Bahá’u’lláh

Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh - The Most Holy Spot on earth

The Báb through His first disciple, Mulla Husayn, sent Bahá’u’lláh His Writings. Upon reading it, He immediately accepted and arose to proclaim this Cause. Through His efforts, a number of souls became followers of the Báb. And because of this, Bahá’u’lláh was thrown in a dungeon for four months. Bahá’u’lláh received the first intimation of His mission which the Guardian shares with us from God Passes By:

“One night in a dream,” Bahá’u’lláh Himself, recounting His soul-shaking experience of the first stirrings of His prophetic Mission, in the Year Nine, in that abominable pit, has written, “these exalted words were heard on every side: ‘Verily, We shall render Thee victorious by Thyself and by Thy Pen. Grieve Thou not for that which hath befallen Thee, neither be Thou afraid, for Thou art in safety. Ere long will God raise up the treasures of the earth—men who will aid Thee through Thyself and through Thy Name, wherewith God hath revived the hearts of such as have recognized Him’.” And again, “During the days I lay in the prison of Ṭihrán, though the galling weight of the chains and the stench-filled air allowed Me but little sleep, still in those infrequent moments of slumber I felt as if something flowed from the crown of My head over My breast, even as a mighty torrent that precipitateth itself upon the earth from the summit of a lofty mountain. Every limb of My body would, as a result, be set afire. At such moments My tongue recited what no man could bear to hear.”

The authorities gave Bahá’u’lláh one month to leave His native country. With His family which included ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, they were exiled to Baghdad. With lots of suffering they arrived in Baghdad. This was not the last of Bahá’u’lláh exiles. Everywhere He went, He attracted so many people. Just imagine Christ walking from place to place in the Holy Lands. The Manifestations of God have a tremendous influence on the heart of men. People feel drawn to Them. It is a magnetic attraction, a spiritual force which cannot be resisted. And so Bahá’u’lláh was again exiled to Turkey. Before leaving Baghdad, He unveiled to a small group of people that He was a Manifestation of God for today. He left that country with Majesty and Sovereignty that kings would envy. In Turkey, the authorities of government and clergy again were so worried because He attracted a number of souls. He was then further banished with His family and a few followers to a prison in Akka (Israel) which He referred to the “Most Great Prison”.

Despite the opposition of the two most powerful kings of the earth as well as the clergies, Bahá’u’lláh’s influence is penetrating deep into the world. He continued to reveal the Word of God for forty years which will help guide and order the affairs of the world! Bahá’u’lláh passed away in 1892 in Israel, near Akka.

What is the point of me sharing all of this and how does this all relate to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá? The above story, however brief, illustrates the crisis and victories He shared with His Beloved Father. In addition, before Bahá’u’lláh's passing, He revealed a Will and Testament in which He commands all His followers to follow ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as His successor. So all the Baha’is of the world are to turn to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Many people including His family tried to divide the Baha'i Faith. This Covenant is truly powerful and unique in human history as we will see later.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá was a tremendous help to His Father during those days of exiles. He would sacrifice all rest and personal comfort to ensure everyone's ease and comfort were met. Further, He would prepare each person before attaining the presence of Bahá’u’lláh! One has to really prepare to be in the presence of the King of Kings. He was on behalf of His Father the point of daily contacts for the authorities and the general public. He would make sure everyone was happy and received their share. He was loved and respected by all.

Shoghi Effendi further shares with us the following account: "On Him Bahá’u’lláh, as the scope and influence of His Mission extended, had been led to place an ever greater degree of reliance, by appointing Him, on numerous occasions, as His deputy, by enabling Him to plead His Cause before the public, by assigning Him the task of transcribing His Tablets, by allowing Him to assume the responsibility of shielding Him from His enemies, and by investing Him with the function of watching over and promoting the interests of His fellow-exiles and companions. He it was Who had been commissioned to undertake, as soon as circumstances might permit, the delicate and all-important task of purchasing the site that was to serve as the permanent resting-place of the Báb, of insuring the safe transfer of His remains to the Holy Land, and of erecting for Him a befitting sepulcher on Mt. Carmel. He it was Who had been chiefly instrumental in providing the necessary means for Bahá’u’lláh’s release from His nine-year confinement within the city walls of ‘Akká, and in enabling Him to enjoy, in the evening of His life, a measure of that peace and security from which He had so long been debarred. It was through His unremitting efforts that the illustrious Badí had been granted his memorable interviews with Bahá’u’lláh, that the hostility evinced by several governors of ‘Akká towards the exiled community had been transmuted into esteem and admiration, that the purchase of properties adjoining the Sea of Galilee and the River Jordan had been effected, and that the ablest and most valuable presentation of the early history of the Faith and of its tenets had been transmitted to posterity. It was through the extraordinarily warm reception accorded Him during His visit to Beirut, through His contact with Midhát Páshá, a former Grand Vizir of Turkey, through His friendship with Azíz Páshá, whom He had previously known in Adrianople, and who had subsequently been promoted to the rank of Valí, and through His constant association with officials, notables and leading ecclesiastics who, in increasing number had besought His presence, during the final years of His Father’s ministry, that He had succeeded in raising the prestige of the Cause He had championed to a level it had never previously attained."


