Among those who possessed this divine power and were
assisted by it was Abraham. The proof is this: Abraham was born in Mesopotamia
of a family that was ignorant of the oneness of God; He opposed His own people
and government, and even His own kin; He rejected all their gods; and, alone
and single-handed, He withstood a powerful nation. Such opposition and
resistance were not simple or trivial. It is as though one were in this day to
deny Christ among Christian nations who firmly cling to the Bible, or as though
one were—God forbid!—to blaspheme Christ in the papal court, oppose all His
followers, and to act thus in the most vehement manner.
These people believed not in one God but in many gods, to
whom they ascribed miracles, and hence they all rose up against Abraham. No one
supported Him except His nephew Lot and one or two other individuals of no
consequence. At last the intensity of His enemies’ opposition obliged Him,
utterly wronged, to forsake His native land. In reality He was banished that He
might be reduced to naught and that no trace of Him might remain. Abraham then
came to these regions, that is, to the Holy Land.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Table talks in
Akka, authenticated by ‘Abdu’l-Baha; ‘Some Answered Questions’ – 2014 revised
translation by the Baha’i World Centre)
