Hasan Balyuzi

Aqa Husayn related that Shaykh Mahmud (whose wondrous story we shall shortly come by) told the Most Great Branch that he desired the honour of washing and shrouding the body of the Purest Branch, so that the guards should not lay their…

AT last came a day, four months after the death of the Purest Branch, when the movement of troops in the Ottoman domain compelled the authorities to have access to and make use of the barracks of 'Akká. The gates were flung open and the…

A Bahá’í came to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to speak on behalf of a young Persian, who was trying to attach himself to the Faith. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that should anyone commit a hundred wrongs against His own person He would overlook them all and…

A visitor, to her great relief, reached the doors of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's house only two days before He left Paris. She had travelled post-haste from the United States, and had a remarkable story to relate. At home her little daughter had asked…

‘Abdu’l-Bahá moved, on the 27th, to the hotel in Rue Lauriston where He had stayed before. He was very tired, and needed a few days' rest before people learned where He…

‘Abdu’l-Bahá stayed, once again, in the Hotel Marquardt. During this second visit to Stuttgart, which also lasted a week, He was mostly unwell. The cold contracted in Budapest had persisted and was now affecting His chest. The Bahá’ís of…

‘Abdu’l-Bahá told them a story which made them laugh. He Himself laughed heartily, and again with them when they, encouraged by the lead He had given, also told amusing stories. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and his guests were full of mirth throughout…

‘Abdu’l-Bahá went out for a walk. As it happened, a collection was being made for charity. Whenever ‘Abdu’l-Bahá met the collectors He gave them money. In the park children were playing, and to them, too, He gave money. Whatever He and His…

Among the crowd, which hurled abuse at Bahá’u’lláh and pelted Him with stones, was an old woman. She stepped forward with a stone in her hand to strike at Him. Although frenzied with rage, her steps were too weak for the pace of the…

‘Abdu’l-Bahá spent His early years in an environment of privilege, wealth, and love. ** ‘Abdu’l-Bahá…

Shaykh Hasan recognized in the Báb all those attributes his master had predicted, and he became His devoted disciple, travelling far and wide to be close to the newest Manifestation of God on earth. When the ulama of Isfahan issued the…

224 Your letter, laden with many a graceful phrase, many a wondrous inner meaning, has been received. Its perusal brought composure and tranquillity to my soul and gladness to my heart, inasmuch as from between its lines I could…

During the afternoon of April 11th, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá returned the visits of Professor Ignaz Goldziher and other notabilities, and engaged in long conversations with them. When He arrived at the hall of the Old Building of Parliament for the…

During the few years of his adult life, Mirza Mihdi had acted as an amanuensis of his Father, and Bahá’u’lláh's Tablets in his distinguished handwriting are extant. According to Aqa Rida's testimony, who had seen him grow up to young…

His physical strength had suffered greatly and He was unable, on several occasions, to go to the meetings held in the homes of the Bahá’ís. But He was always receiving visitors at the hotel, giving a talk whenever they gathered in…

Later, on Christmas day, He visited Lord Lamington. In the evening He went to a Salvation Army hostel, where some five hundred of society's wrecks were gathered. He spoke to them, and donated twenty guineas to the hostel to provide them…

No matter how relaxed or arduous life might be, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá always found or recalled a humorous situation. A cat purring beside His chair would amuse Him: this cat, He remarked, is indeed joyous, so carefree, so free of fear. A donkey…

On August 20th there arrived at Green Acre a young man, dishevelled, tremulous. His name was Fred Mortensen. Let him tell his story in his own words. He wrote it for the magazine, The Star of the West: In my youth my environment was not…

One day, although He had guests for luncheon, He found it impossible to sit much longer at the table and had to go to His room to…

Some evenings His meal consisted only of a cup of milk and a piece of bread. He described it as a healthy meal, and recalled that Bahá’u’lláh had said that during His sojourn in Sulaymaniyyih His food was just milk most of the time, and…

The following account occurred in the Siyah-Chal prison in Teheran around the Fall/Winter of 1853. The prisoners were awaiting execution for their Faith: We were awakened one night, ere break of day, by Mirza ‘Abdu’l-Vahhab-i-Shirazi, who…

The next morning ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was preparing to leave for Vienna, when the president of the Turanian Society was announced. He requested ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to delay His departure because they had planned another meeting for Him, and had widely…

Then ‘Abdu’l-Bahá walked to the entrance and, standing there, shook hands with every one of those four hundred: the flotsam and jetsam of humanity. At the same time He put a coin or two in each palm. He had done the same for years, on…

When Bahá’u’lláh along with His family and a number of His companions were travelling from Baghdad to Constantinople an incident took place near the city of Mardin which provides us with a wonderful example of Bahá’u’lláh's high sense of…

A cat purring beside His chair would amuse Him: this cat, He remarked, is indeed joyous, so carefree, so free of…

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<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">After the death of the Vazir [Mirza Buzurg, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bahá'u'lláh’s father</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">], Haji Mirza Aqasi [the Persian Prime Minister]…

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<div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the village of Yalrud which is near Baha’u’llah’s ancestral home in Takur, in northern Iran, there lived a mujtahid by the name of Shaykh Muhammad-Taqi who was…

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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Background:</b><br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <a…