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The Badíʻ calendar used in the Baháʼí Faith is a solar calendar consisting of nineteen months and four or five intercalary days, with new year at the moment of Northern spring equinox. Each month is named after a virtue(e.g. Perfection, Mercy), as are the days of the week. The first year is dated from 1844 CE, the year in which the Báb began teaching.
Years on the calendar are annotated with the date notation of BE (Baháʼí Era). The Baháʼí year 180 BE started on 21 March 2023.
The Baháʼí calendar started from the original Badíʿ calendar, created by the Báb in the Kitabu'l-Asmáʼ [1] and the Persian Bayán (5:3) in the 1840s. [2] An early version of the calendar began to be implemented during his time. [3] It used a scheme of nineteen months of nineteen days, with the product of 361 days, plus intercalary days to make the calendar a solar calendar. The first day of the early implementation of the calendar year was Nowruz, [4] while the intercalary days were assigned differently than the later Baháʼí implementation. The calendar contains many symbolic meanings and allusions [5] including connections to prophecies of the Báb about the next Manifestation of God termed He whom God shall make manifest. [6]
Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, who claimed to be the one prophesied by the Báb, confirmed and adopted this calendar. Around 1870, he instructed Nabíl-i-Aʻzam, the author of The Dawn-Breakers , to write an overview of the Badíʿ calendar. [7] In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (1873) Baháʼu'lláh made Naw-Rúz the first day of the year, and also clarified the position of the Intercalary days to immediately precede the last month. [2] [8] Baháʼu'lláh set Naw-Rúz to the day on which the sun passes into the constellation Aries. Baháʼís interpret this formula as a specification of the vernal equinox, though where that should be determined was not defined. [8]
The calendar was first implemented in the West in 1907. [9]
The Baháʼí scriptures left some issues regarding the implementation of the Badíʿ calendar to be resolved by the Universal House of Justice before the calendar can be observed uniformly worldwide.[ citation needed ]
On 10 July 2014 the Universal House of Justice announced provisions that will enable the common implementation of the Badíʿ calendar worldwide, beginning at sunset 20 March 2015, [10] coinciding with the completion of the ninth cycle of the calendar (see below). [11] Before that time, the Baháʼí calendar was synchronized to the Gregorian calendar by starting the year at sunset on March 20, regardless of when the vernal equinox technically occurs, meaning that the extra day of a leap year occurred simultaneously in both calendars. The intercalary days always stretched from 26 February to 1 March, automatically including the Gregorian leap day so that there were four intercalary days in a regular year, and five in a Gregorian leap year. [12] The Universal House of Justice selected Tehran, the birthplace of Baháʼu'lláh, as the location at which the time and date of the vernal equinox is to be determined according to astronomical tables from reliable sources. [7] [10] [13] These changes, which "unlocked" the Badíʿ calendar from the Gregorian calendar, came into effect at the start of year 172 BE. [7] [14]
As the name Badíʿ (wondrous or unique) suggests, the Baháʼí calendar is indeed a unique institution in the history of human culture. Sociologist Eviatar Zerubavel notes that the nineteen-day cycle creates a distinctive rhythm which enhances group solidarity. (Zerubavel argues that the nineteen-day cycle is more properly defined as a week, rather than a month, because it bears "no connection whatsoever" to the lunar cycle.) Furthermore, by finding the closest approximation of the square root of the annual cycle, Baháʼís "have managed to establish the most symmetrical relationship possible between the week and the year, which no one else throughout history has ever managed to accomplish." [15]
Years in the Baháʼí calendar are counted from Thursday 21 March 1844, the beginning of the Baháʼí Era or Badíʿ Era (abbreviated BE or B.E.). [16] Year 1 BE thus began at sundown 20 March 1844.
The length of each year is strictly defined as the number of days between the opening and closing days of the year, with the number of intercalary days adjusted as needed. The year ends on the day before the following vernal equinox.
The first day of each year (Naw-Rúz) is the day (from sunset to sunset) in Tehran containing the moment of the vernal equinox. This is determined in advance by astronomical computations from reliable sources. [10]
Since the Gregorian calendar is not tied to the equinox, the Gregorian calendar shifts around by a day or two each year, as shown in the following table. [17]
Baháʼí Year | Gregorian date corresponding to Naw-Rúz |
---|---|
178 | 20 March 2021 |
179 | 21 March 2022 |
180 | 21 March 2023 |
181 | 20 March 2024 |
182 | 20 March 2025 |
183 | 21 March 2026 |
184 | 21 March 2027 |
185 | 20 March 2028 |
186 | 20 March 2029 |
187 | 20 March 2030 |
188 | 21 March 2031 |
189 | 20 March 2032 |
The Baháʼí calendar is composed of nineteen months, each with nineteen days. [18] The intercalary days, known as Ayyám-i-Há, occur between the eighteenth and nineteenth months.
