Ridwan (Paradise) April 21st - May 2nd.

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The Ridwan season is occurring later in April and is a twelve day season with the First Day, Ninth Day and Twelfth Days of Ridwan as Holy Days on which work and school are suspended.

The season commemorates the announcement of Baha'u'llah while in what we call the Ridwan Garden that He was the One promised by the Bab... "He Whom God will make manifest."

With this declaration the Baha'i community was born..those who recognized Baha'u'llah as the One promised by the Bab. It occurred April 21st - May 2nd in the Gregorian Calendar in 1863 in an island in the Tigris River in Baghdad. Baha'u'llah had been exiled from Persia by the Shah in 1853 and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire had summoned Baha'u'llah to Constantinople (Instanbul)... En route He spent twelve days in the Garden of the Najib Pasha..

One of the Tablets revealed there by Baha'u'llah reads in part:

Tablet of the Feast of Ridvan

by Bahá'u'lláh

translated by Ali Kuli Khan and Marzieh Gail.
HE IS THE ALMIGHTY LORD!

Lo, this is the garden of Paradise wherein is raised the Voice of God, the Dominant, the Strong; Here do the immaculate Maids of Heaven dwell, they whom no eye hath seen save only God's, the Sanctified, the Well-Beloved; Herein the eternal nightingale singeth on the bough of the sacred Lote-Tree a song that bedazzaleth the minds, and herein are the needy led to the haven of wealth, and all men guided to the Word of God; verily this is a manifest truth. (Here is the song that the nightingale singeth

IN THY NAME THAT IS GOD,
Thou art verily God!
O sacred Monk, ring out the bells, for the day of God hath come, and the Beauty of the All-Glorious is established on the holy, shining throne.
Glory to Thee, O God, O Thou who art God,

O Thou who alone art God!​

O prophet of wisdom, Hud, beat thou upon thy drum, in the name of the Lord, the Precious, the Bountiful, for the Temple of Holiness is seated upon His high, unapproachable throne.
Glory to Thee, O God, O Thou who art God,

O Thou who alone art God!​

O Thou beauty of eternity, pluck with the fingers of the spirit at the strings of Thy lute that is wondrous and Holy, for the Heavenly Beauty hath come in His garment of glimmering silk.
Glory to Thee, O God, O Thou who art God,

O Thou who alone art God!​

O angel of light, sound thou thy trumpet to herald this appearance, for the letter HA hath mounted above the letter of pre-existent might.
Glory to Thee, O God, O Thou who art God,

O Thou who alone art God!​

A Tablet of the Feast of Ridvan

More later....

 

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The Ridwan season is also the time elections are held in Baha'i communities locally and nationally..

Nationally there is a Covention held every year to elect members of the National Spiritual Assembly....

Baha'i elections are held by secret ballot and a plurality of votes, that is the highest number of votes decides the election.. there is no campaigning or nominations.

Voting is in a state of prayer...

http://www.bahai.us/welcome/organization/bahai-elections/

 

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From the BBC:





The 1st, 9th and 12th days are especially holy days. They commemorate the arrival of Bahá'u'lláh at the Ridván Garden, the arrival of his family and his departure.
These three holy days are marked by communal prayers and celebrations, and are days on which no work is done.
Since Abdu'l-Bahá's time, Bahá'í elections have normally been held during Ridván. Local spiritual assemblies are elected on the first day of Ridván, while elections for national spiritual assemblies happen later in the festival.
The declaration of prophethood

Bahá'u'lláh's declaration that he was the prophet heralded by the Báb was not made public for over a year.
Bahá'u'lláh made the annoucement when he arrived in Ridván to Abdu'l-Bahá and four others, but told them to keep it a secret.


Bahá'u'lláh did not just announce that he was the prophet. He also said that there would be no other prophet for 1000 years, that his followers could not fight to protect or promote the Bahá'í faith and that "all the names of God were fully manifest in all things".
The last statement is taken by Bahá'ís to mean that the world had been mystically transformed and that there was now a new relationship between God and humanity.
The Ridván Garden

The Ridván Garden in Baghdad was originally named Najibiyyih. Bahá'u'lláh renamed it Ridván, which means Paradise.


Bahá'u'lláh had been exiled to Baghdad from Tehran in Persia in 1853, but in 1863 the authorities began to fear that he might be a focus for political unrest there. It was decided that Bahá'u'lláh would now be exiled to Istanbul.
So that his family and followers could prepare for the journey, Bahá'u'lláh left his house on 22 April 1863 and moved to the Najibiyyih Garden, where he proclaimed the Festival of Ridván. The festival begins 2 hours before sunset on 22 April, as that was the time he arrived in the Garden.
Bahá'u'lláh also had a garden called 'Ridván' outside Akka during the final part of his life.


