# Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abbás

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Necati Alkan, Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abbás, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> THE WORLD OF THE BAHÁ’Í
> FAITH
> 
> Edited by Robert H. Stockman
> First published 2022
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> ISBN: 978-1-138-36772-2 (hbk)
> ISBN: 978-1-032-18607-8 (pbk)
> ISBN: 978-0-429-02777-2 (ebk)
> DOI: 10.4324/9780429027772
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> ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ ‘ABBÁS1
> Necati Alkan
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (i.e., the ‘Servant of Bahá’) was the eldest son of Bahá’u’lláh (1817–1892), the
> founder of the Bahá’í Faith, and His appointed successor and the Head of the Faith from 1892 to
> 1921. He was named ‘Abbás after His grandfather, the minister Mírzá Buzurg Núrí (from Núr)
> and officially called ‘Abbás Effendi. His mother was Ásíyyih Khánum, ‘Navváb’, who was also
> from a notable family. Bahá’u’lláh became a prominent member of the Bábí Faith. From early
> in His life, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá shared His father’s hardships caused by the persecution of the Bábís in
> Iran and, later, during their exiles from Tehran to Baghdad, Istanbul, Edirne, and ‘Akká. He was
> Bahá’u’lláh’s close companion, chief steward, and trusted representative for external affairs in the
> Ottoman Empire. For the Bahá’ís, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is ‘the Master’, as called by His Father, and the
> perfect exemplar of the Bahá’í teachings.
> 
> Birth and childhood in Iran, 1844–1853
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s birth was on the same night on which the Báb declared His prophetic mission.
> He was born around midnight on 5 Jumáda al-Awwal 1260 (22–23 May 1844) in Tehran: ‘He
> it was Whose auspicious birth occurred on that never-to-be-forgotten night when the Báb laid
> bare the transcendental character of His Mission to His first disciple Mullá Ḥusayn’ (Shoghi
> Effendi, God Passes By 240; see also Esslemont 1923/1980: 51). The family of His father was
> from the province of Mazandaran, and later, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would specify and extol His ancestral
> homeland in the following words:
> 
> Although ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was born in Ṭihrán and for successive years wandered home-
> less in Iraq, and although he was for a time an exile in Rumelia and for forty years
> a prisoner in ‘Akká, yet his homeland is Mázindarán—that is to say, the district of
> Míyánrúd in the region of Núr. . . . . it is the ancestral home of the family of the
> Blessed Beauty. My heart longeth for that land to become even as Paradise itself 2
> ( Muntakhabátí 4: no. 3; Light of the World, no. 11)
> 
> From His early childhood, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sensed the greatness in Bahá’u’lláh’s personality
> and His attachment to the mission of Báb, owing to which He was persecuted like thousands
> of other Bábís. This was due to the false accusation that Bahá’u’lláh ordered three Bábís to
> 
> DOI: 10.4324/9780429027772-8                    72
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás1
> 
> assassinate Náṣiru’d-Dín Sháh in August 1852. The attempt failed, but the shah was outraged
> and ordered Bahá’u’lláh arrested, even though He was the son of a minister. He was thrown
> into the terrible dungeon of the Síyáh-Chál in Tehran (Balyuzi 1980: 79–83). Consequently,
> the family’s belongings were pillaged, their lands confiscated overnight, and the family suffered
> poverty and hunger. This occurred when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was an eight-year-old boy. According
> to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s own testimony:
> 
> The Blessed Beauty, may my life be a sacrifice for His loved ones, did not raise us to live
> a life of comfort—to repose in ease, or make merry, or indulge in pleasures. He spent
> His days in prison; He raised us to be intoxicated with the wine of disappointment, and
> trained us to endure every hardship, so that the genuine intention to serve the Cause of
> God would be mixed into our characters. Thereby would we make sacrifices without
> even willing it and eschew even a moment’s peace.
> ( Muntakhabátí 5: nos. 1–2)
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá also confirms that as much as He grew up with hardships, His life was infused
> with servitude to the Báb, and as a result, He was honoured with servitude in the embrace of
> Bahá’u’lláh (ibid., no. 192).
> The most remarkable event in His childhood, as told by Himself, was when a servant took
> Him to the Síyáh-Chál to visit His father. He was heartbroken to see Him in such a terrible
> condition: ‘Suddenly they brought the Blessed Perfection [Bahá’u’lláh] out of the dungeon. He
> was chained to several others. What a chain! It was very heavy. The prisoners could only move it
> along with great difficulty. Sad and heart-rendering it was’ (quoted in Balyuzi 1971: 11).
> After four dreadful months in the dungeon, Bahá’u’lláh was proven innocent and released,
> but he had to leave Iran. He, His family, and some followers were banished in early 1853 to
> Baghdad in the Ottoman Empire. Sixty years later, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stated that the fact that He
> had been victim of tuberculosis in childhood was a blessing in disguise because He had to stay
> in Tehran for treatment. Otherwise, He would have been in Mazandaran and could not have
> joined His father, to Whom He was very much attached, in the exile (Balyuzi 1971: 12–13).
> 
> Exile in Ottoman Baghdad, 1853–1863
> After a difficult journey in the midst of a harsh winter, which affected the young ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to
> such an extent that He suffered from the pain caused by the resulting frostbite all His life, Bahá’u’lláh
> and His entourage reached Baghdad on 8 April 1853. Despite His first revelation in the Siyáh-Chál,
> where He received the intimation that He was the promised redeemer Whom the Báb and all the
> holy scriptures had foretold, Bahá’u’lláh did not disclose His station until ten years later. But even as
> a child, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was aware of His father’s station and was the first one to believe in His mission:
> 
> In Baghdad I was a child nine years old. There and then he [Bahá’u’lláh] announced to
> me the Word, and I believed him. As soon as he proclaimed to me the Word, I threw
> myself at his holy feet and implored and supplicated him to accept this one drop of
> blood as a sacrifice in his pathway.
> (Diary of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab January 13, 1914; Star of the West, 8.13:
> 169; Esslemont 1923/1980: 52)
> 
> Other accounts relate that it was in April 1863, before Bahá’u’lláh left Baghdad, when He
> confided to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that He was the Promised One (see later in this chapter).
