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Ridván

April 21, 2023

For the Turkish given name, see Ridvan.

Riḍván (Arabic: رضوان Riḍwán; Persian transliteration: Rezván, Persian pronunciation: [ɾezvɒːn]) is a twelve-day festival in the Baháʼí Faith, commemorating Baháʼu'lláh's declaration that he was a Manifestation of God.[1] 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 (exactly one month on the Gregorian calendar after the equinox).[2] In 2023 it will be celebrated on 21 April.[3] On the first, ninth and twelfth days of Ridván, work and school should be suspended.[4]

"Ridván" means paradise, and is named for the Garden of Ridván outside Baghdad, where Baháʼu'lláh stayed for twelve days after the Ottoman Empire exiled him from the city and before commencing his journey to Constantinople.[5]

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

History

Context

In 1844 Siyyid ʻAlí-Muhammad of Shiraz proclaimed that he was the "Báb" (Arabic: "Gate"), after a Shiʻa religious concept. His followers were therefore known as Bábís. The Báb's writings introduced the concept of "He whom God shall make manifest", a Messianic figure whose coming, according to Baháʼís, was announced in the scriptures of all of the world's great religions.[6][7]

Baháʼu'lláh claimed that his mission as the Promised One of the Báb, was revealed to Him in 1852 while imprisoned in the Síyáh-Chál in Tehran, Iran.[6] After his release from the Síyáh-Chál, Baháʼu'lláh was banished from Persia, and he settled in Baghdad, which became the centre of Bábí activity. Although he did not openly declare this prophetic mandate, he increasingly became the leader of the Bábí community.[8]

Baháʼu'lláh's rising prominence in the city, and the revival of the Persian Bábí community, gained the attention of his enemies in Islamic clergy and the Persian government. They were eventually successful in having the Ottoman government summon Baháʼu'lláh from Baghdad to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul).[9]

Najibiyyih garden

See also: Garden of Ridván, Baghdad
 
Garden of Ridván, Baghdad

Before Baháʼu'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 Najibiyyih garden across the Tigris river from Baghdad. He entered the garden on 22 April 1863 (31 days after Naw Rúz, 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 his arrival in the garden, Baháʼu'lláh announced his mission and station for the first time to a small group of family and friends. The exact nature and details of Baháʼu'lláh's declaration are unknown. Bahíyyih Khánum is reported to have said that Baháʼu'lláh stated his claim to his son ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and four others. While some Bábís had come to the realization that Baháʼu'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 Baháʼu'lláh's claim until a few years later while he was in Edirne.[10]

For the next eleven days Baháʼu'lláh received visitors including the governor of Baghdad. Baháʼu'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, Baháʼu'lláh and his family left the garden and started on their journey to Constantinople.[10]

Festival

In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, written during 1873, Baháʼu'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 Baháʼu'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 Baháʼí calendar, and begins on the thirty-second day of the Baháʼí year, which falls on 20 or 21 April. The festival properly starts at two hours before sunset on that day, which symbolises the time that Baháʼu'lláh entered the garden. On the first, ninth, and twelfth days, which are Baháʼí Holy Days, work is prohibited. Currently, the three holy days are usually observed with a community gathering where prayers are shared, followed by a celebration.[10]

Significance

The time that Baháʼu'lláh spent at the Garden of Ridván in April 1863, and the associated festival and celebration, has a very large significance for Baháʼís. Baháʼu'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 Baháʼu'lláh's private declaration to a few followers that he was "Him Whom God shall make manifest" and a Manifestation of God, and thus it forms the beginning point of the Baháʼí Faith, as distinct from the Babi religion. It is also significant because Baháʼu'lláh left his house in Baghdad, which he designated the "Most Great House", to enter the Garden of Ridván. Baháʼu'lláh compares this move from the Most Great House to the Garden of Ridván to Muhammad's travel from Mecca to Medina.

