Editing ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (section)

==Final years (1914–1921)==

[[File:AAbdul-baha late life.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|ʻAbdu'l-Bahá on Mount Carmel with pilgrims in 1919]]

During [[World War I]] (1914–1918) ʻAbdu'l-Bahá stayed in Palestine and was unable to travel. He carried on a limited correspondence, which included the ''[[Tablets of the Divine Plan]]'', a collection of fourteen letters addressed to the [[Baháʼí Faith in North America|Baháʼís of North America]], later described as one of three "charters" of the Baháʼí Faith. The letters assign a leadership role for the North American Baháʼís in spreading the religion around the planet.

Haifa was under real threat of [[Allies of World War I|Allied]] bombardment, enough that ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and other Baháʼís temporarily retreated to the hills east of ʻAkka.{{sfn|Effendi|1944|p=304}}

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was also under threats from [[Djemal Pasha|Cemal Paşa]], the Ottoman military chief who at one point expressed his desire to crucify him and destroy Baháʼí properties in Palestine.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=18}} The swift [[Sinai and Palestine Campaign#Megiddo offensive|Megiddo offensive]] of the British [[Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby|General Allenby]] swept away the Turkish forces in Palestine before harm was done to the Baháʼís, and the war was over less than two months later.

===Post-war period===

[[File:‘Abdu’l-Bahá portrait.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The elderly ʻAbdu'l-Bahá]]

The conclusion of [[World War I]] led to the openly hostile Ottoman authorities being replaced by the more friendly [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate]], allowing for a renewal of correspondence, pilgrims, and development of the [[Baháʼí World Centre]] properties.{{sfn|Balyuzi|2001|pp=400–431}} It was during this revival of activity that the Baháʼí Faith saw an expansion and consolidation in places like Egypt, the [[Caucasus]], Iran, Turkmenistan, North America and South Asia under the leadership of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.

The end of the war brought about several political developments on which ʻAbdu'l-Bahá commented. The [[League of Nations]] formed in January 1920, representing the first instance of [[collective security]] through a worldwide organization. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá had written in 1875 for the need to establish a "Union of the nations of the world", and he praised the attempt through the League of Nations as an important step towards the goal. He also said that it was "incapable of establishing Universal Peace" because it did not represent all nations and had only trivial power over its member states.{{sfn|Esslemont|1980|pp=166–168}}{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=345}} Around the same time, the British Mandate supported the ongoing [[Aliyah|immigration of Jews to Palestine]]. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá mentioned the immigration as a fulfillment of prophecy, and encouraged the [[Zionism|Zionists]] to develop the land and "elevate the country for all its inhabitants... They must not work to separate the Jews from the other Palestinians...If the Zionists will mingle with the other races and live in unity with them, they will succeed. If not, they will meet certain resistance."<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Declares Zionists Must Work with Other Races |url=https://bahai.works/Star_of_the_West/Volume_10/Issue_10#pg196 |newspaper=Star of the West |page=196 |volume=10 |issue=10 |date=8 September 1919}}</ref>

[[File:Abdulbaha knighting.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|ʻAbdu'l-Bahá at his investiture ceremony as a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]], April 1920]]

The war also left the region in famine. In 1901, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá had purchased about 1704 acres of scrubland near the [[Jordan river]] and by 1907 many Baháʼís from Iran had begun [[sharecropping]] on the land. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá received between 20 and 33% of their harvest (or cash equivalent), which was shipped to [[Haifa]]. With the war still raging in 1917, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá received a large amount of wheat from the crops, and also bought other available wheat and shipped it back to Haifa. The wheat arrived just after the British captured Palestine, and as such was widely distributed to allay the famine.{{sfn|McGlinn|2011}}{{sfn|Poostchi|2010}} For this service in averting a famine in Northern Palestine he received the honour of [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] at a ceremony held in his honor at the home of the British Governor on 27 April 1920.<ref>{{cite book |last=Luke |first=Harry Charles |author-link=Harry Luke |date=23 August 1922 |title=The Handbook of Palestine |url=http://www.bahai-library.com/luke_handbook_palestine |location=London |publisher=Macmillan and Company |page=59 }}</ref><ref>[https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/69065/3/Yazdani_Mina_20116_PhD_thesis.pdf Religious Contentions in Modern Iran, 1881–1941], by Mina Yazdani, PhD, Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University of Toronto, 2011, pp. 190–191, 199–202.</ref> He was later visited by [[Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby|General Allenby]], [[Faisal I of Iraq|King Faisal]] (later [[King of Iraq]]), [[Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel|Herbert Samuel]] (High Commissioner for Palestine), and [[Ronald Storrs]] (Military Governor of Jerusalem).{{sfn|Effendi|1944|p=306-307}}

===Death and funeral===

[[File:Abdul Baha Abbas Funeral.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Funeral of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in [[Haifa]], [[British Mandate-Palestine]]]]

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá died on Monday, 28 November 1921, sometime after 1:15&nbsp;a.m. (27th of [[Rabi' al-awwal]], 1340 [[Hijri year|AH]]).{{sfn|Effendi|1944|p=311}}