BBC - Religions - Bahai: Ridván


Overall the above is accurate.. I would only add that to be more specific



"Bahá'u'lláh's declaration that he was the prophet heralded by the Bab"


The Bab promised "He Whom God would make manifest" and we usually refer to the Bab and Baha'u'llah as Manifestations of God.

 

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Roses on Ridwan...

Of the exact circumstances attending that epoch-making Declaration we, alas, are but scantily informed. The words Bahá'u'lláh actually uttered on that occasion, the manner of His Declaration, the reaction it produced, its impact on Mirzá Yahyá [Bahá'u'lláh's half-brother, who later tried to usurp His position and made several attempts on His life], the identity of those who were privileged to hear Him, are shrouded in an obscurity which future historians will find it difficult to penetrate.



The fragmentary description left to posterity by His chronicler Nabíl is one of the very few authentic records we possess of the memorable days He spent in that garden.



"Every day," Nabíl has related, "ere the hour of dawn, the gardeners would pick the roses which lined the four avenues of the garden, and would pile them in the center of the floor of His blessed tent. So great would be the heap that when His companions gathered to drink their morning tea in His presence, they would be unable to see each other across it. All these roses Bahá'u'lláh would, with His own hands, entrust to those whom He dismissed from His presence every morning to be delivered, on His behalf, to His Arab and Persian friends in the city."



"One night," he continues, "the ninth night of the waxing moon, I happened to be one of those who watched beside His blessed tent. As the hour of midnight approached, I saw Him issue from His tent, pass by the places where some of His companions were sleeping, and begin to pace up and down the moonlit, flower-bordered avenues of the garden. So loud was the singing of the nightingales on every side that only those who were near Him could hear distinctly His voice.



He continued to walk until, pausing in the midst of one of these avenues, He observed:



'Consider these nightingales. So great is their love for these roses, that sleepless from dusk till dawn, they warble their melodies and commune with burning passion with the object of their adoration. How then can those who claim to be afire with the rose-like beauty of the Beloved choose to sleep?'



For three successive nights I watched and circled round His blessed tent. Every time I passed by the couch whereon He lay, I would find Him wakeful, and every day, from morn till eventide, I would see Him ceaselessly engaged in conversing with the stream of visitors who kept flowing in from Baghdád. Not once could I discover in the words He spoke any trace of dissimulation."


(Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 153

 

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Tablets and writings associated with Ridvan. A number of important tablets of Bahá'u'lláh are associated with Ridvan. These include:


a. Lawh-i-Ayyub. The Tablet of Job, also known as Suriy-i-Sabr ("the Surih of Patience"), Madinatu's-Sabr ("the City of Patience"), and Surat Ayyub. A long tablet in Arabic revealed on the afternoon Bahá'u'lláh arrived at the garden of Ridvan. It was written for Haji Muhammad-Taqiy-i-Nayrizi, whom Bahá'u'lláh surnamed Ayyub, "Job," a veteran of the battle of Nayriz. The tablet praises Vahid (q.v.), the Babi leader at Nayriz, and the believers of Nayriz. (Ayyam-i-Tis`ih 262-304)



b. Tablet of Ridvan, beginning "Huva 'l-Mustavi `ala hadha 'l- `arshi'l-munir" "He is seated upon this luminous throne." An Arabic tablet speaking joyfully of the lifting of the veils that had concealed God's beauty and the manifestation of all his names in created things and appealing to the people to answer the call of their Lord. After each verse is a refrain of the form, "Glad tidings! This is the Festival of God, manifest from the horizon of transcendent bounty." (Ayyam-i-Tis`ih 246-50)



c. Hur-i-`Ujab: "The Wondrous Maiden." An allegorical tablet in Arabic rhymed prose celebrated the unveiling of Bahá'u'lláh's glory. In this allegory the Maid of Heaven comes forth and unveils herself. Her unveiled beauty inflames creation. In joy she passes around the wine of life, plays music, and serves the food of beauty. But the arrogant reject her and she returns saddened to her heavenly palace, grieving that the people of the Book have rejected her and vowing not to return to them until the Day of Resurrection (Ayyam-i-Tis`ih 251- 54. RB 1:218).



