An important Tablet revealed in Adrianople is the Súriy-i-Ghusn (Súrih of the Branch). It is in Arabic and addressed to Mírzá 'Alí-Ridáy-i-Mustawfí, a native of Khurásán. This believer was a titled person--the Mustasháru'd-Dawlih. He had a prominent position in government circles in the district of Khurásán and was a man of great influence there. His teacher was no less a person than Mullá Husayn* who taught him the Faith in Mashhad.

Mírzá 'Alí-Ridá became a dedicated believer who in spite of his rank and position never hesitated to assist the friends whenever they faced difficulties; he always helped the poor and downtrodden among them. He was the one mainly responsible for providing the horses and finance for Mullá Husayn and his companions when they were leaving Mashhad for Mázindarán on a mission of great importance.† With the help of Mullá Sádiq-i-Khurásání, the renowned teacher of the Faith, he succeeded in converting his younger brother Mírzá Muhammad-Ridá, the Mu'taminu's-Saltanih, who became a devoted believer. When Mírzá 'Alí-Ridá retired, it was this same brother who succeeded him in office. It is interesting to note that in a Tablet, Bahá'u'lláh comments on a photograph of Mu'taminu's-Saltanih, saying that it bears a striking resemblance to Himself.

The main theme of the Súriy-i-Ghusn is the unveiling of the station of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. In it 'Abdu'l-Bahá is referred to as 'the Trust of God', 'this sacred and glorious Being', 'this Branch of

† See The Dawn-Breakers.

Well is it with him that hath sought His ['Abdu'l-Bahá's] shelter and abideth beneath His shadow...They who deprive themselves of the shadow of the Branch, are lost in the wilderness of error,...and are of those who will assuredly perish.* ²

From His childhood, 'Abdu'l-Bahá displayed outstanding qualities of faith and virtue. He did not attend any school except for a short period in Tihrán. As a child of nine, He not only recognized the station of His Father,‡ but manifested such understanding and knowledge that He excelled the learned and erudite. In Baghdád, while He was in His early teens, 'Abdu'l-Bahá attended a gathering of those divines who were friendly.

[Mírzá Ahmad-i-Kirmání] The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, ¶164

It was in Baghdád that 'Alí Shawkat Páshá, one of the dignitaries of 'Iráq, requested Bahá'u'lláh to elucidate for him the inner significances of a certain tradition of Islám which brings to light the relationship between God and man and reveals the purpose of creation. The voice of God proclaims in this tradition: 'I was a hidden treasure, I loved to be known therefore I created beings to know [Me].'

Bahá'u'lláh instructed 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who was then in his adolescence, to write a commentary on this tradition. 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote a most profound and lengthy commentary which astounded the Páshá and opened before his eyes the vistas of knowledge and understanding. He thereupon became an ardent admirer of the Master. Not only was 'Alí Shawkat Páshá deeply impressed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá's elucidations, but generally, every person who read this illuminating commentary was deeply moved and became aware of His extraordinary knowledge and wisdom. Once the renowned Hájí Siyyid Javád-i-Karbilá'í, to whom we have referred previously, said in reply to a person who demanded proofs of the authenticity of the Mission of Bahá'u'lláh, that one unmistakable token of the truth of His Cause was that His son 'Abdu'l-Bahá, during His adolescence, had written such a superb treatise shedding so much light on this subject.

* See vol. 1, Appendix IV.

It was His ['Abdu'l-Bahá's] discussions and discourses with the learned doctors with whom He came in contact in Baghdád that first aroused that general admiration for Him and for His knowledge which was steadily to increase as the circle of His acquaintances was widened, at a later date, first in Adrianople and then in 'Akká. It was to Him that the highly accomplished Khurshíd Páshá, the governor of Adrianople, had been moved to pay a public and glowing tribute when, in the presence of a number of distinguished divines of that city, his youthful Guest had, briefly and amazingly, resolved the intricacies of a problem that had baffled the minds of the assembled company--an achievement that affected so deeply the Páshá that from that time onwards he could hardly reconcile himself to that Youth's absence from such gatherings.³

One aspect of the life of 'Abdu'l-Bahá becomes clear from the statements He made about His own health. For instance, once in Paris in 1913 when He became ill, He spoke to His companions about this. He testified that His life was sustained not through physical laws, but through the decree of Providence. He stated that there was a wisdom in His becoming ill in Paris. Had it not been for this illness He would not have stayed more

Speaking about His illness, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told His companions in Paris that His life was not governed by the laws of nature. This illness was not due to physical causes, but to the will of God. He recounted the story of His illness at the age of seven, when He was afflicted with consumption and His case was thought hopeless. But the hand of God was behind this illness. Its wisdom became clear later. For had He been healthy, He would have been sent to live in the ancestral home of Bahá'u'lláh in Mázindarán, whereas because of His illness He had to remain in Tihrán up to the time of Bahá'u'lláh's imprisonment, witness the birth of His Revelation, and then proceed to Baghdád in His company. Then suddenly and against the verdict of the doctors who had pronounced Him incurable, He recovered perfect health.

