The Man Who Carried God's Name

A retelling for children, based on Bahá'í Chronicles, drawn from 'Abdu'l-Bahá's book Memorials of the Faithful.

When he was still a young man in the city of Tabríz, Hájí Áqáy-i-Tabrízí felt something wonderful awaken inside him. He came to love God with his whole heart, and that love never left him — not when he was young and strong, and not even when he grew old and weak many years later.

For a while he lived in a land called Ádhirbáyján. There he became known all around as a believer, a man who carried the name of God. You might think his neighbors would have been glad. But instead, something sad happened.

The people turned against him. Even his own relatives and friends stopped being kind. Every single day they found some new way to trouble him and chase him from his peace. Imagine that — losing the very people who were supposed to love you, just because of what you believed.

At last he made a hard choice. He gave up his home, gathered his family, and traveled far away to a city called Adrianople, where Bahá'u'lláh was living. But when he arrived, those who wished to be cruel took him prisoner.

So Hájí Áqáy-i-Tabrízí became one of the wanderers who had no home of their own. Together with the others, watched over by Bahá'u'lláh, he was sent to the great prison-city. There he became a true friend and companion to the believers, sharing all their troubles right alongside them. Through every hardship he stayed humble, and he never stopped being patient.

After a time, the rules grew gentler, and life became a little easier. Hájí Áqáy-i-Tabrízí began to work as a trader, and through the kindness of Bahá'u'lláh he finally found comfort and peace.

But all those years of trouble had worn out his body. He grew ill, and in the end he passed away — close to Bahá'u'lláh, and watched over by Him to the very last. His resting place is in the city of 'Akká.

Hájí Áqáy-i-Tabrízí lost so much: his home, his friends, even his health. Yet he never lost the one thing that mattered most to him — his love for God. When we love something truly, we hold on to it even when it is hard, and even when others do not understand.

This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "Hájí Áqáy-i-Tabrízí".

editors, B. C.. *Bahá'í Chronicles*. https://bahaichronicles.org/haji-aqay-i-tabrizi/