The Great Baha’i Festival of Paradise: Ridvan!

The principles of the Teachings of Baha’u’llah should be carefully studied, one by one, until they are realized and understood by mind and heart — so will you become strong followers of the light, truly spiritual, heavenly soldiers of God, acquiring and spreading the true civilization in Persia, in Europe, and in the whole world.

This will be the paradise which is to come on earth, when all mankind will be gathered together under the tent of unity in the Kingdom of Glory. – Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 22.

For the next twelve days, Baha’is all around the world will celebrate the “King of Festivals,” the holiest days of the Baha’i year.

The Baha’i Faith began, appropriately enough, in a beautiful garden. Called the Garden of Ridvan (pronounced rez-vahn), which means paradise, this rose-scented, birdsong-filled garden witnessed the birth of the world’s newest independent religion on April 22, 1863.

Ridvan Garden in Baghdad

Situated on an island in the Tigris River near Baghdad, the Ridvan garden marks the exact spot where Baha’u’llah first declared his mission and inaugurated the Baha’i Faith. Baha’u’llah’s momentous declaration happened during the twelve day period before his banishment to Istanbul, Turkey (then called Constantinople). Ten years before, in 1853, the Persian government had exiled Baha’u’llah to Baghdad, fearing the rapid spread of his teachings and their progressive impact on society. In April of 1863, because his teachings continued to spread and threaten the clerics, Baha’u’llah faced a second exile:

At last the enemies of the Cause secured from the government authorities an order banishing Baha’u’llah from Baghdad. It first read that he should go, alone. But later this was changed, permitting his family and a few followers to accompany him. The band of exiles left Baghdad and paused, first, in a beautiful garden outside the city. Here they sojourned for twelve days. A tent was pitched for Baha’u’llah, and around it the tents for the others. These days in the garden are called “The days of Ridvan” and they are of supreme importance, for it was then that Baha’u’llah declared, to a few followers, his great mission and began to build the palace of peace and unity for the world. He revealed many wonderful verses which sing the melodies of the New Day of God.

When the twelve days were over, the party, mounted on horses and donkeys and guarded by Turkish soldiers, set out again. The believers who could not accompany them were utterly broken-hearted. It was as though Baha’u’llah was a king starting upon a glorious journey. Outwardly, an exile—but in his spirit a great light was shining. – Jinab-i-Fadil, Star of the West, Volume 8, pp. 325-326.

The grueling, arduous journey of the exiles to Constantinople, over the deserts and mountains of Asia Minor in the heat of the summer, took four months. During that period Baha’u’llah proclaimed the mission of his new Faith—the oneness of humanity and peace between all nations—to a widening circle of believers. With this profound announcement, Baha’u’llah transformed the occasion of his banishment from crisis to victory.

The twelve days of Ridvan—which Baha’is observe this year from April 20 to May 1—commemorate that sojourn in the garden, and celebrate the birth of Baha’u’llah’s new Faith. Baha’i communities and their friends around the world remember the eve of Baha’u’llah’s banishment from Baghdad to Istanbul, not as a time of sorrow or regret, but as a happy festival of revelation and renewal. The Ridvan holiday demonstrates the power of the prophet of God to create good from evil, bring forth light from darkness, and win triumph from seeming defeat:

The Persian government believed the banishment of [Baha’u’llah] from Persia would be the extermination of his cause in that country. These rulers now realized that it spread more rapidly. His prestige increased, his teachings became more widely circulated. The chiefs of Persia then used their influence to have Baha’u’llah exiled from Baghdad. He was summoned to Constantinople by the Turkish authorities. While in Constantinople he ignored every restriction, especially the hostility of ministers of state and clergy. The official representatives of Persia again brought their influence to bear upon the Turkish authorities and succeeded in having Baha’u’llah banished from Constantinople to Adrianople, the object being to keep him as far away as possible from Persia and render his communication with that country more difficult. Nevertheless the cause still spread and strengthened. – Abdu’l-Baha, The Baha’i World, Volume 9, p. 163.

Next: The Ninth Day of Ridvan: Celebrating Unity