This pa.s.sage establishes four great festivals of the Baha"i year. The two designated by Baha"u"llah as "the two Most Great Festivals" are, first, the Festival of Ridvan, which commemorates Baha"u"llah"s Declaration of His Prophetic Mission in the Garden of Ridvan in Bag_h_dad during twelve days in April/May 1863 and is referred to by Him as "the King of Festivals" and, second, the Bab"s Declaration, which occurred in May 1844 in S_h_iraz. The first, ninth and twelfth days of the Festival of Ridvan are Holy Days (Q and A 1), as is the day of the Declaration of the Bab.
The "two other Festivals" are the anniversaries of the births of Baha"u"llah and the Bab. In the Muslim lunar calendar these fall on consecutive days, the birth of Baha"u"llah on the second day of the month of Muharram 1233 A.H. (12 November 1817), and the birth of the Bab on the first day of the same month 1235 A.H. (20 October 1819), respectively.
They are thus referred to as the "Twin Birthdays" and Baha"u"llah states that these two days are accounted as one in the sight of G.o.d (Q and A 2).
He states that, should they fall within the month of fasting, the command to fast shall not apply on those days (Q and A 36). Given that the Baha"i calendar (see notes 26 and 147) is a solar calendar, it remains for the Universal House of Justice to determine whether the Twin Holy Birthdays are to be celebrated on a solar or lunar basis.
139. the first day of the month of Baha #111
In the Baha"i calendar the first month of the year and the first day of each month are given the name "Baha". The day of Baha of the month of Baha is thus the Baha"i New Year, Naw-Ruz, which was ordained by the Bab as a festival and is here confirmed by Baha"u"llah (see notes 26 and 147).
In addition to the seven Holy Days ordained in these pa.s.sages of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, the anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Bab was also commemorated as a Holy Day in the lifetime of Baha"u"llah and, as a corollary to this, "Abdu"l-Baha added the observance of the Ascension of Baha"u"llah, making nine Holy Days in all. Two other anniversaries which are observed, but on which work is not suspended, are the Day of the Covenant and the anniversary of the Pa.s.sing of "Abdu"l-Baha. See the section on the Baha"i calendar in The Baha"i World, volume XVIII.
140. The Most Great Festival is, indeed, the King of Festivals #112
A reference to the Ridvan Festival (see notes 107 and 138).
141. G.o.d had formerly laid upon each one of the believers the duty of offering before Our throne priceless gifts from among his possessions. Now ... We have absolved them of this obligation. #114
This pa.s.sage abrogates a provision of the Bayan which decreed that all objects unparalleled of their kind should, upon the appearance of Him Whom G.o.d will make manifest, be rendered unto Him. The Bab explained that, since the Manifestation of G.o.d is beyond compare, whatever is peerless in its kind should rightfully be reserved for Him, unless He decrees otherwise.
142. the hour of dawn #115
With reference to attending dawn prayers in the Mas_h_riqu"l-Ad_h_kar, the Baha"i House of Worship, Baha"u"llah has explained that, although the actual time specified in the Book of G.o.d is "the hour of dawn", it is acceptable at any time from "the earliest dawn of day, between dawn and sunrise, or even up to two hours after sunrise" (Q and A 15).
143. These Tablets are embellished with the seal of Him Who causeth the dawn to appear, Who lifteth up His voice between the heavens and the earth. #117
Baha"u"llah repeatedly affirms the absolute integrity of His Writings as the Word of G.o.d. Some of His Tablets also bear the mark of one of His seals. The Baha"i World, volume V, p. 4, contains a photograph of a number of Baha"u"llah"s seals.
144. It is inadmissible that man, who hath been endowed with reason, should consume that which stealeth it away. #119
There are many references in the Baha"i Writings which prohibit the use of wine and other intoxicating drinks and which describe the deleterious effect of such intoxicants on the individual. In one of His Tablets, Baha"u"llah states:
Beware lest ye exchange the Wine of G.o.d for your own wine, for it will stupefy your minds, and turn your faces away from the Countenance of G.o.d, the All-Glorious, the Peerless, the Inaccessible. Approach it not, for it hath been forbidden unto you by the behest of G.o.d, the Exalted, the Almighty.
"Abdu"l-Baha explains that the Aqdas prohibits "both light and strong drinks", and He states that the reason for prohibiting the use of alcoholic drinks is because "alcohol leadeth the mind astray and causeth the weakening of the body".
Shoghi Effendi, in letters written on his behalf, states that this prohibition includes not only the consumption of wine but of "everything that deranges the mind", and he clarifies that the use of alcohol is permitted only when it const.i.tutes part of a medical treatment which is implemented "under the advice of a competent and conscientious physician, who may have to prescribe it for the cure of some special ailment".
145. turn your faces toward Him Whom G.o.d hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root #121
Baha"u"llah here alludes to "Abdu"l-Baha as His Successor and calls upon the believers to turn towards Him. In the Book of the Covenant, His Will and Testament, Baha"u"llah discloses the intention of this verse. He states: "The object of this sacred verse is none other except the Most Mighty Branch." The "Most Mighty Branch" is one of the t.i.tles conferred by Baha"u"llah on "Abdu"l-Baha. (See also notes 66 and 184.)
146. In the Bayan it had been forbidden you to ask Us questions. #126
The Bab forbade His followers to ask questions of Him Whom G.o.d will make manifest (Baha"u"llah), unless their questions were submitted in writing and pertained to subjects worthy of His lofty station. See Selections from the Writings of the Bab.
Baha"u"llah removes this prohibition of the Bab. He invites the believers to ask such questions as they "need to ask", and He cautions them to refrain from posing "idle questions" of the kind which preoccupied "the men of former times".
147. The number of months in a year, appointed in the Book of G.o.d, is nineteen. #127
The Baha"i year, in accordance with the Badi calendar, consists of nineteen months of nineteen days each, with the addition of certain intercalary days (four in an ordinary year and five in a leap year) between the eighteenth and nineteenth months in order to adjust the calendar to the solar year. The Bab named the months after certain attributes of G.o.d. The Baha"i New Year, Naw-Ruz, is astronomically fixed, coinciding with the March equinox (see note 26). For further details, including the names of the days of the week and the months, see the section on the Baha"i calendar in The Baha"i World, volume XVIII.
148. the first hath been adorned with this Name which overshadoweth the whole of creation #127
In the Persian Bayan, the Bab bestowed the name "Baha" on the first month of the year (see note 139).