- 1921-11-28 —
Ascension of `Abdu'l-Bahá
`Abdu'l-Bahá passed away at about 1:00 a.m., in Haifa. [AB452; BBD4; BBR347; GPB311; UD170]
- For details of His passing see DOMH210-216, AB452, BW1:19-23; BW15:113-15 and GPB310-11. Westerners who were present in the Holy Land at the time included: Grace and Florian Krug, Louise and John Bosch from the USA, Ethel Rosenberg from London and Fräulein Johanna Hauff from Stuttgart as well as American Curtis Kelsey who was in the Holy Land to attend to the electrical installations in the Shrine of the Báb at the time. [AB462-463]
Note: In fact, Ethel Rosenberg was en route to visit the Master when He ascended. She arrived from Port Said by train on the 2nd of December having learned of His ascension from a member of the staff on the train. [EJR182]
- Sir Herbert Samuel and Sir Ronald Storrs led the funeral procession. [CH226]
- This marked the end of the Apostolic, Heroic or Primitive Age of the Bahá'í Faith and the beginning of the Transitional Formative or Iron Age. [BBD35-6]
- For a photograph of the cable sent announcing His passing see SW12, 15:245.
- See The Passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá by Shoghi Effendi and Lady Blomfield.
- For a pen portrait of 'Abdu'l-Bahá see The Oriental Rose by Mary Hanford Ford pg 158-159
- Also see AB452-83; HLS93-100.
- This date marks the beginning of the First Epoch of the Transitional, Formative or Iron Age of the Faith.
- See an account of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá compiled by David Merrick.
- See Part IX of The Utterance Project by Violetta Zein.
- See WMSH26-52 for an account by John and Louise Bosch of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the funeral, the reading if the Will, their subsequent time in the Holy Land and Egypt, and their teaching trip to Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. They arrived in New York on the 23rd of April and proceeded to Chicago to attend the National Convention. Shoghi Effendi had entrusted them with eight passages from the Will to be presented to the North American friends.
- See The Station and Titles of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in The Bahá'í World on line.
- 1921-11-29 —
The funeral of `Abdu'l-Bahá. [BW15:115]
- For details of the funeral see AB464-74; BW1:23-6; BW15:115-19; GPB312-14; and SW12, 17:259-67.
- For Western and newspaper accounts see AB474-80; BBR347-9; BW1:26-8; and BW15:119-20.
- For eulogies to `Abdu'l-Bahá see AB481-2, BW1:28-9 and BW15 120-1.
- Ten thousand people attend `Abdu'l-Bahá's funeral. [v7]
- For a number of pictures of the funeral procession see SW12, 91:290, 292-8.
- Bahíyyih Khánum looked for instructions on where to bury `Abdu'l-Bahá and, finding none, entombed Him in a vault next to the one where the remains of the Báb lay. [AB464; GBF14]
- Also see Balyuzi, `Abdu'l-Bahá; Blomfield, The Chosen Highway; Honnold, Vignettes from the Life of `Abdu'l-Bahá; SW12, 15:245 and several following issues.
- Photo.
- The Greatest Holy Leaf engaged a locksmith to change all the locks in the Master's house. During the funeral procession she remained there and asked that a policeman be assigned to stand outside the door. During the procession Mirza Muhammad-Ali and his brother, feigning sadness, asked the policeman if they could enter the Master's house to express their condolences to the Greatest Holy Leaf. She turned them away at the door saying that this was not the time. He had attempted a kind of a palace coup. The Greatest Holy Leaf had foreseen that he would attempt just that. The House of the Master was more than a residence; it was the visible administrative centre of the Cause. Other than the Shrine of the Báb, it was the only Bahá'í edifice in the Holy Land at that time. [An account of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá p42]
- 1921-11-30 —
A cable was sent to London with news of `Abdu'l-Bahá's passing. Shoghi Effendi was summonsed to the office of Wellesley Tudor Pole, probably at at 61, St. James St. in London, and learned of his grandfather's passing about noon after seeing the cable on Tudor Pole's desk. [GBF13]
- See GBF13, PG199 and PP39-40 for Shoghi Effendi's reaction.
- 1921-12-04 —
On the seventh day after the passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá, corn was distributed in His name to about a thousand of the poor.
- Up to this day 50 to 100 poor were fed daily at the Master's House. [BW15:122]
- 1921-12-29 —
Shoghi Effendi arrived in the Holy Land from England by train from Egypt. [GBF14; PP42]
- An envelope addressed to him from 'Abdu'l-Bahá was waiting for him. It contained the Will and Testament. [Ruhi8.2p2; PP42]
- He was so worn and grief-stricken that he had to be assisted up the stairs and was confined to bed for a number of days. [CB285]
- 1922-01-03 —
The Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá was read aloud for the first time, to a group of nine men, mainly senior members of `Abdu'l-Bahá's family. [BBRSM115; CB286; ER194; GBF14; PP45]
- Shoghi Effendi was not present at the reading. [CB286; ER194]
- Shoghi Effendi was appointed Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith. [WT11]
- Shoghi Effendi had no fore-knowledge of the institution of the Guardianship nor that he would be appointed Guardian. [CB285; PP423]
- The fact that Shoghi Effendi was to become 'Abdu'l-Bahá's successor was a well-guarded secret. The person who was privy to this appointment was the Greatest Holy Leaf. Another was a non-Bahá'í woman, Dr J. Fallscheer, a German physician who lived in Haifa and attended the ladies of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's household. When Shoghi Effendi was a child, 'Abdu'l-Bahá clearly stated to her that Shoghi Effendi would be His successor. But this information was not communicated to anybody else. [CoC30; PP1-2]
- For a list of topics covered by the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá see GPB328.
