The first Western Bahá'í pilgrims, pictured in the winter of 1898. Ibrahim George Kheiralla is seated in the middle of the front row. Lua Getsinger sits second from right. Standing in the left is Robert Turner.
June 22. On this date in 1900, 'Abdu'l-Karím-i-Tihrání gave
a talk in Chicago stating "Its Power and Glory was flashed from heaven to earth when Beha 'U'llah stood up and declare: 'I am God and there is no God but Me, the Ancient, the Everlasting, the Creator of all things, the Almighty, the Potent!'"
'Abdu'l-Karím-i-Tihrání gave talks to the New York and Chicago assemblies, delivered at Abdu'l-Baha's request, to deepen the believers following the covenant-breaking of
Ibrahim George Kheiralla, later published as a 100-page booklet titled
"Addresses Delivered before the New York and Chicago Assemblies"
On November 11, 1849,
Ibrahim George Kheiralla was born to a Christian family in a village on Mount Lebanon. He later studied medicine at the Syrian Protestant College in Beirut.
Ibrahim George Kheiralla converted to the Bahá'í Faith while living in Egypt in 1889 when he met Hájí 'Abdu’l-Karím-i-Tihrání. Kheiralla went through Europe and eventually came to the United States in late 1892 where he joined Anton Haddad, the first Bahá'í to come to America. Initially, Kheiralla settled in New York where he began teaching "Truth Seeker" classes. He visited
Charles Augustus Briggs and others, as well as the Syrian community in New York.
In 1894 Kheiralla moved on to Chicago following the interest fostered by the World's Columbian Exposition's World Parliament of Religions. In Chicago he taught "Truth Seeker" classes. One of the early converts while Kheiralla was in Chicago was
Thornton Chase, who had read the presentation about the Bahá'ís at the Exposition, and is generally considered the first Bahá'í convert in the West to have remained in the religion. Other individuals had converted, but none remained members of the religion.
Another to join the religion from Kheiralla's early classes was
Howard MacNutt, who would later compile
The Promulgation of Universal Peace, a prominent collection of the addresses of `Abdu'l-Bahá during his journeys in America. Both men were designated as "Disciples of 'Abdu'l-Bahá" and "Heralds of the Covenant" by Shoghi Effendi.
Another student of the classes and Disciple was
Lua Getsinger, designated as the "mother teacher of the West".
Another who "passed" the class and joined the religion was the maverick
Honoré Jackson. Kheiralla moved once again, to Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1895, where a large Bahá'í community soon developed.
Because of his success promulgating the Bahá'í Faith in North America, 'Abdu'l-Bahá titled Kheiralla "Bahá's Peter," "the Second Columbus" and "Conqueror of America." 'Abdu'l-Bahá would write a Tablet to Ibráhím George Kheiralla.
On December 10, 1898, the first Western pilgrims arrived in ‘Akká. Led by
Ibrahim George Kheiralla, the group included
Phoebe Hearst,
Lua Getsinger,
May Maxwell, and
Robert Turner.
In ‘Akká, they witnessed first hand the conflict between 'Abdu'l-Bahá and his brothers. Upon his return to America in 1899, Kheiralla authored a book,
Beha'u'llah, wherein he states his belief that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was equal in rank to his brothers
Mírzá Muhammad 'Alí, Díyá'u'lláh, and Badi'u'lláh. Early after the return to America, 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent, first, Anton Haddad with a letter contesting the definition of leadership, then Khieralla's initial teacher of the religion, 'Abdu’l-Karím-i-Tihrání, to confront him.
The conflict made the newspapers. Ultimately, in the conflict between 'Abdu'l-Bahá and
Mírzá Muhammad 'Alí, Kheiralla sided with the latter for which he was declared a Covenant-breaker.
Kheiralla would go on to form the "Society of Behaists," which would later be led by
Shua Ullah Behai and eventually become defunct. Kheiralla had three children, two daughters who were named Nabeeha and Labiba, and a son named George Ibrahim Kheirallah who converted Islam in the 1930s, becoming active in the Islamic Society of New York, and translated and published some poems of Khalil Gibran.
Ibrahim George Kheiralla died on March 6, 1929.
BY ABDEL KARIM EFFENDI.
Chicago, June 22, 1900.
Praise be to God who hath created the Servants to cultivate His Vineyard and sent His Messengers to instruct the people that they may be grateful for the Grace of their Lord.
Praise be to God who hath created the body and made it a Tent for the Soul that His servants may be granted the "Water of Life" and of His Bounty they may speak!
Praise be to God who hath manifested Himself to His servants that they may meet Him and perceive His signs!
