# The Passing of Shoghi Effendi: 1896-1957

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Rúhíyyih Khánum, The Passing of Shoghi Effendi: 1896-1957, London: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1958, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> The Passing of Shoghi Effendi:
> 
> 1896-1957
> 
> Rúhíyyih Khánum
> John Ferraby
> 
> London: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1958
> 
> by Amatu'l-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum
> 
> in collaboration with John Ferraby
> 
> ALL THOSE who were privileged to know the beloved
> Guardian Shoghi Effendi from the time of his childhood
> until his passing remember him as being incarnate
> with life; a dynamic, almost electric force seemed to radiate
> from him. He was always busy, restless, driving on to whatever
> goal he had set before his eyes. He was intense in all aspects of his
> nature: his phenomenal powers of concentration, his deep feelings
> of passionate attachment to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, his burning conscientiousness
> in carrying out his duties to the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh
> as its appointed Guardian—these were all facets of the same
> wonderful nature which God endowed with those special qualities
> He wished to be uppermost in the one who was firmly to
> lay the administrative foundations of His Faith all over the world,
> and to plant the first ensigns of its victory in the four corners of
> the earth.
> 
> That the Cause of God has reached the point where it stands
> today is due to the self-sacrificing, constant, unsparing, truly
> herculean labours of its Guardian. That his heart should have
> stopped, with no warning, at the early age of sixty-one, is not so
> much due to this ceaseless, tireless work, but to the sorrows and
> afflictions which he endured, for the most part in reserved silence,
> from the stirrers-up of dissension and the Covenant-breakers,
> old and new. The early pilgrims, after the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
> remember standing at Shoghi Effendi's bedside, where he
> had called them to say goodbye, and looking at his face, so full of
> sorrow and despair, his eyes deep-sunken and heavily shadowed,
> and hearing him say he was going away, that it was too much for
> him, he could not bear it. He left the Holy Land, fought his inner
> battle, returned, took the helm of this Blessed Barque and steered
> it for over one-third of a century through every storm and shoal.
> 
> [page 2]
> 
> But the valiant heart and frail body were receiving blows which
> left their mark, and in the end took their toll.
> 
> The friends of God are well aware of the achievements of
> their beloved Guardian; what they do not realize fully is that by
> doing so many things personally over a period of so many years,
> he, and he alone, made it possible for the big victories to take
> place. The fact that he did every single thing himself saved the
> Cause tremendous sums of money; with what he thus saved he
> was able to go on and commence a new enterprise. For thirty-six
> years he held in his hands, with power of decision vested
> solely in him, the funds of the Faith at its World Centre; no expenditures
> were authorized, no bills were paid that had not been
> submitted to him. From the beginning of his ministry until about
> 1940, he saw in person the engineers, the architects, the lawyers,
> who were carrying out his instructions, as well as many high
> government officials; it was he who negotiated with them,
> supervised their work, kept down expenses with an ingenuity
> and insight truly inspired by God; it was he who instructed
> where every step should be built, the height of every wall, the
> spans between every planted tree, the diameter of every flower
> bed—even the colours of the flowers. It was Shoghi Effendi who,
> entirely aside from the glorious spiritual leadership manifested
> in his letters, his books, and his words to the pilgrims, so harboured
> the financial resources of the Faith that in his lifetime the
> Temple in Chicago, the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel,
> and the International Archives Building could be completed, as
> well as the extensive endowments of the Faith acquired in Haifa
> and 'Akká; he made the plans and paved the way for the Temples
> now being built; he was responsible for the purchase of the
> Temple sites, the National Hazíratu'l-Quds and endowments, as
> well as many other things during these last five years; all these
> accomplishments were made possible by his vigilance and
> wisdom.
> 
> [page 3]
> 
> As the Faith grew and the years went by, the beloved Guardian
> received more able support from believers of capacity, serving
> him in the Holy Land and abroad, but his personal supervision of
> expenses, his personal decision as to what was befitting for the
> Bahá'í Holy Places at the World Centre, was never laid aside. He
> delegated to others interviews and negotiations locally, but the
> management, the ordering of objects and furniture for the Gardens
> and Holy Places, the arrangement of these, the designs and
> plans for extending them, he kept solely in his own hands, practising
> the same economy and showing the same genius as had
> characterized all his other services to the Faith entrusted to him
> by the Master in His Will.
> 
> On October 20th, 1957, the beloved Guardian arrived in London,
> accompanied by Ruhiyyih Khanum, for the purpose of
> ordering some furniture and objects for the interior of the International
> Archives Building and the Gardens above it. He chose
> London because it is an international centre where objects from
> every country can be found at much cheaper prices than probably
> in any other one city of the world. He planned to remain a
> few days and then proceed to Haifa. As was the invariable custom
> of the beloved Guardian during his absence from Haifa, no
> contact was made with any Bahá'í. Ruhiyyih Khanum attended
> to his mail and carried out his orders as she always did.
> 
> On Sunday afternoon, October 27th, Shoghi Effendi told
> Ruhiyyih Khanum that he had a pain across his knuckles in both
> hands; she asked him if he had any other pains, and he said no,
> that just his fingers pained him and were stiff. He added: "I feel
> so tired, so tired." She begged him to rest, saying that if he did
> not wish to go to bed, at least he should rest quietly because the
> probability was that he was getting the influenza which was
> sweeping through Europe and indeed all over the world. (She
> herself had been in bed with fever since Thursday night.) That
> night he had a fever and by the following day his temperature
> 
> [page 4]
> 
> had risen to thirty-nine degrees [102.2°F]. Ruhiyyih Khanum succeeded
> in finding an excellent doctor who had taken over the practice
> of a well-known Harley Street physician who had retired. This
> doctor was contacted and immediately prescribed medicine for
> the beloved Guardian and came to see him early in the evening
> when he was able to get away from his hospital. He examined
> his patient very carefully; heart, chest, temperature, pulse, etc.,
> and said that he considered that both the Guardian and Ruhiyyih
> Khanum had cases of Asiatic influenza, the beloved Guardian's
> case being the more severe.
