ccepted tyranny from every traitor, to make an Abha Paradise out of this
dust heap of the world, and change this place of thorns and sorrows into
blossoming bowers of love. They trained Their loved ones, and fostered
them with the hands of grace, and sent them forth, with countless
treasures, with goodly gifts, and with the forces of Heaven massed behind
them--that they might become guides, and holy cup-bearers, of the living,
soft-flowing waters of divine bestowals.

God be thanked, the believers in that country are confirmed and blessed,
and have arisen to serve the Cause, and are straining every nerve to
spread the heavenly Teachings far and wide. They are faithful ministers at
the Holy Shrine of the Blessed Beauty, and true lovers at the sacred
Threshold of 'Abdu'l-Baha.

38: That supreme affliction, the passing of ...

(160) That supreme affliction, the passing of 'Abdu'l-Baha, was the direst
of ordeals; it was an anguish of mourning. The parting with mankind's
Beloved set fire to the hearts of all His lovers, and the souls of the
believers dissolved in its burning. Even the beauteous dwellers in the
Abha Paradise cried out and wept, and in their empyrean abode the Maids of
Heaven moaned and lamented. The gems of holiness fell a prey to crushing
grief, the essences of sanctity bowed down in sorrow.

That One whom the world has wronged could rest neither day nor night. From
moment to moment, at the hands of every betrayer, yet another cruel arrow
was shot into His heart, and ever and again, from one or another
assailant, He was calumny's target. In the dark of the night, out of the
depths of His bosom, could be heard His burning sighs, and when the day
broke, the wondrous music of His prayers would rise up to the denizens of
the realm on high.

That Prisoner, grievously wronged, would hide His pain, and keep His
wounds from view. In the depths of calamity He would smile, and even when
enduring the direst of afflictions He would comfort the hearts. Although
He was hemmed about with disasters, and living at the whirlwind's core of
grief, He would still proclaim the Cause of God, and protect the Holy
Faith, and He brought God's Word to the ears of those in East and West. He
trained and nurtured friends of such a kind that whensoever their names
were on His lips or spoken in His presence, His blessed face would glow
and His whole being would radiate with joy. Many and many a time He would
express His trust a