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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."
209 stories where generosity appears.
Given fur so that He could have a warm coat, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had it made into twenty caps for the elderly men of the town.
Given fur so that He could have a warm coat, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had it made into twenty caps for the elderly men of the town.
Before the First World War ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had villagers grow and store corn, which fed the poor of Haifa and ‘Akká through the famine years. After the British occupation He was knighted, in April 1920.
In ‘Akká, where there was no hospital, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá quietly paid a doctor to treat the poor. When a crippled woman named Na'um caught measles and was shunned, He gave her a room, His own bedding and every care.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave freely of love, time, food, money and more while gladly accepting deprivation for Himself. In America He left fine rooms for a simple apartment, yet tipped generously and spoke without pay.
When war came in 1914, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá moved the Bahá’ís of Haifa to the Druze village of Abú-Sinán, where vegetables He had taught them to grow and corn from ‘Adasíyyih kept many from hunger.
In a 1974 talk in Wilmette, Hand of the Cause Abu’l-Qásim Faizí recalled ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s explanation that the earth is faithful, generous and patient while fire is greedy, and urged Bahá’í youth to be like the earth.
Throughout His travels ‘Abdu’l-Bahá paid His own costs and declined offers of money; in Washington He asked Mrs Parsons to give her gift to the poor instead.
Before speaking at New York’s Bowery Mission in April 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had two thousand-franc notes changed into quarters, and He pressed a gift of silver into the hand of each man there.
In Montreal ‘Abdu’l-Bahá took the streetcar to save a dollar, then gave each of the Maxwells’ servants a pound; at Phoebe Hearst’s estate each servant received ten dollars.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s family dressed simply, as an example to the rich and an encouragement to the poor. When one of His daughters married in a clean dress, He explained that what she did not need He would give to the poor.
As a child, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited His Father’s flocks in the mountains. Told He must leave the shepherds a present, He gave them all the sheep, and Bahá’u’lláh laughed that one day He would give Himself away.
In Montreal in 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá bought gifts at Henry Birks' jewelry shop to give to people as He traveled. At the Maxwells' home He gave one pound to each of the servants.
In Dublin, New Hampshire, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called back a ragged old man passing the inn, stepped into a shadow, and gave him His own trousers with a blessing.
Leaving Buffalo in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá left a dollar for the absent chambermaid, yet refused a driver's overcharge, saying one should never yield to a wrongful demand.
On a walk in Vienna in 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave money to charity collectors and to children in the park until He and His attendants had nothing left.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá would not accept money for Himself. He returned a cheque meant to buy Him a motor-car so that it could go to the poor, and asked an American lady to educate two motherless girls instead of giving to Him.
When Ḥájí Amín brought the believers' offerings to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Master said something was missing. Praying in his room, Ḥájí Amín found a poor woman's coin in the lining of his coat, and the Master said it was worth more than all the rest.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá encouraged the Save the Children Fund and twice gave fifty Egyptian pounds to the Haifa Relief Fund. The Military Governor wrote to thank Him for His well-known generosity and care of the poor.
On Christmas night 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to a thousand homeless men at a Salvation Army shelter in London; at New York’s Bowery Mission He spoke to the men and gave each the price of a bed.
A governor of 'Akká who had kept the Bahá'ís from visiting their Master was dismissed. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Himself still a prisoner, sent him good wishes and a precious ring and offered to help him.
A pilgrim brought an exquisite silk carpet from Persia for 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The Master said so beautiful a gift belonged in the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, and after a joyful journey to Bahjí He spread it there Himself.
On a drive near Thonon in 1911, peasant children selling violets crowded around 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He bought all their flowers and gave to each child bountifully, and when they held out their hands for more, He gently said, "Tell them that they have taken."
‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave a fine wool cloak to a poor man who asked for a garment. The man complained that it was cotton and not good; the Master reproved him, then had him given a coin as well.
On Christmas night 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to about a thousand homeless men at a Salvation Army shelter in Westminster. He left money for another dinner on New Year’s night, and the men rose to cheer Him.
In the summer of 1848 eighty-one followers of the Báb gathered at Badasht as Bahá’u’lláh’s guests. Táhirih appeared unveiled and called for a break with the past, and Bahá’u’lláh eased the tension that followed.
You have questioned me about strikes. This question is and will be for a long time the subject of great difficulties.
Know that the conditions of existence are limited to the conditions of servitude, of prophethood, and of Deity, but the divine and the contingent perfections are unlimited.
