“O thou who art exhilarated by the Wine of the Love of...”
'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 exhilarated by the Wine of the Love of God—young in age and old in soul!
Truly, truly, I say unto thee, thy thanksgiving for my brilliant letter, which was sent thee, caused me to address thee repeatedly with the greatest affection of soul and spirit. By the life of God! verily, this letter will make thee and thine household [rejoice] throughout the eternity of the eternities, because the tongue of Abdul-Baha is addressing thee from this lofty and sublime threshold of the Blessed Perfection.
I assuredly cast mine eyes on the picture traced by thine hand and smelled the fragrance of the love of God from its flowers, because it is painted while thine heart hath been overflowing with the love of Baha’ and thou hast made it as a token for thy remembrance.
I beg of God to make thee cut thine heart from this world and whatever is in it, to devote thy life to the service of the maid-servants of God, to kneel down, worship and glorify the affectionate Lord, the Exalted, the Lord of angels and spirit!***
The brilliant leaves (i.e., the ladies of the household) who are overshadowed by the protection of Baha’, present their greetings and love to thee.
Source: 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas (1909). Public domain text from Project Gutenberg eBook #19312.
Discuss this story
For adults
- What stands out about 'Abdu'l-Bahá's response in this account?
- What might 'Abdu'l-Bahá'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
- If you were in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's place, what might you have done?
- What does this story teach about love?
Reflection
- How does love show up in your life right now — and where is it being asked of you?
- Is there someone in your life who would be helped by hearing this story?
- Sit quietly for a moment after reading. What does this story stir in you?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "“O thou who art exhilarated by the Wine of the Love of...”" 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
“A sufficient number of Tablets having been gathered together,...”
A sufficient number of Tablets having been gathered together, they have been entrusted to the Baha’i Publishing Society for publication in this concrete form for the enlightenment of the English-speaking…
“O thou blooming rose in the garden of the Love of...”
O thou blooming rose in the garden of the Love of…
“O thou confident leaf!...”
O thou confident…
“O thou faithful and confident!...”
O thou faithful and…