> 
> Necati Alkan
> 
> Bahá’u’lláh’s aim in Baghdad was to revitalise the devastated Bábí community, which had
> become disheartened after the Báb’s execution in 1850 and the massacre of His followers after
> the assassination attempt on the shah. Yet the plotting of enemies from within, foremost the
> attacks by His half-brother Mírzá Yaḥyá—known as the ‘nominee’ of the Báb, who did not fulfil
> his role as the leader of the Bábís and was constantly in hiding—made Bahá’u’lláh avoid asser-
> tions of leadership. Instead, Bahá’u’lláh left His home in 1854, without notifying His family, and
> retreated to the mountains of the Kurdish region of northern Iraq near Sulaymaniyah.
> As saddened as He was over this separation, the ten-year-old ‘Abdu’l-Bahá displayed a mature
> character, was serene, and bore responsibilities for the Bábí community and His family. In addi-
> tion, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was known for His intellectual capacities and wisdom at that young age
> despite the fact that He did not attend a formal school; His mind had been moulded under
> the care of Bahá’u’lláh. In His teens ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had contact with many men of learning in
> Baghdad who came to ask for His advice or put forward philosophical questions and listen to
> the replies of this young yet sagacious youth.
> Bahá’u’lláh’s absence had proved that the Bábí community was in need of Him, and after He
> came back to Baghdad in 1856, He invigorated the followers of the Báb and turned their atten-
> tion to the unique presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:
> 
> Bahá’u’lláh gave the Bábís vision and hope and character which they had lost. But
> as yet only the chosen mind of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had received the full impact of the sta-
> tion of His Father. It was during this period that Bahá’u’lláh bestowed upon His Son
> the designation ‘Sirru’lláh’—the Mystery of God. Those who sought the presence of
> Bahá’u’lláh found in His eldest Son traits and qualities which evoked high praise and
> marvelling admiration.
> (Balyuzi 1971: 15)
> 
> Although officially a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire, Bahá’u’lláh could walk freely in Bagh-
> dad and mingled with the people. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá became His father’s shield and representative
> with regard to relations with Ottoman officials and society in general. He also became His secre-
> tary, transcribing writings of Bahá’u’lláh, foremost the Kitáb-i-Íqán (‘The Book of Certitude’),
> His principal work of apologetics and the first Bahá’í book ever printed (Browne and Momen
> 1987, Selections 250; Buck 1995/2012, Symbol & Secret 113).
> During most of this ten-year period in Baghdad, Sultan Abdülmecid (‘Abdu’l-Majíd, reigned
> 1839–1861) was rather friendly towards the exiled Bábís. The friendly attitude of the Sublime
> Porte (the Ottoman government) towards Bahá’u’lláh changed after Abdülaziz (‘Abdu’l-‘Azíz),
> brother of Abdülmecid, became the Sultan (1861–1876). Iran, noting with alarm the recovery
> of the Bábí community under Bahá’u’lláh’s guidance, pressed Istanbul to have him removed
> from Baghdad. The Iranian ambassador Ḥusayn Khán ‘Mushíru’d-Dawlah’ in Istanbul increas-
> ingly agitated for this end (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Makátíb 2: 177). Eventually, the Ottomans gave in
> and ordered Bahá’u’lláh to Istanbul. Shortly before the official edict was given to Bahá’u’lláh,
> the governor general of Baghdad, Namık (Námiq) Pasha (1804–1892) gave the Bábís Ottoman
> citizenship, much to the irritation of the Iranian government. In this way the Bábís, whom
> Bahá’u’lláh had kept under His leadership, were protected when the Iranian authorities asked to
> extradite them back to Iran (Alkan 2008: 62).
> Before Bahá’u’lláh and His entourage left Baghdad for Istanbul, He retreated for twelve days,
> from 22 April to 3 May, to the garden that belonged to Necib (Najíb) Pasha, which was later
> known as the ‘Garden of Riḍván’. There Bahá’u’lláh proclaimed His divine mission and claim to
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and a few Bábís in His entourage (Phelps 1903: 30; Blomfield 1940: 82).
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás1
> 
> In a tablet that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote at the Garden of Riḍván when He was about nineteen
> years old, just before the exile to Istanbul, He related that Namık Pasha apologised for the devel-
> opment of the whole affair and offered to help Bahá’u’lláh in any way he could (Muntakhabátí
> 4: no. 35). Bahá’u’lláh received so much attention and esteem from high and low alike that His
> enemies, who had secured His banishment, now regretted their scheme.
> Later in His life, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá related that, owing to the hostility of Náṣiri’d-Dín Sháh and
> Sultan Abdülaziz and his viziers, Mehmed Emin (Âli) Pasha (d. 1871) and Mehmed Fuad Pasha
> (d. 1869; both exchanged the posts of Prime and Foreign Minister for decades), Bahá’u’lláh was
> exiled from Baghdad in order to end His influence. But they did not realize that the exile actu-
> ally added to the glory of His religion because Bahá’u’lláh spent twelve days in the Garden of
> Riḍván with great joy and left it with magnificence (Risálih-i-Ayyám-i-Tis‘ih 328–329).
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had made arrangements to make the difficult journey to Istanbul across Iraq
> and modern Turkey as easy as possible. It lasted three months. Later in Istanbul and Edirne, His
> role as His father’s chief shield and representative became even more prominent.
> 
> Banishment in Istanbul and Edirne, 1863–1868
> Arriving in the Ottoman capital on 16 August 1863, Bahá’u’lláh was approached by Ottoman
> officials, who paid their respect to Him but also advised Him that it was customary to pay one’s
> respects to the Prime Minister and, eventually, to Sultan Abdülaziz. Since Bahá’u’lláh had been
> invited by the Ottoman government, He had no favour to solicit or gain. He observed that
> ‘nothing has been seen from its [Istanbul’s] inhabitants but conventional, officious formalities’
> (Mazandarani 1968: 1.108–109; Rosen 1908: 126 no. 37, transl. Cole n.d.). Regarding the
> statesmen in Istanbul, He stated that they were not mature: ‘its governors and elders [were]
> as children gathered about and disporting themselves with clay’ (Summons 201). ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> confirmed this observation. He is reported to have said that the thoughts of the statesmen of the
> East were atrophied, their hearts devoid of desire for the progress of the nation, their ideas petty,
> selfish, local, and not general. They thought of their own interests rather than of those of their
> country (Sohrab 1929: 237–238).