Ye have written regarding the erection of the Temple and the purchase of the ground, or the finding of a place to be as a home for the gathering of the believers.
A biography of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, from His childhood in Tehran and long years of exile and imprisonment to His ministry as Center of the Covenant, His journeys to the West, His writings and His passing in Haifa in 1921.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá remembers Áqá ‘Alí of Qazvín, a host and teacher of the early believers who was beaten for his faith, followed Bahá’u’lláh to the prison of ‘Akká, and remained content through poverty and illness.
Muḥammad-Ibráhím, a coppersmith and poet from Káshán, came to Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, was exiled to Mosul, and spent his last years in Haifa serving travellers. His elegy for the King of Martyrs moved all to tears.
Early in his Guardianship, Shoghi Effendi used the gift of an Iraqi Bahá’í, Haji Mahmud Qassabchi, to add three rooms to the Shrine of the Báb, and named a door of the Shrine after him.
Ḥájí Mírzá Músá, whose father had been devoted to Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad, longed to give Him the house He lived in; Bahá’u’lláh would accept it only by purchase, and revealed a Tablet in Mírzá Músá’s honour.
Hájí Muhammad-Tahir of Yazd begged Bahá’u’lláh for martyrdom and was told he would live long to teach the Cause. He served for decades as a teacher, historian and protector of the families of Yazd’s martyrs.
As boys, two brothers of Isfahan served the Báb at their father's banquet. Grown into honest, generous merchants, they were put to death in 1879, and Bahá’u’lláh named them the King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs.
In Baghdad, Bahá'u'lláh has 'Abdu'l-Bahá settle a rich jeweler's disputed estate in a single day and gives the share pressed upon Him to the jeweler's son. Later Mírzá Muhammad defends those estates and becomes known as the Deputy.
Muḥammad-‘Alí of Iṣfahán followed Bahá’u’lláh into exile and spent the rest of his life a prisoner in ‘Akká, yet he savored every blessing so gladly that people said even kings were not so happy.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalls Siyyid Muḥammad-Taqí Manshadí, who welcomed pilgrims at his little shop in Haifa, handled the Tablets and the believers' mail, stayed loyal to the Covenant, and carried on that service in Port Sa‘íd until his death.
Each year before winter set in, 'Abdu'l-Bahá arranged for the poor of 'Akká to receive cloaks at a clothing shop, adjusting the garments on some of them Himself and keeping a record of those He helped.
In April 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to several hundred men at the Bowery Mission and placed coins in each hand. The quarters left over He gave to a chambermaid, who later came to thank Him and to ask Him to pray for her.
Agnes Parsons, in whose Washington home ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stayed in April 1912, recorded His gifts to her family: an ink well for her son, an illuminated manuscript for her husband, and a pair of glasses for her.
Indeed, the Greatest Holy Leaf, the Trust of Bahá’u’lláh amongst us, was the emblem of His boundless grace, a luminary shining in the heaven of tender mercy and gracious providence …
The Fund associated with the beloved name of the Greatest Holy Leaf has been launched.
Brethren and fellow-mourners in the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh! A sorrow, reminiscent in its poignancy, of the devastating grief caused by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s sudden removal from our midst, has stirred the Bahá’í world to its foundations.
The cheque for the amount of two hundred pounds that you had sent as your contribution to the Temple Fund has been received and duly forwarded to Chicago.
During the Great War, Haifa was crowded with the destitute, the orphaned, and the sick. From the household at the foot of Mount Carmel, the Greatest Holy Leaf — already in advanced age — distributed daily food, money, clothing, and remedies she had herself prepared.
Mírzá Ḥusayn ‘Alí, Who afterwards assumed the title of Bahá’u’lláh (i.e.
Bahá’u’lláh left instructions that temples of worship should be built by His followers in every country and city.
In the Book of Aqdas Bahá’u’lláh forbids slavery, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has explained that not only chattel slavery, but also industrial slavery, is contrary to the law of God.
In consequence of this and other equally unfounded charges, in 1901, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and His family, who for more than twenty years had been allowed the freedom of the country for some miles around Akká, were again, for over seven years …
In a letter to the Central Organization for a Durable Peace, written in 1919, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:— Among the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is voluntary sharing of one’s property with others among mankind.
A remarkable instance of the foresight of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was supplied during the months immediately preceding the war.
Sutherland Maxwell, not yet a Bahá’í, planned to lodge ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in a Montreal hotel. The day before He arrived, he bought new furniture for the largest bedroom, and he met the Master at the train and begged Him to stay in his home.
