Fortitude Was the Rich Dress She Wore

The Guardian’s anguish, because of this tragic occurrence, is such that it can neither be plumbed nor described in words. That sublime and gloried Leaf, that precious jewel of the Kingdom, was the one great solace of his life; she was his glorious companion, and her disappearance, and the separation from her, and her ascending into the heavenly presence and court of her Lord was the direst ordeal to be visited upon the people of Bahá. Alas for any future time that might produce such a calamity, when the world’s eye might see its like.

That sacred treasure, that jewel of Heaven, was the very sign and token of spiritual attributes and qualities and perfections, the very model of high honour and nobility and heavenly ways. The sufferings she bore in the pathway of God were the cruellest ones, the afflictions that assailed her were the severest of all. Fortitude was the rich dress she wore, serenity and tranquil strength were her splendid robe, virtue and detachment, purity and chastity, were all her jewels, and tenderness, care and love for humankind, her beauty’s bright adornings.

The Guardian conveys his message of consolation and comfort, enjoining submission and acquiescence in this calamity, and the need for arising to serve and to be steadfast, and to take for our model that gem of the Abhá Paradise.

From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, dated 15 September 1932 (translated from the Persian).

Source: Bahíyyih Khánum: The Greatest Holy Leaf, compiled by the Bahá’í World Centre (1982), Part IV, “Passages from letters written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi,” no. 16. Text as reproduced in Project Gutenberg eBook #19242 (used under the Bahá’í terms of use; not public domain).

Effendi, W. O. B. O. S.. (1982). *Bahíyyih Khánum: The Greatest Holy Leaf*. Bahá'í World Centre. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19242/pg19242-images.html