> At some point during the four-month stay in Istanbul, the Iranian ambassador, Ḥusayn Khán,
> convinced the Ottomans to exile Bahá’u’lláh to Edirne in Rumelia (European Turkey), at the
> western fringes of the Empire. At the end of 1863, Bahá’u’lláh and His entourage were banished
> ‘suddenly and without any justification whatsoever, in the depth of winter, and in the most
> humiliating circumstances’ to Edirne (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By 158). ‘Abdu’l-Bahá later
> stated that ‘the Government obliged us to settle in Adrianople [Edirne]’ (Memorials 58).
> During the almost five years in Edirne, which Bahá’u’lláh called ‘the Land of Mystery’ (Arḍ-
> i-Sirr), ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s station became even more important. Bahá’u’lláh had already conferred
> upon His illustrious son the title ‘the Mystery of God’, and now in Edirne, He called Him ‘the
> Most Mighty Branch’ (Ghuṣn-i-A‘ẓam; ghuṣn being a designation for Bahá’u’lláh’s male descen-
> dants; the family was called Aghṣán, ‘branches’). In a most significant tablet called the Súrih-i-
> Ghuṣn, ‘the Surah of the Branch’, Bahá’u’lláh elevated the rank of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá among His sons
> and alluded that He would be His successor. In unequivocal language, Bahá’u’lláh described
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s exalted station as the one to whom all the Bahá’ís must turn. Only under His
> shadow would they be safe; a safety of which those who turned away from Him were deprived
> (Balyuzi 1971: 22–23)
> It was in Edirne that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, now in His twenties, composed His commentary on
> the Islamic hadith, beginning with ‘I was a hidden treasure’ (Kuntu kanzan makhfiyyan), at
> the request of Ali Şevket (‘Alí Shawkat) Pasha, an Ottoman official and, apparently, a Sufi
> 
> Necati Alkan
> 
> (Esslemont 1923/1980: 52–53; Momen 1995: 4). Shoghi Effendi refers to it as a ‘superb
> commentary on a well-known Muḥammadan tradition’ (God Passes By 241).3 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> had become widely known for His qualities and deep intellect. His contacts with Otto-
> man officials high and low made them His admirers. Among them was Mehmed Hurşid
> (Muḥammad Khurshíd) Pasha, the governor general of Edirne (1866–1869), who became
> His friend and consulted Him about the future of the Ottoman Empire (Sohrab 1929:
> 238–239).4 (Figure 6.1).
> All His life, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá entertained friendly relations with followers of different religions
> and beliefs. In Edirne He was friends with Muslims and Christians (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes
> By 180) and, most interestingly, with some Bektashis5 (Sohrab 1929: 17–18, 218–219, 220),
> who are known in Turkey for being friendly with other religions, witty, and jestful.6
> From the Edirne period until the exile to ‘Akká in August 1868, many significant events
> in the development of the Bábí community took place. Bahá’u’lláh commenced the proc-
> lamation of His claims on a global scale by writing to various secular and religious rulers
> (q.v. Summons). The conflict with His half-brother Mírzá Yaḥyá, which was already brew-
> ing in Baghdad, reached its climax. Bahá’u’lláh Himself calls this ultimate crisis as the ‘Days
> of Stress’ and the ‘most great separation’. After this, most of the Bábís followed Bahá’u’lláh
> and became known as ‘Bahá’ís.’ A tiny minority of the Bábís sided with Mírzá Yaḥyá (titled
> ‘Ṣubḥ-i-Azal’) and are known to history as ‘Azalis.’ After Baháʼu’lláh publicly proclaimed
> His mission in 1867 and expelled Mírzá Yaḥyá from the community, He withdrew from
> the public and made no public speeches (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Zarqani 1998: 127; Star of the West
> 19.7: 218–219). He also left the external affairs related to the family and community to
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
> The intrigues of Yaḥyá and his accomplices resulted in the decision of Sultan Abdülaziz to
> condemn Bahá’u’lláh and His followers to exile in the prison-city of ‘Akká in Syria (modern
> Israel). The Ottoman ruler did not spare the chief instigators, Yaḥyá and his lieutenant, Sayyid
> Muḥammad Iṣfahání, who has been called the ‘Antichrist of the Bahá’í Revelation’. They were
> sent to Famagusta in Cyprus and to ‘Akká, respectively. Both are traditional places of exile for
> Ottoman criminals and dissidents.
> About three and a half years after the arrival in ‘Akká (see later in this chapter), ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> sent a letter7 to the Ottoman Prime Minister (then Mahmud Nedim/Maḥmúd Nadím Pasha,
> Sept. 1871–July 1872; see Abu-Manneh 1990), describing the numerous banishments within
> the Ottoman Empire and the reasons for them. Regarding the deportation from Edirne, He
> wrote that despite the friendly attitude of the people in Edirne, one day, all of a sudden, soldiers
> surrounded the house of Bahá’u’lláh, and after the family inquired about the reason, they were
> told that it was decreed by the Sublime Porte that they be sent to Gelibolu (Gallipoli). Conster-
> nation seized the Bahá’í community after soldiers arrested Bahá’u’lláh and His followers, and
> they were forced to leave Edirne. Without understanding the reason, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá continued
> in His letter mentioned earlier, all the family and followers, counting seventy persons, were
> exiled to ‘Akká, where they were incarcerated in the military barracks (Shoghi Effendi, God
> Passes By 179–180 says ‘all the exiles, numbering about seventy’). Then, after one month, He
> was surprised to read in an Ottoman newspaper that the Ottoman Marshal of the Police Force
> received the Lion and Sun medal of the first class from the Iranian government (BOA, HR.TO.
> 455/55). ‘Abdu’l-Bahá further wrote in His letter that the edict commanding the exile to ‘Akká
> stated that He and Bahá’u’lláh were interrogated in Istanbul, and upon being found guilty, they
> were exiled. This, of course, was contrary to the truth because Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> were never present at the Sublime Porte for an interrogation (ibid.).
