BahÃĄâ•Žuâ•ŽllÃĄh and the New Era - Knowledge Rush

War Time at HaifaA remarkable instance of the foresight of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wassupplied during the months immediately preceding the war. Duringpeacetimes there was usually a large number of pilgrims atHaifa, from Persia and other regions of the globe. About sixmonths before the outbreak of war one of the old Bahá’ís livingat Haifa present a request from several believers of Persia forpermission to visit the Master. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá did not grant thepermission, and from that time onwards gradually dismissed thepilgrims who were at Haifa, so that by the end of July 1914 noneremained. When, in the first days of August the sudden outbreakof the Great War startled the world, the wisdom of His precautionbecame apparent.When the war broke out, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Who had alreadyspent fifty-five years of His life in exile and prison, becameagain virtually a prisoner of the Turkish Government. Communicationwith friends and believers outside Syria was almostcompletely cut off, and He and His little band of followers wereagain subjected to straitened circumstances, scarcity of food andgreat personal danger and inconvenience.During the war ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had a busy time in ministeringto the material and spiritual wants of the people about Him.He personally organized extensive agricultural operations nearTiberias, thus securing a great supply of wheat, by means ofwhich famine was averted, not only for the Bahá’ís but forhundreds of the poor of all religions in Haifa and Akká, whosewants He liberally supplied. He took care of all, and mitigatedtheir sufferings as far as possible. To hundreds of poor peopleHe would give a small sum of money daily. In addition to moneyHe gave bread. If there was no bread He would give dates orsomething else. He made frequent visits to Akká to comfort andhelp the believers and poor people there. During the time of warHe had daily meetings of the believers, and through His help the