Many a night, no less than ten persons subsisted on no more than a pennyworth of dates
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Studio narration for this story is coming — it’ll be generated by the cloud-TTS pipeline (voice: auto-selected from the source author).
When in Bahá'í history
Many a night, no less than ten persons subsisted on no more than a pennyworth of dates. No one knew to whom actually belonged the shoes, the cloaks, or the robes that were to be found in their houses. Whoever went to the bazaar could claim that the shoes upon his feet were his own, and each one who entered the presence of Bahá’u’lláh could affirm that the cloak and robe he then wore belonged to him. Their own names they had forgotten, their hearts were emptied of aught else except adoration for their Beloved... O, for the joy of those days, and the gladness and wonder of those hours!
Source: Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh v 2, p. 214 -216
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: detachment).
Discuss this story
For adults
- What stands out about Adib Taherzadeh's response in this account?
- What might Adib Taherzadeh's example ask of us in our own circumstances?
- If you were to share this story aloud at a devotional gathering, which sentence would you read first?
For teens
- What is one quality you'd want to carry forward from this account?
- Which line in this story surprised you the most?
Reflection
- How does joy show up in your life right now — and where is it being asked of you?
- Read the passage a second time, slowly. What did you notice that you missed the first time?
- Sit quietly for a moment after reading. What does this story stir in you?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "Many a night, no less than ten persons subsisted on no more than a pennyworth of dates" drawn from?
What period of Bahá'í history does this story belong to?
Which historical figure is featured most prominently in this story?
Which virtue does this story most clearly illustrate?
Cite this story
Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/detachment
Record yourself reading this story
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