After his 1882 imprisonment, he began extensive travels throughout the Persian Empire, especially after he received letters from Baháʼu'lláh in 1886 asking him to travel to teach the Baháʼí Faith. It was principally through his writings that the Baháʼí Faith was presented to the Jews of Iran in such a way as to bring a large number of them into accepting Baháʼu'lláh. During his travels in Iran he visited Kashan, Isfahan, Yazd and Tabriz. In 1888 and the three years thereafter he travelled to Ashgabat, Samarkand, and Bukhara. During his time in Ashgabat, Haji Muhammad Rida Isfahani, a prominent Baháʼí was assassinated; Abu'l-Faḍl acted as the spokesman on behalf of the Baháʼí at the trial of the murders, and helped establish the independence of the Baháʼí Faith from Islam for the Russian government. In Samarkand, his teaching efforts allowed for the conversion of the first Afghan Baháʼí, Dr. ʻAta'u'llah Khan.