A number of people suggested that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sail to England and cross the…
bahaistories.com archive · Read original
Studio narration for this story is coming — it’ll be generated by the cloud-TTS pipeline (voice: auto-selected from the source author).
When in Bahá'í history
A number of people suggested that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sail to England and cross the Atlantic to America aboard the brand-new ship Titanic instead of the much older, slower Cedric. Later in America, when He was asked why He didn't, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, after a long pause, during which He looked reflectively out of the window, 'I was asked to sail upon the Titanic, but my heart did not prompt me to do so.' When asked the same question at a later date, he responded with, 'God sends a feeling of misgiving into man's heart.'
Source: Earl Redman, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst, p. 52
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: intuition).
Discuss this story
For adults
- Read the closing lines once more. What single phrase stays with you?
- What might 'Abdu'l-Bahá's example ask of us in our own circumstances?
- If you were to share this story aloud at a devotional gathering, which sentence would you read first?
For teens
- What is one quality you'd want to carry forward from this account?
- Which line in this story surprised you the most?
Reflection
- What in this account feels timely? What feels timeless?
- How does devotion show up in your life right now — and where is it being asked of you?
- Is there someone in your life who would be helped by hearing this story?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "A number of people suggested that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sail to England and cross the…" drawn from?
What period of Bahá'í history does this story belong to?
Which historical figure is featured most prominently in this story?
Cite this story
Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/intuition
Record yourself reading this story
Recording stays on this device only. Nothing is uploaded.
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