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited His Father’s flocks in the mountains. Told He must leave the shepherds a present, He gave them all the sheep, and Bahá’u’lláh laughed that one day He would give Himself away.
As Bahá’u’lláh was led through a jeering crowd, an old woman begged the guard for a chance to throw her stone at His face, and He told them not to deny her.
In the summer of 1848 eighty-one followers of the Báb gathered at Badasht as Bahá’u’lláh’s guests. Táhirih appeared unveiled and called for a break with the past, and Bahá’u’lláh eased the tension that followed.
Stripped of His outer garments and in chains, Bahá’u’lláh was driven barefoot to the dungeon of Tihrán. When an old woman begged for a chance to throw her stone in His face, He told the guards not to deny her.
After a dream, a young Shíráz shopkeeper, ‘Abdu’l-Vahháb, follows Mullá ‘Alíy-i-Basṭámí out of the city. His furious father beats Mullá ‘Alí, but later repents, and after his son’s martyrdom he is taught the Faith by Bahá’u’lláh.
The Báb’s three maternal uncles took different paths: Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid ‘Alí raised Him and died one of the Seven Martyrs of Tehran; Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid Muḥammad received the Kitáb-i-Íqán; the youngest believed some years later.
A disciple of Siyyid Kázim, Shaykh Ḥasan met the Báb in Karbilá, later served Him as a scribe and go-between, and, as the Báb had promised, met Bahá’u’lláh in Karbilá in 1851.
After the upheaval at Nayríz, the learned Siyyid Ja‘far-i-Yazdí met public humiliation with joy and endured daily beatings. Freed at last, he reached Bahá'u'lláh, Who revealed the Súriy-i-Nush in his honor.
Sent by Muhammad Shah to investigate the Báb, the renowned divine Siyyid Yahya of Darab met Him three times in Shiraz and was won over by His commentary on the Surih of Kawthar. He later gave his life at Nayriz.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s memorial of Táhirih: the learned woman of Qazvín who recognized the Báb, taught boldly in Karbilá and Baghdád, appeared unveiled at Badasht, and was put to death in Tihrán.
An overview of the Báb’s mission, from His declaration in 1844 and His call to prepare for “Him Whom God shall make manifest” to His martyrdom in the barracks square of Tabríz in 1850.
The Báb has been compared to John the Baptist, but the station of the Báb is not merely that of the herald or forerunner.
When the Báb declared His mission in 1844, Bahá’u’lláh, Who was then in His twenty-seventh year, boldly espoused the Cause of the new Faith, of which He soon became recognized as one of the most powerful and fearless exponents.
Riding in the country near Núr, Bahá’u’lláh came upon a lonely young dervish cooking by a brook. After a loving conversation the dervish, Mustafá, recognised His station and followed Him on foot, singing a love-song he had composed.
In His own words, Bahá’u’lláh recalls the day at Badasht when Táhirih appeared at His door with her face unveiled, and the consternation that seized the companions, some of whom fled in horror.
Arrested on the way to Fort Shaykh Ṭabarsí and brought before the clergy of Ámul, Bahá’u’lláh interceded for His companions and offered Himself to receive the bastinado in their place.
Told by the Báb to await the promised Husayn in Karbilá, the aged Shaykh Hasan-i-Zunúzí met Bahá'u'lláh there in October 1851 and became one to whom He confided the secret He would later reveal in Baghdád.
'Abdu'l-Bahá recounted how a famous mujtahid of Yálrúd told His grandmother of a dream in which Bahá'u'lláh, then the son of a vizier, was closeted with the Qá'im in a house no one else could enter.
While Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned in the Síyáh-Chál, His servant Isfandíyár, though hunted by a hundred officers, found the scattered family and refused to flee until he had paid every debt of the household.
In 1848 Bahá’u’lláh visited Mullá Ḥusayn and his companions at the shrine of Shaykh Ṭabarsí. Mullá Ḥusayn received Him with rapturous love, and He counselled them, sent for Quddús and promised them victory.
When companions of Ṭáhirih were held prisoner in Ṭihrán, Bahá’u’lláh sent them help; greedy officials then accused Him of complicity and held Him for a few days, His first imprisonment for the Cause.
In Ṭihrán around 1850, the young Nabíl was asked to take six-year-old ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to school; the child took his hand and said, “We shall walk together.”
Shoghi Effendi brings together Bahá’u’lláh’s own words, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s memory and Nabíl’s record of the months Bahá’u’lláh spent chained in the dark, crowded dungeon of Ṭihrán.
In 1847, while held at the village of Kulayn near Tihran on His way into exile, the Báb receives a sealed letter and gifts from Bahá'u'lláh, and His grief gives way to joy and confidence.
When the Grand Vizier Hájí Mírzá Áqásí tries to take Bahá'u'lláh's village of Quch-Hisar by fraud, the estate passes to the Sháh's sister, and Bahá'u'lláh answers the minister's accusations about His generous hospitality.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá describes how, at Badasht, Ṭáhirih came forth unveiled, proclaiming the signs of the Day of Resurrection, and how the believers, after days of fear and confusion, regained their composure.
After the murder of Mullá Taqí, her husband's father, Ṭáhirih was held captive in Qazvín by relatives who blamed her for the crime. Bahá'u'lláh had her secretly brought to His home in Tihrán, from where she went on to Badasht.
At the Conference of Badasht in the summer of 1848, Ṭáhirih appeared before the assembled Bábís with her face unveiled, and the break of the new Dispensation from the laws of the past was proclaimed.
Bahá’u’lláh recalls how Mírzá ‘Abdu’l-Vahháb-i-Shírází, chained beside Him in the Ṭihrán prison, dreamed of soaring through infinite space, and went to his martyrdom that same morning wearing Bahá’u’lláh’s own shoes.
In Tihrán, a student from Núr visits Mullá Husayn at midnight. Hearing of a son of Mírzá Buzurg who feeds the hungry, Mullá Husayn sends Him a scroll; Bahá'u'lláh reads from it and sends back a gift.
Confined in her father's house in Qazvín and blamed for her father-in-law's murder, Ṭáhirih foretells her deliverance within nine days. Before the time is up, Bahá'u'lláh has her brought secretly to His home in Ṭihrán.
A retelling of the Báb's life: His childhood in Shiraz, His declaration to Mulla Husayn in 1844, His imprisonment, and His martyrdom in Tabriz in 1850, together with His promise of Him Whom God shall make manifest.
Visiting His Father's shepherds in the hills, the seven-year-old 'Abdu'l-Bahá was told He should leave them a present, so He gave them all the sheep. Bahá'u'lláh laughed and said that one day He would give Himself away.
Bahá'u'lláh's family lives happily in Tihrán until the day He is arrested and cast into an underground prison, where He comes to know that God has given Him a mission for the whole world.
When Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned, His faithful servant Isfandíyár, hunted by officers, stayed in Ṭihrán until he had paid every debt, and later obeyed Bahá'u'lláh by remaining loyal to the minister who had sheltered him.
Born to wealth, Bahá'u'lláh and Ásíyih Khánum chose to care for the poor and became known as the Father of the Poor and the Mother of Consolation. As a boy, 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave away all His Father's sheep.
A grandmother tells Sanam how, as a girl in Tihrán, she saw Bahá'u'lláh led through a hostile crowd, and heard Him tell His guards to let an old woman cast her stone.
During an asthma attack, seven-year-old Brently sits on his grandfather's lap and hears how the Báb sent His pens and seals to Bahá'u'lláh, with a blue scroll bearing the word Bahá in 360 forms.
The life of Mullá Ḥusayn, the first to believe in the Báb: his mission to Tihrán, his walk to the prison of Máh-Kú, the defense of Fort Shaykh Ṭabarsí, and his death in 1849.
In the summer of 1848 eighty-one Bábís gathered at Badasht as the guests of Bahá'u'lláh. There Táhirih appeared unveiled and declared that the fetters of the past were burst asunder.
Riding in the countryside, Bahá'u'lláh met a dervish who said he was cooking God. After Bahá'u'lláh spoke with him, the dervish left his cooking things behind to follow Him, chanting a love-song he had made in His praise.
Bahíyyih Khánum remembered the day in 1852 when a servant brought word that her father had been arrested, and the four months her mother spent in hiding with the children while He lay chained in the dungeon of Tihrán.
In 1852, while Bahá'u'lláh lay chained in an underground dungeon in Tihrán, His wife went out late at night to learn whether He still lived, and their daughter waited in the dark with her baby brother.
After two young Bábís tried to kill the Sháh in August 1852, Bahá'u'lláh was chained for four months in the Síyáh-Chál, the underground dungeon of Ṭihrán. There, in a dream, He heard the words that announced His mission.
In July 1848, at the Báb's bidding, Mullá Ḥusayn left Mashhad wearing the Báb's green turban, with the Black Standard carried before him, and led his companions to the shrine of Shaykh Ṭabarsí in Mázindarán.
At forty, Shaykh Aḥmad-i-Aḥsá'í left his home in Baḥrayn to prepare the way for the promised One. Nabíl records that he recognized the meaning of Bahá'u'lláh's birth in 1817 and later entrusted his mission to Siyyid Káẓim.
In the summer of 1848, eighty-one Bábís gathered at Badasht as guests of Bahá'u'lláh. There Ṭáhirih appeared before the assembled men without her veil and proclaimed that the fetters of the past were burst asunder.
In the *Epistle to the Son of the Wolf*, Bahá'u'lláh briefly recalls the conditions of His four-month imprisonment in the Síyáh-Chál of Tihrán in 1852 — the underground dungeon in which the first intimations of His Revelation came to Him.
The chief divine of Núr sent two of his ablest doctors, Mullá 'Abbás and Mírzá Abu'l-Qásim, to overcome Bahá'u'lláh in argument. They heard Him, gave up their pulpits and standing, and served His Cause; the divine himself declined to debate Him.
In the prison of Chihríq, after months of grief for the martyrs of Shaykh Tabarsí, the Báb named His attendant Sayyáh, the Traveller, and sent him to visit their resting-place on His behalf. On the way back, in the depth of winter, Sayyáh came to Bahá'u'lláh's house in Tihrán.
At Badasht each believer received a new name without knowing who had given it. Hájí Mullá Ismá'íl-i-Qumí, named there Sirru'l-Vujúd, missed the defence of Tabarsí through illness and later died in Tihrán as one of the Seven Martyrs.
Siyyid Baṣír, a blind and learned man of Mooltan in India, accepted the Báb's message as soon as he heard it. He travelled to Persia, met Bahá'u'lláh at Núr, taught fearlessly among the learned, and was put to death by a prince.
On His way to join the besieged Bábís at Shaykh Ṭabarsí, Bahá'u'lláh was arrested at Ámul. He offered Himself to be punished in place of His companions, was beaten until His feet bled, and was stoned by a mob.
At the conference of Badasht in 1848, Ṭáhirih appeared unveiled before the assembled Bábís and proclaimed that a new Dispensation had begun, breaking openly with the laws of the past.
In a 1912 talk in Washington, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalled Isfandíyár, the black servant of Bahá’u’lláh, who, though hunted by the Sháh's officers while Bahá’u’lláh was in prison, would not flee until he had paid every debt of the household.
Recalling the days in Ṭihrán when Bahá’u’lláh was imprisoned and their home sacked, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told how His mother gave Him flour to eat instead of bread, yet they were contented.
Chained in the darkness of the Síyáh-Chál, Bahá'u'lláh felt the first stirrings of God's Revelation and saw the Maiden of Heaven, yet He told no one, awaiting the hour God had appointed.
When 'Abdu'l-Bahá was eight, His father was imprisoned and the family lost everything. Sent to His aunt's house for money, He was chased and pelted with stones, and reached home too exhausted to speak.
After a dream, young ‘Abdu’l-Vahhab left his shop in Shíráz to follow Mullá ‘Alí, a disciple of the Báb. His angry father beat Mullá ‘Alí, but years later Bahá'u'lláh brought the father to the Faith and he was forgiven.
Mullá Ṣádiq was led through the streets of Shíráz with a halter for teaching the Faith, yet kept smiling and speaking. He survived the siege of Fort Ṭabarsí and taught for the rest of his life.
When Bahá'u'lláh was arrested and chained in a dark prison in Tihrán, His wife Ásíyih Khánum hid their three children and went out at night to learn whether He was still alive.
In 1852 Bahá'u'lláh was chained for four months in the Síyáh-Chál, an underground prison in Ṭihrán. There, in a dream, He heard the words that told Him of His Mission.
At the Báb's request, Mullá Ḥusayn set out from Mashhad wearing the Báb's green turban, with a black flag carried before him, and led his companions to the shrine of Shaykh Ṭabarsí.
At forty, Shaykh Aḥmad left his home in Bahrayn to prepare people for the coming of the Promised One. In Ṭihrán he understood the meaning of Bahá'u'lláh's birth, and before he died he passed his work to Siyyid Káẓim.
At a gathering of the Báb's followers in the village of Badasht, Ṭáhirih came before the believers without her veil and told them that a new day had begun.
On His way to help Bábís trapped in a fort, Bahá'u'lláh was arrested in the town of Ámul. He asked to be punished in place of His companions, and He alone was beaten.
At a gathering of the Báb's followers in the village of Badasht, Ṭáhirih appeared without her veil and announced that a new age of religion had begun.
'Abdu'l-Bahá remembers Mullá Ṣádiq of Khurásán, Ismu'lláhu'l-Aṣdaq, who was led by a halter through Shíráz with Quddús, survived capture at Fort Ṭabarsí, and taught the Faith cheerfully all his life.
In 1852, after Bahá'u'lláh's imprisonment, His family was left without food. 'Abdu'l-Bahá later recalled being sent as a child to His aunt for a few coins, and being recognized as a Bábí and chased and stoned by children.
Bahíyyih Khánum, daughter of Bahá'u'lláh, describes the underground prison in Tihrán where her father lay chained for four months in 1852, and her mother's struggle to get food to Him.
Led barefoot from Shimírán to the Síyáh-Chál in 1852, Bahá'u'lláh was abused by the crowds. When an old woman begged to throw a stone at Him, He told His guards not to deny her.
Mírzá Asadu'lláh, a government official of Khuy, accepted the Báb after He described a dream Asadu'lláh had told no one. The Báb named him Dayyán and "the third Letter to believe in Him Whom God shall make manifest," and he later attained Bahá'u'lláh's presence in Baghdád.
The Báb sent Shaykh Ḥasan-i-Zunúzí to live in Karbilá, promising that he would behold "the promised Husayn." In 1851, in Karbilá, Bahá'u'lláh took the old man by the hand and told him the promise had been fulfilled.
Siyyid Káẓim addressed the young scholar of Qazvín as Qurratu'l-'Ayn, "Solace of the Eyes." At Badasht in 1848 Bahá'u'lláh gave her the name Táhirih, the Pure One, and the Báb addressed her by it.
Quddús was the last of the Letters of the Living and the Báb's chosen companion on His pilgrimage to Mecca. At Badasht Bahá'u'lláh gave him the name Quddús. The Báb gave him the title of the Last Name of God.
When Bahá'u'lláh was arrested after the attempt on the Sháh's life in 1852, the Russian Minister in Ṭihrán refused to surrender Him to the Sháh's officers, pressed for His innocence to be established, and later offered Him refuge in Russia, which He declined.
Before His exile, Bahá'u'lláh and His wife Navváb spent their wealth caring for the poor of Ṭihrán. Their daughter recalled that nobody was turned away from their door, and that the people called Him "The Father of the Poor."
A Traveller's Narrative describes Bahá'u'lláh's youth in Ṭihrán, His learning without schooling, and how, when the Báb's Cause became known, He taught it to His family and friends and then carried it to Mázindarán.