Then Colonial Secretary [[Winston Churchill]] telegraphed the High Commissioner for Palestine, "convey to the Baháʼí Community, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, their sympathy and condolence." Similar messages came from [[Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby|Viscount Allenby]], the [[Council of Ministers]] of Iraq, and others.{{sfn|Effendi|1944|p=312}}

On his funeral, which was held the next day, Esslemont notes:
{{blockquote|text=... a funeral the like of which Haifa, nay Palestine itself, had surely never seen... so deep was the feeling that brought so many thousands of mourners together, representative of so many religions, races and tongues.<ref>{{harvnb|Esslemont|1980|p=77}}, quoting 'The Passing of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá", by Lady Blomfield and Shoghi Effendi, pp 11, 12.</ref>}}

Among the talks delivered at the funeral, [[Shoghi Effendi]] records [[Stewart Symes]] (Governor of the [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]] North District) giving the following tribute:
{{blockquote|text=Most of us here have, I think, a clear picture of Sir ʻAbdu'l‑Bahá ʻAbbás, of His dignified figure walking thoughtfully in our streets, of His courteous and gracious manner, of His kindness, of His love for little children and flowers, of His generosity and care for the poor and suffering. So gentle was He, and so simple, that in His presence one almost forgot that He was also a great teacher, and that His writings and His conversations have been a solace and an inspiration to hundreds and thousands of people in the East and in the West.{{sfn|Effendi|1944|pp=313–314}} }}

He was buried in the front room of the [[Shrine of the Báb]] on [[Mount Carmel]]. His interment there is meant to be temporary, until his own mausoleum can be built in the vicinity of Riḍván Garden, known as the [[Shrine of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá]].<ref>{{cite web |author=The Universal House of Justice |url=https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/20190420_001/1#744198387 |title=Riḍván 2019 – To the Bahá'ís of the World}}</ref>

===Legacy===

<!-- [[Disciples of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá]] redirects to this section. If you change the section's heading, please update the redirect. -->
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá left a ''[[Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá|Will and Testament]]'' that was originally written between 1901 and 1908 and addressed to Shoghi Effendi, who at that time was only 4–11 years old. The will appoints [[Shoghi Effendi]] as the first in a line of [[Guardian (Baháʼí Faith)|Guardians]] of the religion, a hereditary executive role that may provide authoritative interpretations of scripture. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá directed all Baháʼís to turn to him and obey him, and assured him of divine protection and guidance. The will also provided a formal reiteration of his teachings, such as the instructions to teach, manifest spiritual qualities, associate with all people, and shun [[Covenant-breaker]]s. Many obligations of the [[Universal House of Justice]] and the [[Hands of the Cause]] were also elaborated.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=356-357}}{{sfn|Iranica|1989}} Shoghi Effendi later described the document as one of three "charters" of the Baháʼí Faith.

The authenticity and provisions of the will were almost universally accepted by Baháʼís around the world, with the exception of [[Ruth White (Baháʼí author)|Ruth White]] and a few other Americans who tried to protest Shoghi Effendi's leadership.

<!-- [[Disciples of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá]] redirects to this section. If moving this sentence, please update the redirect. -->In volumes of ''[[The Baháʼí World]]'' published in 1930 and 1933, Shoghi Effendi named nineteen Baháʼís as disciples of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and heralds of the Covenant, including [[Thornton Chase]], {{Interlanguage link|Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney|fr}}, [[John Esslemont]], [[Lua Getsinger]], and [[Robert Turner (Bahá'í)|Robert Turner]].<ref>''The Baháʼí World, vol. 3: 1928–30''. New York: Baháʼí Publishing Committee, 1930. pp.&nbsp;84–85.</ref><ref>''The Baháʼí World, vol. 4''. New York: Baháʼí Publishing Committee, 1933. pp.&nbsp;118–19.</ref>{{sfn|Smith|2000|loc=p. 122, ''Disciples of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá''}} No other statements about them have been found in Shoghi Effendi's writings.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Troxel |first= Duane K. |encyclopedia= Baháʼí Encyclopedia Project |title= Augur, George Jacob (1853–1927) |year= 2009 |publisher= National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States |location= Evanston, IL |url= http://www.bahai-encyclopedia-project.org/index.php?view=article&catid=37%3Abiography&id=170%3Aaugur-george-jacob&option=com_content&Itemid=74}}</ref>

During his lifetime there was some ambiguity among Baháʼís as to his station relative to Baháʼu'lláh, and later to Shoghi Effendi. Some American newspapers erroneously reported him to be a Baháʼí prophet or the [[Second Coming|return of Christ]]. Shoghi Effendi later formalized his legacy as the last of three "Central Figures" of the Baháʼí Faith and the "Perfect exemplar" of the teachings, also claiming that holding him on an equal status to Baháʼu'lláh or Jesus was heretical. Shoghi Effendi also wrote that during the anticipated Baháʼí dispensation of 1000 years there will be no equal to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.{{sfn|Effendi|1938}}