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ARTICLE OUTLINE:

Life w ith Bahullh, 184492Iran, 184453

Exile and Imprisonment, 185392

Mini stry, 18921921Station

Acre Period, 18921908

Freedom, 190821

International Travels, 191013

War Years, 191418

Final Years, 191921

AchievementsWritings

Personal Characteristics

Death and Funeral

ARTICLE RESOURCES:

Notes

Other Sources and Related Reading

Abdul-Ba h Abbs (18441921)Eldes t son and appo in t ed successor o f Bah u l l h , t he Cen te r o f H is Covenan t ,

a n d t h e H e ad o f t h e B a h Fa i t h f r o m 1 8 9 2 t o 1 9 2 1 ; r e g a r d e d , a l o n g w i t h t h e B b

and Bah u l l h , as one o f t he Cen t r a l Figu res o f t h e Bah Fa i th .

LIFE WITH BAHULLH, 184492

Iran, 184453Abbs Effendi, the eldest of three survivingchildren ofBahullh and His wife syyihKhnum, was born in Tehran, Iran, on 23 May1844, the day on which the Bb declared Hismission in Shiraz (See: Letters of theLiving.History). Abbs Effendiwho, afterBahullh passed away, added to His given namethe title Abdul-Bah (the Servant of the Glory)was named for His paternal grandfather, Abbs,known as Mrz Buzurg Nr. A member of a well-established and distinguished family, Mrz Buzurghad served the government in many capacities,including the governorship of Burujird and Luristanin western Iran, and was much admired for hisaccomplishments as a calligrapher and respectedas a high government official. He was a friend of

the famous prime minister, poet, and scholar Mrz Abul-Qsim of Farhn, the Qim Maqm (whosetitle means "vice-regent").

Bahullh, known in His youth as Mrz Husayn-Al, was Mrz Buzurgs eldest surviving son by hissecond wife, Khadjih Khnum. Showing no interest in political life and not desiring a position at court,Bahullh spent His time dispensing charity to the poor and discussing philosophical and theologicalmatters with a circle of His fathers friends, impressing His interlocutors with the depth of Hisunderstanding of abstruse issues. For His charitable works, He acquired the appellation "Father of thePoor." He became a follower of the Bb in 1844.

Abdul-Bahs mother, syyih Khnum, who was known as Navvb, came from a noble family ofMazandaran. She and Bahullh married in 1835 and had seven children, three of whom survived toadulthood.

Abdul-Bah spent His early years in an environment of privilege, wealth, and love. The familys Tehranhome and country houses were comfortable and beautifully decorated. Abdul-Bah and his younger fullsiblingsa sister, Bahyyih, and a brother, Mihd (See: Mihd, Mrz)had every advantage their stationin life could offer.1

Abdul-Bahs childhood was soon marked, however, by the persecution of the Bbs, of whom Hisfather was one of the most prominent. In August 1852 three young Bbs, maddened by grief over theexecution of the Bb two years earlier, made a misguided, failed attempt on the life of the shah.Bahullh, who had no part in the assassination plot, was arrested, as were large numbers of otherBbs, and imprisoned in a subterranean dungeon known as the Syh-Chl (Black Pit) in Tehran.

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Abdul-Bah as a young man. Bah InternationalCommunity. Bah Media Bank

Bahullhs home was looted, and His family had to seek shelter in a rented house in a back alley.

Only eight years of age, Abdul-Bah, who had recently recovered from a potentially fatal bout oftuberculosis, now had to endure separation from His beloved father, physical deprivation, insults, andeven attacks by the children of the neighborhood. Sixty years later He recollected one such episode,when His mother had sent Him to His aunts house for a little money to buy food for the family: "Onmy way home someone recognized me and shouted: 'Here is a Bb'; whereupon the children in thestreet chased me. I found refuge in the entrance to a house . . . There I stayed until nightfall, andwhen I came out, I was once again pursued by the children who kept yelling at me and pelted me with

stones . . . When I reached home I was exhausted. Mother wanted to know what had happened to me.I could not utter a word and collapsed." 2

A visit to the dungeon where His father and a number of other Bbs were held etched itself deeply inAbdul-Bahs memory: "We entered a small, narrow doorway, and went down two steps, but beyondthose one could see nothing. In the middle of the stairway, all of a sudden we heard His blessed voice:'Do not bring him in here', and so they took me back. We sat outside, waiting for the prisoners to beled out. Suddenly they brought the Blessed Perfection [Bahullh] out of the dungeon. He was chainedto several others. What a chain! It was very heavy. The prisoners could only move it along with greatdifficulty. Sad and heart-rending it was."3

Bahullh was released after four months, unlike many of His fellow prisoners, who were executed orwho succumbed to the deplorable conditions in the dungeon. His remaining lands and possessions hadbeen confiscated, and He received word almost immediately that He and His family had been banishedfrom Iran. Bahullh chose to go to Iraq, then a province in the Ottoman Empire. The exiles set outfor Baghdad on 12 January 1853. Abdul-Bah would never see His native land again.

Exile and Imprisonment, 185392The long winter journey from Tehranto Baghdad was hard onthe party, which, having been given insufficient time to prepare,was inadequately equipped. The months of travel on treacherousroads over high mountains were particularly trying for the

children; for Navvb, who was pregnant; and for Bahullh,released from prison in debilitated condition just a month earlier.Abdul-Bah, according to His sister, suffered from frostbite. Thefamily also grieved over separation from Mihd, the youngestchild, who had not been well enough to travel. When Bahullhand His family reached Baghdad on 8 April 1853, they were illand exhausted.

Baghdad proved no safe harbor. Dissension within the smallcommunity of Bb exiles caused Bahullh to leave Baghdad inApril 1854, without telling even His family where He planned to

go (See: Yahy, Mrz.Mrza Yahya.In Iraq, 1853-63). Abdul-Bah, then ten years old, endured another painful separationfrom His father, this time for two full years, during whichBahullh lived in seclusion in the mountains of Kurdistan.Bahullhs return to Baghdad in 1856 began a period of

relative stability and comfort for His family and of resurgence for the Bb community, of whichBahullh was generally recognized as the leader.