Praise be to God who hath pointed out the "Center of the Covenant" that they may worship between the Hands of God, in His Gifts rejoice, and be loyal and firm to the Testament and the Me chosen by God.
Oh beloved of God, unite in the Cause of your Lord, then hear the One who reminds you by a permission on the part of God!
In all cases and under all circumstances take a firm hold of the Trail of His Glory and rely upon Him, for He is indeed with you and will assist
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you by His Dominion, for He has the knowledge of all things and verily He is the Truth, the Omniscient!
Oh beloved of the Merciful, arise to assist your Lord and know that the heavens of religions have been folded, the moon has been split and the Exalted has come in great Glory! Fear God and violate not the Covenant of God and His Testament and hasten toward the River of Bounty which is the Center, and turn unto Him with all your hearts, and render unto His Cause that which you call your possessions. This is better unto you than all which has been created in the universe, were ye of those who know!
Consider the condition of those who have violated the Command of God in the past, how their traces were destroyed, their names forgotten, and their power diminished, until fire and torment encompassed them from all sides; know that the same shall befall those at the present time who have violated the Covenant of God, as a punishment for their sayings.
Verily the Lord is powerful over all things and
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the station of yourselves, much less the station of your Lord, I must now convey to your minds the following fact:
Know, oh Believers, that upon the Day when God the Almighty — in the form of man, known as Beha 'U'llah — declared Himself and said to the inhabitants of the contingent world, to the mountains, hilltops, trees, grass, shrubs, flowers, weeds, stones, sands, seas, winds, waves, and every atom comprising the earth, and all the ethers comprising the air: "I am God and there is no God but Me," the old heaven and the old earth passed away and was no more, and from that moment all things became new and that which was, was not!
That Day marked the era of a new creation, a new people, a new heaven, and a new earth! And the secret Word — the Word of Mystery mentioned first by Adam, then by the Prophets, Messengers, Christ and His Disciples, and later by Mohammed in the Koran, then by the Bab — that Day became flesh and dwelt among men. Its Power and Glory was flashed from heaven to earth when Beha 'U'llah stood up and declare: "I am God and there is no God but Me, the Ancient, the Everlasting, the Creator of all things, the Almighty, the Potent!"
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Then know, oh people, at that time the earth trembled and. did quake, the heavens rolled together as a scroll, and in less than the twinkling of all eye all things passed away and God alone existed! Then from the Shining Mouth of the Living Word went forth the Command "Be!" and in another twinkling a new creation was!
Then know, oh ye who are seeking for knowledge, that the first creature of this new and extraordinary creation to come forth, recognize and acknowledge "The Word made Manifest" was the Spirit of Christ — in the Temple of Man — Abbas Effendi who professed, testified and confessed to the Appearance of God the Almighty, the Heavenly Father, by saying: "Ya Allah Labbick Labbick" — "Thou art God, Thou art the Worshipped, Thou art the Father of the Spirits, Thou art the Creator of what was and now is. Oh God, here I am, I am ready!" Therefore He is the first Fruit of those who slept and the first to believe in God and in the fulfillment of the Promised Day, which is in accordance with what God hath said in the Book of Names: "Thou testifieth for Me and I testify for Thee," and the same was repeated in Kitab-el-Akdas and Kitab-el-Ahd. Not only that but in many tablets he also said: "Blessed is the Land which is honored by the Visit of one of Thy Beloved;
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exalted is he who comes into They Presence and opened is the eye which seest Thy Beauty." Also in Surat 'ul Hykl He says: "This is the Day which is not followed by the night!"
Think over these words, oh ye people, that ye may know and realize the great station of your Lord, and thereby arise for the service of His Commands throughout the Cities and regions of your country, for His fields are white unto the harvest, but his laborers are few, very few!
O people, oh friends, oh servants in the Vineyard, roll up your sleeves, take the sickle of Might and go forth to garner His grain and gather His sheaves that they may be stored away in His Kingdom; thereby your treasures in heaven will be increased, your hearts will be filled with joy and your souls shall drink of the pure waters which flow through the Beautiful Gardens prepared for those who love their Lord and seek to do His Will!
