“His arrival at the penal colony of ‘Akká, far from proving the end of His afflictions, was but the beginning of a major crisis, characterized by bitter suffering, severe restrictions, and intense turmoil, which, in its gravity, surpassed even the agonies of the Síyáh-Chál of Tihrán, and to which no other event, in the history of the entire century can compare, except the internal convulsion that rocked the Faith in Adrianople. ‘Know thou,’ Bahá’u’lláh, wishing to emphasize the criticalness of the first nine years of His banishment to that prison-city, has written, ‘that upon Our arrival at this Spot, We chose to designate it as the “Most Great Prison.” Though previously subjected in another land (Tihrán) to chains and fetters, We yet refused to call it by that name. Say: Ponder thereon, O ye endued with understanding!’ ”　Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 185.

“Having, after a miserable voyage, disembarked at ‘Akká, all the exiles, men, women and children, were, under the eyes of a curious and callous population that had assembled at the port to behold the ‘God of the Persians,’ conducted to the army barracks, where they were locked in, and sentinels detailed to guard them. ‘The first night,’ Bahá’u’lláh testifies in the Lawh-i-Ra’ís, ‘all were deprived of either food or drink . . . They even begged for water, and were refused.’ ” Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, pp. 186–187.

“What is now known as the House of ‘Abbúd in ‘Akká is in two parts: the eastern part, which was the house of ‘Údí Khammár, and the western part, which was the house of ‘Abbúd himself.

“Bahá’u’lláh had one room of the eastern section to Himself, and it was there that He revealed His Book of Laws, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (circa 1873). During the period of His stay in the House of ‘Údí Khammár, a group of Bahá’ís, defying Bahá’u’lláh’s specific command, murdered three Azalí Covenant-breakers who had been sent to ‘Akká with the exiles. The animosity and slander against the Bahá’ís after this incident reached such a pitch that their children were stoned on sight, while ‘Abbúd himself, whose residence was next door to that of Bahá’u’lláh, was so influenced by what he heard against his now suspected Neighbour, that he reinforced the partition that separated the two dwellings.

“At a later date, when the animosity of ‘Abbúd towards the Bahá’ís had been overcome, he learned that the wedding of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was being delayed because of lack of accommodation. He therefore provided a room, situated between the two sections of the house, for the marriage of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Munírih Khánum. Subsequently, ‘Abbúd turned over the western part of the house to the Bahá’ís. Bahá’u’lláh then gave His room in the eastern part to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and occupied one of the rooms of the western section, which pilgrims now visit.

“Bahá’u’lláh stayed in both parts of this house and in nearby houses for approximately seven years. During the latter years of His life, He also occasionally visited this house.” Visiting Bahá’í Holy Places, (Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, 2003), p. 11.

“This building derives its name from the governor of ‘Akká who had occupied it in the early decades of the nineteenth century. It was the residence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for some thirteen years until he moved to Haifa, and it was here that He received the first pilgrims from the West on 10 December 1898. In the pilgrims’ dining room in the House of ‘Abdu’lláh Páshá, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave the explanations which were compiled by Laura Dreyfus Barney during her pilgrimage from 1904 to 1906, and were later published as Some Answered Questions. The eastern end of the upper floor was the part of the house occupied by the members of the Holy Family. Off the large central hall of this wing is the room of Bahíyyih Khánum, the Greatest Holy Leaf, where the remains of the Báb were kept secretly for many years prior to being transferred to Mount Carmel.”

Visiting Bahá’í Holy Places, p. 21.