The second volume of Mírzá Mahmúd Zarqání’s unparalleled account of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s journeys to the West. While the first volume, published in translation in 1998, covered His historic journey to North America in 1912, this book continues the story, chronicling ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s travels in Europe from December 1912 to the end of 1913 when He returned to the Holy Land.

Mírzá Mahmúd went everywhere with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, making extensive notes not only of the Master’s many public talks and conversations with individuals but also of the new sights and experiences they found as well as the daily routines of eating, writing letters and travelling. In his own words: ‘what the reader will glean from perusing these pages is surely the majesty . . . which ʻAbduʼl-Bahá demonstrated in the sundry churches and gatherings where He spoke; the transformation experienced by the celebrated philosophers who met Him, as well as the deference they showed Him; and the humble reverence extended to Him by religious leaders and the heads of various other groups, for in addition to captivating the hearts of the friends at Baháʼí gatherings, the profound impression which His blessed utterances made at other assemblies invariably revolutionized the hearts of eminent persons, and roused His distinguished listeners to genuine veneration . . .’.

The result was a unique diary ‘regarded as a reliable account of Abduʼl-Bahá’s travels in the West and an authentic record of His utterances, whether in the form of formal talks, table talks, or random oral statements. Mírzá Maḥmúd was a careful and faithful chronicler and engaged in assembling and publishing his work with the permission of the beloved Master’ (The Universal House of Justice).

In addition to the translation by Adib Masumian published here, the website https://bahai-library.com/supplement_abdul-baha_europe_1912-1913 provides a freely accessible digital resource, A Supplement to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Europe, 1912–1913, which includes fuller ​English translations of those talks by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá mentioned or partially quoted by Zarqání, as well as other previously untranslated materials.