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Declaration of the Bab This date is celebrated on 23 May in the Gregorian calendar, in commemoration of the declaration of al-Bab in A.D. 1844. This date is celebrated by the Islamic calendar in Muslim countries. |
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Ascension of Baha'Ullah This date is celebrated on 29 May in the Gregorian calendar in commemoration of the passing of Baha'Ullah in A.D. 1892. This date is celebrated by the solar calendar, even in Islamic countries. |
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Martyrdom of the Bab This date is celebrated on 9 July in the Gregorian calendar to commemorate the passing of the Bab in A.D. 1850. This date is celebrated by the Islamic calendar in Muslim countries. Baha'i sources indicate that there is a possibility that this date will change, due to ambiguity in the historical sources. |
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Birth of the Bab This date is celebrated on 20 October in the Gregorian calendar in commemoration of the birth of the Bab in A.D. 1819. This date is one of the twin Holy Days declared by Baha'Ullah and is intended to be celebrated by the rules of the Islamic calendar. It fell on 1 Muharram 1235 A.H. in the Islamic calendar. |
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Birth of Baha'Ullah This date is celebrated on 12 November in the Gregorian calendar in commemoration of the birth of Baha'Ullah in A.D. 1817. This date is the other of the twin Holy Days. It fell on 2 Muharram 1233 A.H. in the Islamic calendar. |
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Day of the Covenant This date is celebrated on 26 November in the Gregorian calendar. It does not commemorate a specific event. The day was selected by 'Abdu'l-Baha to celebrate the establishment of Baha'Ullah's covenant. 'Abdu'l-Baha was born on the evening of 22 May 1844 A.D., which is the same day that the Bab declared his mission in Shiraz. During 'Abdu'l-Baha's lifetime, many Baha'is celebrated his birthday, rather than the declaration of the Bab. Because this day was already a Holy Day, 'Abdu'l-Baha requested Baha'is to celebrate the establishment of the covenant of Baha'Ullah, rather than his birthday. According to one possibly apocryphal explanation, the date was chosen because it was exactly half of one year, or 182 days, after his birthday. This seems unlikely, since 26 November occurs 188 days after 22 May in the Gregorian calendar, not 182. |
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The test program DTLT_147.C investigates the possibility that an anniversary of the 23 May 1844 date, taken in the Islamic calendar, might have produced the date of 26 November. The answer seems to be negative. The date of 23 May 1844 corresponds to the fifth day of the fifth month in its original year, so dates 182 days later correspond to the 10th day of the 11th month in all years. There is no Islamic year in the range A.H. 12601340 for which this day and month produce an equivalent date of 26 November. In the year A.H. 1293, however, this date corresponds to A.D. 1876 November 27. Because the Islamic date begins on the previous evening, it is conceivable that a compensation for this difference produced a date one day earlier in some |
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