Soon after He embraced the Báb's Cause in 1844, Bahá'u'lláh carried it to His ancestral home in Núr. Many officials and notables responded, and two envoys sent by the local mujtahid to investigate became His followers.
In Ṭihrán in 1844 Mullá Ḥusayn learned from a young student of Núr about a son of Mírzá Buzurg who fed the hungry and befriended the poor. He sent Him a scroll by the student's hand, and Bahá'u'lláh, reading it, affirmed its truth.
As a child, 'Abdu'l-Bahá was taken to see His Father's flocks. Told that He must leave the shepherds a present, and having nothing else to give, He gave them the sheep. Bahá'u'lláh laughed when He heard of it.
In Ṭihrán in 1844 Mullá Ḥusayn gave a student from Núr a scroll to hand to Bahá'u'lláh at dawn. Bahá'u'lláh read it aloud, declared that its words had the same regenerating power as the Qur'án, and sent Mullá Ḥusayn a gift of tea and sugar.
After the martyrdom of the Báb in 1850, believers hid His remains in shrines and houses in Ṭihrán for nearly fifty years, then carried them to the Holy Land, where 'Abdu'l-Bahá laid them to rest on Mount Carmel in 1909.
Siyyid Ḥusayn-i-Yazdí, the Báb's amanuensis, spent His last night with Him in the barracks of Tabríz and was told not to confess his faith, so that he could later tell what he alone knew. In 1852 he was martyred in Ṭihrán.
Forty days before He was taken from Chihríq to Tabríz, the Báb gave His writings, pen-case, seals and rings to Mullá Báqir, a Letter of the Living, to be passed through Mírzá Aḥmad to Bahá'u'lláh in Ṭihrán.
After the martyrdom, the bodies of the Báb and His companion were left under guard beside the moat of Tabríz. Ḥájí Sulaymán Khán had them carried away by night, and at Bahá'u'lláh's instruction they were later brought to Ṭihrán and kept hidden.
Mírzá Taqí Khán, the Amír-Niẓám, ordered the Báb's execution against the advice of his own counsellors. Within two years he lost the Sháh's favour and was put to death in the bath of Fín, near Káshán.
The Báb gave His followers a new calendar of nineteen months of nineteen days, each month named after an attribute of God, with Naw-Rúz as its first day. Bahá'u'lláh confirmed it in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and fixed the place of the extra days before the Fast.
In November 1849, grieving for the martyrs of Shaykh Ṭabarsí, the Báb sent His attendant Sayyáh from Chihríq to visit their resting-place, asking him to return before Naw-Rúz, "the only one I probably shall ever see again."
In 1844, riding in the district of Núr, Bahá'u'lláh stopped to speak with a dervish cooking by a brook. The dervish left his utensils behind, followed Him on foot, and sang: "Thou art the Light of Truth."
Sent by the Báb to Ṭihrán in 1844, Mullá Ḥusayn entrusted a scroll of the Báb's writings to a student from Núr, who carried it at dawn to Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá'u'lláh at once affirmed its truth, and the news brought the Báb great joy.
In Bahá'u'lláh's house in Ṭihrán, Táhirih listened from behind a curtain as the learned Vahíd spoke on the proofs of the new Revelation, then interrupted him with a call to deeds. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, then a child, was sitting on her lap.
As a small child, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was sent by Bahá’u’lláh to inspect His flocks. Having nothing else to give the shepherds, He gave them the sheep, and Bahá’u’lláh remarked that someday He would give Himself away.
Chained in the underground Síyáh-Chál of Tihrán among nearly 150 prisoners, Bahá’u’lláh taught His companions verses to chant each night, and those called to their deaths went forth with hope and joy.
When Bahá’u’lláh taught the Cause of the Báb in Núr, the local mujtahid sent two of his leading disciples to question Him; on hearing Him, both vowed to remain and serve Him.
These things have been put to the proof, and the greatest proof is this very transaction.
Bahá’u’lláh recalled how, chained in the dark dungeon of the Síyáh-Chál, He taught His fellow-prisoners verses which they chanted every night, until the sound reached the ears of Náṣiri’d-Dín Sháh.
Riding in the countryside of Núr, Bahá’u’lláh met a dervish cooking his food. After Bahá’u’lláh spoke with him tenderly about the true nature of God, the dervish left his utensils behind and followed His horse, singing for joy.
While Bahá’u’lláh was imprisoned in Ṭihrán, His wife Navváb fled with their three children, lived in fear for His life, and later sold her wedding treasures to provide for the journey into exile.
While Bahá'u'lláh lived in solitude in the mountains, His family in Baghdad heard of a dervish who had comforted a weeping schoolboy and written him a beautiful copy. Bahíyyih Khánum recalled how they became convinced it was their father.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalls how, when Bahá’u’lláh was banished from Adrianople, a false report that He would be parted from His family and followers led one of them to try to take his own life, until ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s protest kept them together.
Haji Mirza Haydar-'Ali tells of a man so afraid of being found with the Kitáb-i-Íqán that he hid it in a stable manger, until he reflected on the fearlessness of its Author and became a believer.
At eight ‘Abdu’l-Bahá grieved over His Father’s sufferings; in Baghdad He prayed without ceasing while Bahá’u’lláh was away in Sulaymaniyyih, rejoiced at His return, and drank in the teaching at the gatherings by the Tigris.
Told he could come on pilgrimage once his debts were paid, an Egyptian merchant spent five years clearing them. Arriving unrecognized in Haifa, he was found by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who spent the night praying beside him.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá remembers Fátimih Begum, widow of the King of Martyrs, who bore persecution, poverty and the death of her son with thankfulness, but could not survive her grief at Bahá’u’lláh’s passing.
When Mírzá Mihdí, the Purest Branch, died in 'Akká in 1870, Shaykh Maḥmúd asked for the honour of washing his body while the grieving Most Great Branch kept watch outside the tent. He was buried beyond the city walls.
At Gallipoli, foreign consuls offered to secure refuge in Western Europe for Bahá’u’lláh and His family, but He would not abandon His followers. Bahíyyih Khánum recalls the hungry, frightened voyage that followed.
Four months after the death of the Purest Branch, the exiles were moved out of the barracks of ‘Akká. Bahá’u’lláh and His family went to the house of Malik; most companions lodged in the Khán-i-‘Avámid, later the first pilgrim house.
The Vazír dreamed that his son Bahá’u’lláh swam in a limitless ocean, with a multitude of fishes clinging to His hair. A soothsayer explained the dream, and after meeting the boy praised Him greatly.
In the Mazandaran village of Máhfurúzak, Mullá ‘Alí Ján and his wife ‘Alavíyyih Khánum organized village life around prayer, schools and a cooperative; after his execution in Tehran in 1883 she devoted her life to the Faith.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá remembers Áqá ‘Alí of Qazvín, a host and teacher of the early believers who was beaten for his faith, followed Bahá’u’lláh to the prison of ‘Akká, and remained content through poverty and illness.
After his father’s death, Áqá Ḥusayn-i-Áshchí was taken into Bahá’u’lláh’s household and became its cook; he recalled the meagre meals in Adrianople and how Bahá’u’lláh smiled on learning that he counted the coal for each brazier.
Four brothers living near Bahá'u'lláh's house in Baghdad were drawn to Him by watching Him come and go, and later bore captivity in Mosul with patience. ‘Abdu'l-Bahá remembers each of them and their uncle.
As a boy, Ibn-i-Asdaq travelled with his father to Baghdad and met Bahá'u'lláh, who revealed a prayer for him. Years later he became one of the four Hands of the Cause named by Bahá'u'lláh.
Ibn-i-Abhar, one of the four Hands of the Cause named by Bahá'u'lláh, was told to seek answers through consultation, counselled by ‘Abdu'l-Bahá on trustworthiness, and sent to Yazd shortly before the upheaval of 1903.
Two brothers who shared Bahá'u'lláh's exile died in each other's arms in the ‘Akká barracks, and He gave up His prayer carpet to pay for their burial. ‘Abdu'l-Bahá also recalls their brother Pahlaván Riḍá.
Escaping his captors after the upheaval in Nayríz, Muḥammad-Ibráhím Amír fled to Iraq, copied the sacred verses, and served Bahá'u'lláh day and night through every exile to the Most Great Prison.
Muḥammad-Ibráhím, a coppersmith and poet from Káshán, came to Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, was exiled to Mosul, and spent his last years in Haifa serving travellers. His elegy for the King of Martyrs moved all to tears.
Ḥájí ‘Abdu’lláh left Persia for the Holy Land, farmed for a time at Ghawr near Tiberias while spending much of his time in prayer, then settled near Bahá’u’lláh at Junayna, where he passed away.
When a Persian Consul pressed him to testify that thieves had stolen far more than his few goods, the Tabríz merchant ‘Alí-‘Askar refused to lie; later, in the ‘Akká prison with his stricken family, he never ceased giving thanks.
Hounded by his own relatives and friends in Ádhirbáyján for his faith, Hájí Áqá of Tabríz fled with his family to Adrianople, shared the exiles’ imprisonment in ‘Akká, and died there near Bahá’u’lláh.
Faraju’lláh of Tafrísh came with his father to Adrianople, followed Bahá’u’lláh into the ‘Akká prison, later prospered in trade, and ended his days in India; his grave is in Bombay.
Three brothers from Tabríz gave their hearts to Bahá’u’lláh: Hájí Hasan was killed for proclaiming the Faith in Ádhirbáyján, while Hájí Ja‘far and Hájí Taqí followed Him into the ‘Akká prison.
For decades Ḥájí Abu’l-Ḥasan Ardikání carried the Ḥuqúqu’lláh and the believers’ letters to Bahá’u’lláh, met Him in the public bath at ‘Akká, became trustee of the Ḥuqúqu’lláh, and served on into the ministry of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá remembers Mírzá Ḥasan, the great Afnán, a learned kinsman of the Báb who settled near Bahjí, studied the stars by night, and did not long survive the passing of Bahá’u’lláh.
Ḥájí Mírzá Músá, whose father had been devoted to Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad, longed to give Him the house He lived in; Bahá’u’lláh would accept it only by purchase, and revealed a Tablet in Mírzá Músá’s honour.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá remembers Ḥájí Muḥammad Khán, a Balúch mystic whose long search for a spiritual guide ended in the presence of Bahá’u’lláh; he settled near Him in the Holy Land and passed away beside the Shrine of the Báb.
In 1889 Ḥájí Muḥammad-Riḍá Iṣfahání was murdered in the bazaar of Ashkhabad; the Russian authorities tried and convicted the killers, the Bahá’ís interceded for their lives, and the community went on to build its own institutions.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá remembers Hájí Muhammad-Ridá of Shíráz, a humble believer who served the Afnán, attended Bahá’u’lláh in the Holy Land, and died in Sidon, often praised by the Blessed Beauty.
Hájí Muhammad-Tahir of Yazd begged Bahá’u’lláh for martyrdom and was told he would live long to teach the Cause. He served for decades as a teacher, historian and protector of the families of Yazd’s martyrs.
Driven from Yazd for his faith, Mullá Mihdí set out with his two sons for the Holy Land, teaching along the way. Sick, his feet torn, he reached Mazra‘ih and died close by the Mansion of Bahá’u’lláh.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá remembers Mírzá Músá, Bahá’u’lláh’s faithful brother, who shared every exile from Ṭihrán to ‘Akká, and recalls Bahá’u’lláh’s joy when the fame of the Cause reached Díyárbakr.
For forty years Husayn-Áqá kept the coffee service and waited on everyone who came, without ever giving offence; after Bahá’u’lláh’s ascension he and his mother stood firm in the Covenant despite ties of kinship.
A young merchant from Tabríz heard of the new Manifestation in Smyrna, left his business to serve Bahá’u’lláh, and made his home in Haifa a way station for Bahá’í travelers, remaining steadfast after the Ascension.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá remembers Ismu’lláhu’l-Asdaq, who was led through Shíráz by a halter, survived the siege of Fort Tabarsí, and in Baghdád gently won over a furious Persian prince within a quarter of an hour.
Jináb-i-Muníb, a gifted calligrapher and singer from Káshán, walked beside Bahá’u’lláh’s howdah from Baghdád to Constantinople; later, gravely ill on the exile to ‘Akká, he was put ashore at Smyrna, where his grave lies.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá remembers Mashhadí Faṭṭáḥ, who came from Ádhirbáyján with his brother, lost everything he owned, lived content and silent in the prison of ‘Akká, and died of grief after the passing of Bahá’u’lláh.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá remembers two believers from Ádhirbáyján who lived near Adrianople, missed the exile to ‘Akká, followed on their own, farmed outside the city, and died of fever giving thanks to God.
Mírzá Abu’l-Faḍl, head of a religious college in Tihrán, became a Bahá’í in 1876, was imprisoned three times, and taught the Faith in Turkmenistan, Egypt and America until his death in Cairo in 1914.
Mírzá Áqáy-i-Rikáb-Sáz, an early believer and calligrapher of Shíráz for whom Bahá’u’lláh revealed the Tablet of the Verse of Light, was betrayed, imprisoned and put to death in his native city.
A learned seeker from Yazd became a carpenter in Baghdad, gathered provisions for the exiles on the road to Constantinople, and served in the ‘Akká barracks, where he revived after Bahá’u’lláh bade that the prayer for healing be chanted.
Bahá’u’lláh’s son Mírzá Mihdí, the Purest Branch, fell through a skylight in the ‘Akká barracks in 1870 and offered his life so that the believers might attain his Father’s presence; in 1939 Shoghi Effendi reburied him on Mount Carmel.
Mocked in Káshán for his faith, the poet Mírzá Mihdí came to Baghdad, stayed behind to guard the Holy House, endured exile in Mosul, and at last reached the ‘Akká prison, where he spent his final days in joy.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalls how He sensed a holy soul in a carriage approaching ‘Akká and went to the city gate to meet the Afnán, and how, after the Afnán died in India, his body was at last laid to rest near Baghdád.
As boys, two brothers of Isfahan served the Báb at their father's banquet. Grown into honest, generous merchants, they were put to death in 1879, and Bahá’u’lláh named them the King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs.
In Baghdad, Bahá'u'lláh has 'Abdu'l-Bahá settle a rich jeweler's disputed estate in a single day and gives the share pressed upon Him to the jeweler's son. Later Mírzá Muhammad defends those estates and becomes known as the Deputy.
Raised by Bahá'u'lláh from infancy, His brother Mírzá Muḥammad-Qulí served Him through every exile, pitching the tents and passing around the tea, and remained firm in the Covenant after His ascension.
A respected scholar of Isfahán gave up every comfort to serve Bahá’u’lláh and the believers in ‘Akká; after Bahá’u’lláh’s ascension, unable to bear His absence, he wasted away and died.
Mírzá Mustafá of Naráq, a believer since the days of the Báb, teaches the Faith openly in Tabríz with Shaykh Ahmad-i-Khurásání; when captured he reveals who he is, and at the place of execution asks to die first.
Muḥammad-‘Alí of Iṣfahán followed Bahá’u’lláh into exile and spent the rest of his life a prisoner in ‘Akká, yet he savored every blessing so gladly that people said even kings were not so happy.
Muḥammad-‘Alí Ṣabbáq, who could neither read nor write, followed Bahá’u’lláh from Baghdád, spent two lonely years in Constantinople helping believers on their way, and shared the exile to ‘Akká before settling in Sidon.
Muḥammad-Hádí, a master bookbinder from Iṣfahán, kept the square before Bahá’u’lláh’s house in ‘Akká swept and sprinkled, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalls how a bowl of barley soup once cured his long fever.