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás1
> 
> Figure 6.1 Photograph of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá taken in 1868 (age 24).
> Source: Bahá’í National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States.
> 
> Necati Alkan
> 
> Exile in ‘Akká, 1868–1892
> The first years after their arrival in ‘Akká on 31 August 1868 proved especially difficult and dangerous
> for the Bahá’í community. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá continued to bear weighty responsibilities. He witnessed
> the death of His younger brother Mírzá Mihdí, titled ‘the Purest Branch’ (Ghuṣn-i-Aṭhar), in June
> 1870 at the age of twenty-two and the severe illness and suffering of many Bahá’ís, owing to the
> unsanitary condition of the military barracks of the citadel. Bahá’u’lláh referred to the citadel and
> the entire penal city of ‘Akká as ‘the Most Great Prison’, Sijn-i-A‘ẓam. Later, Bahá’u’lláh would
> describe the role of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with the following words:
> 
> [I]n the Most Great Prison We do not meet the people who are not within the fold of
> the Cause [the Bahá’í Faith]. We have closed the doors of social intercourse. It is the
> Master Who has taken every trouble upon Himself. For Our sake, in order that We
> may have ease and comfort, He faces the world and its peoples. For Us He has become
> a mighty stronghold, a mighty armour. . . . He, the Master, is the target and bears all
> hardships.
> (Balyuzi 1971: 26; cf. Furútan 1986, n.d.: 76–77/39–40)
> 
> Bahá’u’lláh, His family, and His followers were released from the military barracks in ‘Akká
> towards the end 1870 but had to stay within the walls of the prison city. The condition in the
> citadel and later in the city of ‘Akká was so bad that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in His letter mentioned
> earlier, informed the Ottoman Prime Minister about the conditions. Even in 1868, the Ottoman
> central government had taken notice of the wretched condition of the ‘Bábís’ in ‘Akká, and
> the Prime Minister (Âli Pasha) ordered the governor of Syria to investigate and improve their
> condition (BOA, HR. MKT. 636/61, 5 Şaban 1285/21 November 1868). However, this did
> not seem to have any effect. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stated in His letter that for three and a half years
> they had been ‘in extreme wretchedness and abasement as prisoners in ‘Akká’ (bi-dhillat-i-kubrá
> va haqárat-i-‘uẓmá dar ḥabs-i-‘Akká masjún va giriftár), in spite of leaving Iran and arriving in the
> Ottoman Empire in ‘utmost might’ (kamál-i-‘izzat) and having been guests of the state. He
> asked how a person who was in full glory and arrived at the Ottoman capital by an imperial
> order could end up abandoned and walled up within the ruinous prison of ‘Akká with a daily
> allowance of four piasters (BOA, HR.TO. 455/55).
> Notwithstanding the overall bad situation, the Bahá’í community in ‘Akká cheered when
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá married Munírih Khánum in 1872. She was the daughter of a distinguished early
> Bábí in Iran. Out of their nine children, only four daughters survived to adulthood.
> Especially noteworthy are ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s contacts with famous Ottoman reformer-statesmen,
> first with the group called the ‘Young Ottomans’ after the 1860s (Alkan 2008: 97–114). Among
> them were the poet and writer Namık Kemal (Námiq Kamál, 1840–1888) and Midhat (Midḥat)
> Pasha (1822–1884), who was twice Prime Minister. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá hosted him in ‘Akká in May
> 1880 when he was on an inspection tour as governor of Syria. In June 1880 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá went
> to Beirut at the invitation of Midhat Pasha (Alkan 2005). This and similar meetings ‘served to
> enhance immensely the growing prestige of the community and spread abroad the fame of its
> most distinguished member’ (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By 193).
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was also in contact with the second generation of reformers called the ‘Young
> Turks’, who caused the revolution in 1908 that eventually deposed Sultan Abdülhamid II (r.
> 1876–1909) (Alkan 2004: 253–274; idem 2008: 57–141). It is important to highlight ‘Abdu’l-
> Bahá’s excellent Turkish, which was attested to by Ottoman literati (Alkan 2005: 10; idem
> 2008: 112–113), as He spent most of His life in the Ottoman Empire and was in contact with
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás1
> 
> countless people of high and low official ranks with whom He exchanged letters on mundane
> and philosophical, religious, and political matters8 (Alkan 2011: 259–278). He also wrote tablets,
> prayers, and poems to Turkish-speaking Bahá’ís, mostly in Iranian Azerbaijan and the Caucasus
> (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Majmú‘ih; see also Alkan 2001, 2003).
> Instructed by Bahá’u’lláh (Safinih-yi-‘Irfán 6: 10; Masumian 2021b), in 1875 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> composed His ‘Secret of Divine Civilization’ (Risálih-i-Madaniyyih; Momen 1983; McGlinn
> 2009/2020; Scharbrodt 2008, 2017), in which He deplored the backwardness of Iran; proposed
> reforms in all spheres of the state; and affirmed the need for a parliament, for ethical/secular
> education, and for the employment of able statesmen to ensure just rule. Shoghi Effendi called
> this treatise ‘‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s outstanding contribution to the future reorganization of the world’
> (World Order 37). The fact that it was the second printed Bahá’í book in 1882 (Bombay) illus-
> trates its importance. ‘It was distributed anonymously and is said to have achieved a wide read-
> ership among the Iranian intelligentsia, particularly after its printing in 1882. But later when its
> authorship became known, no one would admit to having read it’ (Momen 1983: 49).
> Later (early 1890s), ‘Abdu’l-Bahá repeated similar issues pertaining to Iran and the Ottoman
> Empire in the Risálih-i-Siyásiyyih (‘Treatise on Politics’), where He emphasized that man-made
> laws are not enough to enable human progress and that divine law or religion is indispensable
> to educate the people. He added that the interference of religious leaders in political affairs is
> dangerous (Alkan 2011: 261). This treatise was presented to Náṣiru’d-Dín Shah and distributed
> among the notables of Iran (Balyuzi 1985: 176).
