On 6th Qawl on the Badí’ calendar, around 28th November, at 1 am, Baha’is around the world commemorate the moment that ‘Abdu’l-Baha passed away in 1921. It was a fairly unexpected event, though ‘Abdu’l-Baha had made some comments in the preceding month to the affect that He had completed His work and was ready leave this life. ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s last hours on Earth are described in God Passes By as follows:
“Till the very last day of His earthly life ‘Abdu’l-Bahá continued to shower that same love upon high and low alike, to extend that same assistance to the poor and the down-trodden, and to carry out those same duties in the service of His Father’s Faith, as had been His wont from the days of His boyhood. On the Friday before His passing, despite great fatigue, He attended the noonday prayer at the mosque, and distributed afterwards alms, as was His custom, among the poor; dictated some Tablets — the last ones He revealed — ; blessed the marriage of a trusted servant, which He had insisted should take place that day; attended the usual meeting of the friends in His home; felt feverish the next day, and being unable to leave the house on the following Sunday, sent all the believers to the Tomb of the Báb to attend a feast which a Parsi pilgrim was offering on the occasion of the anniversary of the Declaration of the Covenant; received with His unfailing courtesy and kindness that same afternoon, and despite growing weariness, the Mufti of Haifa, the Mayor and the Head of the Police; and inquired that night – the last of His life – before He retired after the health of every member of His household, of the pilgrims and of the friends in Haifa.
“At 1:15 A.M. He arose, and, walking to a table in His room, drank some water, and returned to bed. Later on, He asked one of His two daughters who had remained awake to care for Him, to lift up the net curtains, complaining that He had difficulty in breathing. Some rose-water was brought to Him, of which He drank, after which He again lay down, and when offered food, distinctly remarked: “You wish Me to take some food, and I am going?” A minute later His spirit had winged its flight to its eternal abode, to be gathered, at long last, to the glory of His beloved Father, and taste the joy of everlasting reunion with Him.”
Cable sent by the Greatest Holy Leaf to the Bahá’ís of the world on 28 November 1921, reading: “HIS HOLINESS ABDUL BAHA ASCENDED TO ABHA KINGDOM INFORM FRIENDS”
As the news spread, cablegrams were sent from around the world expressing sympathy, devotion, praise and anguish to ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s family and followers. Sir Winston Churchill , for example, cabled the High Commissioner for Palestine instructing him to “convey to the Bahá’í Community, on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, their sympathy and condolence.”
The funeral took place on the morning of 29th November and had no less then ten thousand participants from every class, religion and race in the country.
Below is Shoghi Effendi’s description of the procession and burial:
“The coffin containing the remains of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was borne to its last resting-place on the shoulders of His loved ones. The cortege which preceded it was led by the City Constabulary Force, acting as a Guard of Honor, behind which followed in order the Boy Scouts of the Muslim and Christian communities holding aloft their banners, a company of Muslim choristers chanting their verses from the Qur’án, the chiefs of the Muslim community headed by the Mufti, and a number of Christian priests, Latin, Greek and Anglican. Behind the coffin walked the members of His family, the British High Commissioner, Sir Herbert Samuel, the Governor of Jerusalem, Sir Ronald Storrs, the Governor of Phoenicia, Sir Stewart Symes, officials of the government, consuls of various countries resident in Haifa, notables of Palestine, Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Druze, Egyptians, Greeks, Turks, Arabs, Kurds, Europeans and Americans, men, women and children. The long train of mourners, amid the sobs and moans of many a grief-stricken heart, wended its slow way up the slopes of Mt. Carmel to the Mausoleum of the Báb.
“Close to the eastern entrance of the Shrine, the sacred casket was placed upon a plain table, and, in the presence of that vast concourse, nine speakers, who represented the Muslim, the Jewish and Christian Faiths, and who included the Mufti of Haifa, delivered their several funeral orations. These concluded, the High Commissioner drew close to the casket, and, with bowed head fronting the Shrine, paid his last homage of farewell to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: the other officials of the Government followed his example. The coffin was then removed to one of the chambers of the Shrine, and there lowered, sadly and reverently, to its last resting-place in a vault adjoining that in which were laid the remains of the Báb.”
