Ayam-i-Ha Days (Setting Days) (24/02)

Ayyám-i-Há Days (Ayyám-i-Há, Insert Days) — days of celebration, fun, hospitality and charity. The Bahá'ís have their own calendar, founded by Bab and approved by the founder of the Bahá'í Faith — Bahá'u'lláh.

According to this calendar, the Bahá'í year is divided into 19 months of 19 days each. The 4 or 5 days missing until the sunny year are placed before the last month of the year and bear the name Ayam-i-Ha — insert days, days of celebration, fun and hospitality. They begin in the evening after sunset on February 24, 25 or 26 and end at sunset on March 28, 29 or 1.

Ayam-i-Ha literally means «days of Ha». «H» — is a letter in Arabic corresponding to Russian «H», and one of the three Arabic letters that make up the word «Baha». Both Bab and Bahá'u'lláh followed an Arabic tradition in which each letter was assigned an appropriate numerical value, and both numbers and letters were given spiritual meaning.

In the abjad system, this letter of the Arabic alphabet has a numerical value of 5 — numerological sum of letters in the word «Bab» and corresponds to the largest possible number of Insertion days. «H» is also the first letter of the Arabic pronoun, which is used in religious scriptures in Arabic when referring to God or the Essence of God. The letter «Ha» itself was used as a symbol of the «Essence of God». She has been the subject of many writings in Arabic to unravel her mysteries.

Thus, these days outside the calendar — days Ayam-i-Ha — can be considered days outside of time, symbolizing the eternal Essence of God.

In Kitab-i-Aghdas — of the holy book of Bahá'ís — Bahá'u'lláh writes about this time: «The days remaining from the months will be placed before the month of Lent. We have decreed that among all nights and days they be manifestations of the letter «Ha», and therefore they are not bound by the restrictions of the year and months thereof. In these days, it is appropriate for the people of Bach to organize a celebration for themselves and their relatives, and besides them — for the poor and needy, and with joy and jubilation to greet and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and glorify His Name».

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