Áqá Muḥammad of Iṣfahán served the King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs for years, then emigrated to ‘Akká, where he swept the ground about Bahá’u’lláh’s house and, after His passing, wept and prayed there each dawn.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá remembers Mullá ‘Alí-Akbar, a learned seeker who found the Faith, was chained and jailed again and again in Ṭihrán yet kept safe, and after his death appeared to Him in a dream, saying he had been teaching the Faith.
A renowned mujtahid of Najaf met Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdád, then taught the Faith in Qá’in, Ṭihrán, Bukhárá and Ishqábád through persecution and poverty, until he died far from his homeland.
Nabíl of Zarand, poet and teacher, sought Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdád, Adrianople and ‘Akká, waited in a cave on Mount Carmel until the prison gates opened, and could not bear to live after His ascension.
Mullá Muḥammad-‘Alí met Bahá’u’lláh in Ṭihrán before the Báb’s Declaration. Driven from Qá’in for his faith, he lived in poverty in Nazareth, trading needles for eggs, and at last made his home in ‘Akká near Bahá’u’lláh.
After his father was killed for his faith near Káshán, ‘Alí-Akbar attained Bahá’u’lláh’s presence in ‘Iráq, later crossed deserts and mountains with his wife to reach Him again, and stayed loyal to the Covenant.
Shaykh Ismá‘íl, a Sufi leader of Kurdistán, persuaded Bahá’u’lláh to come to Sulaymáníyyih, where he and his disciples asked Him for the poem that became the Qasídiy-i-Varqá’íyyih.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalls Shaykh Ṣádiq of Yazd, a man of constant prayer in Baghdád, whom He healed at Bahá’u’lláh’s bidding, and who later died on the road to Mosul, longing to reach his Lord.
Shaykh Salmán slipped out of arrest in Tihrán when a stranger mistook him for someone else. Every year afterwards he walked from Persia to Bahá'u'lláh, carrying the believers' letters and bringing back His Tablets.
Siyyid Ismá‘íl of Zavárih swept the doorstep of Bahá'u'lláh's house in Baghdad with his own turban each dawn. Transformed by His words, he at last gave up his life beside the river, an act Bahá'u'lláh recalls in the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalls Siyyid Muḥammad-Taqí Manshadí, who welcomed pilgrims at his little shop in Haifa, handled the Tablets and the believers' mail, stayed loyal to the Covenant, and carried on that service in Port Sa‘íd until his death.
A master cabinet-maker, poet and mathematician from Yazd entered Bahá’u’lláh’s presence almost daily in Baghdad, endured exile and hardship in Mosul, and spent his last days praying by the tomb of Bahá’u’lláh, longing for reunion.
Two carpenter brothers from Káshán, driven out by persecution, joined Bahá’u’lláh in ‘Iráq; by different roads, one through Adrianople and one through captivity in Mosul, both reached the prison of ‘Akká, where they worked at their craft, joyful and faithful to the end.
A prosperous builder in Ṭihrán left his work and possessions for the Faith, lost even his bride, walked on foot to the Most Great Prison singing an ode Bahá’u’lláh had written down for him, and ended his days content in a cave near Haifa.
A quiet master carpenter from Káshán joined Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad, endured captivity in Mosul, and after the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh made the glass roof over the inner courtyard of His Shrine.
On the evening of her wedding Munírih Khánum received Bahá’u’lláh’s blessing, then awaited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the bridal room. The service was very simple, with no choir, decorations or cake, just cups of tea.
Let these exalted words be thy love-song on the tree of Bahá, O thou most holy and resplendent Leaf: ‘God, besides Whom is none other God, the Lord of this world and the next!’
O My Leaf! Hearken thou unto My Voice: Verily there is none other God but Me, the Almighty, the All-Wise.
His nine-year-old son, later surnamed the ‘Most Great Branch’, destined to become the Centre of His Covenant and authorized Interpreter of His teachings, together with His seven-year-old sister …
Shoghi Effendi's tribute to Bahíyyih Khánum records the cost of the Adrianople exile to her own body — a winter of exceptional severity, a poor and unhealthy lodging, and dire financial distress that left her, as a young woman, with a permanent loss of vitality and a shadow on her face that would remain until the end of her life.
Shoghi Effendi's tribute to Bahíyyih Khánum recalls the years of crisis in Baghdád — when Mírzá Yaḥyá's faithlessness had unsettled the Bábí community and Bahá'u'lláh had retreated for two years to the mountains of Sulaymáníyyih — the tender solicitude she showed as a child in His absence, and the delicate, grave missions He entrusted to her in her teens.
Shoghi Effendi's tribute to Bahíyyih Khánum preserves a single small image from her childhood in Tihrán: when Bahá'u'lláh was thrown into the Síyáh-Chál and the family's wealth was seized within the space of a single day, Navváb — the mother — placed a handful of dry flour into the hand of her young daughter as the substitute for daily bread.
The position of Bahá’u’lláh among the Prophets is unprecedented and unique, because the condition of the world at the time of His advent was unprecedented and unique.
In making appointments, the only criterion must be fitness for the position.
Training in arts, sciences, crafts and useful professions is regarded as important and necessary.
Thus simply and serenely did Bahá’u’lláh pass the evening of His life on earth until, after an attack of fever, He passed away on the 29th of May, 1892, at the age of seventy-five.
Abbás Effendi, Who afterwards assumed the title of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (i.e.
Mírzá Ḥusayn ‘Alí, Who afterwards assumed the title of Bahá’u’lláh (i.e.
In *Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era*, Esslemont quotes the Cambridge orientalist Edward Granville Browne's account of meeting Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí in 1890: the face he could never forget, and the words he recalled hearing.
The journey to Constantinople lasted between three and four months, the party consisting of Bahá’u’lláh with members of His family and twenty-six disciples.
After much negotiation, at the request of the Persian Government, an order was issued by the Turkish Government summoning Bahá’u’lláh to Constantinople.
This terrible imprisonment lasted four months, but Bahá’u’lláh and His companions remained zealous and enthusiastic, in the greatest of happiness.
The Writings of Bahá’u’lláh are most comprehensive in their range, dealing with every phase of human life, individual and social, with things material and things spiritual, with the interpretation of ancient and modern scriptures …
At that time Akká (Acre) was a prison city to which the worst criminals were sent from all parts of the Turkish Empire.
The importance of the press as a means of diffusing knowledge and educating the people, and its power as a civilizing force, when rightly directed, are fully recognized by Bahá’u’lláh.
In the little book of Hidden Words, in which Bahá’u’lláh gives in brief the essence of the prophetic teachings, His first counsel refers to the individual life: “Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart.”
About this time Bahá’u’lláh wrote His famous letter to the Sulṭán of Turkey, many of the crowned heads of Europe, the Pope, and the Sháh of Persia.
Bahá’u’lláh tells us that the life in the flesh is but the embryonic stage of our existence, and that escape from the body is like a new birth through which the human spirit enters on a fuller, freer life.
Having in His earlier years of hardship shown how to glorify God in a state of poverty and ignominy, Bahá’u’lláh in His later years at Bahjí showed how to glorify God in a state of honor and affluence.
To know the Manifestation of God means also to love Him. One is impossible without the other. According to Bahá’u’lláh, the purpose of man’s creation is that he may know God and adore Him.
As to the manner of His coming at the end of the age, Christ said:— And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
The following particulars regarding the marriage of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá were kindly supplied to the writer by a Persian historian of the Bahá’í Faith:— During the youth of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the question of a suitable marriage for Him was naturally one …
Bahá’u’lláh, like Muḥammad, forbids His followers to lead lives of monastic seclusion.
In the year 1869 Bahá’u’lláh wrote to Napoleon III, rebuking him for his lust of war and for the contempt with which he had treated a former letter from Bahá’u’lláh.
As a religious body, Bahá’ís have, at the express command of Bahá’u’lláh, entirely abandoned the use of armed force in their own interests, even for strictly defensive purposes.
After His return from this retirement, His fame became greater than ever and people flocked to Baghdád from far and near to see Him and hear His teachings.
Esslemont records that Persian believers who walked to 'Akká to see Bahá'u'lláh were refused entry to the city, and stood on the plain outside the third moat, from where they could see the windows of His quarters.
Although advocating as the ideal condition a representative form of government, local, national and international, Bahá’u’lláh teaches that this is possible only when men have attained a sufficiently high degree of individual and social development.
The use of prayer is enjoined upon Bahá’ís in no uncertain terms.
Esslemont quotes Bahá'u'lláh's own description, from the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, of the dungeon in Tihrán where He was held for four months in 1852, with nearly a hundred and fifty fellow-prisoners.
Even when the imprisonment was at its worst, the Bahá’ís were not dismayed, and their serene confidence was never shaken.
A great stumbling block to many, in the way of religious unity, is the difference between the Revelations given by the different Prophets.
Bahá’u’lláh asked no one to accept His statements and His tokens blindly.
The Bahá’í doctrine of the unity of mankind strikes at the root of another cause of war, namely, racial prejudice.
According to the Bahá’í view, the problems of human life, individual and social, are so inconceivably complex that the ordinary human intellect is incapable of itself of solving them aright.
The state of the world today surely affords ample evidence that, with rare exceptions, people of all religions need to be reawakened to the real meaning of their religion; and that reawakening is an important part of the work of Bahá’u’lláh.
At last the imprisonment was mitigated. A mobilization of Turkish troops occurred and the barracks were required for soldiers.
In many of His conversations Christ speaks of the future Manifestation of God in the third person, but in others the first person is used.
Bahá’u’lláh forbids tyranny and oppression in the most emphatic terms.
Bahá’u’lláh enjoins justice on all His followers and defines it as:—“The freedom of man from superstition and imitation, so that he may discern the Manifestations of God with the eyes of Oneness, and consider all affairs with keen sight.”—Words of Wisdom.
Bahá’u’lláh constantly urges men to realize and give full expression to the perfections latent within them—the true inner self as distinguished from the limited outer self, which at best is but the temple, and too often is the prison of the real man.
Devotion to God implies also severance from everything that is not of God, severance, that is, from all selfish and worldly, and ever other-worldly desires.
In an account by 'Abdu'l-Bahá quoted in *Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era*, the Master tells how, after Bahá'u'lláh three times declined to leave 'Akká with the words "I am a prisoner," an Arab shaykh of the city pleaded with Him for a whole hour until He consented to go to the mansion of Mazra'ih.
In the Hebrew, Christian, Muḥammadan and many other Scriptures, there is a remarkable similarity in the description of the signs which are to accompany the coming of the Promised One.
About a year after coming to Baghdád, He departed alone into the wilderness of Sulaymáníyyih, taking with Him nothing but a change of clothes.
Another proposal frequently and powerfully advocated by Bahá’u’lláh was that a Universal League of Nations should be formed for the maintenance of international peace.
One of the most important instructions of Bahá’u’lláh in regard to the economic question is that all must engage in useful work.
From that time onwards, He became His father’s closest companion and, as it were, protector.
Wishing to help Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, a learned believer of Yazd took copper vessels from the city's mosques and sold them. Bahá'u'lláh accepted the money, then had it thrown into the river.
Tarázu'lláh Samandarí, a youth on pilgrimage in the last months of Bahá'u'lláh's life, recalls twice being present as Bahá'u'lláh revealed verses at great speed while His secretary wrote them down.
In Baghdád the divines of Karbilá and Najaf sent Mullá Hasan ‘Amú to ask Bahá’u’lláh for a miracle. He agreed, if they would first choose one and pledge in writing to accept His Cause; they did not dare.
As a young man visiting Yalrud, Bahá’u’lláh resolved a puzzle about a tradition concerning Fatimih that a famed mujtahid’s scholars could not answer, and the next day the mujtahid rebuked his disciples.
In Baghdád Bahá’u’lláh sent gifts to the poor of His neighbourhood, stopped each day to greet an eighty-year-old woman who waited for Him in the road, and arranged a daily allowance for her when He left the city.
At a gathering, a Sufi leader esteemed by Muhammad Shah boasted that he would not trouble to see Jesus Christ at his door. Bahá'u'lláh alone answered him, with a question that left all present speechless.
When a covetous governor of 'Akká plotted to imprison the Bahá'í shopkeepers, Bahá'u'lláh told the believers not to open their shops and to leave the matter in God's hands. Next morning a telegram arrived dismissing the governor.
When the authorities in Adrianople planned to part Bahá'u'lláh from His family and followers, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá pleaded, persisted and at last vehemently protested, until the governor declared that the exiles could not be separated.
A Bábí who had taken up arms for revenge fled to Hamadán and was arrested. A writing of Bahá'u'lláh forbidding retaliation fell from his collar, and after reading it the governor let him go.
On 22 April 1863 crowds of believers and admirers wept in the streets of Baghdad as Bahá'u'lláh left His house and was ferried across the river to the garden that His followers named the Garden of Riḍván.
When Bahá’u’lláh was a child, His father dreamed that He swam in a limitless ocean with a multitude of fishes clinging to His hair. A renowned soothsayer interpreted the dream as a sign of His future ascendancy.
In 1835 Bahá’u’lláh married Ásíyih Khánum. Known as the Father of the Poor and the Mother of Consolation, they cared for the needy while His father's fortunes collapsed and the family moved to a rented house in Tehrán.
During a visit to 'Akká, Ḥájí Mírzá Ḥaydar-'Alí was allowed into Bahá'u'lláh's presence while verses were being revealed, and he left a brief account of that memorable occasion.
On his first pilgrimage, around 1878–79, Varqá heard Bahá’u’lláh’s words recall a forgotten childhood dream, and later Bahá’u’lláh answered a doubt Varqá had never spoken aloud.
Bahá’u’lláh recalls how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá served the Cause in Adrianople and ‘Akká, facing the world on His Father’s behalf and securing the mansions of Mazra‘ih and Bahjí.
Two brothers of Isfahan who met the Báb as boys and later Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad became prosperous merchants, renowned for their honesty and for spending their wealth on the poor and on Bahá’u’lláh’s companions.
Bahá'u'lláh intended His niece Shahr-Banu Khanum to marry His eldest Son, but relatives in Tihran prevented the match and forced her into another marriage, which left her in lasting grief.
Told he might visit Bahá’u’lláh once he owed no man anything, the Egyptian merchant ‘Abdu’l-Karím spent five years paying his debts, arrived at Haifa penniless, and was found at the dock by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
In Baghdad in 1862 the Báb's eldest uncle, still doubtful of his Nephew's claim, brought his questions to Bahá'u'lláh, Who answered them in two days and two nights with the Kitáb-i-Íqán, the Book of Certitude.
In June 1870 Mírzá Mihdí, the Purest Branch, fell through a skylight while praying on the roof of the barracks in 'Akká. Offered recovery by Bahá'u'lláh, he asked instead that his life be accepted as a ransom so that the believers might enter His presence.
Tarázu'lláh Samandarí recalls hearing Bahá'u'lláh chant the Tablet of the Sultán on the First Day of Riḍván and handing roses to the friends at His bidding, and a later Riḍván in the Garden of Riḍván.
Hájí Muhammad-Táhir-i-Malmírí recalls how Bahá'u'lláh answered the question about the Imams he had carried in his heart for months, and how, when he longed for martyrdom, Bahá'u'lláh told him he must live to serve the Cause.
In the prison barracks of 'Akká the devoted Mírzá Ja'far fell ill and breathed his last. Bahá'u'lláh said to chant the prayer "O Thou, the Healer", and before an hour had passed he sat up, laughing and joking.
Born at sunrise in Tihrán into a noble family, Bahá'u'lláh never went to school, yet as a youth He explained a question a famous scholar's students could not, and rode to Tihrán to stop an injustice against His father.
