[2] ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later cited as the last of three "central figures" of the religion, along with Baháʼu'lláh and the Báb, and his writings and authenticated talks are regarded as sources of Baháʼí sacred literature.

He then made several journeys to the West to spread the Baháʼí message beyond its middle-eastern roots, but the onset of World War I left him largely confined to Haifa from 1914 to 1918.

As a child, he fondly recalled interactions with the Bábí, Táhirih, describing how she would take him on her knee, caress him, and engage in heartfelt conversations, leaving a lasting impression on him.

[8] During his formative years, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá observed his parents' commitment to various charitable endeavors, including the conversion of part of their home into a hospital ward for women and children.

Instead, noblemen typically received brief education at home, focusing on subjects such as scripture, rhetoric, calligraphy, and basic mathematics, with an emphasis on preparing for life within royal courts.

[16] Baháʼu'lláh was eventually released from prison, but ordered into exile, and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, then eight years old, joined his father on the journey to Baghdad in the winter (January to April)[18] of 1853.

After a year of difficulties Baháʼu'lláh absented himself rather than continue to face the conflict with Mirza Yahya and secretly secluded himself in the mountains of Sulaymaniyah in April 1854 a month before ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's tenth birthday.

[24] In 1856, news of an ascetic carrying on discourses with local Súfí leaders reached the family and friends, raising hopes that it could be Bahá’u’lláh.

Whilst in Baghdad, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá composed a commentary at the request of his father on the Muslim tradition of "I was a Hidden Treasure" for a Súfí leader named ʻAlí Shawkat Páshá.

Myron Henry Phelps a wealthy New York lawyer described how "a crowd of human beings...Syrians, Arabs, Ethiopians, and many others",[39] all waited to talk and receive ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.

[5] On 8 March 1873, at the urging of his father,[6][43] the twenty-eight-year-old ʻAbdu'l-Bahá married Fátimih Nahrí of Isfahán (1847–1938) a twenty-five-year-old from an upper-class family of the city.

[45][46][48] The marriage of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to one woman and his choice to remain monogamous,[45] from advice of his father and his own wish,[45][46] legitimised the practice of monogamy[46] to a people who hitherto had regarded polygamy as a righteous way of life.

[c][49][2] Baháʼu'lláh designates his successor with the following verses: The Will of the divine Testator is this: It is incumbent upon the Aghsán, the Afnán and My Kindred to turn, one and all, their faces towards the Most Mighty Branch.

Muhammad ʻAlí became jealous of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and set out to establish authority for himself as an alternative leader with the support of his brothers Badi’u'llah and Ḍíyáʼu'llah.

[51] Muhammad ʻAlí and Mirza Javad began to openly accuse ʻAbdu'l-Bahá of assuming too much authority, suggesting that he believed himself to be a Manifestation of God, equal in status to Baháʼu'lláh.

[53][54] ʻAbdu'l-Bahá left a Will and Testament that established the framework of the administration of the Baháʼí Faith, the two highest institutions of which were the Universal House of Justice, and the Guardianship, for which he appointed his grandson Shoghi Effendi as the Guardian.

[61] During the next decade ʻAbdu'l-Bahá would be in constant communication with Baháʼís around the world, encouraging them to teach the religion; the group included Susan Moody, Lua Getsinger, Laura Clifford Barney, Herbert Hopper and May Ellis Bolles in Paris (all Americans); Englishman Thomas Breakwell; and Frenchman Hippolyte Dreyfus [fr].

[63] During the final years of the 19th century, while ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was still officially a prisoner and confined to ʻAkka, he organized the transfer of the remains of the Báb from Iran to Palestine.

[73] ʻAbdu'l-Bahá also met Muhammad Abduh, one of the key figures of Islamic Modernism and the Salafi movement, in Beirut, at a time when the two men shared similar goals of religious reform.

[78][79][80] In response, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote the sultan a letter protesting that his followers refrain from involvement in partisan politics and that his tariqa had guided many Americans to Islam.

In August of the same year he started a more extensive journey to places including New Hampshire, the Green Acre school in Maine, and Montreal (his only visit to Canada).

[93] ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was also under threats from Cemal Paşa, the Ottoman military chief who at one point expressed his desire to crucify him and destroy Baháʼí properties in Palestine.

[94] The swift Megiddo offensive of the British General Allenby swept away the Turkish forces in Palestine before harm was done to the Baháʼís, and the war was over less than two months later.

[95] It was during this revival of activity that the Baháʼí Faith saw an expansion and consolidation in places like Egypt, the Caucasus, Iran, Turkmenistan, North America and South Asia under the leadership of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.

[104] Then Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill telegraphed the High Commissioner for Palestine, "convey to the Baháʼí Community, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, their sympathy and condolence."

[106]Among the talks delivered at the funeral, Shoghi Effendi records Stewart Symes (Governor of the Palestine North District) giving the following tribute: Most of us here have, I think, a clear picture of Sir ʻAbdu'l‑Bahá ʻAbbás, of His dignified figure walking thoughtfully in our streets, of His courteous and gracious manner, of His kindness, of His love for little children and flowers, of His generosity and care for the poor and suffering.

So gentle was He, and so simple, that in His presence one almost forgot that He was also a great teacher, and that His writings and His conversations have been a solace and an inspiration to hundreds and thousands of people in the East and in the West.

Shoghi Effendi later formalized his legacy as the last of three "Central Figures" of the Baháʼí Faith and the "Perfect exemplar" of the teachings, also claiming that holding him on an equal status to Baháʼu'lláh or Jesus was heretical.

Mírzá 'Abdu'l-Muḥammad Írání Mu'addibu's-Sulṭán, an Iranian, and Shaykh 'Alí Yúsuf, an Arab, were both newspaper editors in Egypt who had published harsh attacks on the Bahá’í Faith in their papers.

Bixby, who was the author of a hostile article on the Bahá’í Faith in the United States, felt compelled to witness Abdu'l-Bahá's personal qualities.