> 
> The constant stress of work, sorrows and anxieties to which
> Shoghi Effendi had been subjected had brought about a condition
> of high blood-pressure, which he had had for a number of
> years; he mentioned this himself sometimes to members of the
> International Bahá'í Council, but he was so strong and healthy,
> had such tremendous powers of endurance and vitality, that it
> was difficult to persuade him to devote time to caring for himself.
> However, for the past ten years he had been under the
> supervision of an excellent doctor, who saw him at least twice a
> year, and he had consented to take some special cures which
> were good for his general health and calculated to reduce his
> blood-pressure. His doctor often urged him not to overdo
> things when he returned to Haifa, to get more exercise and more
> rest. But the doctor could not visualize the Guardian's life in
> Haifa, or the nature of his responsibility; could not know that he
> had to read letters, reports, journals, and so on for between three
> to eight hours a day, just to keep abreast of his work; that he
> spent about four hours most afternoons and evenings, after being
> up and busy from early morning, giving out what strength
> he had left to the pilgrims, eastern and western; that he stood
> sometimes for hours, in all weathers, directing the work he had
> planned on Mount Carmel or at Bahjí; that when he was deeply
> 
> [page 5]
> 
> distressed by some situation he would not feel able to eat and
> would lose much weight in a few days. About six weeks before
> the Guardian passed away, he was examined by this doctor who
> found him in very good health and his blood-pressure lower
> than in years. The doctor who took care of him in London likewise
> examined his blood-pressure and found it satisfactory and
> not high.
> 
> During the week of the beloved Guardian's illness—and indeed
> a number of times during the weeks before his illness—he
> complained that he had no appetite. He said: "I don't know what
> has happened to me. I have completely lost my appetite. I don't
> eat for twenty-four hours, but I still have absolutely no appetite
> whatever. It is now weeks that I have been like this. The same
> thing is happening to me that happened to Bahá'u'lláh when He
> lost His appetite after the death of Navváb."
> 
> On Tuesday, Ruhiyyih Khanum had recovered sufficiently
> for the doctor to allow her to go out on an important errand. As
> she had bronchitis following the 'flu, he would check on her condition
> when he had finished his visit to the beloved Guardian,
> and in this way she was able to find out from him exactly how
> he felt Shoghi Effendi was progressing. This same day a very
> heavy mail had been received, and as Shoghi Effendi's temperature
> was still high she persuaded him not to look at it; but the
> next morning he called for his mail and insisted on going over it
> personally, as he always did. A great many cables were received
> and answered by the beloved Guardian during this last week of
> his life. He said to Ruhiyyih Khanum toward the end of the
> week: "Do you realize that we have done nothing but work this
> week?"
> 
> He was anxious to leave London and carry out his original
> plan of returning to Haifa; however, the doctor was very severe
> on this point and told him frankly that he was quite free to call in
> another doctor if he wished to, but that as long as he was taking
> 
> [page 6]
> 
> care of him he could not give his consent to his departure until a
> week after his temperature had fallen. The Guardian accepted
> this.
> 
> The doctor was very careful of the beloved Guardian. When
> he came every day, instead of being in a hurry like some doctors,
> he would sit with the Guardian, examine him thoroughly, and
> stay usually a half-hour, and one evening he remained an hour
> to chat with his patient. He invariably found him sitting in bed
> reading, surrounded by papers, his brief-case beside him, and
> one evening he asked Ruhiyyih Khanum, privately, what was
> the Guardian's work? She replied that he was a religious leader
> and had many responsibilities. The doctor obviously liked his
> patient, and after he had been coming for three or four days, he
> told Ruhiyyih Khanum, after leaving the beloved Guardian's
> room, that "he was smiling tonight"; that beautiful smile had
> affected him too. The doctor told the Guardian that on Friday he
> could get up and sit in his arm-chair as a change from bed, and in
> order to get his strength back; but Shoghi Effendi did not want
> to do this, and he continued his work sitting in bed and resting
> every now and then. However, all during his illness, the Guardian
> had gotten up to wash, to get papers from his desk and so on.
> There was no time when he was too weak or ill to get out of bed,
> not even the days when he had high fever.