Abdul-Bah attended no school during the Baghdad years, but, inspired and instructed by Bahullh,He read avidly and memorized many of the works of the Bb. He also began to write, composing a

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commentary on a hadith (tradition)"I was a Hidden Treasure"attributed to the Prophet Muhammadthat shows, in the words of Bah historian Hasan Balyuzi, "profound knowledge, striking mastery oflanguage, and rare qualities of mind, but above all . . . the most profound understanding." 4

While still in His teens, Abdul-Bah became His fathers ambassador, His shield, and His amanuensis,transcribing some of Bahullhs writings, including the Kitb-i-qn (Book of Certitude). On Hisfathers behalf He began to assume the burden of negotiations with government authorities in Baghdad.When Bahullh was summoned to the Ottoman capital, Constantinople (Istanbul), in 1863, Abdul-Bah played a principal role in making arrangements for the difficult journey across Iraq and Anatolia,

which took more than three months. "Abdul-Bah was then a youth of nineteen, handsome, gracious,agile, zealous to serve, firm with the wilful, generous to all," Balyuzi writes. "He strove hard to makethe toil of a long journey less arduous for others. At night He was among the first to reach the halting-place, to see to the comfort of the travellers. Wherever provisions were scarce, He spent the night insearch of food. And at dawn He rose early to set the caravan on another days march. Then the wholeday long He rode by the side of His Father, in constant attendance upon Him."5

Abdul-Bahs role became even more prominent in the subsequent stages of the familys banishmentfirst during their four-month-long stay in Constantinople; then in Adrianople (Edirne), where they livedfor more than four years; and finally in the prison city of Acre in Palestine, where the Ottomanauthorities imprisoned them for forty years (See: Bah World Center). After Bahullh publicly

proclaimed His mission in Adrianople in 1867, He withdrew from the general public, leaving Abdul-Bahto manage the affairs of the family and of the Bah exiles. Thus Abdul-Bah became His fathersrepresentative in all matters except those internal to the Bah community.

Abdul-Bah became widely known for qualities that the renowned British orientalist Edward G. Browneenumerated after meeting and conversing with Him in Acre in 1890: "One more eloquent of speech,more ready of argument, more apt of illustration, more intimately acquainted with the sacred books ofthe Jews, the Christians, and the Muhammadans, could, I should think, scarcely be found even amongstthe eloquent, ready, and subtle race to which he belongs. These qualities, combined with a bearing atonce majestic and genial, made me cease to wonder at the influence and esteem which he enjoyedeven beyond the circle of his fathers followers."6

The years in Acre were filled with difficulties and afflictions. While bearing weighty responsibilities,Abdul-Bah witnessed the death of His younger brother, Mihd, and the suffering of the other exiles.Growing to full maturity during this period of tribulations, He went about the business of life,maintaining His devotion to the Bah Cause, His determination to serve, His essential optimism andsense of humor. In 1872, shortly after having been released from three years of harsh confinement inthe citadel of Acre, Abdul-Bah, at the urging of Bahullh, married Munrih Khnum, whose fatherhad been a distinguished early Bb from Isfahan. Over the years, Abdul-Bah and Munrih Khnumhad nine childrenseven daughters and two sons; only four of their children, all daughters, survived toadulthood.

MINISTRY, 18921921

StationAs early as the Adrianople years (December 1863August 1868), Bahullh fully revealed to His closedisciples Abdul-Bahs stature as His main support and most trusted servant. In the Tablet of theBranch (Sriy-i-Ghusn), written in Adrianople, Bahullh extols His eldest son as the "Branch ofHoliness": "Render thanks unto God, O people, for His appearance; for verily He is the most greatFavor unto you, the most perfect bounty upon you; and through Him every mouldering bone isquickened. Whoso turneth towards Him hath turned towards God, and whoso turneth away from Himhath turned away from My Beauty, hath repudiated My Proof, and transgressed against Me." 7

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Abdul-Bah. Bah Photographic Library

Next to the Bb and Bahullh, Abdul-Bah occupies the highest station in the Bah Faith. In theKitb-i-Aqdas (Most Holy Book), Bahullh enjoins the Bahs to turn to "Him Whom God hathpurposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root" 8 and to "refer ye whatsoever ye understand notin the Book to Him Who hath branched from this mighty Stock."9In these texts, in the Tablet of theBranch, and in the Book of the Covenant (Kitb-i-Ahd ), which constitutes His Will and Testament,Bahullh establishes Abdul-Bahs authority as the Center of the Covenant (Bahullhs Covenantbeing the means by which He provided for the succession of leadership and the interpretation of Histeachings after His passing).

Abdul-Bahs authority and His role, however, are notcomparable to Bahullhs. On the basis of Abdul-Bahs ownnumerous statements, which are "no less emphatic and binding"than Bahullhs, Shoghi EffendiAbdul-Bahs eldestgrandson and His successor as Head of the Bah Faithmakesit clear that Abdul-Bah, "though the successor of His Father, .. . does not occupy a cognate station" and is not a Messenger ofGod.10 Abdul-Bah declares: "This is . . . my firm, myunshakable conviction. . . . The Blessed Beauty [Bahullh] isthe Sun of Truth, and His light the light of Truth. The Bb is

likewise the Sun of Truth, and His light the light of Truth . . . Mystation is the station of servitudea servitude which iscomplete, pure and real, firmly established, enduring, obvious,explicitly revealed and subject to no interpretation whatever . . .I am the Interpreter of the Word of God; such is myinterpretation."11

Bahs see Abdul-Bah, in the words of Shoghi Effendi, as "thestainless Mirror" of Bahullhs light, "the perfect Exemplar ofHis teachings, the unerring Interpreter of His Word, theembodiment of every Bah ideal, the incarnation of every

Bah virtue." Abdul-Bah is "the 'Mystery of God'an expression by which Bahullh Himself haschosen to designate Him, and which . . . indicates how in the person of Abdul-Bah the incompatiblecharacteristics of a human nature and superhuman knowledge and perfection have been blended andare completely harmonized."12

Acre Period, 18921908Despite numerous written and oral statements Bahullh had made about Abdul-Bahs future stationas His successor, as the Head of the Bah community, and as the authorized interpreter of the sacredwritings, the succession of authority after Bahullhs passing in May 1892 was turbulent. MrzMuhammad Al, Abdul-Bahs younger half-brother, soon challenged His position. The terms of theKitb-i-Aqdas and of Bahullhs Will and Testamentwhich honored Mrz Muhammad Al but gave

precedence to Abdul-Bahwere entirely clear. But those who trusted Mrz Muhammad Al asBahullhs son found their loyalties tested. In the ensuing climate of confusion, a number of Bahs,among them many members of Bahullhs family and some outstanding Bahs in Iran andelsewhere, accepted Muhammad Als claims. Their adherence to him precipitated a conflict that lastedfor the lifetime of his generation.

Not even Muhammad Als partisans could deny that Bahullh had named Abdul-Bah the Center ofthe Covenant, empowering Him to lead the Bah community. Yet Mrz Muhammad Al and his bandof followers violated the provisions of Bahullhs testament and tried to usurp Abdul-Bahsauthority. In Iran, Egypt, Europe, and America, Muhammad Als agents claimed that Abdul-Bah had

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exceeded His rights and privileges, that He had arrogated to Himself powers that were not His, that Hehad wrongfully assumed the station of a Manifestation or Messenger of God, and that He had deprivedHis brothers of their birthright to be honored and cherished by the Bahs. These attacks, althoughthey posed a threat at first and caused Abdul-Bah great pain because of the disrepute they broughtto the Bah Faith, ultimately failed to produce a schism in the community or to damage its unity.

