Akka-Haifa: The “kind father of all people”

All the people know him and love him - the rich and the poor, the young and the old - even the babe leaping in its mother's arms. If he hears of anyone sick in the city -Moslem or Christian, or of any other sect, it matters not - he is each day at their bedside, or sends a trusty messenger. If a physician is needed, and the patient poor, he brings or sends one, and also the necessary medicine. If he finds a leaking roof or a broken window menacing health, he summons a workman, and waits himself to see the breach repaired. If anyone is in trouble, - if a son or a brother is thrown into prison, or he is threatened at law, or falls into any difficulty too heavy for him, - it is to the Master that he straightway makes appeal for counselor for aid. Indeed, for counsel all come to him, rich as well as poor. He is the kind father of all the people. 

- Myron H. Phelps  (‘Life and Teachings of Abbas Effendi’) 

Haifa 1921: “So gentle was he, and so simple, that in his presence one almost forgot that he was also a great teacher”

Most of us here have, I think, a clear picture of Sir' Abdu'lBaha Abbas, 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 conversations have been a solace and an inspiration to hundreds and thousands of people in the East and in the West. 

- The Governor of Phoenicia (Haifa), 1921  (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘God Passes By’)