Abdu'l-Bahá's Phrasings about the Next World in Memorials of the Faithful

In the book Memorials of the Faithful, 'Abdu'l-Bahá describes the lives of around eighty early Bahá'ís. In the end of most of these descriptions, he closes with a short phrase about the person's death and his or her soul moving to the next world. Below is a compilation of these phrases.

May God welcome him into the Paradise of reunion, and shelter him forever in the realm of the righteous, submerged in an ocean of lights. (p. 5)

One night, not long ago, I saw him in the world of dreams. Although his frame had always been massive, in the dream world he appeared larger and more corpulent than ever. It seemed as if he had returned from a journey. I said to him, "Jinab, you have grown good and stout." "Yes," he answered, "praise be to God! I have been in places where the air was fresh and sweet, and the water crystal pure; the landscapes were beautiful to look upon, the foods delectable. It all agreed with me, of course, so I am stronger than ever now, and I have recovered the zest of my early youth. The breaths of the All-Merciful blew over me and all my time was spent in telling of God. I have been setting forth His proofs, and teaching His Faith." (The meaning of teaching the Faith in the next world is spreading the sweet savors of holiness; that action is the same as teaching.) We spoke together a little more, and then some people arrived and he disappeared. His last resting-place is in Tihran. Although his body lies under the earth, his pure spirit lives on, "in the seat of truth, in the presence of the potent King."[1] (p. 12) [1 Qur'án 54:55]

… he winged his way to the Kingdom of glory. (p. 16)

… he leapt and soared to undying glory, and plunged into the ocean of light. Upon him be the breathings of his Lord, the All-Merciful. Upon him, lapped in the waters of grace and forgiveness, be the mercy and favor of God. (p. 21)

… his soul gave up this life and fled to the eternal one; passed into the Heaven of abiding reunion and was immersed beneath an ocean of light. (p. 23)

May he win a great victory, and a manifest grace in the Kingdom of God. (p. 36)

...he was seated there on a throne of lasting glory. He escaped from the prison of this world, and pitched his tent in a wide and spacious land. May God ever keep him close and bless him in that mystic realm with perpetual reunion and the beatific vision; may he be wrapped in tiers of light. (p. 38)

… they took their flight to the Kingdom of unfading glory. May God give them a home in Paradise, under the Lote-Tree's shade. May they be immersed in tiers of light, close beside their Lord, the Mighty, the All-Powerful. (p. 41)

...he took flight to the "seat of truth, in the presence of the potent king."[1] (p. 42) [1 Qur'án 54:55]

Today, under the shadowing mercy of God, he dwells in the bright Heavens. He communes with the birds of holiness, and in the assemblage of splendors he is immersed in light. (p. 47)

He abandoned Port Said for the Kingdom of Heaven, and rose up to the mansions of the Lord... May God cool his feverish pain with the grace of reunion in the Kingdom, and heal his sickness with the balm of nearness to Him in the Realm of the All-Beauteous. (p. 57)

... he soared to abiding glory... May God send down, upon his scented tomb in 'Akká, tiers of celestial light. (p. 59)

… he longed to go his way, into the mysterious country beyond. And at the end... he set out for the Holy Threshold of Bahá'u'lláh. (p. 61)

...the gates of flight to the supreme Kingdom were flung wide, he turned his eyes away from this world of dust and went onward to the Holy Place. ... and pitched his tent in the land beyond. May God send upon him the pure savors of forgiveness, brighten his eyes with beholding the Divine Beauty in the Kingdom of Splendors, and refresh his spirit with the musk-scented winds that blow from the Abhá Realm. (p. 62)

… they escaped from this cage and were released into the garden of immortality. ... May God bring them into the Realm that abides forever, to delight in reunion with Him, to bask in the Kingdom of Splendors. (p. 63-64)

... he... hurried on to the Realm of God, and came to the assemblage of Divine splendor in the Kingdom of Lights... May God scatter on his resting-place rays from the mysterious Realm. (p. 66)

... he ascended, hurried away from this world of dust to the high Firmament, soared upward to the secret land. ... in the neighborhood of his exalted Lord. (p. 67)

... he soared away to the world of God. ... in the gardens of Heaven. (p. 71)

... they soared upward, out of the world ... to each be a seat of truth [1] in the Kingdom of Splendors. (p. 73) [1 Qur'án 54:55]

... he... hastened onward to the world of lights, to the assemblage where the beauty of God is unveiled. May God shed upon his grave rays from the realm of forgiveness, and lull his spirit in the heart of Paradise. May God exalt his station in the gardens above. (p. 75)

He gave up his heart to his heart's Love, burst from the shackles of this inconstant world and ascended to the Kingdom that endures forever. May God immerse him in the waters of forgiveness, make him to enter the garden of His compassion and good pleasure, and keep him in Paradise till the end of time. (p. 78)

... he... took flight to the realm of the All-Merciful. He was transported out of this dark life into the shining air, and was plunged in a sea of lights. (p. 79)

[He] hastened away to the encompassing mercy of God, and found a nest and refuge on the boughs of the celestial Tree. There, in the Paradise of all delights, with wondrous songs he poured out his praise of the bountiful Lord. (p. 80)

From this narrow slip of land he hastened upward to the Well-Beloved, soared out of this dust heap to pitch his tent in a fair and shining place. Blessings be unto him, and a goodly home.[1] May God sheathe him in mercies; may he rest under the tabernacles of forgiveness and be brought into the gardens of Heaven. (p. 82) [1 Qur'án 13:28.]