Frustrated in his designs to supplant Abdul-Bah as Head of the Bah Faith, Mrz Muhammad Alturned informer, providing false reports designed to poison the attitude of the authorities against hisbrother. In early 1900 Abdul-Bah had begun the construction of the mausoleum of the Bb on Mount

Carmel in Haifa (See: Bah World Center). Mrz Muhammad Al and his agents accused Abdul-Bahof building a fortress and preparing an uprising that would overthrow the Ottoman sultan, AbdlhamidII, and carve out a kingdom for Himself in Palestine. Alarmed by the charges, the suspiciousgovernment of the sultan, struggling against the centrifugal forces that were tearing the weakenedOttoman Empire apart, issued an order in August 1901 that confined Abdul-Bah and His brotherswithin the city limits of Acre. Later the government appointed a commission to investigate the charges.Having been influenced at the outset by the allegations of Abdul-Bahs enemies, the commissionerscollected rumors and insinuations but never discovered any incriminating facts, for none existed.

Rumors circulated in 190708 that Abdul-Bah had been judged guilty and that He would be removedto Fezzan, an isolated desert spot in Tripolitania where He would be certain to perish. However, the

commission departed without taking action, and the turmoil in Constantinople, culminating in the YoungTurk Revolution, distracted the sultan. In the summer of 1908 Abdlhamid was deprived of hisautocratic powers and compelled to restore the Ottoman constitution and to release the empiresreligious and political prisoners. Abdul-Bah was free.

Notwithstanding the tumult caused by Mrz Muhammad Al, Abdul-Bah persevered in His designatedduties as Head of the Bah Faith and worked to overcome the obstacles it faced. His efforts to spreadthe teachings of Bahullh bore fruit quickly, especially in Iran, where the Bah community began toexperience rapid growth, and in the West, particularly North America, where the first conversions to theFaith occurred in 189495 (See: Chase, Thornton.Activities as a Bah).

During Bahullhs lifetime, Abdul-Bah had helped to revive the shattered Bb community in Iranand to foster its recognition of Bahullhs dispensation. After Bahullhs passing, Abdul-Bahsconstant care and encouragement led to a significant increase in the number of Bahs in Iran. Becauseof His leadership and constant encouragement, the Iranian Bahs established elected consultativebodies (later designated as Spiritual Assemblies), the first of which was elected in 1899 (See:Tehran.The Bah Period to 1921). In the words ofCentury of Light , a survey of the history of theBah Faith against the background of the main political and social developments of the twentiethcentury: "The importance of the latter development alone would be impossible to exaggerate. In a landand among a people accustomed for centuries to a patriarchal system that concentrated all decision-making authority in the hands of an absolute monarch or Shih mujtahids, a community representing across section of that society had broken with the past, taking into its own hands the responsibility for

deciding its collective affairs through consultative action."13

Equally significant was Abdul-Bahs direction and encouragement of the spread of the Bah Faith inthe West. In late 1898 and early 1899, the first groups of American Bah pilgrims, includingindividuals residing in England and France, arrived in Acre. They and subsequent pilgrims receivedextensive instruction from Abdul-Bah that deepened their understanding of the religion they hadrecently embraced. In these early years Abdul-Bah began a vast correspondence with North Americanand European Bahs, explaining the Bah teachings, giving personal guidance, and steering theestablishment of Bah communities and embryonic administrative institutions (See: Administration,Bah).

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Abdul-Bah in Paris, photographed under the Eiffel Tower in 1912. Shownwith Him is a small entourage of Persians and a handful of EuropeanBahs. Bah International Community. Bah Media Bank

Freedom, 190821As early as 1907, Abdul-Bah began moving His family to Haifa, where He had built a house at thefoot of Mount Carmel. Work on the Bbs sepulcher, midway up the mountain slope, had proceeded inspite of the investigations of Abdul-Bah carried out by the Ottoman government. In March 1909Abdul-Bah placed the Bbs remains in the Shrine, thereby establishing it as a place of pilgrimagesecond only to the Shrine ofBahullh in Acre. Soon afterward, Abdul-Bah began residing in Hishouse in Haifa, which then became the administrative center of the Bah Faith (See: Bah WorldCenter).

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Tr a v e ls , 1 9 1 0 1 3

The years of confinement and opposition, added tothe responsibilities He bore, seriously weakenedAbdul-Bahs health. After He suffered severalepisodes of illness, His doctors urged a change inHis surroundings. In August 1910 He sailed toEgypt, where He spent the next twelve months.There He met leading intellectuals; some Muslimdivines; correspondents and editors of various

newspapers and magazines; the Khedive (Turkishviceroy), Abbas Hilmi II; and the British consul-general Lord Kitchener (in effect, the ruler ofEgypt at the time). In August 1911 Abdul-Bahtraveled to Europe. He sailed to Marseilles,stopping at the French resort Thonon-les-Bains,on the shores of Lake Geneva, and in Geneva,Switzerland, before traveling to London. On 10

September 1911, from the pulpit of the City Temple, He gave a public address for the first time. Hismonth-long stay in England, which included a brief visit to Bristol, was filled with public talks, meetingswith the press, and interviews with individuals, setting a pattern that He would follow throughout His

travels in Europe and North America. Next He went to Paris, where the first Bah community in Europehad been established a decade earlier. He spent nine weeks there, returning to Egypt in earlyDecember to rest for the winter.

Abdul-Bahs second journey to the West was much more extensive in both duration (25 March 191217 June 1913) and distance. He devoted most of this period to the North American continent. Arrivingin New York on 11 April 1912, He traveled from the Atlantic to the Pacific, visiting a score of cities,among them Washington, Boston, Montreal, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago (where He laid thecornerstone of the first Bah House of Worship in the Western Hemisphere [See: Mashriqul-Adhkr.Houses of Worship around the World.Chicago]), Minneapolis, Denver, Salt Lake City, SanFrancisco, and Los Angeles. Everywhere He went, Abdul-Bah gave interviews to the press and

addressed large and small gatherings in public halls, churches, universities, and private homes,proclaiming the principles of the Bah Faith, stressing the need for religious and racial unity, equalityof the sexes, and world peace.

In the course of these travels in North America, Abdul-Bah met people of all ranks and stations: highgovernment officials, business magnates, artists, writers, politicians, scholars, clergy of variousdenominations, and derelicts in the Bowery. Among the individuals He met were David Starr Jordan,president of Stanford University; Rabbi Stephen S. Wise of New York City; the inventor AlexanderGraham Bell; Jane Addams, the noted social worker; the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, who wastouring America at the time; Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress; the industrialist and humanitarian

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Andrew Carnegie; Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor; the Arctic explorerAdmiral Robert Peary; as well as hundreds of American and Canadian Bahs, recent converts to thereligion, whom He instructed and inspired and whose lives were permanently changed by their contactwith Him. Many of the latter were women who, encouraged by Abdul-Bah, would play anextraordinarily important role in spreading the Bah Faith in North America and taking it to the farcorners of the earthparticipating in the building of its administrative institutions (See: Administration,Bah), establishing and teaching in Bah schools, contributing to Bah literature, and leaving theirimprint on every facet of the development of the Bah community at home and abroad.

