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Baha'i
The word Ridwan ("Riz-wan") is an Arabic word meaning paradise..
When Baha'u'llah was in Bagdad and was "summoned" by the Sultan of the then Ottoman Empire to Istanbul in 1863 CE along the way He stopped by a place known to Baha'is as the Ridwan Garden which was then situated on a verdant island of the Tigris River outside Bagdad.
The small exiled community of what was left of the Babi (followers of the Bab the martyr Prophet and predecessor of Baha'u'llah) movement had been expecting the fulfillment of prophecy of the Bab that "Him Whom God would make manifest" would appear and lead the community in a new dispensation.
Baha'u'llah announced to His immediate family and certain intimate followers that He was the One foretold by the Bab on three successive occasions that coincided with the twelve days of occupation of the Ridwan Garden that has later come to be known as "the Twelve Days of Ridwan" and the three occasions of the announcements are the first, ninth and twelfth days of Ridwan observed today as Holy Days by the Baha'is around the world.
So the Ridwan season begins from Tuesday evening April 20th and concludes Sunday evening May 2nd as the concluding Twelfth Day of Ridwan.
Another significance for the Baha'i community is that on the first day of Ridwan are scheduled the elections of the Local Spiirtual Assemblies around the Baha'i world.. Every city, town or jurisdiction where there are a minimum nine adult believers will elect a Local Spiritual Assembly which is the local administrative unit for Baha'i affairs in that jurisdiction. Thousands of communities around the world will be holding these Local Assembly elections next Tuesday evening (April 20th) or during the succeed day (April 21st) known as the "First Day of Ridwan".
When Baha'u'llah was in Bagdad and was "summoned" by the Sultan of the then Ottoman Empire to Istanbul in 1863 CE along the way He stopped by a place known to Baha'is as the Ridwan Garden which was then situated on a verdant island of the Tigris River outside Bagdad.
The small exiled community of what was left of the Babi (followers of the Bab the martyr Prophet and predecessor of Baha'u'llah) movement had been expecting the fulfillment of prophecy of the Bab that "Him Whom God would make manifest" would appear and lead the community in a new dispensation.
Baha'u'llah announced to His immediate family and certain intimate followers that He was the One foretold by the Bab on three successive occasions that coincided with the twelve days of occupation of the Ridwan Garden that has later come to be known as "the Twelve Days of Ridwan" and the three occasions of the announcements are the first, ninth and twelfth days of Ridwan observed today as Holy Days by the Baha'is around the world.
So the Ridwan season begins from Tuesday evening April 20th and concludes Sunday evening May 2nd as the concluding Twelfth Day of Ridwan.
Another significance for the Baha'i community is that on the first day of Ridwan are scheduled the elections of the Local Spiirtual Assemblies around the Baha'i world.. Every city, town or jurisdiction where there are a minimum nine adult believers will elect a Local Spiritual Assembly which is the local administrative unit for Baha'i affairs in that jurisdiction. Thousands of communities around the world will be holding these Local Assembly elections next Tuesday evening (April 20th) or during the succeed day (April 21st) known as the "First Day of Ridwan".