Munírih Khánum Comforts a Pilgrim

May Maxwell, who was among the first group of Western pilgrims to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in ‘Akká in 1898–99, has left a brief description of a touching and heart-warming incident. Munirih Khanum, the wife of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, whom she refers to as Holy Mother, was consoling a young American woman who said she was now an orphan because her parents had not accepted the Bahá’í Faith:

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On one occasion one of the American believers said to their Holy Mother that she was now an orphan since her parents did not believe. The wife of our Master took the girl in her arms, laid her head on her breast and told her that she was now her mother; therefore she should be comforted.

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Then she took her into the presence of the Master and sitting on the floor before Him in the most natural manner, still holding the girl close to her loving heart, she told Him all. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: ‘Material relationship is nothing, it bears no eternal fruits. You are the child of God and of the Kingdom and the ties of the flesh are nothing, but the ties of the spirit are all.

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I am your father, these are your brothers and sisters, and you must be glad and rejoice, for I love you exceedingly.’

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(May Maxwell, ‘An Early Pilgrimage’)

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