Forthcoming Holy Days
The Declaration of the Báb and the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh
Dearly loved Friends,
Two Bahá’í Holy Days will be commemorated in the coming weeks. The first – the Declaration of the Báb – marks not only the birth of His Dispensation in 1844, but also the inception of the entire Bahá’í cycle. The second – the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh – marks the end of the Blessed Beauty’s earthly life in 1892. These Holy Days, then, are associated with the beginning and ending of some five decades of Divine Revelation the like of which humanity had never before witnessed.
The Declaration of the Báb
The Holy Day of the Declaration of the Báb spans from sunset on 23 May to sunset on 24 May (8 ‘Azamat). It should, if feasible, be celebrated at about two hours after sunset on Wednesday 23 May. It was at this moment in 1844 that the Báb, in conversation with Mullá Husayn in the upper chamber of His house in Shíráz, announced His mission. “With this historic Declaration,” wrote Shoghi Effendi, “the dawn of an Age that signalizes the consummation of all ages had broken.”
This is the Day whereon the Most Great Sign appeared and proclaimed this mighty Name, captivating thereby all created things with the reviving breezes of the verses of God. Happy the one that hath recognized his Lord and is numbered with them that have attained His presence.
Bahá’u’lláh, Days of Remembrance, No.28
The Universal House of Justice has told us in the recent Ridván message that the period in which we are now living – just a year and a half away from the bicentenary of the Birth of the Báb – is one “in which to recall the extraordinary heroism of the Martyr-Herald of our Faith, Whose dramatic ministry thrust humanity into a new era of history…” May our observations of the Declaration of the Báb also assist us in “calling to mind the lives of the Báb’s intrepid followers—heroines and heroes whose faith was expressed in matchless, sacrificial acts that will forever adorn the annals of the Cause.”
The Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh
The Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh should be commemorated, if feasible, at 4am (British Summer Time) on Tuesday 29 May, with the Holy Day spanning from sunset on 28 May to sunset on 29 May (13 ‘Azamat).
That which is conducive to the regeneration of the world and the salvation of the peoples and kindreds of the earth hath been sent down from the heaven of the utterance of Him Who is the Desire of the world. Give ye a hearing ear to the counsels of the Pen of Glory. Better is this for you than all that is on the earth. Unto this beareth witness My glorious and wondrous Book.
Bahá’u’lláh, “Kitáb-i-Ahd”, Days of Remembrance, No.32
As is befitting these sacred Holy Days, work should be suspended, and it is hoped that the friends will find creative ways to mark these commemorations, offering prayers and thanksgiving for the gift of these divine Messengers.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Patrick O’Mara,
Secretary