The Young Guardian

A retelling for children of "The Appointment of Shoghi Effendi as Guardian", based on God Passes By by Shoghi Effendi and on The Priceless Pearl by Rúhíyyih Khánum, which tells of the events of late 1921 and early 1922.

Shoghi Effendi was the eldest grandchild of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. In 1921 he was far from his home in Haifa, studying at Oxford University in England.

On 29 November he went up to London, to the office of a Bahá'í friend where cables for the Bahá'ís often arrived. Lying open on the desk was a cable from the Holy Land. He saw 'Abdu'l-Bahá's name on it, and he read it. 'Abdu'l-Bahá had passed away in the early hours of 28 November, in His house in Haifa. The shock was so great that Shoghi Effendi collapsed. He was taken to the home of a Bahá'í in London and put to bed for a few days.

Then he set out for home. There were delays with his travel papers, but on 16 December he sailed from England, and on 29 December he reached Haifa by train. Waiting for him in the house was his great-aunt Bahíyyih Khánum, 'Abdu'l-Bahá's sister.

'Abdu'l-Bahá had left a Will and Testament, written in His own hand. What it said was not made known to the believers until it had first been read to Shoghi Effendi. On 3 January 1922 the Will was read aloud to nine men, most of them members of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's family, and they were shown its seals and the Master's own handwriting.

The Will named Shoghi Effendi as the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith. He was to explain the meaning of the Bahá'í teachings, and all the believers were to turn to him.

He was twenty-four years old. He began the work at once, writing letters to the Bahá'ís of Persia and of other lands. But he was grieving and ill, and in April he went away to the mountains of Switzerland to regain his strength. While he was away, Bahíyyih Khánum looked after the affairs of the Faith, as he had asked her to do.

In December 1922 Shoghi Effendi came back to Haifa and took up his work again.

He guided the Bahá'í Faith for thirty-six years. He translated many of the Bahá'í writings into English so that more people could read them. He built up the way the Bahá'í community is organized. He watched over the building of the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel to its completion. And he helped carry the Faith to most of the countries of the earth.

Later, when Shoghi Effendi wrote his history of the Faith, God Passes By, he wrote about the Will and about the Guardianship, but he said almost nothing about himself.

This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "The Appointment of Shoghi Effendi as Guardian".

Effendi, S.. (1944). *God Passes By*. Bahá'í Publishing Trust. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/shoghi-effendi/god-passes-by/