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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."
228 stories where kindness appears.
When a Bahá’í spoke up for a young Persian, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that He would overlook any wrong done to Himself, but could never countenance or aid a deed that would injure the Faith.
While Bahá'u'lláh lived in solitude in the mountains, His family in Baghdad heard of a dervish who had comforted a weeping schoolboy and written him a beautiful copy. Bahíyyih Khánum recalled how they became convinced it was their father.
Letitia, a Catholic girl who taught French in the Master's home, was embarrassed after interpreting for a pilgrim. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá assured her that no one would try to make a Bahá’í of her.
When the landlord in New York complained about His many visitors, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá did not argue but moved out, showering the staff with such love that they felt ashamed and begged Him to stay.
A woman visiting the Master in Haifa in May 1910 told Him she had had many sorrows. He told her to forget them, then shared Persian tea with her and gave her a package to take away.
In London ‘Abdu’l-Bahá heard laughter from the kitchen and went to share the joke between a Persian servant and an English housekeeper. He laughed heartily and gave each of them a small gold coin for being happy.
On His first morning in Washington, amid many interviews, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spent half an hour with Agnes Parsons’ young son Jeffrey, looking at his toys, books and pictures before they went up to the roof to see the view.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited the sick, sent daily to ask after them, and quietly paid a doctor to care for the poor of ‘Akká. When a poor, crippled woman with measles was shunned, He arranged her care and, at the last, her funeral.
Unwell with a cold on His chest during His second visit to Stuttgart, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was told by physicians to stay indoors, yet He went to the waiting audience, spoke on world peace, and stopped to comfort a weeping woman.
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.
At a Christmas party for the poor in London in 1912, some children took ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for Father Christmas. At East Sheen three little children sat quietly on His knee while He spoke of the purity of children’s hearts.
When a merchant in ‘Akká seized the exiles’ charcoal, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sat quietly in his shop for three hours. Their talk about Christ won the merchant’s respect; he paid back the money and became a lifelong friend.
Worn out after seeing a hundred and forty people and speaking at the Mortens’ home in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá went up to rest, but crowds followed. When Juliet Thompson asked to shut the door, He gently said to let them come.
The Universal Races Congress was good, for it was intended for the furtherance and progress of unity among all nations and a better international understanding.
An American family asked if they might visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He replied that they could come when they could travel in comfort, and in 1919, after the war, it was arranged for the Randalls to start for Haifa.
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.
Grieving over a family rift, Juliet Thompson’s mother went through a thunderstorm to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. His words of comfort took away her bitterness, and she regarded it as a miracle.
Urged on by the Master's enemies, the governor of Haifa visited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wearing Bahá’u’lláh’s cloak and spectacles. The Master said nothing and treated him with courtesy, and later hastened to free him from prison.
‘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.
When Yúnis Khán handed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá a poem full of exalted titles, the Master was deeply grieved and said He considered Himself lower than every believer. Seeing Yúnis Khán's distress, He then comforted him.
In Haifa, thirteen-year-old Bahíyyih Randall saw ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tenderly feed the aged Ḥaydar-‘Alí. When she asked him what he had done to serve the Faith, he said he had not done as much as an ant could do in the path of God.
Then, O ye friends of God! Ye must not only have kind and merciful feelings for mankind, but ye should also exercise the utmost kindness towards every living creature.
O people of the world! The dawn of the Sun of Reality is assuredly for the illumination of the world and for the manifestation of mercy.
The foundation of the Kingdom of God is laid upon justice, fairness, mercy, sympathy and kindness to every soul.
Today I am most happy, for I see here a gathering of the servants of God.
When the darkness of ignorance and heedlessness concerning the realm of eternity and bereavement from the True One had encircled the universe, then the resplendent Luminary dawned and the brilliant Light illumined the horizon of the East.
If any differences of opinion may arise in those regions you must keep yourself entirely aloof and show forth love and kindness to all, saying it is better to refer to the ordained Center all the affairs.
