Earl Redman writes:
On the afternoon of 5 December He arrived in Haifa.
Though His ship entered Haifa’s harbour at 2 p.m., ‘Abdu’l-Bahá did not debark until dusk. Emogene Hoagg described His arrival:
Abdul-Baha did not come ashore until dusk, although the steamship entered the harbour at 2 o’clock p.m. (Strange to say, as the steamer bearing the Lord of mankind entered port, two warships – one French, the other German – came in also. The Messenger of Peace was accompanied by ships of war! Quite a strange coincidence.) While waiting for Abdu’l-Baha, the holy ladies, the eleven Persian pilgrims, as many children, four American pilgrims, and many other Bahais – about forty in all – chanted prayers and Tablets, while the faces beamed with the happiness of expectation.
Rúhá Asdaq remembered that the main hall of the house was prepared and all of the pilgrims and members of the household had gathered there. When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá descended from His carriage, the Greatest Holy Leaf and His daughters all ran forward to embrace and greet Him.
Emogene Hoagg described the homecoming:
The home coming of Abdul-Baha, after an absence of three years and four months, was a real festival. Such excitement and happiness as reigned in the holy household can only be imagined . . . In Abdul-Baha’s house, there is a very large central room around which are the other rooms, and in it Persian rugs were spread and tables placed upon which were fruits and sweets . . .
When Abdul-Baha’s voice was heard as he entered, the moment was intense – and as he passed through to his room, all heads were bowed. In a few moments he returned to welcome all. He sat in a chair at one end of the room, and most of the believers sat on the floor. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was tired so remained but a short time, and after a prayer chanted by his daughter Zia Khanum, went to his room.
Then the ladies vacated so that the men might enter. To see the faces of those sturdy, earnest men – faces that spoke the fervor of their faith, the earnestness and resoluteness of their purpose – was something to remember. I am sure not an eye was dry; old and young, with happiness filling their hearts, could not refrain from exhibiting their emotion. He welcomed them, and seating himself on the floor, spoke to them a short time, after which he retired . . .
After an absence of three years and three months, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was finally home. The day after His arrival, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ascended Mt. Carmel and went to the Shrine of the Báb. And the following day, the Centre of the Covenant went to ‘Akká for eight days to commune with His Father and the Source of His Spiritual Being.
Shoghi Effendi wrote:
A most significant scene in a century-old drama had been enacted. A glorious chapter in the history of the first Bahá’í century had been written. Seeds of undreamt-of potentialities had, with the hand of the Centre of the Covenant Himself, been sown in some of the fertile fields of the Western world. Never in the entire range of religious history had any Figure of comparable stature arisen to perform a labour of such magnitude and imperishable worth. Forces were unleashed through those fateful journeys which even now . . . we are unable to measure or comprehend . . .
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s historic journeys to the West, and in particular His eight-month tour of the United States of America, may be said to have marked the culmination of His ministry, a ministry whose untold blessings and stupendous achievements only future generations can adequately estimate. As the day-star of Bahá’u’lláh‘s Revelation had shone forth in its meridian splendour at the hour of the proclamation of His Message to the rulers of the earth in the city of Adrianople, so did the Orb of His Covenant mount its zenith and shed its brightest rays when He Who was its appointed Centre arose to blazon the glory and greatness of His Father’s Faith among the peoples of the West.
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Are we the generation who can estimate the blessings and achievements? I've tried, in some small way, through this blog, through our film, through the Green Acre book, through all of the activities of the centenary, as have many others. . . . Yet there is so much more to come, through the work and insights of those who are young now and others yet unborn. May they get even closer to the Mystery of God!
Anne
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