These horrible sounds I well remember, as we three children clung to our…
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When in Bahá'í history
These horrible sounds I well remember, as we three children clung to our mother, she not knowing whether the victim was her own adored husband. She could not find out whether he was still alive or not until late at night, or very early in the morning, when she determined to venture out, in defiance of the danger to herself and to us, for neither women or children were spared. How well I remember cowering in the dark, with my little brother, Mirza Mihdi, the Purest Branch, at that time two years old, in my arms, which were not very strong, as I was only six. I was shivering with terror, for I knew of some of the horrible things that were happening, and was aware that they might have seized even my mother. So I waited and waited until she should come back. Then Mirza Musa, my uncle, who was in hiding, would venture in to hear what tidings my mother had been able to gather. My brother 'Abbas usually went with her on these sorrowful errands.
Source: Hasan M. Balyuzi, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Centre of the Covenant, p. 42-43
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: bullying).
Discuss this story
For adults
- If you were to share this story aloud at a devotional gathering, which sentence would you read first?
- What in your own life does this story bring to mind?
- Where do devotion and patience meet in this story?
For teens
- Who is someone you know who lives out devotion the way this story describes?
- If you were going to tell a friend this story in two sentences, what would you say?
Reflection
- Where in your own life are you being asked to practice devotion?
- Take one line from this story and let it stay with you today.
- What in this account feels timely? What feels timeless?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "These horrible sounds I well remember, as we three children clung to our…" drawn from?
What period of Bahá'í history does this story belong to?
Which historical figure is featured most prominently in this story?
Cite this story
Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/bullying
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