Bahiyyih Khanum
by Baha'i World Centre
Edition 1, (September 2006)
BAHA'I TERMS OF USE
You have permission to freely make and use copies of the text and any
other information ("Content") available on this Site including printing,
emailing, posting, distributing, copying, downloading, uploading,
transmitting, displaying the Content in whole or in part subject to the
following:
1. Our copyright notice and the source reference must be attached to the
Content;
2. The Content may not be modified or altered in any way except to change
the font or appearance;
3. The Content must be used solely for a non-commercial purpose.
Although this blanket permission to reproduce the Content is given freely
such that no special permission is required, the Baha'i International
Community retains full copyright protection for all Content included at
this Site under all applicable national and international laws.
For permission to publish, transmit, display or otherwise use the Content
for any commercial purpose, please contact us
(http://reference.bahai.org/en/contact.html).
CONTENTS
Baha'i Terms of Use
[Dedicatory Passage]
I: From the Writings of BAHA'U'LLAH
1: Let these exalted words be thy love-song on ...
2: O My Leaf! Hearken thou unto My Voice: ...
II: From the Writings of 'ABDU'L-BAHA
1: O my well-beloved, deeply spiritual sister! ...
2: O thou my affectionate sister! In the daytime ...
3: Dear and deeply spiritual sister! At morn and ...
4: Dear sister, beloved of my heart and soul! ...
5: O thou my loving, my deeply spiritual ...
6: To my honoured and distinguished sister do ...
7: O Diya! It is incumbent upon thee, ...
8: O thou my affectionate sister! ...
9: O my dear sister! ...
10: O my well-beloved sister, O Most Exalted ...
11: O thou my sister, my dear sister! ...
12: My sister and beloved of my soul! ...
13: My sister, for a considerable period, that is, ...
14: O my spiritual sister! ...
15: O my spiritual sister! ...
16: O my affectionate sister! ...
17: O my dear sister! ...
18: O my cherished sister! ...
19: O my sister in the spirit, and the companion ...
20: O thou Greatest and Most Merciful Holy ...
21: I do not know in what words I could ...
III: From the Writings of SHOGHI EFFENDI
1: This servant, after that grievous event and ...
2: And in this fervent plea, my voice is once ...
3: GREATEST HOLY LEAF'S IMMORTAL SPIRIT ...
4: GREATEST HOLY LEAF ASCENDED ABHA KINGDOM. ...
5: O ye who burn in the flames of bereavement! ...
6: Brethren and fellow-mourners in the Faith ...
7: ENTREAT SORROW STRICKEN AMERICAN BELIEVERS ...
8: YOUR MESSAGE ALLEVIATED LOAD MY AGONIZING ...
9: PRAY ASSURE AMERICAN BELIEVERS BEHALF HOLY ...
10: Your valued message brought strength and ...
11: I deeply appreciate your sympathy. My loss ...
12: I greatly value your sympathy in my cruel, ...
13: Your sweet and touching message imparted ...
14: My great love for the Greatest Holy Leaf and ...
15: The many evidences of your increasing zeal ...
16: Your highly impressive and touching message ...
17: The passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf has ...
18: O well-loved friend, ...
19: I wish to add a few words in person as a ...
20: I am moved to add a few words with my ...
21: The passing of the beloved Khanum has ...
22: I greatly value the expression of your ...
23: I wish to express to your distinguished ...
24: O ye who share my anguish and are my ...
25: Moved by an unalterable devotion to the ...
26: It was through the arrival of these pilgrims, ...
27: With 'Abdu'l-Baha's ascension, and more ...
28: The Fund associated with the beloved name ...
29: BLESSED REMAINS PUREST BRANCH AND ...
30: O loved ones of God, These two precious ...
31: His nine-year-old son, later surnamed the ...
32: ...as a further testimony to the majestic ...
33: The raising of this Edifice will in turn ...
IV: Passages from letters written on behalf of SHOGHI EFFENDI
1: Your touching words in connection with the ...
2: The passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf, so ...
3: The ascension of the Greatest Holy Leaf is, ...
4: His grief is too immense and his loss too ...
5: The irreparable loss which the Faith has ...
6: In these days, when we are all mourning the ...
7: Your message of condolence and sympathy, ...
8: ...The news of the Memorial Service you ...
9: The letter from that spiritual friend has ...
10: The letter dated 5 August 1932, from that ...
11: What you had written concerning the ...
12: ...He is eagerly awaiting to see the friends ...
13: His loss is too immense to be adequately ...
14: The profound sorrow occasioned by the ...
15: The Guardian of the Cause of God has ...
16: The Guardian's anguish, because of this ...
17: Indeed, the Greatest Holy Leaf, the Trust of ...
18: The Guardian trusts that the explanation he ...
19: The loss of the Greatest Holy Leaf will be ...
20: Even though during these last years she was ...
21: The passing away of the Greatest Holy Leaf ...
22: Even though the Greatest Holy Leaf has left ...
23: Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge ...
24: You should be very happy to have had the ...
25: Surely there is nothing that will console the ...
26: These nine months during which the Guardian ...
27: Surely no matter what we say about her still ...
28: Indeed it would have been for you such a joy ...
29: He fully appreciates the deep sorrow that ...
30: He is sure that all the Baha'is throughout ...
31: He deeply appreciates your sincere, well-expressed ...
32: ...He was deeply touched by the strong ...
33: The steps of her holy resting-place represent ...
V: Letters of THE GREATEST HOLY LEAF
1: O Leaf of Paradise! ...
2: I feel prompted to offer my sincere best ...
3: The letter in which that leaf had expressed the ...
4: Despite our overwhelming sorrows and ...
5: It is my earnest hope that you, His distinguished ...