> 
> On Saturday morning, the beloved Guardian told Ruhiyyih
> Khanum that he wanted a large table placed in his room, big
> enough so that he could lay on it the map of the world on which
> he had been working. He had prepared one of those beautiful
> maps he used to make showing the progress of the work, and
> this one he called The Half-Way Point of the Ten-Year Crusade, in
> other words, the progress made, and the victories won, during
> five years. He had already worked a great deal on this map; indeed
> it seems a strange coincidence that the first time and the last
> time he worked on it should both have been occasions on which
> 
> [page 7]
> 
> he was ill, symbolic of the great sacrifice of his life and strength
> that went into the conception and prosecution of the World
> Crusade. About two months before he passed away, the beloved
> Guardian had had a cold, with a temperature the first night; the
> next day he had no fever, but it was understood he would remain
> in bed and rest. It was that day that he worked on his map for the
> first time, for about ten hours, and it was on Saturday, November
> 2nd, that he worked on it for the last time. He told Ruhiyyih
> Khanum that he wanted her to check over carefully with him
> the figures and said that except for adding a few extra details and
> making sure that what was on the map agreed with his various
> lists, the work was finished. She remonstrated with him and
> begged him not to work, saying that in a few days he would be
> stronger and could then complete it, but he said: "No, I must
> finish it; it is worrying me. There is nothing left to do but check
> it. I have one or two names to add that I have found in this mail,
> and I will finish it to-day. "In the early afternoon he stood in front
> of the table and worked for about three hours. The table was
> strewn with pencils and files of papers which constituted the
> Guardian's lists of languages, tribes, countries, Temples,
> Hazíratu'l-Quds, work completed, work being carried out, and
> a tremendous amount of data. At one time, while Ruhiyyih
> Khanum was checking over with him the various lists and totals,
> he said to her, as he had said many, many times during the last
> year: "This work is killing me! How can I go on with this? I shall
> have to stop it. It is too much. Look at the number of places I
> have to write down. Look how exact I have to be!"
> 
> The beloved Guardian looked tired after working on his map
> that day. He went back to bed and continued reading the many
> reports he had received. He had only had a mouthful to eat at
> lunch-time, and he refused to eat any dinner at all. That evening
> he spoke with great depression. He had made many plans for his
> winter's work in Haifa, and many times he discussed these with
> 
> [page 8]
> 
> Ruhiyyih Khanum, outlining to her some of the work he was
> going to do on Mount Carmel in the Gardens above the Archives,
> how he was going to furnish the International Archives Building
> itself with the things that had been ordered, and that upon
> his arrival his first act would be to go over to Bahjí and himself
> give instructions for the demolition of the buildings inhabited
> for so many years by the Arch-breakers of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant
> who had caused the beloved Master so much sorrow. He
> talked about the disposition he intended to make of the stones
> and rubble of these houses and of his ideas for extending the
> Garden at Bahjí. Many times during the past months he had
> spoken with enthusiasm of these plans he was going to carry out,
> but this evening he said to her: "Who is going to go back and do
> all these things? I have no strength left. I am like a broken reed.
> I can't do anything more. I have no spirit left to do anything
> more. Now we will be going back—who is going to go up that
> mountain and make all those plans and stand for hours and supervise
> the work? I can't do it. And I am not going to do anything
> about the houses in Bahjí. Let them stay like that until I see how
> I feel. And I am not going to furnish the inside of the Archives
> this winter. It can wait another year, until everything that is
> needed to furnish it is collected. I shall just see the pilgrims and
> stay in my room and rest and do the few things that I have to do.
> I am not even going to take the telegrams back from Jessie and
> make copies of them and keep all the receipts the way I have done
> all these years. She did this in the summer, she can go on doing it
> in the winter. I am too tired." He was very, very sad and depressed,
> and spoke words such as these for a long time. It was not
> the first time that Ruhiyyih Khanum had heard him speak in
> this vein, but it was with far greater intensity and in more specific
> detail than she had ever heard before, and it distressed her very
> deeply.
> 
> That evening when the doctor came he was satisfied with the
> 
> [page 9]
> 
> Guardian's condition and said he could certainly leave on Tuesday
> morning. He told him he could go out if he wanted to and
> get some fresh air. He also told the Guardian that he had heard
> over the radio that well over two hundred people had died of
> influenza during the week, and they discussed this a little together.
> When the doctor left that night, after staying quite a
> while, the Guardian said: "I like him very much. He is a fine
> man, and a good doctor."
> 
> The next day the Guardian appended a few lines to all the
> English letters that had been written for him, and went over
> other matters regarding his work, dictating to Ruhiyyih
> Khanum some instructions to be mailed, and telling her to write
> two other letters herself that afternoon. He did not wish to get
> up, preferring to remain in his room, mostly reading his papers
> in bed, or attending to things on his desk. He later read over the
> letters that she had written and appended something to one of
> them. In one of the reports, he read something that caused him
> intense indignation, and he spoke to her about it. He had also
> been upset during these past few days by some news given him
> concerning the activities of some of the Covenant-breakers, and
> referred to it more than once. Such things always distressed him.
> 
> As Sunday was the doctor's day of rest, the Guardian had said
> the day before that he did not think it was necessary for him to
> come; however, the doctor telephoned that evening to inquire
> how Shoghi Effendi was and expressed his willingness to come
> if he was needed. Ruhiyyih Khanum, who was speaking on the
> telephone beside the Guardian's bed, conveyed this message to
> him, but he said he felt better, and that there was no need for the
> doctor to come. It was then agreed that he would make his last
> call the following afternoon. Ruhiyyih Khanum sat in the room
> with the Guardian and they talked for a while about everyday
> things. At half-past nine she asked him if he would not like to go
> to sleep, as she was sure he was tired. He asked her: "What time is
> 
> [page 10]
> 
> it?" and she said, "Nine-thirty". He said: "It is too early to go to
> sleep now; if I go to sleep now I shall wake up early and then I
> won't be able to go to sleep again. Stay a little while longer and
> talk." About ten o'clock she again asked him if he did not wish to
> go to sleep, and he said yes. She did the last few things to make
> him comfortable before retiring, and after saying goodnight,
> left the room, asking him before she went to be sure and call her
> in the night if he needed anything.
> 
> Both Saturday and Sunday nights Ruhiyyih Khanum did not
> sleep well, lying awake in the middle of the night for long hours.
