The Months The Days The Holy Days Naw Rúz

The Cycles (Váhid) A Period Kull-i-Shay Why a new Calendar? Acknowledgements

The Bahá'í Calendar The Bahá'í Calendar , also called the Badí calendar was established by the Báb in the Kitáb-i-Asmá and approved by Bahá'u'lláh, who stated that it should start in 1844 AD AH 1260). The Year It is based on the solar year of 365 days, five hours and some fifty minutes. Each year is divided into nineteen months of nineteen days each with four Intercalary Days (five in a leap year), called Ayyám-i-Há which Bahá'u'lláh specified should precede the nineteenth month. New Year's Day (Naw Rúz) falls on the Spring Equinox. This usually occurs on 21 March but if the Equinox falls after sunset on 21 March, Naw Rúz is to be celebrated on 22 March because the Bahá'í day begins at sunset. The Months The names of the months in the Bahá'í ( Badí) calendar were given by the Báb, who drew them from the nineteen names of God invoked in a prayer said during the month of fasting in Shí'ih Islam. They are:

Persian Name	English Name	Feast begins	Feast Ends
Bahá	Splendour	21 March	08 April
Jalál	Glory	09 April	27 April
Jamál	Beauty	28 April	16 May
'Azamat	Grandeur	17 May	04 June
Núr	Light	05 June	23 June
Rahmat	Mercy	24 June	12 July
Kalimát	Words	13 July	31 July
Kamál	Perfection	01 August	19 August
Asmá'	Names	20 August	07 September
'Izzat	Might	08 September	26 September
Mashíyyat	Will	27 September	15 October
'Ilm	Knowledge	16 October	03 November
Qudrat	Power	04 November	22 November
Qawl	Speech	23 November	11 December
Masá'il	Questions	12 December	30 December
Sharaf	Honour	31 December	18 January
Sultán	Sovereignty	19 January	06 February
Mulk	Dominion	07 February	25 February
'Alá	Loftiness	02 March	20 March

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The Days The Bahá'í day of rest is Isiqlál (Friday) and the Bahá'í day begins and ends at sunset. Each of the days of the month is also given the name of one of the attributes of God. The names are the same as those of the nineteen months; thus Naw-Rúz, the first day of the first month, would be considered the 'day of Bahá of the month Bahá'. If it fell on a Saturday, the first day of the Bahá'í week, it would also be the 'day of jalál'. Ayyám-i-Há Literally, Days of Há (i.e. the letter Há, which in the abjad system has the numerical value of 5). Intercalary Days. The four days (five in a leap year) before the last month of the Bahá'í year, 'Alá', which is the month of fasting. Bahá'u'lláh designated the Intercalary days as Ayyám-i-Há in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and specified when they should be observed; the Báb left this undefined. The Ayyám-i-Há are devoted to spiritual preparation for the fast, hospitality, feasting, charity and gift giving. The days of the Bahá'í week are;

1. Jalál	Glory	Saturday
2. Jamál	Beauty	Sunday
3. Kamál	Perfection	Monday
4. Fidál	Grace	Tuesday
5. 'Idál	Justice	Wednesday
6. Istijlál	Majesty	Thursday
7. Istiqlál	Independence	Friday

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The Cycles (Váhid) In His Writings, revealed in Arabic, the Báb divided the years following the date of His Revelation into cycles of nineteen years each. Each cycle of nineteen years is called a Váhid; nineteen cycles constitute a period called Kull-i-Shay The names of the years in each cycle are:

1. Alif		The Letter "A"
2. Bá		The letter "B"
3. Ab		Father
4. Dál		The letter "D"
5. Báb		Gate
6. Váv		The letter "V"
7. Abad		Eternity
8. Jád		Generosity
9. Bahá		Splendour
10. Hubb		Love
11. Bahháj		Delightful
12. Javáb		Answer
14. Vahháb		Bountiful
13. Ahad		Single
15. Vidád		Affection
16. Badí		Beginning
17. Bahí		Luminous
18. Abhá		Most Luminous
19. Váhid		Unity

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The first Kull-i-Shay' of the Bahá'í Era The Báb has, in His writings revealed in Arabic, divided the years following the date of His Revelation, into cycles of nineteen years each. Each cycle of nineteen years is called Váhid. Nineteen cycles constitute a period called Kull-i-Shay. The numerical value of the word 'Váhid' is nineteen. It signifies unity, and is symbolic of the unity of God. The numerical value of the 'Kull-i-Shay' is 361, and literally means 'all things.' In the table below are given the first 361 years of the Bahá'í Era. Some important years in Bahá'í history are in blue.