Furthermore, during Baháʼu'lláh's first day in the garden, he made three further announcements: (1) abrogating religious war, which was permitted under certain conditions in Islam and the Bábí faith; (2) that there would not be another Manifestation of God for another 1,000 years; and (3) that all the names of God were fully manifest in all things.[10] These statements appear in a text written some years after 1863, which has been included in the compilation Days of Remembrance (section 9). Nader Saiedi states that these three principles are "affirmed, expounded, and institutionalized" in Baháʼu'lláh's Kitab-i-Aqdas, which was completed in 1873.[14]

See also: Baháʼí teachings

Related texts

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

  • Húr-i-ʻUjáb (Tablet of the Wondrous Maiden)[15]
  • Lawh-i-ʻÁshiq va Maʻshúq (Tablet of the Lover and the Beloved)
  • Súriy-i-Qalam (Súrih of the Pen)

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

Baháʼí elections

The Ridván period is also the time when Baháʼí elections for the local and national Spiritual Assemblies take place every year, as well as the election of the Universal House of Justice, every five years.[1]

Ridván messages

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

See also

Notes and citations

Notes

  1. ^ All Ridván messages can be found at Bahai.org and Bahaiprayers.net/Ridvan (multi-lingual).

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Smith, Peter (2000). "Ridvan". A concise encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 296–297. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
  2. ^ "Baha'i Dates 172–221 B.E." (PDF). Baha'i Library. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Significant Bahá'í Dates 180 B.E. (2023–2024)" (PDF). Bahá'í Community of Ottawa. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  4. ^ Esslemont, J.E. (1980). Baháʼu'lláh and the New Era (5th ed.). Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. pp. 182–183. ISBN 0-87743-160-4.
  5. ^ a b Taherzadeh, Adib (1976). The Revelation of Baháʼu'lláh, Volume 1. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. p. 259. ISBN 0-85398-270-8.
  6. ^ a b Hutter, Manfred (2005). "Bābīs". In Ed. Lindsay Jones (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. pp. 727–729. ISBN 0-02-865733-0.
  7. ^ Esslemont, J.E. (1980). Baháʼu'lláh and the New Era (5th ed.). Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-160-4.
  8. ^ Ma'sumian, Bijan (Fall 1993). "Baha'u'llah's Seclusion in Kurdistan". Deepen Magazine. 1 (1): 18–26.
  9. ^ "The Baháʼí Faith". Britannica Book of the Year. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica. 1988. ISBN 0-85229-486-7.
  10. ^ a b c d e Walbridge, John (2005). Sacred Acts, Sacred Space, Sacred Time. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-406-9.
  11. ^ Charles Issawi Bayard Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies Princeton University (14 July 1988). The Fertile Crescent, 1800–1914 : A Documentary Economic History: A Documentary Economic History. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-19-536421-7.
  12. ^ a b Universal House of Justice (1992). "Notes". The Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. pp. 213–225. ISBN 0-85398-999-0.
  13. ^ Baháʼu'lláh (1992) [1873]. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. p. 59. ISBN 0-85398-999-0.
  14. ^ Saiedi, Nader (2000). Logos and Civilization – Spirit, History, and Order in the Writings of Baháʼu'lláh. USA: University Press of Maryland and Association for Baha'i Studies. pp. 243–258. ISBN 1883053609. OL 8685020M.
  15. ^ Smith, Peter (2000). "Baháʼu'lláh, writings of". A concise encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 79–86. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.

References

  • Baháʼu'lláh (1992) [1873]. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-85398-999-0.
  • Phelps, Myron H.; Bahíyyih Khánum; Gail, Marzieh (1985). The Master in ʻAkka: Including the Recollections of the Greatest Holy Leaf. Los Angeles: Kalimát Press. ISBN 0-933770-49-9.
  • Taherzadeh, Adib (1976). The Revelation of Baháʼu'lláh, Volume 1. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-270-8.