6: O exalted leaf, O distinguished friend! May ...
7: May my life be sacrificed for those leaves who ...
8: From this hallowed and snow-white Spot, ...
9: A number of your spiritual sisters, namely ...
10: May the Light of Union radiate with greater ...
11: O my dear sister! I have read what you ...
12: Concerning the remnants of the martyrs' ...
13: O leaf that has been stirred by the breeze of ...
14: All praise be to the Abha Beauty, the ...
15: At the exalted Threshold of our Lord, the ...
16: On my return from Beyrouth I was sorry to ...
17: O my dear sister! Your excellent letter ...
18: The Festival of Ridvan is come and the ...
19: You should not think that the record of ...
20: Both in the Persian and Arabic Writings of ...
21: HIS HOLINESS 'ABDU'L-BAHA ASCENDED TO ...
22: NOW IS A PERIOD OF GREAT TESTS. THE FRIENDS ...
23: MEMORIAL MEETING WORLD OVER JANUARY ...
24: IN WILL SHOGHI EFFENDI APPOINTED GUARDIAN ...
25: The hearts of the people of Baha are ...
26: We thank you most sincerely for your kind ...
27: REJOICED OVER CONVENTION NEWS. PRAYING ...
28: In this day, those holy souls are divinely ...
29: It is not unknown to those who stand firm ...
30: This dire calamity, this great affliction, the ...
31: Although that supreme calamity, that ...
32: O faithful servant of the Best-Beloved, the ...
33: O God, my God! ...
34: To the doves of faithfulness, ever since ...
35: The passing of 'Abdu'l-Baha, may our lives ...
36: The ascension of Him Who was the Temple ...
37: We rejoiced greatly to learn of the unity ...
38: That supreme affliction, the passing of ...
39: The good news that the Word of God is ...
40: All the virtues of humankind are summed ...
41: It is clear how that most dire of calamities, ...
42: All praise to the omnipotent Lord, that in ...
43: Indeed, you have adorned yourself with the ...
44: The deep heart's love and the longing of the ...
45: The good news has come that the Will and ...
46: In this noblest of all ages the Sun of grace ...
47: The purport of your letter is highly indicative ...
48: At this hour while yet the heart burns with ...
49: O steadfast ones, gathered beneath the ...
50: A physician treats every illness with a ...
51: I was very glad to know of your meeting ...
52: We were delighted to receive your excellent ...
53: Following the ascension of 'Abdu'l-Baha ...
54: The letter that you wrote in your burning ...
55: Although the ascension of the beloved ...
56: You have offered up thanks to the Lord for ...
57: The Ancient Beauty, the Most Great Name, ...
58: After the construction of the Bab's Shrine ...
59: At the Threshold of the Lord of Mercy we ...
60: The adherents of the Faith of Baha'u'llah ...
61: Regarding the Centre of Sedition and his ...
62: Your letter has come, and I myself and the ...
63: The sad news about the death of your ...
64: The letter you have written was received ...
65: All praise be unto the Court of Holiness, ...
66: It has been demonstrated time and time ...
67: The cheque for the amount of two hundred ...
68: It is clear and evident that the body of ...
69: We beseech God--exalted be His glory--to ...
70: Your letter of 12th October 1922 is just ...
71: All praise to the beloved Abha Beauty, ...
72: Your kind and loving letter written with an ...
73: Praise be to God that through the gracious ...
74: Your letter was received and its contents ...
75: It was sometime ago that I received your ...
76: You quite well realize, I presume, that ...
77: The Pen of the divine Ordainer has so ...
78: 'O God, My God! Thou hast lighted the lamp of ...
79: The tongue of this lowly and grief-stricken ...
80: The question of Avarih has surely come to ...
81: Praise be to God that through His gracious ...
82: It is a very long time since we have had any ...
83: Your short and loving note of June 25th has ...
84: Your charming letter of June 20th has ...
85: Your numerous letters written to the ...
86: From this hallowed Spot I send heavenly ...
87: In this Day nothing is so important as service. ...
88: It always cheers my heart to hear from the ...
89: My heart is always cheered when I meet or ...
90: At the holy Threshold of the Abha Beauty ...
91: O dear sisters, ardent lovers of Baha'u'llah, ...
92: Your letter, laden with many a graceful ...
[DEDICATORY PASSAGE]
(1) He is the Eternal! This is My testimony for her who hath heard My
voice and drawn nigh unto Me. Verily, she is a leaf that hath sprung from
this preexistent Root. She hath revealed herself in My name and tasted of
the sweet savours of My holy, My wondrous pleasure. At one time We gave
her to drink from My honeyed Mouth, at another caused her to partake of My
mighty, My luminous Kaw_th_ar. Upon her rest the glory of My name and the
fragrance of My shining robe.
(Baha'u'llah's original Arabic of the above is inscribed around the
circular dome of the Greatest Holy Leaf's monument on Mount Carmel. See
illustration between pages 92 and 93.)
I: FROM THE WRITINGS OF BAHA'U'LLAH
1: Let these exalted words be thy love-song on ...
(2) Let these exalted words be thy love-song on the tree of Baha, O thou
most holy and resplendent Leaf: 'God, besides Whom is none other God, the
Lord of this world and the next!' Verily, We have elevated thee to the
rank of one of the most distinguished among thy sex, and granted thee, in
My court, a station such as none other woman hath surpassed. Thus have We
preferred thee and raised thee above the rest, as a sign of grace from Him
Who is the Lord of the throne on high and earth below. We have created
thine eyes to behold the light of My countenance, thine ears to hearken
unto the melody of My words, thy body to pay homage before My throne. Do
thou render thanks unto God, thy Lord, the Lord of all the world.