In Baghdád Bahá’u’lláh sent gifts to the poor of His neighbourhood, stopped each day to greet an eighty-year-old woman who waited for Him in the road, and arranged a daily allowance for her when He left the city.
In 1835 Bahá’u’lláh married Ásíyih Khánum. Known as the Father of the Poor and the Mother of Consolation, they cared for the needy while His father's fortunes collapsed and the family moved to a rented house in Tehrán.
When companions of Ṭáhirih were held prisoner in Ṭihrán, Bahá’u’lláh sent them help; greedy officials then accused Him of complicity and held Him for a few days, His first imprisonment for the Cause.
Two brothers of Isfahan who met the Báb as boys and later Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad became prosperous merchants, renowned for their honesty and for spending their wealth on the poor and on Bahá’u’lláh’s companions.
When the Grand Vizier Hájí Mírzá Áqásí tries to take Bahá'u'lláh's village of Quch-Hisar by fraud, the estate passes to the Sháh's sister, and Bahá'u'lláh answers the minister's accusations about His generous hospitality.
At ‘Akká in January 1908 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told pilgrims of a king who found a ninety-year-old man planting date trees for the next generation, and whose grateful, witty answers earned him three gifts.
Muḥammad Sháh summoned the Báb from Iṣfahán to Ṭihrán, but his Prime Minister, Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí, had Him halted at Kulayn and sent instead to the fortress of Máh-Kú. On the way to Tabríz His escort came to love Him.
Jináb-i-Fáḍil's 1924 account of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's life, from His birth on the night of the Báb's declaration through the exiles and His years in 'Akká to His release by the Young Turk revolution of 1908.
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's wife had a fine new coat made for Him before a visit from the Governor of ‘Akká, He asked her to send it back and have five ordinary coats made for the same price, four of them to give away.
In Paris in 1901, Thomas Breakwell heard a voice in the wind say “Christ has come again!” He learned of Bahá'u'lláh from May Bolles, visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 'Akká, and gave the rest of his short life to service.
Early one morning at an inn in Dublin, New Hampshire, 'Abdu'l-Bahá called in a ragged old man, cheered him, and gave him His own trousers, then went back to His dictation as if nothing had happened.
Visiting His Father's shepherds in the hills, the seven-year-old 'Abdu'l-Bahá was told He should leave them a present, so He gave them all the sheep. Bahá'u'lláh laughed and said that one day He would give Himself away.
A governor of 'Akká who tried to shut the Bahá'ís' shops was suddenly dismissed. 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited him, comforted him, and sent his family safely to Damascus, and the humbled governor wrote to beg His pardon.
Bahá'u'lláh's family lives happily in Tihrán until the day He is arrested and cast into an underground prison, where He comes to know that God has given Him a mission for the whole world.
Honest Bahá'í pioneers in Egypt build a thriving store and send Bahá'u'lláh a money belt full of gold. When riots leave the store in ashes, the belt comes back to them by post, untouched.
Lonely on her family's farm, eight-year-old Twinkle prays for a brother or sister. A visit from Sparkle, Aunt Sally's adopted daughter, shows her that loving and being kind to others can make them family.
Born to wealth, Bahá'u'lláh and Ásíyih Khánum chose to care for the poor and became known as the Father of the Poor and the Mother of Consolation. As a boy, 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave away all His Father's sheep.
At a school club's lunch meeting near Naw-Rúz, children of many faiths compare the spring holy days they celebrate, share Naw-Rúz cookies, and decide to make a library display so everyone can learn about them.
'Abdu'l-Bahá walked rather than rode to visit His Father, saying He would not ride where Christ had walked. Later He insisted on the ordinary stagecoach, asking why He should travel in a carriage when the poor need money.
Silly travels in his Time Capsule to Kapilavastu and watches Prince Siddhartha save a swan, leave his palace to seek the meaning of suffering, and become the Buddha, teaching people to be loving, humble, kind and generous.
Tommy, a poor boy with no money for a gift, asks God to help him. He rakes an old lady's leaves and asks for her roses instead of pay, so that he can give them to the teacher he loves.
At Lady Blomfield's table in London, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke of the blessings of freedom and wished the courses could be shared with the poor and hungry. His hosts at once resolved to simplify their dinners.
In Iṣfáhán the Báb was the guest first of the Imám-Jum'ih and then of the governor, Manúchihr Khán. He wrote a commentary on a Súrih of the Qur'án with great speed, and told the governor how His Cause would be preserved.
