Alláh-u-Abhá

Alláh-u-Abhá (Arabic: الله أبهى‎‎, Alláh-u-Abhá; lit. God is the Most Glorious) is a greeting that Bahá'ís use when they meet each other.[1] Abhá is a superlative of the word Bahá',[2] and a form of the Greatest Name.[1] Bahá'ís are asked to repeat the phrase Alláh-u-Abhá 95 times per day, as described by Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, his book of laws.[3] It can be compared to the Islamic Allah u Akbar (Arabic: God is Great) or Subhan Allah (how pure is God). Alláh-u-Abhá is used both when greeting someone or bidding someone farewell.

The form Allāhu is the nominative of Allah, meaning "God". The form Abhā is the elative of the adjective Bahā', meaning "beauty, brilliancy". As used in the Bahá'i writings it is usually translated as "most glorious".

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Compilations (1983). Hornby, Helen (Ed.), ed. Lights of Guidance: A Bahá'í Reference File. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, New Delhi, India. p. 266. ISBN 81-85091-46-3.
  2. ↑ Lambden, Stephen (1993). "The Word Bahá': Quintessence of the Greatest Name". Bahá'í Studies Review. 3 (1).
  3. ↑ Smith, Peter (2000). "prayer". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 274–275. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.

External links


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