How high is the testimony of the Sadratu'l-Muntaha for its leaf; how
exalted the witness of the Tree of Life unto its fruit! Through My
remembrance of her a fragrance laden with the perfume of musk hath been
diffused; well is it with him that hath inhaled it and exclaimed: 'All
praise be to Thee, O God, my Lord the most glorious!' How sweet thy
presence before Me; how sweet to gaze upon thy face, to bestow upon thee
My loving-kindness, to favour thee with My tender care, to make mention of
thee in this, My Tablet--a Tablet which I have ordained as a token of My
hidden and manifest grace unto thee.
2: O My Leaf! Hearken thou unto My Voice: ...
(3) O My Leaf! Hearken thou unto My Voice: Verily there is none other God
but Me, the Almighty, the All-Wise. I can well inhale from thee the
fragrance of My love and the sweet-smelling savour wafting from the
raiment of My Name, the Most Holy, the Most Luminous. Be astir upon God's
Tree in conformity with thy pleasure and unloose thy tongue in praise of
thy Lord amidst all mankind. Let not the things of the world grieve thee.
Cling fast unto this divine Lote-Tree from which God hath graciously
caused thee to spring forth. I swear by My life! It behoveth the lover to
be closely joined to the loved one, and here indeed is the Best-Beloved of
the world.
II: FROM THE WRITINGS OF 'ABDU'L-BAHA
1: O my well-beloved, deeply spiritual sister! ...
(4) O my well-beloved, deeply spiritual sister! Day and night thou livest
in my memory. Whenever I remember thee my heart swelleth with sadness and
my regret groweth more intense. Grieve not, for I am thy true, thy
unfailing comforter. Let neither despondency nor despair becloud the
serenity of thy life or restrain thy freedom. These days shall pass away.
We will, please God, in the Abha Kingdom and beneath the sheltering shadow
of the Blessed Beauty, forget all these our earthly cares and will find
each one of these base calumnies amply compensated by His expressions of
praise and favour. From the beginning of time sorrow and anxiety, regret
and tribulation, have always been the lot of every loyal servant of God.
Ponder this in thine heart and consider how very true it is. Wherefore,
set thine heart on the tender mercies of the Ancient Beauty and be thou
filled with abiding joy and intense gladness....
2: O thou my affectionate sister! In the daytime ...
(5) O thou my affectionate sister! In the daytime and in the night-season
my thoughts ever turn to thee. Not for one moment do I cease to remember
thee. My sorrow and regret concern not myself; they centre around thee.
Whenever I recall thine afflictions, tears that I cannot repress rain down
from mine eyes....
3: Dear and deeply spiritual sister! At morn and ...
(6) Dear and deeply spiritual sister! At morn and eventide, with the
utmost ardour and humility, I supplicate at the Divine Threshold, and
offer this, my prayer:
'Grant, O Thou my God, the Compassionate, that that pure and blessed Leaf
may be comforted by Thy sweet savours of holiness and sustained by the
reviving breeze of Thy loving care and mercy. Reinforce her spirit with
the signs of Thy Kingdom, and gladden her soul with the testimonies of Thy
everlasting dominion. Comfort, O my God, her sorrowful heart with the
remembrance of Thy face, initiate her into Thy hidden mysteries, and
inspire her with the revealed splendours of Thy heavenly light. Manifold
are her sorrows, and infinitely grievous her distress. Bestow continually
upon her the favour of Thy sustaining grace and, with every fleeting
breath, grant her the blessing of Thy bounty. Her hopes and expectations
are centred in Thee; open Thou to her face the portals of Thy tender
mercies and lead her into the ways of Thy wondrous benevolence.
Thou art the Generous, the All-Loving, the Sustainer, the
All-Bountiful....'
4: Dear sister, beloved of my heart and soul! ...
(7) Dear sister, beloved of my heart and soul! The news of thy safe
arrival and pleasant stay in the land of Egypt has reached me and filled
my heart with exceeding gladness. I am thankful to Baha'u'llah for the
good health thou dost enjoy and for the happiness He hath imparted to the
hearts of the loved ones in that land. Shouldst thou wish to know of the
condition of this servant of the Threshold of the Abha Beauty, praise be
to Him for having enabled me to inhale the fragrance of His tender mercy
and partake of the delights of His loving-kindness and blessings. I am
being continually reinforced by the energizing rays of His grace, and feel
upheld by the uninterrupted aid of the victorious hosts of His Kingdom. My
physical health is also improving. God be praised that from every quarter
I receive the glad-tidings of the growing ascendancy of the Cause of God,
and can witness evidences of the increasing influence of its spread....
5: O thou my loving, my deeply spiritual ...
(8) O thou my loving, my deeply spiritual sister! I trust that by the
grace and loving-kindness of the one true God thou art, and wilt be, kept
safe and secure beneath the sheltering shadow of the Blessed Beauty. Night
and day thy countenance appeareth before mine eyes, and in my mind are
engraved the traits of thy character....
6: To my honoured and distinguished sister do ...
(9) To my honoured and distinguished sister do thou convey the expression
of my heartfelt, my intense longing. Day and night she liveth in my
remembrance. I dare make no mention of the feelings which separation from
her has aroused in mine heart; for whatever I should attempt to express in
writing will assuredly be effaced by the tears which such sentiments must
bring to mine eyes....
7: O Diya! It is incumbent upon thee, ...
(10) O Diya!(11) It is incumbent upon thee, throughout the journey, to be
a close, a constant and cheerful companion to my honoured and
distinguished sister. Unceasingly, with the utmost vigour and devotion,
exert thyself, by day and night, to gladden her blessed heart; for all her
days she was denied a moment of tranquillity. She was astir and restless
every hour of her life. Moth-like she circled in adoration round the
undying flame of the Divine Candle, her spirit ablaze and her heart
consumed by the fire of His love....
