Announcing: BahaiPrayers.net

The Disconnected Letters of the Quran
and the Significance of the Number Nineteen
by
Robert T. Cameron
"....everything have we computed
and written down."
-Quran 78:29[1]
Page 1

Unlike The Bible which was written by a great number of people, the

Quran[2] was the work of one man. It stands unchallenged as the most

influential Book of one individual person. This is even more remarkable

from a man who could neither read nor write. It is the first work of prose

literature of Arabia and ranks uncontested as the best.

Reading the Quran is done much more than reading from any other book

including The Bible since it is used in public worship, in schools, in

individual worship, private study and reading. Because of this fact alone

it is a sufficient claim on our attention. It is the most widely-read Book

in existence. The Quran and its Revealer are the foundation of Islam. It

is the sacred Book of hundreds of millions of people who regard it as the

Word of God spoken through the mouth of His Prophet. It affords many

insights into the spiritual development of a most backward people and the

creation of religious personalities (i.e. saints, scholars, poets, etc.).

Westerners often get a first impression of chaotic confusion which can only

be modified by the application of a critical analysis along with a study of

Arabian and Persian tradition. Knowledge of these traditions is

unfortunately lacking in western education.

Bahá'u'lláh says, "...the unfailing testimony of God to both the East and

the West is none other than the Quran"[3] He summons His followers to,

"Hearken unto that which the Merciful hath revealed in the Quran..."[4]

and calls this Book the "mighty Quran".[5] Shoghi Effendi says the Quran,

apart from the sacred scriptures of The Bábi and Bahá'í Revelations,

constitutes the only Book which can be regarded as an absolutely

authenticated Repository of the Word of God."[6]

Bahá'u'lláh refers to Muhammad as "God's Well-Beloved"[7] and writes, "If

ye cherish the desire to slay Muhammad, the Apostle of God, seize Me and

put an end to My life, for I am He, and My Self is His Self."[8]

To Bahá'ís Islam is another succeeding step in progressive revelation,

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following Christianity. The Bahá'ís accept without reservation the Divine

origin of Islam, the Prophetic function of Muhammad and the legitimacy of

the institution of the Imamate. Every follower of Bahá'u'lláh recognizes

the exalted position the Prophet Muhammad occupies and would readily give

their life before denying that faith as they would their faith in Jesus

Christ and in Bahá'u'lláh. This is part of the bedrock of Bahá'í belief

which its teachers and scholars are proud to proclaim in public meetings,

Bahá'í schools and in Bahá'í literature.

The Quran is accepted as authentic by historians and scholars while they

do not accept all of the Gospel text. It is a Book the text of which they

describe as being preserved with unparalleled purity, reverential care and

that it is the genuine and unaltered work of Muhammad.

Regarding the age-long accusations made against Muhammad that He copied

Biblical descriptions, Maurice Bucaille, a French surgeon, who meticulously

examines the Quran in the light of modern scientific knowledge, says they

are completely unfounded. This is very clear when data concerning the

Creation is considered:

Although not all the questions raised by the descriptions in the Quran

have been completely confirmed by scientific data, there is in any case

absolutely no opposition between the data in the Quran on the Creation and

modern knowledge on the formation of the Universe....it is very obvious

indeed that the present-day text of the Old Testament provides data on the

same events that are unacceptable from a scientific point of view.... How

could a man living fourteen hundred years ago have made corrections to the

existing description to such an extent that he eliminated scientifically

inaccurate material and, on his own initiative, made statements that

science has been able to verify only in the present day?[9]

The scientific accuracy of the Quran is a realization of recent times. It

is this same accuracy that is one of the leading and major proofs of its

authenticity and divine inspiration.
Page 3

How could a man, from being illiterate, become the most

important author, in terms of literary merit, in the whole

of Arabic literature? How could he then pronounce truths of

a scientific nature that no other human being could possibly

have developed at the time, and all this without once making

the slightest error in his pronouncements on the

subject?...it is inconceivable for a human being living in

the Seventh century A.D. to have made statements in the

Quran on a great variety of subjects that do not belong to

his period and for them to be in keeping with what was to be

known only centuries later. For me, there can be no human

explanation to the Quran.[10]

These are not vague references to natural phenomenon. The statements in

the Quran are in agreement with precise scientific concepts which have

only been discovered in recent times. The source of the constituents of

milk and the role of blood in bringing nutrition to the mammary glands was

not known at the time of Muhammad but is a part of present-day discoveries

in the chemistry and physiology of the digestive system. The discovery of

the circulation of blood was centuries after the writing of the Quran. The

water cycle mentioned in the Quran did not agree with the concepts current

at the time of Muhammad but it does compare with modern data on hydrology.