> Bahá’u’lláh was allowed to live outside the prison-city of ‘Akká for the last fifteen years of
> his life because ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s friendly relations with Ottoman officials—like Midhat Pasha and
> Aziz Pasha, both of whom were governors of Syria—raised the prestige of the Bahá’ís in Otto-
> man Palestine. This opened the gates of the citadel for Bahá’u’lláh after nine years of incarcera-
> tion (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By 241).
> 
> Head of the Bahá’í Faith, 1892–1921
> On 29 May 1892 Bahá’u’lláh passed away, still a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> cabled the news to Sultan Abdülhamid II in a telegram that said, ‘The Sun of Bahá has set’. The
> sultan consented to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s intention to inter Bahá’u’lláh’s remains next to the mansion
> of Bahjí near ‘Akká, where He had lived (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By 222).
> Bahá’u’lláh’s numerous oral and written statements about the station of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as His
> successor, the ‘Centre of the Covenant’ (markaz-i-‘ahd), and the authorised interpreter of His
> writings made it quite clear to the Bahá’ís that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was the new Head of the Faith.
> However, Mírzá Muḥammad-‘Alí, a younger half-brother of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was discontented
> over the latter’s designation as the successor of Bahá’u’lláh and began to devise plans to discredit
> Him by making Him appear to be the cause of mischief and rebellion in Ottoman Syria. Mírzá
> Muḥammad-‘Alí’s efforts caused trouble within the Bahá’í community, which was felt in Iran
> and other countries. As a result, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá declared him and his followers to be violators
> (termed ‘Covenant-breakers’) and told Bahá’ís to cease contact with them. This blocked their
> influence, and they never acquired a significant following among the Bahá’ís.
> But Muḥammad-‘Alí and some of his relatives were successful in arousing the suspicions
> of the Ottoman authorities. They informed the government that the mausoleum of the Báb
> being built on Mount Carmel in Haifa was actually being constructed to serve as a fortress and
> weapons depot in a rebellion against the sultan. They accused ‘Abdu’l-Bahá of having already
> hoisted the banner of Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá—an invocation among Bahá’ís, meaning ‘O glory of the
> all-glorious’—as the ensign of revolt, even in distant places in Palestine and Syria, and of having
> 
> Necati Alkan
> 
> secretly raised an army of some thousand men (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By 264–65; Balyuzi
> 1971: 95–96; Alkan 2008: 158). While these communications between Muḥammad-‘Alí and
> the Ottoman administration have not been found to date, the Ottomans took notice of the
> ‘unlawful actions’ of ‘‘Abbás Effendi and his brothers’ (BOA, DH.MKT. 2207/72, 21 Muhar-
> rem 1317/1 June 1899). ‘Abdu’l-Bahá refuted these accusations and referred to His half-brother
> as the ‘centre of violation/sedition’ (markaz-i-naqḍ) (Muntakhabátí 1: 212; Selections 217–218).
> On 20 August 1901, a cipher telegram came from Istanbul, conveying Abdülhamid II’s orders
> to imprison ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and other family members. Muḥammad-‘Alí was also sent to prison.
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was interrogated for several days at the headquarters of the government in ‘Akká.
> He interceded for his arrested family members, including Muḥammad-‘Alí, and as a result, all
> were released and allowed to live in ‘Akká. Despite this, Muḥammad-‘Alí and his followers con-
> tinued with their efforts. They bribed officials with gifts. The Ottomans sent agents to ‘Akká
> from Istanbul to keep a watch on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Muḥammad-‘Alí’s associates appealed to the
> governor of Damascus, the mufti of Beirut, the Protestant missionaries in ‘Akká and Syria, and
> even to Shaykh Abu’l-Hudá (Balyuzi 1971: 95–96; Abu-Manneh 1979), the powerful advisor of
> Sultan Abdülhamid. All this was intended to bring about either ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s execution or his
> removal to a far-off place (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By 264–65).
> According to Bahá’í sources, as a result of Muḥammad-‘Alí’s efforts, a Commission of Inquiry
> was dispatched from Istanbul to ‘Akká to investigate ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Bahá’í sources usually speak
> of two commissions, the first sent in 1904 and the second in 1907, just after an assassination
> attempt on Sultan Abdülhamid II (‘Abdu’l-Bahá,‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London 117–19; God Passes
> By 266; Balyuzi 1971; Afrukhteh 2003: 457, 468–471). However, other internal and external
> (Ottoman) evidence confirms that it could only have been one commission in 1905, just before
> the assassination attempt, which actually took place on 21 July that year (Alloul et al. 2018;
> Alkan 2008: 161–166). In any case, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was subjected to frequent interrogations by
> the Commission to answer the severe accusations by Muḥammad-‘Alí. Among the charges was
> that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had bought tracts of land to establish his own kingdom. He rebuffed this
> by asking how it was possible for a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire to do this. Even though
> Muḥammad-‘Alí’s attacks initially threatened ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and caused a bad reputation for the
> Bahá’í Faith, they ultimately failed.
> In spite of the constant stress cause by the Covenant-breakers, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s leadership pro-
> duced great successes for the Bahá’í Faith. The Bahá’í teachings spread to the West, especially
> the United States, where the first conversions occurred in 1894. The Iranian community saw
> rapid growth. Through His ceaseless efforts and instructions, the Bahá’ís established consultative
> bodies, later called ‘Spiritual Assemblies’, thereby laying the foundation for the Bahá’í admin-
> istration. In 1898–1899, American believers residing in Europe and the US arrived as the first
> Western Bahá’í pilgrims, visiting Bahá’u’lláh’s tomb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The Ottomans took
> notice and recorded it in detail (BOA, BEO 1358/101797, 20 August 1899).
> In 1907 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá moved from ‘Akká to Haifa to oversee the construction of the Shrine
> of the Báb, despite the difficulties He faced from the Ottomans. At the same time, He guided
> the construction of the very first Bahá’í House of Worship in the world, in Ashqabad (Ashgabat,
> Turkmenistan). It was completed in 1908.
> In August of that year, a month after the Young Turk Revolution, ‛Abdu’l-Bahá was released by
> the Committee of Union and Progress from imprisonment as a result of the amnesty for political
> prisoners. Often in His talks, He praised the Young Turks for releasing Him and for their efforts
> to secure freedom. Since at least the late 1890s, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had quietly developed relations with
> reform-minded Ottoman officials, and they played a role in His release (Alkan 2011).
