A Coin in Every Hand

A retelling for children, based on Mahmúd's Diary and the talk in The Promulgation of Universal Peace (April 1912).

In the city of New York there is a street called the Bowery. On it stood a hall called the Bowery Mission.

One evening in April 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá went to the Bowery Mission for a meeting held to help the poor. About four hundred men had gathered there to hear Him.

"Tonight I am very happy," He began, "for I have come here to meet my friends. I consider you my relatives, my companions; and I am your comrade."

Then He reminded them of Jesus. Jesus, He said, was poor. He had no home and no place to lay His head. And it was the poor who first believed in Him. He told them that Bahá'u'lláh, too, had once left all His riches behind and lived among the poor for two years, and had called Himself "the Poor One." The poor, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said, are very dear to God.

At the end of His talk He said: "I ask you to accept 'Abdu'l-Bahá as your servant."

Then He said that He wished to serve them. The man in charge of the meeting announced that 'Abdu'l-Bahá would stand by the door. One by one, the men came past Him. He shook each man's hand and placed a silver coin in his palm.

Some people said there would not be enough money for so many men. But there was enough for everyone, and some was even left over. It was given to other poor people, and to children, outside on the street.

Mahmúd, who traveled with 'Abdu'l-Bahá and kept a diary, wrote that His words that night went so deep that even the people there who were not poor felt envious when they heard how He described the poor.

This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "'Abdu'l-Bahá at the Bowery Mission".

Maḥmúd-i-Zarqání, M.. (1998). *Mahmúd's Diary: The Diary of Mírzá Maḥmúd-i-Zarqání*. George Ronald.