- 1901-08-00 — `Abdu'l-Bahá wrote His Will and Testament over this seven-year period. [AB124–5, 484; BBD236]
- It was written in three parts. [AB124–5, 484; BBD236]
- It `may be regarded as the offspring resulting from that mystic intercourse between Him Who had generated the forces of a God-given Faith and the One Who had been made its sole Interpreter and was recognized as its perfect Exemplar'. [GPB325]
- Shoghi Effendi calls the Will the "Charter of the New World Order". [WOB144]
- For an analysis of its content and its import see AB484–93 and GPB325–8.
- For a photo of the opening pages of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament see Bahá'í Media Bank.
- 1921-11-31 — Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí published far and wide that he was the successor to `Abdu'l-Bahá. [CB277]
- The Egyptian Bahá'ís responded to this by publishing a refutation of his claims. [CB276; SW12, 19:294-5]
- 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.
- 1922-01-07 — 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]
- 1922-02-25 — The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá was written entirely in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's own hand and it was Shoghi Effendi's first translation for the believers in the West. It was sent to New York and addressed to "The beloved of God and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout the United states of America and Canada". The "Will" delineated the Bahá'í World Order, already founded in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, and of which 'Abdul'-Bahá was the architect. [AY304]iiiii
- 1928-12-31 — Ruth White, who had met 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York in 1912 and who had been on pilgrimage in 1922, wrote to the High Commissioner of Palestine with a charge that the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá was a forgery. [SETPE1p157]
- See AY103 for 'Abdu'l-Bahá's reaction to Ruth White in New York in 1912.
- See FMH64-65 for the story of how her plans to convince Doris and Willard McKay of her theories were thwarted by the sudden arrival of their two dogs who had had a recent encounter with a skunk.
- 1930-10-07 — Ruth White wrote to the High Commissioner of Palestine stating that she had sent a photograph of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament to Dr Ainsworth Mitchell in England who had declared it a forgery. The High Commissioner requested she send that same evidence to him and he forwarded it to the Governor of Haifa who requested to meet with Shoghi Effendi and allow an expert to examine the original. The expert declared the Will authentic. [SETPET1p157]
- See Mitchell's Mistake for a discussion of Mitchell's analysis of the handwriting of 'Abdu'l-Bahá by Senn McGlinn.
- 1943-00-00 — The publication of A Commentary on the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá written by David Hofman by a new publisher, George Ronald. They went on to publish books on business ethics, comparative religion, studies of sacred texts, Islam, poetry, music, novels, biography and philosophy as well as a number of other subjects. George Ronald is primarily a publisher of books related to the history, teachings, doctrines and personalities of the Bahá'í Faith. See the reference for a list of Bahá'í books published up to 2013. [George Ronald
A Bibliographic History
by
Jan Jasion]
- A current catalogue can be found at their website.
- see George Ronald: Publishing Authentic, Accurate & Inspiring Baha'i Books Since 1943 by Sonjel Vreeland.
- 1946-00-00 — The publication of Abdul Baha's Questioned Will and Testament by Ruth White. The book contains the report of Dr C Ainsworth Mitchell, the handwriting expert for the British Museum.
- 2022-01-07 — The conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors and Auxiliary Board members will coincide with the lapse of one hundred years since the first public reading of the Will and Testament of the Master. [25 November 2020]
The Counsellors in all continents will be called to the Bahá'í World Centre in December 2021 to take part in deliberations on the general features of the Plan to be launched the following Riḍván. At the conclusion of that gathering, they are to be joined by members of the Auxiliary Boards for Protection and Propagation to consult on the
challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and on the decisive role that the Counsellors and their auxiliaries are to play in meeting them. [From a message from the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá'ís of the World dated 29 October 2020]
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