When Bahá'u'lláh withdrew to the mountains for two years, the young 'Abdu'l-Bahá prayed, read the writings of the Báb and helped His family. After His Father returned, He helped Him by receiving those who came to visit.
On the night Bahá'u'lláh moved to the Mansion of Bahjí, Nabíl and Hájí Muḥammad-Ṭáhir followed Him to circumambulate it and found its paths crowded with a mysterious throng. Bahá'u'lláh later named them Bulbul and Bahháj.
Ásíyih Khánum shared fifty years of Bahá'u'lláh's life, through exile and imprisonment. Her daughter and granddaughter remember her gentleness, her unselfishness and her simple, prayerful life.
A man who once set out to kill a Bahá'í becomes a believer, walks six months to 'Akká, and passes unseen through the guarded prison gate into the presence of Bahá'u'lláh.
Moved to tears by verses Nabíl read to him, the unruly youth Áqá Buzurg walks to 'Akká, meets Bahá'u'lláh twice, receives the name Badí, and is given the task of carrying His Tablet to the Sháh.
The youth Buzurg of Nayshábúr walks to 'Akká, is named Badí by Bahá'u'lláh, and carries His Tablet on foot to Násiri'd-Dín Sháh, giving his life rather than betray his fellow believers.
Honest Bahá'í pioneers in Egypt build a thriving store and send Bahá'u'lláh a money belt full of gold. When riots leave the store in ashes, the belt comes back to them by post, untouched.
A life of Bahá'u'lláh for children: His boyhood in Tihrán, His refusal of His father's post, the Báb's letter brought by Mullá Ḥusayn, prison and exile, and His declaration in the Garden of Riḍván.
When Bahá'u'lláh was a child, His father dreamed that He swam in a huge ocean while many fishes held on to His hair and followed Him. A wise man explained what the dream meant.
Running late for Feast, a father tells his son how the merchant ‘Azíz, delayed in Istanbul by unsold goods, met the father of Badí' and became a Bahá'í. When they arrive, they learn why their own delay was a blessing.
Túbá Khánum, a daughter of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, recalls how in 'Akká her grandfather Bahá'u'lláh let the children choose cloth for their frocks, saved sweets for them and promised picnics at the Riḍván.
During His two years in the mountains of Kurdistan, Bahá'u'lláh, dressed as a dervish, comforts a weeping schoolboy and writes out a copy for him. The teacher sees that the writing is royal penmanship.
A grandfather tells his grandson how the Báb's eldest uncle, unsure that his Nephew could be a Messenger of God, took his questions to Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, and how the Kitáb-i-Íqán was revealed in two days and two nights.
As a youth visiting Núr, Bahá'u'lláh explained a question that a famous mujtahid's two hundred students could not answer. The mujtahid then told his students of two dreams he had had about Him.
In a children's class, Ms. Bates uses chains no one can break to explain how Bahá'u'lláh, though still a prisoner, walked out of the prison of 'Akká after nine years and made His home in a mansion.
As a child at His brother's wedding in Tihrán, Bahá'u'lláh watched a puppet show of a king and his court, then saw the whole court carried away in a box. From that day the world's trappings seemed to Him like that spectacle.
During a day in the Garden of Junaynih with the pilgrims, Bahá'u'lláh sends them to welcome 'Abdu'l-Bahá as He arrives from 'Akká, and says that with the Master's presence the garden has become truly most delightful.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalls her mother Ásíyih Khánum's marriage to Bahá'u'lláh, her forty mules of wedding treasures, and their life of caring for the poor. The jewelled buttons were later exchanged for bread on the road to exile.
The Greatest Holy Leaf tells Lady Blomfield of her family's winter exile from Tihrán to Baghdád: her father still ill from the Síyáh-Chál, the youngest child left behind, and her mother riding a jolting mule through the snow.
While living as a dervish in the mountains of Kurdistán, Bahá'u'lláh found a boy weeping because his schoolmaster had punished him for bad writing, and wrote out a copy for him in His own hand.
For two years after Bahá'u'lláh withdrew from Baghdád, His family did not know where He was. His daughter Bahíyyih Khánum remembered those hard years and the day He came home dressed as a dervish.
Exiled from Tihrán in midwinter, Bahá'u'lláh's family travelled four weeks to Baghdád. Ásíyih Khánum sold her last treasures for the journey, washed the family's clothes with her own hands, and once, in the dark, made Him a cake with salt instead of sugar.
In 1851 Bahá'u'lláh visited Karbilá. There He met the aged Shaykh Ḥasan-i-Zunúzí, whom the Báb had sent to wait in that city to see the promised Ḥusayn, and confided His secret to him.
During Bahá'u'lláh's twelve days in the Garden of Riḍván in 1863, roses were heaped so high in His tent that the companions could not see one another across them, and at night He spoke of the sleepless nightingales.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalls the order for a new banishment from Adrianople, the believers' grief at a threatened separation from Bahá'u'lláh, the wait at Gallipoli, and the crowded eleven-day voyage that followed.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalls the night Bahá’u’lláh came home to His family in Baghdád after more than two years as a dervish in the mountains, and how the young Abbas Effendi threw Himself at His Father’s feet, weeping.
Writing a century after the death of Mirza Mihdi, the Purest Branch, the Universal House of Justice recalls his dying plea to his Father and the words in which Bahá’u’lláh revealed the meaning of his sacrifice.
As a child at a family wedding in Tihrán, Bahá'u'lláh watched a puppet play of a king and his court, then saw the whole show carried away in a box. He later wrote that the world's trappings have seemed to Him ever since like that spectacle.
In the *Epistle to the Son of the Wolf*, Bahá'u'lláh recounts a vision in which Trustworthiness itself, standing on a pillar of light, declares that it is the most great ornament of the people of Bahá and the supreme instrument for the prosperity of the world.
Stripped of His possessions since the Síyáh-Chál, Bahá’u’lláh lived simply; once He gave a companion bound for Istanbul an old pair of His slippers so that new shoes of the right size could be bought.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalled that four days before the exiles left the garden outside Baghdád in 1863, Bahá’u’lláh told ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and then four others, that He was the One promised by the Báb, asking them to keep it secret.
In January 1853 Bahá’u’lláh, banished from Persia, set out with His family for Baghdad; through the worst of the winter they crossed the snow-bound mountains and reached the city in April.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalled how, on the 1863 journey from Baghdád to Constantinople, her brother ‘Abdu’l-Bahá guarded Bahá’u’lláh day and night, snatching sleep ahead of the caravan with His head on His horse’s neck.
Nabíl-i-Akbar, the only disciple Shaykh Murtadá raised to the rank of mujtahid, was found kneeling humbly before Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad. Driven later from Qá'in, he taught in disguise and died penniless in Bukhárá.
Mishkín-Qalam, the leading calligrapher of Persia, signed his work as a bondsman at the door of Bahá'u'lláh. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's memorial follows him from Adrianople to Constantinople, where he was slandered, to captivity in Famagusta and his last years as the Master's close companion.
In Bahá'u'lláh's house in Baghdad, a Persian prince asked Ismu'lláhu'l-Asdaq who he was. The renowned teacher answered that he was one of the keepers of the door, then gently won the angry prince over as 'Abdu'l-Bahá listened from a room above.
In Baghdád a Persian consul and hostile shaykhs summoned the divines of Karbilá and Najaf to move against Bahá'u'lláh and His fellow exiles. The foremost of them, Shaykh Murtadá, refused to pronounce them infidels, and the scheme failed.
Ḥájí Muḥammad Khán, a Balúch dervish, searched far and wide for a true guide and found none until he attained the presence of Bahá'u'lláh in the Most Great Prison. He went back to share the news with his old friends, then settled near Bahá'u'lláh.
Ḥájí Muḥammad Khán left home young as a wandering dervish in search of a true guide. He found what he sought in the presence of Bahá'u'lláh, told his family not to wait for his return, and later made his home near the Most Great Prison.
When thieves stole his few goods, Ḥájí ‘Alí-‘Askar refused the Persian Consul's demand that he swear to a far larger loss. Later, a prisoner with his family in 'Akká, he gave thanks to God even when all of them lay ill.
The divines gathered at Káẓimayn sent an envoy to Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád to ask for a miracle. He agreed, on condition that they choose one miracle together and put their promise in writing. They let the matter drop.
In Constantinople Bahá'u'lláh declined to call on the Ottoman ministers or seek their favour. Less than four months later He was banished to Adrianople, and He answered the edict with a Tablet sent to the Grand Vizir.
In 'Akká, a bookbinder from Iṣfahán kept the square in front of Bahá'u'lláh's house swept and sprinkled at all times, and Bahá'u'lláh would smile and praise what he had made of it.
A dervish poet who found Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád asked to join His exile as a groom, walking beside the convoy by day and singing. In the barracks of 'Akká, Bahá'u'lláh dedicated a special night to him.
Believers who came into the presence of Bahá'u'lláh found they could not look steadily at His face. One pilgrim spilt his tea without noticing, and a Cambridge scholar wrote that he could never forget it.
In the village of Manshad a boy heard chanting at secret meetings and asked the Babi doctor Radiu'r-Ruh what it meant. The doctor warned that telling him could cost many lives, then taught him; later he was poisoned for his faith.
Pilgrims walking from Persia carried plants for Bahá'u'lláh's garden near 'Akká. After nine years within the prison city's walls, He was persuaded to leave them, and the Sultán's farmán against Him became a dead letter.
Muḥammad-Hádí, a bookbinder and illuminator from Iṣfáhán, kept the square before Bahá'u'lláh's house in 'Akká so clean that Bahá'u'lláh said he had turned it into the bridalbower of a palace.
Pilgrims who had walked from Persia were refused entry to 'Akká and could only glimpse Bahá'u'lláh at a window from beyond the moat. Another pilgrim, Ustád Ismá'íl-i-Káshí, gazed for hours, but his sight was too weak to see His face.
In Baghdad a secret midnight audience with Bahá'u'lláh was requested. The reply was a verse He had composed in the wilderness of Kurdistan, and it told plainly what coming to Him would cost.
In August 1868, exiled from Adrianople to Gallipoli with no one sure where they would be sent next, Bahá'u'lláh gave the departing escort officer a message for the Sultan and warned His companions of the hardships ahead.
After 'Abdu'l-Bahá settled a Baghdád jeweller's estate among his quarrelling heirs in a single day, the son offered Him a ruby ring. Years later, in 'Akká, He sent it to India to be sold for the sick, and the money never came.
Two brothers died on the same night in the barracks of 'Akká. The guards demanded payment to bury them, and the exiles had no money, so Bahá'u'lláh gave the prayer carpet that had been placed beneath His feet to be sold.
The Persian Ambassador's intrigues helped bring about Bahá'u'lláh's banishment from Constantinople. Nearly thirty years later, in the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Bahá'u'lláh testified to the ambassador's honesty in his service and said he deserved commendation.
In 1868 soldiers surrounded Bahá'u'lláh's house in Adrianople. On the road to Gallipoli He began the Súriy-i-Ra'ís, addressed to the Ottoman Prime Minister, writing that though armed troops surrounded Him He remained in a state of utmost joy.
Badí', a youth of seventeen, carried Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet to Náṣiri'd-Dín Sháh on foot from 'Akká to Ṭihrán, delivered it to the king, and was tortured and put to death for it.
In Adrianople Bahá'u'lláh began to proclaim His Mission to the kings of the world in the Súriy-i-Mulúk and other Tablets, and from the prison of 'Akká He wrote to Napoleon III, Queen Victoria, the Czar and the Pope.
In 1870 Mírzá Mihdí, Bahá'u'lláh's son, fell through a skylight in the barracks of 'Akká. Offered his recovery, he asked instead that his life be a ransom for the believers kept from Bahá'u'lláh's presence.
On the ninth day after Bahá'u'lláh's passing, His Book of the Covenant was unsealed and read aloud at His Tomb. In it He directed His family and followers to turn to 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
In Adrianople a messenger of Bahá'u'lláh foretold to Haji Mirza Haydar-'Ali how a devoted merchant, granted wealth, would fall away, lose everything and at last return to serve the Cause as a poor man.
'Abdu'l-Bahá tells how Nabíl-i-Zarandí, who had spent his life in the service of Bahá'u'lláh, was overwhelmed with grief when Bahá'u'lláh passed away in 1892, and could not bear to live on without Him.
Esslemont's account of Bahá'u'lláh's birth in Tihrán on 12 November 1817, His wisdom and generosity as a youth, His refusal of His father's post in the Ministry, and His acceptance of the Báb's Cause in 1844.
In April 1863, before His exile to Constantinople, Bahá'u'lláh spent twelve days in the Garden of Najíb Páshá outside Baghdád, and there announced that He was the One whose coming the Báb had foretold.
Bahá'u'lláh entered the Garden of Riḍván outside Baghdád on April 22, 1863. The river overflowed, and His family could not join Him there until the ninth day, which Bahá'ís now keep as a Holy Day.
At noon on May 3, 1863, the twelfth day of the Festival of Riḍván, Bahá'u'lláh rode out of the Garden of Riḍván and set out from Baghdád for Constantinople, as crowds of believers and others lamented His departure.
Bahá’u’lláh was born in Tehran in 1817. As He grew, His father, Mirza Buzurg, marvelled at His wisdom, dreamed of Him swimming in a boundless ocean, and heard a soothsayer foretell that no one could stand in His way.
The first of the Arabic Hidden Words, revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád, gives His first counsel: to possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart.
The twelfth Hidden Word in Arabic — Bahá'u'lláh's reminder that the soul was made with the hands of power, and that within it He has placed the essence of His light.
The twenty-second Arabic Hidden Word tells the soul that it was created noble yet has abased itself, and calls it to rise unto that for which it was created.
The second Hidden Word in Arabic names justice — *the best beloved of all things in My sight* — and explains it not as rule of law but as the soul's capacity to see with its own eyes and know with its own knowledge.
The third Hidden Word in Arabic — Bahá'u'lláh's word that the human soul was created out of His love, engraved with His image and shown His beauty.
The fortieth Hidden Word in Arabic — Bahá'u'lláh's image of the soul's rest: that no journey through space and no traversal of the heavens can bring it, save submission to His command and humbleness before His Face.
The fifth Hidden Word in Arabic — Bahá'u'lláh's brief reciprocal of love between God and the soul.
In the fifty-ninth Arabic Hidden Word, the Voice of God calls the human heart His home and bids that it be sanctified for His descent.
The sixty-fourth Hidden Word in Arabic — Bahá'u'lláh's word that He has created His eternity and wrought His unity for the soul, and His call to the soul to clothe itself therewith.
The sixty-third Hidden Word in Persian — Bahá'u'lláh's warning to the peoples of the world that their deeds have not been effaced in His sight, but are graven upon tablets of chrysolite.
The third Hidden Word in Persian — Bahá'u'lláh's tender injunction that the believer plant naught but the rose of love in the garden of the heart, hold fast to the nightingale of affection and desire, and treasure the companionship of the righteous.
The sixty-ninth Persian Hidden Word — Bahá'u'lláh's call that holy words and pure and goodly deeds ascend unto the heaven of celestial glory, and that deeds be cleansed from the dust of self and hypocrisy.
The fifth Hidden Word in Persian — Bahá'u'lláh's warning that the most negligent of men is he that disputeth idly and seeketh to advance himself over his brother, and His counsel: Let deeds, not words, be your adorning.
The forty-fourth Persian Hidden Word — Bahá'u'lláh's counsel to hear, see and speak no evil, to magnify not the faults of others, and to live the fleeting days of this life with a stainless mind and a sanctified nature.
The ninth Hidden Word in Arabic — Bahá'u'lláh's image of His love as a stronghold: he that entereth therein is safe and secure, and he that turneth away shall surely stray and perish.