The names of the months were adopted by the Báb from the Du'ay-i-Sahar, a Ramadan dawn prayer by Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, the fifth Imam of Twelver Shiʻah Islam. [19] [20] These month names are considered to be referring to attributes of God.
In the Persian Bayan the Báb divides the months into four groups known as "fire", "air", "water" and "earth" – which are three, four, six and six months long respectively. [21] Robin Mirshahi suggests a possible link with four realms described in Baháʼí cosmology. [5] Ismael Velasco relates this to the "arc of ascent". [22]
In the following table, the Gregorian date indicates the first full day of the month when Naw-Rúz coincides with 21 March. The month begins at sunset of the day previous to the one listed.
Month | Usual Gregorian dates (when Naw-Rúz coincides with 21 March) [18] | Arabic name [18] | Arabic script | English name [18] | Additional meanings in authorized English translations of Baháʼí scripture [5] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 21 March – 8 April | Bahá | بهاء | Splendour | glory, light, excellence |
2 | 9 April – 27 April | Jalál | جلال | Glory | majesty |
3 | 28 April – 16 May | Jamál | جمال | Beauty | charm |
4 | 17 May – 4 June | ʻAẓamat | عظمة | Grandeur | glory, majesty, dominion, greatness |
5 | 5 June – 23 June | Núr | نور | Light | radiance, brightness, splendour, effulgence, illumination |
6 | 24 June – 12 July | Raḥmat | رحمة | Mercy | blessing, grace, favour, loving kindness, providence, compassion |
7 | 13 July – 31 July | Kalimát | كلمات | Words | utterance, the word of God |
8 | 1 August – 19 August | Kamál | كمال | Perfection | excellence, fullness, consummation, maturity |
9 | 20 August – 7 September | Asmáʼ | اسماء | Names | titles, attributes, designations |
10 | 8 September – 26 September | ʻIzzat | عزة | Might | glory, power, exaltation, honour, majesty, grandeur, strength, sovereignty, magnificence |
11 | 27 September – 15 October | Mas͟híyyat | مشية | Will | purpose, the primal will, the will of God |
12 | 16 October – 3 November | ʻIlm | علم | Knowledge | wisdom, divine knowledge, revelation |
13 | 4 November – 22 November | Qudrat | قدرة | Power | might, authority, dominion, celestial might, omnipotence, transcendent power, indomitable strength, all-pervading power, ascendancy, divine power |
14 | 23 November – 11 December | Qawl | قول | Speech | words, testimony |
15 | 12 December – 30 December | Masáʼil | مسائل | Questions | principles, truths, matters, mysteries, subtleties, obscurities, intricacies, problems [note 1] |
16 | 31 December – 18 January | S͟haraf | شرف | Honour | excellence, glory |
17 | 19 January – 6 February | Sulṭán | سلطان | Sovereignty | king, lord, majesty, sovereign, monarch, authority, potency, the power of sovereignty, the all-possessing, the most potent of rulers |
18 | 7 February – 25 February | Mulk | ملك | Dominion | sovereignty, kingdom, realm, universe |
ic | 26 February – 1 March | Ayyám-i-Há | ايام الهاء | The Days of Há | |
19 | 2 March – 20 March (Month of fasting) | ʻAláʼ | علاء | Loftiness | glory |
The introduction of intercalation marked an important break from Islam, as under the Islamic calendar the practice of intercalation had been specifically prohibited in the Qurʼan. [2]
The number of the intercalary days is determined in advance to ensure that the year ends on the day before the next vernal equinox. This results in 4 or 5 intercalary days being added. These days are inserted between the 18th and 19th months, falling around the end of February in the Gregorian calendar. The number of days added is unrelated to the timing of the Gregorian leap year.
The annual Nineteen Day Fast is held during the final month of ʻAláʼ. The month of fasting is followed by Naw-Rúz, the new year.
The monthly Nineteen Day Feast is celebrated on the first day of each month, preferably starting any time between the sunset on the eve of the day to the sunset ending the day.