On several occasions I have mentioned to you that which the Blessed Perfection Himself mentioned to me - that should anyone spend his lifetime in fasting, praying, mentioning God, serving His servants, expending his wealth in His Cause, should it consist of the treasures of the earth, but in his heart he has no love toward the "Center of the Covenant," all his actions and
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deeds would not be accounted as one grain of sand before God, the King of Death. Consider then, oh you who are firm in the Covenant, the position of those who have turned away their faces and become "Nakazeen," the weakness of their minds, and the darkness of their ignorance; from amongst them one is sitting in the house misinterpreting the texts of the Book of God and writing letters of lies against the Center of the Covenant, around whom the Kingdom of Names revolve. Say unto that one:
Oh thou spotted snake, how many a one like you have written books against the Word of God at all times, sent them to different places that they may extinguish the Lights of God through their statements and false sayings, but, thanks be to God, their plans were frustrated and their station became the lowest of the low! Say unto that one: Reflect upon what your fathers have done before you — what profit did they receive front their actions and attempts to hinder the progress of God. By the Life of the Living they were cursed by their own pens and in the fire of jealousy and rancour were they burned! Open thine eyes that thou mayest know thyself and that which hath proceeded from thy lying and ungrateful mouth Thou shalt be seized by a great torture and punishment from all sides, and thou
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shalt find none to help and no one to save thee! And thou, oh sister serpent, who art wriggling thy sinuous way, and trading thy deceitful slime over the borders of another region, know that this shall also be thy fate and on that day when thou shalt know thy loss there shall be none to hear thy cries for quarter and no door will be opened to afford thee shelter!
Oh obedient Servant, leave the mention of the spotted snake and tell the servants of him who hath denied the Spirit of God in all times and periods, saying: Oh thou denier of God, repent unto God, and turn again to thy Lord! If you do this, stand up and say: "My God, my God, I have repented unto Thee. Thou art the Pardoner the Generous. My God, my God, I have oppressed myself and those of Thy poor servants who know nothing, but are moved only by my lust and desires in the way I list! Sometimes I say to them: 'Turn your faces unto the Center of the Covenant and praise Him.' They reply 'Yes, we are ready,' and again, I say unto them: 'Deny the Covenant of God,' and again they reply: 'Yes, yes, we are under thy High Command!' Thus their reins are in my hand and I can pull them as I please! They travel on land and go
over the sea at my command, but, oh my God, guide us unto repentance and forget our in-
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iquities, for Thou art the Guider of those who stray madly! Oh my God and my Lord, I have neglected Thy decisive commands in Thy perspicuous Book and adopted those which emanate from my own deceitful self, for I am a slave to my passions and lust! Should I command any one of these poor people to travel for a distance of one thousand miles for the purpose of extinguishing Thy Light, he will say: 'My Master and Pontiff, I am ready, I am ready.'
"'Oh God, I am ignorant and those people are more ignorant than I am. Have us removed through Thy Power and Mercy, because our crimes and trespasses are more than we can count, and our oppression is graver than that of all the oppressors on the earth.
"Oh God, I am attacked by the love of passion and lust. In the beginning I called these people unto Thee, and in these days I have denied Thee and Thy signs, and become the source of perversion against the Center of Thy Covenant in accordance with the dictates of my desires, and no one of these people has ever said to me: 'For what reason did you first believe, or in these days, for what reason do ye deny?' By God, I am the cause of their aberration and they are the cause of my madness because we have subjected ourselves to one another, to pride and worldly de-
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sires! Oh God, oh God, I ask Thee, by Thy greatest signs and by the "Ark of Thy Command," to enable me to repent sincerely from my heart, but if Thou knowest I do
not repent have me removed that I may cease to be a thorn in the way of Thy Beloved.
"Oh God, I do not know why such a Thick Veil has been drawn between Thee and me. I ask Thee by Thy Name, by which all beings were created, to create in me a clean heart and a new spirit that I may obey Thy commandments; grant me the power of understanding that I may comprehend Thy signs; and give me a new eye that I may see Thy traces and know myself. Thou art the Most Merciful of the Merciful!"
Oh thou obedient Servant, leave the mention of the Nakazeen and turn toward the true advancers, saying:
Oh firm Believers, rejoice over your belief in God and your firmness in the Covenant of your Lord who is the King of the Day of Death, and praise Him for this great gift which lie hath bestowed upon you! In the time of the Blessed Perfection He hath caused to descend a Tablet known by the name of "Lawl-el-Fitnat," i. e. "The Tablet of Test," wherein is mentioned the test and corruption which will appear in the world and in this Tablet He says: "Everything
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shall be tested in its time, which begins from the year of Shedad, i. e. the year of the Departure!" One of the Believers asked our Lord, what is meant by the year of Shedad? He replied, it is the year 1309, which is the year of ascension when the Sun of the Truth hath set upon the human world and risen upon the Divine; that the scents of test will pass upon every city, country, body and thing which is existing in the worlds of the seen and unseen, and everything will be tested by its antithesis; for example, a good and pious man shall be tested by a corrupted and wicked one, and so in everything, for this is the law of test; therefore let everyone of us rely upon God and read this Tablet, which is a great protection to our souls until the days of test are over.