8: O thou my affectionate sister! ...
(12) O thou my affectionate sister! God be praised, according to what we
hear the climate in that land hath proved not unfavourable. It is to be
hoped that out of the grace of the Blessed Beauty thy illness will be
completely cured and thou wilt return in the best of health, so that once
again I may gaze upon that wondrous face of thine.
Write thou a full account of thy condition by every post, for I am most
anxious for news of thee. Let me know if thou shouldst desire anyone from
here to come to thee, that I may send the person along--even Munirih--so
that thou wilt not be homesick.
That thou shouldst spend a few days of peace and rest, is my dearest wish.
We here, God be thanked, are all enjoying the best of health. I have been
better lately, and sleeping well at night. Rest assured.
9: O my dear sister! ...
(13) O my dear sister!
Praise be to God, within the sheltering grace of the Blessed Beauty, here
in the lands of the West a breeze hath blown from over the rose-gardens of
His bestowals, and the hearts of many people have been drawn as by a
magnet to the Abha Realm.
Whatever hath come to pass is from the confirmations of the Beloved; for
otherwise, what merit had we, or what capacity? We are as a helpless babe,
but fed at the breast of heavenly grace. We are no more than weak plants,
but we flourish in the spring rain of His bestowals.
Wherefore, as a thank-offering for these bounties, on a certain day don
thy garb to visit the Shrine, the ka'bih of our heart's desire, turn
thyself toward Him on my behalf, lay down thy head on that sacred
Threshold, and say:
O divine Providence! O Thou forgiving Lord!
Sinner though I be, I have no refuge save Thyself. All praise be Thine,
that in my wanderings over mountains and plains, my toils and troubles on
the seas, Thou hast answered still my cries for help, and confirmed me,
and favoured me, and honoured me with service at Thy Threshold.
To a feeble ant, Thou hast given Solomon's might. Thou hast made of a gnat
a lion in the thicket of Thy Mercy. Thou hast bestowed on a drop the
swelling waves of the sea, Thou hast carried up a mote to the pinnacles of
grace. Whatever was achieved, was made possible through Thee. Otherwise,
what strength did the fragile dust possess, what power did this feeble
being have?
O divine Providence! Do not seize us in our sins, but give us refuge. Do
not look upon our evil ways, but grant forgiveness. Consider not our just
deserts, but open wide Thy door of grace.
Thou art the Mighty, the Powerful! Thou art the Seer, the Knower!
10: O my well-beloved sister, O Most Exalted ...
(14) O my well-beloved sister, O Most Exalted Leaf!
Thou didst leave for Akka to remain but two days or so and then return,
but now thou hast been gone from us for quite a while. We have stayed
behind in Haifa, all alone, and it is very difficult to get along. We hear
that thou art a little indisposed; the Haifa air would have been better
for thee. We had everything ready in Haifa to receive thee, but in fact,
this caused thee some difficulty. There is no way but to endure the toil
and trouble of God's path. If thou dost not bear these hardships, who
would ever bear them?
In any case, no matter how things are, come thou here today, because my
heart is longing for thee.
11: O thou my sister, my dear sister! ...
(15) O thou my sister, my dear sister!
Divine wisdom hath decreed this temporary separation, but I long more and
more to be with thee again. Patience is called for, and long-suffering,
and trust in God, and the seeking of His favour. Since thou art there, my
mind is completely at rest.
In recent days, I have made a plan to visit Egypt, if this be God's will.
Do thou, on my behalf, lay thy head on the sacred Threshold, and perfume
brow and hair in the dust of that Door, and ask that I may be confirmed in
my work; that I may, in return for His endless bounties, win, if He will,
a drop out of the ocean of servitude.
12: My sister and beloved of my soul! ...
(16) My sister and beloved of my soul!
Here on the slopes of Mount Carmel, by the cave of Elijah, we are thinking
of that Most Exalted Leaf, and the beloved and handmaids of the Lord.
We pass our days in writing and our nights now in communion with God, now
in bed to overcome failing health. And although, to outward seeming, we
are absent from you all, and far away, still our thoughts are with you
always.
I can never, never forget thee. However great the distance that separates
us, we still feel as though we were seated under the same roof, in one and
the same gathering, for are we not all under the shadow of the Tabernacle
of God and beneath the canopy of His infinite grace and mercy?
13: My sister, for a considerable period, that is, ...
(17) My sister, for a considerable period, that is, from the day of
Baha'u'llah's ascension, had grown so thin and feeble, and was in such a
weakened condition from the anguish of her mourning, that she was close to
breakdown.
Although, so far as she was concerned, it was her dearest wish to drain
her cup and wing her way to the realms where the Divine Essence shineth in
glory, still this servant could not bear to behold her in that state. Then
it occurred to me that, God be thanked, I have such an unfailing comforter
as Jinab-i-Haji,(18) and it would be well to make him my partner in
distress. I therefore determined to send her to Egypt, to provide her with
a change of air.
Although this will certainly cause thee trouble and inconvenience, still,
I trust that out of God's bounty, it will also bring thee much joy and
good cheer.
14: O my spiritual sister! ...
(19) O my spiritual sister!
Thou didst go away to Haifa, supposedly for only three or four days. Now
it becometh apparent that the spiritual power of the Shrine hath brought
thee joy and radiance, and even as a magnet is holding thee fast. Thou
surely wouldst remember us as well.
Truly the spiritual quality of the holy place, its fresh skies and
delicate air, its crystal waters and sweet plains and charming seascape,
and the holy breathings from the Kingdom all do mingle in that Sacred
Fold. Thou art right to linger there...