The nineteen days in a month have the same names as the months of the year (above), so, for example, the 9th day of each month is Asmá, or "Names". [24] [25]
The Baháʼí week starts on Saturday, and ends on Friday. [26] As in Judaism and Islam, days begin at sunset and end at sunset of the following solar day. Baháʼí writings indicate that Friday is to be kept as a day of rest. [27] [28] The practice of keeping Friday as a day of rest is currently not observed in all countries; for example, in the UK, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís confirmed it does not currently keep this practice. [29]
Arabic Name [18] | Arabic Script | English Translation [26] | Day of the Week [18] |
---|---|---|---|
Jalál | جلال | Glory | Saturday |
Jamál | جمال | Beauty | Sunday |
Kamál | كمال | Perfection | Monday |
Fiḍál | فضال | Grace | Tuesday |
ʻIdál | عدال | Justice | Wednesday |
Istijlál | استجلال | Majesty | Thursday |
Istiqlál | استقلال | Independence | Friday |
Also existing in the Baháʼí calendar system is a nineteen-year cycle called Váḥid and a 361 year (19×19) supercycle called Kull-i-S͟hayʼ (literally, "All Things"). [26] The expression Kull-i-Shayʼ was used frequently by the Báb. [30] It has its origins in Sufism and the significance of the numbers 19 and 361 were possibly already associated by Ibn Arabi (1165–1240). [30]
Each of the nineteen years in a Vahid has been given a name as shown in the table below. [26] The tenth Váḥid of the 1st Kull-i-S͟hayʼ started on 21 March 2015, and the eleventh Váḥid will begin in 2034. [31]
The current Baháʼí year, year 180 BE (21 March 2023 – 19 March 2024), is the year Bahá of the tenth Váḥid of the first Kull-i-S͟hayʼ. [31] The second Kull-i-S͟hayʼ will begin in 2205. [31]
The concept of a nineteen-year cycle has existed in some form since the fourth century BCE. The Metonic cycle represents an invented measure that approximately correlates solar and lunar markings of time and which appears in several calendar systems.
No. | Name | Arabic Script | English Translation |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Alif | أ | A |
2 | Bá' | ب | B |
3 | Ab | أب | Father |
4 | Dál | د | D |
5 | Báb | باب | Gate |
6 | Váv | و | V |
7 | Abad | أبد | Eternity |
8 | Jád | جاد | Generosity |
9 | Bahá | بهاء | Splendour |
10 | Ḥubb | حب | Love |
11 | Bahháj | بهاج | Delightful |
12 | Javáb | جواب | Answer |
13 | Aḥad | احد | Single |
14 | Vahháb | وﻫﺎب | Bountiful |
15 | Vidád | وداد | Affection |
16 | Badíʿ | بدیع | Beginning |
17 | Bahí | بهي | Luminous |
18 | Abhá | ابهى | Most Luminous |
19 | Váḥid | واحد | Unity |
Bábism is a religion founded in 1844 by the Báb, an Iranian merchant turned prophet who taught that there is one incomprehensible God who manifests his will in an unending series of Manifestations of God. It has persisted into the modern era in the form of the Baháʼí Faith, to which the majority of Bábís eventually converted. His ministry was turbulent and short lived, ending with his public execution in Tabriz, and a campaign of extermination that killed thousands of followers in what might be the bloodiest actions of the Iranian military in the 19th century.
A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the season or almost equivalently the apparent position of the Sun relative to the stars. The Gregorian calendar, widely accepted as a standard in the world, is an example of a solar calendar. The main other types of calendar are lunar calendar and lunisolar calendar, whose months correspond to cycles of Moon phases. The months of the Gregorian calendar do not correspond to cycles of the Moon phase.
Riḍván is a twelve-day festival in the Baháʼí Faith, commemorating Baháʼu'lláh's declaration that he was a Manifestation of God. In the Baháʼí calendar, it begins at sunset on the 13th of Jalál, which translates to the 20th or 21st of April, depending on the date of the March equinox. In 2023 it will be celebrated on 21 April. On the first, ninth and twelfth days of Ridván, work and school should be suspended.
The following is a basic timeline of the Bábí and Baháʼí religions emphasizing dates that are relatively well known. For a more comprehensive chronology of the timeline, see the references at the bottom.
The history of the Baháʼí Faith is often traced through a sequence of leaders, beginning with the Báb's declaration in Shiraz on the evening of May 22, 1844, and ultimately resting on an Administrative Order established by the central figures of the religion. The Baháʼí Faith had its background in two earlier movements in the nineteenth century, Shaykhism and Bábism. Shaykhism centred on theosophical doctrines and many Shaykhis expected the return of the hidden Twelfth Imam. Many Shaykhis joined the messianic Bábí movement in the 1840s where the Báb proclaimed himself to be the return of the hidden Imam. As the Bábí movement spread in Iran, violence broke out between the ruling Shiʿa Muslim government and the Bábís, and ebbed when government troops massacred them, and executed the Báb in 1850.
The Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh were nineteen prominent early followers of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. The apostles were designated as such by Shoghi Effendi, head of the religion in the earlier half of the 20th century, and the list was included in The Baháʼí World, Vol. III (pp. 80–81).
