Upon returning from that place, the Master saw a number of other poor people, to whom He showed great kindness and good cheer. He then related an anecdote from the days when He lived in ‘Akká:
“A number of souls, destitute and famished, approached me and begged me to give them something to sustain them. I directed their attention to a grocers stall, on which every kind of food imaginable had been laid out, and said to them, ‘Throw yourselves upon this stall. Whatever is there, seize it, eat it, and take it with you. The responsibility for your actions will rest with me.’ Upon hearing these words, these impoverished, desperately hungry souls immediately ransacked the stall and began to plunder its wares.
“However much the shopkeeper loudly objected, 'You are stealing my goods!’, these impoverished people paid him no heed whatsoever. They even ate dry, uncooked rice, and took all sorts of merchandise with them.”
Later ‘Abdu’l-Baha compensated the grocer.
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, 27 December 1912, London, England,
recorded by Mahmud Zarqani, His secretary and chronicler during His travels in
the West; ‘Mahmud’s Diary’, vol. 2: ‘Abdu’l-Baha in Europe 1912-1913)
