The Man Who Swept the Square

*A retelling for children, based on the story of Muḥammad-Hádí the bookbinder, told in **Memorials of the Faithful**.*

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Early in the morning, before most people were awake, a man named Muḥammad-Hádí picked up his broom and began to sweep.

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Back in his old home in the city of Iṣfahán, Muḥammad-Hádí had been famous. He made books — beautiful ones. He bound their pages together and decorated them with care, and there was no one better at it anywhere. People knew his name.

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But Muḥammad-Hádí loved God more than he loved being famous. So one day he left his comfortable home behind and set out on a long, hard journey. He traveled from country to country, through trouble and difficulty, until at last he reached the Holy Land, where Bahá'u'lláh was a prisoner. To be near Bahá'u'lláh, Muḥammad-Hádí became a prisoner too.

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Now that he had finally arrived, what work would this famous man choose to do?

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He chose to sweep.

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Every day he took up a place beside the doorway and kept watch, with his broom in his hand. He swept the square of ground in front of Bahá'u'lláh's house. He sprinkled water to settle the dust. He tidied and cleaned, until that little square was always spotless and lovely — at every hour of every day.

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And Bahá'u'lláh noticed. He would look out at that plot of ground, and a smile would come to His face. "Muḥammad-Hádí has turned the square in front of this prison into the bridal bower of a palace," He said. He meant that this humble man had made a prison yard as beautiful as the most splendid home. "He has brought pleasure to all the neighbors and earned their thanks."

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When the sweeping and sprinkling were finished, Muḥammad-Hádí did not rest. He went back to the work his hands knew best, and he bound and decorated the holy books and writings. And so his days passed by, his heart happy and full of joy simply to be close to the One he loved.

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Muḥammad-Hádí could have decided that sweeping was too small a job for an important man like himself. Instead, he saw that no work done out of love is ever too small. He gave his very best to a humble task — and he turned a plain square of dirt into something beautiful enough to make Bahá'u'lláh smile.

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*This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see ["Muḥammad-Hádíy-i-Ṣaḥḥáf"](/stories/bc-muhammad-hadiy-i-sahhaf).*

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