Festival of Riḍván
“The promised Day of God is come! He Who is the Manifestation of the Adored One hath been established upon the throne of His name, the All-Loving, and the sun of His bounty hath cast its rays upon the seeing and seen alike…”
— Days of Remembrance | Bahá’í Reference Library (bahai.org)
_ Riḍván (pronounced Rezvan) means “Paradise” in Arabic. The 12-day Festival of Ridvan commemorates the announcement by Baha’u’llah in 1863 that He is the Promised One of all religions and the Manifestation of God for this era. Baha’u’llah’s teachings, particularly the concept of the oneness of humanity, are the basis of the Baha’i Faith. He called for this time to be remembered as the “King of Festivals.” Three of the 12 festival days are specially observed:
The first day celebrates Baha’u’llah’s arrival in the Garden.
The ninth day marks the arrival of His family members.
The twelfth day commemorates His caravan’s departure to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul).
APRIL 1863. Men and women, young and old, from all walks of life, gathered on the thoroughfare leading to the banks of the River Tigris to bid a tearful farewell to One Who had become their friend, their comforter and their guide.
As a prominent follower of The Báb, whose teachings had swept through Persia two decades before, Baha’u’llah had forfeited the privileged life into which He had been born, and instead embraced imprisonment and exile for the rest of His days. Already exiled from Iran, Mirza Husayn-‘Ali—known as Baha’u’llah—had been living in Baghdad when word came that He was to be again banished by the leaders of the Ottoman Empire.
Prior to this further exile, a tent was set up in the Garden of Ridvan outside the city on the Tigris River, where for 12 days He received friends and family.
Their despair would soon be transformed into hope: On the first day, Baha’u’llah announced to His companions what many of them had already suspected—that He was the great Divine Educator heralded by the Bab, the initiator of a new era in history in which the tyrannies and injustices of the past would give way to a world of peace and justice: an embodiment of the principle of the oneness of humankind.
The “Divine Springtime,” He would unequivocally proclaim, had arrived.
“The Divine Springtime is come, O Most Exalted Pen, for the Festival of the All-Merciful is fast approaching.”
Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh | Bahá’í Reference Library (bahai.org)
Tablet of Riḍván
The Divine Springtime is come, O Most Exalted Pen, for the Festival of the All-Merciful is fast approaching. Bestir thyself, and magnify, before the entire creation, the name of God, and celebrate His praise, in such wise that all created things may be regenerated and made new. Speak, and hold not thy peace. The daystar of blissfulness shineth above the horizon of Our name, the Blissful, inasmuch as the kingdom of the name of God hath been adorned with the ornament of the name of thy Lord, the Creator of the heavens. Arise before the nations of the earth, and arm thyself with the power of this Most Great Name, and be not of those who tarry.
Tablet of Riḍván – Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, No. XIV, pp. 26 - 35
Riḍván Messages
Each year on the first day of Ridván—which generally falls on 20 or 21 April—The Universal House of Justice addresses a letter to the worldwide Bahá’í community, known as the Riḍván message. These letters touch on many subjects, including the growth and vibrancy of the Bahá’í community, its efforts to contribute to the life of society, and the progress of specific projects and plans. A number of the most recent Riḍván messages are included here.
THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
Riḍván 2025
To the Bahá’ís of the World
Dearly loved Friends,
With but a year remaining before the first phase of the Nine Year Plan concludes, we are eager to report on its progress—how, through shining examples of noble endeavour, the vision offered by the Faith is filling more and more hearts with hope.
The process of growth continues to advance. Striking breakthroughs have occurred in varied climes, where significant progress had not previously been witnessed, as the seed of the Faith has yielded new green shoots and the capacity for working with many souls at once has begun to emerge. These advances have often been made possible by devoted pioneers who, hearts aglow with the love of their Lord, have hastened to posts on the home front and abroad in impressive numbers. In clusters where a programme of growth had already begun, renewed attention has been given to applying, with creativity and ingenuity, those recognized strategies and lines of action that will enable the friends to pass the second and third milestones. And in clusters of proven strength, glimmerings of the society-building power of the Faith are becoming more visible, as a vibrant and transformative pattern of Bahá’í life is embraced by a growing company of galvanized souls.
Meanwhile, grassroots engagement with society has taken remarkable strides forward. Community-based initiatives of social action focused on education have multiplied the most rapidly, but other initiatives have progressed too, in fields such as agriculture, health, the environment, the empowerment of women, and the arts. Advances of this kind are most evident in the strongest clusters, where many a village or neighbourhood—even a single street or high-density building—is home to a population that is experiencing the upliftment which comes from translating the principles of the Faith into tangible reality. In places, civic leaders and individuals with responsibility for children’s education or social development at the local level are not just turning to the Bahá’ís for perspectives, but are seeking to collaborate in the search for practical solutions. Further, we are pleased to see that at the national and international levels, the Bahá’í approach to certain important discourses is attracting growing consideration and admiration.
The Nine Year Plan relies on a vast, global process of learning that is as effective in the highlands of Bolivia as in the suburbs of Sydney. This process of learning has given rise to strategies and actions adaptable to every setting. It is systematic; it is organic; it is all-embracing. It creates connections, blossoming into dynamic relationships, among families, among neighbours, among youth, and among all who are ready to be protagonists in this glorious undertaking. It raises up communities that brim with potential. It enables the fulfilment of high aspirations shared by people who had been kept apart by geography, language, culture, or conditioning but have now heard and responded to Bahá’u’lláh’s universal call to “ceaselessly strive for the betterment of the lives of one another”. And it is wholly reliant on the invigorating potency of the Word of God—that “unifying force”, “the mover of souls and the binder and regulator in the world of humanity”—and on the sustained action it inspires.
Against the gloom of a stormy sky, how bright the light that gleams from your devoted efforts! Even as the tempest rages in the world, the havens that will shelter humanity are being built in countries, regions, and clusters. But there is much to do. Each national community has its own expectations for the progress to be made during this, the Plan’s opening phase. Time is passing. Beloved friends, and promulgators of the divine teachings, and champions of the Blessed Beauty—your efforts are needed now. Every advance made in the fleeting months before next Riḍván will better equip the community of the Greatest Name for what it must accomplish in the Plan’s second phase. May you be granted success. For this we beseech the sovereign Lord; for this we implore His unfailing aid; for this we entreat Him to send forth His favoured angels to assist each one of you.
[signed: The Universal House of Justice]
Riḍván 2025 – To the Bahá’ís of the World | Bahá’í Reference Library