Thank God for guiding thee unto the Straight Path, manifesting unto thee the Evident Light.
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.
A young merchant from Tabríz heard of the new Manifestation in Smyrna, left his business to serve Bahá’u’lláh, and made his home in Haifa a way station for Bahá’í travelers, remaining steadfast after the Ascension.
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.
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.
What you had written concerning the memorial gatherings of men and women believers to mourn the Most Exalted Leaf, who was the peerless fruit of the Holy Tree …
O my spiritual sister! God be praised, through the Ancient Beauty’s grace and bounty, we have set foot safe and sound upon this shore, and arrived in this town ...
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 …
I feel prompted to offer my sincere best wishes to you and to express the agony of separation that has deeply affected me.
He deeply appreciates your sincere, well-expressed reference, to the tribute he has written to the dearly beloved Greatest Holy Leaf.
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.
O Díyá! It is incumbent upon thee, throughout the journey, to be a close, a constant and cheerful companion to my honoured and distinguished sister.
O thou my affectionate sister! God be praised, according to what we hear the climate in that land hath proved not unfavourable.
Mírzá Ḥusayn ‘Alí, Who afterwards assumed the title of Bahá’u’lláh (i.e.
Bahá’u’lláh says:— O people of God! I exhort you to courtesy. Courtesy is indeed ... the lord of all virtues. Blessed is he who is adorned with the mantle of Uprightness and illumined with the light of Courtesy.
During the winter of 1919–1920 the writer had the great privilege of spending two and half months as the guest of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at Haifa and intimately observing His daily life.
On no subject are the Bahá’í teaching more imperative and uncompromising than on the requirement to abstain from faultfinding.
On his 1901 pilgrimage to 'Akká, young William Dodge knocked soup onto the whiskers of a Persian believer at dinner. 'Abdu'l-Bahá laughed and told him not to worry: it was a blessing.
In 'Akká, after listening kindly to a Western visitor's complaints, 'Abdu'l-Bahá brought in Hájí Mírzá Haydar-'Alí, saying he had had many troubles. Asked about them, he replied that he had never had any.
In Pittsburgh in 1912, when the friends kept asking how He liked His fine hotel rooms, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalled how in the barracks of ‘Akká He had lived for about two years in the morgue so that the crowded families could be at ease.
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.
A Persian pilgrim brought his wife, who was not a Bahá’í, on the long journey to Haifa. Some travellers were rude to her, but the Greatest Holy Leaf waited outside to embrace her, seated her beside herself and gave her own ring.
On the first Western pilgrimage, a young American said she was now an orphan because her parents did not believe. Munírih Khánum embraced her and brought her to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Who told her that the ties of the spirit are all.
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.
In ‘Akká, Dr. Yúnis Khán watched ‘Abdu’l-Bahá dictate a long Arabic Tablet that two visiting Muslim divines had asked to carry to Iran, then overheard the visitors marvelling at what they had witnessed.
In Ṭihrán around 1850, the young Nabíl was asked to take six-year-old ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to school; the child took his hand and said, “We shall walk together.”
As a boy newly arrived in Tehran from Qum, the future Hand of the Cause Faizi enrolls at the Bahá'í Tarbiyat School and, following his friends, finds his way to a Friday Bahá'í class that shapes his whole life.
In 1920, while Shoghi Effendi was resting in Paris on his way to England, the pilgrim Núru’d-Dín Mumtází met him at a gathering, and Shoghi Effendi later visited his party and chanted a prayer for their pilgrimage.
Muhammad Big, who led the escort taking the Báb to Tabríz, recalled how at Milán an old woman brought a sick child to the Báb, the child was healed, and about two hundred people there believed.
During their 1906 pilgrimage to 'Akká, 'Abdu'l-Bahá came to Ali Kuli Khan's door with a handkerchief full of white roses for his wife Florence, fulfilling her long prayer to receive a rose from His hand.
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.
Visiting ‘Akká in 1905, the American pilgrim Mary Lucas watched ‘Abdu’l-Bahá listen gravely to His two-year-old granddaughter's troubles, and gently prompt her when she forgot a word while chanting Him a Tablet.