> It would not be correct to say that she had the slightest premonition
> of what was to come, but she did not sleep well, and her
> heart was heavy and sad.
> 
> On the morning of Monday, November 4th, she went to the
> door of the Guardian's room, knocked gently, and, when she received
> no answer, entered the room. The curtains were drawn
> over the windows and the room was in twilight. She saw the
> beloved Guardian lying on his left side facing her, with his left
> hand folded over towards his right shoulder and his right arm
> over his left one, in a most relaxed and comfortable position. His
> eyes were three-quarters open and she thought he was drowsy—in
> that state when people wake up and lie comfortably beginning
> to think of their day's work. She asked him how he had slept,
> and if he felt better. When he neither moved nor replied, and he
> seemed unnaturally still, a wave of agonizing terror swept over
> her; she leaned over him and seized his hand. He was ice-cold
> and absolutely rigid; as the window was not open and the room
> was very warm, he must have ascended several hours earlier. In
> spite of her own condition, within two minutes she had reached
> his doctor by phone at the hospital, and had told him that she
> was afraid that his patient had passed away, and begged him to
> come instantly, in case there was something that could still be
> done. The doctor arrived shortly. In order to calm Ruhiyyih
> 
> [page 11]
> 
> Khanum he gave heart injections to the beloved Guardian and
> massaged his heart, but of course it was absolutely useless. A few
> minutes later a second physician arrived and confirmed that
> there was nothing to be done. The diagnosis was "Death caused
> by coronary thrombosis". Nothing in the world could have
> saved the beloved Guardian's life. If the best physicians had been
> standing beside him, they could not have prevented his passing
> away from the clot of blood that suddenly entered into one of
> the heart-vessels.
> 
> The beloved friends, heart-broken, desolate and orphaned as
> they are, must be grateful that this Shoghi Effendi of ours, this
> sacred and so-dearly-loved Trust left us by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, passed
> away with no illness or pain; indeed it was clear from his position
> and the expression in his eyes that he had not even had a spasm.
> His eyes bore no look of surprise, although they were open. They
> say such deaths are reserved for the just.
> 
> It devolved upon Ruhiyyih Khanum, half-mad herself with
> grief, to think of a way of conveying this terrible and agonizing
> news to the Bahá'ís. She thought of the two British Hands of the
> Cause, so recently elevated to this high rank in the last Message
> from the beloved Guardian. She first turned to Hasan Balyuzi,
> an Afnán cousin of his. Within about an hour he was able to join
> her, and he telephoned John Ferraby, enjoining him to silence
> and telling him to come quickly. A telephone call was then put
> through to the Hand of the Cause Ugo Giachery in Rome, and
> he said he would take the next plane for London. He arrived that
> same night about eight o'clock. Another call was put in for the
> Hand of the Cause Leroy loas in Haifa, and he was reached late
> in the afternoon. Already, earlier in the afternoon Ruhiyyih
> Khanum had cabled the following message to Haifa, "Beloved
> Guardian desperately ill Asiatic flu tell Leroy inform all National
> Assemblies inform believers supplicate prayers divine protection
> Faith." She could not bear to deal the naked blow to the
> 
> [page 12]
> 
> hearts of other Bahá'ís which she herself had received and had
> been forced to inflict on three of the Hands, so she sent the above
> message, in the hope of preparing the Guardian's lovers, the ill,
> the old, and the feeble, to receive the full news. In spite of this
> effort to protect the friends from the full shock of this cataclysm
> that had overtaken them, her first cable did not reach Haifa before
> her telephone message, and the news reached many Bahá'ís
> in different parts of the world over the radio. A second cable was
> sent later in the day to Haifa with the request that it be cabled to
> all National Assemblies, as she felt that the announcement of his
> passing should go out officially from the World Centre of the
> Faith. The text was as follows:
> 
> SHOGHI EFFENDI BELOVED OF ALL HEARTS SACRED TRUST GIVEN
> BELIEVERS BY MASTER PASSED AWAY SUDDEN HEART ATTACK IN
> SLEEP FOLLOWING ASIATIC FLU STOP URGE BELIEVERS REMAIN
> STEADFAST CLING INSTITUTION HANDS LOVINGLY REARED RECENTLY
> REINFORCED EMPHASIZED BY BELOVED GUARDIAN STOP
> ONLY ONENESS HEART ONENESS PURPOSE CAN BEFITTINGLY TESTIFY
> LOYALTY ALL NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES BELIEVERS DEPARTED GUARDIAN
> WHO SACRIFICED SELF UTTERLY FOR SERVICE FAITH.
> RUHIYYIH
> 
> The customs in the West are different from the customs in the
> East, and the ascension of the blessed Guardian in such a vast city
> as London posed many problems. Very careful instructions were
> given to the undertaker by Ruhiyyih Khanum, explaining that
> in our religion we have no embalmment, that no injections of
> any kind to preserve the body must be given, and that nobody
> must be allowed to wash it, as provision would be made for this
> by us according to our Faith. He fully understood this, as London
> is a great world metropolis, where people of many religious
> customs live and die. The friends must bear in mind that in all the
> arrangements made after the passing of the beloved Guardian, the
> 
> [page 13]
> 
> Laws of the Aqdas, which he himself had so repeatedly stressed
> and constantly upheld, had to be obeyed. The size of London,
> and the fact that the only suitable burial grounds lie in its outskirts,
> had to be constantly remembered, so that no mistake
> would be made in transporting his precious remains more than
> an hour's journey. It was the longing of the four Hands, who
> from the very day of his ascension became responsible for all
> the pressing matters that had to be attended to in such a short
> space of time, to have him transported to the National
> Hazíratu'l-Quds where the friends could gather and pray, until
> the funeral took place. Investigation, however, showed that the
> journey from the part of London where the beloved Guardian
> had passed away to the National Hazíratu'l-Quds, and from
> there back again in the same general direction to the burial place,
> would take more than an hour, and the plan had to be abandoned.
