Baháʼí calendar


The Badíʻ calendar used in the Baháʼí Faith is a solar calendar consisting of 19 months and 4-5 Intercalary Days, with new year at the northern spring equinox. Each month is named after virtues, as are the days of the week. The first year is dated from 1844 CE, the year in which the Báb began teaching.
Years on the calendar are annotated with the date notation of BE. The Baháʼí year BE on March.

History

The Baháʼí calendar started from the original Badíʿ calendar, created by the Báb in the Kitabu'l-Asmáʼ and the Persian Bayán in the 1840s. An early version of the calendar began to be implemented during his time. It used a scheme of 19 months of 19 days for 361 days, plus intercalary days to make the calendar a solar calendar. The first day of the early implementation of the calendar year was Nowruz, while the intercalary days were assigned differently than the later Baháʼí implementation. The calendar contains many symbolic meanings and allusions including connections to prophecies of the Báb about the next Manifestation of God termed He whom God shall make manifest.
Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, who claimed to be the one prophesied by the Báb, confirmed and adopted this calendar. Around 1870, he instructed Nabíl-i-Aʻzam, the author of The Dawn-Breakers, to write an overview of the Badíʿ calendar. In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Baháʼu'lláh made Naw-Rúz the first day of the year, and also clarified the position of the Intercalary days to immediately precede the last month. Baháʼu'lláh set Naw-Rúz to the day on which the sun passes into the constellation Aries. Baháʼís interpret this formula as a specification of the vernal equinox, though where that should be determined was not defined.
The calendar was first implemented in the West in 1907.
The Baháʼí scriptures left some issues regarding the implementation of the Badíʿ calendar to be resolved by the Universal House of Justice before the calendar can be observed uniformly worldwide.
On 10 July 2014 the Universal House of Justice announced provisions that will enable the common implementation of the Badíʿ calendar worldwide, beginning at sunset 20 March 2015, coinciding with the completion of the ninth cycle of the calendar. Before that time, the Baháʼí calendar was synchronized to the Gregorian calendar by starting the year at sunset on March 20, regardless of when the vernal equinox technically occurs, meaning that the extra day of a leap year occurred simultaneously in both calendars. The intercalary days always stretched from 26 February to 1 March, automatically including the Gregorian leap day so that there were 4 intercalary days in a regular year, and 5 in a Gregorian leap year. The Universal House of Justice selected Tehran, the birthplace of Baháʼu'lláh, as the location at which the time and date of the vernal equinox is to be determined according to astronomical tables from reliable sources. These changes, which "unlocked" the Badíʿ calendar from the Gregorian calendar, came into effect at of the start of year 172 BE.

Significance

As the name Badíʿ suggests, the Baháʼí calendar is indeed a unique institution in the history of human culture. Sociologist Eviatar Zerubavel notes that the 19-day cycle creates a distinctive rhythm which enhances group solidarity. Furthermore, by finding the closest approximation of the square root of the annual cycle, Baháʼís "have managed to establish the most symmetrical relationship possible between the week and the year, which no one else throughout history has ever managed to accomplish."

Years

Years in the Baháʼí calendar are counted from Thursday 21 March 1844, the beginning of the Baháʼí Era or Badíʿ Era. Year 1 BE thus began at sundown 20 March 1844.
The length of each year is strictly defined as the number of days between the opening and closing days of the year, with the number of intercalary days adjusted as needed. The year ends on the day before the following vernal equinox.

Vernal Equinox

The first day of each year is the day in Tehran containing the moment of the vernal equinox. This is determined in advance by astronomical computations from reliable sources.
Since the Gregorian calendar is not tied to the equinox, the Gregorian calendar shifts around by a day or two each year, as shown in the following table.
Baháʼí YearGregorian date
corresponding to Naw-Rúz
17420 March 2017
17521 March 2018
17621 March 2019
17720 March 2020
17820 March 2021
17921 March 2022
18021 March 2023
18120 March 2024
18220 March 2025
18321 March 2026
18421 March 2027