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.
In Tihrán, a student from Núr visits Mullá Husayn at midnight. Hearing of a son of Mírzá Buzurg who feeds the hungry, Mullá Husayn sends Him a scroll; Bahá'u'lláh reads from it and sends back a gift.
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.
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.
A children's class teacher uses a prism to show how God's attributes are like the colours hidden in white light, then asks each child to live out one attribute during the week.
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.
A life of Bahá'u'lláh for children: His boyhood in Tihrán, His refusal of His father's post, the Báb's letter brought by Mullá Ḥusayn, prison and exile, and His declaration in the Garden of Riḍván.
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.
A children's introduction to the Báb through the words of people who knew Him: His schoolteacher, a visitor who met Him in Karbilá, and His wife, who saw Him praying late at night.
Walking home alone on a cold, wet day, a seven-year-old boy finds a shivering white kitten in the mud and carries it home, where his mother praises his kindness to animals.
Túbá Khánum, a daughter of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, recalls how in 'Akká her grandfather Bahá'u'lláh let the children choose cloth for their frocks, saved sweets for them and promised picnics at the Riḍván.
After a summer storm, Kevin and Laura find sea stars stranded all along a beach and a boy carrying them back to the water. They decide to help him.
During His two years in the mountains of Kurdistan, Bahá'u'lláh, dressed as a dervish, comforts a weeping schoolboy and writes out a copy for him. The teacher sees that the writing is royal penmanship.
A boy in a wheelchair, rescued from bullies one Halloween, remembers his friendship with Isfandiyar, a Bahá'í named after the faithful servant of Bahá'u'lláh whom 'Abdu'l-Bahá praised.
Boys who had shouted and thrown sticks at 'Abdu'l-Bahá's party in New York came to meet Him. He welcomed each one, called the only black boy a black rose, and gave them all chocolates.
Riding in the countryside, Bahá'u'lláh met a dervish who said he was cooking God. After Bahá'u'lláh spoke with him, the dervish left his cooking things behind to follow Him, chanting a love-song he had made in His praise.
Carrie's family must sell her mare, Lady, who is to be given away in a drawing at the horse show. Carrie spends her savings on tickets and loses, but the winner, an old school friend of her father's, asks her to keep and care for Lady.
Jerry takes home a hungry stray kitten and cares for her himself. When she has three kittens his family cannot keep, he finds each of them a good home.
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.
While living as a dervish in the mountains of Kurdistán, Bahá'u'lláh found a boy weeping because his schoolmaster had punished him for bad writing, and wrote out a copy for him in His own hand.
When some of His Persian companions remarked that there was better tea than the one Corinne True served in Chicago, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá drank it and said it was very good because it had been prepared with love.
After ‘Abdu’l-Bahá saved Haifa’s people from wartime starvation, the British knighted Him in 1920. He came to the ceremony quietly, not in the elegant car sent for Him but in the horse-drawn carriage that His faithful servant Isfandíyár brought for Him.
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.
Visiting the poet Elizabeth Gibson Cheyne and her invalid husband, Dr T. K. Cheyne, in Oxford, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was moved to tears by her loving care and called her an angelic woman.
In London in 1911 'Abdu'l-Bahá told a society's representative that knowledge must be put into practice, and told of a learned man who said he understood the Bahá'í teachings but flared in anger at a single question.
Myron Phelps tells how 'Abdu'l-Bahá met a man in 'Akká who denounced Him for twenty-four years with food, clothing and care, until the man came weeping to ask His forgiveness.
The first of the Arabic Hidden Words, revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád, gives His first counsel: to possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart.
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.
In late May 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had to leave His New York lodgings because of the stream of visitors, but when the staff saw His kindness as He departed, they were ashamed and begged Him to stay.
In London, inquirers who stayed on at mealtimes were invited to dine. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá led the humblest guest to the seat at His right and put each one at ease, and as many as eighteen might be served by the Master Himself.
