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"lighten and uplift
them, so that they may soar on the wings of the Divine verses"
-Baha'u'llah
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`Abdu'l-Baha:
The Master |
In retrospect, it became clear that from the start Bahá'u'lláh
had carefully prepared `Abdu'l-Bahá to succeed Him. He was
born on May 23, 1844, the very night of the
Báb's declaration. As a child, He suffered along with His
Father during the first round of persecutions against the Bábís.
`Abdu'l-Bahá
was eight when Bahá'u'lláh
was thrown into prison. He visited Him there and saw
the iron collar and chains around His Father's neck.
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"The
religion of God is for love and unity; make
it not the cause of enmity and
dissension."
- Bahá'u'lláh |
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As He grew older,
`Abdu'l-Bahá became His Father's closest companion and
carried out for Him many important at tasks. He interviewed
in advance, for example, the numerous visitors who came to
see His Father and protected Him from frivolous or
ill-intentioned impositions on His work.
In Acre, when nearly the
entire group of Bahá'ís there became ill with typhoid
fever, malaria and dysentery, `Abdu'l-Bahá washed, nursed
and fed the patients, taking no rest for Himself. Finally,
exhausted, He took ill Himself, suffering in critical
condition for nearly a month.
These qualities
of selflessness, erudition and great humility, along with
Bahá'u'lláh's own obvious admiration, soon won for
`Abdu'l-Bahá the title of "the Master." It is a
term still used today by Bahá'ís in referring to
`Abdu'l-Bahá.
`Abdu'l-Bahá
as a young man.
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Despite
the explicit terms of Bahá'u'lláh's will and
testament, some envious relatives attempted to usurp `Abdu'l-Bahá's
position after Bahá'u'lláh's passing. Repeated
attempts were made by these ambitious individuals to
create followings of their own.
It is
significant, in view of the swift emergence of schisms
in the world's other religions, that none of the
resulting dissident groups were able to maintain
themselves or create a division of the Bahá'í Faith.
Ultimately, each group disintegrated with the death of
the leader who had tried to establish it and no sects
or denominations have endured. Bahá'ís attribute
this unity to the power of the "Covenant."
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`Abdu'l-Baha
also played a key role in explaining the world-embracing
vision of His Father in terms that the Western world could
understand, an accomplishment that greatly accelerated the
transformation of the Bahá'í Faith from a small, Middle
Eastern movement into the worldwide religion it is today.
Following the
passing of His Father, `Abdu'l-Bahá remained a prisoner of
the Ottoman Empire. Via letters and through direct contact
with early Western believers who traveled to Palestine, He
guided the Faith's spread outside the Middle East.
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After
the revolution of the Young Turks, `Abdu'l-Bahá became
free to travel. In August 1911, He left the Holy Land on
a four-month visit to the Western world, stopping in
London and Paris. There He met with early Western
believers and gave daily talks on the Bahá'í Faith and
its principles.
The
following spring, `Abdu'l-Bahá embarked on a year-long
tour, again to Europe, and then to the United States and
Canada. The visit greatly stimulated the spread of the
Bahá'í Faith in those two countries.
During
visits to more than 40 cities in North America, He was
greeted with respect and acclaim, by both the believers
and non-believers alike. In city after city, He was
invited to speak at churches and synagogues, and before
distinguished groups and organizations.
The
net effect was to establish the Bahá'í Faith as a
major new force for social reform and religious renewal.
The message of Bahá'u'lláh--with its great call for a
new and peaceful human society--had been proclaimed in
the industrialized world and a new generation of firm
believers had been enlisted.
`Abdu'l-Bahá
established an on-going plan for the
internationalization of the Faith. In a series of
letters to believers in North America, He asked them to
spread out around the world to promulgate the Bahá'í
Faith and its principles.
By
the outbreak of World War I, `Abdu'l-Bahá was back in
the Holy Land. In His addresses in the West, He had
warned about the coming conflagration, and He had spoken
unceasingly about the need to establish some form of
world commonwealth which might forestall such a war.
During
the war, `Abdu'l-Bahá spent His time acting on the
principles that He and His father had preached. He
personally organized, for example, an extensive
agricultural project near Tiberias, which provided an
important source of wheat to the region and helped to
avert a famine in the area. `Abdu'l-Bahá was knighted
by the British Government after the war. |
`Abdu'l-Bahá was the
guest of honor at a banquet at the Great Northern Hotel
in New York City on 13 November 1912. His visit to
North America that year was crucial in helping to
strengthen the Bahá'í community in the West, laying
the groundwork for its expansion worldwide.
`Abdu'l-Bahá in Germany
in 1913.
During his North American
tour in 1912, `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to numerous prominent
groups and organizations. In Washington, D.C., for
example, He spoke at the Universalist Church, at Howard
University, and before such groups as the Bethel
Literary Society, and the Theosophical Society.
`Abdu'l-Bahá is shown here with a group of Bahá'ís in
Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois, on 3 May 1912.
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Excerpted
from The Bahá'ís, a publication of the Bahá'í
International Community.
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