During His sojourn in the United States, Abdul-Bah constantly emphasized in public addresses,private conversations, and written communications the importance of eradicating the racism deeplyingrained in American society. "God maketh no distinction between the white and the black," Abdul-Bah told a gathering in New York City. "God is no respecter of persons on account of either color orrace. All colors are acceptable to Him, be they white, black, or yellow. Inasmuch as all were created inthe image of God, we must bring ourselves to realize that all embody divine possibilities." 14

Leaving New York on 5 December 1912, Abdul-Bah traveled to England, France, Germany, andAustria-Hungary. In Europe, as in North America, He spoke at private gatherings and public meetingsand met prominent individuals such as Albert Wilberforce, archdeacon of Westminster; Annie Besant,president of the Theosophical Society; suffragist Emmeline PanKhurst; orientalists Edward G. Browne of

Cambridge University and Arminius Vambery and Ignatius Goldziher of the University of Budapest; aswell as two Qajar princes in exile, Masud Mirza Zillus-Sultan and his son Husayn Mirza Jalalud-Dawlihboth of whom, while serving as governors in Iran, had been responsible for persecuting and executingBahs, and both of whom now showed respect toward Abdul-Bah.

Abdul-Bahs travels in Europe and North America were a major factor in the spread of the BahFaith in the West, the proclamation of its principles, and the firm establishment of Bah communitieson the two continents. Moreover, in His addresses to Western audiences, both to Bahs and thegeneral public, Abdul-Bah demonstrated the application of His fathers teachings to manycontemporary issues and problems.

W ar Years , 19141 8

Throughout His travels in Europe and North America, Abdul-Bah frequently spoke of the age-oldprevalence of warfare, made infinitely more deadly by twentieth-century science, and of the need to"unlearn the science of war"15 and to create the social conditions and the international politicalinstruments necessary to establish peace. "The greatest catastrophe in the world of humanity today iswar," He told an audience in Montreal in September 1912:

Europe is a storehouse of explosives awaiting a spark. All the European nations areon edge, and a single flame will set on fire the whole of that continent. Implementsof war and death are multiplied and increased to an inconceivable degree, and the

burden of military maintenance is taxing the various countries beyond the point ofendurance. Armies and navies devour the substance and possessions of the people;the toiling poor, the innocent and helpless are forced by taxation to providemunitions and armament for governments bent upon conquest of territory anddefense against powerful rival nations. There is no greater or more woeful ordeal inthe world of humanity today than impending war. Therefore, international peace is acrucial necessity. An arbitral court of justice shall be established by whichinternational disputes are to be settled. Through this means all possibility of discordand war between the nations will be obviated.16

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Abdul-Bah in Haifa in 1919. Among those seated are Laura and HippolyteDreyfus-Barney (center) and, to the right, Shoghi Effendi (in white).Bah Photographic Library

Less than two years later, a spark struck in Sarajevo ignited a conflagration that quickly spread beyondthe European continent. From November 1914when the Allied Powers declared war on the OttomanEmpire, which had joined Germany and Austria-Hungaryuntil September 1918, World War I virtuallyisolated Abdul-Bah in Palestine from Bah communities in the West and in the East. The Ottomanauthorities, fearful of the growing hostility of the local population, imposed draconian measures ofcontrol on the Holy Land. The commander of Turkish troops on the Egyptian front, Cemal Paa (JamlPsh), was hostile to Abdul-Bah. Provoked by the followers of Mrz Muhammad Al, he threatenedto crucify Abdul-Bah on Mount Carmel as soon as Ottoman victory was achieved. However, CemalPaas Egyptian campaign failed. He was defeated, forced to retreat in haste, and rendered unable tocarry out his threat.

Through the war years, Abdul-Bah encouraged the Bahs in the Jordan River valley and on theshores of the Sea of Galilee to plant crops. The wheat they produced was distributed to the needypopulation of Haifa, saving it from starvation. This humanitarian service was recognized by the British,who occupied Haifa at the end of September 1918. The British government knighted Abdul-Bah inApril 1920 and showed Him extraordinary signs of admiration and respect.

While Abdul-Bahs contacts with the outside world were severed during the war, He continued towrite, producing one of the most important works of His ministry: the fourteen letters known as theTablets of the Divine Plan . Written in MarchApril 1916 and FebruaryMarch 1917, these letters, or

tablets (the English rendering of the Arabic alwh, plural oflawh), became the charter for theexpansion and spread of the Bah Faith over the entire globe. Abdul-Bah entrusted the mission ofinitiating this expansion to the Bahs of North America, to whom the Tablets of the Divine Plan wereaddressed.

Fina l Years , 1919 2 1

The last three years of Abdul-Bahs life werespent in correspondence with an ever increasingnumber of Bah individuals and communitiesthroughout the world, a correspondence that

guided their efforts to establish an organizationalframework for the Bah Faith and providedinspiration for its expansion. His interaction withthe renewed stream of pilgrims to the Bahshrines in Acre and Haifa provided anotherinstrument for deepening the understanding ofrecent converts and veteran Bahs alike. Yetage, long years of imprisonment and exile,strenuous travels, and overwork had taken theirtoll. Abdul-Bah foresaw the approaching end.Six months before His passing, He wrote in aprayer: "'O Lord! My bones are weakened, and

the hoar hairs glisten on My head . . . and I have now reached old age, failing in My powers.' . . . Nostrength is there left in Me wherewith to arise and serve Thy loved ones . . . O Lord, My Lord! HastenMy ascension unto Thy sublime Threshold . . . and My arrival at the Door of Thy grace beneath theshadow of Thy most great mercy."17

AchievementsShoghi Effendi states in appreciation of Abdul-Bahs achievements that He had taken the Bah Faithto the West; had disclosed its character and purpose before vast audiences in Europe and NorthAmerica; had brought the mortal remains of the Bb to the Holy Land and enshrined them on Mount

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Carmel; had inspired the erection of the first Mashriqul-Adhkr of the Bah world in Ashgabat(Turkmenistan) and had laid the cornerstone of the second in Wilmette, Illinois (See: Mashriqul-Adhkr.Houses of Worship around the World.AshgabatChicago); and had routed the breakers of Hisfathers Covenant. "Through His [Abdul-Bahs] unremitting labors," Shoghi Effendi states, "as reflectedin the treatises He composed, the thousands of Tablets He revealed, the discourses He delivered, theprayers, poems and commentaries He left to posterity . . . , the laws and principles, constituting thewarp and woof of His Fathers Revelation, had been elucidated, its fundamentals restated andinterpreted, its tenets given detailed application and the validity and indispensability of its verities fully

and publicly demonstrated."18

Throughout His ministry of twenty-nine years, Abdul-Bah labored to spread the Bah Faith to everypart of the world and fostered the development of the administrative institutions (See: Administration,Bah) ordained by Bahullh. Under His guidance there grew in Iran a network of SpiritualAssemblies that managed the affairs of communities, organized schools, provided for the sick and theorphans, promoted health measures, resolved conflicts among individuals, and engaged in teaching theBah Faith.

