15 / A Treasured Gift

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A Treasured Gift

When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá left Chicago, Dr. Zia Bagdadi joined Him, working as a writer and translator. Zia’s father and grandfather had been involved in the earliest days of the Bahá’í Faith. When Zia was young, he often visited Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Zia wrote about his treasured memories of being with Bahá’u’lláh at the Mansion of Bahjí near ‘Akká, one of the two homes in which Bahá’u’lláh lived after being allowed to leave the city in 1877:

I had the greatest honor and privilege to see Bahá’u’lláh and sit at his feet many days and nights in this palace. Here he used to hold my hand while walking to and fro in his large room, revealing Tablets, chanting the prayers with the most charming and melodious voice, while one of the attendants took them down. . . . On hot days he would take me with him to the outer alcove of the

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palace where it was somewhat cooler. . . . the gentle breezes blew on his soft jet black hair which reached almost to the waist. . . .

At times he would spend half an hour on the alcove, and my eyes would remain fixed on his majestic face. But whenever he glanced at me with his brown, piercing, yet most affectionate eyes, then I had to turn mine away and look down on the floor.

At my birth, Bahá’u’lláh named me “Zia” (Light) and gave me the Turkish title, “Effendi.” But on my first visit to him, when he inquired about my health, I replied in Arabic, “Mabsoot” (I am happy). He questioned, “How is your father?” “Mabsoot” ; and “How is your mother?” “Mabsoot,” was my reply. He laughed heartily and after that he always called me Mabsoot Effendi (The Happy One).1

When Zia grew up, he moved to Chicago. He completed his training as a medical doctor about a year before ‘Abdu’l-Bahá came to the United States. He also wrote the Persian pages of the Bahá’í publication, Star of the West.

During ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit, He, along with some other Bahá’ís, spent some time at the Lake Mohonk Mountain House. It was nestled among green valleys, wooded hills, and waterfalls, about four hours away from New York City. This was the site of a world-famous annual peace conference founded in 1895 by a Quaker man named Albert Smiley. Each year, about three hundred leaders in government, business, religion, the press, and education came from many countries to discuss the need for world peace. Hundreds of well-known leaders had attended the conferences, including William Howard Taft,

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America’s twenty-seventh president, and Andrew Carnegie, an influential businessman who gave most of his fortune to charity. Because of Mr. Smiley’s peace work, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1912, our planet had not yet suffered a global war. But in northern Africa, a war was raging between Italy and Turkey. Mistrust and conflict grew throughout Europe. Several countries began to quickly increase their military supplies. The countries near the Balkan Mountains of southeastern Europe fought two wars between 19121913. All these events contributed to the start of World War I in 1914. Several times during His travels in North America, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke about unrest in Europe. He said, “A world-enkindling fire is astir in the Balkans. God has created men to love each other; but instead, they kill each other with cruelty and bloodshed.”2

On May 14, 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá shared His hopeful vision of peace with the guests at Lake Mohonk. Mr. Smiley introduced ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with the greatest praise and respect. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá then spoke about universal peace and the oneness of humanity.

Ma¥múd wrote, “A new spirit and a new excitement seemed to prevail over the gathering. During the day most of the delegates had been engaged in materialistic issues. . . . In the evening, however, they found themselves puzzled when they heard the eloquent, elegant address of the Master concerning the unity of all people. . . .”3

After ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke, the audience applauded enthusiastically. They asked Him to continue, but He was tired, so He kindly apologized. The participants came forward to shake His hand—some even embraced Him. Then Mr. Smiley’s wife gave ‘Abdu’l-Bahá a pendant that had been designed for the conference.

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‘Abdu’l-Bahá stayed at Lake Mohonk for three days. Many dignitaries visited with Him and were impressed with His dynamic, loving spirit. One sunny day while He was out walking, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá met a group of young women and men. He stopped under a blossoming tree and smiled at them. Then He told them a story about some rats and mice that held a conference about how to make peace with the cat. After a long discussion, they decided that the best plan would be to tie a bell around the cat’s neck. The rats and mice would then hear the cat approaching and would be able to get out of his way. But when they tried to decide who should have the dangerous job of hanging the bell on the cat, no one was brave enough to do it. The conference ended in confusion.

Everyone laughed at the story. Then ‘Abdu’l-Bahá mentioned that the story was a lot like a global peace conference. There were many ideas and words, but no one wants to try to hang a bell on world leaders. At that, the group’s faces grew more serious.

On His last evening at the conference, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, “We have to leave this place tomorrow and I wish I had one of my Persian rugs here, that I might give it as a present to our host, Mr. Smiley. . . .”

It was already nine o’clock at night, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was planning to depart at ten o’clock the next morning. His companions told Him that it would be impossible for anyone to travel to His apartment in New York and return with a rug in time. Then ‘Abdu’l-Bahá turned to Zia Bagdadi and said, “Well, what do you say?”

Zia replied, “I am not afraid to try anything for you, my Lord.”

Zia set off. He took a carriage from Lake Mohonk to the railroad station. There was no passenger train to New York at that time, but a

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freight train was just leaving. Zia jumped on the tracks and ran after the train as fast as he could. Finally, he was able to grab the caboose of the train and climb up. As he stood panting and catching his breath, the conductor came forward and ordered him to get off of the train.

Zia showed the conductor his business card and said he was on a very urgent mission. The conductor said, “O you are a doctor! That is all right.” He didn’t ask for details, so Zia didn’t explain that his mission was to obtain a rug.

At about two o’clock in the morning, Zia reached ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s apartment overlooking the Hudson River. He had to wake Grace Ober and her sister Ella Roberts, who were serving as housekeepers in the apartment. They were surprised to find Zia with no hat, his hair messy, and his clothes covered in dust. They kindly asked him to rest and have something to eat, but he told them he didn’t have time. He selected one of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s most precious rugs and hurried back to the railway station.

Zia took the first train in the morning and reached the Lake Mohonk station at nine o’clock. He was still an hour away from the lake, and there was no vehicle in sight. Finally, the mail wagon appeared. When the mail-carrier went inside to collect the mail, Zia got onto the wagon and waited for him. The mail-carrier was surprised to find a passenger when he returned to finish his mail route.

Zia explained that he was in the service of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and showed him the rug he had to deliver. Zia even offered to take over the job of driving the wagon and delivering the mail for that day. He was flooded with relief when the mail-carrier said, “It’s alright I guess, I am going up there anyway.”

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The mail wagon arrived at Lake Mohonk just as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was shaking hands with Mr. Smiley and preparing to leave. Smiling, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá took the rug from Zia, and presented it to Mr. Smiley.

“Why this is just what I have been seeking for many years!” exclaimed Mr. Smiley. “You see we had a Persian rug just like this one, but it was burned in a fire and ever since my wife has been broken-hearted over it. This will surely make her very happy.”4

Mr. Smiley passed away in December of that year. His half-brother, Daniel Smiley, continued to host the peace conferences until 1916.

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