It wasn't until 1570 that Bernard Palissy gave a correct interpretation of

the water cycle.

"What initially strikes the reader...is the sheer abundance of subjects

discussed: the Creation, astronomy, the explanation of certain matters

concerning the earth, and the animal and vegetable kingdoms, human

reproduction. Whereas monumental errors are to be found in The Bible, I

could not find a single error in the Quran.[11]

Maurice Bucaille translates surih 51, verse 47 of the Quran in this way:

The heaven, We have built it with power. Verily. We are expanding it. He

says that, a 'Heaven' is the translation of the word sama' and this is

exactly the extra-terrestrial world that is meant."

Page 4

He also states, "'We are expanding it' is the translation of the plural

present participle musi'una of the verb ausa'a meaning 'to make wider, more

spacious, to extend, to expand'."

Some translators who were unable to grasp the meaning of the

latter provide translations that appear to me to be

mistaken, e.g. "we give generously" (R. Blachere). Others

sense the meaning, but are afraid to commit themselves:

Hamidullah in his translation of the Quran talks of the

widening of the heavens and space, but he includes a

question mark. Finally, there are those who arm themselves

with authorized scientific opinion in their commentaries and

give the meaning stated here. This is true in the case of

the Muntakab, a book of commentaries edited by the Supreme

Council for Islamic Affairs, Cairo. It refers to the

expansion of the Universe in totally unambiguous terms.[12]

According to Muhammad the substance of the Quran is "...uncreated and

eternal; subsisting in the essence of the Deity, and inscribed with a pen

of light on the table of his everlasting decrees. A paper copy, in a volume

of silk and gems, was brought down to the lowest heaven by the angel

Gabriel, who...successively revealed the chapters and verses..."[13] to

Muhammad. It was a period of over twenty years, from age forty to His

passing in 632 A.D. that Muhammad revealed the Quran. It was a holy and

profound experience for anyone and anything present. There were times when

the revelation was silent like the ocean when calm and at other times it

was so intense that a vein would swell on His forehead and He would sweat

profusely. There was a time when He was mounted on a camel when the

overpowering effect of revelation forced the animal to its knees. These

were the physical effects of those nearby during revelation. The spiritual

effects of love, of might, of awe and astonishment had powerful effects on

one's being. The experience could not be described in words nor could it be

forgotten. Quran means "reading". The verses were dictated by Muhammad and

written down at the moment of revelation or soon after. It was written down

on palm leaves, parchment, leather, shoulder-blades of sheep, bones,

camels' scapula,
Page 5

wooden tablets, "from date leaves, tablets of white stone, and the breasts

of men." The "breasts of men" means the memories of men. There were well

developed memories and memory skills in a society that loved and recited

poetry so extensively.

No collection of the fragments was made during Muhammad's lifetime. Many

of the qurra or reciters of the Quran were killed in battle. These "living

texts" were not being replaced so the task to "search out the Quran and

bring it together" was given to Zayd ibn Thabit, the Prophet's chief

amanuensis. Zayd completed the entire Quran and several copies were made

from it. Since it contained no vowels it was found that variations had

crept into many copies. The third caliph Uthman had Zayd and three Quraysh

scholars compare all the versions with Zayd's original. Copies of this

official text were sent to Damascus and other cities and those unapproved

versions were destroyed. The official text has remained unquestioned for

almost fourteen centuries. There was never any question as to the accuracy

of Zayd's original manuscript. 'Ali was there along with many who knew it

by heart. Parts of the Quran had been in daily use and it was only two or

three years from the passing of Muhammad that Zayd made his first

compilation. 'Ali was very knowledgeable on every aspect of the Quran

besides having a clear and retentive memory. He said, "There is not a verse

in the Quran of which I do not know the matter, the parties to whom it

refers, and the place and time of its revelation, whether by night or by

day, whether in the plains or upon the mountains."[14] Professor Hamidullah

describes the situation that existed in writing the Quran in his French

translation of the Quran (1971):

The sources all agree in stating that whenever a fragment of

the Quran was revealed, the Prophet called one of his

literate companions and dictated it to him, indicating at the

same time the exact position of the new fragment in the

fabric of what had already been received...Descriptions note

that Muhammad asked the scribe to reread to him what had been

dictated so that he could correct any

deficiencies.....Another famous story tells how every year in

the month of Ramadan, the Prophet
Page 6

would recite the whole of the Quran (so far revealed) to

Gabriel...,that in the Ramadan preceding Muhammad's death,

Gabriel had made him recite it twice...It is known how since

the Prophet's time, Muslims acquired the habit of keeping

vigil during Ramadan, and of reciting the whole of the Quran

in addition to the usual prayers expected of them.[15]

The chronological sequence of Revelation was not followed. The 114 surihs

were arranged, with some exceptions, according to their decreasing order of

length. This order of surihs was that order followed by Muhammad when he

recited the Quran during Ramadan.

