The Bahá’í World
Volume 1 : 1925-1926
 PASSING OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ19
THE PASSING OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ
Extracts from compilation prepared in January, 1922
By Lady Blomfield and Shoghi Effendi
IT is well known that the loved ones of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in every part of the world, are anxiously waiting to receive some details of the closing events of his unique and wonderful life. For this reason the present account is being written.
We have now come to realize that the Master knew the day and hour when, his mission on earth being finished, he would return to the shelter of heaven. He was, however, careful that his family should not have any premonition of the coming sorrow. It seemed as though their eyes were veiled by him, with his ever-loving consideration for his dear ones, that they should not see the significance of certain dreams and other signs of the culminating event. This they now realize was his thought for them, in order that their strength might be preserved to face the great ordeal when it should arrive, that they should not be devitalized by anguish of mind in its anticipation.
Out of the many signs of the approach of the hour when he could say of his work on earth, “It is finished,” the following two dreams seem remarkable. Less than eight weeks before his passing the Master related this to his family:
“I seemed to be standing within a great temple, in the inmost shrine, facing the east, in the place of the leader himself. I became aware that a large number of people were flocking into the temple; more and yet more crowded in, taking their places in rows behind me, until there was a vast multitude. As I stood I raised loudly the ‘Call to Prayer.’ Suddenly the thought came to me to go forth from the temple.
“When I found myself outside I said within myself, ‘For what reason came I forth, not having led the prayer? But it matters not; now that I have uttered the call to prayer, the vast multitude will of themselves chant the prayer.”
When the Master had passed away, his family pondered over this dream and interpreted it thus:—
He had called that same vast multitude—all peoples, all religions, all races, all nations and all kingdoms—to unity and peace, to universal love and brotherhood; and having called them, he returned to God the beloved, at whose command he had raised the majestic call, had given the divine message. This same multitude—the peoples, religions, races, nations and kingdoms—would continue the work, to which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had called them, and would of themselves press forward to its accomplishment.
A few weeks after the preceding dream the Master came in from the solitary room in the garden, which he had occupied of late, and said:-
“I dreamed a dream and behold the Blessed Beauty, (Bahá’u’lláh) came and said unto me, ‘Destroy this room!’ ”
The family, who had been wishing that he would come and sleep in the house, not being happy that he should be alone at night, exclaimed, “Yes, Master, we think your dream means that you should leave that room and come into the house.” When he heard this from us, he smiled meaningly as though not agreeing with our interpretation. Afterwards we understood that by the “room” was meant the temple of his body . . . .
In the same week he revealed a