Kiss the light of the eyes of the company of spiritual souls, Shoghi
Effendi...
15: O my spiritual sister! ...
(20) O my spiritual sister!
God be praised, through the Ancient Beauty's grace and bounty, we have set
foot safe and sound upon this shore, and arrived in this town(21) ...
These coasts were once the place where the breezes of God's loving
kindness blew, and here in this sacred Vale the Son of Spirit(22) raised
up His call of 'Here am I, O Thou My Lord! Here am I!' That is why we here
perceive, from every direction, the sweet breathings of holiness.
My meaning is, rest thou assured, this servant is suffering neither from
any trouble, nor hardship, nor fatigue. I am looking after myself, and
keeping away from all mental preoccupations; all, that is, except for one
thought, which doth indeed disquiet the mind--and that is, God forbid, that
thou shouldst sorrow.
I hope that out of the bestowals and bounties of the Ancient Beauty, He
will in His grace bring comfort to every heart.
16: O my affectionate sister! ...
(23) O my affectionate sister!
God be praised, through His grace and favour, my health and well-being are
now restored, but it is very hard for me to bear thine absence.
We think of thee at all times, here on the slopes of this sacred, holy and
blessed Mount Carmel, and we are being happy on thy behalf...
17: O my dear sister! ...
(24) O my dear sister!
It is quite a while now, since thou hast left us, and gone away to
Nazareth and Haifa. This journey hath lasted too long. The weather in Akka
is fine and moderate. If thou comest back, it will rejoice our hearts....
18: O my cherished sister! ...
(25) O my cherished sister!
Thou art never absent from my thoughts.
I speak of thee and call thee to mind at all times. It is my hope that out
of God's favour and grace thou dost keep safe and well, and dost visit the
two Sacred Thresholds on my behalf.
19: O my sister in the spirit, and the companion ...
(26) O my sister in the spirit, and the companion of my heart!
God willing, the climate of Haifa hath proved favourable. I hope that out
of the bounties of the Ancient Beauty thou wilt gain a measure of peace
and health.
I bring thee to mind both night and day. Just recently I had hoped to come
to Haifa to visit thee, but various problems and the pressure of work have
left me no time; for I want to see the travellers off, and every one of
them presented a long list of names. God be thanked, I have written to
them all.
Kiss the fresh flower of the garden of sweetness, Shoghi Effendi.
20: O thou Greatest and Most Merciful Holy ...
(27) O thou Greatest and Most Merciful Holy Leaf!
I arrived in New York in the best of health, and I have been at all times
thinking of thee, and supplicating fervently at the threshold of the
Blessed Beauty that He may guard thee in the stronghold of His protection.
We are in the utmost fellowship and joy. I hope that thou wilt be
sheltered under His bountiful care.
Write to me at once about Ruha _Kh_anum's and Shoghi Effendi's condition,
informing me fully and hiding nothing; this is the best way.
Convey my utmost longing to all.
21: I do not know in what words I could ...
(28) I do not know in what words I could describe my longing for my
honoured sister. Whatever it may write, my pen falls short.
III: FROM THE WRITINGS OF SHOGHI EFFENDI
1: This servant, after that grievous event and ...
(29) This servant, after that grievous event and great calamity, the
ascension of His Holiness 'Abdu'l-Baha to the Abha Kingdom, has been so
stricken with grief and pain and so entangled in the troubles created by
the enemies of the Cause of God, that I consider that my presence here, at
such a time and in such an atmosphere, is not in accordance with the
fulfilment of my important and sacred duties.
For this reason, unable to do otherwise, I have left for a time the
affairs of the Cause both at home and abroad, under the supervision of the
Holy Family and the headship of the Greatest Holy Leaf until, by the Grace
of God, having gained health, strength, self-confidence and spiritual
energy, and having taken into my hands, in accordance with my aim and
desire, entirely and regularly the work of service I shall attain to my
utmost spiritual hope and aspiration.
2: And in this fervent plea, my voice is once ...
(30) And in this fervent plea, my voice is once more reinforced by the
passionate, and perhaps, the last, entreaty, of the Greatest Holy Leaf,
whose spirit, now hovering on the edge of the Great Beyond, longs to carry
on its flight to the Abha Kingdom, and into the presence of a Divine, an
almighty Father, an assurance of the joyous consummation of an
enterprise,(31) the progress of which has so greatly brightened the
closing days of her earthly life.
3: GREATEST HOLY LEAF'S IMMORTAL SPIRIT ...
(32) GREATEST HOLY LEAF'S IMMORTAL SPIRIT WINGED ITS FLIGHT GREAT BEYOND.
COUNTLESS LOVERS HER SAINTLY LIFE IN EAST AND WEST SEIZED WITH PANGS OF
ANGUISH, PLUNGED IN UNUTTERABLE SORROW. HUMANITY SHALL ERELONG RECOGNIZE
ITS IRREPARABLE LOSS. OUR BELOVED FAITH, WELL-NIGH CRUSHED BY DEVASTATING
BLOW OF 'ABDU'L-BAHA'S UNEXPECTED ASCENSION, NOW LAMENTS PASSING LAST
REMNANT OF BAHA'U'LLAH, ITS MOST EXALTED MEMBER. HOLY FAMILY CRUELLY
DIVESTED ITS MOST PRECIOUS, MOST GREAT ADORNING. I, FOR MY PART, BEWAIL
SUDDEN REMOVAL MY SOLE EARTHLY SUSTAINER, THE JOY AND SOLACE OF MY LIFE.
