Roy Wilhelm, an early pilgrim to the Master in Akka observed the esteem…
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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
'Akká (today: Acre, Israel)
Roy Wilhelm, an early pilgrim to the Master in Akka observed the esteem ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had won from even those who were not Bahá’ís: ‘Our room fronted upon a little garden in which was a fountain, and nearby a tent in which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá receives many of those who come to see Him . So intense are the hatreds between the followers of the different religious systems that it is unusual for a man to be well spoken of outside his own system, but ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is regarded by all classes as a man of such wisdom and justice that it is to Him that they come for explanation of their religious Books, for the adjustment of their business quarrels, and even for the settlement of family difficulties. The inquirer will be told that ‘Abbas Effendi (‘Abdu’l-Bahá) makes no distinction; that He helps Jew, Muhammadan and Christian alike.’ So fair was He in His dealings that a just Governor of Akka, Ahmad Big Tawfiq, ‘used to send his son to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for instruction, and in the exercise of justice and sound government turned to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for counsel.’
Source: Honnold, Annamarie, Vignettes from the Life of "‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: integrity).
Discuss this story
For adults
- Where do integrity and justice meet in this story?
- How does this story illustrate the practice of integrity?
- What stands out about 'Abdu'l-Bahá's response in this account?
For teens
- If you were in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's place, what might you have done?
- What does this story teach about integrity?
Reflection
- If you could bring one quality from this story into your next conversation, what would it be?
- Is there someone in your life who would be helped by hearing this story?
- Where in your own life are you being asked to practice integrity?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "Roy Wilhelm, an early pilgrim to the Master in Akka observed the esteem…" drawn from?
Where does this story take place?
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/integrity
Record yourself reading this story
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