Months

The Baháʼí calendar is composed of 19 months, each with 19 days. The intercalary days, known as Ayyám-i-Há, occur between the 18th and 19th months.
The names of the months were adopted by the Báb from the Du'ay-i-Sahar, a Ramadan dawn prayer by Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, the fifth Imam of Twelver Shiʻah Islam. These month names are considered to be referring to attributes of God.
In the Persian Bayan the Báb divides the months into four groups known as "fire", "air", "water" and "earth" - which are three, four, six and six months long respectively. Robin Mirshahi suggests a possible link with four realms described in Baháʼí cosmology.
In the following table, the Gregorian date indicates the first full day of the month when Naw-Rúz coincides with 21 March. The month begins at sunset of the day previous to the one listed.
MonthUsual Gregorian dates
Arabic nameArabic scriptEnglish nameAdditional meanings in authorized English translations of Baháʼí scripture
121 March
– 8 April		BaháبهاءSplendourglory, light, excellence
29 April
– 27 April		JalálجلالGlorymajesty
328 April
– 16 May		JamálجمالBeautycharm
417 May
– 4 June		ʻAẓamatعظمةGrandeurglory, majesty, dominion, greatness
55 June
– 23 June		NúrنورLightradiance, brightness, splendour, effulgence, illumination
624 June
– 12 July		RaḥmatرحمةMercyblessing, grace, favour, loving kindness, providence, compassion
713 July
– 31 July		KalimátكلماتWordsutterance, the word of God
81 August
– 19 August		KamálكمالPerfectionexcellence, fullness, consummation, maturity
920 August
– 7 September		AsmáʼاسماءNamestitles, attributes, designations
108 September
– 26 September		ʻIzzatعزةMightglory, power, exaltation, honour, majesty, grandeur, strength, sovereignty, magnificence
1127 September
– 15 October		Mas͟híyyatمشيةWillpurpose, the primal will, the will of God
1216 October
– 3 November		ʻIlm علمKnowledgewisdom, divine knowledge, revelation
134 November
– 22 November		QudratقدرةPowermight, authority, dominion, celestial might, omnipotence, transcendent power, indomitable strength, all-pervading power, ascendancy, divine power
1423 November
– 11 December		QawlقولSpeechwords, testimony
1512 December
– 30 December		MasáʼilمسائلQuestionsprinciples, truths, matters, mysteries, subtleties, obscurities, intricacies, problems
1631 December
– 18 January		S͟harafشرفHonourexcellence, glory
1719 January
– 6 February		SulṭánسلطانSovereigntyking, lord, majesty, sovereign, monarch, authority, potency, the power of sovereignty, the all-possessing, the most potent of rulers
187 February
– 25 February		MulkملكDominionsovereignty, kingdom, realm, universe
26 February
– 1 March		Ayyám-i-Háايام الهاءThe Days of Há-
192 March
– 20 March
ʻAláʼعلاءLoftinessglory

Ayyám-i-Há

The introduction of intercalation marked an important break from Islam, as under the Islamic calendar the practice of intercalation had been specifically prohibited in the Qurʼan.
The number of the intercalary days is determined in advance to ensure that the year ends on the day before the next vernal equinox. This results in 4 or 5 intercalary days being added. These days are inserted between the 18th and 19th months, falling around the end of February in the Gregorian calendar. The number of days added is unrelated to the timing of the Gregorian leap year.

Significance in the Baháʼí Faith

The annual Nineteen Day Fast is held during the final month of ʻAláʼ. The month of fasting is followed by Naw-Rúz, the new year.
The monthly Nineteen Day Feast is celebrated on the first day of each month, preferably starting any time between the sunset on the eve of the day to the sunset ending the day.

Days in a Month

The nineteen days in a month have the same names as the months of the year, so, for example, the 9th day of each month is Asmá, or "Names".

Weekdays

The Baháʼí week starts on Saturday, and ends on Friday. Like Judaism and Islam, days begin at sunset and end at sunset of the following solar day. Baháʼí writings indicate that Friday is to be kept as a day of rest. The practice of keeping Friday as a day of rest is currently not observed in all countries; for example, in the UK, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís confirmed it does not currently keep this practice.
Arabic NameArabic ScriptEnglish TranslationDay of the Week
JalálجلالGlorySaturday
JamálجمالBeautySunday
KamálكمالPerfectionMonday
FiḍálفضالGraceTuesday
ʻIdálعدالJusticeWednesday
IstijlálاستجلالMajestyThursday
IstiqlálاستقلالIndependenceFriday

Cycles

Also existing in the Baháʼí calendar system is a 19 year cycle called Váḥid and a 361 year supercycle called Kull-i-S͟hayʼ. Each of the 19 years in a Vahid has been given a name as shown in the table below.
The 10th Váḥid of the 1st Kull-i-S͟hayʼ started on 21 March 2015, and the 11th Váḥid will begin in 2034.
The current Baháʼí year, year 177 BE, is year Váv of the 10th Váḥid of the 1st Kull-i-S͟hayʼ. The 2nd Kull-i-S͟hayʼ will begin in 2205.
The concept of a 19-year cycle has existed in some form since the 4th century BCE. The Metonic cycle represents an invented measure that approximately correlates solar and lunar markings of time and which appears in several calendar systems.
;Years in a Váḥid
No.Persian NameArabic ScriptEnglish Translation
1AlifألفA
2Bá'باءB
3AbأبFather
4DálدﺍﻝD
5BábبابGate
6VávوﺍوV
7AbadأبدEternity
8JádجادGenerosity
9BaháبهاءSplendour
10ḤubbحبLove
11BahhájبهاجDelightful
12JavábجوابAnswer
13AḥadاحدSingle
14VahhábوﻫﺎبBountiful
15VidádودادAffection
16BadíʿبدیعBeginning
17BahíبهيLuminous
18AbháابهىMost Luminous
19VáḥidواحدUnity

Primary sources