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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
48 stories where dignity appears.
Shoghi Effendi's tribute to Bahíyyih Khánum records the cost of the Adrianople exile to her own body — a winter of exceptional severity, a poor and unhealthy lodging, and dire financial distress that left her, as a young woman, with a permanent loss of vitality and a shadow on her face that would remain until the end of her life.
Shoghi Effendi's tribute to Bahíyyih Khánum recalls the years of crisis in Baghdád — when Mírzá Yaḥyá's faithlessness had unsettled the Bábí community and Bahá'u'lláh had retreated for two years to the mountains of Sulaymáníyyih — the tender solicitude she showed as a child in His absence, and the delicate, grave missions He entrusted to her in her teens.
Shoghi Effendi's tribute to Bahíyyih Khánum preserves a single small image from her childhood in Tihrán: when Bahá'u'lláh was thrown into the Síyáh-Chál and the family's wealth was seized within the space of a single day, Navváb — the mother — placed a handful of dry flour into the hand of her young daughter as the substitute for daily bread.
After much negotiation, at the request of the Persian Government, an order was issued by the Turkish Government summoning Bahá’u’lláh to Constantinople.
Shoghi Effendi told how a coachman at Ramleh demanded an exorbitant fare from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and pulled Him roughly by His sash. The Master stayed calm, refused to give in, and paid exactly what He owed, without the tip.
Mirza Mihdi, the Purest Branch, served as Bahá’u’lláh’s amanuensis. Aqa Rida remembered him as a pillar of strength to the exiles, reading to them from the Supreme Pen and teaching them courtesy, patience and dignity.
On His way from Chihríq to Tabríz, the Báb was the guest of Malik Qásim Mírzá at Urúmíyyih. The prince offered Him one of his wildest horses, and before the whole town the horse stood still beneath Him.
The divines gathered at Káẓimayn sent an envoy to Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád to ask for a miracle. He agreed, on condition that they choose one miracle together and put their promise in writing. They let the matter drop.
In Constantinople Bahá'u'lláh declined to call on the Ottoman ministers or seek their favour. Less than four months later He was banished to Adrianople, and He answered the edict with a Tablet sent to the Grand Vizir.
Tahirih taught the Bab's Faith openly in Karbila until guards were set on her house. In Baghdad she silenced a delegation of Shi'ih, Sunni, Christian and Jewish leaders, and was lodged in the Mufti's house, where she defended her faith.
In 1925 a Muslim religious court in Upper Egypt annulled the marriages of three Baha'is and, in doing so, declared the Baha'i Faith an independent religion. The Baha'is used the judgment to seek recognition of their Faith.
In December 1939 Shoghi Effendi moved the remains of the Purest Branch and his mother, Navvab, from their graves in 'Akka to Mount Carmel, placing the remains in new coffins with his own hands and carrying them on his shoulder.
In Adrianople Bahá'u'lláh began to proclaim His Mission to the kings of the world in the Súriy-i-Mulúk and other Tablets, and from the prison of 'Akká He wrote to Napoleon III, Queen Victoria, the Czar and the Pope.
'Abdu'l-Bahá passed away in Haifa on 28 November 1921. At His funeral some ten thousand people of every religion and race followed His coffin up Mount Carmel to the Shrine of the Báb, where He was laid to rest.
In April 1863, before His exile to Constantinople, Bahá'u'lláh spent twelve days in the Garden of Najíb Páshá outside Baghdád, and there announced that He was the One whose coming the Báb had foretold.
At noon on May 3, 1863, the twelfth day of the Festival of Riḍván, Bahá'u'lláh rode out of the Garden of Riḍván and set out from Baghdád for Constantinople, as crowds of believers and others lamented His departure.
The twenty-second Arabic Hidden Word tells the soul that it was created noble yet has abased itself, and calls it to rise unto that for which it was created.
The seventy-third Persian Hidden Word — Bahá'u'lláh's testimony that the soul is the daystar of the heavens of His holiness, and His call to let not the defilement of the world eclipse its splendor but to rend asunder the veil of heedlessness.
Shaykh Maḥmúd of ‘Akká hated the Bahá’ís and laid hands on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the mosque, but the Master’s serene reply turned his anger into shame, and he became a devoted Bahá’í.
From exile in Adrianople, and then from prison in 'Akká, Bahá'u'lláh wrote to the kings and rulers of the world, calling them to justice and to God.
When Bahá'u'lláh was ordered to leave Baghdád, He stayed for twelve days in a garden of roses by the Tigris, and there told His followers that He was the Promised One the Báb had foretold.
Bahá'u'lláh was being sent far away from Baghdád, yet in His last days there He showed great joy, and crowds, even the Governor, came to honor Him before He rode away.
Before leaving Mrs Phoebe Hearst's house in California, 'Abdu'l-Bahá called for the maids, cooks and butler, thanked them, and gave each of them a gift.
A boy of about thirteen, the only Black boy in a group visiting 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York, was afraid he might not be welcome. 'Abdu'l-Bahá called him "a black rose" in front of everyone.
