How to introduce teachings of the Faith to our friends - learning from ‘Abdu’l-Baha

In my talks with the reverend doctors of religion and men of the peace societies I have spoken the Glad-tidings of Baha’u’llah, but always according to their varying need and capacity. As capacities differ, the purpose must be to satisfy the degree of hunger, destroy all possible antagonism and establish a point of agreement. We cannot induce men to lay clown their arms by fighting with them. War intensifies the spirit of strife. War begets war. We are peacemakers, not destroyers of peace. Therefore ‘Abdu’l-Baba finds the note of harmony which vibrates in every human heart. This is our subtle basis. Build upon it. Follow no other method. Talk about things upon which we agree and say nothing about things upon which we differ. We must disorganize humanism in order to construct a spiritual edifice in the world of humanity. This edifice is heavenly but its foundations are planted in the unity of human hearts. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Utterances of 'Abdu'l-Baha recorded by Howard MacNutt; Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 1, 21 March 1913)

“supplications may be addressed to Him”

…although ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s station is not that of a Manifestation of God, nevertheless supplications may be addressed to Him. It is essential, however, that every believer should realize that while doing so he is directing his thoughts towards the Master as an intermediary between him and the Manifestation, and not as the Source of Divine Revelation and Spiritual Guidance. Provided this distinction is clearly established there can be no harm or objection in addressing prayers to ‘Abdu’l-Baha. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 1 December 1934 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the NSA of the United States and Canada; Baha’i News, no. 89, January 1935)

Sunday gatherings at the Shrine of the Báb – attended by ‘Abdu’l-Baha

Every Sunday ‘Abdu’l-Bahá held a gathering of the believers at the Shrine of the Báb. In those meetings He was very happy and joyful.

There was a garden attached to the Shrine and everyone enjoyed the heavenly fragrance of its flowers. 

(Pilgrim notes by Nuru’d-din Mumtazi, 1920, published as ‘Memories of Nine Days’, translated and edited by Ardeshir Khodadad Forudi and Sheridan A. Sims; ‘Baha’i Library Online)

Drawing “an abundance of inspiration and manifold insights” from the utterances and deeds of the Master during His travels

Over the next few years, Baha'is around the world will joyously call to mind the many episodes associated with 'Abdu'l-Baha's historic journey. But this anniversary is more than a time for commemoration. The words uttered by 'Abdu'l-Baha during His travels, and the deeds He undertook with such consummate wisdom and love, offer an abundance of inspiration and manifold insights from which the body of the believers can today draw, whether in their efforts to embrace receptive souls, to raise capacity for service, to build local communities, to strengthen institutions, or to exploit opportunities emerging to engage in social action and contribute to public discourse. We should, therefore, reflect not only upon what the Master achieved and set in motion but also on the work that remains undone to which He has summoned us. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (Message to the Baha’is of the World, 29 August 2010)

"Abdu’l-Baha and the Guardian ‘share . . . the right and obligation to interpret the Bahá'í Teachings’”

The system of Bahá'í Administration is "indissolubly bound with the essential verities of the Faith" as set forth in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh and Abdul'-Baha. A unique feature of this system is the appointment of authorized interpreters, in the persons of Abdu'l-Baha and the Guardian, to provide authoritative statements on the intent of Bahá'u'lláh's revelation. Writing in The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, Shogi Effendi stated that "Abdu’l-Baha and the Guardian " share . . . the right and obligation to interpret the Bahá'í Teachings". In relation to his own function as interpreter, he further stated that "the Guardian has been specifically endowed with such power as he may need to reveal the purport and disclose the implications of the utterances of Bahá'u'lláh and of Abdu'l-Baha". The significance of this important provision is that the religion of God is safeguarded and protected against schism and its essential unity is preserved. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 31 May 1988)

Three kinds of persecution ‘Abdu’l-Baha had to bear

All who stand up in the Cause of God will be persecuted and misunderstood. It has always been so; it will always be so. Let neither enemy nor friend disturb your peace, destroy your happiness, prevent your accomplishment. Fix your soul upon God. Then persecution and slander will make you the more radiant. The purposes of your enemies will be reflected upon themselves. They will be injured instead of you. Oppression is the wind which fans the fire of the love of God. Welcome persecution and bitterness. A soldier may bear arms, but until he has faced the enemy in battle he has no right to a place in the king's army. Let nothing defeat you. God is your helper. God is invincible. Be firm in the Heavenly Covenant. Pray for strength. It will be given you, no matter how difficult the conditions.