The establishment in Iran of Bah schools, with particular concern for the education of girls, theimprovement of individual standards of health, and the moral transformation of believers, whichgradually gained them a reputation for integrity and trustworthiness, testified to the effectiveness of

Abdul-Bahs leadership. He encouraged the advancement of women, who began to participate incommunity activities and, in the decades after His passing, attained equality with men as members ofSpiritual Assemblies, both local and national, in Iran.

Abdul-Bah also inspired the spread of the Bah Faith in the Caucasus and Russian Central Asia,where Ashgabat with its Temple, schools, and publications, unhampered by government restrictions,became a model Bah community (See: Mashriqul-Adhkr.Houses of Worship around theWorld.Chicago). Egypt, which had greatly benefited from Abdul-Bahs sojourn in that country, alsowitnessed the growth of a Bah community that included both Muslim and Copt converts as well asIranians, Kurds, and Armenians. In Turkey, Ottoman Iraq, Tunisia, and even distant China and Japan,Bah communities sprang up or were strengthened at Abdul-Bahs behest.

The continents of Europe and North America were the stage for Abdul-Bahs own teaching activities.The Bah communities of Europe and North America, established entirely during His ministry, were adirect result of His unceasing efforts. He paid particular attention to the development of the Bah Faithand its institutions in the United States and Canada and entrusted to the Bahs of North America thetask of carrying the teachings and spirit of Bahullh to most of the rest of the world. In the lastyears of His ministry, at His urging and in response to His Tablets of the Divine Plan, the first Bahsreached South America and Australia (See: Dunn, Clara, and Dunn, John Henry Hyde).

WRITINGS

Although Abdul-Bah carried out many of His activities through personal contact with visitors andpilgrims and through His travels, He conducted most of His work through a vast and variedcorrespondence. The Bah World Center currently holds nearly sixteen thousand of His letters toindividuals and institutions. The writings of Abdul-Bah also comprise essays, poems, prayers, andbooks. It has been estimated that four-fifths of them are in Persian and the rest in Arabic, with a veryfew in Ottoman Turkish. The letters have been described as "masterpieces of Persian epistolary genre"that "are marked by directness, intimacy, warmth, love, humor, forbearance, and a myriad otherqualities that reveal the exemplary perfection of His personality."19

Some of Abdul-Bahs letters addressed to individuals deal with issues of general interest;transcending the personal, they constitute essays on a variety of themes. One of the most widely

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Abdul-Bah in Haifa, probably signing aletter transcribed by a secretary.Bah Photographic Library

known is Abdul-Bahs Tablet to August Forel , a Swiss scientist, in which Abdul-Bah discusses thenature of God and of human beings. Abdul-Bah also wrote to Bah communities, offering guidanceand inspiration to the recipients and to future generations. The Tablets of the Divine Plan, the charterfor global expansion that Abdul-Bah addressed to the Bahs of the United States and Canada, arepreeminent in this category. They constitute a document of fundamental importance in the developmentof the Bah world community, spelling out the steps in the global spread of the Faith and serving asthe basis for all subsequent plans for growth. Abdul-Bah also wrote to organizations, such as theCentral Organization for a Durable Peace at The Hague, and occasionally to newspapers, such as theChristian Commonwealth.

Abdul-Bahs Will and Testament occupies a special place among Hiswritings. Shoghi Effendi states that, like the Tablets of the Divine Plan,it is one of the charters of the Bah order.20 Abdul-Bah composed itsfirst section, and possibly the entire document, in the period between1901 and 1908, when the Ottoman government, incited by MrzMuhammad Al and his followers, threatened Abdul-Bahs life. Thedocument establishes the Bah Administrative Order, Shoghi Effendiobserves, and "may be regarded in some of its features assupplementary to no less weighty a Book than the Kitb-i-Aqdas." Hepoints out that it creates the institution of the Guardianship; provides"measures for the election of the International House of Justice";prescribes the obligations and responsibilities of the Hands of the Causeof God; provides for the protection of the Bah Faith against disunityand schism; and summons the followers ofBahullh "to arise unitedlyto propagate His Faith, to disperse far and wide, to labor tirelessly andto follow the heroic example of the Apostles of Jesus Christ."21

Abdul-Bah wrote a large number of prayers (munjt), mostly inPersian and Arabic, with a few in Turkish. The "chief distinguishingquality" of these brief communions with God has been described as "thesustained and expanding expression of mans experience of the Holy by

means of poetic language."22

In addition to longer tablets, Abdul-Bah produced three monographs during the years when Hisresponsibilities still allowed Him to devote time to book-length works: The Secret of Divine Civilizationand A Travelers Narrative , both written during Bahullhs lifetime, and A Treatise on Politics. TheSecret of Divine Civilization is the first of these major works. Written in 1875, addressed to the Iranianpeople, and published anonymously, it is an outstanding example of the application of Bahullhsprinciples to a specific situation: the modernization of Iran. Historian Amin Banani writes that, in thispioneer work, which anticipates and offers solutions to many problems that modernizing societies havefaced,

Abdul-Bah presents a coherent program for the regeneration of Persian society.The program is predicated on universal education and eradication of ignorance andfanaticism. It calls for responsibility and participation of the people in governmentthrough a representative assembly. It seeks to safeguard their rights and libertiesthrough codification of laws and institutionalization of justice. It argues for thehumane benefits of modern science and technology. It condemns militarism andunderscores the immorality of heavy expenditures for armaments. It promulgates amore equitable sharing of the wealth of the nation.23

The second of Abdul-Bahs books, A Travelers Narrative, is a brief history of the Bb intended for a

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Funeral procession leaving Abdul -Bah's home. Bah Photographic Library

general audience. Written in or around 1886, it was translated into English by Edward G. Browne andpublished by Cambridge University Press in 1891. The third work, A Treatise on Politics, written in189293, may be considered a sequel to The Secret of Divine Civilization; it has not been translatedand is available only in the original Persian.

Abdul-Bah approved for publication two compilations of His talks: Some Answered Questions andMemorials of the Faithful . Published in 1908, Some Answered Questions is a record of table talks onthe spiritual teachings of the Bah Faith and on some Christian subjects; the talks were given inresponse to questions posed by an American pilgrim, Laura Clifford Barney. Memorials of the Faithful,

dating from 1915, is a series of spiritual portraits of more than seventy early Bahs that Abdul-Bahpresented to weekly gatherings of Bahs in His home in Haifa.

