Honouring the beloved Master
A letter from the National Spiritual Assembly
26 November 2019
4 Qawl 176
To the believers in Aotearoa
Dearly loved friends
From sunset on 27 November to sunset on 28 November, and most particularly at 2.00 a.m., the Bahá’í world will commemorate the Ascension of the beloved Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá …
As we have recently read in a message from the beloved Supreme Institution following the bicentenary of the Birth of the Báb, “moments sacred in human history and commemorated at Holy Days have immense power to uplift individual souls and to weld a people together through shared experience.” From sunset on 27 November to sunset on 28 November, and most particularly at 2.00 a.m., the Bahá’í world will commemorate the Ascension of the beloved Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who, right up until His passing, vigorously nurtured a growing international community and movement, guided global efforts to establish a firm framework for the community’s future, and interacted as a loving father with the company of believers in the Holy Land and with a stream of pilgrims who dispersed afterwards not only with His love in their hearts but with His infallible instructions to guide their progress individually and collectively.
When He passed away at the age of 77 on 28 November 1921, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s funeral was attended by 10,000 mourners of numerous religious backgrounds and He was laid to rest in one of the chambers of the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel.
In its Ridván 2019 message, the Universal House of Justice addressed the Bahá’ís of the World:
The close of the first century of the Formative Age is but two and a half years away. It will seal one hundred years of consecrated effort to consolidate and expand the foundation so sacrificially laid during the Faith’s Heroic Age. At that time the Bahá’í community will also mark the centenary of the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, that moment when the beloved Master was released from the confines of this world to rejoin His Father in the retreats of celestial glory. His funeral, which occurred the following day, was an event “the like of which Palestine had never seen”. At its conclusion, His mortal remains were laid to rest within a vault of the Mausoleum of the Báb. However, it was envisaged by Shoghi Effendi that this would be a temporary arrangement. A Shrine was to be erected, of a character befitting the unique station of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, at the appropriate time.
That time has come. The Bahá’í world is being summoned to build the edifice which will forever embosom those sacred remains. It is to be constructed in the vicinity of the Ridván Garden, on land consecrated by the footsteps of the Blessed Beauty; the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá will thus lie on the crescent traced between the Holy Shrines in ‘Akká and Haifa. Work on the architectural plans is advancing, and more information will be shared in the coming months.
On 7 May 2019 the Universal House of Justice wrote to all National Spiritual Assemblies, announcing Mr Hossein Amanat of Canada as the architect for the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. In that letter the House of Justice stated: “We are also pleased to announce the inauguration of a Fund dedicated to the construction of the Shrine. It is our heartfelt desire that this sacred edifice will be raised up through the universal participation of the friends.”
On 20 September 2019, a letter written on behalf of the House of Justice by the Department of the Secretariat unveiled the design for the Shrine:
The structure that is envisaged in the design seeks to honour ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s unique position as the Centre of the Covenant, and to reflect at once His lofty station and His humility. It creates a space of immense sacredness, to which pilgrims and visitors will be drawn for the purpose of prayer and meditation. Preparations to commence the construction work for this historic undertaking are already well advanced. The House of Justice has every expectation that the unveiling of this design, which has been so eagerly anticipated since Ridván, will bring tremendous joy to the friends and inspire them in all the efforts they are making for the progress of the Cause of God.
As with all matters pertaining to the Cause of God, universal participation is needed for this undertaking. Our beloved Supreme Institution has called for universal participation of the friends in contributing to the Fund dedicated to the construction of this unique edifice to memorialise the most unique Being in human history, the Mystery of God. Let us each honour ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by contributing towards the construction of His Shrine, so that in two years’ time at the centenary of His passing in November 2021, each of us will have given him befitting gifts of selfless and steadfast service to the Cause of God, as well as gifts of material means for the beautiful Shrine that will honour him.
With loving encouragement and appreciation.
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of New Zealand
For contributions to the special Fund for the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, believers are free to earmark funds either through your Local Spiritual Assembly or directly through the National Fund at 03-0146-0044444-00 clearly stating the word “Shrine” in the reference for payment. Your name is also required for receipting purposes so please ensure this shows up with your payment.
Featured photo: A view of the design concept for the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, from Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS) (copyright © Bahá'í International Community) — for further information see news.bahai.org/story/1353.