Through ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s efforts, He was able to secure the Ridvan Garden for Bahá’u’lláh to enjoy some level of comfort as well as rent a house in Maz’rai. There are many things I hope to share in the coming weeks and months on the station of the Beloved Master.

The Báb and brief explanation of the Covenant of God

Shrine of the Báb

As mentioned earlier, the Báb came to the world to prepare the people for the coming of Bahá’u’lláh. His mission is similar to that of Christ in that it was short and swift, 1844 to 1850. The Manifestations of God usually appear in a place where the degradation of a people is at its worse. In reviewing history briefly, we see Moses appearing amongst a people who were in slavery. Look at His Holiness Christ and the people He had to deal with. Muhammad appeared in Arabia where the conditions had degenerated to such an extent. But look after a number of years what the Teachings of Moses, Christ, and Muhammad has done. And the Bab and Bahá’u’lláh appeared in a place no different than that of Moses, Christ, and Muhammad. Iran which was a vast empire known as the “Persian Empire” was reduced to a small country. We can all witness the conditions today of what is transpiring.

Imagine the Báb coming to this people and bringing a beautiful message for this day. A message that will bring the whole world together as one. A message that One will come after Me [the Báb] and through His Teachings humanity will be able to build a world of justice, harmony, and peace. A beautiful message that will unite all of us through a Covenant.  A covenant is an agreement between two parties and each party has to fulfill his part of the contract. God has promised the world through a covenant that He will always send us Divine Guidance through a Manifestation of God who will appear amongst us from time to time.  That is God's expression of love for us.  He created us in His image.  However, God is Unknowable and we should not think of God as an image or some human being.  We cannot understand the nature of God.  There is a wonderful analogy taught to us by Baha'u'llah.  God is like the sun. As you know, if the sun comes down, we would all perish.  The Manifestations of God are like the stainless mirrors that reflect the light of God in all its glory and splendor.  They appear to us to give us God's Message for each day.  And through Them, we get closer to our creator.  Our duty in fulfilling this covenant is to investigate for ourselves who is the Manifestation of God for this day we are fortunate to live in. We are asked not to investigate reality through the eyes of others but through our own earnest search. This requires of us detachment from all human learning, a prayerful attitude, and seeking to find the Truth. Through my own personal journey, I have found Bahá’u’lláh to be the Manifestation of God for this Day. You will have to do your own search.

Let’s go back a bit. Sorry for the digression but felt it important to convey the above. Thousands of people accepted the Message of the Báb. Despite several house arrests and imprisonments in mountainous areas, the Báb's influence was tremendous just like all the other Manifestations of God. Yes, the Báb was also a Manifestation of God!

The government of Iran and the powerful clergy there arose against Him. You must note that the clergy occupied a powerful position and whatever they said goes. So, His followers were persecuted and put to death. The Báb only at the age of 30 was put to death at the orders of the government in a public square. The remains of His body were recovered, hidden, and taken from place to place through Bahá’u’lláh’s guidance, and finally to be buried in the Holy Land. The story of the Báb is very interesting and it is my hope for all of us to further study it.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá's Childhood and Youthful Days

‘Abdu’l-Bahá as a young man

‘Abdu’l-Bahá was born on 23 May 1844 in Tehran, the capital of Iran. His birth coincided with that historical night the Báb declared His Mission to Mulla Husayn. Have you ever stopped to think of this incredible day where you have the Manifestation of God addressing His first disciple and the birth of the One Who was to carry the infant Faith of God after the passing of Bahá’u’lláh! What a bounty to those who were alive to the vision at that time in Iran. 

It is my hope to read more about His childhood of which I could not find many references. He was the eldest Son of Bahá’u’lláh. He was only nine years of age when He went to visit His Father in prison called the Síyáh-Chál or Black Pit. Can one imagine being that age and visiting one's father in prison? We can only imagine the feelings that flooded the Beloved Master during that time. While His Father was still in prison, He was attacked by a mob of people who "pelted Him with stones, vilified Him and overwhelmed Him with ridicule. His had been the lot to share with His Father, soon after His release from imprisonment, the rigors and miseries of a cruel banishment from His native land, and the trials which culminated in His enforced withdrawal to the mountains of Kurdistán. He it was Who, in His inconsolable grief at His separation from an adored Father, had confided to Nabíl, as attested by him in his narrative, that He felt Himself to have grown old though still but a child of tender years. His had been the unique distinction of recognizing, while still in His childhood, the full glory of His Father’s as yet unrevealed station, a recognition which had impelled Him to throw Himself at His feet and to spontaneously implore the privilege of laying down His life for His sake. From His pen, while still in His adolescence in Baghdád, had issued that superb commentary on a well-known Muḥammadan tradition, written at the suggestion of Bahá’u’lláh, in answer to a request made by ‘Alí-Shawkat Páshá, which was so illuminating as to excite the unbounded admiration of its recipient. It was His discussions and discourses with the learned doctors with whom He came in contact in Baghdád that first aroused that general admiration for Him and for His knowledge which was steadily to increase as the circle of His acquaintances was widened, at a later date, first in Adrianople and then in ‘Akká. It was to Him that the highly accomplished Khurshíd Páshá, the governor of Adrianople, had been moved to pay a public and glowing tribute when, in the presence of a number of distinguished divines of that city, his youthful Guest had, briefly and amazingly, resolved the intricacies of a problem that had baffled the minds of the assembled company—an achievement that affected so deeply the Páshá that from that time onwards he could hardly reconcile himself to that Youth’s absence from such gatherings." (God Passes By, pages 240-241)