The seventy-third Persian Hidden Word — Bahá'u'lláh's testimony that the soul is the daystar of the heavens of His holiness, and His call to let not the defilement of the world eclipse its splendor but to rend asunder the veil of heedlessness.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalls how, after Bahá’u’lláh withdrew from Baghdád, her brother ‘Abdu’l-Bahá grieved deeply and spent His days copying and memorizing the tablets of the Báb.
Ibn-i-Asdaq begged Bahá’u’lláh for the station of utter self-sacrifice. In a Tablet of January 1880, Bahá’u’lláh answered that service to the Cause is the greatest of deeds and that one may live and yet be counted a martyr.
In Persia in the early days of the Faith, a mujtahid of Yazd threatened to punish a kebab-shop worker for chopping meat to a rhythm. In such a society, Bahá’u’lláh declared music a means of upliftment and joy.
At a feast on the first day of Ayyám-i-Há, nearly two hundred believers gathered in a tent at Mazra'ih, and Bahá'u'lláh called Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ṭáhir-i-Málmírí by name to sit at His table.
Áqá ‘Alí worked all day and had friends to supper almost every night, teaching them the Faith. Later, poor in ‘Akká, he lived on bread and brook water and was content, because he could come into Bahá'u'lláh's presence.
When Áqá Faraj first heard of Bahá'u'lláh, he clapped his hands for joy and hurried to Iraq to meet Him. Later he went on foot to Adrianople and followed Bahá'u'lláh into the prison of ‘Akká, where he served Him faithfully.
In Adrianople, where food was scarce, Áqá Ḥusayn, Bahá'u'lláh's cook, saved meat and oil until he could cook a meal, and measured the coal for every brazier. When Bahá'u'lláh heard of it, He was amused and agreed such care was needed.
Four brothers in Baghdad came to love Bahá'u'lláh by watching Him come and go near their house. They accepted the Faith at once, and later bore captivity and famine in Mosul with patience.
As a young boy, Ibn-i-Asdaq travelled with his father to Baghdad and met Bahá'u'lláh several times. Bahá'u'lláh revealed a prayer for him, and years later named him a Hand of the Cause of God.
When Ibn-i-Abhar, a Hand of the Cause, asked Bahá'u'lláh for guidance, Bahá'u'lláh told him to consult with steadfast believers and act on their decision. He later taught across Persia, the Caucasus and India and promoted the education of women.
Two brothers followed Bahá'u'lláh from Adrianople into the prison of 'Akká, where both fell ill and died on the same night. Bahá'u'lláh had the prayer carpet from under His feet sold to pay the guards for their burial.
Seized by his persecutors after the upheaval in Nayríz, Muḥammad-Ibráhím Amír broke free and escaped to Iraq. There he copied sacred verses, and he served in Bahá'u'lláh's household through every exile to 'Akká.
Áqá Muḥammad-Ibráhím, a coppersmith and poet from Káshán, met Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, was exiled to Mosul, and later served the believers and travellers in Haifa, spending what he earned on friends and strangers.
Ḥájí ‘Abdu’lláh left Persia for the Holy Land, farmed for a time at Ghawr near Tiberias while spending much of his time in prayer, and then settled near Bahá'u'lláh at Junayna.
When thieves stole a little merchandise from ‘Alí-‘Askar, the Persian Consul wanted him to say the loss was enormous. He refused to lie, even when the Consul threatened him.
Hájí Áqáy-i-Tabrízí was driven from his home in Ádhirbáyján because of his faith. He fled to Adrianople, went with Bahá'u'lláh as a prisoner to ‘Akká, and died there.
Faraju'lláh of Tafrísh and his father left Persia to live near Bahá'u'lláh in Adrianople. He went with Bahá'u'lláh to the prison of ‘Akká, and later lived for many years in India.
For decades Abu'l-Hasan of Ardikan carried the believers' letters and offerings to Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá'u'lláh made him Trustee of the Ḥuqúqu'lláh, and the Bahá'ís came to call him Hájí Amín.
Mírzá Ḥasan, a relative of the Báb, was a merchant and scholar who came to love Bahá'u'lláh deeply. He settled near Bahjí to be close to Him, and died soon after Bahá'u'lláh's passing.
Hájí Mírzá Músá wanted to give Bahá'u'lláh the house in Baghdád where He had lived. Bahá'u'lláh refused the gift and had the house bought at a fair price, and it became the Most Great House.
The Báb's three uncles came to His Faith at different times: one early, who died among the Seven Martyrs of Ṭihrán; one after Bahá'u'lláh answered his questions in the Kitáb-i-Íqán; and one some years later.
Ḥájí Muḥammad Khán, a wandering seeker from Sístán, found what he had long searched for when he heard the call of Bahá'u'lláh. He shared the news with his old friends and then came to live near Bahá'u'lláh.
In 1889 an elderly Bahá'í was killed in the bazaar of 'Ishqábád. For the first time, the killers of a Bahá'í were brought to justice, and then the Bahá'ís asked that their lives be spared.
Ḥájí Muḥammad-Riḍá of Shíráz served one of the Báb's relatives for many years, then came to the Holy Land and spent a long time near Bahá'u'lláh, Who often spoke in his praise.
Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ṭáhir, a weaver of Yazd, asked Bahá'u'lláh to let him die as a martyr and was told he would live long to teach the Cause. He lived to be a hundred, teaching and caring for the families of the martyrs.
Ḥájí Mullá Mihdí, who made rose-water in Yazd, was driven from his city for his faith. He set out with two of his sons to reach Bahá'u'lláh, teaching along the way, and died at Mazra'ih, close to the Mansion.
Mírzá Músá, the younger brother of Bahá'u'lláh, was raised by Him, wanted no rank or office, and went with Him through every exile, from Ṭihrán to Baghdad, Constantinople, Adrianople and the prison of 'Akká.
In the prison city of 'Akká, Husayn-Áqá served coffee to every visitor for forty years without offending anyone, and he stayed loyal to the Covenant even though he was bound by close family ties to some who broke it.
Husayn Effendi, a young merchant from Tabríz, heard of Bahá'u'lláh in Smyrna, left his business to serve Him, and later made his home in Haifa a resting place for Bahá'í travellers.
Jináb-i-Muníb, a poet and calligrapher who had once loved an easy life, walked with Bahá'u'lláh's party from Baghdad to Constantinople, and later, though gravely ill, went with Him into exile and died at Smyrna.
Mashhadí Faṭṭáḥ lost everything he owned, yet he lived content in the prison of 'Akká, always remembering God. When Bahá'u'lláh passed away, he died of grief.
Two believers from Ádhirbáyján followed Bahá'u'lláh to Adrianople and then to 'Akká, where they farmed, fell ill in the heat, and died giving thanks to God.
A learned head of a religious college in Iran saw Bahá'u'lláh's prophecies come true and became a Bahá'í. As Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl he taught the Faith in Iran, Egypt, Paris and America.
Mírzá Áqáy-i-Rikáb-Sáz of Shíráz asked Bahá'u'lláh to explain the isolated letters of the Qur'án, and received the Tablet of the Verse of Light. He was later martyred for his faith.
A learned man from Yazd became a carpenter and a servant to all the friends, and in the prison of 'Akká, after he had stopped breathing, Bahá'u'lláh told the friends to chant the prayer of Yá Sháfí and he recovered.
Mírzá Mihdí, the youngest son of Bahá'u'lláh, fell through a skylight in the prison of 'Akká and, as he lay dying, asked that his life be accepted as a sacrifice so that pilgrims could reach his Father.
Mírzá Mihdí of Káshán was mocked in his home town for his faith, went to Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád, endured exile in Mosul, and at last reached the prison of 'Akká, where he died.
From a rooftop in 'Akká, 'Abdu'l-Bahá saw a distant carriage and sensed that a holy being was in it. It was the Afnán, Ḥájí Mírzá Muḥammad-‘Alí, whose burial years later near Baghdád 'Abdu'l-Bahá guided by letter.
As boys, two brothers of Isfahan served the Báb at their father's banquet. They grew up to be honest, generous merchants and devoted Bahá'ís, were put to death in 1879, and were named by Bahá'u'lláh the King and the Beloved of Martyrs.
Bahá'u'lláh's younger brother, Mírzá Muḥammad-Qulí, served Him quietly all his life: passing the tea, pitching the tents on the road to Constantinople, and sharing His exile in ‘Akká.
Mírzá Muhammad, a respected young scholar of Iṣfahán, left a comfortable life to serve the believers and travellers in the prison-city of 'Akká, and after Bahá'u'lláh's passing he wasted away with longing.
Mírzá Mustafá of Naráq gave up everything for the Faith and taught it openly in Tabríz. When the men sent to arrest him doubted they had the right man, he took off his hat to show his long hair and said, "I am the one."
Muḥammad-‘Alí of Iṣfahán followed Bahá'u'lláh from Baghdád to Adrianople and into the prison of ‘Akká. A prisoner for the rest of his life, he was known there for his contentment and joy.
Muḥammad-‘Alí Ṣabbáq could not read or write, but he followed Bahá'u'lláh from Baghdád to Constantinople, Adrianople and ‘Akká. He spent his last years near Bahá'u'lláh's Shrine.
Muḥammad-Hádí, a gifted bookbinder from Iṣfahán, left his home to live near Bahá'u'lláh in ‘Akká. He kept the square in front of Bahá'u'lláh's house so clean that Bahá'u'lláh praised him for it.
Áqá Muḥammad of Iṣfahán served the King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs, then went to ‘Akká, where he was given the honor of sweeping the ground at Bahá'u'lláh's door.
Mullá ‘Alí-Akbar studied for years without finding joy until he found the new Faith. Mocked and often arrested in Ṭihrán, he stayed calm and faithful, and he was kept safe from harm.
When Ásíyih Khánum married Bahá'u'lláh, forty mules carried her wedding treasures. Together they cared for the poor, and when hard times came, her jewels paid for food and her gold buttons were traded for bread.
Bahíyyih Khánum remembers the freezing winter journey her family made from Tihrán to Baghdád when she was six, and how her mother never complained.
In 1852, while Bahá'u'lláh lay chained in the Black Pit, His wife went out late at night to learn whether He was still alive, and six-year-old Bahíyyih Khánum waited in the dark holding her baby brother.
For two years Bahíyyih Khánum and her family did not know where Bahá'u'lláh had gone, until news of a holy dervish in the mountains led to His return.
The Báb told Shaykh Ḥasan to wait in Karbilá, where he would see the promised Ḥusayn. Years later, at the gate of a shrine there, Bahá'u'lláh took him by the hand.
In a garden outside Baghdád, roses were piled so high in Bahá'u'lláh's tent that His friends could not see one another across them, and at night the nightingales sang until dawn.
From exile in Adrianople, and then from prison in 'Akká, Bahá'u'lláh wrote to the kings and rulers of the world, calling them to justice and to God.
After Bahá'u'lláh passed away, a document He had written and sealed was opened and read aloud. In it He told everyone to turn to His eldest Son, 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Nabíl followed Bahá'u'lláh from 'Iráq to 'Akká, teaching His Cause wherever he went. When Bahá'u'lláh passed away in 1892, Nabíl's grief was more than he could bear.
Bahá'u'lláh was born in Tihrán in 1817. As a youth He was wise, kind and generous, turned down His father's post in the government, and was later called the Father of the Poor.
When Bahá'u'lláh was ordered to leave Baghdád, He stayed for twelve days in a garden of roses by the Tigris, and there told His followers that He was the Promised One the Báb had foretold.
When Bahá'u'lláh went to the Garden of Riḍván, the river overflowed, and His family could not join Him there until the ninth day.
Bahá'u'lláh was being sent far away from Baghdád, yet in His last days there He showed great joy, and crowds, even the Governor, came to honor Him before He rode away.
A boy was crying because his teacher had punished him for poor handwriting. A dervish in the mountains, who was Bahá'u'lláh, wrote out a copy for him to learn from.
On the winter journey into exile from Tihrán to Baghdád, Ásíyih Khánum cared for her family with her own hands, and one night made Bahá'u'lláh a cake in the dark, using salt instead of sugar.
Nabíl describes the self-forgetting companions of Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad, where ten persons often lived on a pennyworth of dates and no one knew whose shoes and cloaks were whose.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalls the caravan of about seventy-five people that set out from Baghdad with Bahá’u’lláh in 1863, and how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá guarded His father day and night on the journey.
Bahíyyih Khánum remembers the day Bahá’u’lláh, disguised as a dervish, came home to Baghdad after two years in the mountains, and the simple food He had lived on there.
Another of those who left their homeland to become our neighbors and fellow prisoners was ‘Abdu’l-Ghaffár of Iṣfáhán.
When he was very young, people thought of ‘Abdu’lláh Baghdádí as a libertine, solely devoted to pleasure.
This was a patient and long-enduring man, a native of Káshán.
Among those who emigrated and were companions in the Most Great Prison was Áqá ‘Abdu’s-Ṣáliḥ.
Another among the prisoners was Abu’l-Qásim of Sulṭán-Ábád, the traveling companion of Áqá Faraj.
Also among the emigrants and near neighbors was Áqá ‘Alí Najaf-Ábádí.
In all these straits, Áqá Faraj was the companion of Abu’l-Qásim.
These two blessed souls, Mírzá Maḥmúd of Káshán and Áqá Riḍá of Shíráz, were like two lamps lit with God’s love from the oil of His knowledge.
Two brothers of Pahlaván Riḍá, brought as captives to 'Akká, died on the same night in each other's arms. Bahá'u'lláh gave the prayer carpet from beneath His feet to be sold to pay the guards, and the brothers share one grave.
'Abdu'l-Bahá remembers Áqá Riḍá of Shíráz and Mírzá Maḥmúd of Káshán, who walked ahead of Bahá'u'lláh's howdah from Baghdád to Constantinople, cooked and cared for the exiles each night, and served for fifty-five years.
This man of God came from the district of Tafrísh. He was detached from the world, fearless, independent of kindred and stranger alike.
Fáṭimih Begum, widow of the King of Martyrs, was orphaned young and left destitute when her husband was martyred. She bore every loss with thanks, until the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh proved more than she could endure.
Áqá Ṣidq-‘Alí was yet one more of those who left their native land, journeyed to Bahá’u’lláh and were put in the Prison.
Ḥájí ‘Abdu’r-Raḥím of Yazd was a precious soul, from his earliest years virtuous and God-fearing, and known among the people as a holy man, peerless in observing his religious duties, mindful as to his acts. His strong religious faith…
'Abdu'l-Bahá remembers His uncle Mírzá Músá, Áqáy-i-Kalím, the true brother of Bahá'u'lláh, who shared His exiles from Ṭihrán to 'Akká and remained steadfast to the very end.
Yet another of the emigrants and settlers was the valiant Jamshíd-i-Gurjí, who came from Georgia, but grew up in the city of Káshán.
Jináb-i-Muníb, a calligrapher, poet and singer of Káshán, walked beside Bahá'u'lláh's howdah from Baghdád to Constantinople. Gravely ill on the voyage to 'Akká, he was put ashore at Smyrna, where his grave lies.
Among the exiles, neighbors, and prisoners there was also a second Mír Imád, the eminent calligrapher, Mishkín-Qalam.
In the flower of tender youth, Muḥammad-‘Alí, the illumined, heard the cry of God, and lost his heart to heavenly grace.
Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá was a blazing light.
The late Pidar-Ján was among those believers who emigrated to Baghdád.
Sháh-Muḥammad, who had the title of Amín, the Trusted One, was among the earliest of believers, and most deeply enamored.
Khurshíd Begum, who was given the title of Shamsu’d-Ḍuḥá, the Morning Sun, was mother-in-law to the King of Martyrs.
