What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a talk by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the original Persian transcript of which is published in Najm-i-Bákhtar (the Persian pages of Star of the West), vol. 14, no. 12, p. 384. According to the heading which precedes that transcript, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá delivered this talk in the Shrine of the Báb, but the year in which He did this seems not to be known.
It is the day of the Festival of Naw-Rúz. Our festivals are exceedingly great; among all the peoples of the world, they are without peer. Similarly, our days of mourning are also profoundly intense, but because we lived in this world in the time of Bahá’u’lláh, we celebrated this festival during the days of His blessed life. Ever since His ascension, however, we have not been in the mood for festivities because we recall that, on such a day as this, we had the honor of being in His holy presence. When we remember this, our state does not allow us to be happy. Otherwise, we used to celebrate this festival most excellently. We would awaken in the morning with the utmost joy. We were very happy during these days. The festival days were as well organized and neatly arranged as could be, complete with flowers and sweets.
Our festival shall take place on a day when, by the aid and bounty of God, the means for our martyrdom will be prepared. There lies eternal happiness; there lies an everlasting festival. Should such a thing as this come about—if the instruments of calamity should be assembled on every side, and if on the path of God we should fall into hardship, afflicted with imprisonment and suffering—that day shall be a day of glad tidings, and of our elation and felicity. The day that shall be even as our wedding day is the one in which we are subjected to agonizing torment.* There can be no greater joy or happiness than this.
It is truly imperative that these festival days, which are holidays when people are cheerful—days for fellowship and love, and days for gathering together—yield some sort of result, such as discussions and consultations on beneficial matters, so that these deliberations may bear imperishable fruits. For instance, a general council could be convened to teach the Cause, or a public assembly be held for charitable endeavors and productive topics. In short, these days should produce a result and not remain without fruit, that from this joy and delight—this attraction, ardor, and gladness—conspicuous signs may appear. Furthermore, during these days the rich must treat the poor with great care so that everyone may be happy, and this happiness not be limited only to the wealthy. The rich and the poor should be of one condition, rejoicing and enjoying themselves in the same way.
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* The phrase translated as “subjected to agonizing torment” is, in the original Persian, bar rúy-i-ṣullábih bikishand (بر روی صُلّابه بکِشند), which literally means “dragged [to be hung] on hooks,” as one would do with meat. According to the lexicographer Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda (see here), this can have the figurative meaning of being subjected to agonizing torment, and that is how it has been translated here. However, since ‘Abdu’l-Bahá makes an earlier reference to martyrdom, that may have been the meaning He intended in using this expression. In that vein, Alexander Nilsson has suggested to me that the original phrase might have actually been bih ṣalíb bikishand, meaning “to be crucified” (ṣullábih and ṣalíb (“cross”) sharing the same Arabic root of Ṣ-L-B), which would date this talk to Naw-Rúz of 1918 since it has been said that, in the spring of that year, Jamál Páshá threatened to crucify ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on Mount Carmel together with His family (assuming Jamál Páshá actually made that threat before Naw-Rúz):
In the spring of 1918, Lady Sara Blomfield received a telephone call in Paris. “‘Abdu’l-Bahá in serious danger. Take immediate action.” She learned that the Ottoman commander of Syria, Jamal Pasha, had announced his plans to crucify ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and his family on Mount Carmel. She reached Lord Lamington at Whitehall, and, with the consent of Lord Balfour, the Foreign Secretary, a telegram was sent to General Edmund Allenby, the commander of the British army in Palestine. In September, 1918, the British defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Megiddo and marched on Haifa. Allenby sent messengers to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s home to inquire about the family’s condition. Then he cabled Whitehall: “Have today taken Palestine. Notify the world that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is safe.”
(Source here)
A typescript of the original Persian text of this talk appears below (all punctuation and short vowel marks mine).
Adib Masumian 