Ridvan

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Ridvan ( Arabic ﺭﺿﻭﺍﻥ, DMG Riḍwān  'Well-pleased [God's], (paradise) garden', Persian , Baha'i transcription Riḍván ) designates the most important religious festival in the Baha'i religion , two important gardens in their religious history and is a linguistic symbol for this in their holy scriptures Paradise or the pleasure of God.

Ridvan as a festival

The former Ridvan Garden near Baghdad in Iraq
Today's Ridvan Garden in Acre , Israel

The "Ridvan Festival" is the most important religious festival of the Baha'i . It extends over twelve days (April 21 to May 2). During this time, the first " proclamation " of the founder of the religion Baha'ullah in the "Garden of Ridvan" in Baghdad in 1863 is commemorated.

The non-working days of the "Ridvan period" are of particular importance: the first, ninth and twelfth Ridvan days. The celebration of the first day is usually held in the late afternoon - the time Baha'ullah arrived in the garden.

In places with an organized Baha'i community, the nine-person community body is also elected on this day . National and international elections also take place during this period.

Baha'ullah himself describes that on the first day of the historical Ridvan “the divine properties poured out over all of creation and it was so washed clean”. His strong ban on all forms of religious violence goes back to that day. He claimed the validity of his claim to revelation (combined with the reference that the next manifestation of God would not appear before the expiration of 1000 years).

Baha'ullah referred to the Ridvan event in several of his writings.

Ridvan as a place

Baha'ullah referred to two gardens closely connected to the religious history of the Baha'i'um as "Ridvan" or "Ridvan Garden" or "Ridvan Garden".

The first is the Najibiyyih Garden on the banks of the Tigris in Baghdad. Here Baha'ullah announced his prophetic claim openly for the first time in 1863, albeit to a relatively small group of people. Despite its importance to the Baha'i, the place was never owned by the Baha'i community. Today there is a hospital here.

The second is a garden near the Namayn near Acre. It is also considered a sacred place and is owned by the Baha'i community. It is part of the pilgrims' visit to the holy places of the Baha'i in Haifa and Acre. It can also be visited by tourists and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage “Holy Places of the Baha'i in Haifa and Western Galilee”.

Ridvan as symbolism in the scriptures of the Baha'i

Baha'ullah uses "Ridvan" in his writings in conjunction with several terms: Ridvan of the Divine Presence, Ridvan of the Eternal, All-Glorious, Invisible, Ridvan of Eternal Union, Ridvan of Divine Wisdom, Ridvan of Immortality.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A special praise Ridvans which is found in chapter 14 Gleanings .
  2. ^ Bahá'i Holy Places in Haifa and the Western Galilee. Retrieved May 29, 2012 .

literature

  • Baha'u'llah: Kitab-i-Aqdas - The Most Holy Book . Bahai Verlag, Hofheim-Langenhain 2000, ISBN 3-87037-339-3 ( online ).
  • Adib Taherzadeh: The Revelation of Baha'u'llah (Volume 1) . Bahai-Verlag, Hofheim-Langenhain 1981, ISBN 3-87037-123-4 , p. 188-190 ( online ).
  • Peter Smith: A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith . Oneworld-Publications, Oxford 1999, ISBN 978-1-85168-184-6 , pp. 167-168 .
  • Myron H. Phelps, Bahíyyih Khánum, Marzieh Gail: The Master in 'Akká: Including the Recollections of the Greatest Holy Leaf . Kalimát Press, Los Angeles 1985, ISBN 0-933770-49-9 .