HER SACRED REMAINS WILL REPOSE VICINITY HOLY SHRINES. SO GRIEVOUS A
BEREAVEMENT NECESSITATES SUSPENSION FOR NINE MONTHS THROUGHOUT BAHA'I
WORLD EVERY MANNER RELIGIOUS FESTIVITY. INFORM LOCAL ASSEMBLIES AND GROUPS
HOLD BEFITTING MANNER MEMORIAL GATHERINGS, EXTOL A LIFE SO LADEN SACRED
EXPERIENCES, SO RICH IMPERISHABLE MEMORIES... ADVISE HOLDING ADDITIONAL
COMMEMORATION SERVICE OF STRICTLY DEVOTIONAL CHARACTER AUDITORIUM
MA_SH_RIQU'L-A_DH_KAR.
4: GREATEST HOLY LEAF ASCENDED ABHA KINGDOM. ...
(33) GREATEST HOLY LEAF ASCENDED ABHA KINGDOM. OUR GRIEF IMMENSE, OUR LOSS
IRREPARABLE. INFORM LOCAL ASSEMBLIES COMMEMORATE BEFITTINGLY SACRED
EXPERIENCES SO RICH, SO SUBLIME, SO EVENTFUL A LIFE. MAGNITUDE OF OUR
SORROW DEMANDS COMPLETE SUSPENSION FOR NINE MONTHS THROUGHOUT BAHA'I WORLD
EVERY FORM RELIGIOUS FESTIVITY. HER MORTAL REMAINS LAID VICINITY HOLY
SHRINE.
5: O ye who burn in the flames of bereavement! ...
(34) O ye who burn in the flames of bereavement! By the Day-star of the
World, my bereaved and longing heart is afire with a grief that is beyond
my description. The sudden, the grievous and calamitous news that the Most
Exalted, the pure, the holy, the immaculate, the brightly shining Leaf,
the Remnant of Baha, and His trust, the eternal fruit and the one last
remembrance of the Holy Tree--may my life be offered for the wrongs she
suffered--has ascended, reached me like live coals cast into a frail and
afflicted heart. The foundations of my serenity were shattered, and tears
of desolation came like a flood that carries all away.
Alas, that I was prevented from being with her at the close of her earthly
days, at that moment when she ascended to her Lord, her Master, and when
her delicate body was placed in the tomb. Not mine that honour, that high
privilege, for I was far away, deprived, bereft, excluded.
O brothers and sisters in the spirit! In this solemn hour, from one
direction we can hear the sounds of loud weeping, and cries of mourning
and woe, rising out of the throats of the people of Baha throughout this
nether world, because of their separation from that rich mine of
faithfulness, that Orb of the heaven of eternal glory--because of her
setting below the horizon of this holy Spot. But from another direction
can be heard the songs of praise and holy exultation from the Company on
High and the undying dwellers in Paradise, and from beyond them all God's
Prophets, coming forth to welcome that fair being, and to place her in the
retreats of glory, and to seat her at the right hand of Him Who is the
Centre of God's Mighty Covenant.
The community of Baha, whether in the East of the world or the West, are
lamenting like orphans left destitute; fevered, tormented, unquiet, they
are voicing their grief. Out of the depths of their sorrowing hearts,
there rises to the Abha Horizon this continual piercing cry: 'Where art
thou gone, O torch of tender love? Where art thou gone, O source of grace
and mercy? Where art thou gone, O symbol of bounty and generosity? Where
art thou gone, O day-spring of detachment in this world of being? Where
art thou gone, O trust left by Baha among His people, O remnant left by
Him among His servants, O sweet scent of His garment, shed across all
created things!'
O ye who loved that luminous face! The oil within that shining lamp was
used up in this world and its light was extinguished; and yet, in the
lamp-niche of the Kingdom, the fingers of the Lord of the heavenly throne
have kindled it so bright, and it has cast such a splendour on the maids
of Heaven--dwelling in chambers of red rubies and circling about her--that
they all called from out their souls and hearts, 'O joy upon joy!' and
with shouts of, 'Well done! Well done! Upon thee be God's blessings, O
Most Exalted Leaf!' did they welcome that quintessence of love and purity
within the towering pavilions of eternity.
At that time, as bidden by the Lord, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting,
did the heavenly Crier raise up his voice and cry out: 'O Most Exalted
Leaf! Thou art she who did endure with patience in God's way from thine
earliest childhood and throughout all thy life, and did bear in His
pathway what none other hath borne, save only God in His own Self, the
Supreme Ruler over all created things, and before Him, His noble Herald,
and after Him, His holy Branch, the One, the Inaccessible, the Most High.
The people of the Concourse on High seek the fragrance of thy presence,
and the dwellers in the retreats of eternity circle about thee. To this
bear witness the souls of the cherubim within the tabernacles of majesty
and might, and beyond them the tongue of God the One True Lord, the Pure,
the Most Wondrous. Blessedness be thine and a goodly abode; glad tidings
to thee and a happy ending!'
To one who was reared by the hands of her loving kindness, the burden of
this direst of calamities is well nigh unbearable; and yet praised be the
God of glory that her fragile frame has escaped from the prison of
continual ordeals and afflictions which, with an astonishing forbearance,
and for more than eighty years, she accepted and endured. Now is she free;
delivered from her chains of care and sorrow; safe from all the suffering
and pain, released from the ills of this nether world. She rolled up and
packed away the years of longing for her mighty Father, and for Him, her
loving and well-favoured Brother, and departed to her abode in the midmost
heart of the Heavens.