In Paris a man from India told ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that his aim in life was to spread the message of Krishna. The Master did not argue; He replied that Krishna’s message, like that of all God’s prophets, is the message of love.
When Dr Yúnis Khán handed the Master a believer's poem addressing Him in exalted terms, 'Abdu'l-Bahá was grieved and affirmed His servitude, then comforted him with such loving words that his anguish turned to joy.
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!”
In a Tablet about backbiting, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells how Christ, passing a dead animal with His apostles, saw only the whiteness of its teeth, and calls this the conduct of the real Bahá’ís.
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.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalls how, while Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned in Ṭihrán in 1852, Mírzá Yúsif, a Russian subject, helped her mother send Him food and hid the family in two little rooms near the prison.
On an outing for the Master’s birthday, a group of boys in a Bronx park jeered at ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and threw stones. He asked for the birthday cake, cut it into a piece for each boy, and they ran off happily.
While Juliet Thompson painted ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s portrait in America, He told May Maxwell she had a kind heart, Lua Getsinger a tender heart and Juliet an emotional one, and said that united they would make a great heart.
Áqá ‘Alí worked all day and had friends to supper almost every night, teaching them the Faith. Later, poor in ‘Akká, he lived on bread and brook water and was content, because he could come into Bahá'u'lláh's presence.
Áqá Muḥammad-Ibráhím, a coppersmith and poet from Káshán, met Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, was exiled to Mosul, and later served the believers and travellers in Haifa, spending what he earned on friends and strangers.
Husayn Effendi, a young merchant from Tabríz, heard of Bahá'u'lláh in Smyrna, left his business to serve Him, and later made his home in Haifa a resting place for Bahá'í travellers.
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.
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 went to stay in the green hills of New Hampshire, His hostess hoped He could rest. But He said He had come to work and to serve, and He welcomed the many people who came to see Him.
In city after city on His journey across America, 'Abdu'l-Bahá met the children, hugged and blessed them, and gave them flowers and sweets.
A crowd of boys came to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York. The only Black boy among them was afraid he would not be welcome, but 'Abdu'l-Bahá greeted him, loud enough for all to hear, as a black rose.
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.
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.
A boy was crying because his teacher had punished him for poor handwriting. A dervish in the mountains, who was Bahá'u'lláh, wrote out a copy for him to learn from.
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.
A visitor began complaining to 'Abdu'l-Bahá about his country. 'Abdu'l-Bahá told him to speak well of everyone and reminded him of a story about Jesus and a dog.
As a small boy, Shoghi Effendi learned from his grandfather, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to be on time, and became the first to get up for the family’s early prayers and breakfast in the Master’s room.
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.
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.
Maria Ioas longed for a flower from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. On His first day in Chicago she waited all afternoon at His hotel, and He invited her in and gave her a rose.
From 25 July to 16 August 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá stayed at Dublin, New Hampshire, where Mrs Parsons had hoped He might rest. He said He had come for work and service, and the weeks filled with Tablets, talks and many visitors.
In Washington, Chicago, Kenosha, St. Paul, San Francisco and New York, Mahmúd's Diary records 'Abdu'l-Bahá meeting children during His 1912 journey: embracing and kissing them, taking them on His lap, and giving them flowers and sweets.
In Chicago in November 1912 a visitor from Russia began complaining to 'Abdu'l-Bahá about his country. The Master told him to speak ill of no one and reminded him of Christ's words about a dead dog.
Yet another of the emigrants and settlers was the valiant Jamshíd-i-Gurjí, who came from Georgia, but grew up in the city of Káshán.
Among the exiles, neighbors, and prisoners there was also a second Mír Imád, the eminent calligrapher, Mishkín-Qalam.
Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá was a blazing light.
Khurshíd Begum, who was given the title of Shamsu’d-Ḍuḥá, the Morning Sun, was mother-in-law to the King of Martyrs.
Sulaymán Khán was the emigrant and settler who was given the title of Jamálí’d-Dín.
