- Allah-u-Abha is an Arabic word that means “God is the Most
Glorious or God is All-Glorious.” (Wendy Momen, Baha’i Dictionary)
- It is “a form of Bahá'í greeting ..” (Shoghi Effendi,
Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand) It was during the
period in Adrianople after Baha’u’llah’s public proclamation “that the greeting
of ‘Allah-u-Abha’ superseded the old salutation of ‘Allah-u-Akbar’ [which the
Babis used], and was simultaneously adopted in Persia and Adrianople (Shoghi
Effendi, God Passes By)
- “The Bahá'ís are free to greet each other with
Allah-u-Abha when they meet, if they want to, but they should avoid anything
which to outsiders, in a western country, might seem like some strange Oriental
password. We must be very firm on principles and laws, but very normal and
natural in our ways, so as to attract strangers.” (Shoghi Effendi, Directives
from the Guardian)
- ‘Allah-u-Abha’ and ‘Ya Baha'u'l-Abha’ [an invocation
meaning: "O Thou Glory of Glories"]” both refer to the “the Greatest
Name” of God, and “both refer to Baha’u’llah”. “The Greatest Name is the Name
of Bahá'u'lláh … By Greatest Name is meant that Bahá'u'lláh has appeared in
God's Greatest Name, in other words, that He is the Supreme Manifestation of
God.” (Adapted from a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Letters from
the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand)
- “‘Allah-u-Abha’ and ‘Ya Baha'u'l-Abha’ “are both referred
to as the Greatest Name.” (Shoghi Effendi, Letters from the Guardian to
Australia and New Zealand)
- “The House of Justice suggests that for their private
meditations they may wish to use the repetition of the Greatest Name,
Allah-u-Abha, ninety-five times a day which, although not yet applied in the
West, [became universal in 1999] is among the Laws, Ordinances and Exhortations
of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.” (The Universal House of Justice, September 1, 1983
Message to The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Norway printed in
The Universal House of Justice, Messages 1963 to 1986)
- "The use of the Greatest Name 95 times a day is not
absolutely binding. [The restriction was removed by the UHJ in 1999] This and
other similar matters will be clearly and fully explained when the 'Aqdas' is
published. At present, however, the friends should be careful not to lay an
undue emphasis upon them. When using the Greatest Name the words 'Allah-u-Abha
should be used and not 'Ya Baha'u'l-Abha'." (From a Letter written on
behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, October 10 1936; Lights of
Guidance)
Some Background Info Concerning the Greatest Name of God:
- There is a beautiful prayer in Shí'ah Islam, usually said
during the period of fasting in the month of Ramadan, which invokes God through
His names. There are nineteen invocations in this prayer and each revolves
around one of His names, the first being Baha (Glory). The Báb has taken these
names in the same order and given them to the nineteen months of His calendar,
each month having nineteen days. This calendar is the basis of the Badi'
Calendar, which is the one in use in this Dispensation. (Adib Taherzadeh, The
Revelation of Baha'u'llah vol. 1)
- It is one of the traditions of Islam that the 'Greatest
Name of God' is among these nineteen names. Many Islamic scholars failed to
solve this mystery. However, in the late sixteenth century a scholar of renown
claimed that the 'Greatest Name of God' was Baha and, in consequence, himself
adopted the name of Shaykh Bahá'í. He was born in Lebanon in the year 953 A.H.
and travelled as a young boy to Persia. There he received his education,
proceeding later to the court of Shah Abbas where he attained unsurpassed
eminence on account of his achievements in the arts, sciences and theology.
(Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha'u'llah vol. 1)
- Bahá'u'lláh has confirmed that the 'Greatest Name' is
Baha. The various derivatives of this word in Arabic are also regarded as the
'Greatest Name'. The Báb, recognizing the station of Bahá'u'lláh as the Supreme
Manifestation of God, has lauded His name in His Writings and has made many
wonderful references to the name 'Baha'. For example, before His martyrdom, He
wrote on a scroll, in the form of a pentacle, three hundred and sixty
derivatives of the word 'Baha' which He sent to Bahá'u'lláh, together with some
documents, His seals and other Writings. (Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of
Baha'u'llah vol. 1)
- In the Tablet of Madinatu't-Tawhid Bahá'u'lláh mentions
that although God's attributes are numerous, yet in His own realm He is
sanctified above all attributes and exalted above all names. To apply any
attribute to Him would indeed be tantamount to a limitation. In God's dominion
there can be no multiplicity. His essence and attributes remain one and the
same and are indivisible. It is within the realms of the Manifestations that
multiplicity of attributes occurs. Here we see many attributes such as love,
knowledge, power and sovereignty revealed by these Holy Souls. (Adib
Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha'u'llah vol. 1)