The Master in the Butcher’s Shop
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When in Bahá'í history
'Akká (today: Acre, Israel)
Early in the days of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s imprisonment in the barracks in ‘Akká, news of His wisdom spread from a butcher’s shop. He and a few of Bahá’u’lláh’s companions had left the barracks to procure food and other necessary items from the markets. In the butcher’s shop where the Master waited to be served, a Muslim and a Christian were apparently expounding the merits of their respective faiths. The Christian was winning the discussion. Thereupon, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá entered the conversation and with simplicity and eloquence proved the validity of Islám to the satisfaction of the Christian. The news of this incident “spread and warmed the hearts of many people of ‘Akká towards the Master; this was the beginning of His immense popularity among the inhabitants of that city.” There even came a time when the governor of the city, Ahmad Big Tawfíq, sent his own son to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for instruction and enlightenment.
Source: Honnold, Annamarie, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 119.
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: christianity).
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