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Eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh
- ʻAbdu'l-Bahá KCB (/ əbˈdʊl bəˈhɑː /; Persian: عبد البهاء , 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás (Persian: عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921.
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Who is Abdu'l-Bahá?
He was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family. At the age of eight his father was imprisoned during a government crackdown on the Bábí Faith and the family's possessions were looted, leaving them in virtual poverty. His father was exiled from their native Iran, and the family went to live in Baghdad, where they stayed for nine years.
In the early years of the 20th century, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá—the eldest Son of Bahá’u’lláh—was the Bahá’í Faith’s leading exponent, renowned as a champion of social justice and an ambassador for international peace.
Bahá’u’lláh, in honour of His own father, named His newborn son, ‘Abbás. But, in time, ‘Abbás chose to call Himself ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the “Servant of Bahá”, and, through His life of service to humanity, became known as the living embodiment and exemplar of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings.
- Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
- Achievements of Ministry
- Personal Characteristics
- Family
- The Bahá’í View of The Station of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
- Teachings and Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
- References
Early life 1844-92
‘Abdu’l-Bahá was born in Tehran on May 23, 1844 (the same day as the Declaration of the Báb), and was named 'Abbás, after His grandfather, Mírzá Buzurg Núrí. His mother was Ásiyih Khánum, herself of a notable Iranian family. Shortly after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's birth, His father became a prominent member of the Bábí religionwhich was to change the life of the family dramatically. The most memorable event in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's childhood was the imprisonment of His father following the attempt made on the...
Early years of his ministry 1892-1911
Bahá’u’lláh passed away on 29 May 1892. In such works as the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Tablet of the Branch, Bahá’u’lláh had indicated that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was to be His successor. The successorship was then clearly and unequivocally stated in Bahá’u’lláh's Will and Testament, the Book of the Covenant. With such a clear designation, it would seem to have been impossible to challenge ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's authority. Mírzá Muḥammad 'Alí, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's half-brother, did, however, do this on the grounds that...
The Western journeys and war years
1. See also: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's journeys to the West In August 1910 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá traveled to Egypt. He remained in Port Said for one month and then moved to Alexandriauntil May 1911 when He transferred to Cairo. On 11 August 1911 He left aboard a ship headed for Marseilles. On this trip He visited London, Bristol, and Paris, returning to Egypt in December. The following year He undertook a much more extensive journey. He boarded the S.S. Cedric and set off for New York on 25 March 1912, arriving...
Direction of the affairs of the Bahá’í Faith
For nearly thirty years ‘Abdu’l-Bahá personally supervised almost every aspect of the growth and development of the Bahá’í Faith. He had two main methods of doing this. The first was correspondence. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote little that was addressed to the Bahá’ís in general, but rather kept up an enormous volume of correspondence during his ministry, replying personally to large numbers of letters that came to Him from Bahá’ís. The second method was His personal contact with the many hundreds of p...
Supervision of the expansion of the Bahá’í Faith
One of the areas of activity that received ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's close attention was the expansion of the Bahá’í Faith. He continually monitored the activities of the Bahá’ís and frequently directed Bahá’í teachers to travel from one place to another to promote the Bahá’í Faith. At the beginning of His ministry, the Bahá’í Faith was confined to the Middle Eastand appeared to any outside observer to be merely a persecuted Muslim sect. By the time of His passing, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had supervised its transf...
Building the Shrine of the Báb
One of the tasks mandated to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by Bahá’u’lláh was the erection of a suitable edifice to serve as a shrine for the remains of the Báb. As soon as He was able to pursue this goal, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave instructions for the remains of the Báb to be brought from Iran, where they had been hidden. After a dangerous and eventful journey, these arrived in 'Akka on January 31, 1899. At the same time, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá set about arranging the purchase of land on Mount Carmel and the erection of a sui...
Bahá’ís regard ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as the Perfect Exemplar of the teachings of His father and therefore strive to emulate Him. For this reason the personal characteristics of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá have assumed an important position in Bahá’í teaching. Anecdotes about him are frequently used to illustrate particular points about morality and interpersonal relations...
‘Abdu’l-Bahá was married on 8 March 1873 to Munírih Khánum. The marriage resulted in nine children, five of whom died in childhood: Ḥusayn Effendi (d. 1305/1887, aged two), Mihdí (died aged two-and-a-half), Ṭúbá, Fu'ádiyyih, and Ruḥangíz. Four daughters grew to adulthood. The oldest of these was Ḍiyá'iyyih (d. 1951), who married Mírzá Hádí Shírází ...
In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá’u’lláh commands His followers to turn toward "Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root" (KA 121:63). In the Book of the Covenant, it is explained that this phrase refers to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, "the Most Mighty Branch (Ghuṣn-i-A'zam)" (TB 15:221). Also in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas is the injunction "refer ye ...
Teaching
The teaching of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was firmly rooted in what His father had taught. Indeed, the circumstances of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's life meant that He received virtually no education other than what His father taught Him. As He had frequently acted as Bahá’u’lláh's personal secretary, had been present when Bahá’u’lláh was giving His teachings orally, and had read most of Bahá’u’lláh's written output, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had an intimate knowledge of His father's teaching. The distinctive aspect of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá...
Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá's principal writings are His correspondence with numerous Bahá’ís, well-wishers, government officials, and others. He wrote primarily in Persian and Arabic but there is also a small amount of material in Ottoman Turkish. The Bahá’í World Center currently holds over 27,000 letters of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and He must have written many more. A large number of compilations of these letters have been published over the years. Some of the most important of the tablets, such as the Tablet to Dr...
Lambden (2015). Stephen N. Lambden (ed.). "Bahā'ī Studies Bulletin" (2 ed.). Retrieved 2023-06-16.Balyuzi, H.M. (2001), `Abdu'l-Bahá: The Centre of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh (Paperback ed.), Oxford, UK: George Ronald, ISBN 0-85398-043-8Jun 19, 2021 · The son of Baha’u’llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha’i Faith, Abdu’l-Baha occupies a unique station in the history of religion, considered somewhere between a human and a prophet of God. In the words of Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith and Abdu’l-Baha’s own grandson:
Oct 22, 2021 · Consider! Nearly 20 million men, women and children were killed during the four years of World War I! ‘Abdu’l-Bahá took the principles of global peace revealed by Bahá’u’lláh and shaped them into a practical grand strategy for how to understand, practice, and pursue peace.
Abdu’l-Baha (ab dool ba há), n., 1844-1921, the eldest son of Baha’u’llah, prophet and founder of the Baha’i Faith, and its leader after the passing of his father in 1892.
