Service to Others

His Love and Service for the Sick

Source: Honnold, Annamarie, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Baha

His kind heart went out to those who were ill. If He could alleviate a pain or discomfort, He set about to do so. We are told that one old couple who were ill in bed for a month had twenty visits from the Master during that time. In ‘Akka, He daily sent a servant to inquire about the welfare of the ill, and as there was no hospital in the town, He paid a doctor a regular salary to look after the poor. The doctor was instructed not to tell Who provided this service. When a poor and crippled woman was shunned on contracting measles, the Master, on being informed, ‘immediately engaged a woman to care for her; took a room, put comfortable bedding (His own) into it, called the doctor, sent food and everything she needed. He went to see that she had every attention, and when she died in peace and comfort, He it was Who arranged her simple funeral, paying all charges.’

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A man, ill with tuberculosis, was avoided by his friends – even his family was fearful and hardly entered his room. The Master needed only to hear of it and ‘thereafter went daily to the sick man, took him delicacies, read and discoursed him, and was alone with him when he died’.

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The Master delivered a short talk in New York City, which included the following: ‘We should all visit the sick. When they are in sorrow and suffering it is a real help and benefit to have a friend come. Happiness is a great healer to those who are ill. In the East, it is the custom to call upon the patient often and meet him individually. The people in the east show the utmost kindness and compassion to the sick and suffering. This has greater effect than the remedy itself. You must always have this thought of love and affection when you visit the ailing and afflicted.’