Taking leave of Phoebe Hearst's house near Pleasanton, California, 'Abdu'l-Bahá called for the maids, orderlies, cooks and butler, thanked them, and gave each a gift, while the guests stood by, astonished.
When 'Abdu'l-Bahá passed away in Haifa in November 1921, messages of sympathy came from Winston Churchill, Viscount Allenby and the ministers of 'Iráq, and the High Commissioner for Palestine walked in His funeral procession among ten thousand mourners.
'Údí Khammár built the Mansion of Bahjí for his own family. After an epidemic, 'Abdu'l-Bahá rented it for Bahá'u'lláh, who lived there from 1879 until His ascension in 1892.
J. E. Esslemont tells how 'Abdu'l-Bahá arranged for Bahá'u'lláh to leave the prison-city of 'Akká for the countryside, how He lived simply at Bahjí, and how He passed away there on 29 May 1892.
After nine years within the walls of 'Akká, Bahá'u'lláh was persuaded to move to the country, first to Mazra'ih and then to the mansion of Bahjí, where, though still nominally a prisoner, He was honoured by officials and visitors.
In Karbilá, Siyyid Káẓim broke off his lesson when the young Báb sat down by the door, and said the Truth was more manifest than the ray of light on that lap. He would not say the name, and his students did not understand.
As Bahá'u'lláh left Baghdád for Constantinople in 1863, people of every class came to bid Him farewell. The Muftí and the governor visited Him in the Najíbíyyih Garden, and as He rode away crowds bowed to the dust before His horse.
When Bahá'u'lláh was summoned from Baghdád in 1863, His followers were dismayed. Esslemont records that during the twelve days in the Garden of Riḍván He showed the greatest joy, dignity and power, and His followers became happy and enthusiastic.
Shaykh Maḥmúd of 'Akká hated the Bahá'ís. Angered to hear 'Abdu'l-Bahá praised, he went to the mosque and laid hands on Him. The Master's calm reply took away his anger; days later he begged forgiveness and became a devoted Bahá'í.
In Washington in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told of Isfandíyár, a black servant of Bahá'u'lláh who, though hunted by the Sháh's officers, stayed in Ṭihrán for a month to pay the family's debts in full before he would leave.
In His letter to the Sháh of Persia, quoted in A Traveller's Narrative, Bahá'u'lláh wrote that for nearly fifteen years His persecuted followers had assailed no one, and explained that true victory means conquering one's own heart.
Bahá'u'lláh and about seventy companions were locked in the barracks of 'Akká, where nearly all fell sick and three died. Over the following years the hostility of the town gave way, step by step, to respect and reverence.
Robert Turner, Phoebe Hearst's butler, went with her party on the first Western pilgrimage to 'Akká. When he was missing from a gathering, 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked for him, rose to greet him and had him sit with the other pilgrims.
When Bahá'u'lláh reached Constantinople in 1863, He would not make the calls on the Sultan's chief ministers expected of every government guest. The Persian Ambassador used this against Him, and within four months He was banished to Adrianople.
Ḥusayn Khán, governor of Fárs, had two of the Báb's disciples tortured and ordered the Báb struck in his presence. Later, on the night he had the Báb arrested again, plague broke out in Shíráz and the governor fled.
After leaving the Garden of Riḍván on 3 May 1863, Bahá'u'lláh travelled with His family and twenty-six companions across eastern Anatolia to Constantinople. Officials and villagers welcomed Him along the way, and His companions served Him on foot.
On the long journey from Baghdád to the Black Sea in 1863, officials and villagers received Bahá'u'lláh with honour in town after town. As the caravan neared Sámsún, He revealed the Tablet of the Howdah.
At noon on 3 May 1863 Bahá'u'lláh rode out of the Garden of Riḍván on a red roan stallion, the best His lovers could buy for Him. Crowds bowed at His horse's feet, and believers and unbelievers alike wept.
Summoned to Constantinople, Bahá'u'lláh spent twelve days in the Garden of Riḍván while a caravan was prepared. Then He set out with members of His family and twenty-six disciples on a journey of three to four months.
In the twelve days before He left Baghdád for Constantinople, Bahá'u'lláh showed, in Esslemont's words, the greatest joy, dignity and power, and the notables of the city, even the Governor, came to honor Him.
A group of boys from New York's East Side came to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The only Black boy among them feared he might not be welcome, and the Master greeted him before them all as "a black rose."
On April 19, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to several hundred poor and homeless men at the Bowery Mission in New York, called them His friends and comrades, and afterwards placed silver coins in each man's hand.
On April 23, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed Howard University in Washington, D.C., one of the foremost Black universities in the country. Rejoicing to see white and black seated together, He told them that before God there are no whites and blacks, and that humanity is a garden whose many-colored flowers are its adornment.
In April 1919 the Star of the West printed part of a letter Elizabeth H. Stewart wrote in Tehran in November 1918, describing teaching meetings, a luncheon to which every Persian man brought his wife, and the hardships of the war years.