Holy Days, the Suspension of Work, and Changes since the Aqdas

[bahamut19]

On the Baha'i Faith's holy day list where work is suspended, there are 9. These 9 come from a tablet by Abdul-Baha. 3 of these Baha'u'llah described that work should be suspended, which are the days of Ridvan listed below. For the other 6 days, would anyone know where Baha'u'llah says work should be suspended? Why wasn't Ayyam-i-Ha mentioned by Abdul-Baha? Finally, for the days where the Bab and Baha'u'llah were born, Baha'u'llah describes their observance using the Islamic calendar and on the days of 1 and 2 Muharram (being as one day in the sight of God.) Why did the UHJ change these days to be disconnected from Muharram?

1. The first day of Ridván,
   1. Baha'u'llah describes work is forbidden in Q&A #1 of the Risálíy-i-Suál va Javáb) Ridvan is described as "The first one is the days in which The Merciful manifested Himself to everyone through His Most Beautiful Names and Superior Attributes." in the Kitab-i-Aqdas #110
2. The ninth day of Ridván,
3. The twelfth day of Ridván,
4. The anniversary of the declaration of the Báb,
   1. Baha'u'llah says this in Kitab-i-Aqdas #110 "The second is the day on which We sent one who gave the glad tidings to the people with this Name, through which the dead arose and gathered all those in the heavens, the earth, and the others, within two days." The verse describes this and Ridvan as the two greatest feast days. I was unable to find where Baha'u'llah said work is suspended.
5. The anniversary of the birth of Bahá`u'lláh,
   1. I could not find anything regarding the suspension of work. In Q&A #2, it says " Question: About the Festival of Birth. Answer: The Most Holy Birth occurred at the first dawn of the second day of Muharram, and the first day of the Birth is joyous. These two are considered as one day in the sight of God." Q&A 36 also says describes fasting should be suspended if this day falls during the month of fasting.
   2. The Universal House of Justice in Notes #138 "Given that the Bahá’í calendar (see notes 26 and 147) is a solar calendar, it remains for the Universal House of Justice to determine whether the Twin Holy Birthdays are to be celebrated on a solar or lunar basis."
   3. The UHJ determined the twin birthdays should be celebrated on the 1st and 2nd day of the 8th new moon after Naw Ruz instead of 1 and 2 Muharram.
6. The anniversary of the birth of of the Báb, (See #5)
7. The anniversary of the ascension of Bahá`u'lláh,
   1. There is nothing in the writings of Baha'u'llah which recognizes this day as a Holy Day, or a day where work is suspended.
8. The anniversary of the martyrdom of of the Báb,
   1. There is nothing in the writings of Baha'u'llah which recognizes this day as a Holy Day, or a day where work is suspended.
9. The feast of Náw-Rúz.
   1. From the Kitab-i-Aqdas #16 "O Supreme Pen, say, “O people! We have prescribed fasting for you for a fixed number of days and have made the New Year a celebration for you after its completion. Thus, the sun of clarification has risen from the book’s horizon by the command of the Originator and the Returner." There is no command to suspend work.
   2. Continuing with Kitab-i-Aqdas #16:
      "Make the additional days before the month of fasting, which we have made manifestations of the letter “Ha” among the nights and days. When defined by the borders of the year and the months, the people of glory should feed themselves, their relatives, then the poor and the needy, and they should celebrate, glorify, praise, and magnify their Lord in joy and happiness." The days of Ha (Ayyam-i-Ha) are days not listed by Abdul-Baha as being Holy Days where work is suspended, although these days Baha'u'llah does describe.

There are 2 other Holy Days the Baha'i Faith currently recognizes, which Baha'u'llah did not mention. These are the "Day of the Covenant" and the "Ascension of Abdul-Baha." Why are these days considered Holy Days when they were not part of the Revelation from God?

 

[loverofhumanity]

Hi Bahámut. My understanding is that Holy Days on which work should be suspended are related to events and anniversaries concerning the Manifestations of God. Abdul-Baha, although the Perfect Exemplar is not a Manifestation. So days commemorating His Ascension and the Day of the Covenant although commemorated are not days where work is suspended. Baha’is requested the Master to celebrate His birthday which falls on the Declaration of the Bab so instead He gave them the furthest calendar day from the Declaration and requested them to celebrate the Day of the Covenant instead as He was the Centre of the Covenant which goes back to Baha’u’llah appointing a Successor which no other religion had ever done. You can research more online. So these two Days are observed by Baha’is but they are not days where work must be suspended.