During the long years of imprisonment and banishment that
followed Bahá’u’lláh’s refusal to serve the political agenda of the Ottoman
authorities, ‘Abdu’l Bahá was entrusted with the management of the Faith’s
affairs and with the responsibility of acting as His Father’s spokesman. A
significant aspect of this work entailed interaction with local and provincial
officials who sought His advice on the problems confronting them. Not
dissimilar needs presented themselves in the Master’s homeland. As early as
1875, responding to Bahá’u’lláh’s instructions, ‘Abdu’l Bahá addressed to the
rulers and people of Persia a treatise entitled The Secret of Divine
Civilization, setting out the spiritual principles that must guide the shaping
of their society in the age of humanity’s maturity.
(From ‘Century of Light’, a
document prepared under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice and published
in 2001)
