O thou, my honorable friend! Verily I scented the fragrance of meekness and humbleness from the orchard of the meanings of thy letter and was caused to rejoice, smile and be made glad that God hath made thee humble and submissive to His beloved. Verily this is the greatest bounty from God and by it the breast of Abdul-Baha is dilated in this remote prison.
O friend! Verily the prison is my paradise and the chains my necklace; my balance (or testing) is my redemption (or salvation) and the castle is my fortified safety, for this imprisonment is in the path of my Lord and it is my salvation, my joy, my gratitude and happiness. Verily, in calamity the face of Abdul-Baha shineth and through hardship joy is attained by this servant in all conditions.
O thou friend! Be not sorrowful because of my imprisonment
and lament not for my difficulties; nay, rather ask God to increase my hardship
in His path, for therein lies a wisdom which none are able to comprehend save
the near angels.
O thou friend! Verily, those among the friends who were
martyred in the path of God—verily this is a favor from God which He bestoweth
upon whomsoever He chooses; verily God is the most bountiful!—they attained
what the holy ones in the Supreme Kingdom yearned for, and quaffed the wine of
grace from the bountiful hand of thy Lord the Merciful—may my spirit be a
sacrifice to them!
Therefore, be not sorrowful, for in it is a great bounty for
them and by it (martyrdom) the fire of the love of God is increased in glowing,
the Word of God in spreading, the standard of God in elevation, the fragrances
of God in diffusion, and by this blood the tree of peace is watered, the
orchard of unity and harmony pruned, and by it the fragrances of holiness
emanate from the Tree of Life and are being diffused in the world. Verily this
is from the mercy of God, which is bestowed upon whomsover He wishes.
O friend! I implore to God to make thee a banner of the banners of the Kingdom, firm and steadfast, unshaken by the most severe winds of tests and trials in this terrestrial world; to confirm thee in the servitude of the Sublime Threshold; to guide through thee many souls and to make thee a sign of meekness and humbleness before the beloved of God, the Mighty, the Protecting!
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 2)