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás1
> 
> In March 1909 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá solemnly placed the remains of the Báb in its newly built
> Shrine, after which the Shrine became the second Bahá’í pilgrimage site (along with the resting
> place of Bahá’u’lláh outside ‘Akká). ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s house in Haifa became the administrative
> centre of the Bahá’í Faith.
> With freedom and completion of the Shrine, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was now able to leave Palestine
> and travel to spread the Bahá’í Faith. Owing to His bad health, He first went to Alexandria in
> Egypt for a change of air. He stayed there a year, starting in August 1910, where He met many
> prominent officials and intellectuals, was interviewed by Egyptian newspapers, and strengthened
> the nascent Bahá’í community. Then in the summer of 1911, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá travelled to Europe,
> visiting France, Switzerland, and England, where He gave public talks and interviews to the
> press. He spent the most time in Paris, where the first European Bahá’í community was already
> established. He returned to Egypt in December 1911 (Figure 6.2).
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s next journey, from March 1912 until June 1913, was more far reaching; He trav-
> elled across the United States, visited Canada, then visited Europe, sojourning in England, Scotland,
> France, Germany, Austria, and Hungary, before finally returning to Egypt for several months.
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was given remarkable receptions by the Iranian and Ottoman diplomatic offi-
> cials in Washington, DC. H. Hohannes Topakyan, the consul general of Iran in New York,
> received Him in his home (Zarqani 1998: 128; Star of the West, 3.11: 8–9) and called Him
> ‘the Beauty of God and the Glory of the East’ (Zarqani 1998: 99; cf. Star of the West, 3.8:
> 13). The Ottoman ambassador, Yusuf Ziya (Yúsuf Ḍiyá) Pasha, honoured Him with a dinner,
> calling Him ‘the Unique One of the age, who had come to spread His glory and perfection
> amongst us’ (Thompson 1924: 16; cf. Zarqani 1998: 60). The reception at Yusuf Ziya’s home
> was received positively by the American Bahá’ís, and about eight hundred of them signed a letter
> of gratitude to the Young Turk government in Istanbul for releasing ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and allowing
> Him to travel (BOA, HR.SYS. 70/31, 1 July 1912; Alkan 2008: 171–173). Whereas Iran and
> the Ottoman Empire had persecuted the Bahá’ís in the early days, now they paid homage to
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: ‘both the Persian Legation and the Turkish Embassy . . . opened their doors to
> the one-time prisoner’ (Gail 1991: 81).
> In the United States ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited many cities, among which was Chicago, where He
> laid the cornerstone of the first House of Worship in the West. He delivered at least 401 public
> talks and held a similar number of private meetings with individuals and groups. He spoke in
> at least thirty-one white Protestant churches, fourteen Theosophical and New Thought meet-
> ings, three synagogues, and one African-American church; in seven settlement houses and other
> social service organizations; and at five universities. At least 358 newspaper articles resulted,
> reaching hundreds of thousands.
> He proclaimed the Bahá’í teachings, such as the oneness of humanity, independent investiga-
> tion of the truth, racial unity, equality of the sexes, and world peace. Often ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stressed
> the principle of ‘unity in diversity’ and compared humanity to colourful flowers in one garden:
> 
> Diversity of hues, form and shape, enricheth and adorneth the garden, and height-
> eneth the effect thereof. In like manner, when divers shades of thought, temperament
> and character, are brought together under the power and influence of one central
> agency, the beauty and glory of human perfection will be revealed and made manifest.
> Naught but the celestial potency of the Word of God, which ruleth and transcendeth
> the realities of all things, is capable of harmonizing the divergent thoughts, sentiments,
> ideas, and convictions of the children of men.
> (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections 291–292)
> 
> Necati Alkan
> 
> Figure 6.2 Photograph of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1912.
> Source: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States.
> 
> His call for women to acquire the right to vote made headlines. But perhaps His most endur-
> ing effort was subtly to encourage Louis Gregory, an African-American lawyer, and Louise
> Mathew, an English woman, to marry. Theirs was the first interracial marriage in the American
> Bahá’í community and became a constant reminder to the Bahá’ís of the true meaning of the
> oneness of humanity.
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás1
> 
> Both in North America and in Europe, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá met many prominent individuals
> of all ranks, including leading African-American thinkers. The widespread publicity His
> travels received on both continents was crucial for the proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh’s teach-
> ings, the spread of the Bahá’í Faith to new populations, and the establishment of adminis-
> trative institutions. Moreover, he expounded on the application of the teachings to many
> contemporary problems and issues. One of those pressing issues was warfare, and ‘Abdu’l-
> Bahá urged His audience and the general public to ‘unlearn the science of war’ (Promulgation
> 321). As much as His Father had warned the rulers of His time not to amass weapons and
> to work for world peace, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá repeatedly stressed in 1912 that humanity was at the
> threshold of an ‘impending war’. He likened Europe to ‘a storehouse of explosives awaiting
> a spark’ (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, ibid, 451). ‘What good did it do?’ remarked an Ottoman religious
> leader (a certain Hassan Effendi in Istanbul), calling ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘the greatest living mes-
> senger of the East . . . who warned the world years before the beginning of the war of the
> great cataclysm toward which humanity was headed and who preached unity and oneness
> as the only salvation’ (Mufty-Zade 1922: 243).9
> Some months after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s return to Haifa in late 1913, World War I began.
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá encouraged a community of Bahá’ís He settled on land in the Jordan Valley to
> develop their agriculture and send Him their surplus. When famine loomed, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> distributed the food among the needy people in Haifa. For this humanitarian act, the British
> government knighted Him in 1920.
> During the war years, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote The Tablets of the Divine Plan, in which He
> entrusted the North American Bahá’ís with the mission to take the Bahá’í Faith to much of the
> world. It is one of His most important works and the ‘charter’ for the global expansion of the Faith.
> No less important is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament, another ‘charter’ of the Bahá’í Faith, in
> which He specified that His eldest grandson Shoghi Effendi (1897–1957) would succeed Him as
> Head of the Faith and stated the process necessary to elect the Universal House of Justice.
