Faithful observance of special days on our calendar

During November, the following sacred occasions will bring us together for worship and remembrance.

• Birth of the Báb — 4 Qudrat — From sunset on 5 November to sunset on 6 November 2021. (The Gregorian dates below follow the same pattern, i.e sunset to sunset.)

• Birth of Bahá’u’lláh — 5 Qudrat — 6-7 November

• Day of the Covenant — 4 Qawl — 24-25 November

• Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá — 6 Qawl — 26-27 November. To be observed, if possible, at 1.00 a.m. standard time, which for us in New Zealand will be 2.00 a.m. NZ daylight savings time, on 27 November.

The Day of the Covenant and the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá take on a special significance in this centenary year of the Master’s passing. A passage from the Universal House of Justice about this is presented at the end of this article.

Suspension of work

The anniversaries of the Birth of the Báb and the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh are Holy Days on which work should be suspended. However, this does not apply to the Day of the Covenant and the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

According to the beloved Guardian:

… according to our Bahá’í laws, work is forbidden on our Nine Holy Days. Believers who have independent businesses or shops should refrain from working on these days. Those who are in government employ should, on religious grounds, make an effort to be excused from work; all believers, whoever their employers, should do likewise. If the government, or other employers, refuse to grant them these days off, they are not required to forfeit their employment, but they should make every effort to have the independent status of their Faith recognized and their right to hold their own religious Holy Days acknowledged. [1]

And the Universal House of Justice has confirmed:

In connection with your question about stoppage of work and closing of establishments owned by Bahá’ís, it is absolutely clear in the Writings that not only should Bahá’ís refrain from work on the nine Holy Days but the shops and establishments owned by Bahá’ís should be closed on those days.… [2]

Twin Holy Birthdays are celebrated on separate days

The Universal House of Justice has stated:

With respect to whether it would be suitable and appropriate for the Twin Holy Birthdays to be celebrated on one occasion, the Guardian clarified that gathering and refraining from work are necessary and required on both days. [3]

In light of the above, it is not appropriate to hold just one gathering on the night between these days that incorporates a pre-sunset and after-sunset scenario. Two separate gatherings must be held.

Tablet of Visitation is optional and no requirement to stand

The Universal House of Justice has given this guidance:

With regard to your question about the manner in which the Tablet of Visitation of Bahá’u’lláh is to be recited, the Tablets of Visitation are read at the Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. They are also frequently used in commemorating Their anniversaries. Although nothing has been found in the Writings to indicate that reciting the Tablets at these anniversaries is mandatory, it is only natural that the friends would wish to do so. They are, of course, free to recite them on other occasions as well. Nothing has been found in the Bahá’í Writings requiring the friends to stand and face the Qiblih whenever the Tablets of Visitation are recited on such occasions. [4]

The House of Justice has also clarified:

Nothing has been found in the Writings to indicate that reciting the Tablets of Visitation is mandatory at commemorations of the anniversaries associated with the Central Figures of the Faith, nor has any Text been found concerning the timing of the recitation of these Tablets during Holy Day observances.[5]

And further:

The commemorative programme should be scheduled according to standard time rather than daylight saving time. However, the time at which the Tablet of Visitation is read during the programme is left to the discretion of the Local Assembly. [6]

Centenary year commemorations of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

The Universal House of Justice wrote in November 2020:

Besides providing for advances within clusters everywhere, the coming Plan will be a year for profound reflection on the life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the strength of the Covenant of which He was the Centre, as the community prepares to commemorate the centenary of His Ascension. The observance of this anniversary will undoubtedly prompt individuals and communities alike to contemplate the significance of that infinitely poignant moment when He Who was the Mystery of God departed from this world. His passing took from the Bahá’ís of that era a Figure Who was the object of their ardent love and loyalty; to the faithful of this age, He remains without parallel: a perfect embodiment in word and deed of all that His Father taught, the One through Whom the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh was “proclaimed, championed and vindicated”. We are conscious that the coming year will also mark a century since His Will and Testament—that “momentous”, “historic”, “immortal” Document—“called into being, outlined the features and set in motion the processes” of the Administrative Order, “the very pattern of that divine civilization which the almighty Law of Bahá’u’lláh is designed to establish upon earth”. This “unique” and “divinely-conceived” Order, this “mighty administrative structure”, had been fashioned by its Architect to perpetuate the Covenant and channel the spiritual powers of the Cause. It will be apparent, then, that the Day of the Covenant next year, exactly twelve months from now, will be especially meaningful. [7]

Footnotes

[1] Shoghi Effendi, in Principles of Bahá’í Administration, p. 55

[2] From a letter dated 20 June 1972 written by the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly

[3] Letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, dated May 25, 2015, to an individual believer

[4] Letter dated 7 December 2014 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly

[5] Letter dated 8 February 2012 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer

[6] Email written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, dated May 25, 1997, to an individual and carbon-copy to the National Spiritual Assembly

[7] Universal House of Justice, message to the Baha’is of the World, 25 November 2020