The Man in the Corner of the Prison

A retelling for children, based on 'Abdu'l-Bahá's memorial of Mashhadí Faṭṭáḥ in Memorials of the Faithful, as given in Bahá'í Chronicles.

Mashhadí Faṭṭáḥ came from the province of Ádhirbáyján in Persia. He learned of the Faith through his brother, Ḥájí 'Alí-'Askar. 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote that the two brothers were like twins. They shared the same faith and the same aims, and they left Ádhirbáyján together and moved to the city of Adrianople, where Bahá'u'lláh was living in exile. Later they were prisoners with Him in 'Akká, and even in the prison they were always together.

Mashhadí Faṭṭáḥ had some goods to sell, and that was all he owned in the world. He left them in the care of some people in Adrianople, and those people did away with the goods. So he lost everything he had.

Yet 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote: "He passed his days, perfectly content, in the Most Great Prison." He never said a word to draw attention to himself. He stayed in one corner of the prison, quietly remembering God and praying.

'Abdu'l-Bahá said of him: "He was devotion itself."

Then Bahá'u'lláh passed away. Mashhadí Faṭṭáḥ could not bear being parted from Him, and he died of grief.

This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "Mashhadí Faṭṭáḥ".

'Abdu'l-Bahá. (1915). *Memorials of the Faithful*. Bahá'í Publishing Trust. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/memorials-faithful/