Many of Abdul-Bahs talks in Europe and America have been compiled in The Promulgation ofUniversal Peace: Talks Delivered by Abdul-Bah during His Visit to the United States and Canada in1912 ;Abdul-Bah in London ;Abdul-Bah in Canada; and Paris Talks . These books contain awealth of material and further amplify Bahullhs teachings on many contemporary problems,particularly those faced in the West.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

Abdul-Bahs person made a deep impression on all who met Him. Friends and strangers, Europeans,Americans, and Asians testified to His gentleness and kindness, His welcoming smile, His exquisitecourtesy, and His delightful sense of humor. Edward G. Browne of Cambridge University wrote aftermeeting Abdul-Bah in 1890:

Seldom have I seen one whose appearance impressed me more. A tall strongly-builtman holding himself straight as an arrow, with white turban and raiment, long blacklocks reaching almost to the shoulder, broad powerful forehead indicating a strongintellect combined with an unswerving will, eyes keen as a hawks, and stronglymarked but pleasing featuressuch was my first impression of Abbs Efend, "themaster" (k) as he par excellence is called by the Bbs [i.e., the Bahs].

Subsequent conversation with him served only to heighten the respect with which hisappearance had from the first inspired me. . . . About the greatness of this man andhis power no one who had seen him could entertain a doubt.24

Horace Holley, an American who met Abdul-Bah in Switzerland, felt the spirit that emanated fromHim. "I yielded to a feeling of reverence," Holley writes, "which contained more than the solution ofintellectual or moral problems. To look upon so wonderful a human being, to respond utterly to thecharm of His presencethis brought me continual happiness. . . . Patriarchal, majestic, strong, yetinfinitely kind, he appeared like some just king that very moment descended from his throne to minglewith a devoted people."25

Abdul-Bahs capacity for work, His disregard forpersonal comfort, His ability to endure hardship,His generosity, His love for children, His sense ofhumor, His concern for the poor and the sick, Hislove for nature and beauty, combined with aniron will, an unswerving devotion to truth andjustice, and an all-consuming sense of dutytoward the community entrusted to Him byBahullh, were characteristics noted byhundreds of observers.

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DEATH AND FUNERAL

Abdul-Bah passed away in Haifa at the age of seventy-seven in the early hours of the morning on 28November 1921. The funeral, held the next day and attended by thousands of mourners, was aspontaneous tribute to Abdul-Bahs person. Representatives of the Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglicanchurches and of the Muslim, Jewish, and Druze faiths; officials, led by the British High Commissioner forPalestine and the governors of Jerusalem and Phoenicia; Arabs, Jews, Kurds, Turks, Europeans, andAmericans followed the coffin up the slopes of Mount Carmel to the Shrine of the Bb, in one of whosechambers Abdul-Bahs mortal remains were laid to rest. His death marked the end of the Heroic or

Apostolic Age of the Bah Faith, which began with the Babs declaration on 23 May 1844, the date of Abdul-Bahs birth.26

Author: Fi ru z Kazem zadeh

2009 National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahs of the United States. Terms of Use.

Notes:

1. Abdul-Bah had five half-siblings who grew into adulthood. syyih Khnum was the first ofBahullhs three wives, whom He married in accord with Islamic law and prevailing customs. His second

marriage, which took place in Tehran in 1849, produced six children, four of whom survived, and His third,contracted in Baghdad before 1863, produced one.

2. Abdul-Bah quoted in Mahmd Zarqn, Kitb-i-Badyiul-thr, vol. 2. (1921; HofheimLangenhain,Ger.: Bah-Verlag, 1982) 187, 20506, quoted and translated in H. M. Balyuzi,Abdul-Bah: The Centreof the Covenant of Bahullh, 2nd ed. (Oxford: George Ronald, 1987) 10.

3. Abdul-Bah quoted in Zarqn, Badyiul-thr 206, as quoted and translated in Balyuzi,Abdul-Bah1112.

4. Balyuzi, Abdul-Bah 14.

5. Balyuzi,Abdul-Bah 17.

6. Edward G. Browne, introduction, A Travellers Narrative Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Bb, byAbdul-Bah (1930; Los Angeles: Kalimt, 2004) xxxvi.

7. Bahullh quoted in Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahullh: Selected Letters, 1st pocket-sizeed. (Wilmette, IL, USA: Bah Publishing Trust, 1991, 2000 printing) 135.

8. Bahullh, The Kitb-i -Aqdas: The Most Holy Book, 1st pocket-size ed. (Wilmette, IL, USA: BahPublishing Trust, 1993, 2005 printing) 121:63.

9. Bahullh, Kitb-i-Aqdas 174:82.

10. Shoghi Effendi, World Order 13233.

11. Abdul-Bah quoted in Shoghi Effendi, World Order 133.

12. Shoghi Effendi, World Order 134.

13. Century of Light, prepared under the direction of the Universal House of Justice (Wilmette, IL, USA:

Bah Publishing Trust, 2001, 2003 printing) 10.14. Abdul-Bah, The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by Abdul-Bah during His Visit tothe United States and Canada in 1912, comp. Howard MacNutt, new ed. (Wilmette, IL, USA: BahPublishing Trust, 2007) 1.8: 15556.

15. Abdul-Bah, Promulgation 6.4: 321.

16. Abdul-Bah, Promulgation 6.11: 451.

17. Abdul-Bah quoted in Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, new ed. (Wilmette, IL, USA: Bah PublishingTrust, 1974, 2004 printing) 310.

18. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By 31415.

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19. Amin Banani, "The Writings of Abdul-Bah," World Order ns 6.1 (1971): 6970.

20. Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bah World, 19501957(Wilmette, IL, USA: Bah Publishing Trust,1971, 1999 printing) 84.

21. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By 328.

22. Banani, "Writings of Abdul-Bah" 70.

23. Banani, "Writings of Abdul-Bah" 72.

24. Browne, introduction, Travellers Narrative, xxxvi.

25. Horace Holley, Religion for Mankind (Oxford: George Ronald, 1976) 233.26. Shoghi Effendi sets out various stages of Bah history, the first being the Heroic or Apostolic Age, inGod Passes By xiiixiv.

Understanding the CitationsCiting Bah Encyclopedia Project Articles

Other Sources and Related Reading:

For general biographical, historical, and bibliographical information and discussions of Abdul-Bahsministry, see Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, especially chapters 1421, 235320; George Townshend,

Abdul-Bah, The Master: A Compilation from the Writings of George Townshend, annotated by DavidHofman (Oxford: George Ronald, 1987); Adib Taherzadeh, The Covenant of Bahullh (Oxford: GeorgeRonald, 1992) 99279, and The Child of the Covenant: A Study Guide to the Will and Testament of Abdul-Bah (Oxford: George Ronald, 2000); commemorative issue on "Abdul-Bah: Fiftieth Anniversary of HisPassing," World Order ns 6.1 (1971); Firuz Kazemzadeh, "Abdul-Bah: Center of Bahullhs Covenant,"World Order ns 25.1 (1993) 711.

