The Scholar Who Became a Servant

*A retelling for children of the account of Mírzá Muhammad, the Servant at the Travelers' Hospice, in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's **Memorials of the Faithful**, as given in **Bahá'í Chronicles**.*

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Mírzá Muhammad came from Iṣfahán. From an early age the leading religious scholars of the city knew him for his fine mind. His family was well known and respected, and he had studied philosophy and history, the sciences and the arts.

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But none of this satisfied him. He longed to know God. He kept searching, and he debated with learned men in their gatherings, until at last he found what he was looking for. 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote that before, "he was like a fish taken from the water"; now he had come to the spring of life. Before, he was like a moth searching in the dark; now he had found the candle flame.

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He heard the Glad Tidings of Bahá'u'lláh's coming, and his love was so strong that he left his life in Iṣfahán, with all its comforts, and set out for the Most Great Prison in 'Akká. The journey was long and full of hardship.

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In 'Akká he helped the believers and served Bahá'u'lláh. 'Abdu'l-Bahá described the change in him: "He who had been waited upon, now waited on others; he who had been the master was now the servant, he who had once been a leader was now a captive."

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He had no rest, day or night. To the travellers who came to 'Akká he was someone they could trust, and to the believers who lived there he was a companion like no other. He worked beyond his strength because he loved the friends. The travellers were devoted to him and the settlers were grateful. He was so busy that he hardly ever spoke.

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When Bahá'u'lláh passed away, Mírzá Muhammad could not bear His absence. He wept and prayed day and night, and he wasted away "like a candle burning down." He would cry, "Lord, free me, free me from this absence." At last he died.

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*This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see ["Mírzá Muhammad"](/stories/bc-mirza-muhammad).*

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