This distinguished man was one of the greatest of all the Báb’s companions and all the loved ones of Bahá’u’lláh.
On pilgrimage to 'Akká, 'Abdu'l-Bahá noticed that Robert Turner, Phoebe Hearst's butler, was absent, asked for him, and rose to greet him with words of love. Shoghi Effendi later praised the tenacity of his faith.
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.
During her 1905 pilgrimage to 'Akká, Julia Grundy recorded 'Abdu'l-Bahá telling His guests at dinner that they were all of one family, joined in spiritual relationship, and serving a Feast where believers of East and West sat together.
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.
When May Maxwell fell ill on pilgrimage, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá cancelled the pilgrims’ meeting on Mount Carmel, saying none of them could be happy unless all the beloved were happy.
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.
Asked how one should live, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá answered, “Be kind to everyone.” He told Juliet Thompson never to let anyone speak unkindly of another in her presence.
In London a woman without an appointment was turned away from 'Abdu'l-Bahá's door. As she went down the stairs, He sent a messenger after her.
During His retreat in the mountains of Kurdistan, Bahá'u'lláh comforted a weeping schoolboy and wrote him a copy to learn from. The schoolmaster recognized the writing as royal penmanship, and people set out to find Him.
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.
A member of the Commission of Inquiry sent from Constantinople against ‘Abdu’l-Bahá later fled to Egypt, was robbed and asked for help. The Master at once directed the believers to give him a sum on His behalf.
Howard Colby Ives recalls a Sunday in New York in April 1912 when some twenty or thirty boys from the East Side came to see 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and He welcomed the only Black boy among them, before them all, as a black rose.
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 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.
Sunday, January 12th, 1913 About one thousand years ago a society was formed in Persia called the Society of the Friends, who gathered together for silent communion with the Almighty.
October 28th The Creator of all is One God. From this same God all creation sprang into existence, and He is the one goal, towards which everything in nature yearns.
Friday evening, October 20th ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: Numerous meetings are held in Paris every day for different purposes, to discuss politics, commerce, education, art, science and many other subjects.
November 8th All over the world one hears beautiful sayings extolled and noble precepts admired.
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, November 17th In the conduct of life, man is actuated by two main motives: ‘The Hope for Reward’ and ‘The Fear of Punishment’.
October 16th and 17th, 1911 When a man turns his face to God he finds sunshine everywhere.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November 13th All prejudices, whether of religion, race, politics or nation, must be renounced, for these prejudices have caused the world’s sickness.
November 11th I spoke yesterday of the first principle of the Teaching of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘The Search for Truth’; how it is necessary for a man to put aside all in the nature of superstition, and every tradition which would blind his eyes to the existence of truth in all religions.
October 24th An Indian said to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: ‘My aim in life is to transmit as far as in me lies the message of Krishna to the world.’
November 25th When Christ appeared He manifested Himself at Jerusalem.
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.
Question.—Those who are blessed with good actions and universal benevolence, who have praiseworthy characteristics, who act with love and kindness toward all creatures, who care for the poor …
God hath, at all times and under all conditions, been wholly independent of His creatures.
O Ye who are invested with the Bayán! Ye shall be put to proof, even as those unto whom the Qur’án was given.
On the Day of Resurrection when He Whom God will make manifest cometh unto you, invested with conclusive proofs, ye shall hold His Cause as being devoid of truth …
O peoples of the world! The Sun of Truth hath risen to illumine the whole earth, and to spiritualize the community of man.
O thou dear handmaid of God! Thy letter hath been received and its contents noted. Thou didst ask for a rule whereby to guide thy life.
In this holy Cause the question of orphans hath the utmost importance.
O thou daughter of the Kingdom! Thy letter dated 5 December 1918 was received.
O ye beloved of the Lord! The Kingdom of God is founded upon equity and justice, and also upon mercy, compassion, and kindness to every living soul.
O lover of humankind! Thy letter hath been received, and it telleth, God be praised, of thy health and well-being.
O ye illumined loved ones and ye handmaids of the Merciful!
