The Master had instructed Aqa Faraju'llah, who was His caterer, to send to the…
bahaistories.com archive · 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
The Master had instructed Aqa Faraju'llah, who was His caterer, to send to the Mansion any amount of food and other supplies which the Covenant-breakers requested. But they used to demand five or six times more than their needs. They were determined to take excessive funds from the Master so as to make Him helpless and force upon Him the humiliation of borrowing money from the people. In spite of all this, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ensured that they received large supplies of food, clothing and other necessities of life. Moreover, every gift which was sent to Him ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would dispatch to the Mansion and many of the funds which He received as Huququ'lláh were given to them. These manifestations of generosity and compassion which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá showered upon them in spite of their malevolence were interpreted by them as fear and helplessness. Consequently the more they received His gracious gifts and favours, the more haughty they became and progressively intensified their opposition to His blessed Person.
Source: Adib Taherzadeh, The Child of the Covenant, p. 179
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: generosity).
Discuss this story
For adults
- Where do you see compassion appearing — visibly or quietly — in this passage?
- How does this story complicate or deepen your understanding of generosity?
- Read the closing lines once more. What single phrase stays with you?
For teens
- Who is someone you know who lives out compassion the way this story describes?
- If you were going to tell a friend this story in two sentences, what would you say?
Reflection
- How does compassion show up in your life right now — and where is it being asked of you?
- Read the passage a second time, slowly. What did you notice that you missed the first time?
- Sit quietly for a moment after reading. What does this story stir in you?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "The Master had instructed Aqa Faraju'llah, who was His caterer, to send to the…" 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/generosity
Record yourself reading this story
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