The Twin Holy Birthdays of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh

 The twin birthdays of The Báb and Bahá’u’lláh fall on Monday and Tuesday , October 16 and October 17 of this year (2023). With the implementation of the Badí‘ Calendar in 2015, these most significant birthdays are now celebrated worldwide as a two-day festival of joy and celebration.

The Báb

Siyyid Ali-Muhammad, whose title is The Báb (the Gate), was born in Shiraz, Iran on 20 October 1819. He was a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad, and therefore had the privilege to wear a green turban. As a precocious child, His learning and depth of understanding of spiritual matters astounded and perplexed His teachers. 

The Báb declared His mission in 1844, at the age of 25, as a Manifestation of God in fulfillment of Muslim prophecies. He announced Himself to be the Qa’im, the long-promised Messiah of the Muslims. Yet He declared that His primary mission was as the Forerunner of Baha’u’llah, whom He designated as “He Whom God shall make manifest.” 

After only six more years, the Báb was executed in 1850, yet He transformed the lives of tens of thousands of souls during his tragically brief ministry. He ushered in the age of fulfillment of many religious prophecies that promise the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth.

“I am, I am, I am the Promised One! I am the One Whose name you have for a thousand years invoked, at Whose mention you have risen, Whose advent you have longed to witness, and the hour of Whose Revelation you have prayed God to hasten. Verily, I say, it is incumbent upon the peoples of both the East and the West to obey My word, and to pledge allegiance to My person.”
                                        Words of the Báb, quoted in “God Passes By,” by Shoghi Effendi

Bahá’u’lláh 

Bahá’u’lláh (The Glory of God), whose birth name is Mirza Husayn-Ali, was born in Tehran, Iran on 12 November 1817. He was two years older than the Báb. When He was a young man, the son of a prominent government minister in the court of the Shah of Iran, He was known as “the father of the poor,” due to His selfless dedication to giving aid to the poor and needy. 

Immediately when presented with the text of one of the Báb’s writings, Bahá’u’lláh became a devoted follower of the new Bábi religion, although He and the Báb never met in person. After the martyrdom of the Báb and the violent persecution of the Bábis in Iran, Bahá’u’lláh was exiled to Iraq, where He revitalized the Bábi community and began to reveal sacred scriptures that would swell to over 100 volumes during His lifetime. 

In 1863, Bahá’u’lláh declared that He was the Promised One of all ages, the Manifestation of God that the Báb had called “Him Whom God will make manifest.” Soon after His declaration, He was further exiled to Constantinople, Adrianople, and finally to the penal colony of Akka in Palestine, where He remained a prisoner for the rest of His earthly life. 

Although a prisoner, Bahá’u’lláh called all mankind across the world to unity and universal peace. He outlined a blueprint for the regeneration of worldwide governance based on the spiritual principles of justice and equity, the equality of women and men, the oneness of religion, the preservation and stewardship of the natural world, the abolition of all forms of prejudice, the agreement of science and religion, universal education of children, and many other divine teachings that Baha’is are inspired to bring into this suffering world through their dedicated action across the globe.

The Ancient Beauty hath consented to be bound with chains that mankind may be released from its bondage, and hath accepted to be made a prisoner within this most mighty Stronghold that the whole world may attain unto true liberty. He hath drained to its dregs the cup of sorrow, that all the peoples of the earth may attain unto abiding joy, and be filled with gladness. This is of the mercy of your Lord, the Compassionate, the Most Merciful. We have accepted to be abased, O believers in the Unity of God, that ye may be exalted, and have suffered manifold afflictions, that ye might prosper and flourish. He Who hath come to build anew the whole world, behold, how they that have joined partners with God have forced Him to dwell within the most desolate of cities!
                                                              Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh: XLV

The Badí‘ Calendar

According to the Muslim calendar, which is a lunar calendar, the birthday of The Báb falls on the first day of the month of Muharram and the birthday of Bahá’u’lláh falls on the second day of that month. The Baha’is of the Middle East have always celebrated the two birthdays on the successive two days of Muharram, while the Baha’is in other countries had two separate celebrations on the fixed days of the solar calendar: 20 October for the Báb and 12 November for Bahá’u’lláh. When the Universal House of Justice announced the worldwide implementation of the Badí‘ calendar in 2014, Baha’is around the world began to celebrate the two birthdays on successive days that coincide with the lunar designations of Muharram.

The Badí‘ calendar is unique in the world, because it incorporates aspects of both the solar and lunar calendars, and reconciles and unites them into one coherent calendar. Some of the Baha’i holy days are fixed and based on the solar calendar, while others have dates that move according to the lunar calendar, because the twelve months of the lunar calendar equal 354 days. 

The first day of the Baha’i new year, Naw Ruz, occurs on the vernal equinox, which is usually on March 21. The Universal House of Justice has chosen Tehran, the birthplace of Bahá’u’lláh, as the location to measure the vernal equinox astronomically and precisely. The Twin Birthdays are then calculated for celebration eight lunar months after Naw Ruz. The equinox does not occur at exactly the same time each year, and so the entire Badí‘ calendar is continuously adjusted to accommodate the natural variability in the changes of the seasons, the cycles of the moon, and the exact astronomical cycles of the sun.

“The adoption of a new calendar in each dispensation is a symbol of the power of Divine Revelation to reshape human perception of material, social, and spiritual reality. Through it, sacred moments are distinguished, humanity’s place in time and space re-imagined, and the rhythm of life recast.“
                                                              The Universal House of Justice, 10 July 2014 

Summary explanation of the Badí‘ Calendar: https://www.bahaiblog.net/articles/holy-days-bahai-calendar/bahai-badi-calendar-overview/