A fuller description of the funeral, including extracts from some of the speeches given there, can be found here. ‘Abdu’l-Baha spent every hour of his life in dedicated service to Baha’u’llah and the teachings of the Baha’i Faith. Even to the cruellest of His enemies he offered the hand of loving kindness. In the following notes, recorded from a talk in New York in 1912, ‘Abdu’l Baha makes his last farewell address to the Baha’is there and instructs them in how to live a Baha’i life:
“These are the days of my farewell to you, for I am sailing on the fifth of the month. Wherever I went in this country, I returned always to New York City. This is my fourth or fifth visit here, and now I am going away to the Orient. It will be difficult for me to visit this country again except it be the will of God. I must, therefore, give you my instructions and exhortations today, and these are none other than the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.
“You must manifest complete love and affection toward all mankind. Do not exalt yourselves above others, but consider all as your equals, recognizing them as the servants of one God. Know that God is compassionate toward all; therefore, love all from the depths of your hearts, prefer all religionists before yourselves, be filled with love for every race, and be kind toward the people of all nationalities. Never speak disparagingly of others, but praise without distinction. Pollute not your tongues by speaking evil of another. Recognize your enemies as friends, and consider those who wish you evil as the wishers of good. You must not see evil as evil and then compromise with your opinion, for to treat in a smooth, kindly way one whom you consider evil or an enemy is hypocrisy, and this is not worthy or allowable. You must consider your enemies as your friends, look upon your evil-wishers as your well-wishers and treat them accordingly. Act in such a way that your heart may be free from hatred. Let not your heart be offended with anyone. If some one commits an error and wrong toward you, you must instantly forgive him. Do not complain of others. Refrain from reprimanding them, and if you wish to give admonition or advice, let it be offered in such a way that it will not burden the bearer. Turn all your thoughts toward bringing joy to hearts. Beware! Beware! lest ye offend any heart. Assist the world of humanity as much as possible. Be the source of consolation to every sad one, assist every weak one, be helpful to every indigent one, care for every sick one, be the cause of glorification to every lowly one, and shelter those who are overshadowed by fear.
“In brief, let each one of you be as a lamp shining forth with the light of the virtues of the world of humanity. Be trustworthy, sincere, affectionate and replete with chastity. Be illumined, be spiritual, be divine, be glorious, be quickened of God, be a Bahá’í.” (Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 452)
Colour photograph of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Gregorian Dates of special Bahá’í days in coming years. Click to enlarge.
3 thoughts on “Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Baha”
A wonderful post commemorating a solemn and sacred day…. Thank you!
Great post! I especially like the photos, your blog looks great and I’ve included as a link my blog Baha’i Thought so that other folks can find out about you.
Thank you for your comments. The photographs are from Mediatheque Baha’ie, if you click on them you will go straight to a collection of seven photographs of the funeral.
‘Abdu’l-Baha’s farewell speech in New York was once used to very dramatic effect in a Baha’i Youth conference in the UK, I think it was in Sheffield in 1989. Slides of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, including or similar to the close-up used in my Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Baha blog article, dominated a huge screen on stage while the words from the Promulgation of Universal Peace were read as the closest thing ‘Abdu’l-Baha had left us to a goodbye speech before His passing.
A wonderful post commemorating a solemn and sacred day…. Thank you!
Great post! I especially like the photos, your blog looks great and I’ve included as a link my blog Baha’i Thought so that other folks can find out about you.
Thank you for your comments. The photographs are from Mediatheque Baha’ie, if you click on them you will go straight to a collection of seven photographs of the funeral.
‘Abdu’l-Baha’s farewell speech in New York was once used to very dramatic effect in a Baha’i Youth conference in the UK, I think it was in Sheffield in 1989. Slides of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, including or similar to the close-up used in my Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Baha blog article, dominated a huge screen on stage while the words from the Promulgation of Universal Peace were read as the closest thing ‘Abdu’l-Baha had left us to a goodbye speech before His passing.