For encyclopedia entries on Abdul-Bah, see A[lessandro] Bausani and D[enis] MacEoin, "Abd al-Bah,"Encyclopedia Iranica, ed. Ehsan Yarshater, http://www.iranica.com/newsite/ (accessed 2 February2009); Moojan Momen, "Abdul-Baha," Holy People of the World: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia, ed. Phyllis

Jestice, 3 vols. (Santa Barbara, CA, USA: ABCCLIO, 2004) 1: 34; William McCants, "Abd al-Baha (18441921)," Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, ed. Richard C. Martin, vol. 1 (New York: Macmillan,2004) 12.

See also, Lady [Sara Louisa] Blomfield, The Chosen Highway (London: Bah Publishing Trust, 1940;Oxford: George Ronald, 2007) 133228; Annamarie Honnold, ed., Vignettes from the Life of Abdul-Bah,rev. ed. (Oxford: George Ronald, 1991); Elham Afnan, "Abdul-Bah and Ezra Pounds Circle," Journal ofBah Studies 6.2 (1994) 114; Emogene Hoagg, "Letter from Haifa in the Mourning Time," World Order ns6.2 (197172) 3437; Florian and Grace Krug, "Accounts of the Passing of Abdul-Bah," World Order ns7.2 (197273) 3841; Gary L. Morrison, "Abdul-Bah and the Early American Bahs," World Order ns 6.3(1972) 3144; R. Jackson Armstrong-Ingram, Written in Light: Abdul-Bah and the American BahCommunity, 18981921 (Los Angeles: Kalimt, 1998); Gayle Morrison, "To Move the World: Louis Gregoryand Abdul-Bah," World Order ns 14.1 (1979) 1130; Ahang Rabbani, "Abdul-Bahs Meetings with TwoProminent Iranians," World Order ns 30.1 (1998) 3546; and "The Holy Land, 19181922: Some HistoricalLetters," Bah Studies Review 11 (2003) 9699.

Writings by Abdul-Bah, translated into English and published in book form, include: The Secret of DivineCivilization, trans. Marzieh Gail in consultation with Ali-Kuli Khan, 1st pocket-size ed. (Wilmette, IL, USA:Bah Publishing Trust, 1990, 2006 printing); Selections from the Writings of Abdul-Bah, comp. ResearchDepartment of the Universal House of Justice, trans. Committee at the Bah World Center and MarziehGail, 1st pocket-size ed. (Wilmette, IL, USA: Bah Publishing Trust, 1996, 2004 printing); Tablets of theDivine Plan, 1st pocket-size ed. (Wilmette, IL, USA: Bah Publishing Trust, 1993, 2006 printing); ATravelers Narrative Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Bb, trans. Edward G. Browne, new and corr.ed. (Wilmette, IL, USA: Bah Publishing Trust, 1980); Will and Testament of Abdul-Bah (Wilmette, IL,USA: Bah Publishing Trust, 1944, 1997 printing).

http://www.bahai-encyclopedia-project.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=86:what-editions-of-bahai-scripture-and-other-authoritative-texts-does-the-bahai-encyclopedia-project-cite-&catid=57:faqshttp://www.bahai-encyclopedia-project.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84:how-does-one-cite-articles-published-by-the-bahai-encyclopedia-project&catid=57:faqshttp://www.iranica.com/newsite/http://www.iranica.com/newsite/http://www.bahai-encyclopedia-project.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84:how-does-one-cite-articles-published-by-the-bahai-encyclopedia-project&catid=57:faqshttp://www.bahai-encyclopedia-project.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=86:what-editions-of-bahai-scripture-and-other-authoritative-texts-does-the-bahai-encyclopedia-project-cite-&catid=57:faqs

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Collections of Abdul-Bahs talks, translated into English and published in book form, include:Abdul-Bahin Canada, rev. ed. (Thornhill, ON, Can.: Bah Canada, 1987);Abdul-Bah in London: Addresses andNotes of Conversations, commemorative ed. (London: Bah Publishing Trust, 1987); Memorials of theFaithful, trans. Marzieh Gail, 1st softcover ed. (Wilmette, IL, USA: Bah Publishing Trust, 1997); ParisTalks: Addresses Given by Abdul-Bah in Paris in 1911-1912 (Wilmette, IL, USA: Bah Publishing, 2006);The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by Abdul-Bah during His Visit to the United Statesand Canada in 1912, comp. Howard MacNutt, new ed. (Wilmette, IL, USA: Bah Publishing Trust, 2007);Some Answered Questions, comp. and trans. Laura Clifford Barney, 1st pocket-size ed. (Wilmette, IL, USA:Bah Publishing Trust, 1984, 2008 printing). See also Abdul-Bah, Stories Told by Abdul-Bah, comp.

Amin Badiei (Oxford: George Ronald, 2003).The growing literature on Abdul-Bahs writings and thought, often published in conjunction withprovisional translations of various texts, includes: Keven Brown and Eberhard von Kitzing, Evolution andBah Belief: Abdul-Bahs Response to Nineteenth-Century Darwinism, Studies in the Bb and BahReligions 12 (Los Angeles: Kalimt, 2001); Franklin Lewis, "Discourses of Knowledge," Search for Values:Ethics in Bah Thought, ed. John Danesh and Seena Fazel, Studies in the Bb and Bah Religions 15 (LosAngeles: Kalimt, 2004) 4578; Moojan Momen, "Abdul-Bahs Commentary on the Islamic Tradition: IWas a Hidden Treasure...," Bah Studies Bulletin 3.4 (1985) 464; Necati Alkan, introd. and trans., "'Bythe Fig and the Olive': Abdul-Bahs Commentary in Ottoman Turkish on the Qurnic Sura 95Notes andProvisional Translation," Bah Studies Review 10 (200102) 11528; Abdul-Bah,"Abdul-Bah on Christand Christianity," introd. Seena Fazel, Bah Studies Review 3 (1993) 117; Firuz Kazemzadeh, "The Tabletto the Hague," World Order ns 4.2 (196970) 411; Peter Terry, "Abdul-Bahs Explanation of the

Teachings of Bahullh: Tablets and Talks Translated into English (19111920)," Lights of Irfn: PapersPresented at the Irfn Colloquia and Seminars, Book 1 (Evanston, IL, USA: Haj Mehdi Arjmand MemorialFund, 2000) 14363; Moojan Momen, "Abdul-Bahs Commentary on the Qurnic Verses Concerning theOverthrow of the Byzantines: The Stages of the Soul" [including a provisional translation of the text],Lights of Irfn: Papers Presented at the Irfn Colloquia and Seminars, Book 2 (Evanston, IL, USA: HajMehdi Arjmand Memorial Fund, 2001) 99117; Moojan Momen, "Abdul-Bahs Commentary on theQuranic Verses Concerning the Overthrow of the Byzantines: The Stages of the Soul," Bah StudiesReview 12 (2004) 6790; Maryam Afshar, "Images of Christ in the Writings of Abdul-Bah," Lights of