Regarding the question of succession, Muhammad did not leave a written

will and testament. The Quran does not mention anything regarding who was

to succeed Muhammad. This gave rise to some claims where it was said there

were verses in the Quran which pointed to Ali and that these were

suppressed by 'Uthman when he collected and destroyed those unapproved

versions keeping only an official text. "This assertion is manifestly

untenable. There is no indication at all that either 'Ali, or any other of

the Imams, ever contested, by a single word, the authenticity of the text

which 'Uthman adopted."[16] Muhammad did unmistakably appoint His successor

but it was verbal and not written. It is said that Muhammad, returning home

from His last pilgrimage, gathered His followers together and had

specifically and emphatically designated 'Ali. With 'Ali at His side He

said, "Whoever hath Me as his Master, hath 'Ali as his Master... I have

been summoned to the gate of God, and I shall soon depart... to be

concealed from you."[17] He said He would leave two treasures: "The

greatest treasure is the Book of God... Hold fast to it and do not lose it

and do not change it. The other treasure is the line of My

descendants."[18] When Muhammad lay dying He asked for pen and paper to

dictate something that would keep unity among the believers. 'Umar said,

"Pain is deluding Him, We have God's Book, which is enough."[19] "These

words were to cause a disastrous
Page 7

schism in the religion of God that remained irreparable and continually

widened as the years went on."[20]

It was at the death of the Prophet that one of the greatest turning

points in history took place. 'Ali began to prepare the body of the Prophet

and to make arrangements for burial. 'Ali was left alone to do this while

those who were the closest and most stalwart followers of Muhammad were in

the mosque to choose a successor. These were the same supporters who heard,

with their own ears, the Prophet designate 'Ali as His successor. The

extremely critical error is that they did not decide to follow the words of

Muhammad but instead followed the rules of the tribes.[21] "Heedless of

this event, which is recorded by almost all the chroniclers of the birth of

Islam, many outstanding historians, even those who are Muslims, have

disregarded this critical point, creating so many doubts with their own

interpretations that the mirror of historical fact has become obscured and

darkened."[22]
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The Disconnected Letters[23] of the Quran

What do the disconnected letters which preface many surihs of the Quran

mean?

Bahá'u'lláh says, "In the disconnected letters of the Quran the

mysteries of the divine Essence are enshrined, and within their shells the

pearls of His Unity are treasured."[24] He also states, "Outwardly they

signify Muhammad Himself."[25] If anyone knew the meanings of these

disconnected letters they would have no doubt or uncertainty about the

Divinity of Muhammad or the divine origin of His Book. They are,"...the

supreme instrument of guidance for attainment unto the loftiest summits of

knowledge."[26]

Down through the centuries opinions have been divided as to the meaning

of these letters. There has been extensive controversy and effort made to

understand the meaning of these letters but nothing of significance has

been forthcoming. The only thing there has been general agreement on is

that they are mysteries. Believers have had to satisfy themselves that God

will, in His own time, reveal their meaning.

To the believer and to the serious student of Islam these letters

prefixed to the surihs have profound meanings and he has been certain that

in time these meanings will become known. This is the nature of certitude

and faith. It is one of the ways the intentions of good or evil in the

heart of man come to the surface. To the biased observer they look strange

and for him it is an opportunity for malicious criticism. Some would

foolishly prejudge the situation and say a person would have to be mad or

to be not in his right mind to put letters isolated at the beginning of a

chapter with no apparent reason and no explanation.

This has been an interesting test for man where a mystery has remained

almost completely unsolved until fourteen centuries have passed. Only then

Page 9

solutions and keys to solutions are discovered. It is confirming to man to

have such strong reassurance that every act of a Manifestation of God has

specific purposes. In such a process it is also delightful to know that

there is humor here and that humor is expressed in all the worlds of God.