- 1922-01-06 —
A memorial feast for 600 people of Haifa, `Akká and the surrounding area was held 40 days after the passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá. [BW15:122; ER195]
- More than a hundred poor were also fed. [BW15:122; ERT95-6]
- For details of the memorial service see ER195-9 and SW13, 2:404.
- 1922-01-07 —
The Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá was read publicly at his house to an assembled gathering of Bahá'ís from many countries. [EJR199-200]
- Shoghi Effendi was again absent. [EJR200]
- The Greatest Holy Leaf sent two cables to Persia, informing the Bahá'ís that Shoghi Effendi had been appointed Guardian and instructing them to hold memorial services for `Abdu'l-Bahá. [PP47]
- 1971-11-26 —
The fiftieth anniversary of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá was commemorated. [BW15:125–8; VV14]
- For text of the letters of the Universal House of Justice see BW15:125–6 and MUHJ76–7.
- 2019-04-21 —
In its Ridván Message the Universal House of Justice announced the intention of constructing a Shrine for 'Abdu'l-Bahá near the Ridván Garden on the crescent traced between the Holy Shrines in 'Akká and Haifa. The day after His passing in Haifa on 28 November 1921, 'Abdu'l-Bahá's remains were placed in a vault within the sacred Shrine of the Bab on Mount Carmel, a temporary arrangement until such time that a separate shrine would be erected in His honor.
- "...Ridvan messages: As early as 1923 Shoghi Effendi sent a letter of encouragement and greeting to the American national Bahá'í convention at Ridvan. Later it was his regular practice to write a Ridvan letter to the Bahá'ís of the world summarizing the progress of the Faith in the previous year and setting out general directions for the coming year. The Universal House of Justice has continued this practice. Other Bahá'í institutions, especially national spiritual assemblies, also sometimes issue Ridvan letters." [SA241]
- 2019-09-19 —
The Universal House of Justice released the design concept for the Shrine of 'Abdu'l-Bahá by Hossein Amanat to all National Spiritual Assemblies.
"'Abdu'l-Baha had expressed His wish regarding where He should be buried," explains Mr. Amanat, a distinguished Iranian-Canadian architect. "He had said to an early believer that if something should happen to Him and He should pass away, 'Abdu'l-Baha wanted to be buried under the sands between Haifa and Akka, which He described as the pathway trodden by the loved ones and the pilgrims."
[BWNS1353]
- Images
- 2021-11-20 —
In its Ridván 2018 and a year previous, in its message of 25 November 2020 (and 15 September 2021), the Universal House of Justice announced that there would be a gathering in the Holy Land by representatives of National Spiritual Assemblies and Regional Bahá'í Councils throughout the world to commemorate the Centenary of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. What transpired was a week of activities.
Several events that were intended for the public were held in Haifa and 'Akká to mark the centenary of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
-In Haifa, the mayor of the city, Einat Kalisch-Rotem, and other municipal officials, members of diverse faith communities, and other residents of the city honoured the centenary at a historic building near 'Abdu'l-Bahá's residence on Haparsim Street in a spirit of fellowship and unity reminiscent of the gatherings He Himself would hold with people of all backgrounds.
-In 'Akká, a public reception at the House of 'Abdu'lláh Páshá, where 'Abdu'l-Bahá lived and received countless guests from 1896 to 1910, allowed people from around the country to learn about His life and His service to the inhabitants of 'Akká through an exhibition and a guided visit of the site.
-In Bahjí, where 'Abdu'l-Bahá had rented a residence for Bahá'u'lláh and His family in 1879, a special program brought together the mayor of 'Akká, Shimon Lankri, and other government officials, various community and religious leaders—Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Druze—academics, and civil society representatives to hear stories from the life of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, where many of those gathered also shared their perspectives on His impact on the people of the region. [BWNS1552; BWNS1555]
Some 600 presentatives of Bahá'í communities from nations and regions around the world began to arrive in Haifa for the historic gathering at the Bahá'í World Centre. In the days following they visited the Holy Places in the Akka/Haifa area. [BWNS1553; BWNS1555]
On the 25th of November the friends gathered in the concourse of the Universal House of Justice building. A Message from the Universal House of Justice was addressed to the gathering. The program included remarks by a member of the International Teaching Centre, Muna Tehrani with the keynote address given by ITC member Gloria Javid entitles 'Abdu'l-Bahá as the Centre of the Covenant. [BWNS1556]
On the 26th of November Mrs Antonella Demonte, member of the International Teaching Centre, delivered a Keynote Address entitled The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Unfoldment of the Administrative Order.
The Centenary of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's passing was marked in the early hours of the 27th of November with the attendees assembled in the courtyard of the Haifa Pilgrim House. A tribute written by the Universal House of Justice for the occasion was read by one of its members. [BWNS1558]
On the 28th of November representatives of Bahá'í communities throughout the world came together in the concourse of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice for a spiritually charged closing of the centenary gathering. The closing session included addresses delivered by members of the International Teaching Centre, Antonella Demonte, Dr Holly Woodard, and Rachel Ndegwa.
Prayers were chanted and spoken in different languages, there was a musical interlude, and Bahá'í writings were sung by a choir. The film Exemplar was shown. [BWNS1559]
- See the departing message of the Universal House of Justice.
- See some of the commemorative gatherings that were held around the world.
- See the documentary Commemorating the Centenary of the Ascension of ʻAbdu'l Bahá.
- 2021-11-27 — An example of a program to mark the Centenary of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá is that done by the Bahá'í community of Northern Virginia. [YouTube]
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