The number nine is the largest of the single-digit natural numbers according to the base-10, or decimal system. Shoghi Effendi calls it "the number of perfection", describing it as symbolizing "comprehensiveness" and "culminations".[1] He connects it to "the perfection of the Bahá’í Revelation", making reference to "the nine great world religions of which we have any definite historical knowledge, including the Babi and Bahá'í Revelations".[1][2] Finally and crucially, nine is the numerological value of the word Bahá’ according to the system used in 19th-century Persia. The number nine could thus stand for the word Bahá’ and vice versa.[2]
The nine-pointed star is often used as a symbol of the number nine, but it is not considered as an official symbol representing the Bahá’í Faith.
According to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í Houses of Worship must be built as a "nine-sided edifice".[3] For example the Lotus temple has nine sides, each with three marble petals, and the building is surrounded by nine pools of water. Shoghi Effendi explains that this nine-fold symmetry is "because of the association of 9 with perfection, unity and Bahá’".[1]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shoghi Effendi (1973). "NINE (Number)". Directives from the Guardian, pp.51-52.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Research Department, Universal House of Justice (1999). The Nine-Pointed Star: History and Symbolism.
- ↑ From a Tablet of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, translated from the Persian. Cited in: Research Department of the Universal House of Justice (ed.). "The Institution of the Mas͟hriqu'l-Ad͟hkár". www.bahai.org. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