When ‘Abdu’l-Baha was sent to Akka, he experienced three kinds of persecution. Two kinds were easy to bear. When he arrived in Akka they placed chains upon his limbs and circlets of steel were locked around his ankles and knees. While the guards were doing this ‘Abdu’l-Baha laughed and sang. They were astonished and said, "How is this? You are laughing and singing. When prisoners are ironed in this way, they usually cry out, weep and lament." ‘Abdu’l-Baha replied, "I rejoice because you are doing me a great kindness; you are making me very happy. For a long time I have wished to know the feelings of a prisoner in irons, to experience what other men have been subjected to. I have heard of this; now you have taught me what it is. You have given me this opportunity. Therefore I sing and am very happy. I am very thankful to you."

After a time the men who had been appointed to keep guard over me became as loving brothers and companions. They strove to lighten my imprisonment by acts of kindness. They said, "In order that you may not be subjected to the jeers of the people when you walk upon the streets we will arrange your clothing so these chains are not visible." They took the chains which were upon my limbs, gathered the ends together and wrapped them as a girdle around my waist, then arranged my clothing so no chains were visible.

1911: 'Abdu'l-Baha visited the Mayor of London

At the express wish of the Lord Mayor, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá paid him a visit early one morning at the Mansion House. The talk turned chiefly upon the social conditions of great cities, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said that London was the best regulated city he had seen.

He said: “Every man walking in the street is free as if he were in his own kingdom. There is a great spiritual light in London. The effort made for justice is real and in this country the law is the same for the poor as for the rich.” He took great interest in hearing of the care that is taken of prisoners as they leave jail, and spoke of the land being happy where the magistrates are as fathers to the people.

Before ‘Abdu’l-Bahá left London, he went to an East-end hospital to visit there a young writer lying seriously ill, who was very anxious to see him.

('Abdu'l-Baha in London)

How ‘Abdu’l-Baha signed His name in English: "abdul Baha abbas" – notice lowercase “a” and uppercase “B”

In contrast to many European languages, in Persian, personal pronouns are never capitalized. 'Abdu'l-Bahá followed this established rule and did not capitalize the pronouns that refer to Him. When the book was translated into English, the particular translator employed the convention, common in English, of capitalizing pronouns. It is interesting to note that when 'Abdu'l-Bahá signed His name in English, He used a combination of upper and lower case letters. He, typically, wrote "abdul Baha abbas" — the reference to Bahá'u'lláh being the only word He capitalized.

On the same principle it is the policy of the Universal House of Justice when approving translations of Tablets written by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, generally to have "me" and "my" and "mine" in lower case, following the example given by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the writing of His own name in Roman letters. Pronouns used in referring to 'Abdu'l-Bahá by someone else, however, are normally capitalized. This policy can be seen in "Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá" 

(From a Memorandum of the Research department of the Universal House of Justice dated 23 May 1991, attached to a letter dated 20 June, 1991, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)

An example of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s humour and His ability to speak English

There is a note in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s character that has not been emphasized, and with which no idea of Him is complete. The impressive dignity which distinguishes His presence and bearing is occasionally lighted by a delicate and tactful humour, which is as unaffected as it is infectious and delightful.

On His last afternoon in London, a reporter called to ask Him of His future plans, finding Him surrounded by a number of friends who had called to bid Him good-bye. When, in answer to this query, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told in perfect English of His intention to visit Paris and go from there to Alexandria, the press representative evinced surprise at His faultless pronunciation. Thereupon ‘Abdu’l-Bahá proceeded to march with a free stride up and down the flower-scented drawing room, His Oriental garb contrasting strangely with His modern surroundings; and, to the amusement of the assembly, uttered a string of elaborate English words, laughingly ending, “Very difficult English words I speak!” Then, a moment later, with the swift transition of one who knows both how to be grave and gay, He showed Himself terribly in earnest. 

(‘Abdu’l-Baha in London’)

A high-level summary of exceptional hardship and persecution that ‘Abdu’l-Baha endured

Born [‘Abdu’l-Baha] in the very year that witnessed the inception of the Bábí Revelation; baptized with the initial fires of persecution that raged around that nascent Cause; an eyewitness, when a boy of eight, of the violent upheavals that rocked the Faith which His Father had espoused; sharing with Him, the ignominy, the perils, and rigors consequent upon the successive banishments from His native-land to countries far beyond its confines; arrested and forced to support, in a dark cell, the indignity of imprisonment soon after His arrival in Akká; the object of repeated investigations and the target of continual assaults and insults under the despotic rule of Sultán ‘Abdu’l-Hamíd, and later under the ruthless military dictatorship of the suspicious and merciless Jamál Páshá—He, too, the Center and Pivot of Bahá’u’lláh’s peerless Covenant and the perfect Exemplar of His teachings, was made to taste, at the hands of potentates, ecclesiastics, governments and peoples, the cup of woe which the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, as well as so many of their followers, had drained. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated March 28, 1941, published as: ‘The Promised One Is Come’)

