The Bahá'í Faith has its own calendar, which is called the Badi calendar. Instituted by the Bab and confirmed and expanded by Bahá'u'lláh, it is a solar calendar consisting of 19 months of 19 days each.
History of the Bahá'í Calendar
The Bab created the Bahá'í calendar, which he called the Badi calendar. Badi means "to create anew", "wondrous", and "unique" in Arabic.
Bahá'u'lláh confirmed this calendar, specified that it begins with the Declaration of the Bab, declared the last month be dedicated to fasting (known as the Nineteen-Day Fast, and designated the New Year as a festival day.
Years in the Bahá'í Calendar
Years on the Bahá'í (Badi) calendar are written as B.E., which stands for for Bahá'í Era. The Bahá'í Era began with the Declaration of the Bab, a foundational event that occurred on May 22, 1844, on the Gregorian calendar.
Each period of 19 years is called a Vahid; 19 Vahids are a Kull-i-Shay. Each year in a Vahid has a name as well.
Months in the Bahá'í Calendar
A Bahá'í year is made of 19 months of 19 days each, plus 4 or 5 intercalary days (Ayyam-i-Ha) added before the last month of the year. The Bahá'í months are:
- Baha (Splendor)
- Jalal (Glory)
- Jamal (Beauty)
- Azamat (Grandeur)
- Nur (Light)
- Rahmat (Mercy)
- Kalimat (Words)
- Kamal (Perfection)
- Asma (Names)
- Izzat (Might)
- Mashiyyat (Will)
- Ilm (Knowledge)
- Qudrat (Power)
- Qawl (Speech)
- Masa’il (Questions)
- Sharaf (Honor)
- Sultan (Sovereignty)
- Mulk (Dominion)
- Ala (Loftiness)
Days in the Bahá'í Calendar
Like the Gregorian calendar, the Bahai calendar has weeks of 7 days each. They are as follows:
- Jalal (Glory) - Saturday
- Jamal (Beauty) - Sunday
- Kamal (Perfection) - Monday
- Fidal (Grace) - Tuesday
- Idal (Justice) - Wednesday
- Istijlal (Majesty) - Thursday
- Istiqlal (Independence) - Friday