Before leaving America, 'Abdu'l-Bahá refused the believers' money and asked that the presents they brought for His family be sold for the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, saying the love of God is the best of all gifts.
On the last night of His life, when 'Abdu'l-Bahá's night-robe needed changing to cool His fever, no other could be found. He had given it away.
A 1936 United States government report describes how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá organized farming near Tiberias during the First World War, averting famine for the Bahá’ís and for many of the poor of all religions, and was afterwards knighted for these services.
During ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s stay at the Parsons home in Washington in April 1912, the household was called together for His short talk and blessing, and He gave each servant a silk handkerchief.
When His wife ordered a fine new coat for a visit from the Governor of ‘Akká, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked her to send it back and have five ordinary coats made for the same price, so that He could give four away.
Stripped of His possessions since the Síyáh-Chál, Bahá’u’lláh lived simply; once He gave a companion bound for Istanbul an old pair of His slippers so that new shoes of the right size could be bought.
Invited to the Plaza Hotel in New York in July 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá sat in a small room and declined the manager's offer to show Him the rest. Mahmúd's Diary records why, and records how often that year He refused gifts.
Juliet Thompson, a painter with debts and a mother to care for, offered the proceeds of photographs of her 1912 portrait of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the House of Worship. The day before He sailed from New York, He told her to keep the money.
After 'Abdu'l-Bahá settled a Baghdád jeweller's estate among his quarrelling heirs in a single day, the son offered Him a ruby ring. Years later, in 'Akká, He sent it to India to be sold for the sick, and the money never came.
Two brothers died on the same night in the barracks of 'Akká. The guards demanded payment to bury them, and the exiles had no money, so Bahá'u'lláh gave the prayer carpet that had been placed beneath His feet to be sold.
A pasha exiled to 'Akká from Yemen, near death, entrusted 'Abdu'l-Bahá with a bag of gold for his daughter. The Master paid for his funeral Himself and sent a dervish to Ṣan'á, who put the gold into her own hands.
Esslemont's account of Bahá'u'lláh's birth in Tihrán on 12 November 1817, His wisdom and generosity as a youth, His refusal of His father's post in the Ministry, and His acceptance of the Báb's Cause in 1844.
In 1912, on the Feast of Naw-Rúz in Alexandria, Egypt, 'Abdu'l-Bahá explained the meaning of the blessed days appointed in every dispensation — days for rejoicing together, for unity, and for leaving "tangible philanthropic or ideal traces" reaching all mankind.
In Montclair, New Jersey, in June 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá went to the market, oversaw the kitchen and often cooked for His guests, while for Himself a piece of bread and some cheese sufficed.
Munírih Khánum recalls how Bahá’u’lláh summoned her from Iṣfahán, her guarded journey by way of Mecca to ‘Akká, and her simple wedding to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, at which Bahá’u’lláh Himself chanted the prayers.
Myron Phelps, a visitor to ‘Akká, describes a crowd of the poor, blind and aged waiting in the street, and the Master coming out to give each of them coins and a kindly word.
In 1907 Corinne True watched from her window as the Master gave money and words of kindness to two or three hundred of the poor of ‘Akká, as He did every Friday morning.
In ‘Akká the Master kept giving His own bed to feverish people He found lying on bare ground, sleeping on the floor or the roof Himself until His situation was discovered and a kind friend gave Him another.
A floor maid came out of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s suite with her arms full of roses He had given her, and showed them to Ella Quant, exclaiming, “See what He gave me!”
A poor man who brought wood to Bahá’u’lláh’s house admired a splendid rug there. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told him to take it and, as the man ran off with it, called after him with good humour.
On 19 April 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to three hundred homeless men at the Bowery Mission in New York, then stood at the end of the aisle and pressed coins into the hand of each man as he filed past.
In Chicago, as John Bosch was paying his hotel bill before leaving for the West Coast, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá took his hand, brought him up to His room, and sent him off with a big cake and armfuls of fruit.
Early in his ministry the Guardian added three rooms to the Shrine of the Báb, paid for by Haji Mahmud Qassabchi of Iraq. One of the Shrine's doors is named after him.
Hájí Mírzá Músá wanted to give Bahá'u'lláh the house in Baghdád where He had lived. Bahá'u'lláh refused the gift and had the house bought at a fair price, and it became the Most Great House.
Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ṭáhir, a weaver of Yazd, asked Bahá'u'lláh to let him die as a martyr and was told he would live long to teach the Cause. He lived to be a hundred, teaching and caring for the families of the martyrs.
As boys, two brothers of Isfahan served the Báb at their father's banquet. They grew up to be honest, generous merchants and devoted Bahá'ís, were put to death in 1879, and were named by Bahá'u'lláh the King and the Beloved of Martyrs.
At a mission hall in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to three hundred homeless men, then shook each man's hand and gave him coins for a night's bed.
Bahá'u'lláh was born in Tihrán in 1817. As a youth He was wise, kind and generous, turned down His father's post in the government, and was later called the Father of the Poor.
At Naw-Rúz in Alexandria in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said that a holy day should bring people together and leave behind something good that reaches everyone, not only Bahá'ís.
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.
When 'Abdu'l-Bahá left Minneapolis, His friends went with Him to the train. Before He left, He asked them to be kind to the poor and help them.
Nettie Tobin wanted to give something for the new temple, so she brought a rejected stone from Chicago in an old baby carriage. 'Abdu'l-Bahá chose it as the cornerstone.
At the edge of Niagara Falls, 'Abdu'l-Bahá remembered the waterfalls Bahá'u'lláh had loved, and told His companions why He could not stay even half a day.
'Abdu'l-Bahá visited about four hundred poor men at the Bowery Mission, called them His friends and companions, and placed a coin in every hand.
As He left a country house in Milford, 'Abdu'l-Bahá looked at the green countryside all around and began to cry, because He was remembering the sufferings of His Father, Bahá'u'lláh.
At noisy family lunches in the Master's house, the children watched for the mouthful of food the Greatest Holy Leaf would give to one of them. Shoghi Effendi usually got it.
On a long trolley ride, Howard Colby Ives noticed the young woman beside him looking at his book, so he moved it over to share. By the end of the ride she wanted to know who had written it.
Early one morning a lady looked out of her window and saw 'Abdu'l-Bahá give a poor old man the trousers He was wearing.
On Christmas Day 1912 in London, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called on Lord Lamington, then spoke to some five hundred people at a Salvation Army hostel and paid for their meal and another night’s lodging, as His guests.
At the 1912 Lake Mohonk Peace Conference, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent Dr Zia Bagdadi overnight to New York for a Persian rug to give Albert Smiley, who received it with joy just as the Master was leaving.
After His Friday-morning gifts to the poor of ‘Akká in 1907, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told Corinne True that some of them were His enemies, yet He was kind to them, and explained how scarce work was in the city.
Visiting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1918, Wellesley Tudor Pole gave Him a Persian camel-hair cloak, for winter had come and He had given away the only cloak He possessed.
Mary Lucas, a pilgrim to ‘Akká in 1905, saw that the Master usually ate one simple meal a day, and that the family supper was packed up and sent to anyone known to have gone without.
Mary Lucas learned in ‘Akká in 1905 that the Master gave away the gifts sent to Him, and that when a wealthy woman pressed money on Him He asked her to give it for a poor man’s son’s education.
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.
On September 20, 1912, the friends went with 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the station as He left Minneapolis. His parting words asked them to love and help the poor.
On 1 May 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá dedicated the site of the first Bahá'í House of Worship in the West. For the cornerstone He chose a rejected building stone that Nettie Tobin had brought from Chicago by baby carriage and streetcar.
On 10 September 1912, during His stay in Buffalo, 'Abdu'l-Bahá took the trolley to Niagara Falls, recalled the small waterfalls Bahá'u'lláh had loved in Mázindarán, and told His companions He could not stay even half a day.
In April 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at the Bowery Mission in New York to about four hundred poor men, telling them that Jesus Himself had been poor and that the poor are very dear to God. Then He stood at the door and gave each man a coin.
As 'Abdu'l-Bahá left a country estate at Milford, Pennsylvania, in June 1912, He looked at its lush greenery and wept, remembering the sufferings of Bahá'u'lláh.
Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá was a blazing light.
Ḥájí Mírzá Muḥammad-Taqí, the Afnán, a kinsman of the Báb, gave up his business and estates after Bahá'u'lláh's ascension and spent nearly all he owned building the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of 'Ishqábád, the first Bahá'í House of Worship.
On the Friday before His passing in November 1921, 'Abdu'l-Bahá went to the noonday prayer and afterward, despite great fatigue, gave alms to the poor of Haifa as was His custom.