	Name	Meaning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
1	Alif	A	1844	1863	1882	1901	1920	1939	1958	1977	1996	2015	2034	2053	2072	2091	2110	2129	2148	2167	2186
2	Bá	B	1845	1864	1883	1902	1921	1940	1959	1978	1997	2016	2035	2054	2073	2092	2111	2130	2149	2168	2187
3	Ab	Father	1846	1865	1844	1903	1922	1941	1960	1979	1998	2017	2036	2055	2074	2093	2112	2131	2150	2169	2188
4	Dál	D	1847	1866	1885	1904	9123	1942	1961	1980	1999	2018	2037	2056	2075	2094	2113	2132	2151	2170	2189
5	Báb	Gate	1848	1867	1886	1905	1924	1943	1962	1981	2000	2019	2038	2057	2076	2095	2114	2133	2152	2171	2190
6	Váv	V	1849	1868	1887	1906	1925	1944	1963	1982	2001	2020	2039	2058	2077	2096	2115	2134	2153	2172	2191
7	Abad	Eternity	1850	1869	1888	1907	1926	1945	1964	1983	2002	2021	2040	2059	2078	2097	2116	2135	2154	2173	2192
8	Jád	Generosity	1851	1870	1889	1908	1927	1946	1965	1984	2003	2022	2041	2060	2079	2098	2117	2136	2155	2174	2193
9	Bahá	Splendour	1852	1871	1890	1909	1928	1947	1966	1985	2004	2023	2042	2061	2080	2099	2118	2137	2156	2175	2194
10	Hubb	Love	1853	1872	1891	1910	1929	1948	1967	1986	2005	2024	2043	2062	2081	2100	2119	2138	2157	2176	2195
11	Bahháj	Delightful	1854	1873	1892	1911	1930	1949	1968	1987	2006	2025	2044	2063	2082	2101	2120	2139	2158	2177	2196
12	Javáb	Answer	1855	1874	1893	1912	1931	1950	1969	1988	2007	2026	2045	2064	2083	2102	2121	2140	2159	2178	2197
13	Ahad	Single	1856	1875	1894	1913	1932	1951	1970	1989	2008	2027	2046	2065	2084	2103	2122	2141	2160	2179	2198
14	Vahháb	Bountiful	1857	1876	1895	1914	1933	1952	1971	1990	2009	2028	2047	2066	2085	2104	2123	2142	2161	2180	2199
15	Vidád	Affection	1858	1877	1896	1915	1934	1953	1972	1991	2010	2029	2048	2067	2086	2105	2124	2143	2162	2181	2200
16	Badi'	Beginning	1859	1878	1897	1916	1935	1954	1973	1992	2011	2030	2049	2068	2087	2106	2125	2144	2163	2182	2201
17	Bahí	Luminous	1860	1879	1898	1917	1936	1955	1974	1993	2012	2031	2050	2069	2088	2107	2126	2145	2164	2183	2202
18	Abhá	Most Luminous	1861	1880	1899	1918	1937	1956	1975	1994	2013	2032	2051	2070	2089	2108	2127	2146	2165	2184	2203
19	Váhid	Unity	1862	1881	1900	1919	1938	1957	1976	1995	2014	2033	2052	2071	2090	2109	2128	2147	2166	2185	2204

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The Bahá'í Holy Days

Date - 21 March	Naw Rúz. (Bahá'í New Year)
Date - 21 April	The First Day of Ridván.
Date - 29 April	The Ninth Day of Ridván.
Date - 02 May	The Twelfth Day of Ridván.
Date - 23 May	The Anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb.
Date - 29 May	The Anniversary of the Ascension of the Bahá'u'lláh.
Date - 09 July	The Anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Báb.
Date - 20 October	The Anniversary of the Birth of the Báb.
Date - 12 November	The Anniversary of the Birth of the Bahá'u'lláh.
Date - 26 November	The Day of the Covenant
Date - 28 November	The Anniversary of the Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

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Naw Rúz Literally, New Day. The Bahá'í New Year. Like the ancient Persian New Year, it occurs on the spring equinox, which generally falls on 21 March. If the equinox falls after sunset on 21 March, Naw Rúz is celebrated on 22 March, since the Bahá'í day begins at sunset. For the present, however, the celebration of Naw Rúz is fixed on 21 March. In the Bahá'í calendar, Naw Rúz falls on the day of Bahá of the month of Bahá. The Festival of Naw Rúz marks the end of the month of fasting and is a joyous time of celebration. It is a Bahá'í Holy Day on which work is to be suspended.

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Why a new Calendar? Every new religion has its own calendar and the Bahá'í Faith is no different. The Gregorian calendar currently in use in the west is quite unscientific, as the "months" are a throwback to the days when people used the phases of the moon to mark the passage of time (the moon goes through its phases in 29 days). "Month" may be considered short for "moonth". The names of our months were assigned to show respect to various Roman deities and emperors, i.e.., June for the goddess Juno, July for Julius Caesar, August for Augustus Ceasar. September, October, November, and December mean "7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th" as they were the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th months originally. So why are we still showing our respect for Roman Emperors? Isn't it time to adopt a calendar based on the Sun, rather than the moon? And instead of honouring ancient deities, the Bahá'í months are named for attributes of God. Similarly, our days of the week are named for attributes of the one true God, instead of honouring the sun god, moon god and mythological gods such as Woden, Thor, and Saturn. Judge objectively for yourself which calendar is more appropriate for today. This description of the Gregorian calendar was in answer to a question on the newsgroups soc.religion.bahai

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Parts of this Page have been copied from "A Basic Bahá'í Dictionary" Permission has been granted by the publisher and it's general editor, Dr. Wendy Momen, to quote from it. The Publisher of "A Basic Bahá'í Dictionary" and many other fine books is, George Ronald, 46 High Street, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 2DN.

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