> 
> On Tuesday morning a telephone call was put through to the
> Hand of the Cause Adelbert Muhlschlegel, as Ruhiyyih Khanum
> had decided that he, a physician, one of the Guardian's own
> appointed Hands, and a man known for his spirituality, would
> not only be able to endure the sorrow of performing the last
> service for the beloved Guardian of washing his blessed body,
> but would do it in the spirit of consecration and prayer called for
> on such a sacred occasion. He accepted immediately, with deepest
> gratitude for this inestimable privilege, and arrived, accompanied
> by the other German Hand of the Cause Hermann
> Grossmann, on Tuesday night at the Hazíratu'l-Quds in London.
> It was decided that because of the Laws of our Faith which
> are against embalming, the funeral should be held as soon as possible,
> preferably on Friday. Investigation and consultation, however,
> showed that this would not allow enough time to settle the
> formalities involved in purchasing a site for the grave and constructing
> a suitable vault. The time was therefore set for noon on
> 
> [page 14]
> 
> Saturday, 9 November, and the following cable was sent from
> London to all National Assemblies:
> 
> BELOVED ALL HEARTS PRECIOUS GUARDIAN CAUSE GOD PASSED
> PEACEFULLY AWAY YESTERDAY AFTER ASIATIC TLU STOP APPEAL
> HANDS NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES AUXILIARY BOARDS SHELTER BELIEVERS
> ASSIST MEET HEARTRENDING SUPREME TEST STOP FUNERAL
> OUR BELOVED GUARDIAN SATURDAY LONDON HANDS ASSEMBLY
> BOARD MEMBERS INVITED ATTEND ANY PRESS RELEASE SHOULD
> STATE MEETING HANDS SHORTLY HAIFA WILL MAKE ARRANGEMENT
> TO BAHAI WORLD REGARDING FUTURE PLANS STOP URGE HOLD MEMORIAL
> MEETINGS SATURDAY.
> RUHIYYIH
> 
> The first thought of those concerned with making arrangements
> for a befitting burial of the beloved Guardian's remains
> had been to secure a piece of land especially for this purpose;
> however, this proved an impossibility. An appointment with the
> Home Office had been fixed to discuss this with John Ferraby,
> but it was soon found to be impracticable because of laws restricting
> the use of land near London for burials. On Tuesday
> afternoon, Ruhiyyih Khanum, Hasan Balyuzi, and Ugo
> Giachery were taken out to inspect possible sites for the grave in
> cemeteries within an hour's journey from London. It was raining,
> and the first cemetery visited had only one plot remotely
> suitable for the purpose available, which was opposite the massive,
> depressing vault of a family of the British nobility, and
> prohibitively expensive, in addition to being very near the
> entrance gate. Although in the eyes of the world this cemetery
> must have importance, to the Hands present it was unbefitting
> and out of the question in every way, and their hearts sank with
> fear lest they should not find a proper place for their so-dearly-loved
> Guardian. God had other plans however, for on motoring
> in the twilight to inspect the second cemetery, they entered a
> beautiful, peaceful spot on a hill, surrounded by rolling country,
> 
> [page 15]
> 
> where birds sang in the trees and which had an entirely different
> atmosphere from the pomp and worldliness of the first. The
> Superintendent escorted them to the best piece of land he had,
> on the highest part, and in the centre of the cemetery. It adjoined
> one of the roads and was bounded by three great trees which
> cast their shade over it. The peaceful woods of the countryside,
> where birds will make their nests in spring, lay close to it on one
> side. It was over thirty metres square, and Ruhiyyih Khanum
> made arrangements to purchase it immediately, instructions
> being given to build a strong, deep vault. The Hands then
> proceeded to the undertaker's, to choose a suitable casket for the
> precious remains of the beloved Guardian. After much deliberation
> it was decided that for the present, as well as the future, the
> wisest course would be to have a lead coffin which could be
> hermetically sealed, and that this should be placed in a beautiful
> bronze casket, the most dignified, costly and enduring that
> could be found. By doing this the Hands were assured that in the
> future, when the means of transport become so rapid that the
> journey from London to Haifa can be accomplished in an hour,
> it would be possible to convey the sacred remains of the Guardian
> to the Holy Land.
