The Name He Chose for Himself
Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, (1944), Bahá'í Publishing Trust · Read original
When in Bahá'í history
A retelling for children of "The Name 'Abdu'l-Bahá Chose", based on God Passes By by Shoghi Effendi. The words in quotation marks are 'Abdu'l-Bahá's own, as Shoghi Effendi quoted them in The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh. How He chose His name is told in H. M. Balyuzi's 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Adib Taherzadeh's The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh.
In May 1892 Bahá'u'lláh passed away at Bahjí, near the city of 'Akká. The believers who loved Him were full of grief.
Bahá'u'lláh had not left them without a guide. He had written a special document entirely in His own hand, the Book of His Covenant. In it He told the believers to turn to His eldest Son. From then on, this Son would lead them and explain Bahá'u'lláh's teachings.
Bahá'u'lláh had given this Son many high titles. He had called Him "the Mystery of God" and "the Most Great Branch," and only this Son was allowed to be called "the Master."
But now that everyone was to turn to Him, He did not ask to be called by any of these titles. He chose to be known as 'Abdu'l-Bahá, which means the Servant of Bahá. He asked the friends to call Him by this name alone. His station, He said, was the station of a servant.
He wrote: "My name is 'Abdu'l-Bahá. My qualification is 'Abdu'l-Bahá. My reality is 'Abdu'l-Bahá. My praise is 'Abdu'l-Bahá." To be a servant of Bahá'u'lláh, He said, was His glorious crown, and to serve the whole human race was His religion.
He lived as a servant, too. Shoghi Effendi tells us that every Friday morning the poor crowded into the courtyard of His house, and He gave them money with His own hands. He did this so faithfully and so generously that people called Him "the Father of the Poor." He cared for orphans and for the sick, and He went in person to visit those who could not come to Him.
He could have been known by any of His high titles. He chose to be called the Servant.
This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "The Name 'Abdu'l-Bahá Chose".
Cite this story
Effendi, S.. (1944). *God Passes By*. Bahá'í Publishing Trust. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/shoghi-effendi/god-passes-by/
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