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The Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is a holy day that commemorates the death of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The typical observance consists of devotional readings and is held at 1:00 AM, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed away about 1:00 AM on 28 November, 1921.
The funeral of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “a funeral the like of which Palestine had never seen,” drew “no less than ten thousand people…representing every class, religion and race in that country.” “A great throng,” the British High Commissioner wrote, “had gathered together, sorrowing for His death, but rejoicing also for His life.” The Governor of Jerusalem at the time also wrote in describing the funeral: “I have never known a more united expression of regret and respect than was called forth by the utter simplicity of the ceremony.”
—The Passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, by Lady Blomfield and Shoghi Effendi, pp. 11, 12.
Photo: '‘Abdu’l-Bahá walking up Haparsim Street with three kids eating sweets that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá just gave them, c. 1920.
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