He Gave Away His Trousers
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When in Bahá'í history
Dublin, New Hampshire (today: Dublin, New Hampshire, USA)
Very early one morning when the main street of Dublin, New Hampshire, was almost devoid of people, one of the guests at the inn glanced out her window and saw ‘Abdu’l-Bahá walking and dictating to His secretary. As they walked, an old man dressed in ragged and very dirty clothes passed by. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent His secretary to fetch the poor fellow. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá took his hand, smiled at him and spoke with him. The old man's trousers were particularly holey; they hardly served their purpose. The Master laughed gently. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá quickly stepped into the shadow of the porch and fumbled with the clothes at His waist, drawing His robe around Him. Moments later, He emerged carrying His trousers which He handed to the unfortunate fellow, saying, “May God go with you.” Then, as though nothing unusual had occurred, He turned to His secretary and continued His morning's work.
Source: Earl Redman, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst, p. 164. The same account appears in Annamarie Honnold, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, no. 56, p. 83, and in H. M. Balyuzi, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: The Centre of the Covenant, pp. 238–239.
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: generosity).
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