A thought of the next world

It is through our explanations of things to children that we really begin to understand those things ourselves.

The other day Shoghi asked me a question about death. We've been reading a lot of books that have people dying in them. I'm not sure why, but it seems to be coming up a lot lately.

In one story, we read about Abdu'l-Baha and a woman named Na'um. She was very old and extremely poor. She would come see Abdu'l-Baha most every day, and he would give her a bit of money, even though he did not have a lot of money himself. One day she didn't show up, and someone came running to him and said, "Master, Master, Na'um is sick. She has the measles and nobody will go near her." 'Abdu'l-Baha hired someone to watch over her. He rented a room for her, paid for her medicine and even sent her his own bedding. When she passed away, he paid for her funeral.

When Shoghi asked me about this, I explained the following:

When a friend is getting ready to move, we can help them in many ways. We can help them sort through their belongings and throw away what is not necesary. Then we can help them pack up what they want in boxes. We could help them load the truck, or even drive the truck for them. At their new home, we can help unload, or even unpack, the boxes.

This is what Abdu'l-Baha was doing for her. She was getting ready to move to heaven and he was helping her sort through her stuff, and get ready to move. He was helping her recognize the virtues that were truly important in life, and pack them away in her heart for the next world.

He did this by showing so much love and compassion to her. He made sure that she was comfortable and happy. He did all that he could for her, so that her last days would be good.

And this is how we must be. We must help others, and make sure that they comfortable and happy.


It is through this story, and talking about it with Marielle, that we have come to realize that the accumulation of virtues, as good and wonderful as this is, is not all. They are given to us to develop so that we can better know our Creator. This is the goal. When we move to the next world, our aim is the same: to know and worship God.

These virtues help us do this.