Sulaymán Khán was the emigrant and settler who was given the title of Jamálí’d-Dín.
One of the emigrants who died along the way to the Holy Land was Zaynu’l-Ábidín of Yazd.
This distinguished man was one of the greatest of all the Báb’s companions and all the loved ones of Bahá’u’lláh.
Munírih Khánum, wife of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, recalls losing five children in 'Akká, the words Bahá'u'lláh wrote to her when her little son Ḥusayn died, and the wisdom she came to see in it.
Ṭúbá Khánum, a granddaughter of Bahá'u'lláh, recalls His last illness at Bahjí in 1892, His final words to the believers and the family, and the nine days of mourning the Master arranged after His passing.
Nabíl-i-Zarandí left his family in youth, sought out Bahá'u'lláh, and spent his life travelling and teaching at His direction. 'Abdu'l-Bahá records his devotion and his grief at Bahá'u'lláh's passing.
Pidar-Ján, a poor old believer in Baghdád, sold socks for a living but was so absorbed in prayer that thieves took them from his outstretched hands. The friends called him Father Dear.
After Bahá'u'lláh's ascension, 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked the chronicler Nabíl to select passages from Bahá'u'lláh's Writings to form the Tablet of Visitation, the text now recited in the Shrines of Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb.
'Údí Khammár built the Mansion of Bahjí for his own family. After an epidemic, 'Abdu'l-Bahá rented it for Bahá'u'lláh, who lived there from 1879 until His ascension in 1892.
'Abdu'l-Bahá remembers Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá Baghdádí, a fearless believer of Iraq who settled in Beirut to help pilgrims on their way to and from 'Akká, and who stood firm in the Covenant after Bahá'u'lláh's ascension.
Túbá Khánum, a daughter of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, remembers Bahá'u'lláh's last illness at Bahjí, His farewell to the family, and the nine days of mourning in which the Master received more than five hundred guests and gave to the poor.
J. E. Esslemont tells how 'Abdu'l-Bahá arranged for Bahá'u'lláh to leave the prison-city of 'Akká for the countryside, how He lived simply at Bahjí, and how He passed away there on 29 May 1892.
Six days before His ascension in May 1892, Bahá'u'lláh called the believers and pilgrims at the Mansion of Bahjí to His bedside, thanked them for their services, and prayed that God would assist them to remain united.
Bahá'u'lláh wrote His Will and Testament, the Kitáb-i-'Ahd, in His own hand and entrusted it to 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His last illness. Opened nine days after His ascension, it directed His family and followers to turn to the Most Mighty Branch.
Bahá'u'lláh ascended at Bahjí at dawn on 29 May 1892. A telegram beginning "the Sun of Bahá has set" carried the news to the Sultan, and for a week mourners of many faiths gathered at Bahjí to grieve with His family.
In the last year of His life, Bahá'u'lláh addressed His last outstanding Tablet to a cleric of Iṣfahán whose father had condemned two beloved believers. He called him to repent and quoted many passages from His own earlier Writings.
In Adrianople, years before His ascension, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Ghuṣn, the Tablet of the Branch, which praises the station of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and calls Him "the Limb of the Law of God" and "the Trust of God."
Mírzá Músá, known as Áqáy-i-Kalím, was Bahá'u'lláh's brother and went with Him into every exile. 'Abdu'l-Bahá remembers his devotion and a day in Baghdád when Bahá'u'lláh called out to him in joy.
Bahá'u'lláh called His eldest Son the Most Mighty Branch, the Master and the Mystery of God. Shoghi Effendi explains what the last title means, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, in His own words, asks to be known only as the Servant of Bahá.
Nabíl of Zarand left his home as a youth to teach the new Faith, wrote odes in praise of Bahá'u'lláh and travelled on His errands. From 1888 he wrote the chronicle published in English as The Dawn-Breakers.
Mullá Zaynu'l-'Ábidín, once the leading cleric of Najaf-Ábád, became a follower of the Báb and of Bahá'u'lláh, who named him Zaynu'l-Muqarrabín. His careful copies of Bahá'u'lláh's Tablets became a standard for checking published texts.
Ḥájí Abu'l-Ḥasan of Ardikán was the first pilgrim to see Bahá'u'lláh in 'Akká. From 1881 until his death in 1928 he served as Trustee of the Ḥuqúqu'lláh, travelling among the believers and keeping nothing for himself.
In Adrianople Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Mulúk, the Súrih of Kings, in which He addressed the monarchs of East and West together for the first time, called them to justice, and described His own banishment.
In Baghdád in 1862 an uncle of the Báb brought Bahá'u'lláh a list of questions about the promised Qá'im. In two days and two nights Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Kitáb-i-Íqán in reply, and the uncle's doubts were dispelled.
About 1873, still a prisoner in 'Akká under a sentence of perpetual banishment, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, which Shoghi Effendi calls the Mother Book of His Dispensation and the Charter of His New World Order.
Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Haykal in Adrianople and recast it in 'Akká, joining to it His messages to Pope Pius IX, Napoleon III, Czar Alexander II, Queen Victoria and Náṣiri'd-Dín Sháh, and had the whole written in the shape of a pentacle.
In a Tablet revealed in answer to a believer's questions, Bahá'u'lláh set out nine of His teachings for the rulers and peoples of the world, each called an Ishráq, a Splendour.
In Baghdád in 1862 an uncle of the Báb brought Bahá'u'lláh his written questions about the promised Qá'im. In two days and two nights Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Kitáb-i-Íqán, the Book of Certitude, in reply.
On the death of the Ottoman Foreign Minister Fu'ád Páshá in 1869, Bahá'u'lláh, a prisoner in 'Akká, foretold the fall of the Grand Vizier and of Sultán 'Abdu'l-'Azíz. When the Sultán was deposed and killed in 1876, the fulfilled prophecy led the scholar Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl to accept the Faith.
On 22 April 1863, on the eve of His exile to Constantinople, Bahá'u'lláh crossed the Tigris to the Najíbíyyih Garden. During the twelve days He spent there He declared His mission to His companions.
About 1873, still a prisoner in 'Akká and living in the house of 'Údí Khammár, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Most Holy Book, which sets out the laws and institutions of His Faith.
Toward the end of 1871, while still a prisoner in 'Akká, Bahá'u'lláh answered a letter from a devoted believer in Persia with the Fire Tablet, in which He laments His sufferings and then replies to Himself as the Tongue of Grandeur.
In Baghdád and Adrianople Bahá'u'lláh revealed verses faster than they could be written down. Shoghi Effendi gathers the testimony of those who saw it, including the verses He had thrown into the Tigris.
After nine years within the walls of 'Akká, Bahá'u'lláh was persuaded to move to the country, first to Mazra'ih and then to the mansion of Bahjí, where, though still nominally a prisoner, He was honoured by officials and visitors.
In ten years of exile in Baghdád, Bahá'u'lláh's house became a refuge for people of every faith and class. When He left for Constantinople in 1863, crowds wept and pressed forward to embrace His stirrups.
When Bahá'u'lláh was twenty-two His father, a minister of state, died, and the Government wished Him to take His father's post. He declined, and the Prime Minister said, "Leave Him to Himself."
When Bahá'u'lláh was a child, His father, the Vazír Mírzá Buzurg, dreamed of Him swimming in a limitless ocean with a multitude of fishes clinging to His hair. A soothsayer said the ocean was the world of being.
Before the Báb declared His mission, Bahá'u'lláh stopped to listen to the celebrated mujtahid of Núr and explained a theory none of his disciples could. Afterwards the mujtahid told his students of two dreams about Bahá'u'lláh.
Bahá'u'lláh was born at dawn in Tihrán on 12 November 1817. Shoghi Effendi traces His descent to Abraham, Zoroaster, the last Sasanian king and Jesse, and names the Promised One of each earlier faith whom He fulfils.
Bahíyyih Khánum remembered her mother, Ásíyih Khánum, who married Bahá'u'lláh in 1835: her wealth as a bride, her gentleness, and the care for the poor that led people to call her the Mother of Consolation.
The Báb and Bahá'u'lláh were born two years apart but on consecutive days of the lunar calendar. In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Bahá'u'lláh names Their births among the four great festivals and says the two days are accounted as one.
Bahá'u'lláh wrote His Will, the Kitáb-i-'Ahd, in His own hand and entrusted it to 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His last illness. On the ninth day after His ascension it was read aloud, naming the Most Mighty Branch as the One to whom all must turn.
Every year for some forty years Shaykh Salmán walked from Persia to Bahá'u'lláh with the believers' letters and carried His Tablets home, never losing one. After the ascension he served 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the same way.
In Adrianople Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Ghuṣn, the Tablet of the Branch, which extols 'Abdu'l-Bahá as the "Branch of Holiness" and the "Trust of God" and foreshadows His appointment as Centre of the Covenant.
In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Bahá'u'lláh told the believers to turn, after His passing, to "Him Whom God hath purposed." In His Book of the Covenant He wrote that this verse meant the Most Mighty Branch, 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
When His house in Baghdád could not hold all who came to bid Him farewell, Bahá'u'lláh crossed the Tigris to the Najíbíyyih garden, later called the Garden of Riḍván, and there on 22 April 1863 declared His station to His companions.
As Bahá'u'lláh left Baghdád for Constantinople in 1863, people of every class came to bid Him farewell. The Muftí and the governor visited Him in the Najíbíyyih Garden, and as He rode away crowds bowed to the dust before His horse.
When Bahá'u'lláh was summoned from Baghdád in 1863, His followers were dismayed. Esslemont records that during the twelve days in the Garden of Riḍván He showed the greatest joy, dignity and power, and His followers became happy and enthusiastic.
In A Traveller's Narrative, 'Abdu'l-Bahá records the Báb's words calling Himself a dewdrop from a limitless ocean and pointing to One yet to come. Shoghi Effendi explains how the Declaration in the Garden of Riḍván fulfilled the Báb's prophecy.
Nabíl-i-A'ẓam, who was in the Garden of Riḍván in 1863, recalled the roses heaped each morning in Bahá'u'lláh's tent and the night Bahá'u'lláh spoke of the nightingales.
Bahá'u'lláh entered the Garden of Riḍván on 22 April 1863. That same day the Tigris overflowed, and the rest of His family could not join Him until the ninth day, which Bahá'ís now keep as a Holy Day.
The Báb foretold the coming of "Him Whom God shall make manifest," pointing to the year nine and to a span of nineteen years. Shoghi Effendi shows how both were fulfilled, in the Síyáh-Chál and in the Garden of Riḍván.
'Abdu'l-Bahá, then eighteen, arranged His Father's stay in the Garden of Riḍván and crossed the Tigris with Him. There, The Chosen Highway relates, Bahá'u'lláh confided to Him that He was "He Whom God shall make Manifest."
In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Bahá'u'lláh named the days of Riḍván the first of the two Most Great Festivals and called the Most Great Festival "the King of Festivals." He wrote that on the first day of Riḍván "all created things were immersed in the sea of purification."
When the scholar Nabíl-i-Akbar came on pilgrimage to 'Akká around 1873–74, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Tablet of Wisdom in his honour. In it He answers Nabíl's question about the origin of creation, speaks of the sages of Greece, and counsels him on how to teach.
Áqá Muḥammad-i-Qá'iní, the one disciple Shaykh Murtaḍá raised to the rank of mujtahid, met Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád and became Nabíl-i-Akbar. He spent the rest of his life teaching the Faith, hunted and poor, and died far from home.
In 1889 Ḥájí Muḥammad-Riḍáy-i-Iṣfahání was stabbed to death in the bazaar of ʻIshqábád. A Russian military court condemned his killers, and the Bahá'ís interceded for their lives, a deed Bahá'u'lláh praised.
Badíʻ, a seventeen-year-old believer, asked Bahá'u'lláh for the honour of carrying His Tablet to Náṣiri'd-Dín Sháh. He walked alone to Ṭihrán, brought it to the king, and was tortured and killed. Bahá'u'lláh named him the Pride of Martyrs.
In 1870 Mírzá Mihdí, the Purest Branch, fell through a skylight while praying on the roof of the barracks of 'Akká. Dying, he asked Bahá'u'lláh to accept his life as a ransom for the believers who could not reach His presence.
In Iṣfahán in 1879 two merchant brothers known for their honesty and generosity were denounced as Bábís by a cleric who owed them money. They refused to recant and were beheaded. Bahá'u'lláh mourned them in His Tablets for years.
In 1854 Bahá'u'lláh left Baghdád without a word and lived for two years in Kurdistan as Darvísh Muḥammad. The learned of Sulaymáníyyih came to revere Him, until a messenger from His family found Him and begged Him to return.
In Baghdád, after His return from Sulaymáníyyih, Bahá'u'lláh answered the mystical questions of Shaykh Muḥyi'd-Dín, a Ṣúfí judge of Khániqayn, with the Seven Valleys, which describes the soul's journey toward God in seven stages.
In Baghdád, about 1858, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Hidden Words as He paced the banks of the Tigris in meditation. He described the book as the inner essence of what had been revealed to the Prophets of old.
About two years before His passing, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Kalimát-i-Firdawsíyyih, the Words of Paradise, in honour of Ḥájí Mírzá Ḥaydar-'Alí. Its "leaves" set out counsels on the fear of God, religion, justice, unity, education and peace.
When the believers in 'Iráq were hiding their faith, Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá Baghdádí openly served Bahá'u'lláh, later hosted pilgrims in Beirut, and stayed firm in the Covenant, as 'Abdu'l-Bahá recalls in Memorials of the Faithful.
Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl, head of a religious college in Ṭihrán, became a Bahá'í in 1876 and spent the rest of his life teaching the Faith, from Egypt to Paris to Green Acre, yet he wept when believers praised him.
Two brothers of Iṣfáhán, later titled the King and the Beloved of Martyrs by Bahá'u'lláh, built a prosperous business, gave generously to the poor and to Bahá'u'lláh's exiled companions, and were renowned for their honesty.
Mishkín-Qalam, the leading calligrapher of Persia, heard of the Faith and set out to find Bahá'u'lláh in Adrianople, wrote the Most Great Name in many forms, endured years of imprisonment in Cyprus, and remained firm in the Covenant.
Ustád Báqir and Ustád Aḥmad, carpenter brothers from Káshán, followed Bahá'u'lláh into exile and worked at their craft in the prison of 'Akká. 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote that they were never neglectful of duty, never at fault.
Mírzá Muḥammad-Qulí, a younger brother of Bahá'u'lláh, served Him through every stage of His exile. 'Abdu'l-Bahá recalls that in the prison of 'Akká he accepted comfort and torment alike and gave thanks with a face that shone like the sun.
Jamshíd-i-Gurjí was chained in Constantinople and sent under guard toward Persia to be put to death. Thrown into a pit one night, he called out the next morning that these depths were the heights of the Lord.
On the exile journey from Baghdád to Constantinople, Mírzá Maḥmúd and Áqá Riḍá walked ahead of Bahá'u'lláh's howdah each day, then cooked and washed up for the believers until midnight. 'Abdu'l-Bahá remembers their humility and contentment.
Shaykh Ṣádiq of Yazd, healed in Baghdád through words given by Bahá'u'lláh, stayed behind as bidden when the exiles left the city. After Bahá'u'lláh reached Mosul he could bear the separation no longer, ran after Him, and died on the open plain.
Darvísh Ṣidq-'Alí, a Súfí poet, found Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád and begged to go with Him into exile as a groom. He walked beside the convoy by day, tended the horses at night, and served Him faithfully all the way to the prison of 'Akká.
In Haifa in 1891, after nine days of silence that followed the martyrdom of seven believers in Yazd, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Lawḥ-i-Dunyá, a Tablet that sets out principles for the peace and betterment of the world.