Túbá Khánum, a daughter of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, remembers Bahá'u'lláh's last illness at Bahjí, His farewell to the family, and the nine days of mourning in which the Master received more than five hundred guests and gave to the poor.
In ten years of exile in Baghdád, Bahá'u'lláh's house became a refuge for people of every faith and class. When He left for Constantinople in 1863, crowds wept and pressed forward to embrace His stirrups.
Before His exile, Bahá'u'lláh and His wife Navváb spent their wealth caring for the poor of Ṭihrán. Their daughter recalled that nobody was turned away from their door, and that the people called Him "The Father of the Poor."
Bahíyyih Khánum remembered her mother, Ásíyih Khánum, who married Bahá'u'lláh in 1835: her wealth as a bride, her gentleness, and the care for the poor that led people to call her the Mother of Consolation.
In Iṣfahán in 1879 two merchant brothers known for their honesty and generosity were denounced as Bábís by a cleric who owed them money. They refused to recant and were beheaded. Bahá'u'lláh mourned them in His Tablets for years.
On Christmas night 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to about a thousand homeless men at the Salvation Army shelter in Westminster, and left money so that they could have another dinner on New Year's night.
As a child, 'Abdu'l-Bahá was taken to see His Father's flocks. Told that He must leave the shepherds a present, and having nothing else to give, He gave them the sheep. Bahá'u'lláh laughed when He heard of it.
When the believers in 'Iráq were hiding their faith, Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá Baghdádí openly served Bahá'u'lláh, later hosted pilgrims in Beirut, and stayed firm in the Covenant, as 'Abdu'l-Bahá recalls in Memorials of the Faithful.
A Governor of 'Akká tried to close the Bahá'ís' shops and was dismissed from office the same morning. 'Abdu'l-Bahá comforted him and sent his family safely to Damascus, and the Governor wrote asking His pardon.
Two brothers of Iṣfáhán, later titled the King and the Beloved of Martyrs by Bahá'u'lláh, built a prosperous business, gave generously to the poor and to Bahá'u'lláh's exiled companions, and were renowned for their honesty.
In 'Akká 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave coins to the poor in the street, a warm garment each winter to every poor person in the town, and help to the sick of every faith. During the First World War He saved the civilians of Haifa from starvation.
As financial secretary of Bahai Temple Unity, Corinne True of Chicago gathered gifts from across America and the East for the House of Worship at Wilmette. She lived to see it dedicated in 1953 and was known as the Mother of the Temple.
In 'Ishqábád, in Russian Turkistán, the Bahá'ís raised the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the Bahá'í world, begun in 1902 under 'Abdu'l-Bahá's guidance, with a school, a travellers' house and a building for a hospital in its garden.
In 1894 Sarah Farmer opened Green Acre in Eliot, Maine, as a summer platform for speakers of every religion. After her pilgrimage to 'Akká in 1900 she offered it to the Bahá'ís, and in 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spent a week there and prayed for her.
In March 1909 thirty-nine delegates from thirty-six cities met in Chicago and formed Bahá'í Temple Unity, the national body that would hold the land and raise the funds for the first House of Worship in the West.
During the First World War 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself cooked the Naw-Rúz feast for the friends at Bahjí. On feast days He gathered the poor children of 'Akká for sweets and sharbat.
In Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, J. E. Esslemont describes the close of the Bahá'í year: the intercalary days of hospitality and giving, the nineteen-day Fast, and then Naw-Rúz at the March equinox.
Ásíyih Khánum, whom Bahá'u'lláh called Navváb, lost her wealth and home when He was imprisoned in Ṭihrán, and shared His exile. In 1863 she and the rest of the family joined Him in the Garden of Riḍván on the ninth day.
Nabíl recalled that each morning in the Garden of Riḍván roses were heaped in Bahá'u'lláh's tent, and He sent them to His friends in Baghdád. A flooded river kept His family from joining Him there until the ninth day.
Years before the First World War, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had Bahá'í villagers near the Jordan grow and store grain. In the famine years He fed the poor of Haifa, 'Akká and the surrounding district, and afterwards the British Government conferred a knighthood on Him.
In Baghdád Bahá'u'lláh sent gifts to the poor, the disabled and the orphans of His neighbourhood. He stopped each day for an old woman who waited for Him, and when He left the city He provided for her for the rest of her life.
When an unfriendly governor of 'Akká fell from office, 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent him a precious ring and His good wishes. When another official asked for His cloak, He offered the only one He had.