> After the war ended, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá further developed the framework of Bahá’í administration
> through His constant production of inspiring tablets and letters to Bahá’ís and Bahá’í communities
> all over the world. He also deepened the knowledge of veteran and new Bahá’ís who visited
> Him as pilgrims. A very important contribution towards the end of His life was His two tablets
> (1919 and 1920) addressed to the Central Organization for a Durable Peace at The Hague
> (Netherlands). There, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains how a number of teachings of Bahá’u’lláh relate to
> the attainment of universal peace (Tablets to the Hague; Selections nos. 227 and 228).10
> After long years in exile and imprisonment and a toilsome but very fruitful life, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> passed away on 28 November 1921, thus bringing to an end what Shoghi Effendi called the
> ‘Apostolic’ or ‘Heroic’ Age of the Bahá’í Faith. His funeral in Haifa, unprecedented in the region,
> was attended by thousands of mourners, representing every class, religion, and race. They included
> the British commissioner for Palestine, governors of its districts, and prominent religious leaders.
> 
> Abdu’l-Bahá was laid to rest in one of the chambers of the Shrine of the Báb on
> Mount Carmel. A century later, in 2021, the one hundredth anniversary of His pass-
> ing, a Shrine, ‘of a character befitting the unique station of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’, was being
> constructed to ‘forever embosom those sacred remains’ (Figure 6.3).
> (Bahá’í World News Service, May 7, 2019,
> https://news.bahai.org/story/1325/)
> 
> From His birth, which coincided with the inception of the Bahá’í Faith, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
> devoted His life to furthering His Father’s teachings, serving humanity, spreading the ideals of
> 
> Necati Alkan
> 
> Figure 6.3 Design of the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
> Source: Bahá’í World News Service.
> 
> unity and justice, and devoting His energies to others, best expressed in His own words as ‘Make
> me as dust in the pathway of Thy loved ones’ (Selections 319–320). Shoghi Effendi described Him
> thus: ‘in the person of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the incompatible characteristics of a human nature and
> superhuman knowledge and perfection have been blended and are completely harmonized’. He
> is the embodiment of the Bahá’í teachings par excellence, the ‘Perfect Exemplar’, and regarded
> as incarnating ‘an institution for which we can find no parallel in any of the world’s recognized
> religious systems’ (Shoghi Effendi, World Order 134). While He has a unique station as ‘Mystery
> of God’, Perfect Exemplar, the ‘Center of the Covenant’, and ‘Interpreter of the Word of God’,
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá emphasized His ‘complete self-effacement’ and His ‘utter nothingness’ in relation
> to His Father, Bahá’u’lláh.
> This chapter is dedicated to the loving memory of Ali Nakhjavani (1919–2019).
> 
> Archival sources
> Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (BOA, Ottoman Archive in Istanbul).
> BEO 1358/101797, 20 August 1899.
> DH.MKT. 2207/72, 21 Muharrem 1317/1 June 1899.
> HR. MKT. 636/61, 5 Şaban 1285/21 November 1868.
> HR.SYS. 70/31, 1 July 1912.
> HR.TO 455/55, 22 January 1872.
> 
> Notes
> 1 I am indebted to friends for their contribution during the writing of this chapter. First and foremost,
> to Robert H. Stockman, the editor of this volume, for all his time in patiently waiting for my paper
> and making valuable suggestions. Adib Masumian, Farzin Vejdani and Fereydun Vahman took time and
> skilfully translated some Persian sources or provided references. I owe special thanks to Ufuk Celme,
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás1
> 
> who provided digital copies of documents from the Ottoman Archive in Istanbul (Başbakanlık Osmanlı
> Arşivi, abbreviated as BOA in the text).
> 2 The reference to the ‘garden/paradise of delight/bliss’ is from the Qur’án, 26: 85, 56: 89 and 78: 38;
> it also occurs in the plural (‘gardens’) in several places, see The Quranic Arabic Corpus, http: //corpus.
> quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=nEm (accessed 12 April 2020).
> 3 While official Bahá’í history mentions that He composed it at the instruction of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘while
> still in His adolescence in Baghdád’ (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By 241), ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (Makátíb 2: 55;
> Rafati 2012: 179) and Bahá’u’lláh (Safinih-yi-‘Irfán 6: 10; Masumian 2021a) confirm that it was com-
> posed in Edirne.
> 4 See also the pilgrim notes at the US Bahá’í Archives at https://bahai-library.com/pdf/p/pilgrims_
> notes_us-archives_1919.pdf#page=72.
> 5 Bektashis are followers of Haji Bektash Veli (1209–1271), a mystic from Khorasan who settled in
> Anatolia and is the name giver of the unorthodox and non-conformist Sufi Order of Bektashism with
> pre-Islamic and Shi‘i concepts.
> 6 There are many Bektashi jokes told in Turkey, and even ‘Abdu’l-Bahá mentions one: Muntakhabátí,
> 3:113; Masumian and Alkan 2021.
> 7 Even though ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s name or seal is not in this Persian letter at the Ottoman Archives in
> Istanbul (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Translation Bureau, classified as HR.TO 455/55 and dated
> 22 January 1872 on another sheet) and the name in the catalogue entry is wrongly given as ‘the
> petition of ‘Abdu’r-Raḥmán ‘Abbás who is an exile in ‘Akká’ and in the accompanying Ottoman
> Turkish translation as ‘the Persian petition by someone named ‘Abdu’r-Rájí ‘Abbás who is an exile
> in ‘Akká’, the contents of the letter, as shown here, confirm that it must have been written by
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. That His name was misread and it is a letter of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is further attested to by
> the fact that in another letter, He used the phrase ‘abduhu ar-rájí (‘His supplicating servant’) on His
> seal; see Faizi 1972: 20; for a letter of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with the same seal, see Amanat and Vahman
> 2016: 150.
> 8 These are at the Baháʼí World Centre in Haifa, Israel.
> 9 Mufty-Zade Kazim Zia Bey recorded this after he returned to Istanbul with his American wife, Helen
> Cullen; he was the nephew of the aforementioned Ottoman ambassador Yusuf Ziya Pasha; see Hamilton
> Evening Journal (Hamilton, Ohio), 20 January 1923, p. 16.
