The Scholar Who Waited for Proof

*A retelling for children, based on **Bahá'í Chronicles**, "Mirza Abu’l-Fadl," checked against H. M. Balyuzi's *Eminent Bahá'ís in the Time of Bahá'u'lláh* and *Bahá'u'lláh, The King of Glory*.*

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Mírzá Muḥammad was born in 1844 in the town of Gulpáygán, in the middle of Iran, into a family of religious scholars. He studied for many years with many teachers, and in time he became the head of a religious college.

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He first heard of the Bahá'í Faith through a humble blacksmith. Over some months he met other Bahá'ís and studied the Bahá'í writings. He read two Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, the Súriy-i-Ra'ís and the Lawḥ-i-Fu'ád, which foretold what would happen to the Ottoman Sultan and his ministers. He waited to see whether those words would come true. When they did, he made sure the news was correct, and in 1876 he became a Bahá'í.

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Because of his new faith he lost his post at the college, and he was put in prison more than once. After his last release, Bahá'u'lláh sent him letters asking him to travel and teach the Faith. He took the name Abu'l-Faḍl, which means "father of virtue."

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He travelled throughout Iran and to Central Asia. In 1894 he spent ten months with 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 'Akká, and then, at 'Abdu'l-Bahá's wish, he went to live in Cairo, where he taught the Faith. In 1901 Laura Clifford Barney came to Egypt to take him with her to Paris, and from Paris he went on to America. There his talks, including those at Green Acre in Maine, drew professors, artists and many others, who were amazed at how much he knew.

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Later 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked him to return to the Middle East. He died in Cairo on 21 January 1914. 'Abdu'l-Bahá named one of the outer doors of the Shrine of the Báb after him.

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*This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see ["Mirza Abu’l-Fadl"](/stories/bc-mirza-abu-8217-l-fadl).*

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