> 
> On Tuesday night the Hand of the Cause Amelia Collins,
> who had only arrived in Haifa on Sunday, having made a special
> effort to get home in time to greet the Guardian when he returned,
> joined Ruhiyyih Khanum in London and was able to
> give her at this grievous time her much-needed, warm, motherly
> love and support. Already all European Hands of the Cause
> were in London. On Wednesday the National Spiritual Assembly
> of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles communicated to all the
> believers the heart-breaking news, and invited them, as members
> of the community in which this great calamity had occurred,
> to be present at the funeral of the beloved Guardian, which was
> to take place on their soil. That afternoon, Ruhiyyih Khanum,
> 
> [page 16]
> 
> accompanied by Amelia Collins, drove out to the cemetery and
> made arrangements with a florist in the neighbourhood for the
> decoration of the Chapel, and for the sheath of flowers which
> was to cover the coffin. On Thursday at two o'clock Ruhiyyih
> Khanum and Adelbert Muhlschlegel drove to the place where
> the body of the blessed Guardian was to be washed. She had
> already purchased nine yards of the heaviest and finest white
> silk available and nine yards of a slightly lighter weight for the
> first shroud, as well as towels and cloths and soap to wash the
> body. These she delivered to Dr. Muhlschlegel, keeping the
> second shroud with her. She waited in an ante-room while he
> washed the precious remains and wrapped them in the first
> shroud, anointing the body with attar-of-rose which the
> Guardian himself had given to Ugo Giachery, who had brought
> it from Italy with him. It was over an hour-and-a-half before
> Adelbert Muhlschlegel came to call Ruhiyyih Khanum, and to
> inform her that he had completed his sacred task. Let him say
> in his own words—as he afterwards wrote them to her—what
> he felt during that time:
> 
> "Something new happened to me in that hour that I cannot,
> even after a few days, speak of, but I can mention the wisdom
> and love that I felt pour over me. In that room—which to
> worldly eyes would have appeared so different—there was a
> tremendous spiritual force such as I have only felt in my life
> in the holy Shrines. My first impression was the contrast
> between the body left behind and the majestic, transfigured
> face, a soul-stirring picture of the joyous victory of the eternal
> over the transient. My second impression, as I prayed and
> thought and carefully did what I had to do, was that in this
> degree of consecration to the work of God I should work all
> my life, and mankind should work a thousand years, in order
> to construct "the Kingdom" on earth; and my third thought
> was, as I washed each member of his body and anointed it,
> 
> [page 17]
> 
> that I thanked those beloved hands which had worked and
> written to establish the Covenant, those feet that had walked
> for us, that mouth that had spoken to us, that head that had
> thought for us, and I prayed and meditated and supplicated
> that in the short time left to me, the members of my body
> might hasten to follow in his path of service; and my last
> thought was of my own distress because I felt how unworthy
> my hands were to anoint that blessed brow with attar-of-rose
> as the Masters of old were wont to do to their pupils; and yet
> what privileges, what duties fall to us, the living, to watch
> over what is past and mortal, be it ever so exalted. A great
> deal of mercy, love, and wisdom were hidden in this hour."
> 
> Ruhiyyih Khanum asked to be alone with the beloved
> Guardian to say her own last farewell. Bahá'u'lláh says: "At this
> point the pen broke and the ink gave forth nothing but blackness." So
> a veil must be drawn over her feelings alone with her Lord for
> the last time. But she did tell the friends afterwards:
> 
> "He was our Guardian, King of the world. We know he was
> noble because he was our Guardian. We know that God gave
> him peace in the end. But as I looked at him all I could think
> of was—how beautiful he is, how beautiful! A celestial
> beauty seemed to be poured over him and to rest on him and
> stream from him like a mighty benediction from on high.
> And the wonderful hands, so like the hands of Bahá'u'lláh,
> lay softly by his side; it seemed impossible the life had gone
> from them—or from that radiant face."
> 
> After a little while she called Adelbert Muhlschlegel back into
> the room; the coffin, padded with soft white silk, was brought;
> she arranged the second shroud in it and the beloved Guardian
> was laid inside. The flowers from the threshold of the Báb's
> Shrine, which Amelia Collins had brought from Haifa, she
> spread over that treasured form, covering it from feet to chin,
> 
> [page 18]
> 
> a sacred carpet of love, and the last shroud she folded gently
> about him, closing away for all time from men's eyes the face
> on which the Bahá'ís had gazed with so much love.
> 
> The coffin was then closed, a pall of purple and gold was spread
> over it, and a bouquet of flowers Ruhiyyih Khanum had
> brought with her was placed on the top.
> 
> All the next day, in a room full of flowers, the various Hands
> of the Cause from Persia, Europe, Africa, and America kept
> vigil and prayed near the mortal remains of their Beloved.
> 
> On Friday evening, Ruhiyyih Khanum and Amelia Collins
> drove out to the cemetery to inspect the Chapel and the grave.
> The florist was following his instructions very carefully and
> making every effort to create an atmosphere of beauty worthy of
> this sacred occasion. Indeed, all the non-Bahá'ís concerned with
> the death of and the funeral arrangements made for this stranger
> who had passed away in their country so suddenly, seemed
> deeply touched and stirred by the great reverence and love that
> accompanied the still form of God's Great Guardian as he passed
> from life to the grave. They outdid themselves in showing
> sympathy and co-operation. At the four corners of the grave the
> florist had already planted four beautiful small cypress trees
> which Ruhiyyih Khanum had ordered in memory of the
> hundreds of cypress trees that the beloved Guardian had planted,
> during his lifetime, around the Holy Places in Bahjí and Haifa.
> At the top of the Chapel, which was entirely non-denominational
> and used for services of all religions, was an arched alcove
> filled with a bank of chrysanthemums and asters, beginning
> with deep shades of purple and running up through violet,
> lavender and orchid tones to white at the top. Like two arms
> reaching out, garlands of lavender chrysanthemums ran along
> a cornice which framed the raised upper part of the Chapel.
> Above this, from wall to wall, was a beam of wood, in the
> centre of which a framed Greatest Name was hung. Beneath
> 
> [page 19]
> 
> this, in front of the alcove of flowers, the coffin was to rest on a
> low catafalque covered by a rich green velvet pall, the colour to
> which the descendants of Muhammad are entitled by their
> illustrious lineage, and which the Guardian, as a Siyyid himself,
> through his kinship to the Báb, had every right to bear with
> him to the grave. Seating arrangements were made for the
> following day, placing the Hands of the Cause on the right and
> on the left side of the coffin, facing it. A hundred more chairs
> had to be ordered as the Chapel normally could only seat about
> eighty people.