How to live one’s life – advice from ‘Abdu’l-Baha

O ye loved ones of God! Out of gratitude for firmness in the eternal Covenant arise to serve the threshold of the omnipotent Lord, observe obligatory prayer and fasting, and spend your time in diffusing the sweet savours of God and in spreading the Divine verses. Tear asunder the veils, remove the obstacles, proffer the life-giving waters, and point out the path of salvation. This is what 'Abdu'l-Bahá admonisheth you every morn and eve. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Compilation ‘The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting’, compiled by Research Department of the Universal House of Justice; published in The American Baha'i, September 2000) 

An account by Professor Edward G. Browne of Cambridge, the noted Victorian orientalist, following his meeting the Master for the first time in 'Akká in 1890.

Seldom have I seen one whose appearance impressed me more. A tall strongly-built man holding himself straight as an arrow, with white turban and raiment, long black locks reaching almost to the shoulder, broad powerful forehead indicating a strong intellect combined with an unswerving will, eyes keen as a hawk's, and strongly-marked but pleasing features -- such was my first impression of Abbas Efendi, 'the master' (Aka) as he par excellence is called by the Bábís. Subsequent conversation with him served only to heighten the respect with which his appearance had from the first inspired me. One more eloquent of speech, more ready of argument, more apt of illustration, more intimately acquainted with the sacred books of the Jews, the Christians, and the Muhammadans, could, I should think, scarcely be found even amongst the eloquent, ready, and subtle race to which he belongs. These qualities, combined with a bearing at once majestic and genial, made me cease to wonder at the influence and esteem which he enjoyed even beyond the circle of his father's followers. About the greatness of this man and his power no one who had seen him could entertain a doubt. 

- Professor Edward G. Browne (Quoted by Adib Taherzadeh in ‘The Covenant of Baha'u'llah’)

Youth: “to develop their characters after the pattern of the Master” - advice from the Universal House of Justice

(From a letter dated 10 June 1966 addressed to the Bahá'í youth in every land; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963 to 1986’)

“His life and deeds were… the inevitable and spontaneous expression of His inner self.”

In contemplating the Master’s divine example we may well reflect that His life and deeds were not acted to a pattern of expediency, but were the inevitable and spontaneous expression of His inner self. We, likewise, shall act according to His example only as our inward spirits, growing and maturing through the disciplines of prayer and practice of the Teachings, become the wellsprings of all our attitudes and actions. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From Ridvan message 1969; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963 to 1986’)

The “example and conduct” of ‘Abdu’l-Baha – a reminder from the Guardian

Let them call to mind, fearlessly and determinedly, the example and conduct of 'Abdu'l-Bahá while in their midst. Let them remember His courage, His genuine love, His informal and indiscriminating fellowship, His contempt for and impatience of criticism, tempered by His tact and wisdom. Let them revive and perpetuate the memory of those unforgettable and historic episodes and occasions on which He so strikingly demonstrated His keen sense of justice, His spontaneous sympathy for the downtrodden, His ever-abiding sense of the oneness of the human race, His overflowing love for its members, and His displeasure with those who dared to flout His wishes, to deride His methods, to challenge His principles, or to nullify His acts. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

New York, 1912: Being alone with ‘Abdu’l-Baha -- by Howard Colby Ives

Before nine o'clock in the morning I was there, which meant; since I lived some distance from New York, an early start indeed. Already the large reception room was well filled. Evidently others also were conscious of a similar urge. I wondered if they too felt, as I, a burning in the breast.

I remember as if it were yesterday the scene and my impressions. I did not want to talk to anyone. In fact I would not. I withdrew to the window overlooking Broadway and turned my back upon them all. Below me stretched the great city but I saw it not. What was it all about? Why was I here? What did I expect from the coming interview: indeed how did I know there was to be any interview at all? I had no appointment. Plainly all those other folk had come expecting to see and talk with Him. Why should I expect any attention from such an eminent personage?

