Ayyám-i-Há
Encyclopedia
Ayyám-i-Há refers to a period of four or five intercalary days in the Bahá'í calendar
, where Bahá'ís
celebrate the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há. The four or five days occur in between the 18th and 19th months of the calendar from February 26 to March 1 and allow for the Bahá'í calendar to be synchronized with the solar year with regular years of 365 days, and leap years
of 366 days.
, the founder of the Bábí Faith
, instituted the Badí‘ calendar
in the Persian Bayán
with 19 months of 19 days each and a period of intercalary days to allow for the calendar to be solar. 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 Qur'an
. The Báb did not, however, specify where the intercalary days should go. Bahá'u'lláh
, who claimed to be the one foretold by the Báb, confirmed and adopted the Badi calendar in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
, his book of laws. He placed the intercalary days before the fasting month
of `Alá, the nineteenth and last month, and gave the intercalary days the name "Ayyám-i-Há" or "Days of H".
. Ayyám-i-Há, which means the "Days of Há" — Há
is the Arabic letter corresponding to the English H
— commemorates the transcendence of God over his attributes, since its name "Há" has been used as a symbol of the essence of God in the Bahá'í holy writings
. Under the Arabic abjad
system, the letter Há has the numerical value of five, which is equal to the maximum number of days in Ayyam-i-Há.
During the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há Bahá'ís are encouraged to celebrate God and his oneness by showing love, fellowship and unity. In many instances Bahá'ís give and accept gifts to demonstrate these attributes, and it is sometimes seen as a "Bahá'í Christmas
" held two months after the Christian holiday. It is also a time of charity and goodwill and Bahá'ís often participate in various projects of a humanitarian nature.
Bahá'í calendar
The Bahá'í calendar, also called the Badí‘ calendar , used by the Bahá'í Faith, is a solar calendar with regular years of 365 days, and leap years of 366 days. Years are composed of 19 months of 19 days each, plus an extra period of "Intercalary Days"...
, where Bahá'ís
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
celebrate the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há. The four or five days occur in between the 18th and 19th months of the calendar from February 26 to March 1 and allow for the Bahá'í calendar to be synchronized with the solar year with regular years of 365 days, and leap years
Leap Years
Leap Years is a 2001 drama television series that aired on the Showtime cable network. The show was created by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, who had created the American version of the series Queer as Folk. It followed a group of friends in New York City...
of 366 days.
History
The BábBáb
Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith. He was a merchant from Shíráz, Persia, who at the age of twenty-four claimed to be the promised Qá'im . After his declaration he took the title of Báb meaning "Gate"...
, the founder of the Bábí Faith
Bábism
The Babi Faith is a religious movement that flourished in Persia from 1844 to 1852, then lingered on in exile in the Ottoman Empire as well as underground. Its founder was Siyyid `Alí Muhammad Shirazi, who took the title Báb—meaning "Gate"—from a Shi'a theological term...
, instituted the Badí‘ calendar
Bahá'í calendar
The Bahá'í calendar, also called the Badí‘ calendar , used by the Bahá'í Faith, is a solar calendar with regular years of 365 days, and leap years of 366 days. Years are composed of 19 months of 19 days each, plus an extra period of "Intercalary Days"...
in the Persian Bayán
Persian Bayán
The Persian Bayán is one of the principal scriptural writings of the Báb, the founder of Bábi religion, written in Persian. The Báb also wrote a shorter book in Arabic, the Arabic Bayán.- Content:...
with 19 months of 19 days each and a period of intercalary days to allow for the calendar to be solar. The introduction of intercalation
Intercalation
Intercalation is the insertion of a leap day, week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases. Lunisolar calendars may require intercalations of both days and months.- Solar calendars :...
marked an important break from Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, as under the Islamic calendar
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
the practice of intercalation had been specifically prohibited in the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. The Báb did not, however, specify where the intercalary days should go. Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
, who claimed to be the one foretold by the Báb, confirmed and adopted the Badi calendar in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
Kitáb-i-Aqdas
The Kitáb-i-Aqdas is a central book of the Bahá'í Faith written by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion. The work was written in Arabic under the Arabic title , but it is commonly referred to by its Persian title, Kitáb-i-Aqdas , which was given to the work by Bahá'u'lláh himself...
, his book of laws. He placed the intercalary days before the fasting month
Nineteen Day Fast
The Nineteen-Day Fast is a nineteen-day period of the year, during which members of the Bahá'í Faith adhere to a sunrise-to-sunset fast. Along with obligatory prayer, it is one of the greatest obligations of a Bahá'í, and its chief purpose is spiritual; to reinvigorate the soul and bring the...
of `Alá, the nineteenth and last month, and gave the intercalary days the name "Ayyám-i-Há" or "Days of H".
Symbolism and celebration
The nineteen months of the Bahá'í calendar are named after the attributes of GodGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. Ayyám-i-Há, which means the "Days of Há" — Há
Ha
-Science and measurement:* Hahnium, an element now called Dubnium* Hectare , a unit of area* Hectoampere, a unit of electric current* Hemagglutinin , an antigenic glycoprotein from Influenza viruses...
is the Arabic letter corresponding to the English H
H
H .) is the eighth letter in the basic modern Latin alphabet.-History:The Semitic letter ⟨ח⟩ most likely represented the voiceless pharyngeal fricative . The form of the letter probably stood for a fence or posts....
— commemorates the transcendence of God over his attributes, since its name "Há" has been used as a symbol of the essence of God in the Bahá'í holy writings
Bahá'í literature
Bahá'í literature, like much religious text, covers a variety of topics and forms, including scripture and inspiration, interpretation, history and biography, introduction and study materials, and apologia...
. Under the Arabic abjad
Abjad
An abjad is a type of writing system in which each symbol always or usually stands for a consonant; the reader must supply the appropriate vowel....
system, the letter Há has the numerical value of five, which is equal to the maximum number of days in Ayyam-i-Há.
During the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há Bahá'ís are encouraged to celebrate God and his oneness by showing love, fellowship and unity. In many instances Bahá'ís give and accept gifts to demonstrate these attributes, and it is sometimes seen as a "Bahá'í Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
" held two months after the Christian holiday. It is also a time of charity and goodwill and Bahá'ís often participate in various projects of a humanitarian nature.