The Hand That Did Not Move
Howard Colby Ives, Portals to Freedom, (1937), George Ronald · Read original
When in Bahá'í history
A retelling for children, based on Portals to Freedom by Howard Colby Ives (George Ronald, 1937). The words in quotation marks are exactly as Ives wrote them.
On the morning of December 5, 1912, a big steamship called the Celtic was tied up in New York harbor, ready to sail. 'Abdu'l-Bahá was leaving America. He had spent eight months there, travelling from city to city and speaking to all kinds of people. Now at least a hundred of His friends had come on board to say goodbye. They crowded into a large room on the ship called the saloon.
'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to them for a short time. Then He asked everyone to come to Him, so that He could take each person's hand in parting. One by one they passed in front of Him. He gave each of them a handful of flowers and a few words of love and encouragement.
One of the friends was Howard Colby Ives. When his turn came, all he could think was that he would never see 'Abdu'l-Bahá again in this world. He knelt on one knee, lifted the Master's hand with his own, and placed it on his head.
He never forgot what happened next. The hand did not move at all. It simply lay where he had put it. Howard later wrote, "It was a dead weight in my clasp. But His face was illumined with transcendent light."
To Howard, that still hand was the last and clearest sign of something he had seen in everything 'Abdu'l-Bahá did: He was humble, and He lived as a servant of others.
Afterwards the friends stood on the wharf and watched the ship move slowly out into the river. 'Abdu'l-Bahá stood at the rail, and the breeze moved His white hair and beard. Howard could see His lips moving, and he could read the words: "Alláh'u'Abhá!" That means "God the Most Glorious."
This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "The Hand Upon My Head".
Cite this story
Ives, H. C.. (1937). *Portals to Freedom*. George Ronald. https://bahai-library.com/ives_portals_freedom
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