d. "The Divine Springtime is come. . . ": (Qad ata Rabi`u'l-Bayan) The superscription of this tablet says that it "was revealed in the Ridvan for all to read during the Festival of Ridvan. . ." The tablet takes the form of a dialogue between God and "the Most Exalted Pen" - i.e., Bahá'u'lláh. God chides Bahá'u'lláh for not openly proclaiming the greatness of this day. Bahá'u'lláh replies that he is silent only because the people are veiled. God answers that today only His face can be seen in creation. God excuses Bahá'u'lláh's silence and proclaims that he has made Bahá'u'lláh the trumpet of the Day of Resurrection. The tablet explains in mystical terms the significance of Bahá'u'lláh's entry into the garden of Ridvan and commands Bahá'u'lláh to attract the hearts of men through the Word of God. The tablet appeals to the believers to heed the call of God. Bahá'u'lláh concludes the tablet with the statement that the Word of God had so inebriated him that he can write no longer. This well-known and frequently-quoted tablet is frequently referred to by western Bahá'ís as the Ridvan Tablet. (Ayyam-i-Tis`ih 254-61; GWB xiv; Days to Remember 27-31)



e. "When the gladness of God seized all else. . .": (Fa-lamma akhadha farahu'llah kulla ma sivahu. . .) An Arabic tablet in which Bahá'u'lláh describes, with much mystical symbolism, his departure from the Most Great House, the grief of the people in the streets, his crossing of the Tigris and entry into the garden, and his final departure. This tablet is a rich source for understanding the symbolic significance of Ridvan and provides some historical information as well. (Ayyam-i-Tis`ih 305-12)



f. Other tablets and talks: There are other prayers, tablets and talks of Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá relating to Ridvan, usually composed at or for a particular Ridvan observance. (Ayyam-i-Tis`ih 313-21, 324-31; Days to Remember 31-34; AVK 3:29-39).



g. Ridvan messages: As early as 1923 Shoghi Effendi sent a letter of encouragement and greeting to the American national Bahá'í convention at Ridvan. Later it was his regular practice to write a Ridvan letter to the Bahá'ís of the world summarizing the progress of the Faith in the previous year and setting out general directions for the coming year. The Universal House of Justice has continued this practice. Other Bahá'í institutions, especially national spiritual assemblies, also sometimes issue Ridvan letters.

SEE ALSO: "Ridvan, Garden of, Baghdad," "Bahá'u'lláh," "Calendar, Badi`"



Bibliography: Collections of material on Ridvan are found in AT 246-339; Days to Remember 25-43; AVK 3:6-10, 29-39; AAK 4:21-24. Accounts of the events of Ridvan are found in GPB 146-58; BKG 154-58, 168-76; RB 1:257-82; Phelps, Master in `Akka 35-41; CH 56-58, 122-24. John Walbridge





Ridvan

 

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Happy Ri?ván - YouTube

 

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150th anniversary of Baha'u'llah's Declaration

On April 21 this year, the Baha'i community will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the day when Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith, first publicly announced His mission in a garden in Baghdad, thus beginning the Baha'i community that today comprises virtually all the races of humankind in more than 200 countries and territories.

In a sense, the global festivities involving people of thousands of ethnic backgrounds is representative of the key message of the Baha'i Faith: that a time of happiness has arrived for the entire human race as it gradually moves from a state of collective adolescence to a stage of maturity and wholeness. "We desire the good of the world and the happiness of the nations," said Baha'u'llah to Edward Granville Browne, the Cambridge University scholar who interviewed Him in 1890, "that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened ... what harm is there in this? ... these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the 'Most Great Peace' shall come." These words provide an outline of the aim of Baha'u'llah's teachings and the work of the Baha'i community today.

Mirza Husayn Ali was a prominent follower of the Babi religion that had begun in Shiraz, Persia 19 years earlier, and was known by members of that community as "Baha'u'llah" (Arabic for "Glory of God"). Central to the teachings of the Babi religion was the expectation of the imminent appearance of another Divine Messenger who would fulfill many of the promises implicit in the religion -- not dissimilar from expectations in Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam regarding a future time of completion and fulfillment.

Shastri Purushotma: Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Baha'u'llah's Declaration

 

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Riḍván

رضوان‎ Meaning: Paradise

The Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh is celebrated annually
by the twelve-day Ridvan Festival, described by Shoghi
Effendi as "the holiest and most significant of all Bahá'í
festivals" (see notes 138 and 140).

(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 213)




I would say for Baha'is the Ridwan festival that starts at sunset April 20th until May 2nd is a very sacred time for Baha'is ... there are actually three Holy Days in the season:


Of the twelve days that Bahá'u'lláh stayed in the Garden of Ridvan, three are regarded as Holy Days: the first day on which He declared Himself, the ninth day when all His family joined Him and rejoiced at His Declaration, and the twelfth day when He left that garden.

~ Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha'u'llah v 1, p. 280

The Holy Days are marked by abstaining from work or attending school...

This year will be the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Baha'u'llah in what we call the "Ridwan Garden" outside Baghdad in April, 1863.

Our Local and National Spiritual Assemblies as well as the Universal House of Justice are all elected during this season...

 

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Thou didst wish to celebrate the Day of Ridvan

"Thou didst wish to celebrate the Day of Ridvan with a feast, and to have those present on that day engage in reciting Tablets with delight and joy, and thou didst request me to send thee a letter to be read on that day. My letter is this:

O ye beloved, and ye handmaids of the Merciful! This is the day when the Day-Star of Truth rose over the horizon of life, and its glory spread, and its brightness shone out with such power that it clove the dense and high-piled clouds and mounted the skies of the world in all its splendour. Hence do ye witness a new stirring throughout all created things.

