‘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)