- 1900-00-00 —
See Summon up Remembrance p10-15 by Marzieh Gail for a description of life in Persia 1880s -> early 20th Century.
- Tehran had been the capital since 1788, before that it was Shiraz and before that Isfahan and Qazvin. None of the buildings had windows that opened onto the street to prevent noble ladies from being offended should they have a glance inside.
- Upper class families enjoyed the benefits of the "Mustamarrí" (Perpetual), an annual stipend that came down to them from long-ago ancestors.
- Women entertained with lavish parties, competing to outdo each other. There is a story which may not be apocryphal of a hostess who received her guest wearing a dress in the style of the latest Paris fashion. At the return party the following week the hostess had dressed all of her serving maid in gowns identical to the one the former hostess had worn. Women tried to amass large sums of money to ensure "good" marriages for their daughters.
- The gentry functioned according to the unwritten rules of Sha'n which was rank, dignity, ancestral prestige, personal talent, intellectual attainment, family honour, and social prominence was always combined with ancient blood. It was like "noblesse oblige" or the Chinese concept of face. A noble man could not appear in public without a bevy of attendants. Such a man could not carry a package in public nor could he consort with tradesmen or even merchants as equals. Even relatives of lesser rank could not remain seated in his presence.
- Slavery was still common, up to 1/4 of the population were slaves by some estimates.
- The entire population was subject to "rasm". These were rules that had become crystallized and so reflexive that anyone daring to break these rules would be attacked. 'Abdu'l-Bahá said the Persians lay in a strange sleep [SDC8] Both the leaders and the masses were under the control of the clergy who acted in a predictable manner to the advent of a new Manifestation.
- Graft was rampant in every government department. The Persian word f.or it "madákhil was a cherished national institution and could be translated as "commission", 'perquisite', 'douceur', or 'consideration'.
- The custom of ta'áruf was rigidly observed. This was a long exchange of compliment and ritual courtesies, not necessarily heartfelt, the ceremonial greetings, and social formalities. If someone admires one of your possessions you must offer it as a gift but ritual courtesy forbids you to take the gift.
- 1906-00-00 —
- 1935-11-24 —
The passing of Dr. Howard Luxmoore Carpenter (b. 1906, d. 24 November 1935). He was buried at the Sunset View Cemetery in El Cerrito, California. [Find a grave]
- A graduate of the Stanford Medical School in 1932.
- He married Mardiyyih Nabil (later Marzieh Gail) in 1929, and in 1932 he and his wife left San Francisco for Vienna, where he took a medical course, and afterward at the Guardian's direction traveled through Central Europe and the Balkans. With Martha Root in Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade, he then spent five weeks in Sofia, Bulgaria, assisting Miss Marion Jack, after which he stopped briefly in Saloniki and went on to Tirana, Albania, to visit Refo Chapary. He then left for Haifa, where he stayed three weeks on his way to Tihran.
- In Iran, notwithstanding the efforts of the Assembly, he was prevented for more than one year from obtaining a medical license. His health failed, and he was bedridden for many months. At last his physical condition improved, he resumed activities as a member of the Unity of the East and West Committee, and the authorities granted him a license to practise medicine. At this time he was stricken with paralysis. He lay seven months in a hospital, after which Mr. and Mrs. Rahmat 'Alá'í invited him to their home, surrounding him with the same loving care which they had given Keith Ransom-Kehler the year before. His doctors advised a return to the United States as his only hope for recovery; he braved the long journey across the desert by motor, the presence of the 'Ala'is, who escorted him to Haifa, helping him to survive it.
- After nine days in Haifa, during which the Guardian visited him daily, he took a ship for New York where he was greeted by the National Spiritual Assembly, and then left by way of the Panama Canal for San Francisco. Here he had recourse to the best medical authorities, but was pronounced incurable. He passed away November 24, 1935 . He is buried at Sunset Memorial Park in Berkeley. The Bahá'í service held for him was conducted by Leroy Ioas of San Francisco; Bahá'ís of Berkeley, Oakland, Geyserville, San Francisco and Santa Paula were present, and the words of Bahá'u'lláh on immortality radiated such power as to efface all thought of death. [BW6 p491-493]
- See Shoghi Effendi's tribute to him where he said:
Next to the late Mrs. Ransom-Kehler he may, indeed, be well considered as the foremost American believer who has, in the last few years, been assisted in rendering invaluable help to the Persian believers in their efforts for the establishment of the Administration in their country… .
["Uncompiled Published Letters"]
- 1936-00-05 —
The Seven Valleys was published in revised translation by Ali Kuli Khan by the US Bahá'í Publishing Committee. A later revision by Khan and Marzieh Gail was published in 1945. [Collins1.113; About the Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys; Collins1.114]
- In 1968 the US Bahá'í Publishing Trust bundled it with another allegorical treaties that was revealed in the late Baghdad period, under the title The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys. It had several reprints until 1984. [Collins1.114, 1.115, 1.116, 1.117]
- These two works were part of the publication Call of the Divine Beloved published in 2019.
