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In leap years, the Ayyam-i-Ha also adds an extra intercalary day: |
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| Baha'i Date | Gregorian Date | | 1 Ayyam-i-Ha | 26 February | | 2 Ayyam-i-Ha | 27 February | | 3 Ayyam-i-Ha | 28 February | | 4 Ayyam-i-Ha | 29 February | | 5 Ayyam-i-Ha | 1 March |
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The corresponding date range for the Ayyam-i-Ha in the Gregorian calendar is always 26 February through 1 March. |
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The epoch of the Baha'i calendar is 21 March 1844 A.D. (1 Baha 1 B.E.), which is intended to be the date of the vernal equinox immediately prior to the date of the Declaration of the Bab. The abbreviation B.E. stands for "Baha'i Era." |
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9.9.1.2
Historical Background |
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The history of the Baha'i faith begins with two men. The first was an ultra-Shi'ite Islamic theologian, a native of eastern Arabia, al-Shaykh Ahmad Ahsa'i, whose followers venerated the 12 imam descendants of Ali and emphasized the cult of al-Mahdi (the guided one), who is the 12th hidden imam and a messianic figure. |
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The second is Mirza Ali Muhammad, born on 20 October 1819 in Shiraz, Persia, the son of a merchant. Ali Muhammad became familiar with the Shaykhi school of the Shi'i branch of Islam at an early age. On 23 May 1844, Ali Muhammad wrote a commentary on the surah (chapter) of Joseph from the Qur'an, and received a religious revelation, which prompted him to declare himself al-Bab (the gateway), a title traditionally considered to belong to the spokesman for the 12th, and last, imam. |
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Al-Bab produced, in fairly short order, a body of doctrine, social principles, and religious law that challenged the foundations of 19th century Islamic society in Persia. In this, he apparently received support from some Shaykhi clerics. |
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Shortly after announcing his mission, the Bab chose 18 disciples, who, together with himself, constituted the 19 huruf al-hayy, or "letters of the living". Because of the nature of his teachings, the Bab was suspected by the authorities of fomenting insurrection, and some of his followers engaged in bloody uprisings, in the course of which some 20,000 of them were killed in Persia. |
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The Bab was arrested and imprisoned in the fortress of Mahku in 1847 and transferred in 1848 to the castle of Chehriq, where he remained until his death. Despite winning the protection of the governors of Isfahan and the fortress of Mahku, the Bab was deemed a danger to the existing social order by a committee of mujtahid, who demanded his execution. The Bab was executed by firing squad on the orders of Nasir-al-Din Shah on 9 July 1850 in the public square at Tabriz. The remains of the |
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