Ridván

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Riḍván (

Riḍwān is named for the Garden of Ridván, Baghdad, where Bahá'u'lláh stayed for twelve days after the Ottoman Empire exiled him from the city before he journeyed to Constantinople.^[5]

It is the holiest Bahá'í festival, and is also referred to as the "Most Great Festival" and the "King of Festivals".

History

Context

In 1844 Ali-Muhammad of

Before Bahá'u'lláh left for Constantinople, many visitors came to visit him. To allow his family to prepare for the trip, and to be able to receive all these visitors, he decided to move to the Garden of Ridwan across the Tigris from Baghdad. He entered the garden on 22 April 1863 (31 days after Nawrúz, which usually occurs on 21 March) accompanied by his sons ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, Mírzá Mihdí and Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí, his secretary Mirza Aqa Jan, and some others, and stayed there for eleven days.^[5][10]

After he arrived in the garden, Bahá'u'lláh announced his mission and station for the first time to a small group of family and friends. The exact nature and details of Bahá'u'lláh's declaration are unknown. Bahíyyih Khánum is reported to have said that Bahá'u'lláh stated his claim to his son ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and four others. While some Bábís had come to the realization that Bahá'u'lláh was claiming to be the Promised One through the many remarks and allusions that he had made during his final few months in Baghdad, it appears that most other Bábís were unaware of Bahá'u'lláh's claim until a few years later while he was in Edirne.^[10]

For the next eleven days Bahá'u'lláh received visitors including the governor of Baghdad. Bahá'u'lláh's family was not able to join him until 30 April, the ninth day, since the river had risen and made travel to the garden difficult though lasting only nine days was a comparatively mild flooding of the river.^[11] On the twelfth day of their stay in the garden, Bahá'u'lláh and his family left the garden and started on their journey to Constantinople.^[10]

Festival

In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, written during 1873, Bahá'u'lláh ordains Ridván as one of two "Most Great Festivals", along with the Declaration of the Báb. He then specified the first, ninth, and twelfth days to be holy days; these days mark the days of Bahá'u'lláh's arrival, the arrival of his family and their departure from the Ridván garden, respectively.^[12]

The Festival of Ridván is observed according to the

The time that Bahá'u'lláh spent at the Garden of Ridván in April 1863, and the associated festival and celebration, has a very large significance for Bahá'ís. Bahá'u'lláh calls it one of two "Most Great Festivals" and describes the first day as "the Day of supreme felicity" and he then describes the Garden of Ridvan as "the Spot from which He shed upon the whole of creation the splendours of his Name, the All-Merciful".^[12][13]

The festival is significant because of Bahá'u'lláh's private declaration to a few followers that he was "Him Whom God shall make manifest" and a

Throughout his life, Bahá'u'lláh wrote several tablets and prayers on the occasion of Ridván, among which are the following.

• Lawh-i Húr-i ʻUjáb (Tablet of the
  Maid of Heaven)^[15]
• Lawh-i ʻÁshiq vaMaʻshúq (Tablet of the Lover and the Beloved)
• Súrih-i Qalam (Súrih of the Pen)

These and several others are published in the volume titled Days of Remembrance.

Bahá'í elections

The Ridván period is also the time when

Annually, during Ridván, the Universal House of Justice sends a 'Ridván message' to the worldwide Bahá'í community,[1] which generally looks back on the previous year, and provides further guidance for the coming year.^{[note 1]}

See also

• Garden of Ridván, Akka

Notes and citations

Notes

Citations