Naw-Rúz
National Spiritual Assembly
nsa@bahai.org.uk
15 March 2017
15 ‘Alá’ 173 B.E.
To all believers in the United Kingdom
Dearly loved Friends,
Praise be to Thee, O my God, that Thou hast ordained this day as a festival unto the favoured among Thy servants and the sincere among Thy loved ones. Thou hast called this day by that Name whereby all created things have been subdued and the breezes of Thy Revelation have been wafted between earth and heaven, a Name through which all that hath been recorded in Thy Holy Books and Sacred Scriptures hath been made manifest, and which Thy Messengers and Thy Chosen Ones have foretold, that all men might be made ready to behold Thee, to turn towards the ocean of Thy reunion, to stand before the seat of Thy throne, and to hear Thy wondrous call from the Dayspring of Thine invisible Self and the Dawning-Place of Thine Essence.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Days of Remembrance)
As the precious days of the Fast come to an end and the believers the world over prepare to celebrate the festival of Naw-Rúz, the National Spiritual Assembly sends its deepest love and best wishes to each one of you.
Commencing this year at sunset on 19 March 2017, Naw-Rúz was ordained as a festival by the Báb and later confirmed by Bahá’u’lláh in The Kitáb-i-Aqdas. It is a day on which work is suspended, and a letter written on behalf of the beloved Guardian dated 5 July 1950 describes it as “a Feast of hospitality and rejoicing”. It also presents, no doubt, a wonderful opportunity to invite members of the wider community to join us in celebration.
This year, we are all blessed for the first time to be able to enrich our Holy Day commemorations with readings from the newly translated selections from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, recently published in the volume Days of Remembrance. These can be accessed at the online Bahá’í Reference Library at http://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/days-remembrance/. We feel sure that the friends will wish to make use of some of these special passages to befittingly commemorate Naw-Rúz, and indeed all future Holy Days.
May your celebrations for Naw-Rúz be joyous and radiant, and may every endeavour offered in service to the Cause be blessed and confirmed.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Patrick O’Mara,
Secretary