Irfn: Papers Presented at the Irfn Colloquia and Seminars, Book 5 (Evanston, IL, USA: Haj MehdiArjmand Memorial Fund, 2004) 116; Necati Alkan, "Abdul-Bahs Commentary on the Islamic Tradition'God Doth Give Victory to This Religion by Means of a Wicked Man': A Provisional Translation and Notes,"Bah Studies Review 11 (2003) 5357; Manooher Mofidi, "Abdul-Bahs Tablet of the Two Calls: Civilizing

Barbarity," Lights of Irfn: Papers Presented at the Irfn Colloquia and Seminars, Book 6 (Evanston, IL,USA: Haj Mehdi Arjmand Memorial Fund, 2005) 16172.

For accounts of Abdul-Bahs travels, see Mahmd Zarqn, Mahmds Diary: The Diary of Mrz Mahmd-i-Zarqn Chronicling Abdul-Bahs Journey to America, trans. Mohi Sobhani and Shirley Macias (Oxford:George Ronald, 1998); Allan L. Ward, 239 Days: Abdul-Bahs Journey in America (Wilmette, IL, USA:Bah Publishing Trust, 1979); Anjam Khursheed, The Seven Candles of Unity: The Story of Abdul-Bah inEdinburgh (London: Bah Publishing Trust, 1991); Eliane Lacroix-Hopson,Abdul-Bah in New York, TheCity of the Covenant, 2nd ed. (N.p.: Bah Publications Australia, 2005); and Gyrgy Lederer, "Abdul-Bah in Budapest," Bahs in the West, ed. Peter Smith, Studies in the Bb and Bah Religions 14 (LosAngeles: Kalimt, 2004) 10926.

Many individuals who knew Abdul-Bah have written of Him in their personal memoirs. Abdul-Bahs wife,

Munrih Khnum, penned a short account published in Munrih Khnum: Memoirs and Letters, trans.Sammireh Anwar Smith (Los Angeles: Kalimt, 1986). The experience of meeting Abdul-Bah, whether inthe Holy Land or during His travels, is recorded in many accounts, including: In His Presence, Visits to

Abdul-Baha: Memoirs of Roy Wilhelm, Stanwood Cobb, Genevieve L. Coy (Los Angeles: Kalimt, 1989);Rh Asdaq, One Life, One Memory: In the Presence of Abdul-Bah, Haifa, January 1914 , asst. LameahKhodadoost, trans. Shahbaz Fatheazam (Oxford: George Ronald, 1999); Ramona Allen Brown, Memories of

Abdul-Bah: Recollections of the Early Days of the Bah Faith in California (Wilmette, IL, USA: BahPublishing Trust, 1980); Thornton Chase, "Impressions of Abdul-Bah and His Station," introd. Robert H.Stockman, World Order ns 25.1 (1993); 1322; Thornton Chase and Arthur Agnew, In Galilee, and, InWonderland (Los Angeles: Kalimt, 1985); Marzieh Gail, The Sheltering Branch (Oxford: George Ronald,1978) and Summon Up Remembrance (Oxford: George Ronald, 1987); Helen S. Goodall and Ella GoodallCooper, Daily Lessons Received at Akk, January 1908 (Wilmette, IL, USA: Bah Publishing Trust, 1979);

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Louis G. Gregory, A Heavenly Vista: The Pilgrimage of Louis G. Gregory (Washington: n.p., n.d.), reprintedas A Heavenly Vista, 1997 ed. (Fernale, MI, USA: Alpha, 1997) and available online at http://bahai-library.com/pilgrims/louis.html (accessed 2 Feb. 2009); Julia M. Grundy, Ten Days in the Light of Akk,rev. ed. (Wilmette, IL, USA: Bah Publishing Trust, 1979); Howard Colby Ives, Portals to Freedom(Oxford: George Ronald, 1990); May Maxwell, An Early Pilgrimage (Oxford: George Ronald, 1976); AgnesS. Parsons,Abdul-Bah in America: Agnes Parsons Diary, April 11, 1912November 11, 1912,Supplemented with Episodes from Mahmuds Diary, ed. Richard Hollinger (Los Angeles: Kalimt, 1996);Myron H. Phelps, The Master in Akk: Including the Recollections of the Greatest Holy Leaf, rev. andannotated Marzieh Gail (Los Angeles: Kalimt, 1985); Juanita Storch, "'You are Happy Because You Have

Seen Abdul-Bah,'" World Order ns 25.1 (1993) 2542; Juliet Thompson, The Diary of Juliet Thompson(Los Angeles: Kalimt, 1983); Bahiyyih Randall Winckler, My Pilgrimage to Haifa, November 1919(Wilmette, IL, USA: Bah Publishing Trust, 1996); Ali M. Yazdi, Blessings Beyond Measure: Recollections of

Abdul-Bah and Shoghi Effendi (Wilmette, IL, USA: Bah Publishing Trust, 1988); Sweet and EnchantingStories, comp. Aziz Rohani (New Liskeard, ON, Can.: White Mountain, 2004); Marion Carpenter Yazdi,Youth in the Vanguard: Memoirs and Letters Collected by the First Bah Student at Berkeley and atStanford University (Wilmette, IL, USA: Bah Publishing Trust, 1982); Youness Afroukhteh, Memories ofNine Years in Akk, trans. Riaz Masrour (Oxford: George Ronald, 2003).

See also the following works in Persian: Ynis Afrkhtih, Khtirt-i-Nuh-Slih, new ed. (Darmstadt, Ger.:Asr-i Jadd, 2003); Abdul-Husayn yat [vrih], Kavakibud-Durriyyih, vol. 2 (Cairo: al-Matbaah as-Sadah, 1342/1924); Habb Muayyad, Khtirt-i-Habb, vol. 2 (Tehran: Muassasiy-i-Milly-i-Matbt-i-Amr, 129/197273); Mahmd Zarqn, Kitb-i-Badyiul-thr, 2 vols. (191421; HofheimLangenhain,

Ger.: Bah-Verlag, 1982); Muhammad Ali Faydi, Hayt-i- Hadrat-i-Abdul-Bah, rev. ed. (1971;HofheimLangenhain, Ger.: Bah-Verlag, 1986); Hushang Mahmudi, Yd-dashtihy-i-darbrih-Hadrat-i-

Abdul-Bah, 2 vols. (Tehran: Muassasiy-i-Milly-i-Matbt-i-Amr, 130/197374).

Understanding the CitationsCiting Bah Encyclopedia Project Articles

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