Further reading

External links

  • A compendium on Ridván

April 21, 2023
ridván, turkish, given, name, ridvan, riḍván, arabic, رضوان, riḍwán, persian, transliteration, rezván, persian, pronunciation, ɾezvɒːn, twelve, festival, baháʼí, faith, commemorating, baháʼu, lláh, declaration, that, manifestation, baháʼí, calendar, begins, su. For the Turkish given name see Ridvan Riḍvan Arabic رضوان Riḍwan Persian transliteration Rezvan Persian pronunciation ɾezvɒːn is a twelve day festival in the Bahaʼi Faith commemorating Bahaʼu llah s declaration that he was a Manifestation of God 1 In the Bahaʼi calendar it begins at sunset on the 13th of Jalal which translates to the 20th or 21st of April depending on the date of the March equinox exactly one month on the Gregorian calendar after the equinox 2 In 2023 it will be celebrated on 21 April 3 On the first ninth and twelfth days of Ridvan work and school should be suspended 4 Ridvan means paradise and is named for the Garden of Ridvan outside Baghdad where Bahaʼu llah stayed for twelve days after the Ottoman Empire exiled him from the city and before commencing his journey to Constantinople 5 It is the holiest Bahaʼi festival and is also referred to as the Most Great Festival and the King of Festivals Contents 1 History 1 1 Context 1 2 Najibiyyih garden 2 Festival 3 Significance 4 Related texts 5 Bahaʼi elections 6 Ridvan messages 7 See also 8 Notes and citations 8 1 Notes 8 2 Citations 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External linksHistory EditContext Edit In 1844 Siyyid ʻAli Muhammad of Shiraz proclaimed that he was the Bab Arabic Gate after a Shiʻa religious concept His followers were therefore known as Babis The Bab s writings introduced the concept of He whom God shall make manifest a Messianic figure whose coming according to Bahaʼis was announced in the scriptures of all of the world s great religions 6 7 Bahaʼu llah claimed that his mission as the Promised One of the Bab was revealed to Him in 1852 while imprisoned in the Siyah Chal in Tehran Iran 6 After his release from the Siyah Chal Bahaʼu llah was banished from Persia and he settled in Baghdad which became the centre of Babi activity Although he did not openly declare this prophetic mandate he increasingly became the leader of the Babi community 8 Bahaʼu llah s rising prominence in the city and the revival of the Persian Babi community gained the attention of his enemies in Islamic clergy and the Persian government They were eventually successful in having the Ottoman government summon Bahaʼu llah from Baghdad to Constantinople present day Istanbul 9 Najibiyyih garden Edit See also Garden of Ridvan Baghdad Garden of Ridvan Baghdad Before Bahaʼu llah 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 Najibiyyih garden across the Tigris river from Baghdad He entered the garden on 22 April 1863 31 days after Naw Ruz which usually occurs on 21 March accompanied by his sons ʻAbdu l Baha Mirza Mihdi and Mirza Muhammad ʻAli his secretary Mirza Aqa Jan and some others and stayed there for eleven days 5 10 After his arrival in the garden Bahaʼu llah announced his mission and station for the first time to a small group of family and friends The exact nature and details of Bahaʼu llah s declaration are unknown Bahiyyih Khanum is reported to have said that Bahaʼu llah stated his claim to his son ʻAbdu l Baha and four others While some Babis had come to the realization that Bahaʼu llah 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 Babis were unaware of Bahaʼu llah s claim until a few years later while he was in Edirne 10 For the next eleven days Bahaʼu llah received visitors including the governor of Baghdad Bahaʼu llah 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 Bahaʼu llah and his family left the garden and started on their journey to Constantinople 10 Festival EditIn the Kitab i Aqdas written during 1873 Bahaʼu llah ordains Ridvan as one of two Most Great Festivals along with the Declaration of the Bab He then specified the first ninth and twelfth days to be holy days these days mark the days of Bahaʼu llah s arrival the arrival of his family and their departure from the Ridvan garden respectively 12 The Festival of Ridvan is observed according to the Bahaʼi calendar and begins on the thirty second day of the Bahaʼi year which falls on 20 or 21 April The festival properly starts at two hours before sunset on that day which symbolises the time that Bahaʼu llah entered the garden On the first ninth and twelfth days which are Bahaʼi Holy Days work is prohibited Currently the three holy days are usually observed with a community gathering where prayers are shared followed by a celebration 10 Significance EditThe time that Bahaʼu llah spent at the Garden of Ridvan in April 1863 and the associated festival and celebration has a very large significance for Bahaʼis Bahaʼu llah 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 