The Funeral of 'Abdu'l-Bahá

*A retelling based on **God Passes By** by Shoghi Effendi, which describes 'Abdu'l-Bahá's last days, His passing and His funeral. Words in quotation marks are quoted from that book.*

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'Abdu'l-Bahá kept to His usual round until the end. On the Friday before His passing, though very tired, He attended the noonday prayer at the mosque and afterwards gave alms to the poor, as was His custom. On Sunday, unable to leave the house, He still received the Muftí of Haifa, the Mayor and the Head of the Police.

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That night, before retiring, He asked after the health of every member of His household, of the pilgrims and of the friends in Haifa. He passed away in the early hours of 28 November 1921, in the seventy-eighth year of His age.

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The news spread through the town at once and was sent by wire around the world. Messages of sympathy came from His Majesty's Government in London, from the High Commissioner for Egypt, from the Council of Ministers in Baghdad and from many others. The High Commissioner for Palestine, Sir Herbert Samuel, asked to attend the funeral in person, to "express my respect for His creed and my regard for His person," as he later wrote.

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The funeral took place on the Tuesday morning.

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Shoghi Effendi calls it "a funeral the like of which Palestine had never seen": no less than ten thousand people took part, "representing every class, religion and race in that country." The coffin "was borne to its last resting-place on the shoulders of His loved ones." Ahead of it walked the City Constabulary as a guard of honor, the Muslim and Christian Boy Scouts with their banners, Muslim choristers chanting verses of the Qur'án, the chiefs of the Muslim community headed by the Muftí, and Latin, Greek and Anglican priests.

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Behind it came His family, the High Commissioner, the Governor of Jerusalem, Sir Ronald Storrs, the Governor of Phoenicia, Sir Stewart Symes, consuls of various countries, and notables of Palestine, Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Druze, with men, women and children of many nations. The long procession wound its way up the slopes of Mount Carmel to the Shrine of the Báb.

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Near the eastern entrance of the Shrine the casket was set on a plain table. There nine speakers, "who represented the Muslim, the Jewish and Christian Faiths, and who included the Muftí of Haifa," delivered their funeral orations. The High Commissioner then drew close to the casket and, with bowed head, paid his last homage, and the other officials followed him. The coffin was lowered into a vault adjoining the one in which the remains of the Báb had been laid.

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Sir Herbert Samuel later wrote: "A great throng had gathered together, sorrowing for His death, but rejoicing also for His life." Sir Ronald Storrs wrote: "I have never known a more united expression of regret and respect than was called forth by the utter simplicity of the ceremony."

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During the following week fifty to a hundred of the poor of Haifa were fed at His house every day, and on the seventh day corn was given in His memory to about a thousand of them, "irrespective of creed or race." At a memorial feast on the fortieth day, the Governor of Phoenicia spoke of "His dignified figure walking thoughtfully in our streets, of His courteous and gracious manner, of His kindness, of His love for little children and flowers, of His generosity and care for the poor and suffering."

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*This is a retelling. For the fuller account, see **God Passes By** by Shoghi Effendi.*

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