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According to the Encyclopedia of Islam (volume 1, p. 97), the use of Arabic letters as numerals has always been limited and exceptional. There are four areas of application. The first three are astrolabes, chronograms, and the pagination of prefaces and tables of contents, in a manner similar to the Western use of Roman numerals. The fourth use is divination and the preparation of talismans for certain forms of magical procedures. In this regard, the Arabic alphabet has the same advantage as the Teutonic futhark systems it can be used to both receive (divination) and send (ceremonial magick). |
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It is this last application that concerns us. Under the influence of Neo-Pythagorean doctrine, folk custom, and mystic practice, the abjad system became the basis for a set of associations between letters, numbers, and mystical meanings. |
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A very similar process occurred in the West, where Neo-Pythagorean teachings, together with the Jewish Gematria, gave rise via occult and mystical pathways to numerology and arithomancy. The abjad system is not regarded by Muslims or Baha'is as numerology, in the sense of "a science of numbers", but may be styled in this way, in the sense of "a system of assigning numerical values to alphabetical letters, together with a method of associating mystical significance to numbers". Many Muslim groups employ the technique of assigning mystical interpretations to letters, and the Bab used that technique extensively in his writings, drawing from the existing culture. The same technique appears in the writings of Baha'Ullah, although to a lesser degree. |
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A short example of the use, and importance, of Arabic letters in the Baha'i faith may be drawn from the statement clarifying the position of the intercalary days in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, in which it is stated, "Let the days in excess of the months [Ayyam-i-Ha] be placed before the month of fasting. We have ordained that these, amid all nights and days, shall be the manifestations of the letter Ha, and thus they have not been bounded by the limits of the year and its months." |
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In the Baha'i faith, certain numbers have symbolic significance. The number 19 appears repeatedly, as does the number nine. Baha'i Houses of Worship have nine sides, and Baha'i governing bodies have nine members, for example. Multiples of these numbers, such as 95 (195) and 171 (199), also figure prominently in the Baha'i faith. |
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The specific significance of the number 19 in the Baha'i faith is that the letters of the Arabic word Vahid (unity), when their values are totaled by the abjad system, result in the sum of 19. |
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The abjad system is not explicitly embraced by the Baha'i faith, nor is it supported by the Islamic Qur'an. Rather, it has become inextricably linked to religious practice and expression by both folk custom and mystic practice. One is reminded that astrology, although officially condemned by the Christian Church, thoroughly permeated Church practice and expression by the fourth century A.D. |
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