The Boy Who Came a Long Way

*A retelling for children, based on the account of Aqa Mirza Ali-Muhammad (Ibn-i-Asdaq) in **Bahá'í Chronicles**.*

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There was once a boy whose father was one of the bravest and truest believers anyone knew. The boy's father was so honest and so faithful that Bahá'u'lláh gave him a special name that meant "the most truthful." People called the father Asdaq — and so they began to call the boy "the son of Asdaq."

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As the boy grew, everyone could see something wonderful. He was turning out to be a great deal like his father. The same goodness, the same love of truth, the same courage — all of it was growing up inside him too.

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Then came the day this boy had been longing for. His father was setting out on a long, long journey to the faraway city of Baghdad — and the boy got to go with him.

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It was not a short trip. They traveled a great distance, mile after mile, day after day. But the boy did not mind how far it was. He had a reason to keep going that was bigger than tired feet or dusty roads. At the end of all that traveling waited the one person he wanted to meet most in the whole world: his Lord, Bahá'u'lláh.

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And at last, the long journey was over. The boy — still so young — was brought into the presence of Bahá'u'lláh. He did not meet Him only once, but several times. Imagine being a child and standing there, face to face with the One your whole heart had been searching for.

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Those meetings changed the boy forever. They left a mark on his soul that never faded, and they filled his whole being, top to bottom, with love for his newly-found Lord.

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While they were there in Baghdad, Bahá'u'lláh did something just for this boy. He revealed a special prayer for him. In it, He asked God to care for the young boy and help him grow, so that one day, when he was bigger, he would be ready to serve the Cause of God and lift up its banners. And in that very prayer, Bahá'u'lláh told how this boy, so small and so young, had traveled such a long way seeking to meet his Lord — and had found Him.

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The boy did grow up. And just as that prayer had hoped, he grew into a man who served with all his heart, until one day he was given a great honour: to be called a Hand of the Cause of God.

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It all began because a boy was willing to travel a very long way for something he loved. When your heart is truly searching for what is good and true, no road is too long to walk.

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*This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see ["Aqa Mirza Ali-Muhammad (Ibn-i-Asdaq)"](/stories/bc-aqa-mirza-ali-muhammad-ibn-i-asdaq).*

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