> 
> That evening all the Hands of the Cause who were in London,
> now numbering thirteen, met to discuss appropriate readings
> for the funeral the next day. The Israeli authorities had instructed
> the Chargé d'Affaires at the Israeli Embassy in London, Mr
> Gershon Avner, to attend the funeral on behalf of the Government
> (the Ambassador being absent from his post). It had been
> decided that, owing to the great mourning of the Bahá'í world,
> the short time available, and the restricted space at the cemetery
> Chapel, the funeral should be entirely private. The spontaneous
> gesture of esteem, however, which the Israeli Government had
> made, by requesting its representative to attend the funeral
> officially, could not be turned aside. The presence of this non-Bahá'í
> had therefore to be taken into consideration in connection
> with suitable readings, and the moving of the beloved
> Guardian's coffin. As this weighed almost half-a-ton it was
> considered that, in permitting the Bahá'ís to have the honour of
> taking turns in carrying it, a very grave risk would be run of its
> being jostled, tipped, or even slipping from their hands. Special
> bearers were therefore chosen who carried out their task with
> the utmost dignity.
> 
> While these events were taking place, the National Headquarters
> of the Bahá'ís in London was becoming the focal centre
> of many agonized hearts, seeking information, asking details,
> 
> [page 20]
> 
> receiving what comfort other broken hearts could give and
> being directed as to how they could reach the cemetery upon
> their arrival in London. The telephone at the Hazíratu'l-Quds
> rang almost all day without stopping, and John Ferraby, Secretary
> of the British National Spiritual Assembly, with the constant
> help of his wife, also a member of that body, attended to
> telephone calls from such distant spots as Djakarta, Bombay,
> Kuwait, Israel, the United States and several European countries,
> to the ceaseless flow of cables and letters that poured in and out,
> as well as to Press releases and interviews. It began to be clear
> that the funeral would be attended by many more of the friends
> than it had been thought could possibly get to London in time.
> Not only were the British Bahá'ís attending practically en masse,
> but Hands of the Cause, various National Spiritual Assembly
> members and Auxiliary Board members, as well as individuals,
> were pouring in from overseas. As the Bahá'ís arrived in ever-increasing
> numbers, a great flood-tide of love and sorrow was
> rising about the silent figure of the Sign of God on earth, preparing
> to bear his sacred remains befittingly to the grave.
> 
> Arrangements had been made to have the funeral cortège
> assemble about ten o'clock before the Hazíratu'l-Quds, at 27
> Rutland Gate, opposite Hyde Park; from here, those believers
> who were not going direct to the cemetery would be driven
> by special cars which would follow the hearse. More than sixty
> automobiles, accommodating over three hundred and sixty
> people, moved off in solemn file at 10.40 and journeyed to the
> place where they were joined by the hearse bearing the coffin
> of the revered Guardian. This was preceded by a floral hearse
> and followed by the car in which rode Ruhiyyih Khanum
> accompanied by Amelia Collins; cars bearing the other Hands,
> National Spiritual Assembly members, Auxiliary Board members
> and believers followed behind. It was probably the largest
> column of vehicles seen in London for many years in attendance
> 
> [page 21]
> 
> on a funeral of any denomination. The journey to the Great
> Northern Cemetery at New Southgate, where the sacred remains
> of Shoghi Effendi are now interred, was accomplished in
> under one hour's time, the laws of the Aqdas being thus fulfilled.
> 
> Through Leroy Ioas having promptly informed the Israeli
> authorities in a befitting manner of the sudden passing of the
> Head of the Faith, conditions at its World Centre were calm,
> and he decided it would be safe for him to leave the Holy Land
> over the weekend, and attend the funeral of the beloved
> Guardian. This was very fortunate, because it made it possible
> for him to bring with him, at the request of Ruhiyyih Khanum,
> a small rug from the innermost Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí,
> with which to carpet the floor of the vault, and a covering, which
> had rested likewise in that inner Shrine, for the coffin itself. He
> also brought a bouquet of white jasmine and a box of flowers
> gathered from the Gardens at Bahjí, the Ridván, Mazra'ih and
> Haifa.
> 
> Already a great crowd of believers was waiting at the door of
> the Chapel when the funeral cortège drove up; on every face was
> written its own measure of heart-break and many sobs were
> heard. The casket was gently handed down, on it a beautiful
> sheath of deep-red roses with fragrant white gardenias, lily of
> the valley and fuchsias, in the centre, and a simple card with the
> inscription "From Ruhiyyih and all your loved ones and lovers
> all over the world whose hearts are broken".
> 
> The Great Guardian was carried in and laid on the soft green
> covering of the catafalque. The Chapel was crowded to the
> doors, and many had to remain outside. All stood while the
> wonderful prayer, ordained by Bahá'u'lláh for the dead, was
> chanted in Arabic. Six other prayers and excerpts from the
> Teachings were then read by friends with beautiful voices, some
> in English, some in Persian, and representative of Bahá'ís from
> Europe, Africa, America, Asia—Negro, Jew, and Aryan.
