Editing ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (section)

== ʻAkká ==

[[File:AkkaPrison.jpg|thumb|right|Prison in ʻAkká where Baháʼu'lláh and his family were housed]]

At the age of 24, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was clearly chief-steward to his father and an outstanding member of the Baháʼí community.{{sfn|Balyuzi|2001|p=17}} In 1868 Baháʼu'lláh and his family were exiled to the penal colony of [[Acre, Palestine|ʻAkká, Palestine]] where it was expected that the family would perish.<ref>{{harvnb|Foltz|2013|p=238}}</ref> Arrival in ʻAkká was distressing for the family and exiles{{sfn|Smith|2000|pp=14–20}} when they were met by a hostile local population.{{sfn|Esslemont|1980}} When told that the women were to sit on the shoulders of the men to reach the shore, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá obtained chairs to carry the women to land.<ref name="lotoae" /> His sister and father fell dangerously ill.{{sfn|Esslemont|1980}} ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was able to procure some anesthetic and nursed the sick.<ref name="lotoae" /> The Baháʼís were imprisoned under horrendous conditions in a cluster of cells covered in excrement and dirt.{{sfn|Esslemont|1980}} ʻAbdu'l-Bahá himself fell dangerously ill with [[dysentery]],{{sfn|Esslemont|1980}} and a sympathetic soldier permitted a physician to attend to him.<ref name="lotoae" /> The population shunned them, the soldiers treated them badly, and the behaviour of Siyyid Muhammad-i-Isfahani (an [[Azalism|Azali]]) aggravated matters.<ref name="Harvnb|Kazemzadeh|2009"/>{{sfn|Balyuzi|2001|p=22}} Morale declined further with the accidental death of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's youngest brother [[Mírzá Mihdí]] at the age of 22.<ref name="lotoae" /> The grieving ʻAbdu'l-Bahá kept a night-long vigil beside his brother's body.<ref name="Harvnb|Kazemzadeh|2009"/><ref name="lotoae" />

=== Later in ʻAkká ===

Over time, he gradually assumed responsibility for the relationships between the small [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]] exile community and the outside world. It was through his interaction with the people of ʻAkká (Acre) that, they recognized the innocence of the Baháʼís, and thus the conditions of imprisonment were eased.{{sfn|Balyuzi|2001|pp=33–43}} Four months after the death of Mihdí the family moved from the prison to the [[House of ʻAbbúd]].{{sfn|Balyuzi|2001|p=33}} Gradually the respect of the local population for the Baháʼís increased, and in particular, for ʻAbdu'l-Bahá who soon became very popular in the penal colony. Myron Henry Phelps a wealthy New York lawyer described how "a crowd of human beings...Syrians, Arabs, Ethiopians, and many others",<ref>{{harvnb|Phelps|1912|p=3}}</ref> all waited to talk and receive ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2000|p=4}}</ref> With the passage of time ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was able to rent alternative accommodations for the family, and eventually the family moved to the Mansion of Bahjí around 1879 when an epidemic caused its residents to flee.

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá undertook a history of the Bábí religion through publication of [[A Traveller's Narrative]] (Makála-i-Shakhsí Sayyáh) in 1886,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/diglib/books/A-E/B/browne/tn/tnfrnt.htm| title = A Traveller's Narrative, (Makála-i-Shakhsí Sayyáh)}}</ref> later translated and published in translation in 1891 through Cambridge University through the agency of [[Edward Granville Browne]].

===Marriage and family life===

When ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was a young man, speculation was rife amongst the Baháʼís as to whom he would marry.{{sfn|Esslemont|1980}}{{sfn|Hogenson|2010|p=87}} Several young girls were seen as marriage prospects but ʻAbdu'l-Bahá seemed disinclined to marriage.{{sfn|Esslemont|1980}} On 8 March 1873, at the urging of his father,<ref name="Harvnb|Kazemzadeh|2009"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Ma'ani|2008|p=112}}</ref> the twenty-eight-year-old ʻAbdu'l-Bahá married [[Munírih Khánum|Fátimih Nahrí of Isfahán]] (1847–1938) a twenty-five-year-old from an upper-class family of the city.<ref name=Smith2000-p255>{{Harvnb|Smith|2000|p=255}}</ref> Her father was Mírzá Muḥammad ʻAlí Nahrí of [[Isfahan]], an eminent Baháʼí with prominent connections.{{efn|The Nahrí family had earned their fortune from a successful trading business. They won the favor of the leading ecclesiastics and nobility of Isfahan and had business transactions with royalty.}}{{sfn|Esslemont|1980}}{{sfn|Hogenson|2010|p=87}} Fátimih was brought from [[Persia]] to ʻAkká after both [[Baháʼu'lláh]] and his wife [[Navváb]] expressed an interest that she marries ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.{{sfn|Esslemont|1980}}<ref name=Smith2000-p255/><ref name="ltoae">{{Harvnb|Phelps|1912|pp=85–94}}</ref> After a wearisome journey from Isfahán to Akka she finally arrived accompanied by her brother in 1872.{{sfn|Esslemont|1980}}<ref name="ltoae"/> The young couple were betrothed for about five months before the marriage itself commenced. In the meantime, Fátimih lived in the home of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's uncle [[Mírzá Músá]]. According to her later memoirs, Fátimih fell in love with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá on seeing him. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá himself had shown little inkling to marriage until meeting Fátimih;<ref name="ltoae"/> who was entitled Munírih by [[Baháʼu'lláh]].<ref name="Harvnb|Kazemzadeh|2009"/> Munírih is a title meaning "Luminous".<ref name="aittbf">{{harvnb|Smith|2008|p=35}}</ref>

The marriage resulted in nine children. The first born was a son Mihdí Effendi who died aged about 3. He was followed by Ḍíyáʼíyyih K͟hánum, Fuʼádíyyih K͟hánum (who dies very young), Rúhangíz Khánum (d. 1893), Túbá Khánum, Husayn Effendi (d. 1887 aged 5), Túbá K͟hánum, Rúhá K͟hánum (mother of [[Munib Shahid]]), and Munnavar K͟hánum. The death of his children caused ʻAbdu'l-Bahá immense grief – in particular the death of his son Husayn Effendi came at a difficult time following the death of his mother and uncle.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ma'ani|2008|p=323}}</ref> The surviving children (all daughters) were; Ḍíyáʼíyyih K͟hánum (mother of [[Shoghi Effendi]]) (d. 1951) Túbá K͟hánum (1880–1959) Rúḥá K͟hánum and Munavvar K͟hánum (d. 1971).{{sfn|Esslemont|1980}} [[Baháʼu'lláh]] wished that the Baháʼís follow the example of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and gradually move away from polygamy.<ref name="ltoae"/><ref name="aittbf"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Ma'ani|2008|p=360}}</ref> The marriage of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to one woman and his choice to remain monogamous,<ref name="ltoae"/> from advice of his father and his own wish,<ref name="ltoae"/><ref name="aittbf"/> legitimised the practice of monogamy<ref name="aittbf"/> to a people who hitherto had regarded polygamy as a righteous way of life.<ref name="ltoae"/><ref name="aittbf"/>