> 10 An Ottoman Turkish translation (with a foreword) by a certain M. H. Gulistani was published in the
> newspaper Ikdam in November and December 1921, and January 1922.
> 
> References and further reading
> Amanat, A. and F. Vahman. (2016) Az Ṭihrán tá ‘Akká: Bábíyán va Bahá’íyán dar isnád-i dawrán-i Qájár,
> North Haven: Ashkaar Publishers, accessed 12 May 2021, www.aasoo.org/sites/default/files/aasoo_
> ftp/flipping_book/Az-Tehran-Ta-Akka/HTML/index.html.
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. (1330/1912) Makátíb-i-‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. 2, Cairo: Matba‘at Kurdistan al-‘Ilmiyyah, https://
> reference.bahai.org/fa/t/ab/MA2/.
> ———. (1919–1920) Tablets to the Hague, www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/
> tablets-hague-abdul-baha/.
> ———. (1970–1971) Majmú‘ih-i-Alváḥ va Munájáthá-i-Turkí, Tehran: Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
> ———. (1971) Memorials of the Faithful, US: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, www.bahai.org/library/
> authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/memorials-faithful/.
> ———. (1978) Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, www.bahai.org/
> library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/selections-writings-abdul-baha/.
> ———. (1979/1984/1992–2005) Muntakhabátí az Makátíb-i-Ḥaḍrat-i-ʻAbdu’l-Bahá, 6 vols., Haifa: Bahá’í
> World Centre, Hofheim: Bahá’í-Verlag, https://reference.bahai.org/fa/t/ab/.
> ———. (1982) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London, London: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, https://reference.bahai.org/
> en/t/ab/ABL/.
> ———. (2021) Light of the World, Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, https://www.bahai.org/library/
> authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/light-of-the-world/
> Abu-Manneh, B. (1979) ‘Sultan Abdülhamid II and Shaikh Abulhuda Al-Sayyadi’, Middle East Studies,
> 15.2: 131–153.
> ———. (1990) ‘The Sultan and the Bureaucracy: The Anti-Tanzimat Concepts of Grand Vizier Mahmud
> Nedim Paşa’, International Journal of Middle East Studies, 22: 257–274.
> 
> Necati Alkan
> 
> Afrukhteh, Y. (2003) Memories of Nine Years in ‘Akká, Los Angeles: Kalimat Press, https://bahai-library.
> com/afroukhteh_nine_years_akka.
> Alkan, N. (2001) ‘“By the Fig and the Olive”: Abdu’l-Bahá’s Commentary in Ottoman Turkish on the
> Qur’ánic Sura 95: Notes and Provisional Translation’, Bahá’í Studies Review, 10: 115–128.
> ———. (2003) ‘‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Commentary on the Islamic Tradition: “God Doth Give Victory to This
> Religion by Means of a Wicked Man”: A Provisional Translation and Notes’, Bahá’í Studies Review,
> 11: 53–57.
> ———. (2004) ‘Ottoman Reform Movements and the Bahā’ī Faith, 1860s–1920s’, in Moshe Sharon, ed.,
> Studies in Modern Religious Religions, Religious Movements and the Babi-Bahā’ī Faiths, Leiden: Brill.
> ———. (2005) ‘Midhat Pasha and Abdu’l-Baha in ‘Akka: The Historical Background of the Tablet of the
> Land of Bā’, Baha’i Studies Review, 13: 1–13.
> ———. (2008) Dissent and Heterodoxy in the Late Ottoman Empire: Reformers, Babis and Baha’is, Istanbul:
> Isis Press.
> ———. (2011) ‘The Young Turks and the Baha’is in Palestine’, in Eyal Ginio and Yuval Ben Bassat, eds.,
> Late Ottoman Palestine: The Period of Young Turk Rule, London: I.B. Tauris.
> Alloul, H., Edhem Eldem and Henk de Smaele. (2018) To Kill a Sultan: A Transnational History of the
> Attempt on Abdülhamid II (1905), London: Palgrave Macmillan.
> Bahá’í World News Service, May 7, 2019, https://news.bahai.org/story/1325/
> Bahá’u’lláh, Kitáb-i-Íqán, https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/kitab-i-iqan/.
> ———. (2002) The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, https://reference.bahai.org/
> en/t/b/SLH/.
> Balyuzi, H. M. (1971) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: The Centre of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, Oxford: George Ronald.
> ———. (1980) Bahá’u’lláh: The King of Glory, George Ronald: Oxford.
> ———. (1985) Eminent Bahá’ís in the Time of Bahá’u’lláh, Oxford: George Ronald.
> Blomfield, S. L. (1940) The Chosen Highway, Wilmette, IL: Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
> Browne, E. G. and Moojan Momen, eds. (1987) Selections from the Writings of E.G. Browne on the Bábí and
> Bahá’í Religions, Oxford: George Ronald.
> Buck, C. (1995/2012) Symbol & Secret: Qur’an Commentary in Bahá’u’lláh’s Kitáb-i Íqán, Los Angeles:
> Kalimát.
> Cole, J. (n.d.) ‘Snow Animals Letter’, Windflower Translations, www.whoisbahaullah.com/windflower/
> translations-on-this-site/translations/139-snow-animals-letter.
> Esslemont, J. (1923/1980) Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, US: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, https://reference.
> bahai.org/en/t/o/BNE/index.html.
> Faizi, M. A. (1972) Ḥayát-i-Ḥaḍrat-i-‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Hofheim: Bahá’í-Verlag, https://reference.bahai.org/
> fa/t/o/HHAB/.
> Furútan, A. A. (1986) Stories of Bahá’u’lláh, Oxford: George Ronald.
> ———. (n.d.) Dástánhá’í az Ḥayát-i-‘Unṣurí-i-Jamál-i-Aqdas-i-Abhá, Tehran: Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
> Gail, M. (1991) Arches of the Years, Oxford: George Ronald.
> Gulistani, M. H. (1921/1922) ‘Bahai Hareketi Hakkında’ (About the Bahá’í Movement), in Ikdam, 28
> Teşrîn-i Sâni/November 1921, 4; 8 Kanun-i Evvel/December 1921, 4; and 2 Kanûn-i Sâni/January
> 1922, 5.
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> — *Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abbás (Used by permission of the curator)*