‘A flawless example of how life can be lived’
‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed away in Haifa at about 1:00 am on November 28, 1921. The Holy Day commemorating His Ascension falls on 6 Qawl, which this year begins at sunset on Sunday 27 November and ends at sunset on 28 November. The friends gather to mark His passing at 2.00 a.m. (NZ time) on 28 November.
(This is not one of the nine Holy Days when work is suspended)
There hath branched from the Sadratu’l-Muntahá this sacred and glorious Being, this Branch of Holiness; well is it with him that hath sought His shelter and abideth beneath His shadow. Verily the Limb of the Law of God hath sprung forth from this Root which God hath firmly implanted in the Ground of His Will, and Whose Branch hath been so uplifted as to encompass the whole of creation. Magnified be He, therefore, for this sublime, this blessed, this mighty, this exalted Handiwork! Draw nigh unto Him, O people, and taste the fruits of wisdom and knowledge that have proceeded from Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Knowing. Whoso hath failed to taste thereof is deprived of God’s bounty, though he partake of all that the earth can produce, could ye but perceive it!
— Bahá’u’lláh, “Súriy-i-Ghuṣn” (“Tablet of the Branch”)
We offer thanks to Bahá’u’lláh for having given the world not only, in His teachings, a standard of purity, devotion, and integrity to which souls may forever aspire, but also, in the Figure of the Master, a flawless example of how life can be lived to that standard. As humanity is beset by crisis after crisis, the community of the Greatest Name, which cannot avoid exposure to such upheavals, is privileged to have before it the model of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Neither peril nor obstacle would prevent Him from discharging His mission, whether by attending to the needs of the hour or preparing for the future; neither hostility nor events of the world would divert Him from His course. Serene, confident, and resolute, He was unperturbed by setbacks, welcoming hardship and adversity in the path of God. How relentless were the attacks upon Him! How deplorable the burdens He had to bear! We recall the testimony of His distinguished sister, the Greatest Holy Leaf, that “in the dark of the night, out of the depths of His bosom, could be heard His burning sighs, and when the day broke, the wondrous music of His prayers would rise up to the denizens of the realm on high.”
The passage of time has not diminished the awe with which we regard “the rôle and character of One Who, not only in the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh but in the entire field of religious history, fulfils a unique function.”
— The Universal House of Justice, message dated 27 November 2021 – On the Occasion of the Centenary Commemoration of the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Featured photo: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s funeral, on 29 November 1921, was attended by about ten thousand people from all backgrounds and walks of life. Source: Bahá’í Media Bank © Bahá’í International Community
