Editing ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (section)

== Baghdad ==

Baháʼu'lláh was eventually released from prison but was ordered into exile, and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, then eight years old, joined his father on the journey to [[Baghdad]] in the winter (January to April)<ref name="Winter'sChron">[http://bahai-library.com/winters_chronology_babi_persecutions Chronology of persecutions of Babis and Baha'is] compiled by Jonah Winters</ref> of 1853.{{sfn|Balyuzi|2001|p=12}} During the journey ʻAbdu'l-Bahá suffered from frost-bite. After a year of difficulties, Baháʼu'lláh absented himself rather than continuing to face the conflict with [[Mirza Yahya]] and secluded himself in the mountains of [[Sulaymaniyah]] in April 1854, a month before ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's tenth birthday<ref name="Winter'sChron"/> Due to mutual sorrow, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, his [[Ásíyih Khánum|mother]] and [[Bahíyyih Khánum|sister]] becoming constant companions.<ref>{{Harvnb|Blomfield|1975|p=54}}</ref> ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was particularly close to both, and his mother took an active role in his education and upbringing.<ref name="Blomfield 1975 69">{{Harvnb|Blomfield|1975|p=69}}</ref> During the two-year absence of his father ʻAbdu'l-Bahá took up the duty of managing the affairs of the family,<ref>[http://www.peyman.info/cl/Baha'i/Others/ROB/V2/p388-396Ch18.html The Revelation of Baháʼu'lláh, volume two], page 391</ref> before his [[age of majority|age of maturity]] (14 in Middle-Eastern society)<ref>[http://www.unrisd.org/unrisd/website/document.nsf/8b18431d756b708580256b6400399775/2e975aca2a81aa54c12576580028735c/$FILE/WebIran.pdf Can women act as agents of a democratization of theocracy in Iran?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401161613/http://www.unrisd.org/unrisd/website/document.nsf/8b18431d756b708580256b6400399775/2e975aca2a81aa54c12576580028735c/$FILE/WebIran.pdf |date=1 April 2021 }} by [[Homa Hoodfar]], Shadi Sadr, page 9</ref> and was known to be occupied with reading and, at a time of hand-copied scriptures being the primary means of publishing, was also engaged in copying the writings of the [[Báb]].{{sfn|Balyuzi|2001|p=14}} ʻAbdu'l-Bahá also took an interest in the art of horseback riding, and as he grew, he became a renowned rider.<ref name="lotoae" />

In 1856, news of an ascetic engaging in discourses with local Súfí leaders reached family and friends, raising hopes that it could be Bahá’u’lláh. Immediately, they went to search for Baháʼu'lláh, and in March,<ref name="Winter'sChron"/> brought him back to Baghdad.<ref name="Smith17">{{Harvnb|Smith|2008|p=17}}</ref> On seeing his father, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá fell to his knees and wept loudly "Why did you leave us?", and his mother and sister did the same.<ref name="lotoae" />{{sfn|Balyuzi|2001|p=15}} ʻAbdu'l-Bahá soon became his father's secretary and shield.{{sfn|Esslemont|1980}} During the sojourn in the city ʻAbdu'l-Bahá grew from a boy into a young man. He was noted as a "remarkably fine looking youth",<ref name="lotoae" /> and remembered for his charity.{{sfn|Esslemont|1980}} Having passed the age of maturity, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was regularly seen in the mosques of Baghdad discussing religious topics and the scripture as a young man. Whilst in Baghdad, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá composed a commentary at the request of his father on the Muslim tradition of "[[I was a Hidden Treasure]]" for a Súfí leader named ʻAlí Shawkat Páshá.{{sfn|Esslemont|1980}}<ref name="iwaht">{{cite web |last=ʻAbdu'l-Bahá |title=ʻAbdu'l-Baha's Commentary on The Islamic Tradition: "I Was a Hidden Treasure ..." |url=http://bahai-library.com/abdulbaha_kuntu_kanzan_makhfiyyan |publisher=Baha'i Studies Bulletin 3:4 (Dec. 1985), 4–35 |access-date=20 December 2009}}</ref> ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was fifteen or sixteen at the time and ʻAlí Shawkat Páshá regarded the more than 11,000-word essay as a remarkable feat for someone of his age.{{sfn|Esslemont|1980}} In 1863, in what became known as the [[Garden of Ridván, Baghdad|Garden of Ridván]], his father Baháʼu'lláh announced to a few companions that he was the [[Manifestation of God (Baháʼí Faith)|manifestation of God]] and [[He whom God shall make manifest]] whose coming had been foretold by the [[Báb]]. On day eight of the twelve days, it is reported that ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was the first person to whom Baháʼu'lláh revealed his claim.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.paintdrawer.co.uk/david/folders/Spirituality/001=Bahai/Ridvan.pdf| title = Declaration of Baha'u'llah}}</ref><ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/bahai/holydays/ridvan.shtml The history and significance of the Baháʼí festival of Ridván] BBC</ref>