At Naw-Rúz 1863 Bahá'u'lláh camped with His companions in a field outside Baghdád. On the fifth day He revealed the Tablet of the Holy Mariner, then had the tents folded; a month later He entered the Garden of Riḍván.
In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Bahá'u'lláh confirmed the Báb's calendar of nineteen months and made Naw-Rúz the feast that closes the Fast. He later explained that it falls on the day the sun enters Aries.
In April 1863 Bahíyyih Khánum, then in her teens, helped the household prepare for exile while Bahá'u'lláh stayed in the Garden of Riḍván. The Tigris overflowed, and only on the ninth day could the family join Him there.
Mírzá Asadu'lláh Káshání and other companions pitched Bahá'u'lláh's tent in the Garden of Riḍván, cooked and made tea, held the tent ropes through days of wind, and kept watch at night during the twelve days of 1863.
On 22 April 1863 Bahá'u'lláh was ferried across the Tigris to the Garden of Riḍván. That same day the river overflowed, and His family could not join Him there until the ninth day.
Bahá'u'lláh crossed the Tigris to the Garden of Riḍván on 22 April 1863 with three of His sons. The river overflowed that day, and the rest of His family joined Him only on the ninth day, 30 April.
'Abdu'l-Bahá was eighteen when He crossed the Tigris with Bahá'u'lláh to the Garden of Riḍván in 1863. Shoghi Effendi records that He had recognized His Father's station while still a child.
Ásíyih Khánum, whom Bahá'u'lláh called Navváb, lost her wealth and home when He was imprisoned in Ṭihrán, and shared His exile. In 1863 she and the rest of the family joined Him in the Garden of Riḍván on the ninth day.
When Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned in Ṭihrán in 1852, His family was left destitute, and they shared His winter exile to Baghdád. In 1863 a flooded river kept them from joining Him in the Garden of Riḍván until the ninth day.
Nabíl recalled that each morning in the Garden of Riḍván roses were heaped in Bahá'u'lláh's tent, and He sent them to His friends in Baghdád. A flooded river kept His family from joining Him there until the ninth day.
In the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Bahá'u'lláh recalls the four months He spent chained in the underground dungeon of Ṭihrán in 1852, and the first stirrings there of His Revelation.
Returning to Baghdád from Kurdistán in 1856, Bahá'u'lláh found the Bábí community dispirited and divided. Through His counsels and His writings He restored its faith and reformed its conduct.
In Baghdád Bahá'u'lláh sent gifts to the poor, the disabled and the orphans of His neighbourhood. He stopped each day for an old woman who waited for Him, and when He left the city He provided for her for the rest of her life.
To avoid becoming a cause of discord among the Bábís of Baghdád, Bahá'u'lláh withdrew to the mountains of Kurdistán. For two years He lived there as Darvísh Muḥammad, and the people of the region came to revere and love Him.
In His last major Tablet, Bahá'u'lláh wrote to Shaykh Muḥammad-Taqí, a cleric of Iṣfahán who had persecuted the believers. He counselled him, gave him a prayer of repentance to recite, and offered him the same advice He had given His own son.
In Washington in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told of Isfandíyár, a black servant of Bahá'u'lláh who, though hunted by the Sháh's officers, stayed in Ṭihrán for a month to pay the family's debts in full before he would leave.
Mishkín-Qalam, the leading calligrapher of Persia, set out to find Bahá'u'lláh and reached Him in Adrianople. Slandered as an agitator in Constantinople, he was held captive for years on Cyprus, and afterwards stayed loyal to the Covenant.
In His letter to the Sháh of Persia, quoted in A Traveller's Narrative, Bahá'u'lláh wrote that for nearly fifteen years His persecuted followers had assailed no one, and explained that true victory means conquering one's own heart.
Bahá'u'lláh and about seventy companions were locked in the barracks of 'Akká, where nearly all fell sick and three died. Over the following years the hostility of the town gave way, step by step, to respect and reverence.
Every year for nearly forty years Shaykh Salmán walked from Persia to Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád, Adrianople or 'Akká and back, carrying the believers' letters and His Tablets, and never lost one.
When thieves took Ḥájí ʻAlí-ʻAskar's few goods, the Persian Consul wanted him to testify to a far larger loss. Threatened with prison and banishment, he refused to lie. Bahá'u'lláh later said of him, "I am pleased with him."
Mírzá Muḥammad, a scholar of good family in Iṣfáhán, gave up a life of comfort to go to the prison of 'Akká, where he served Bahá'u'lláh, the believers and the travelling pilgrims day and night.
Ustád Ismá'íl, a prosperous builder in Ṭihrán, lost his work, his possessions and his bride for the Faith. He ended his days peddling trinkets from a cave near Haifa, always giving thanks to God.
Napoleon III is reported to have flung down Bahá'u'lláh's first Tablet. From the barracks of 'Akká Bahá'u'lláh wrote again, warning that the Emperor's empire would pass from his hands. In 1870 he was defeated at Sedan and lost his throne.
From 'Akká Bahá'u'lláh wrote to Pope Pius IX, announcing the return of Christ and bidding him leave his palaces and sell his ornaments in the path of God. In 1870 Italian troops seized Rome and the Pope's temporal rule ended.
Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned in the barracks of 'Akká. 'Abdu'l-Bahá recalled how, in later years at Bahjí, governors and generals humbly asked to be received by Him, and how all bore witness that He was no prisoner, but a King of Kings.
In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, revealed in 'Akká around 1873, Bahá'u'lláh told the kings of the earth that the King of Kings had appeared and summoned them to serve Him. He addressed the rulers of America and foretold suffering on the banks of the Rhine.
From the barracks in 'Akká, Bahá'u'lláh wrote to Czar Alexander II of Russia, summoning him to proclaim His Cause and recalling that a Russian minister had helped Him when He lay in chains in Ṭihrán. The Czar did not heed it.
In Adrianople Bahá'u'lláh wrote His longest letter to any single king, asking Náṣiri'd-Dín Sháh for justice and for a meeting with the divines in his presence. The youth Badí' carried it to the Sháh and was put to death.
When Bahá'u'lláh reached Constantinople in 1863, He would not make the calls on the Sultan's chief ministers expected of every government guest. The Persian Ambassador used this against Him, and within four months He was banished to Adrianople.
After leaving the Garden of Riḍván on 3 May 1863, Bahá'u'lláh travelled with His family and twenty-six companions across eastern Anatolia to Constantinople. Officials and villagers welcomed Him along the way, and His companions served Him on foot.
When Bahá'u'lláh's convoy left Baghdád for Constantinople in 1863, Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá Baghdádí remained in the city. 'Abdu'l-Bahá recalls how he stayed loyal, withstood the enemies of the Faith and taught it openly.
In the Garden of Riḍván, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Ṣabr, the Tablet of Patience, in honour of Ḥájí Muḥammad-Taqí, a survivor of Nayríz whom He named Ayyúb (Job). It praised the steadfast and prepared the believers of 'Iráq for His departure.
In Baghdád 'Abdu'l-Bahá grew into a youth beloved by all who knew Him. The Chosen Highway records how, before the exile of 1863, He shielded His Father, arranged His move to the Garden of Riḍván and set out with Him on the journey to Constantinople.
On the long journey from Baghdád to the Black Sea in 1863, officials and villagers received Bahá'u'lláh with honour in town after town. As the caravan neared Sámsún, He revealed the Tablet of the Howdah.
At noon on 3 May 1863 Bahá'u'lláh rode out of the Garden of Riḍván on a red roan stallion, the best His lovers could buy for Him. Crowds bowed at His horse's feet, and believers and unbelievers alike wept.
Summoned to Constantinople, Bahá'u'lláh spent twelve days in the Garden of Riḍván while a caravan was prepared. Then He set out with members of His family and twenty-six disciples on a journey of three to four months.
In the twelve days before He left Baghdád for Constantinople, Bahá'u'lláh showed, in Esslemont's words, the greatest joy, dignity and power, and the notables of the city, even the Governor, came to honor Him.
When Bahá'u'lláh left Baghdád in 1863, friends and strangers wept in the streets. On the day He rode out of the Garden of Riḍván, an eyewitness wrote, believers and unbelievers alike sobbed and lamented.
Shoghi Effendi calls Riḍván the holiest and most significant of all Bahá'í festivals. Its twelve days, which Bahá'u'lláh called the King of Festivals, ended at noon on May 3, 1863, when He rode out of the garden toward Constantinople.
Muriel Ives Barrow Newhall recalled that when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked Bahá’u’lláh why He had never clearly designated the universal language, Bahá’u’lláh replied, "Because no one ever asked Me."
During His retreat in the mountains of Kurdistan, Bahá'u'lláh comforted a weeping schoolboy and wrote him a copy to learn from. The schoolmaster recognized the writing as royal penmanship, and people set out to find Him.
In the mountains of Kurdistan, Bahá'u'lláh stopped to help a crying boy who had been punished for poor writing. His copy was so beautiful that the schoolmaster knew its writer was no ordinary dervish.
While Bahá'u'lláh lived as a dervish in the mountains of Kurdistan, He gave a gathering of Sufis so wonderful an interpretation of a mystical poem that they begged Him to return. He told them to seek tidings of Him in Baghdad.
The last illness and ascension of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí on 29 May 1892, His farewell to the friends, His burial, and the reading of the Kitáb-i-'Ahd nine days later.
In the Lawḥ-i-Aqdas, the Tablet to the Christians, Bahá'u'lláh tells the followers of Christ that the Father has come, and calls on their bishops, priests and monks to recognize Him.
In Adrianople Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Mulúk, His first address to the kings of the world as a body, calling them to rule with justice, to settle their differences and to reduce their armaments.
Aḥmad of Yazd lived near Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád and later set out to reach Him in Adrianople. In Constantinople he received the Tablet of Aḥmad, and instead of going on, he returned to Persia to teach.
During His last visit to Haifa in 1891, Bahá'u'lláh pitched His tent near the Carmelite monastery on Mount Carmel and revealed the Tablet of Carmel, which is considered the charter of the Bahá'í World Centre.
At Naw-Rúz 1863, in His tent outside Baghdád, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Tablet of the Holy Mariner. His companions were filled with sorrow when they heard it, and the next day He was told He must go to Constantinople.
When the philosopher Nabíl-i-Akbar visited 'Akká around 1873-74, Bahá'u'lláh revealed for him the Tablet of Wisdom, which speaks of the origin of creation and of the ancient sages who learned from the Prophets.
Napoleon III left Bahá'u'lláh's first Tablet unanswered. The second, sent from 'Akká in 1869, warned that his empire would pass from his hands. In 1870 he was defeated at Sedan and taken prisoner, and his empire fell.
Around 1869, while a prisoner in 'Akká, Bahá'u'lláh revealed a Tablet to Pope Pius IX, calling him to leave his palaces and abandon his kingdom unto the kings. In 1870 the Pope lost his temporal rule.
From the prison of 'Akká Bahá'u'lláh wrote to Queen Victoria, praising her for forbidding the slave trade and for entrusting counsel to the people's representatives, and calling on the rulers of the earth to hold fast to the Lesser Peace.
The calligrapher Mishkín-Qalam, sent by Bahá'u'lláh from Adrianople to Constantinople, was arrested through the Persian ambassador's slanders and held for about nine years at Famagusta in Cyprus before he was freed and went to 'Akká.
As an infant Bahá'u'lláh never cried. At five or six He dreamt that birds and fishes attacked Him without harming Him, and an interpreter told His father that the peoples of the world would assail Him in vain.
Shaykh Maḥmúd, a religious leader of 'Akká, went to the barracks to kill Bahá'u'lláh and was twice turned back by messages that read his intentions. After a dream recalled a childhood prophecy, he returned and became a devoted believer.
In the Síyáh-Chál in 1852, Bahá'u'lláh's fellow prisoners were called out one by one to their deaths. The executioner, who had grown friendly to Him, would afterwards tell Him how each had died.
Chained in two rows in the Síyáh-Chál in 1852, Bahá'u'lláh's fellow prisoners chanted each night the verses He had taught them, until the sound carried to the Sháh's palace nearby.
Aḥmad of Yazd set out from Baghdád to reach Bahá'u'lláh in Adrianople. In Constantinople he received the Tablet revealed for him, and instead of going on he returned to Persia to teach.
The first issue of the Star of the West, then called Bahai News, carried a photograph of Mírzá Mihdí, the Purest Branch, and an account of his fatal fall in the barracks of 'Akká and his one request to Bahá'u'lláh.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalls that strife grieved Bahá’u’lláh because of the unhappiness it brought others, and that He would take the blame upon Himself to restore peace.
After Bahá’u’lláh returned to Baghdad from the mountains, curiosity-seekers crowded to see Him; His son ‘Abdu’l-Bahá put placards on the doors and admitted only genuine truth-seekers.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalls how a daughter born after the Báb's prayer for a childless follower came to the Holy Family, and how, at Bahá'u'lláh's request, 'Abdu'l-Bahá took her as His wife.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalls the order that sent Bahá'u'lláh from Baghdad to Constantinople, the grief of His followers, and how the family went to live in tents in a friend's garden until the departure.
When the order came banishing the exiles from Adrianople to 'Akká, one despairing believer tried to take his own life. Bahá'u'lláh would not leave until the Governor promised to care for him and send him on.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalls the hard four-month journey from Baghdad, when Bahá'u'lláh cooked a warm pudding for the exiles with His own hands, and their cramped arrival in Constantinople as prisoners.
As the exiles prepared to leave Baghdad, 'Abdu'l-Bahá shielded His Father from intruders. In the Riḍván garden, Bahá'u'lláh confided to Him that He was the One promised by the Báb.
In a parable from The Seven Valleys, a lover fleeing a watchman scales a garden wall and finds his beloved there, and sees that what seemed tyranny was a hidden mercy.
While Bahá’u’lláh lived as a dervish in the mountains, His family in Baghdád sold their only rug to buy a donkey for a Bábí who set out to find Him; months later He came home.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalls the day soldiers surrounded the family's house in Adrianople with orders to separate Bahá’u’lláh from His family, and the week ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spent pleading until the family was allowed to go with Him.
On the slow journey through the fields and mountains of Turkey, the melodious chanting of Jinab-i-Munib brought joy to those who travelled with Bahá'u'lláh and testified to his love for Him.
When the Governor of 'Akká read Him the Sultán's edict condemning the exiles to prison for ever, 'Abdu'l-Bahá called it meaningless, since sooner or later the captives would leave the prison, dead or alive.
When he reached Hamadán his character became known, and, as he was of the clerical class, the doctors vehemently pursued him, handed him over to the government, and ordered chastisement to be inflicted.
Then the Royal Command was issued that their Reverences the learned doctors and honorable and accomplished divines should write a reply to that epistle.
I know not how long they shall ride the steed of desire and wander erringly in the desert of heedlessness and error.
In June 1870 Mírzá Mihdí, the Purest Branch, fell through an unguarded skylight in the barracks. Dying, he asked that his life be accepted as a ransom for those prevented from attaining the presence of their Beloved.
Túbá Khánum recalls her little sister Ruh-Angiz, whom Bahá’u’lláh promised to love more than all the rest. After His passing the child longed to go to Him, and the next year she passed away.
At Gallipoli the exiles learned of an order to separate Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the family and the followers. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told the Governor they would not submit, and after a week He won the concession that they remain together.
Near Mardin, on the journey from Baghdad to Constantinople, two mules belonging to an Arab traveller were stolen. Bahá’u’lláh halted the caravan and refused money in their place until the animals themselves were restored to their owner.
