History and Significance of the Festival of Ridván.

From April 21 to May 2, Bahá’ís observe the Festival of Ridván This most holy day commemorates the anniversary of Bahá’u'lláh’s declaration in 1863 that He was the Promised One of all earlier religions.

Bahá’u'lláh’s declaration that He was “Him Whom God shall make manifest” and a Manifestation of God marks the beginning of the Bahá’í Faith .

Ridván (Rizwahn) was a bittersweet time, as Bahá’u'lláh was soon to be exiled to Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). This was the latest in His series of exiles by the Persian government, which considered Him to be a heretic.

Bahá’u'lláh spent 12 days in a garden in Baghdad visiting with His followers. His followers named the garden Ridván, which means “Paradise” or “good pleasure” in Arabic. The exact circumstances of the Declaration are not known. According to Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Faith: ³The fragmentary description left to posterity by His chronicler Nabil is one of the very few authentic records we possess of the memorable days He spent in that garden. Every day, Nabil has related, ere the hour of dawn, the gardeners would pick the roses which lined the four avenues of the garden, and would pile them in the center of the floor of His blessed tent. So great would be the heap that when His companions gathered to drink their morning tea in His presence, they would be unable to see each other across it. All these roses Bahá’u'lláh would, with His own hands, entrust to those whom He dismissed from His presence every morning to be delivered, on His behalf, to His Arab and Persian friends in the city.²

Bahá’u'lláh called Ridván the Most Great Festival and the King of Festivals. He said:

Call ye to mind, O people, the bounty which God hath conferred upon you. Ye
were sunk in slumber, and lo! He aroused you by the reviving breezes of His
Revelation, and made known unto you His manifest and undeviating Path.

When He entered the garden, Bahá’u'lláh proclaimed the Festival of Ridván and made three announcements:

• He forbade His followers to fight to advance or defend the Faith (religious war had been permitted under past religions).
• He declared there would not be another prophet for another 1,000 years.
• He proclaimed that all the names of God were inherent in all things at that moment.

Bahá’ís suspend work on the holiest days of Ridvan-the first (April 21), ninth (April 29) and twelfth (May 2). These mark the day of Bahá’u'lláh’s arrival in the garden, the arrival of His family and the group’s departure for Constantinople.

Throughout Ridván, Bahá’ís gather for devotions and attend social gatherings.

At Ridván, Bahá’ís annually elect members of local and national administrative bodies, called Spiritual Assemblies. Bahá’u'lláh taught that in an age of universal education, there was no longer a need for a special class of clergy. Instead, he provided a framework for administering the affairs of the Faith through a system of elected councils at the local, national and international levels. (International elections are held every five years.)

Bahá’í elections occur through secret ballot and plurality vote, without candidacies, nominations or campaigning.

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The Baha’i community in Arlington, Virginia, will observe the Holy Day with a Feast – a gathering for prayers, songs, sharing and food – the evening of Saturday, March 20.

The festival comes at the end of a 19-day fast in which adult Baha’is abstain from food and drink between sunrise and sunset as a reminder of the need for individuals to be detached from their material desires.

Naw-Ruz is the first day of the first of 19 months in the Baha’i calendar, which was initiated by the Bab, the Forerunner of the Faith’s Prophet-Founder, Baha’u'llah, who later confirmed it.

Learn more about Naw-Ruz, click here. To contact the Baha’i community in Arlington, click Contact above.

Leaders of Baha'i Faith in Iran

Members of the Baha’i communities in Arlington, Washington, DC, and across the country are watching developments in Iran with concern – Seven leaders of Iran’s Baha’i minority went on trial in Tehran Tuesday (January 12) accused of spying for Israel.

The seven — two women and five men — are also accused of spreading propaganda against the Islamic republic and committing religious offenses, charges that can carry the death penalty.

“We understand that no observers were allowed in the court,” said Diane Ala’i, the Baha’i International Community’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. “We understand that even the lawyers had to argue their way inside the court — lawyers who, in any case, had virtually no access to the accused for nearly two years.”

The seven leaders of the Baha’i Faith in Iran have been held in prison for more than 18 months.

The world’s media is watching developments, including:

CNN

The New York Times

The Washington Post

BBC

The Holy Day program will begin at 2:00 pm. Hot dogs will be provided; bring food for all to enjoy. Please join us, families and children, one and all!

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Confirmed guests include Ms. Shohreh Aghdashloo (Actress from House of Sand & Fog and The Stoning of Soraya M. ), Dr. Azar Nafisi (Author of Reading Lolita in Tehran) and Dr. Dwight Bashir (Associate Director for Policy at the US Commission on International Religious Freedom). The evening will be filled with multimedia and art presentations, as well as comments from local Washington DC Metro Area Bahá’ís who have been personally affected by the continued persecution in Iran.

The event is free and everyone is welcome to attend. For more information about the event on September 12th please contact us. We look forward to seeing you there. For more information about the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran please visit iran.bahai.us.