It is now a century since ‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed away, in November 1921. My poem, “Supreme in Service”, remembers His eventful life and indomitable spirit — and the wisdom He expressed which is still vibrantly relevant to the challenges we face today.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá was born in Iran in 1844, the eldest son of Bahá’u’lláh, who at that time was a highly esteemed member of the nobility. The family was wealthy, but generous to the poor and modest in their lifestyle. But the family’s comfort evaporated while ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was still a boy. This was due to Bahá’u’lláh’s leading position in the religious movement founded by the Báb. Bahá’u’lláh and his family were stripped of their wealth and exiled, first to Baghdad, then to Istanbul, to Adrianople, and finally to the prison city of Akká in Palestine. As a teenager in Baghdad, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had already shown exceptional qualities of mind and heart in service to the Cause of His father. In the prime of His life, while incarcerated by the Ottoman Empire in Akká, Palestine, He was a mainstay of support for His father and of the companions who endured imprisonment with them.

In old age, liberated at last, and now the head of the Bahá’í community after His father’s passing, ‘Abdu’l-Bah was to travel to Egypt, Europe and North America where He shared His father’s message of peace with entranced audiences. He greatly strengthened the embryonic Bahá’í communities in the places that He visited. Having returned to Palestine, He lived there through the World War I and passed away in Haifa (now the third-largest city in Israel). A great many other remarkable things that He achieved have not been mentioned in this brief account. His funeral was attended by thousands of local people of all ranks who had grown to love and admire Him.

You can read the text of the “Supreme in Service” poem here:

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