William Shakespeare famously asked: What\u2019s in a name? So do certain names have meanings that give them intrinsic or potential power? Do names have the ability to influence, ideally for the better? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What about the deep meanings of the names of God revealed throughout the world\u2019s great Faiths \u2014 names like beauty, grandeur, light, mercy, and honor? Do those names have a special power?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bab \u2014 the herald and forerunner of Baha\u2019u\u2019llah, who founded the Baha\u2019i Faith \u2014 certainly said so. He named the seven weekdays, the 19 days of each Baha\u2019i month, the 19 months of each calendar year, and the 19 years of each of the 19-year cycles of the Baha\u2019i Calendar, after attributes of the Creator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
RELATED: Understanding Intercalary Days and the Baha\u2019i Calendar<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As provisionally translated by Nader Saiedi in his book, \u201cGate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Bab,\u201d the Bab originated the new Baha\u2019i Calendar and wrote about its power of inspiration:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, He hath destined each day to be the springtime of one of His laws, that the inmates of this paradise may partake of divine delights in the utmost joy possible within the realm of creation. Therefore, during the first three months \u2014 the months of glorification \u2014 the fire of the hearts of existent beings is kindled. During the next four months \u2014 the months of the celebration of praise \u2014 the spirits of the contingent beings are created, during which time they are provided for. In the subsequent six months \u2014 the months of the exaltation of unity \u2014 God causeth the beings to expire, not as a physical death, but the death of negation and life in affirmation. Finally, in the last six months \u2014 which are the months of magnification \u2014 the Lord of the universe, glorified and exalted be He, quickeneth those souls who have died to the love of anyone other than Him and have remained steadfast in His love.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n In the book \u201cPrinciples of Baha\u2019i Administration,\u201d<\/em> the Guardian of the Baha\u2019i Faith, Shoghi Effendi, listed the names of the 19 months in the Baha\u2019i Calendar \u2014 and the contemplative purpose of these names<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bab, the Primal Point of a new creation, brought humanity into a new division of time in a calendar of nineteen months. All through our past heritage the months of the years and the days of the week have borne the names of pagan feasts and Roman holidays. The B\u00e1b swept these ancient landmarks away, and replaced them by the Qualities of: Splendour, Glory, Beauty, Grandeur, Light, Mercy, Words, Perfection, Names, Might, Will, Knowledge, Power, Speech, Questions, Honour, Sovereignty, Dominion, and Loftiness. Meditating upon these sublime attributes, man is enabled to gaze beyond the curve of time, wherein the swing and change of planetary movements exists, to the eternal qualities that stabilize the soul.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n \u201cMeditating upon these sublime attributes\u201d \u2014 which are also \u201cthe eternal qualities that stabilize the soul\u201d \u2014 is one of the primary purposes and benefits of the Baha\u2019i Calendar, according to Shoghi Effendi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That same kind of meditation, or concentrated reflection, also extends to the additional names of God, after which the seven days of the week and the 19 years of a Baha\u2019i cycle of years are also named. (The following names are presented together and are consecutively and cumulatively numbered for the convenience of the reader):<\/p>\n\n\n\n Names of the Baha\u2019i months<\/a> (and days of the month<\/a>): <\/p>\n\n\n\n Names of the Baha\u2019i days of the week<\/a>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: In the Baha\u2019i Calendar (originally created by the Bab, then adopted and adapted by Baha\u2019u\u2019llah), these four calendar names, Alif, Ba, Dal, and Vav, are the only terms listed without English translations. These are four letters of the Arabic alphabet, but they are far more than mere letters. Each of these letters is rich in symbolic meanings. For example, the letters Alif and Vav are referenced by Baha\u2019u\u2019llah in his Most Holy Book<\/em> as follows:<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Behold, the \u201cmystery of the Great Reversal in the Sign of the Sovereign\u201d hath now been made manifest. Well is it with him whom God hath aided to recognize the \u201cSix\u201d raised up by virtue of this \u201cUpright Alif\u201d; he, verily, is of those whose faith is true.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n This mystical and highly symbolic passage is interpreted:<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Shoghi Effendi in a letter written on his behalf to one of the believers in the East provides an interpretation of this verse of the Aqdas. He states that the \u201c<\/strong>Upright Alif<\/em><\/strong>\u201d refers to the advent of the Bab. The first letter with its value of six, which comes before the Alif, is a symbol of earlier Dispensations and Manifestations which predate the Bab, while the third letter, which also has a numerical value of six, stands for Baha\u2019u\u2019llah\u2019s supreme Revelation which was made manifest after the Alif.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Similarly, Abdu\u2019l-Baha explained that<\/a> \u201cthe letter Ba\u2019, which is the sum total of all truths and mysteries, \u2026 refers to Baha\u2019u\u2019llah.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The names of God, as set forth above, are by no means exhaustive. There are many other Names of God as well. Consider, for instance, the Name of God as the \u201cFashioner,\u201d which Baha\u2019u\u2019llah explained<\/a> in one of his tablets:<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the names of God is the Fashioner. He loveth craftsmanship. Therefore any of His servants who manifesteth this attribute is acceptable in the sight of this Wronged One. Craftsmanship is a book among the books of divine sciences, and a treasure among the treasures of His heavenly wisdom. This is a knowledge with meaning, for some of the sciences are brought forth by words and come to an end with words.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n This name, the \u201cFashioner,\u201d can be a source of inspiration, willpower, and confirmation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n