When man has Faith, even the mountains of the world can not oppose him. Nay, he bears every trial and calamity, and nothing can conduce to his weakness. But one who is not a true believer and does not possess real Faith will lament over the least disappointment and complain of the slightest thing which may mar his peace and pleasure.
When in company with the Blessed Perfection we arrived in Constantinople as exiles, we were all filled with joy and gladness and enjoyed great peace of mind. Then when we were removed to Adrianople we still continued in the same spirit in our new place of exile. None among us offered any complaint, except three persons: Mirza Yahya (Azal) who was extremely downhearted and confused, Siyyid Muhammad of Isfahan; and Haji Mirza Ahmad of Kashan. [these two also finally denied Baha’u’llah and became Azali] These three constantly complained of the hardships and bothered and troubled the believers. At least Mirza Yahya and Haji Siyyid Muhammad of Isfahan appeared morbid and sullen without complaining openly to others; they only seemed dissatisfied and lost in melancholy. But Haji Mirza Ahmad of Kashan, though a brother of Jinabi Zabih (one of the great Baha'i Martyrs) constantly troubled the believers with fits of impatience, complained of the violence of the cold weather, and the severity of the snow and frost…To be brief, he so constantly found fault with everything and showed impatience, that on several occasions the believers were provoked to the point of beating him, so that he might perhaps abandon us and leave the place. But each time I prevented them from so doing.
But the rest of us. who were over fifteen in number and yet were obliged to live in one single room, were nevertheless filled with joy and composure, for we were blessed with exile for the sake of the Cause of God. And in order to pass the time, each day one of us cooked a certain dish for the rest to enjoy. So the severe winter went by and in the course of a few months the snow and cold passed away and the famous delectable springtime of Rumelia came on. Then the weather was so delightful, that even the above Haji Mirza Ahmad began to praise the glorious air of Rumelia.
To be brief: as he had no faith, he could not endure the
winter or restrain himself from complaining and remain patient until the cold
weather would be superseded by fine weather.
Now this is the difference between a man of Faith and one without Faith. A man of Faith endures every hardship and suffering with patience and self-restraint. But one without Faith bewails and mourns, and utters complaint. He has no power to endure hardships and fails to think of the future when better times will come as a substitute for present hardships.
-' Abdu'l-Baha (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha recorded by Ali Kuli Khan, 'Abdu'l-Baha's English-language secretary during 1899 to 1901; ‘Ali-Kuli Khan 1906 Pilgrim Notes’)