Each week ‘Abdu’l-Bahá walked from ‘Akká to visit Bahá’u’lláh at Bahjí. When His Father asked Him to ride, He rode, but dismounted as soon as He sighted the Mansion.
In the Súriy-i-Haykal, Bahá'u'lláh recounts how He moved to another house, hoping the flame of envy in His brother's breast might be quenched, and how His brother answered with the pen of calumny.
While Bahá'u'lláh lay chained in the Siyah-Chal, His enemies failed to prove Him guilty and tried to poison Him. After four months He was released on condition of exile, ill and scarred by the chains.
Speaking at the Bowery Mission in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told how Bahá'u'lláh, though wealthy, left all He had in Baghdad and lived two years among the poor, choosing the title The Poor One.
A pilgrim from Khusf who had seen nothing extraordinary in his first days in 'Akká was overwhelmed in Bahá’u’lláh's presence. Bahá’u’lláh then explained, with the example of a parrot and a mirror, why the Manifestations appear in human form.
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.
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.
“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…
God has created the world as one—the boundaries are marked out by man.
The magnet of your love brought me to this country.
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.
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 …
“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;…
‘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.
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.
...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 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.
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.
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.
This wonderful age has rent asunder the veils of superstition and has condemned the prejudice of the people of the East.
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.
Cleanliness and sanctity in all conditions are characteristics of pure beings and necessities of free souls.
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 …
According to the statement of philosophers the difference in degree of humankind from lowest to highest is due to education.
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.”
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.
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.
In the estimation of historians this radiant century is equivalent to one hundred centuries of the past.
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 …
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.
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.
The Festival of Ridván is come and the splendour of the light of God is shining from the invisible horizon of His mercy.
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 …
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.
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.
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 my dear sister!
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.”
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.
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.
'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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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’.
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.
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.
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 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.’
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.
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.
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.
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.’
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 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.
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…
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.—What connection has the Reality of Divinity with the Lordly Rising-places and the Divine Dawning-points?
We said that the Manifestations have three planes.
Question.—What is the real explanation of the cycles which occur in the world of existence?
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 …
O peoples of the world! The Sun of Truth hath risen to illumine the whole earth, and to spiritualize the community of man.
In this holy Cause the question of orphans hath the utmost importance.
O my dear children! Your letter was received.
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.
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.
When giving medical treatment turn to the Blessed Beauty, then follow the dictates of thy heart.
Thou didst write as to the question of spiritual discoveries.
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 captive of the love of God! The letter which thou didst write at the time of thy departure hath been received.
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 ye two seekers after truth! Your letter was received and its contents noted.
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 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.
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 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 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!
Rest assured that the breathings of the Holy Spirit will loosen thy tongue.
O ye concourse of the Kingdom of Abhá!
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 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 dear, and wise! Thy letter dated 27 May 1906 hath been received and its contents are most pleasing and have brought great joy.
O servant of God!
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.
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 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.
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.
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!
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].
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 lady of the Kingdom! Thy letter sent from New York hath been received.
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 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 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 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.
There are certain pillars which have been established as the unshakeable supports of the Faith of God.
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.
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 …
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 who art attracted by the Love of God! In the Persian tongue has thou written a letter; I was happy to read it.
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 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 maid-servants of His Majesty, the Lord—daughters and sons of the Kingdom!
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.
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.
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.”
We looked again at the faces of the Blessed Perfection and the Báb in the inner room.
“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…
"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…
‘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.
“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…
We went to the Ridván with the holy daughters of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Indeed, the Greatest Holy Leaf, the Trust of Bahá’u’lláh amongst us, was the emblem of His boundless grace, a luminary shining in the heaven of tender mercy and gracious providence …
The Guardian trusts that the explanation he has given by wire regarding the suspension for a period of nine months of Bahá’í religious festivity has been made clear.
O ye who share my anguish and are my comforters in my distress and bereavement!
Moved by an unalterable devotion to the memory of the Greatest Holy Leaf, I feel prompted to share with you, and through you with the concourse of her steadfast lovers throughout the West …
Surely no matter what we say about her still we have not done justice to the abounding love she had and the services she rendered to Bahá’u’lláh and the Master.
In this day, those holy souls are divinely confirmed who stand firm in the most sacred Cause of the Abhá Beauty, those who are steadfast, and loyal to the Covenant and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
He fully appreciates the deep sorrow that you, as well as the other friends, feel for the passing away of the Greatest Holy Leaf.
It is not unknown to those who stand firm in the Covenant and Testament of God that the centre of violation and his associates, from the day of the ascension of the Ancient Beauty, may His Great Name be ever exalted …
GREATEST HOLY LEAF’S IMMORTAL SPIRIT WINGED ITS FLIGHT GREAT BEYOND.
O loved ones of God, These two precious and most exalted treasures, these two keepsakes of the sacred Beauty of Abhá, have now been joined to the third trust from Him, that is, to the daughter of Bahá and His remnant, the token of the Master’s Remembrance.
This dire calamity, this great affliction, the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, may our lives be sacrificed for His meekness, has shaken us to the very depths.
Although that supreme calamity, that great ordeal, the ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, put the torch to the harvest of our hearts, and brought down both our outer and inner beings, wedding us to grief and ceaseless pain, yet praised be God …
70 ...as a further testimony to the majestic unfoldment and progressive consolidation of the stupendous undertaking launched by Bahá’u’lláh on that holy mountain, may be mentioned the selection of a portion of the school property…
106 ...He was deeply touched by the strong attachment of the friends to one who, besides being the beloved daughter of Bahá’u’lláh, exemplified perhaps more than anyone the true spirit that animates His teachings. His sincere hope is…
O faithful servant of the Best-Beloved, the Most Glorious! O steadfast friend, flourishing in the garden of His luminous Beauty!
O God, my God! Thou seest me immersed in the depths of grief, drowned in my sorrow, my heart on fire with the agony of parting, my inmost self aflame with longing.
The raising of this Edifice will in turn herald the construction, in the course of successive epochs of the Formative Age of the Faith, of several other structures...
The ascension of Him Who was the Temple of the Covenant, the setting of Him Who was the Orb of harmony, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, may our lives be sacrificed for the wrongs He suffered, was the most dire calamity, and the most dread of ordeals.
We rejoiced greatly to learn of the unity among the friends, their staunchness, their ardour, and the fact that they have established a Spiritual Assembly.
It is clear how that most dire of calamities, that most great disaster which was the ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, may our souls be sacrificed for His meekness, has set our hearts on fire and dissolved our very limbs and members in grief.
Indeed, you have adorned yourself with the qualifications of faithfulness and are striving to fulfil the requirements of servitude to the Abhá Threshold.
The good news has come that the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, may our lives be sacrificed for His meekness, has been read at the meetings of the friends …
The purport of your letter is highly indicative of your steadfastness in His Cause, of your unswerving constancy in the Covenant, of having set your face toward Shoghi Effendi, the authorized Point to whom all must turn …
At this hour while yet the heart burns with the anguish of sorrow, and the gloom of bereavement still hangs low, my thoughts turn in loving remembrance to my sincere beloved sisters and brothers in the Cause.
O steadfast ones, gathered beneath the Abhá Beauty’s standard of oneness, O faithful lovers of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!
O ye who burn in the flames of bereavement! By the Day-star of the World, my bereaved and longing heart is afire with a grief that is beyond my description.
The letter that you wrote in your burning grief, on the passing of the world’s Beloved, the Orb of the Covenant—wrote with weeping eyes and a heart afire, has come.
Although the ascension of the beloved Centre of the Covenant was the ultimate calamity, the severest of ordeals, and the fire of that bereavement consumed our hearts and souls …
The Ancient Beauty, the Most Great Name, has, through the splendours of His grace in this most glorious of all ages, made this world of dust to radiate light.
Brethren and fellow-mourners in the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh! A sorrow, reminiscent in its poignancy, of the devastating grief caused by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s sudden removal from our midst, has stirred the Bahá’í world to its foundations.
Regarding the Centre of Sedition and his scrolls of doubt, this individual, for a period of thirty years, both within and without the Cause, was busy with his mischief-making, and planting his seeds of contention and dissension.
Your letter has come, and I myself and the Holy Family were infinitely grieved to learn of the sufferings you have undergone, being made as you were the targets of such injustice, malevolence and aggression.
The sad news about the death of your husband has just reached us; we fully sympathize with you.
All praise be unto the Court of Holiness, that God has drawn certain blessed souls, entities delicate and pure, unto a realm where they have no desire save the good-pleasure of the Beloved; where …
We beseech God—exalted be His glory—to grant awareness and insight to the men of wisdom as well as to those who hold in their grasp the reins of power in Persia …
Your letter of 12th October 1922 is just received and refreshed in our memory the many beautiful days that you spent here when the Beloved Lord, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was still on this earth.
All praise to the beloved Abhá Beauty, that those nightingales of the gardens of knowledge, those doves of the fragrant bowers of certitude, are singing the holy verses on the boughs of grace and bounty …
Your kind and loving letter written with an unbounded love and a sincere devotion for our beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and His Cause has been duly received.
Praise be to God that through the gracious assistance of the Abhá Kingdom those devoted friends have been enabled to achieve that which befits the glory of the Cause of God and the protection of the community of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh.
The Pen of the divine Ordainer has so decreed that this house of sorrows should be encompassed by unending calamity and pain.
‘O God, My God! Thou hast lighted the lamp of Thy Cause with the oil of wisdom; protect it from contrary winds.
The tongue of this lowly and grief-stricken maidservant is powerless to praise those loved ones of God, and the words uttered by her are wholly inadequate to pay a worthy tribute to the staunch firmness and constancy …
The question of Avárih has surely come to your attention.
It is a very long time since we have had any news from you and we are quite longing to have one of your interesting and beautiful letters, that brings us always comfort because of your sincerity, your love for the Cause and your constant energy in the work for the Cause.
Your numerous letters written to the beloved Guardian and myself have all arrived and brought with them the sweet perfume of your devotion, sincerity, strong faith and active and beautiful services you are inexhaustibly rendering to the Cause of God.
From this hallowed Spot I send heavenly greetings to those two faithful servants of the holy Threshold of the Abhá Beauty.
In this Day nothing is so important as service. Did not ‘Abdu’l-Bahá voluntarily call Himself the ‘Servant’ of Bahá, manifesting also in His life the perfections of servitude to God and man?
It always cheers my heart to hear from the dear friends whose hearts are so full of love and devotion, and desire to serve this Blessed Cause which has been proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh to all the world, so that all national, racial …
My heart is always cheered when I meet or hear from the dear friends in America, for the Beloved Master spoke so much to us about His visit to your land …
PRAY ASSURE AMERICAN BELIEVERS BEHALF HOLY FAMILY MYSELF ABIDING APPRECIATION NUMEROUS EVIDENCES THEIR VALUED SYMPATHY.
The letter from that spiritual friend has reached the beloved Guardian, and he is aware of your bitter grieving over the calamitous news that a most glorious fruit of the Holy Tree, the Most Exalted Leaf, the Remnant of Bahá, has passed away.
God, and God alone, has the power to do whatever He wills, and the greatest proof of a Manifestation of God is the creative power of His word—its effectiveness to change and transform all human affairs and to triumph over all human opposition.
Under the inspired guidance of Shoghi Effendi the Bahá’í Cause grew steadily in size and in the establishment of its Administrative Order, so that by 1951 there were eleven functioning National Spiritual Assemblies.
The teachings of Bahá’u’lláh contain two different types of reference to the question of true social order.
During His own lifetime Bahá’u’lláh appointed a few tried and trusted friends to assist in directing and promoting the work of the Movement, and gave them the title of Ayadiyi-Amru’lláh (lit.
Unfortunately it is impossible, within the space at our disposal, to describe in detail the progress of the Bahá’í Faith throughout the world.
Before ‘Abdu’l-Bahá completed His earthly mission, He had laid a basis for the development of the administrative order established in Bahá’u’lláh’s Writings.
The real Bahá’í will not only believe in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, but find in them the guide and inspiration of his whole life and joyfully impart to others the knowledge that is the wellspring of his own being.
It has been the general characteristic of religion that organization marks the interruption of the true spiritual influence and serves to prevent the original impulse from being carried into the world.
The Bahá’í teaching is at one with science and philosophy in declaring the essential nature of God to be entirely beyond human comprehension.
In the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah are several references to a man called the Branch.
The “Coming of the Lord” in the “last days” is the one “far-off divine event” to which all the Prophets look forward, about which Their most glorious songs are sung.
In the last half century or so, however, a change has come over the spirit of the times, a New Light of Truth has arisen which has already made the controversies of last century seem strangely out of date.
The word “Day” in such phrases as “Day of God” and “Last Day” is interpreted as meaning “Dispensation.”
Christ spoke much in parables about a great Day of Judgment when “the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father ... and ... shall reward every man according to his works” (Matt. xvi, 27).
In order that we may attain the spiritual condition in which conversation with God becomes possible, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:— We must strive to attain to that condition by being separated from all things and from the people of the world and by turning to God alone.
According to the Bahá’í teachings, riches rightly acquired and rightly used are honorable and praiseworthy.
Bahá’u’lláh also confirms the biologist who finds for the body of man a history reaching back in the development of the species through millions of years.
The title “Bahá’u’lláh” is the Arabic for “Glory of God,” and this very title is frequently used by the Hebrew prophets for the Promised One Who is to appear in the last days.
Bahá’u’lláh gives the assurance that, through harmonious cooperation of patients, healers and the community in general, and by appropriate use of the various means to health, material, mental and spiritual, the Golden Age may be realized …
The Day of Judgment is also the Day of Resurrection, of the raising of the dead.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá appointed His eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, to the responsible position of “Guardian of the Cause” (Valiyy-i-Amru’lláh).
The power of spiritual healing is doubtless common to all mankind in greater or less degree, but, just as some men are endowed with exceptional talent for mathematics or music, so others appear to be endowed with exceptional aptitude for healing.
In all ages the Prophets of God have foretold the coming of an era of “peace on earth, goodwill among men.”
According to Bahá’í philosophy it follows from the doctrine of the unity of God that there can be no such thing as positive evil.
The most potent means of healing is the Power of the Holy Spirit. ...
The different religious communities have failed to unite in the past, because the adherents of each have regarded the Founder of their own community as the one supreme authority, and His law as the divine law.
We live in a world, however, where from time immemorial obedience to the commands of the Prophets has been the exception rather than the rule; where love of self has been a more prevalent motive than love of God …
On no subject are the Bahá’í teaching more imperative and uncompromising than on the requirement to abstain from faultfinding.
What is the cause of this sudden awakening throughout the world?
Like all the other Prophets, Bahá’u’lláh states His own Mission in the most unmistakable terms.
Bahá’u’lláh says in the Tablet of Tarazát:— Verily, Honesty is the door of tranquillity to all in the world, and the sign of glory from the presence of the Merciful One.
“Ye are all fruits of one tree, the leaves of one branch, the flowers of one garden.”
Having glanced at the principal causes of war and how they may be avoided, we may now proceed to examine certain constructive proposals made by Bahá’u’lláh with a view to achieving the Most Great Peace.
Once every Bahá'í month the friends gather for the Nineteen Day Feast. They pray and read from the Holy Books, talk over the work of their community, and then spend time together.
Shoghi Effendi translated The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh into English, and worked hard all his life to make his English as good as it could be.
In The Promised Day Is Come, Shoghi Effendi surveys the fall of the great monarchies of Europe and the Middle East between 1870 and 1925, reading the collapses in the light of the warnings Bahá'u'lláh had sent to those same sovereigns from Adrianople and 'Akká.
Rúḥíyyih Khánum records that early in his ministry Shoghi Effendi sent the American believers his revised translation of The Hidden Words, and describes the long study of English behind his translations.