Ninth Day of Riḍván
“Praise be to Thee, O my God, for having gathered together Thy loved ones to celebrate Thy Most Great Festival, whereon Thou didst shed the splendour of Thy most excellent names upon all who are in heaven and on earth, the Festival whereon the Day-Star of truth hath shone resplendent above the horizon of Thy will and the Ancient King ascended the throne of Thy mercy.” - Days of Remembrance
Some notes about the Riḍván Festival
The Riḍván Festival celebrates the Declaration of Bahá’u’lláh. 1n 1863, while camped in the Najibiyyih garden along the Tigris river, Bahá’u’lláh announced to a number of companions that He was the Promised One foretold by the Báb.
The Festival of Riḍván consists of a period of twelve days. The first, ninth and twelfth day are observed as Holy Days. This festival is considered as “…the holiest and most significant of all Bahá’í festivals.”
In a Tablet, He refers to His Declaration as “the Day of supreme felicity” and He describes the Garden of Riḍván as “the Spot from which He shed upon the whole of creation the splendors of His Name, the All-Merciful.”
Local spiritual assemblies are elected on the first day of Riḍván each year and national conventions are held shortly thereafter.
The above passage is an excerpt from a tablet for the ninth day of Riḍván and is available in the Bahá'í Reference Library.
The 2022 Riḍván message of the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís of the world is available on the official website for the Universal House of Justice.
Source of photo: Bahá'í Media Bank (copyright © Bahá'í International Community)
