Alláh-u-Abhá

Alláh-u-Abhá (Arabic: الله أبهى‎, Allāhu ʼAbhā "God is the Most Glorious") is a greeting that Baháʼís use when they meet each other.[1] Abhá is a superlative of the word Baháʼ,[2] and a form of the Greatest Name.[1] It can be compared to the takbir of Islam, Allahu Akbar "God is Great" or Subhan Allah "how pure is God". Alláh-u-Abhá is used both when greeting someone or bidding someone farewell.

Baháʼís are asked to engage in the practice of dhikr: to repeat the phrase Alláh-u-Abhá 95 times per day, as described by Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Baháʼí Faith, in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, his book of laws.[3] Nader Saiedi explains that the significance of the number 95 originates from the Persian Bayán, where the Báb states that ninety-five stands for the numerical value of "for God" (lillāh),[4] symbolizing the recognition of the manifestation of God and obedience to his laws, which are inseparable from each other, as confirmed by Baháʼu'lláh in the opening paragraph of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.[5]

The form Allāhu is the nominative case of Allah "God". The form Abhā is the elative of the adjective bahā' "beauty, brilliancy". In Baháʼí writings, it is usually translated as "most glorious".

See also

Notes
  1. Compilations (1983). Hornby, Helen (ed.). Lights of Guidance: A Baháʼí Reference File. Baháʼí Publishing Trust, New Delhi, India. p. 266. ISBN 81-85091-46-3.
  2. Lambden, Stephen (1993). "The Word Baháʼ: Quintessence of the Greatest Name". Baháʼí Studies Review. 3 (1).
  3. Smith, Peter (2000). "prayer". A concise encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 274–275. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
  4. Saiedi, Nader (2000). "Chapter 7: The Kitab-i-Aqdas: Date and Constitutive Principles". Logos and Civilization - Spirit, History, and Order in the Writings of Baháʼu'lláh. USA: University Press of Maryland and Association for Baha'i Studies. p. 266. ISBN 1883053609. OL 8685020M.
  5. Saiedi, Nader (2008). Gate of the Heart. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 312–312, 333. ISBN 978-1-55458-035-4.


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