It is daybreak, and from the rising-point of the invisible realms of God, the light of unity is dawning; and streaming and beating down from the hidden world of the Kingdom of oneness there cometh a flood of abounding grace.
O ye the sincere loved ones of the Abhá Beauty! In these days the Cause of God, the world over, is fast growing in power and, day by day, is spreading further and further to the utmost bounds of the earth.
O my spiritual loved ones!
O ye servants of the Blessed Beauty!... It is clear that in this day, confirmations from the unseen world are encompassing all those who deliver the divine Message.
The teaching work should under all conditions be actively pursued by the believers because divine confirmations are dependent upon it.
O ye who are steadfast in the Covenant!
O ye sons and daughters of the Kingdom! Your letter was received. From its contents it was known that, praise be to God, your hearts are in the utmost purity and your souls rejoice in the glad tidings of God.
O Thou, my God, Who guidest the seeker to the pathway that leadeth aright, Who deliverest the lost and blinded soul out of the wastes of perdition, Thou Who bestowest upon the sincere great bounties and favours …
O army of God! A letter signed jointly by all of you hath been received. It was most eloquent and full of flavour, and reading it was a delight.
O thou who art steadfast in the Covenant, and staunch! The letter which thou didst write ... hath been shown to me, and the opinions expressed therein were most commendable.
O ye true friends! Your letter hath been received and it brought great joy. God be praised, ye had made ready an entertainment and established the feast which is to be held every nineteen days.
O servant of the One true God! The Lord be praised, the loved ones of God are found in every land, and are, one and all, neath the shadow of the Tree of Life and under the protection of His good providence.
O thou who art turning thy face to God! Thy letter was received. From its contents it became known that thy wish is to serve the poor.
O thou whose heart overfloweth with love for the Lord!
O thou who hast bowed thyself down in prayer before the Kingdom of God!
In the Síyáh-Chál in 1852, Bahá'u'lláh's fellow prisoners were called out one by one to their deaths. The executioner, who had grown friendly to Him, would afterwards tell Him how each had died.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalls that strife grieved Bahá’u’lláh because of the unhappiness it brought others, and that He would take the blame upon Himself to restore peace.
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.
Glory be unto Thee, O my God! I supplicate unto Thee, O Thou my Helper! I invoke Thee, O Thou my Refuge! I utter to Thee my agonies, O Thou my Physician, and entreat Thee with all my heart, my soul and my spirit, saying: O my God!
O servants of the Blessed Beauty! It is a well known fact that, owing to the frequency of disturbances, the work of delivering the Message hath been for a short time discontinued.
O thou dear servant of God! Thy letter was received and its contents noted.
O thou favored maid-servant in the Threshold of the Almighty!
O thou favored maid-servant of God! Thy letter was received. Thou hast expressed joy on account of thy visit to the friends of Chicago.
O thou herald of the Kingdom! Thou wast not alone in the trip that thou didst undertake in various places. The spirit and soul of Abdul-Baha was with thee.
O thou illumined maid-servant of God! Thy letter was received. Praise be to God! that thou art assisted and confirmed and, through the light of the love of God, thou art an ignited candle.
O thou plant of the Garden of the Love of God! Thy letter was received. Its content was of utmost grace and sweetness.
O thou who art attracted by the Breath of God!
O thou who art attracted by the Word of God! Verily, I read thy letter which contained new significances.
O thou who art attracted to the Fragrances of the Garden of the Covenant and art speaking the praise of the Orb of the Universe!
O thou who art attracted toward the Kingdom!
O thou who art awakened to the Cause of God!
O thou who art calling in the cities, the bearer of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God!
O thou who art near to the Threshold of ABHA! I have considered what thou hast written to Mirza ...... as well as the letter addressed to me.
O thou who art turning to the divine Kingdom! The lengthy epistle was considered. Notwithstanding lack of time and opportunity, on account of exceeding love an answer will be written.
O thou who hast humbled thyself before the Kingdom of God! Blessed art thou that thine heart is attracted to the Beauty of God, is illumined with the light of knowledge and the ray of the Kingdom hath shone within it.
