'Abdu'l-Bahá:
the Center of the Covenant
On November 29, 1921, ten thousand people--Jews,
Christians, and Muslims from all persuasions and denominations--gathered on
Mount Carmel in the Holy Land to mourn the passing of One who was eulogized as
the essence of "Virtue and Wisdom, of Knowledge and Generosity."
On that occasion, `Abdu'l-Bahá --Bahá'u'lláh's Son and chosen successor--was
described by a Jewish leader as a "living example of self-sacrifice," by a
Christian orator as One who led humanity to the "Way of Truth," and by a
prominent Muslim leader as a "pillar of peace" and the embodiment of "glory and
greatness." His funeral, according to a Western
observer, brought together a great throng "sorrowing for His death, but
rejoicing also for His life."
Throughout the Occident and the Orient, `Abdu'l-Bahá was known as an
ambassador of peace, a champion of justice, and the leading exponent of a new
Faith. Through a series of epoch-making travels across North America and Europe,
`Abdu'l-Bahá --by word and example--proclaimed with persuasiveness and force the
essential principles of His Father's religion. Affirming that "Love is the
most great law" that is the foundation of "true civilization," and
that the "supreme need of humanity is cooperation and reciprocity"
among all its peoples, `Abdu'l-Bahá reached out to leaders and the meek alike,
to every soul who crossed His path.
Yet, however magnetic His personality or penetrating His insights into the
human condition, such characteristics cannot adequately capture `Abdu'l-Bahá's
unique station in religious history. In the words of Bahá'u'lláh Himself,
`Abdu'l-Bahá was the "Trust of God," "a shelter for all mankind," "the most
great Favor," and God's "ancient and immutable Mystery."
The Bahá'í writings further affirm that "in the person of `Abdu'l-Bahá the
incompatible characteristics of a human nature and superhuman knowledge and
perfection have been blended and are completely harmonized."
The question of religious succession has been crucial to all faiths. Failure
to resolve this question has inevitably led to acrimony and division. The
ambiguity surrounding the true successors of Jesus and Muhammad, for example,
led to differing interpretations of sacred scripture and deep discord within
both Christianity and Islam. However, Bahá'u'lláh prevented schism and
established an unassailable foundation for His Faith through the provision of
His will and testament, entitled "The Book of My Covenant." He wrote: "When
the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn
your faces toward Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hast branched from this
Ancient Root. The object of this sacred verse is none other except the Most
Mighty Branch [`Abdu'l-Bahá]."
Bahá'u'lláh's appointment of `Abdu'l-Bahá as His successor was the means for
diffusing His message of hope and universal peace to all corners of the world,
for realizing the essential unity of all peoples. In referring to `Abdu'l-Bahá,
Bahá'u'lláh wrote: "The glory of God rest upon Thee, and upon whosoever
serveth Thee and circleth around Thee. Woe, great woe, betide him that opposeth
and injureth Thee. Well is it with him that sweareth fealty to Thee."
`Abdu'l-Bahá was, in short, the Center of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant --the
instrument for ensuring the unity of the Bahá'í community and preserving the
integrity of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings.
As the authorized interpreter of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings, `Abdu'l-Bahá became
the "living mouth of the Book, the expounder of the Word."
Without `Abdu'l-Bahá, the enormous creative power of Bahá'u'lláh's revelation
could not have been transmitted to humanity, nor its import fully comprehended.
He elucidated the teachings of His Father's Faith, amplified its doctrines, and
delineated the central features of its administrative institutions. He was the
unerring guide and architect of a rapidly expanding Bahá'í community. In
addition, Bahá'u'lláh vested in `Abdu'l-Bahá "the virtues of perfection in
personal and social behavior, that humanity may have an enduring model to
emulate." As the perfect Exemplar of
Bahá'u'lláh's teachings and the Pivot of His Covenant, `Abdu'l-Bahá became "the
incorruptible medium for applying the Word to practical measures for the raising
up of a new civilization."
In retrospect, it became clear that Bahá'u'lláh had carefully prepared
`Abdu'l-Bahá to succeed Him. He was born on May 23, 1844, the very night that
the Báb had declared the beginning of a new religious cycle in history. As a
child, He suffered along with His Father during the persecutions against the
Bábís. `Abdu'l-Bahá was eight years old when Bahá'u'lláh was first imprisoned
for His role as a leading exponent and defender of the Bábí Faith. He
accompanied Bahá'u'lláh throughout His long exile from Persia to the capital of
the Ottoman empire, and ultimately, to Palestine. As He grew older, `Abdu'l-Bahá
became His Father's closest companion and emerged as His deputy, shield, and
principal representative to the political and religious leaders of the day. `Abdu'l-Bahá's
extraordinary demonstration of leadership, knowledge, and service brought great
prestige to the exiled Bahá'í community. He assumed His role as the Head of the
Bahá'í Faith following Bahá'u'lláh's passing in May 1892.
In 1911, after more than four decades of imprisonment and suffering,
`Abdu'l-Bahá journeyed to the West and presented with brilliant simplicity, to
high and low alike, Bahá'u'lláh's prescription for the moral and spiritual
renewal of society. This "Call of God," `Abdu'l-Bahá stated,
"...breathed a new life into the body of mankind, and infused a new spirit into
the whole creation. It is for this reason that the world hath been moved to its
depths, and the hearts and consciences of men been quickened. Erelong the
evidences of this regeneration will be revealed, and the fast asleep will be
awakened."
Among the vital truths that `Abdu'l-Bahá tirelessly proclaimed to leaders of
thought as well as countless groups and masses at large were: "The independent
search after truth, unfettered by superstition or tradition; the oneness of the
entire human race, the pivotal principle and fundamental doctrine of the Faith;
the basic unity of all religions; the condemnation of all forms of prejudice,
whether religious, racial, class or national; the harmony which must exist
between religion and science; the equality of men and women, the two wings on
which the bird of humankind is able to soar; the introduction of compulsory
education; the adoption of a universal auxiliary language; the abolition of the
extremes of wealth and poverty; the institution of a world tribunal for the
adjudication of disputes between nations; the exaltation of work, performed in
the spirit of service, to the rank of worship; the glorification of justice as
the ruling principle in human society, and of religion as a bulwark for the
protection of all peoples and nations; and the establishment of a permanent and
universal peace as the supreme goal of all mankind."
He affirmed time and again that He was a "herald of peace and
reconciliation," "an advocate of the oneness of humanity," and an agent
calling humanity to the "Kingdom of God."
Despite the receptivity and acclaim given Him, `Abdu'l-Bahá made clear the
Source of His thought and His true station. In a letter to His followers in
America He wrote:
My name is `Abdu'l-Bahá [literally, Servant of Bahá]. My qualification
is `Abdu'l-Bahá. My reality is `Abdu'l-Bahá. My praise is `Abdu'l-Bahá.
Thralldom to the Blessed Perfection [Bahá'u'lláh] is my glorious and refulgent
diadem, and servitude to all the human race my perpetual religion... No name,
no title, no mention, no commendation have I, nor will ever have, except
`Abdu'l-Bahá. This is my longing. This is my greatest yearning. This is my
eternal life. This is my everlasting glory.
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