Bahaʼu llah s private declaration to a few followers that he was Him Whom God shall make manifest and a Manifestation of God and thus it forms the beginning point of the Bahaʼi Faith as distinct from the Babi religion It is also significant because Bahaʼu llah left his house in Baghdad which he designated the Most Great House to enter the Garden of Ridvan Bahaʼu llah compares this move from the Most Great House to the Garden of Ridvan to Muhammad s travel from Mecca to Medina Furthermore during Bahaʼu llah s first day in the garden he made three further announcements 1 abrogating religious war which was permitted under certain conditions in Islam and the Babi faith 2 that there would not be another Manifestation of God for another 1 000 years and 3 that all the names of God were fully manifest in all things 10 These statements appear in a text written some years after 1863 which has been included in the compilation Days of Remembrance section 9 Nader Saiedi states that these three principles are affirmed expounded and institutionalized in Bahaʼu llah s Kitab i Aqdas which was completed in 1873 14 See also Bahaʼi teachingsRelated texts EditThroughout his life Bahaʼu llah wrote several tablets and prayers on the occasion of Ridvan among which are the following Hur i ʻUjab Tablet of the Wondrous Maiden 15 Lawh i ʻAshiq va Maʻshuq Tablet of the Lover and the Beloved Suriy i Qalam Surih of the Pen These and several others are published in the volume titled Days of RemembranceBahaʼi elections EditThe Ridvan period is also the time when Bahaʼi elections for the local and national Spiritual Assemblies take place every year as well as the election of the Universal House of Justice every five years 1 Ridvan messages EditAnnually during Ridvan the Universal House of Justice sends a Ridvan message to the worldwide Bahaʼi community 1 which generally looks back on the previous year and provides further guidance for the coming year note 1 See also EditGarden of Ridvan AkkaNotes and citations EditNotes Edit All Ridvan messages can be found at Bahai org and Bahaiprayers net Ridvan multi lingual Citations Edit a b c Smith Peter 2000 Ridvan A concise encyclopedia of the Bahaʼi Faith Oxford Oneworld Publications pp 296 297 ISBN 1 85168 184 1 Baha i Dates 172 221 B E PDF Baha i Library Retrieved 20 April 2018 Significant Baha i Dates 180 B E 2023 2024 PDF Baha i Community of Ottawa Retrieved 12 April 2023 Esslemont J E 1980 Bahaʼu llah and the New Era 5th ed Wilmette Illinois USA Bahaʼi Publishing Trust pp 182 183 ISBN 0 87743 160 4 a b Taherzadeh Adib 1976 The Revelation of Bahaʼu llah Volume 1 Oxford UK George Ronald p 259 ISBN 0 85398 270 8 a b Hutter Manfred 2005 Babis In Ed Lindsay Jones ed Encyclopedia of Religion Vol 2 2nd ed Detroit Macmillan Reference USA pp 727 729 ISBN 0 02 865733 0 Esslemont J E 1980 Bahaʼu llah and the New Era 5th ed Wilmette Illinois USA Bahaʼi Publishing Trust ISBN 0 87743 160 4 Ma sumian Bijan Fall 1993 Baha u llah s Seclusion in Kurdistan Deepen Magazine 1 1 18 26 The Bahaʼi Faith Britannica Book of the Year Chicago Encyclopaedia Britannica 1988 ISBN 0 85229 486 7 a b c d e Walbridge John 2005 Sacred Acts Sacred Space Sacred Time Oxford UK George Ronald ISBN 0 85398 406 9 Charles Issawi Bayard Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies Princeton University 14 July 1988 The Fertile Crescent 1800 1914 A Documentary Economic History A Documentary Economic History Oxford University Press USA p 105 ISBN 978 0 19 536421 7 a b Universal House of Justice 1992 Notes The Kitab i Aqdas Wilmette Illinois USA Bahaʼi Publishing Trust pp 213 225 ISBN 0 85398 999 0 Bahaʼu llah 1992 1873 The Kitab i Aqdas The Most Holy Book Wilmette Illinois USA Bahaʼi Publishing Trust p 59 ISBN 0 85398 999 0 Saiedi Nader 2000 Logos and Civilization Spirit History and Order in the Writings of Bahaʼu llah USA University Press of Maryland and Association for Baha i Studies pp 243 258 ISBN 1883053609 OL 8685020M Smith Peter 2000 Bahaʼu llah writings of A concise encyclopedia of the Bahaʼi Faith Oxford Oneworld Publications pp 79 86 ISBN 1 85168 184 1 References EditBahaʼu llah 1992 1873 The Kitab i Aqdas The Most Holy Book Wilmette Illinois USA Bahaʼi Publishing Trust ISBN 0 85398 999 0 Phelps Myron H Bahiyyih Khanum Gail Marzieh 1985 The Master in ʻAkka Including the Recollections of the Greatest Holy Leaf Los Angeles Kalimat Press ISBN 0 933770 49 9 Taherzadeh Adib 1976 The Revelation of Bahaʼu llah Volume 1 Oxford UK George Ronald ISBN 0 85398 270 8 Further reading EditBahaʼi World Centre 2017 Days of Remembrance Selections from the Writings of Bahaʼu llah for Bahaʼi Holy Days Related documents on Bahaʼi Library OnlineExternal links EditA compendium on Ridvan Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ridvan amp oldid 1150970731, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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