O thou whose breast is dilated (with joy) for the Kingdom of Truth!
O ye beloved ones! It is the moment of the ecstasy of the soul and consciousness and the season of running in the arena of sacrifice!
O ye beloved servants of Abdul-Baha and the maid-servants of the Merciful One!
O ye Cohorts of God! A letter which was signed by you in general was received. Its content was of the utmost beauty, sweetness, eloquence and perfection.
O ye my divine friends!
O ye seekers of Truth! Your letter was received and its contents became known. The new Kingdom hath raised its tents in all regions and hath enveloped East and West, but the blind ones cannot see and the deaf ones cannot hear.
O ye servants of the True One and the maid-servants of the Merciful!
O ye sons of the Kingdom! At a time when conditions were most difficult and oppressive and the reception of letters hard and impracticable, your letter was received.
“The disciples of Jesus, passing along the road and seeing a dead dog, remarked how offensive and disgusting a spectacle it was. Then Christ turning to them said, 'Yes, but see how white and beautiful are his teeth'—thus teaching that there is some good in everything.”
An imposing motor-car was sent to bring ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to the ceremony at which He was knighted, but seeing the sorrow of His old coachman Isfandiyar, He went in His own carriage instead.
Boys who had followed the Master's party noisily on the way to the Bowery Mission came to see Him; He welcomed each one, called a dark-skinned boy a black rose, and shared chocolates.
When cables brought news of May Maxwell's death in Argentina, Shoghi Effendi broke it to her daughter, Rúḥíyyih Khánum, with great tenderness, and comforted her until she was laughing through her tears.
In Paris, the wife of a Japanese ambassador longed to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá but was ill and leaving early the next morning. Though it was late and He was tired, He went to call on her Himself.
After Juliet Thompson lost her temper with her mother and stormed out, 'Abdu'l-Bahá greeted her by asking whether her mother was happy, and sent her straight home to her.
The Master wanted people to be happy so that they could know the spiritual life and make others happy, and He told one of His daughters travelling with her aunt to be a cheerful companion.
On 27 November 1921 the Master sent the friends to the Shrine of the Báb for the Day of the Covenant and received Haifa’s officials; that night, the last of His life, He asked after everyone’s health.
The morning after He arrived in Montréal, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited a sickly girl across the street from the Maxwells and told her parents she must be let out into the sunlight; she soon recovered completely.
In Budapest, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was about to leave for Vienna when the president of the Turanian Society asked Him to stay for a meeting already advertised. He agreed, and that evening addressed a large and appreciative gathering.
Learning that Juliet Thompson's mother was grieving, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent for her in the midst of a thunderstorm. Though exhausted, He welcomed and comforted her, and the next day she said all her bitterness had gone.
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.
Leroy Ioas recalls how Shoghi Effendi gave the aged Corinne True a purse once used by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, with a gold coin inside bearing the year of her first visit to the Master.
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.
When a reporter burst in on two Scottish visitors’ evening with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London, the Master led him away to His room, then explained that their wish for his absence had made the man uncomfortable.
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.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá told pilgrims how a Governor had stopped a Bahá’í from sailing from Haifa, and how, when that Governor later fell from power and was imprisoned, the Master showed him kindness and never let him know He remembered.
When someone criticized Lua Getsinger to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, He answered the critic with a smile: "But she loves her Lord."
A man in 'Akká denounced 'Abdu'l-Bahá and hid his face from Him, yet for twenty-four years the Master sent him food, clothing and a doctor, until the man came weeping to beg His forgiveness.
Riding in the countryside of Núr, Bahá’u’lláh met a dervish cooking his food. After Bahá’u’lláh spoke with him tenderly about the true nature of God, the dervish left his utensils behind and followed His horse, singing for joy.
Hand of the Cause Leroy Ioas recalls how Shoghi Effendi went straight to the heart of every question, grew weary of long, roundabout letters, and wanted every task to bring an immediate result.