See how, in this day, the scope of sciences and arts hath widened out, and what wondrous technical advances have been made, and to what a high degree the mind's powers have increased, and what stupendous inventions have appeared.

This age is indeed as a hundred other ages: should ye gather the yield of a hundred ages, and set that against the accumulated product of our times, the yield of this one era will prove greater than that of a hundred gone before. Take ye, for an example, the sum total of all the books that were ever written in ages past, and compare that with the books and treatises that our era hath produced: these books, 112 written in our day alone, far and away exceed the total number of volumes that have been written down the ages. See how powerful is the influence exerted by the Day-Star of the world upon the inner essence of all created things!

But alas, a thousand times alas! The eyes see it not, the ears are deaf, and the hearts and minds are oblivious of this supreme bestowal. Strive ye then, with all your hearts and souls, to awaken those who slumber, to cause the blind to see, and the dead to rise."

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 111

 

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Twelfth Day of Ridvan this evening May 1st and May 2nd...

Daily

Each day in the Garden, before the sun had dawned, the gardeners would pick the roses which lined the four avenues and pile them up in the centre of the floor inside Bahá'u'lláh's tent. So great would be the heap that His companions gathering to drink their morning tea in His presence would be unable to see each other across it. Bahá'u'lláh would entrust these roses with His own hands to the friends He would send out each morning, and on His behalf to be delivered to His Arab and Persian friends in the city.

Food was brought from the house of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, where His family was still in residence, and also from another house. There was much wind for some days, and Bahá'u'lláh's tent was swaying about. The friends took it in turns throughout the night and day to sit and keep the tent ropes steady in case it might be blown down, their whole happiness in so doing, being to be so nearby Bahá'u'lláh.
Bahá'u'lláh would summon a number of His companions to Him each day, and dismiss them in the evening. Those without family ties were allowed to remain for the night, with the remainder returning to their homes.

Every morning and afternoon, Bahá'u'lláh would speak of the Báb's Cause and intimate His own; without any trace of sadness, He radiated forth the utmost joy.

The notables and ordinary devoted people of the City, yearning to visit Bahá'u'lláh, were unable to bear their separation, and would arrive from Baghdad each day in streams and a succession of waves, offering their last farewell, and would take their leave with feelings of profound sorrow.

Day 5 - Roses

On the fifth night, one of the companions was watching beside Bahá'u'lláh's tent and keeping the ropes steady; as midnight approached, Bahá'u'lláh came out from His tent, and passed by the places where some of His companions were sleeping. He began to pace up and down the moonlit, flower-bordered avenues of the garden. The nightingales were singing so loudly on every side, only those nearby could make out Bahá'u'lláh's voice. He continued to walk, and paused amidst an avenue. He observed how the nightingales were sleepless from dusk till dawn enraptured with their love for the roses, communing in a burning passion of melody. How, He asked, could those afire with the rose-like beauty of the Beloved, choose to sleep?

Day 5+ Visitors

For three nights the same companion watched and circled around His tent, and found Bahá'u'lláh wakeful at all times, whilst each day, from morning to evening, Bahá'u'lláh would be engaged in ceaseless conversation with the streams of visitors flowing continuously into His presence from Baghdad.

Day 8 - Declaration to Abdu'l-Bahá

Four days before Bahá'u'lláh's departure from the Garden, He called 'Abdu'l-Bahá to His tent, and there disclosed in clear terms that He was the One to be manifest by God, and promised by the Báb.
As the Master heard these soul-stirring words, He understood why the Manifestation had once more received such persecution, and He came to see, as a radiant vision, the world of the future when the divine Message will have changed the heart of the world. From that moment onward, a new and increased joy and devotion took possession of him, and he consecrated his whole self, body, soul and spirit, to the sacred work of the Cause.

Later, within the Garden, Bahá'u'lláh made the same declaration to four others. The time was not yet to come for a public declaration, and He enjoined these few to keep their understanding secret.

Day 9 - Family Arrive

On the ninth day, the River settled down and the flood-waters receded, allowing those in the old eastern side of the City to cross the boat bridge. The family of Bahá'u'lláh moved into the Garden, and the River overflowed a second time.

Day 12

The flooding subsided again on the twelfth day, and everyone went across the River to enter the presence of Bahá'u'lláh.
The day at last came to a close, and Bahá'u'lláh announced that He would be leaving the coming afternoon.

Day 13

This news spread; throughout the final day, visitors and the authorities of Baghdad thronged to the garden to present their final farewells.



For a full program see:

http://www.paintdrawer.co.uk/david/f...hai/Ridvan.pdf