Baha'i: The Ninth Day of Ridván

Compiled by
 Jaya Raju Thota, India

The Ninth Day of Ridván

Bahá'í Communities throughout the world celebrate the Ninth Day of Riḍván, a festival of joy and unity on 28 April 2021, i e. 2 Jamál 178 B.E. (Bahá'í Era).

In 1863 in Baghdad, Baháʼu'lláh made His first public declaration and eventually was recognized by the vast majority of Bábís as "He whom God shall make manifest" and His followers began calling themselves Baháʼís.

The Ninth Day of Ridván honors a historic event in the Baha’i faith. In April of 1863, Baháʼu'lláh, Prophet-Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, learned that He had been officially banished from the Ottoman Empire. 

At the time, both the Persian and the Ottoman Governments opposed and feared the rapid spread of Baháʼu'lláh's teachings, so they reacted with violence against His followers.

Three of the twelve days of Ridván have special significance–the first, ninth, and twelfth day, which fall respectively on April 20, April 28, and May 1, 2021.

On their Ninth day in the garden, the flooding Tigris receded enough so that Baháʼu'lláh's family could cross the river and join Him. 

This reunification of Baháʼu'lláh's family inspired the symbolic meaning of the Ninth Day of Ridván.

The twele-day period between April 20th and May 1st marks the holiest and happiest Bahá’í period of the year, called Ridván, the most great festival, the festival of God and the King of Festivals.

Three of the twelve days of Ridván have special significance–the first, ninth and final day, which fall respectively on April 20th, April 28th and May 1st, 2021. Bahá’ís celebrate those days by abstaining from work and participating in joyous gatherings, observances, parties and picnics. These happy occasions, usually characterized by prayer and readings from the Bahá’í Writings, remind Bahá’ís that devotion to a noble Cause dedicated to the service of humanity can bring great and lasting happiness.

For Baha’is, the Ninth Day of Ridván honors a historic and profoundly symbolic event.

In April of 1863 Baháʼu'lláh, previously exiled to Baghdad by the Shah of a hostile Persian Government on 15th August 1852, learned that He had once again been officially banished from Baghdad to Constantinople (now known as Istanbul, Turkey), the capitol of the Ottoman Empire. 

At the time, both the Persian and the Ottoman Governments opposed and feared the rapid spread of Baháʼu'lláh’s teachings and those of His predecessor The Báb. 

The Persian authorities reacted by unleashing a violent genocidal campaign of persecution, imprisonment, torture and execution against the followers of this progressive new Faith.

Threatened by the Baha’i teachings and their rapid spread, which severely challenged the dogma and the dominion of the powerful Imams and Caliphs who ran the tyrannical governments, the rulers unleashed a vicious campaign of extermination against the Bahá’ís. At least 20,000 innocent people died as a result.

But this concerted campaign of exile and extermination failed to slow the spread of the new Faith, and the Ottoman government resolved to force Baháʼu'lláh and his family to prepare to leave Baghdad. After the order was issued, Baha’u’llah and a small number of followers moved temporarily to a beautiful, fragrant garden island near the eastern bank of the Tigris River.

With four rose-lined avenues, the Garden of Ridván—which means “paradise”–attracted hundreds of nightingales, singing enchantingly there every night. Springtime saw the Tigris flowing past powerfully, and the rushing river, the heavenly aroma of thousands of roses and the songs of the nightingales “created an atmosphere of beauty and enchantment.”

So on this day a hundred and fifty-eight years ago–April 28, 1863–the ninth day of Baha’u’llah’s sojourn there, inferred the flooding Tigris receded enough so that Baháʼu'lláh’s family could cross the river and join Him in the Garden of Ridván. This reunification of Baha’u’llah’s family, and by extension the unity of the entire human family the Baha’i Faith calls for, permeates the symbolic meaning of the 9th day of Ridván.

Forty years later, the American attorney and writer Myron Phelps interviewed Baháʼu'lláh’s daughter, and she recounted her experience during that Ridván period:

"When the news (of Baháʼu'lláh's exile from Baghdad) came to us, from which we that my father would again be made a prisoner, we were thrown into consternation, fearing another separation. He was summoned before the magistrates… Great numbers of His followers had assembled before our house, and these witnessed His departure with many demonstrations of grief, feeling that it was possible He might not return."

The magistrates expressed great sorrow to my father; they said that they respected and loved Him, that they had not instigated the order (which came from the Sultan of Turkey), but that they were powerless to suspend or modify it, and must proceed with its execution.

This report was like a death-knell to his followers, who were still gathered about the house. The next day they so overran the house that we could not prepare for the journey… Then, as the only way in which to soothe his followers, the Blessed Perfection (one of Baháʼu'lláh’s titles) took all his family to the (Ridvan) garden. Here we pitched our tents… The tents made, as it were, a little village.

Quite often, if you go to a Ninth Day of Ridvan celebration, you’ll find Baha’is celebrating with outdoor activities like picnics, games and hikes, enjoying the beauty of lakes, rivers and oceans as a reminder of Baha’u’llah’s momentous springtime declaration on the shores of the Tigris.

In a letter written on behalf of the Guardian, dated June 8, 1952, to an individual believer, in Lights of Guidance p. 230, it says:

"As regards various matters you raised in your letters, the reason we commemorate the 1st, 9th and 12th days of Ridvan as Holidays (Holy Days) is because one is the first day, one is the last day, and the third one is the ninth day, which of course is associated with the number 9. All 12 days could not be holidays, therefore these three were chosen."

The first day, the ninth day, and the last day are all non-working days according to the Bahá’í Faith. 

The ninth day celebrates the arrival of the family of Bahá’u’lláh to the Garden of Ridván.

Ridván means “paradise”, and the festival got its name from the Garden of Ridván, over the Tigris River outside Baghdad. This is where Bahá’u’lláh, Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, remained for 12 days from April 20 to May 1, 1863 after He was forced to leave Baghdad by the Ottoman Empire.

During these 12 days, Bahá’u’lláh received many visitors who came to help Him and his family prepare for the journey to Constantinople. In the presence of his sons, Bahá’u’lláh announced His messianic mission, telling all that he was “He whom God shall make manifest”, the messianic figure repeatedly mentioned by the Báb.

The family of Bahá’u’lláh was not able to join him until the ninth day because the Tigris River had risen due to the rains, and travel to the Garden of Ridván was difficult. 

The Ninth Day of Ridván celebrates the arrival of Bahá’u’lláh’s family to the Garden of Ridván. Bahá’u’lláh declared the Festival of Ridván as the most holy for Bahá’is, and He gave specific instructions that the first, ninth, and twelfth days be holy days for the entire Bahá’í community.

In a letter written on behalf of the Guardian, dated June 8, 1952, to an individual believer, in Lights of Guidance p. 230, it says:

"As regards various matters you raised in your letters, the reason we commemorate the 1st, 9th and 12th days of Ridvan as Holidays (Holy Days) is because one is the first day, one is the last day, and the third one is the ninth day, which of course is associated with the number 9. All 12 days could not be holidays, therefore these three were chosen."

On the first, ninth and twelfth days of this Festival, work is forbidden.