This heavenly being, during all the turmoil of her days, did not rest for
a moment, nor ever did she seek quiet and peace. From the beginning of her
life, from her very childhood, she tasted sorrow's cup; she drank down the
afflictions and calamities of the earliest years of the great Cause of
God. In the tumult of the Year of Hin,(35) as a result of the sacking and
plundering of her glorious Father's wealth and holdings, she learned the
bitterness of destitution and want. Then she shared the imprisonment, the
grief, the banishment of the Abha Beauty, and in the storm which broke out
in 'Iraq--because of the plotting and the treachery of the prime mover of
mischief, the focal centre of hate--she bore, with complete resignation and
acquiescence, uncounted ordeals. She forgot herself, did without her kin,
turned aside from possessions, struck off at one blow the bonds of every
worldly concern; and then, like a lovelorn moth, she circled day and night
about the flame of the matchless Beauty of her Lord.
In the heaven of severance, she shone like the Morning Star, fair and
bright, and through her character and all her ways, she shed upon kin and
stranger, upon the learned, and the lowly, the radiance of Baha'u'llah's
surpassing perfection. Because of the intense and deep-seated sorrows and
the manifold oppressive trials that assailed her--never failing spring of
grace that she was, essence of loving-kindness--in the Land of Mystery(36)
her lovely form was worn away to a breath, to a shadow; and during the
Most Great Convulsion, which in the years of 'Stress' made every heart to
quake, she stood as a soaring pillar, immovable and fixed; and from the
blasts of desolation that rose and blew, that Leaf of the eternal
Lote-Tree did not wither.
Rather did she redouble her efforts, urging herself on the more, to
servitude and sacrifice. In captivating hearts and winning over souls, in
destroying doubts and misgivings, she led the field. With the waters of
her countless mercies, she brought thorny hearts to a blossoming of love
from the All-Glorious, and with the influence of her pure loving-kindness,
transformed the implacable, the unyielding, into impassioned lovers of the
celestial Beauty's peerless Cause.
Yet another wound was inflicted on her injured heart by the aggressions
and violations of the evil-doers within the prison-fortress,(37) yet
another blow was struck at her afflicted being. And then her anguish was
increased by the passing of the Abha Beauty, and the cruelty of the
disloyal added more fuel to the fires of her mourning. In the midst of
that storm of violation, the countenance of that rare treasure of the Lord
shone all the brighter, and throughout the Baha'i community, her value and
high rank became clearly perceived. By the vehement onslaught of the chief
of violators against the sacred beliefs of the followers of the Faith, she
was neither frightened nor in despair.
In the days of the Commission of Investigation, she was a staunch and
trusted supporter of the peerless Branch of Baha'u'llah, and a companion
to Him beyond compare. At the time of His absence in the western world,
she was His competent deputy, His representative and vicegerent, with none
to equal her. In a Tablet from the pen of the Centre of the Covenant,
addressed to His consort, are these words referring to His brilliant
sister: 'To my honoured and distinguished sister do thou convey the
expression of my heartfelt, my intense longing. Day and night she liveth
in my remembrance. I dare make no mention of the feelings which separation
from her has aroused in my heart, for whatever I should attempt to express
in writing will assuredly be effaced by the tears which such sentiments
must bring to my eyes.'
After the ascension of 'Abdu'l-Baha to the realm of the All-Glorious, that
Light of the Concourse on High enfolded me, helpless as I was, in the
embrace of her love, and with incomparable pity and tenderness, persuaded,
guided, and urged me on to the requirements of servitude. The very
elements of this frail being were leavened with her love, refreshed by her
companionship, sustained by her eternal spirit. Never for a moment will
her kindnesses, her favours, pass from my memory, and as the months and
the years go by, the effects of them on this mourning heart will never be
diminished.
O Liege Lady of the people of Baha!
Broken is our circle by thy going--
Broken our circle, broken too, our hearts.
That my tongue, my pen could thank thee were a hopeless task, nor can any
praise of mine befit thine excellence. Not even a droplet of all thine
endless love can I aspire to fathom, nor can I adequately praise and tell
of even the most trifling out of all the events of thy precious life. In
the courts of the Almighty, for this frail being thy sacred spirit
intercedeth, and in this darksome world, the sweet memory of thee is the
succourer and friend of this lowly one. Thy comely face is etched for ever
on the tablet of my grieving soul, those smiles that refreshed my life are
forever and safely imprinted in the innermost recesses of my stricken
heart. Let me not be forgotten by thee in the glorious precincts on high;
leave me not despairing, nor excluded from the never-ceasing
reinforcements that come from the living Lord; and in this world and the
Kingdom, help me to reach what thou knowest to be my dearest hope.
O faithful friends! It is right and fitting that out of honour to her most
high station, in the gatherings of the followers of Baha'u'llah, whether
of the East or the West, all Baha'i festivals and celebrations should be
completely suspended for a period of nine months, and that in every city
and village, memorial meetings should be held, with all solemnity,
spirituality, lowliness and consecration--where, in the choicest of
language, may be described at length the shining attributes of that most
resplendent Leaf, that archetype of the people of Baha. If it be possible
for the individual believers to postpone their personal celebrations for a
period of one year, let them unhesitatingly do so thus to express their
sorrow at this agonizing misfortune. Let them read this letter, this
supplication, in their memorial gatherings, that perchance the Almighty
will lighten my burden, and dispel the clouds of my bereavement; that He
will answer my prayers, and fulfil my hopes, out of His bounty, His power,
His grace.
6: Brethren and fellow-mourners in the Faith ...
(38) Brethren and fellow-mourners in the Faith of Baha'u'llah!
A sorrow, reminiscent in its poignancy, of the devastating grief caused by
'Abdu'l-Baha's sudden removal from our midst, has stirred the Baha'i world
to its foundations. The Greatest Holy Leaf, the well-beloved and treasured
Remnant of Baha'u'llah entrusted to our frail and unworthy hands by our
departed Master, has passed to the Great Beyond, leaving a legacy that
time can never dim.