> 
> [page 22]
> 
> In solemn file the friends followed the casket as it was borne
> out, placed in the hearse again, and slowly driven the few hundred
> yards to the graveside. There it was gently deposited at
> the head of the grave, so that when the beloved Guardian's
> remains were lowered into it, he would face east to the Qiblih
> of the Faith. The flowers were removed from the casket, revealing
> an engraved tablet on which was written:
> 
> Shoghi Effendi Rabbani
> 
> First Guardian
> 
> of the Bahá'í Faith
> 
> March 3rd, 1896–November 4th, 1957
> 
> As all stood, silently waiting for the coffin to be lowered into
> the grave, Ruhiyyih Khanum felt the agony of the hearts
> around her penetrate into her own great grief. He was their
> Guardian. He was going forever from their eyes, suddenly
> snatched from them by the immutable decree of God, Whose
> Will no man dare question. They had not seen him, had not been
> able to draw near him. She decided to ask for it to be announced
> that before the coffin was placed in the grave, the friends who
> wished might pass by it and pay their respects. For over two
> hours the believers, eastern and western, filed by. For the most
> part they knelt and kissed the edge or the handle of the casket.
> Rarely indeed in history can such a demonstration of love and
> grief have been seen. Children bowed their little heads beside
> their mothers, old men wept, the iron reserve of the Anglo-Saxon—the
> tradition never to show feeling in public—melted
> before the white-hot sorrow in the heart. The morning had
> been sunny and fair; now a gentle shower started and sprinkled
> a few drops on the coffin, as if nature herself were suddenly
> moved to tears. Some placed little flasks of Persian attar-of-rose
> at the head; one hesitatingly laid a red rose on the casket, symbol
> no doubt of the owner's heart; one could not bear the few drops
> 
> [page 23]
> 
> of rain above that blessed, hidden face, and timidly wiped them
> off as he knelt; others with convulsed fingers carried away a
> little of the earth near the casket. Tears, tears and kisses, and
> solemn inner vows were poured out at the head of the one who
> had always called himself their "true brother". When the last
> believers in this grief-stricken procession had filed by, Ruhiyyih
> Khanum approached the casket, kissed it and knelt in prayer
> for a moment. She then had the green pall spread over it, laid
> the blue-and-gold brocade from the innermost Shrine of
> Bahá'u'lláh on top of it and arranged the still-fragrant jasmine
> flowers over all its length. Then the mortal remains of him whom
> 'Abdu'l-Bahá designated "the most wondrous, unique and priceless
> pearl that doth gleam from out the Twin Surging Seas" were slowly
> lowered into the vault, amid walls covered with evergreen
> boughs and studded with flowers, to rest upon the rug from the
> Holy Tomb at Bahjí. A prayer was then chanted in Persian,
> and the Afnán Hand of the Cause, Hasan Balyuzi, read the
> closing prayer in English.
> 
> All this time—a service that had lasted almost four hours—the
> representative of the Israeli Government, obviously deeply
> moved, had been in attendance, himself stepping beside the
> coffin and, with bowed head, paying his solemn respects. He and
> the majority of the mourners now left, the Hands of the Cause,
> the National Spiritual Assemblies and Auxiliary Board members
> remaining behind by previous arrangement to see the vault
> sealed.
> 
> Prayers were then said in many foreign languages and by
> friends from distant countries, and the orange and olive leaves
> brought from the Garden of the Ridván in Baghdád by
> Tarázulláh Samandarí—the only living Hand of the Cause who
> was privileged to enter the presence of Bahá'u'lláh—were placed
> on the grave, as well as the flowers brought by Leroy loas from
> the Bahá'í Gardens in the Holy Land; these were sufficient for
> 
> [page 24]
> 
> each person present himself to put some on the Guardian's resting-place.
> Over the tomb, at his feet, like a shield of crimson and
> white, lay the fragrant sheath of blooms which had covered his
> casket, and heaped about was a rich carpet of exquisite flowers,
> symbols of the love, the suffering, of so many hearts, and no
> doubt the silent bearers of vows to make the Spirit of the
> Guardian happy now, to fulfil his plans, carry on his work, be
> worthy at last of the love and inspired self-sacrificing leadership
> he gave them for thirty-six years of his life.
> 
> RUHIYYIH
> 
> in collaboration with John Ferraby
> 
> Haifa.
> 
> December 9th, 1957
> 
> [page 25]
> 
> PROGRAMME OF PRAYERS AND READINGS
> 
> 1. Prayer for the departed (chanted in Arabic).Bahá'u'lláh
> 
> 2. The Hidden Words, Nos. 32 and 11 (read in
> English). Gleanings from the Writings of
> Bahá'u'lláh, page 345, beginning Death
> proffereth unto every confident believer...
> to ... of all worlds (read in English).Bahá'u'lláh
> 
> 3. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh,
> page 341, beginning All praise be to
> God...to ... the All-Compelling, the Almighty.
> And beginning The fierce gales ... to ...
> is based (read in English).Bahá'u'lláh
> 
> 4. The Hidden Words, Nos. 12, 14, 32
> (chanted in Arabic).Bahá'u'lláh
> 
> 5. Prayers and Meditations, CXLV, page 234
> (read in English)Bahá'u'lláh
> 
> 6. Prayers and Meditations, XCII, page 155
> (read in English).Bahá'u'lláh
> 
> 7. The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
> first two paragraphs (read in English).'Abdu'l-Bahá
> 
> AT THE GRAVESIDE
> 
> 8. Prayer of Shoghi Effendi; Dar in Layliyi
> Layla (chanted in Persian).Shoghi Effendi
> 
> 9. Prayer Glory be to Thee, O God, for Thy
> manifestation of love to mankind (read in
> English).Bahá'u'lláh
> 
> METADATA
> 
> Views9294 views since posted 2012-10-01; last edit 2025-03-28 02:43 UTC;
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> — *The Passing of Shoghi Effendi: 1896-1957 (Used by permission of the curator)*