God hath said in His Glorious Book: "He is the Manifestation, the Speaker, the Powerful, the Great, the Wise. Praise be to God, who hath made to appear by His Dominion that which He wisheth and adorned the Day by attributing it to Himself, which is called in the Heavenly Books the 'Day of God,' whereon appeared that which was concealed by the Prophets, Messengers, Books and Tablets, and when the appointed time came the Orb of the Manifestation, the Speaker of Mount Sinai, appeared with Dominion and great Power,"
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It is the duty of every Believer to lay hold upon the trail of the Providence of God and read with humility His Tablets and Communes that he may be protected from the insinuations of Satan! Oh people, ask God to help you shun the Devil and his diabolical suggestions which he imbues in the breasts of the people. Then know, oh Believers, that God hath commanded everyone to deliver the Truth to the others; and if anyone through lack of knowledge, is unable to perform such a sacred duty, he must ask some other guide or leader to do it for him!
Let no one boast or glory over another, for verily God is able to raise up the lowest among you to the highest station, and bring the highest down to the very lowest!
Deprive not others of their rights. In all cases let justice be manifest among you. Read the words of God carefully and put into daily practice His commands!
If any difference regarding the interpretation of the texts takes place among you, refer the text to the Commentator of the Book, Abbas Effendi (may my soul be a ransom to those who obey Him).
Let each one of you read a Tablet and supplicate to God daily that you may be the means of advancing His Cause throughout your country —
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verily this now is the greatest duty and from it will come God's greatest Mercy upon His people. Be not idle, therefore, oh people, but work, work, work for your Lord.
Praise be to God, who hath fulfilled His Promise manifested His Command and guided us into the right path, while the majority of the people are still in darkness. Say to these people: "Believe in your God who hath created you and bestowed upon you an everlasting and great favor"; and he who heareth your words will be delivered and saved, — but mind that your words will not have the slightest effect upon the people unless you are in perfect agreement one with the other, wishing all good and happiness for one another, and all the embers of hatred, jealousy, and disunion have smouldered to ashes in your hearts and have been washed away by the tears which spring from the Fountain of Love.
Remember that our Lord in the days of yore hath said unto His followers: "Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt hath lost its savor wherewith shall it be salted," i. e. ye are those whom God hath made the means to serve and guide the servants, thus be careful that ye lose not your own savor, for a great corruption will then ensue, and by your actions your real selves will become manifest and "by your fruit shall
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ye be known." Therefore; oh people, let your sayings be free from any self-interested motives, your worship from hypocrisy, your deeds from lust and greed, and adhere unto those things which will profit you and others. Commit not that which is outside the circle of manliness and morality, for virtue is the ornament of the true Believer, and purity and chastity are the precious pearls which should adorn the brow of everyone who calls upon the name of His God, and who supplicates to the Merciful Throne of His Lord!
I praise my God that to-night I see the Light of Union shining with greater brilliancy from your faces, and I humbly pray that it may continue to shine brighter and ever brighter until your faces shall merge into one face and be lost in the midst of its beautiful golden glow!
Know, oh my beloved brothers and sanctified friends, that the greatest Gift of all the Gifts is the Love of God, for it is the foundation upon which the Temples of your Spirits are builded; therefore seek it diligently and cease not until you have found this Pearl of great price, for if you have knowledge, faith, hope, charity, intelligence and all the graces, and you possess not the Love of God you have nothing. Love is the protection of the soul, the light of the eye, the life of the heart and the sacred fire of the Spirit. It can
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be kindled in your temples by turning your faces toward the Center of the Covenant, inclining your ears unto His utterances and by seeking to fulfill His commands. Did you know the joy which comes from feeling its heat, you would not rest day or night until the small spark, which God in His Mercy hath laid in the center of every soul, was fanned into a flame, whose roaring could be heard throughout the avenues of your beings and whose light would be sufficient to illuminate the darkness of the entire earth!
Oh my God, oh my Lord, I pray Thee to remember these Thy children when Thou art stirring Thy Great and Holy Fire, and in Thy Mercy direct the shower of its sparks toward these hearts, the flood gates of which are now opened! Oh my God, my Beloved, be merciful unto me Thy humblest servant and grant me once more the great blessing of seeing the Beauty of Thy Chosen — the Lord of the Kingdom — the Kindler of the Fire of Thy Love — and the Beloved of the Seen and the Unseen — Abbas Effendi.
Oh God, Thou art the Generous, the Director, the Compassionate, and the Most Merciful!