The Community of the Most Great Name, in its entirety and to its very
core, feels the sting of this cruel loss. Inevitable though this
calamitous event appeared to us all, however acute our apprehensions of
its steady approach, the consciousness of its final consummation at this
terrible hour leaves us, we whose souls have been impregnated by the
energizing influence of her love, prostrated and disconsolate.
How can my lonely pen, so utterly inadequate to glorify so exalted a
station, so impotent to portray the experiences of so sublime a life, so
disqualified to recount the blessings she showered upon me since my
earliest childhood--how can such a pen repay the great debt of gratitude
and love that I owe her whom I regarded as my chief sustainer, my most
affectionate comforter, the joy and inspiration of my life? My grief is
too immense, my remorse too profound, to be able to give full vent at this
moment to the feelings that surge within me.
Only future generations and pens abler than mine can, and will, pay a
worthy tribute to the towering grandeur of her spiritual life, to the
unique part she played throughout the tumultuous stages of Baha'i history,
to the expressions of unqualified praise that have streamed from the pen
of both Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha, the Centre of His Covenant, though
unrecorded, and in the main unsuspected by the mass of her passionate
admirers in East and West, the share she has had in influencing the course
of some of the chief events in the annals of the Faith, the sufferings she
bore, the sacrifices she made, the rare gifts of unfailing sympathy she so
strikingly displayed--these, and many others stand so inextricably
interwoven with the fabric of the Cause itself that no future historian of
the Faith of Baha'u'llah can afford to ignore or minimize.
As far back as the concluding stages of the heroic age of the Cause, which
witnessed the imprisonment of Baha'u'llah in the Siyah-_Ch_al of Tihran,
the Greatest Holy Leaf, then still in her infancy, was privileged to taste
of the cup of woe which the first believers of that Apostolic Age had
quaffed.
How well I remember her recall, at a time when her faculties were still
unimpaired, the gnawing suspense that ate into the hearts of those who
watched by her side, at the threshold of her pillaged house, expectant to
hear at any moment the news of Baha'u'llah's imminent execution! In those
sinister hours, she often recounted, her parents had so suddenly lost
their earthly possessions that within the space of a single day from being
the privileged member of one of the wealthiest families of Tihran she had
sunk to the state of a sufferer from unconcealed poverty. Deprived of the
means of subsistence her illustrious mother, the famed Navvab, was
constrained to place in the palm of her daughter's hand a handful of flour
and to induce her to accept it as a substitute for her daily bread.
And when at a later time this revered and precious member of the Holy
Family, then in her teens, came to be entrusted by the guiding hand of her
Father with missions that no girl of her age could, or would be willing
to, perform, with what spontaneous joy she seized her opportunity and
acquitted herself of the task with which she had been entrusted! The
delicacy and extreme gravity of such functions as she, from time to time,
was called upon to fulfil, when the city of Ba_gh_dad was swept by the
hurricane which the heedlessness and perversity of Mirza Yahya had
unchained, as well as the tender solicitude which, at so early an age, she
evinced during the period of Baha'u'llah's enforced retirement to the
mountains of Sulaymaniyyih, marked her as one who was both capable of
sharing the burden, and willing to make the sacrifice, which her high
birth demanded.
How staunch was her faith, how calm her demeanour, how forgiving her
attitude, how severe her trials, at a time when the forces of schism had
rent asunder the ties that united the little band of exiles which had
settled in Adrianople and whose fortunes seemed then to have sunk to their
lowest ebb! It was in this period of extreme anxiety, when the rigours of
a winter of exceptional severity, coupled with the privations entailed by
unhealthy housing accommodation and dire financial distress, undermined
once for all her health and sapped the vitality which she had hitherto so
thoroughly enjoyed. The stress and storm of that period made an abiding
impression upon her mind, and she retained till the time of her death on
her beauteous and angelic face evidences of its intense hardships.
Not until, however, she had been confined in the company of Baha'u'llah
within the walls of the prison-city of Akka did she display, in the
plentitude of her power and in the full abundance of her love for Him,
those gifts that single her out, next to 'Abdu'l-Baha, among the members
of the Holy Family, as the brightest embodiment of that love which is born
of God and of that human sympathy which few mortals are capable of
evincing.
Banishing from her mind and heart every earthly attachment, renouncing the
very idea of matrimony, she, standing resolutely by the side of a Brother
whom she was to aid and serve so well, arose to dedicate her life to the
service of her Father's glorious Cause. Whether in the management of the
affairs of His Household in which she excelled, or in the social
relationships which she so assiduously cultivated in order to shield both
Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha, whether in the unfailing attention she paid
to the everyday needs of her Father, or in the traits of generosity, of
affability and kindness, which she manifested, the Greatest Holy Leaf had
by that time abundantly demonstrated her worthiness to rank as one of the
noblest figures intimately associated with the life-long work of
Baha'u'llah.
How grievous was the ingratitude, how blind the fanaticism, how persistent
the malignity of the officials, their wives, and their subordinates, in
return for the manifold bounties which she, in close association with her
Brother, so profusely conferred upon them! Her patience, her magnanimity,
her undiscriminating benevolence, far from disarming the hostility of that
perverse generation, served only to inflame their rancour, to excite their
jealousy, to intensify their fears. The gloom that had settled upon that
little band of imprisoned believers, who languished in the Fortress of
Akka contrasted with the spirit of confident hope, of deep-rooted optimism
that beamed upon her serene countenance. No calamity, however intense,
could obscure the brightness of her saintly face, and no agitation, no
matter how severe, could disturb the composure of her gracious and
dignified behaviour.