May God fill up reunion's cup for him in a fair country, make him to enter the everlasting Kingdom, and console his eyes with beholding the lights of that mysterious Realm. (p. 84)

May God give him to drink of a brimming cup in the everlasting gardens; in the Supreme Assemblage, may God shed upon his face rays of light. (p. 86)

May God refresh his spirit with the musk-scented air of the Abhá Paradise, and the sweet savors of holiness that blow from the highest Heaven. (p. 93)

... he left this world of dust behind him and hastened away to the unsullied world above. (p. 94)

... he soared away to the world that no man sees. May God cause him to inhale the sweet scent of holiness in the highest Paradise, and refresh him with the crystalline wine cup, tempered at the camphor fountain.[1] (p. 97) [1 Qur'án 76:9.]

... he left this darksome, narrow world and hastened away to the land of lights. There, in the haven of God's boundless mercy, he found infinite rewards. (p. 101)

... he rose upward into the world of God, to the gathering-place of the splendors of the Lord of Lords... "For them is an abode of peace with their Lord."[1] (p. 103) [1 Qur'án 6:127]

... he left this world at last, and pitched his tent in the world above. May God send down upon his grave, from the Kingdom of His forgiveness, a heavy rain [1] of blessings, bestow a great victory upon him, and grant him mercies, pressed down and running over, in the retreats of Heaven. (p. 105) [1 Qur'án 2:266, 267]

At last he quit this dust heap, the earth, and took his flight to the world that has no end. May it do him good, that cup brimming with the grace of God, may he eat with healthy relish of that food which gives life to heart and soul. May God lead him to that happy journey's end and grant him an abundant share in the gifts which shall then be bestowed.[1] (p. 107) [1 For some of these Arabic phrases, see Qur'án 3:170; 4:12, 175; 5:16, 17; 11:100, 101; 28:79; 41:35.]

... he rose out of this dark world to the land of light. ... May God shed down upon him the waters of forgiveness, and open before his grave the gates of Heaven. (p. 116)

... in perfect acquiescence and contentment he ascended to the Abhá Kingdom, and was plunged in the ocean of lights. (p. 118)

At last he could bear the world no longer, and with his own hands stripped off the garment of life. ... May God pardon him and make him to enter the highest Heaven, the Paradise that towers above all the rest. (p. 119)

He rose out of the Most Great Prison to the highest Heaven; he soared away to a pure and gleaming Kingdom, out of this world of dust. May God succor him in the celestial company,[2] bring him into the Paradise of Splendors, and safe in the Divine gardens, make him to live forevermore. (p. 122) [1 Qur'án 89:27.] [2 Qur'án 4:71.]

... and ascended to the Kingdom of miracles and signs. (p. 125)

... he hastened away in light to the Abhá Realm ... May God shed upon his resting-place rays from the Paradise of Splendors, and lave that holy dust with the rains that beat down from the retreats of the Exalted Companion. (p. 129)

... [he] hastened away, out of this dark world to the country of light. (p. 131)

... he ascended on the wings of the spirit to his Exalted Companion. May God lift him up to the highest Heaven, to the fellowship of glory.[1] May God bring him into the land of lights, the mysterious Kingdom, the assemblage of the splendors of the mighty, all powerful Lord. (p. 134) [1 Qur'án 4:71]

... he set out for the mansions of Him Who liveth, and dieth not. He turned his back on this heap of dust, the world, and hurried away to the country of light. He broke out of this cage of contingent being and soared into the endless, placeless Realm. May God enfold him in the waters of His mercy, cause His forgiveness to rain down upon him, and bestow on him the wonders of abounding grace. (p. 138)

... he soared away to the Threshold of God. May the Lord enfold him there with His bounty and compassion, and clothe him in the garment of forgiveness. (p. 139)

... the carpet of his earthly life was rolled up and put away. ... May God succor him in His exalted Kingdom, and give him a home in the Abha Realm, and send upon him abounding grace from the gardens of Heaven - the place of meeting, the place of the mystical contemplation of God. (p. 141)

... he hastened away from this least of worlds to the high Heavens, from this dark place to the land of lights. May God immerse him in the waters of forgiveness; may He bring him into the gardens of Paradise, and there keep him safe forevermore. (p. 143)

... he rose upward to the neighborhood of the all-embracing mercy of God, and became a friend to those who dwell in the high Heavens. He had the honor of meeting Bahá'u'lláh in both worlds. This is the most precious bestowal, the costliest of all gifts. (p. 144)

... [they] hastened away to the Supreme Horizon. ... Today he dwells in the all-glorious Realm, in the neighborhood of the ineffable mercy of God (p. 149)

... he soared away to that mysterious land. There he was loosed from every sorrow, and in the gathering-place of splendors he was immersed in light. (p. 153)

... he hastened away, tranquil, serene, rejoicing in the tidings of the Kingdom, out of this swiftly fading life to the world that does not die. (p. 155)

... he abandoned this earthly life and winged his way to the life beyond. (p. 158)

... he forsook this swiftly passing world and soared away to the realms of God. Greetings and praise be unto him, and mercy from his bountiful Lord. May his grave be encircled with lights that stream from the exalted Companion. (p. 161)

He rose up to the retreats of the compassionate Lord. (p. 164)

... he went swiftly forth to that mysterious land. (p. 167)

She rose up into the shadowing mercy of God and was plunged in an ocean of light. ... in the shade of the Divine Lote-Tree may He honor her dwelling. (p. 175)

She hastened away from this dust gulf of perdition to an unsullied country; packed her gear and journeyed to the land of lights. (p. 185)

Holy be her dust, as the tiers of light come down on it from Heaven. (p. 203)