Baha'ism

Practices

Signs & Symbols

A five-pointed star is the official symbol of the Baha’i religion, however a nine-pointed star is often found in use by Baha’is (such as on jewellery, book-covers, artwork etc.), symbolising the number nine which has sacred significance.76 The two sacred Baha’i symbols are renditions of the Greatest Name (see Figures 1 and 2).

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 1 is the Greatest Name in the version ya baha’ al-abha’ ‘O splendour of the most splendid’ while Figure 2 is a calligraphic rendering of the Greatest Name with symbolic meaning referred to as “the ringstone symbol”.77 Both are considered too holy to use on gravestones.

The numbers five, nine and nineteen have special significance in the Baha’i religion, particular in conjunction with use of the abjad system of giving letters numerical values, for example the word baha’ has an abjad value of nine.

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References

76Lights of Guidance 110.

77See Meaning of the Bahá’í Ringstone Symbol, 7 Jun. 2003, .

Next > Baha'ism: Practices: Calendar & Feast