teful to God, abstemious and chaste, expectant of
and relying on the bounty and grace of the Lord. He made his father's lamp
to shine, brightened the household of 'Abdu'l-Fattah, and left descendants
to remain behind him in this swiftly passing world.
He always did what he could to provide for the happiness of the believers;
he always saw to their well-being. He was sagacious, grave, and steadfast.
By God's grace, he stayed loyal to the end, and sound in faith. May God
give him to drink from the cup of forgiveness; may he sip from the spring
of God's bounty and good pleasure; may God raise him up to the heights of
Divine bestowal. His sweet-scented tomb is in Akka.
MUHAMMAD-'ALIY-I-ARDIKANI
In the flower of tender youth, Muhammad-'Ali, the illumined, heard the cry
of God, and lost his heart to heavenly grace. He entered the service of
the Afnan, offshoot of the Holy Tree, and lived happy and content. This
was how he came to the city of Akka, and was for quite a time present at
the Sacred Threshold, winning a crown of lasting glory. The eye of
Baha'u'llah's grace and favor was upon him. He served with a loyal heart.
He had a happy nature, a comely face; he was a man believing, seeking,
tested and tried.
During the days of Baha'u'llah, Muhammad-'Ali remained steadfast, and
after the Supreme Affliction his heart did not fail him, for he had drunk
the wine of the Covenant and his thoughts were fixed on the bounties of
God. He moved to Haifa and lived, a firm believer, near the
Haziratu'l-Quds by the Holy Shrine on Mount Carmel till his final breath,
when death came and the carpet of his earthly life was rolled up and put
away.
This man was a true servant of the Threshold, a good friend to the
believers. All were pleased with him, finding him an excellent companion,
gentle and mild. May God succor him in His exalted Kingdom, and give him a
home in the Abha Realm, and send upon him abounding grace from the gardens
of Heaven--the place of meeting, the place of the mystical contemplation of
God. His amber-scented dust is in Haifa.
HAJI AQAY-I-TABRIZI
Early in his youth this spiritual man, who came from Tabriz, had sensed
the mystic knowledge and drunk the heady wine of God, and he remained
staunch as ever in the Faith during his years of helpless age.
He lived for a time in A_dh_irbayjan, enamored of the Lord. When he became
widely known thereabouts as one bearing the name of God, the people
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