Oh ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, I said, I am a foreigner, born in Switzerland, and have not…
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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
Oh ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, I said, I am a foreigner, born in Switzerland, and have not the command of the English language. I would love to be a speaker. All I am doing is to give away pamphlets and as many books are printed. He looked serious. He said, you are doing well. I am satisfied with you. With you it is not the movement of the lips, nor the tongue. With you it is the heart that speaks. With you it is silence that speaks and radiance.
Source: Earl Redman, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst, p. 81-82
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: teaching).
Discuss this story
For adults
- What stands out about 'Abdu'l-Bahá's response in this account?
- What in your own life does this story bring to mind?
- Where do you see love appearing — visibly or quietly — in this passage?
For teens
- If you were in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's place, what might you have done?
- What does this story teach about love?
Reflection
- Where in your own life are you being asked to practice love?
- Read the passage a second time, slowly. What did you notice that you missed the first time?
- What in this account feels timely? What feels timeless?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "Oh ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, I said, I am a foreigner, born in Switzerland, and have not…" 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/teaching
Record yourself reading this story
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