During His years of strict confinement in 'Akká, 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited the sick in their homes, brought doctors and medicine to the poor, and gave the city's poor warm clothing each winter, whatever their religion.
On Christmas night 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to a thousand homeless men at a Salvation Army shelter in London and left money to buy them a similar dinner on New Year’s night.
After His visit to the Bowery Mission in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá emptied the leftover quarters into a hotel chambermaid's apron, and she resolved to give every cent of it away.
Before a journey, the Master’s wife left a spare cloak for Him with one of their daughters. When He learned of it, He gave it away, unwilling to keep two cloaks while others had none.
Travelling from ‘Akká to Haifa, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá took a seat in the stage coach rather than a private carriage, and gave five francs to a fisherwoman whose family was hungry.
As a small child, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was sent by Bahá’u’lláh to inspect His flocks. Having nothing else to give the shepherds, He gave them the sheep, and Bahá’u’lláh remarked that someday He would give Himself away.
Walking with one of His daughters, the Master met a local woman, the daughter of a desert chief. He answered her greeting kindly, pressed a coin into her hand, and thanked her when she said she would pray for Him.
On a carriage ride near Thonon-les-Bains, 'Abdu'l-Bahá stopped at an old inn, where children selling violets clustered around Him. He gave them francs from His pocket.
At a pilgrim's banquet at Bahjí in July 1919, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá served the guests Himself, the Bedouins camping nearby received a generous share, and He gave each of their children a coin. Next morning their fathers came to thank Him.
On a trolley to Newark, Howard Colby Ives shared his copy of Some Answered Questions with the young woman beside him. At the end of the ride she asked who the author was, and the next Sunday she came to hear 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Early one morning in Dublin, New Hampshire, a guest at the inn saw 'Abdu'l-Bahá call back a ragged old man and give him the trousers He was wearing.
Shoghi Effendi once described to Rúḥíyyih Khánum the noisy family lunches of his childhood, when the grandchildren watched for the mouthful of food the Greatest Holy Leaf would give to one of them. It usually went to him.
Before the war ‘Abdu’l-Bahá taught the people of three villages how to grow corn, and with the stored harvest He fed the poor of Haifa and ‘Akká through the famine years. When the British arrived, He had corn for their army too.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November 12th ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: I have spoken to you of some of the principles of Bahá’u’lláh: The Search after Truth and The Unity of Mankind.
November 6th This is in truth a Bahá’í house. Every time such a house or meeting place is founded it becomes one of the greatest aids to the general development of the town and country to which it belongs.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris One of the most important principles of the Teaching of Bahá’u’lláh is: The right of every human being to the daily bread whereby they exist, or the equalization of the means of livelihood.
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.
In Montreal in September 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed a Socialist Club. An address on economics He gave in Montreal compares humanity to one family and one body, and proposes a village storehouse so that no one remains in want.
Ella Cooper recalled glimpsing Bahíyyih Khánum in the kitchen, dividing a lamb into broth, meals and portions for the poor, and realizing the hours of work that went into caring for the visitors.
Rene made a basket of flowers for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. When she saw another girl leaving His room with it, she was upset at first, then came to understand the true meaning of giving.
An early pilgrim describes ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Friday mornings in ‘Akká, when He gave a coin and a kind word to each of a hundred or more poor people, and His early-morning visits to the sick.
The honor and exaltation of every existing being depends upon causes and circumstances.
O God, my God! Illumine the brows of Thy true lovers and support them with angelic hosts of certain triumph.
O ye loyal servants of the Ancient Beauty! In every cycle and dispensation, the feast hath been favoured and loved, and the spreading of a table for the lovers of God hath been considered a praiseworthy act.
We hear that thou hast in mind to embellish thy house from time to time with a meeting of Bahá’ís, where some among them will engage in glorifying the All-Glorious Lord...
O Lord, O Thou Who dost bless all those who stand firm in the Covenant by enabling them, out of their love for the Light of the World, to expend what they have as an offering to the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár …
O my well-beloved daughter of the Kingdom! The letter thou hadst written to Dr. Esslemont was forwarded by him to the Land of Desire [The Holy Land].
O ye blessed souls! The letter ye had written to Rahmatu’lláh hath been perused.
O respected personage! I have read your work, The Gospel of Wealth, and noted therein truly apposite and sound recommendations for easing the lot of humankind.
Juliet Thompson's diary records how, in April 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had her change a thousand-franc note into quarters for the men of New York's Bowery Mission, and how He gave the coins that were left to a hotel chambermaid.
