Also written by him was a booklet called Proofs that was published in Arabic in Cairo in 1902. It is believed to be the first book published in Arabic about the Faith although unpublished manuscript written in Arabic were circulated in Russia and the UK prior to this time. [A posting by Rowshan Mustapha 17 February 2024 on the tk list]

L'implantation de la foi baha'ie en France et impact de la venue de Abdu'l Baha à Paris au début du XXème siècle Mémoire D.E.S. de Natalia Behnam includes him among the first Bahá'ís in France. iiiii

Àbdu'l-Bahá is reported to have said of him:

His value will be known in the future. He enkindled for you a lamp which shall never be extinguished. He laid for you a foundation which shall not be destroyed throughout centuries and cycles. He planted for you a tree whose root is firm in the ground, whose branches have ascended to heaven and its fruits are shared by all throughout all the seasons. Mr De Sacy was in reality a divine man. In Syria there was no one like him. He was like a torch. He was the essence of sanctity. Whenever a person looked into his face, if he was unhappy, he wold be made happy. [ABF355-356]

Russian poet Isabella Grinevskaya wrote the play "Báb" which was performed in St. Petersburg in 1904 and again in 1914 and once again in 1917. It was translated into French and Tatar (and later into German by Friedrich Fiedler) and lauded by Leo Tolstoy and other reviewers at the time. It is reported to have been Tolstoy's first knowledge of the Faith.
• In 1910-11 she spent two weeks in Ramleh as a guest of `Abdu'l-Bahá and after she returned to Russia she had several letters and Tablets from Him.
• Immediately upon her return from Egypt in January of 1911 she began work on the book "A Journey in the Countries of the Sun", an account of her visit with 'Abdu'l-Bahá. This work was not completed until 1914 because in the summer of 1912 she made a trip to Paris to work with the French translator of "Báb", Madame Halperin, and when she returned to Leningrad she began work on the drama entitled Bahá'u'lláh. It was published in Leningrad in 1912 but was never performed. "Journey", a book of some 550 pages did not get published because of the disruption caused by the advent of the war. See BW6p707-712 for the article "Russia's Cultural Contribution to the Bahá'i Faith" by Martha Root.
• For a photo see BW6p709 or here.
• Also see Notes on the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions in Russia and its territories by Graham Hassall.
• Isabella Grinevskaya (the pen name of Beyle (Berta) Friedberg), born in Grodno in 1864, died in Istanbul in 1944. [Revolvy] In His message to Isabella Grinevskaya, 'Abdu'l-Bahá praised her efforts to stage theatrical performances about the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh but cautioned her that people's attention at that moment was focused on "war and revolution." However, He added, "the time for staging it will come" and it will "have a considerable impact" in Europe.

  Ms. Grinevskaya's play about the Báb was first staged in St. Petersburg in January 1904. Mr. Tolstoy read the play and wrote Ms. Grinevskaya to praise her and share his sympathy with the Baha'í teachings, according to an article by Martha Root in the 1934-1936 edition of The Bahá'í World.

`Abdu'l-Bahá departed for Egypt on board the steamer Kosseur London accompanied by two attendants, Mírzá Munír-i-Zayn and 'Abdu'l-Husayn. Upon arrival he telegrammed the Bahá'í in Haifa that he was in Egypt. Shoghi Effendi was asked to come two days later. [AB133-168; ABF5; BBRXXX; GPB280; AB134-135; Bahá'í News #12 16Oct1910 pg206; the Message from the Universal House of Justice dated August 29, 2010]
• See letter from Sydney Sprague to Isabella Brittingham which indicates that He left sometime before this date.
• GPB280 and AY84 say He departed in September.
• After one month in Port Said He embarked for Marseille but turned back to Alexandria owing to His health. In a letter to Munírih Khánum He stated that His intention was to proceed to America or South Africa. [GPB280, ABF5]
• He stayed for a few days in the Victoria Hotel but then moved to a rented house in Ramleh, a suburb of Alexandria, where He stayed for about one year. [GPB280, AB136; Memories of 'Abdu'l-Bahá by Ali M Yazdi (1899-1978) who was a child at the time.]
• Early in May of 1911 he moved to Cairo and took up residence in nearby Zaytún. [AB138]
• It was during this period that a sudden change occurred. A journalist who had previously been hostile towards Him took a new tone. [AB136]
• The Russian poet Isabel Grinevsky, the Oriental Secretary of the British Agency, Ronald Storrs, Lord Kitchener, George Zaydán, eminent writer and celebrated editor as well as clerics, aristocrats, administrators, parliamentarians, men of letters, journalists and publicists, Arabs, Turks and Persians all sought out His company and met with Him. This period could be considered the first public proclamation of the Faith. [MRHK348, AB136-139; CH226]
• See AB138-139 for a description of His triumphs during this period.

Louis Gregory visited Ramleh where 'Abdu'l-Bahá was staying in preparation for His first visit to Europe. During their first conversation 'Abdu'l-Bahá immediately cut "to the substance of the issue." "What of the conflict between the white and colored races?" he asked. "Work for unity and harmony between the races," 'Abdu'l-Bahá told him. "The colored people must attend all the unity meetings. There must be no distinctions." [239Days Day 12; SoW Vol 2 No 10 September 8 1911 p5; SYH6]
• On pilgrimage at the same time were Neville Meakin and another British Bahá'í, Louise Mathew. On the 16th of April the three set sail for Haifa. [SYH3-8]
• After visiting the Holy sites Louis returned to Cairo and to 'Abdu'l-Bahá who asked him to visit Stuttgart, Paris and London before returning to America. [SYH12-13]

Note: Memories of 'Abdu'l-Bahá by Ali M Yazdi says that He returned to Ramleh on the 3rd of July.

With his final year of high school over, Shoghi Effendi hastened from Beirut to Ramleh to join the Master. He, the Greatest Holy Leaf and the eldest daughter of `Abdu'l-Bahá arrived in Egypt. [PG9 AB401]
• During this period Tammaddun'ul-Mulk (who had been in London during `Abdu'l-Bahá first visit) attempted to divide the Bahá'ís of Tehran and Dr Amínu'llah Farid's increasingly erratic behaviour brought Him much suffering and sorrow. [AB402]