.
- 1945-00-00 —
- 1957-00-00 —
The publication of The Secret of Divine Civilization by 'Abdu'l-Bahá as translated by Marzieh Gail in Wilmette Il by the Bahá'í Publishing Trust. It was earlier translated as The Mysterious Forces of Civilization by another translator, this was 'Abdu'l-Bahá's message to the government, clergy and people of Iran on the requirements of true civilization. It applies as well to the present as mankind's traditional political and social philosophies have shown themselves incapable of renewing human civilization. [Collins3-107 p13]
- See Bahá'í-library.org for documents related to the work by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
- 1971-00-00 —
The publication of Memorials of the Faithful by the Bahá'í Publishing Trust in Wilmette as translated from the original Persian and annotated by Marzieh Gail. It contains eulogies of some eighty early Bahá'ís transcribed from a series of talks given by 'Abdu'l‑Bahá in Haifa around 1914–15.
It was first published in 1924 in Farsi when the Persian transcripts that had been corrected by 'Abdu'l‑Bahá were compiled into a single volume.
- In 1973 Memorials of the Faithful was transcribed by Gertrude D Schurgast and published in Tucson, AZ by the Bahá'í Service for the Blind. In 1975 a second print run was done. [Collins3.75, 8.3]
- See reviews, papers and tributes to the book.
- 1974-00-00 —
The publication of The Bahá'í Faith: Its History and Teachings by Reverend William McElwee Miller. This book was an update of his 1931 publication Bahá'ism: Its Origin, History and Teachings. Forty-three years earlier he had predicted that the Bahá'í Faith would soon only be known to students of history. Now he revised his assessment to say, "Whoever peruses the thousands of pages of the thirteen large volumes of The Bahá'í World will be impressed by the fact that the Bahá'í Faith is indeed a world faith." [MCSp766]
- See The Cyprus Exiles p102 by Moojan Momen for information on how Miller got a great deal of material for his book.
- See "Missionary as Historian: William Miller and the Bahá'í Faith" by Douglas Martin published in Bahá'í Studies, volume 4.
- In 1940 William McElwee Miller published and article titled "The Bahá'í Cause Today" in The Moslem World (Vol XXX October 1940 page 389). The periodical was described as being "A Christian quarterly review of current events, literature and thought among Mohammedans." Marzieh Gail published a rebuttal in World Order Vol 7 Issue 2 May 1941 p46-63.
- 1983-00-00 — The Diary of Juliet Thompson with a foreword by Marzieh Gail was published by Kalimat Press. The diary was of one of the earliest Bahá'ís of New York, covering her many hours with 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1909, 1911, and 1912. It was a vivid personal account of spiritual love and the tests of her faith. [Collins7.2553]
- 1993-10-16 —
The passing of Marzieh Nabíl Carpenter Gail, the second child and eldest daughter of the first Persian-American marriage in the Bahá'í Faith between Persian diplomat Ali-Kuli Khan and Boston debutante Florence Breed. (b. 1 April, 1908) [BW1993-1994p320-321, Find a grave]
- See AY91 for 'Abdu'l-Bahá's praise of her as a child and confirmation and promises for the future. He commented that she had átish (fire) and namak (salt). [AY93]
- Photo of 'Abdu'l-Bahá with the children of Ali-Kuli Khan and Florence.
- A translator (Arabic and Persian into English) and author. Poet Roger White would say of his friend: "She is the first lady of Bahá'í literature and I and many writers are indebted to her for leading the way."
- Translations include: The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys (1945) and The Secret of Divine Civilization (1957) with her father; Memorials of the Faithful (1971); Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá (1976) with a Committee at the Bahá'í World Centre; My Memories of Bahá'u'lláh (1982).
- Author of a dozen Bahá'í and non-Bahá'í books in addition to countless essays, articles, and short stories. Her remembrances of 'Abdu'l-Bahá are contained in The Sheltering Branch (1959), and those of His Exalted Sister in Khanum: The Greatest Holy Leaf (1981).
- Many of her essays and pioneering stories are contained in Dawn Over Mount Hira (1976) and Other People, Other Places (1982). As well she wrote "Six Lessons in Islam" (1953), Summon Up Remembrance (1987), Arches of the Years (1991) and, "Bahá'í Glossary" (1955). [Bahá'í Studies Review, Vol 6, 1996]
- See Obituary: Marzieh Nabil Carpenter Gail (1908-1993):
Translator and Author, "Patron Saint" of Women Bahá'í Scholars
by Constance M. Chen.
- Bahaipedia.
- For a more complete list of her writings and translations see Bahai-library. iiiii
|
Site Map