So I was somewhat withdrawn from the others when my attention was attracted by a rustling throughout the room. A door was opening far across from me and a group was emerging and 'Abdu'l-Baha appeared saying farewell. None had any eyes save for Him. Again I had the impression of a unique dignity and courtesy and love. The morning sunlight flooded the room to center on His robe. His fez was slightly tilted and as I gazed, His hand, with a gesture, evidently characteristic, raised and, touching, restored it to its proper place. His eyes met mine as my fascinated glance was on Him. He smiled and, with a gesture which no word but "lordly" can describe, He beckoned me. Startled gives no hint of my sensations. Something incredible had happened. Why to me, a stranger unknown, unheard of, should He raise that friendly hand? I glanced around. Surely it was to someone else that gesture was addressed, those eyes were smiling! But there was no one near and again I looked and again He beckoned and such understanding love enveloped me that even at that distance and with a heart still cold a thrill ran through me as if a breeze from a divine morning had touched my brow!

‘Abdu’l-Baha sets an example of self-effacement

O ye beloved of God, these are days for steadfastness, for firmness and perseverance in the Cause of God. Ye must not focus your attention upon the person of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, for erelong he will bid you farewell. Rather must ye fix your gaze upon the Word of God. If the Word of God is being promoted, rejoice and be happy and thankful, though ‘Abdu’l-Bahá himself be threatened by the sword or burdened by the weight of chains and fetters. For the Holy Temple of the Cause of God is important, not the physical body of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The friends of God must arise with such steadfastness that if, at any moment, a hundred souls like ‘Abdu’l-Bahá become the target for the arrows of affliction, they will not shift or waver in their resolve, their determination, their enkindlement, their devotion and service in the Cause of God. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is himself a servant at the Threshold of the Blessed Beauty and a manifestation of pure and utter servitude at the Threshold of the Almighty. He hath no other station or title, no other rank or power. This is my ultimate Purpose, my eternal Paradise, my holiest Temple and my Sadratu’l-Muntahá. With the Abhá Blessed Beauty and the Exalted One, His Herald—may my life be a sacrifice for Them both—hath ended the appearance of God’s independent and universal Manifestation. And for a thousand years all shall be illumined by His lights and be sustained by the ocean of His favours.

O ye lovers of God! This, verily, is my last wish and my admonition unto you. Blessed, therefore, is he who is aided by God to follow that which is inscribed upon this scroll whose words are sanctified from the symbols current amongst men. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)

“A silence as of love and awe overcame us, as we looked at Him.” – Lady Blomfield, 1912

A silence as of love and awe overcame us, as we looked at Him; the gracious figure, clothed in a simple white garment, over which was a light-coloured Persian 'aba; on His head. He wore a low-crowned taj, round which was folded a small, fine-linen turban of purest white; His hair and short beard were of that snowy whiteness which had once been black; His eyes were large, blue-gray with long, black lashes and well-marked eyebrows; His face was a beautiful oval with warm, ivory-coloured skin, a straight, finely-modelled nose, and firm, kind mouth. These are merely outside details by which an attempt is made to convey an idea of His arresting personality.

His figure was of such perfect symmetry, and so full of dignity and grace, that the first impression was that of considerable height.

One saw, as in a clear vision, that He had so wrought all good and mercy that the inner grace of Him had grown greater than all outer sign, and the radiance of this inner glory shone in every glance, and word, and movement as He came with hands outstretched. 

- Lady Blomfield  (‘The Chosen Highway’)

‘Abdu’l-Baha describes the circumstances pertaining to the Commission of Inquiry sent by Sultán 'Abdu'l-Hamíd

“One year before ‘Abdu’l-Hamíd was dethroned, he sent an extremely overbearing, treacherous and insulting committee of investigation. The chairman was one of the governor’s staff, Árif Bey, and with him were three army commanders varying in rank.

“Immediately upon his arrival, Árif Bey proceeded to denounce me and tried to get proof strong enough to warrant sending me to Fizán, or throwing me into the sea. Fizán is a caravan station on the boundary of Tripoli where there are no houses and no water. It is a month’s journey by camel route from Akká.

“The committee twice sent for me to hear what I had to say in my own defence and twice I sent back word: ‘I know your purpose, I have nothing to say.’

“This so infuriated Árif Bey that he declared he would return to Constantinople and bring back an order from the Sulṭán to have me hanged at the gate of Akká. He and his committee set sail with their report containing the following accusations: —‘Abdu’l-Bahá is establishing a new nation of which he is to be the king; ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is uplifting the banner of a new religion; ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has built or caused to be built fortifications in Haifa, a neighbouring village, and is buying up all the surrounding lands.’