“O thou who art commemorating the praises of God!...”
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas, (1909) · Read original
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
O thou who art commemorating the praises of God!
Verily, I read thy letter of elegant expression, for which I supplicate to God to make thee meek, humble and fit for the effulgence of the light of His love among the maid-servants; and (I beg of God) to make all mankind the children of His mercy! This is the utmost mercy of Abdul-Baha for which he is endeavoring night and day and is summoning all to this fountain which is flowing with the pure water of the gift of God. Verily, I pray God to assembly all mankind in the shadow of the standard of peace and under the tents of love in the Paradise of El-ABHA; so that all of them may become the children of God and His beloved ones. Verily thy Lord is compassionate to the servants who are rightly guided.
As to thee: Appreciate the value of thy father, for he taught thee to await the manifestation of the Light of Lights. Verily he hath inhaled the fragrance of the Paradise of El-ABHA and his nostrils are therewith perfumed. Therefore, he bade thee to anticipate and prepare thyself for the appearance of the Kingdom of God.
Source: 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas (1909). Public domain text from Project Gutenberg eBook #19312.
Discuss this story
For adults
- If you were to share this story aloud at a devotional gathering, which sentence would you read first?
- How does this story complicate or deepen your understanding of tablets?
- Where do compassion and love meet in this story?
For teens
- If you were in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's place, what might you have done?
- What does this story teach about compassion?
Reflection
- Take one line from this story and let it stay with you today.
- What single image from this story will stay with you?
- How does compassion show up in your life right now — and where is it being asked of you?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "“O thou who art commemorating the praises of God!...”" 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
'Abdu'l-Bahá. (1909). *Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas*. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19312/pg19312-images.html
Record yourself reading this story
Recording stays on this device only. Nothing is uploaded.
Related stories
“As to [what thou hast heard concerning] the child...”
292 As to [what thou hast heard concerning] the child born from Russian parentage, this is pure imagination. Yea, certain persons shall in this divine dispensation produce heavenly children and such children shall promulgate the…
“For the information of those who know little or nothing...”
For the information of those who know little or nothing of the Bahai Revelation, we quote the following account translated from the (French) Encyclopaedia of…
“Glory be unto Thee, O my God! I supplicate unto...”
Glory be unto Thee, O my God! I supplicate unto Thee, O Thou my Helper! I invoke Thee, O Thou my Refuge! I utter to Thee my agonies, O Thou my Physician, and entreat Thee with all my hear, my soul and my spirit,…
“I ask God that thou mayest find a perceiving eye, an...”
194 I ask God that thou mayest find a perceiving eye, an attentive ear and an eloquent tongue; that thou mayest loosen thy tongue in delivering the Cause of God, promoting the Word of God in that country, educating the children and…