| The point is the symbol of the objective being, the circle is the symbol of the subjective being. Now we see that even in the description given us in the creation, the earth was without form and void and the Spirit of God moved upon the surface of the waters and there commenced to be a forming, a creating, a drawing in toward a collective centre. And then in the spiritual sense when God sent forth His prophet, His Manifestation, His Word, for the purpose of a new spiritual creation in this universe, the same principle exactly was followed. He sent forth the luminous point - as in this great, new wonderful creation of our own day, the Báb - and eighteen others, making nineteen "letters of the living". |
| If you will study carefully you will find that Jesus the Christ had twelve disciples, men-and there were six women dear to his heart, his faithful servants who, because of the character of the times and the conditions were not outwardly known as disciples, but who were in a spiritual and inner sense just as truly disciples of the blessed Christ as were his twelve men disciples, and so then there were eighteen "letters of the living", and together with Christ, himself the point, made the nineteen; and the one and the nine, ten. The Báb, the luminous point, passes through these signs or letters. He has his eighteen "letters of the living", the greatest of all of whom, thank God, was a woman, Qurratu'l-'Ayn, who gave her life for this great Cause in such a manner that Dr Pollock, a western physician present at the time and witnessing her execution, makes the statement, publishes it in writing, that that magnificent, that wonderful woman bore with infinite patience, without a murmur of complaint, with great gladness, a long and torturing death for the sake of the great freedom of woman and of the race. Eighteen "letters of the living", himself the point, the luminous point, nineteen; one and nine, ten. |
[Star of the West - 6] |
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| In the Bábí and Bahá'í faiths, a group of 19 is called a Váḥid, a Unity (Arabic: واحد wāhid, "one"). The numerical value of this word in the Abjad numeral system is 19. |
| The Bahá'í calendar is structured such that a year contains 19 months of 19 days each (along with the intercalary period of Ayyám-i-Há), as well as a 19-year cycle and a 361-year [Kull-i-S̲h̲ay'] (19x19) supercycle. |
| The Báb and his disciples [Letters of the Living] formed a group of 19. |
| There were 19 Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh. |
| [ Wikipedia - 19 (number) ] |
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| Paragraph 66 of the Kitab-i-Aqdas reads: |
No marriage may be contracted without payment of a dowry, which hath been fixed for city-dwellers at nineteen mithqáls of pure gold, and for village-dwellers at the same amount in silver. Whoso wisheth to increase this sum, it is forbidden him to exceed the limit of ninety-five mithqáls. Thus hath the command been writ in majesty and power. If he content himself, however, with a payment of the lowest level, it shall be better for him according to the Book. God, verily, enricheth whomsoever He willeth through both heavenly and earthly means, and He, in truth, hath power over all things. |
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| Note 27 of the Kitab-i-Aqdas reads: |
| Let the days in excess of the months be placed before the month of fasting. ¶ 16 |
The Badí calendar is based on the solar year of 365 days, 5 hours, and 50 odd minutes. The year consists of 19 months of 19 days each (i.e. 361 days), with the addition of four extra days (five in a leap year). The Báb did not specifically define the place for the intercalary days in the new calendar. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas resolves this question by assigning the "excess" days a fixed position in the calendar immediately preceding the month of 'Alá, the period of fasting. For further details see the section on the Bahá'í calendar in The Bahá'í World, volume XVIII. |
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| Mit̲h̲qál in the Glossary in the Kitab-i-Aqdas reads: |
A unit of weight, equivalent to a little over 3 1/2 grammes, used in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas with reference to quantities of gold or silver for various purposes, usually in amounts of 9, 19 or 95 mithqáls.
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The mit̲h̲qál traditionally used in the Middle East had consisted of 24 nák̲h̲uds but in the Bayán this was changed to 19 nák̲h̲uds and Bahá'u'lláh confirmed this as the size of the mit̲h̲qál referred to in the Bahá'í laws (Q and A 23).
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| 'Alá, the month of fasting and prayer, is the nineteenth month of the Bahá'í calendar. |
| [ABG] |
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