He had incredible spiritual capacity to be able to recognize the Manifestation of God for this day in His early years. Surely through the grace of God and as we will see later, He was endowed with these special gifts of knowledge and insights, abilities, and skills to carry out the pressing work for His Father. As human beings, we have to work very hard to develop over time a body of knowledge which includes that of the spiritual realm. We have to attend school to learn reading and writing, mathematics, sciences and arts. And we also have to learn to develop our spiritual attributes in our homes as well as attending children classes, going to our junior youth groups, and then the sequence of courses and deepening ourselves in the Cause. Obviously, this is not a comprehensive list. It is a life long effort. Bahá’u’lláh tells us that man is "a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom." (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh”, Sec. 122, pp. 259–60)


‘Abdu’l-Bahá to my limited knowledge did not have much education. So the question is how did He acquire this? This is something that we can all ponder on and reflect on the mysteries and bounties of God.

We can learn from the examples the Beloved Master set for us in His willingness to sacrifice His life for the Cause, in the eloquence of His Writings, in the manner of His Talks, in the meaningful and distinctive conversations that took place where He naturally and effortlessly elevated the discourse, and in the ability to solve difficult problems. Surely, we will at some point explore the concept of Sacrifice as well as the other mentioned examples He left for us!

Some questions for reflection: How do we sacrifice more for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during our lifetime? What can we do to have more meaningful and distinctive conversations during our days? How do we build that skill? How do we go about solving difficult problems?

The hope of the blog is to generate questions that arise as I write this so that I can be thinking about them and perhaps share a few humble thoughts. I conclude by saying that it has been wonderful for me to dive deeply into the Writings the last few days before writing this. We are living in a great time!


                                             (Picture from Baha'i Media Bank)

Introduction

While serving in Haifa

The purpose of the blog titled "A Tribute to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá" is simply because of my love for the Beloved Master whom I have felt a close connection since my childhood in Africa, in the States, and especially during my brief time serving at the Baha'i World Centre.  In addition, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá came to America in 1912, almost 100 years ago which is a good time than ever for reflection.

A word of caution: this blog will contain my own experiences, feelings, thoughts unless quoted directly from the Writings.  You will want to compare with your own understanding and in light of the Revelation.

This space will also allow me to dive more deeply into the Writings.  I had the bounty of serving in Haifa for almost three years; one appreciates the beauty of the gardens and is aware of the spiritual forces that surrounds us particularly in the Shrines.  There is a certain force or energy that captures one's heart.  In going to the Shrines, one feels rejuvenated each time.  In Haifa, on Mount Carmel is laid to rest The Báb as well as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.  We are fortunate to be able to pray in these two Blessed Rooms.  And Bahá’u’lláh is buried in Bahji, the Most Holy Spot on earth for Baha'is.  To be alone in the Shrines is also an incredible experience! This is one of the main things those of us who have served there miss: being able to go to the Shrines each day to pray to our Beloved, and to walk in the gardens and meditate.

As one studies the Writings of the Cause and meditates deeply on them, through prayers, through action, through having spiritual conversations with others, and of course the grace of Bahá’u’lláh, one starts to appreciate and understand a bit more the greatness of this Faith which is less than two hundred years old, the infant Faith of God! While In Haifa, one also realizes the tireless work of Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith which I am hoping to touch upon in this blog.  My father had a dream from the Guardian to go to Chad, Africa and that is how we ended up there.  I also fell deeply in love with the Universal House of Justice.  This is an Institution that is not well understood by the world.  The Universal House of Justice is a gift by Baha'u'llah to humanity (not just the Baha'is).

Bahá’u’lláh has protected His Faith through a Covenant.  This Covenant helps us remain united since the aim of the Baha'i Faith is the oneness of humanity.  Bahá’u’lláh in His written Will and Testament has appointed Abdu'l-Baha as the sole interpreter of His writings.  And in turn, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá appointed in writing Shoghi Effendi to succeed Him.  I am emphasizing the word "writing" since this is the first time in religious history we have a will in ink.  So there are no disputes later on.  And now all the Baha'is of the world turn to the Universal House of Justice who direct the Baha'i world to move forward in carrying out the will of Bahá’u’lláh for humanity.  This is a brief explanation for now.  More to come!