The inscrutable divine wisdom underlieth such heart-rending
occurrences. [death of a youth] It is as if a kind gardener transferreth a
fresh and tender shrub from a confined place to a wide open area. This transfer
is not the cause of the withering, the lessening or the destruction of that
shrub; nay, on the contrary, it maketh it to grow and thrive, acquire freshness
and delicacy, become green and bear fruit. This hidden secret is well known to
the gardener, but those souls who are unaware of this bounty suppose that the
gardener, in his anger and wrath, hath uprooted the shrub. Yet to those who are
aware, this concealed fact is manifest, and this predestined decree is
considered a bounty. Do not feel grieved or disconsolate, therefore, at the
ascension of that bird of faithfulness; nay, under all circumstances pray for
that youth, supplicating for him forgiveness and the elevation of his station.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)