On 27 April 1920 'Abdu'l-Bahá was knighted at Haifa for His relief of famine in the Holy Land during the First World War. The Star of the West printed a Persian believer's account of the ceremony.
In March 1911 the Star of the West reported that the Persian-American Educational Society had sent seven hundred dollars to Tehran and enrolled sixty-three scholarships, and printed 'Abdu'l-Bahá's request for two American teachers for the Tarbíyat School.
When an unfriendly Governor of ‘Akká fell from office, the Master sent him a ring and good wishes; when another official demanded His cloak, He gave him His only one and promised a better.
Reserved by nature, Sutherland Maxwell first planned to lodge ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in a Montreal hotel, but the day before He came bought new furniture for Him and begged Him at the station to stay in their home.
O thou who art firm in the Covenant of God! Mayest thou enjoy this cup which is overflowing with the pure wine of the love of God!
O ye blessed souls! On the night of the feast ye entertained the beloved and were occupied in the service of the friends of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful One.
O ye two, servant and maid-servant of the Beauty of Abha!
O ye who are attracted! O ye who are firm! O ye who are zealous in the service of the Cause of God and are sacrificers of possessions and lives for the promotion of the Word of God!
In an English village the Master gave so many sixpences to children that His hostesses tried to turn away a late visitor with his babies, until ‘Abdu’l-Bahá came out and embraced them all.
At the Lake Mohonk peace conference, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave its president, Albert Smiley, a Persian rug fetched overnight from New York; it replaced one the Smileys had lost in a fire.
After ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke at Rabbi Meyer's synagogue in San Francisco, the congregation lent its building to a neighbouring church for nine months, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote that the deed would become eternal.
'Abdu'l-Bahá had His caterer send the Covenant-breakers at the Mansion whatever food and supplies they asked for, and passed on to them gifts and funds, yet they took His generosity for weakness.
During the First World War, when the breadwinners of ‘Akká and Haifa had been taken for the army, the Master kept the poor from starvation, opened a dispensary at Abú-Sinán and arranged schools for the children.
At the Bowery Mission in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke on the station of poverty, then stood by the door and gave coins to each of some four hundred men, with money left over for others.
When war came and Haifa feared bombardment, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá accepted a Druze chief’s invitation and moved the Bahá’ís to the village of Abu-Sinan, where they lived simply, regained their health and were kept from hunger.
At the Bowery Mission in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá addressed some four hundred of the city’s poorest men, shook every hand and placed coins in each palm; back at His hotel a moved chambermaid resolved to give as He had given.
Urged on by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s enemies, the Deputy-Governor of Haifa visited Him wearing Bahá’u’lláh’s cloak and spectacles; later, dismissed from his post, he begged the Master’s forgiveness and was shown utmost kindness.
Myron Phelps describes how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in ‘Akká lived simply in order to give to the poor, gave away a second cloak His wife had left for Him, and slept on the floor rather than in a bed.
'Abdu'l-Bahá accepted no money or costly gifts; when a lady offered a friend's cheque to buy Him a motor-car, He thanked her, held it as though blessing it, and returned it to be used for gifts to the poor.
When a minister called on 'Abdu'l-Bahá at the Maxwell home in Montreal, He gave him an armful of American Beauty roses, and the visitor left in awe of His regal manners and gentle courtesy.
Early one morning in Dublin, New Hampshire, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called over a ragged old man passing the inn, stepped into the shadow of the porch, and gave him His own trousers.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá retells an Arabian chronicle: Hanzala, pledged to die on King Nu'man's Day of Evil, returned to keep his word, and his faithfulness brought the king and his ministers to faith in God.
A dying Turkish man in Haifa told his children that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would be their father. The Master cared for the family, arranged the funeral and provided for their journey home to Turkey.
Staying in a village near London, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave sixpences to the poor children who followed Him. When His hostess and another guest turned away a man who had walked six miles with his babies, the Master came out and embraced them all.
Housed in comfort in London, 'Abdu'l-Bahá was saddened by the hunger of people living nearby, as in New York, and foretold a time when the wealthy would spend their riches to improve their communities.
Provisions 'Abdu'l-Bahá had grown and stored from 1912 onward saved Haifa's civilians from starvation in 1917 and 1918, and the British Government conferred a knighthood on Him, which He accepted as a gift "from a just king."
On Riverside Drive in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá met a poor man whose trousers were in rags, took him behind some shrubbery and gave him His own, then came back laughing with His aba wrapped around Him.