The relationship between Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá is one of the most fascinating features of their lives. 'Abdu'l-Bahá had so fully recognized the station of His Father, that throughout His life He showed the utmost humility and reverence to Him. He never allowed the family relationship of father and son to interfere. No one else in this Dispensation has had the capacity and vision to recognize the true station of His Lord as 'Abdu'l-Bahá did, and it is for this reason that He was able to manifest the most profound measure of self-effacement towards Bahá'u'lláh and consider Himself as utter nothingness in relation to Him

Bahá'u'lláh, on the other hand, always showered His special love and affection upon 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He extolled and glorified the person of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and conferred upon Him exalted titles. Bahá'u'lláh's adoration for 'Abdu'l-Bahá knew no bounds. For example, when 'Abdu'l-Bahá was to visit the Mansion of Bahjí, Bahá'u'lláh evinced great joy and yearning to meet His beloved Son. He would often send His other sons and male members of the family some distance from the Mansion to await the coming of the Master, to act as a welcoming party and to escort Him to the Mansion; while sometimes Bahá'u'lláh Himself would stand on the balcony to see Him arrive, and as 'Abdu'l-Bahá walked, He often pointed to His majesty and praised the beauty of His countenance and the strength of His character. But alas, at times this great adoration for the Master had to be suppressed by Bahá'u'lláh, so that 'Abdu'l-Bahá's brothers and other members of the family who did not have spiritual qualities would not become upset through jealousy.

'Abdu'l-Bahá's life was distinguished by His virtues and perfections. There is no need to dwell on this aspect which is universally acknowledged. Many writers, both oriental and occidental, have extolled in glowing terms the nobility of His character and testified to His divine qualities. The Revelation of

It is one of the unique bounties of God that in this age Bahá'u'lláh vouchsafed to humanity not only His Revelation, but a priceless gift in the person of 'Abdu'l-Bahá who occupies a unique position in His Dispensation. Though not invested with the rank of the Manifestation of God, the authority which Bahá'u'lláh has conferred on Him is such that His words have the same validity as those of Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb.

Soon after the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh there were differences among the believers concerning the station of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Some regarded Him as having the same identity as Bahá'u'lláh--a belief which runs counter to the basic verities enshrined within the Faith. In several Tablets 'Abdu'l-Bahá clarified His own position. He explained that although He was the Centre of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and the Interpreter of His words, He was nevertheless a lowly servant at the threshold of Bahá'u'lláh. In one of His Tablets 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes:

This is my firm, my unshakable conviction, the essence of my unconcealed and explicit belief--a conviction and belief which the denizens of the Abhá Kingdom fully share: The Blessed Beauty is the Sun of Truth, and His light the light of truth. The Báb is likewise the Sun of Truth, and His light the light of truth...My station is the station of servitude--a servitude which is complete, pure and real, firmly established, enduring, obvious, explicitly revealed and subject to no interpretation whatever...I am the Interpreter of the Word of God; such is my interpretation.⁴

I am according to the explicit texts of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Kitáb-i-'Ahdí the manifest Interpreter of the Word of God...Whoso deviates from my interpretation is a victim of his own fancy...I affirm that the true meaning, the real significance, the innermost secret of these verses,* of these very words, is my own servitude to the sacred Threshold of the Abhá Beauty, my complete self-effacement, my utter nothingness before Him. This is my resplendent crown, my most precious adorning. On this I pride myself in the kingdom of earth and heaven. Therein I glory among the company of the well-favoured!⁵

...Though moving in a sphere of His own and holding a rank radically different from that of the Author and the Forerunner of the Bahá'í Revelation, He, by virtue of the station ordained for Him through the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, forms together with them what may be termed the Three Central Figures of a Faith that stands unapproached in the world's spiritual history. He towers, in conjunction with them, above the destinies of this infant Faith of God from a level to which no individual or body ministering to its needs after Him, and for no less a period than a full thousand years, can ever hope to rise.⁶