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Ḥájí Muḥammad-Riḍáy-i-Shírází 117 |
Ḥájí Muḥammad-Riḍá
came from Shíráz. He
was a man spiritually minded, lowly, contrite, the embodiment
of serenity and faith. When the call of God was
lifted up, that needy soul hurried into the shelter of heavenly
grace. As soon as he heard the summons, “Am I not
your Lord?” he cried out: “Yea, verily!”
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and became as a
lamp to the people’s feet.
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For a long time he served the Afnán, Ḥájí Mírzá Muḥammad-‘Alí,
and was his loyal and close companion,
trusted in all things. Later, following a journey to distant
countries, he went to the Holy Land, and there in utter
submission and lowliness bowed his head before the Sacred
Threshold and was honored with entering the presence
of Bahá’u’lláh, where he drank in endless bounties
from cupped hands. For quite a time he remained there,
attending upon Bahá’u’lláh almost every day, encompassed
by holy favor and grace. He was outstanding as to
character, and lived after the commandments of God:
tranquil and long-suffering, in his surrender to God’s will
he was selflessness itself. He had no personal aims whatever,
no feeling of attachment to this fleeting world. His
118
one desire was to please his Lord, his one hope, to walk
the holy path.
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He went on, then, to Beirut, serving the honored Afnán
in that city. He spent a long time in this wise, returning
again and again to enter the presence of Bahá’u’lláh and
gaze upon that Most Great Beauty. Later, in Sidon, he
fell ill. Unable to make the journey to ‘Akká, in perfect
acquiescence and contentment he ascended to the Abhá
Kingdom, and was plunged in the ocean of lights. By the
Supreme Pen, endless bounty was bestowed upon his
memory. He was indeed one of the loyal, the steadfast, a
solid pillar of servitude to Bahá’u’lláh. Many and many a
time, from the lips of the Blessed Beauty, we heard his
praise.
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1. | Qur’án 7:171. [ Back To Reference] |