The Nineteen-Day Fast is a nineteen-day period of the year during which members of the Baháʼí Faith adhere to a sunrise-to-sunset fast. Along with obligatory prayer, it is one of the greatest obligations of a Baháʼí, and its chief purpose is spiritual: to reinvigorate the soul and bring the person closer to God. The fast was instituted by the Báb, and accepted by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, who stated its rules in his book of laws, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. The nineteen days of fasting occur immediately after Ayyam-i-Ha, which celebrates the four or five intercalary days of the Baháʼí calendar dedicated to giving generously to the needy to prepare for the upcoming month of restraint. The Baháʼí faith commemorates the conclusion of the fast at the festival of Naw Ruz, or the Baháʼí New Year, on the vernal equinox.
The Baháʼí Faith has eleven holy days, which are important anniversaries in the history of the religion. On nine of these holy days, work is suspended. There is no fixed format for any of the holy days, and Baháʼí communities organize their own commemorative meetings.
Ayyám-i-Há is a period of intercalary days in the Baháʼí calendar, when Baháʼís celebrate the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há. The four or five days of this period are inserted between the last two months of the calendar. The length of Ayyám-i-Há varies according to the timing of the following vernal equinox so that the next year always starts on the vernal equinox.
The Birth of Baháʼu'lláh is one of nine holy days in the Baháʼí calendar that is celebrated by adherents of the Baháʼí Faith and during which work is suspended. The holy day celebrates the birth of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. The 2023 date is October 17.
Naw-Rúz is the first day of the Baháʼí calendar year and one of eleven holy days for adherents of the Baháʼí Faith. It occurs on the vernal equinox, on or near March 21, which is also the traditional Persian New Year.
In Baháʼí cosmology reality is divided into three divisions. The first division is God, who is preexistent and on whom the rest of creation is contingent. The second division is God's Logos, the Primal Will, which is the realm of God's commands and grace. This realm pervades all created things. The Manifestations of God, Messengers from God, are appearances of the Logos in the physical world. The third division is Creation, which includes the physical world. Creation is not seen as confined to the material universe, and individual material objects, such as the Earth, are seen to come into being at particular moment and then subsequently break down into their constituent parts. Thus, the current universe is seen as a result of a long-lasting process, evolving to its current state. In the Baháʼí Faith, the whole universe is a sign of God and is dependent on him and humanity was created to know God and to serve his purpose.
The Day of the Covenant is the day when Baháʼís celebrate the appointment of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá as the Centre of Baha'u'llah's Covenant. It occurs yearly on the 4th day of Speech (Qawl) which coincides with either November 25 or 26 depending on when Naw Ruz falls on that year. The 2020 date is November 25.
There are two types of prayer in the Baháʼí Faith: obligatory prayer and general or devotional prayer. Both types of prayer are composed of reverent words which are addressed to God, and the act of prayer is one of the most important Baháʼí laws for individual discipline. The purpose of prayer in the Baháʼí Faith is to grow closer to God and his Manifestation and to help better one's own conduct and to request divine assistance.
Mullá Zaynul-ʻÁbidín was a prominent Iranian Baháʼí who served as a secretary to Baháʼu'lláh, was listed by Shoghi Effendi as one of nineteen Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh, and biographied by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in Memorials of the Faithful. With a background as an Islamic jurist, he posed the clarifying legal questions to Baháʼu'lláh about the Kitáb-i-Aqdas that became the supplement "Questions and Answers" now published along with the original text. His arrangement of the Hidden Words, another major work of Baháʼu'lláh, became the numbered order that is now currently used by Baháʼís.
The Báb was the messianic founder of Bábism, and one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. He was a merchant from Shiraz in Qajar Iran who, in 1844 at the age of 25, claimed to be a messenger of God. He took the title Báb, a reference to the deputy of the Hidden Imam, while instigating a religious revolution that proposed the abrogation of Islamic laws and traditions, and the establishment of a new religion. Though he was popular among the lower classes, he faced opposition from the orthodox clergy and government, which eventually executed him and thousands of his followers, known as Bábís.
Zoroastrianism is recognized in the Baháʼí Faith as one of nine known religions and its scriptures are regarded as predicting the coming of Baháʼu'lláh. Zoroaster is included in the succession of Manifestations of God. The authenticity of the Zend Avesta is seen as uncertain.
The Baháʼí Faith is a relatively new religion teaching the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people, established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th-century Middle East and now estimated to have a worldwide following of 5–8 million adherents, known as Baháʼís.
The Kitabu'l-Asmáʼ or Book of Divine Names is a book written by the Báb, the founder of Bábi religion, in Arabic during his imprisonment in Máh-Kú and Chihriq in Iran (1847-1850). With a total volume of more than 3,000 pages, it is the largest revealed scripture in religious history. Stephen Lambden describes the Kitabu'l-Asmáʼ as "one of the most theologically weighty or important writings of the Bab".
The Festivals of the Twin Birthdays or the Twin Holy Birthdays refers to two successive holy days in the Baháʼí calendar that celebrate the births of two central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. The two holy days are the birth of the Báb on the first day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar and the birth of Baháʼu'lláh on the second day of Muharram.
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