Let us examine the following chart[27] of the surihs which have

disconnected letters between the first surih and up to and including the

thirteenth. Other surihs have disconnected letters but for the purposes of

this explanation we will go only as far at the thirteenth. We will use the

numerical value of the letters according to the abjad reckoning.

Surih Disconnected Abjad

Letters Reckoning

II. Baqara (The Cow). A.L.M. 1 + 30 + 40 = 71

III. Al-i-'Imran A.L.M. 1 + 30 + 40 = 71

(The Family of 'Imran).

VII. A'raf (The Heights). A.L.M.S. 1 + 30 + 40 + 90 = 161

X. Yunus (Jonah). A.L.R. 1 + 30 + 200 = 231

XI. Hud (The Prophet Hud). A.L.R. 1 + 30 + 200 = 231

XII. Yusuf (Joseph). A.L.R. 1 + 30 + 200 = 231

XIII. Ra'd (Thunder). A.L.M.R. 1 + 30 + 40 + 200 = 271

_____
Total 1267

It is recorded in the hadith that the fifth Imam Muhammad-Baqir said that

each of these surihs with the disconnected letters means a specific period

of time when something will happen to a great, high-ranking, outstanding

person in Islam who is descended from Ban-Hashim.[28]

It was exactly 71 years after Muhammad's Divine Summons that the Imam

Husayn was brutally killed.[29]

In another 71 years, exactly 142 years after Muhammad's Divine Summons

Abu'l-'Abbas 'Abdu'llah as-Saffah became Caliph. This ended forever the

yoke of the House of Umayyah who
Page 10

were the persecutors of Muhammad, who usurped the inheritance of His family

and who ruled with treacherous, unscrupulous and murderous tyranny.[30]

Note that these are lunar years. See the computations in footnote thirty.

These years would obviously be from the year of the Divine Summons, the

first intimations of the Holy Spirit personated by the Angel Gabriel, that

moment in time which some historians refer to as Muhammad's "vision" in the

year 610 A.D. Husayn was martyred on the 10th day of Muharram (October, 680

A.D.) this year on the Muslim calendar was 61 A.H. It was as-Saffah who

shattered the power and brought down the rule of the Umayyads in the year

132 of Hijrah (750 A.D.). He was of the House of 'Abbas, a descendant of

Hashim. He condemned the corruption and evil doings of the Umayyads and

said the House of Hashim, the House of the Prophet had come to free

religion and let its light shine and that the earth would be covered with

justice. So 71 years from a most significant happening to Muhammad, Husayn,

a descendant of Hashim, was killed. In another 71 years the oppression of

the House of Umayyah was ended by "a great, outstanding, high ranking

descendant of Bani-Hashim."

Perhaps the most astonishing prophecy hidden in these disconnected

letters is that they reveal the exact year of the appearance of the

Promised One of Islam.

Mirza Abu'l-Fadl of Gulpaygan has explained that the disconnected letters

from the first to the thirteenth surihs total 1267.[31] In that year 1260

A.H. (1844 A.D.), a Youth from Bani-Hashim,[32] Siyyid 'Ali-Muhammad, the

Bab[,] made His momentous declaration. Mirza Abu'l-Fadl indicates that this

span of time does not start with the Hijrat but with the declaration of

Muhammad seven years before. Note that this span of time does not start

with Muhammad's Divine Summons or the first year of the Muslim calendar.

The Hijrat is the departure of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina which was

Page 11

established as the first year (622 A.D.) of the Muslim era. It was seven

years before the Hijrat that Muhammad made the public declaration of His

mission to the Quraysh.[33] First this was to the descendants of Hashim,

the House of Hashim, His clan and then at a second gathering to the Meccans

at large. Therefore the period of 1267 years was from the public

declaration of Muhammad to the public declaration of The Báb.

It has been said the 36th Surih of the Quran was called by Muhammad "The

Heart of the Quran." It concerns the central figure of Islam, His

Revelation and the Hereafter. It is named Ya-Sin from the disconnected

letters at its opening (y and s). Since it makes reference to the Hereafter

it is recited to the dying, read in solemn ceremonies after death and at

the tombs of saints. Here Muhammad foreshadowed the coming of Bahá'u'lláh

as "that of the 'third' Messenger, sent down to 'strengthen' the two who

preceded Him."[34]

Among the Sacred Writings of the Faith there is the Lawh-i-Ayiy-i-Nur

(Tablet of the Verse of Light), also known as Tafsir-i-Hurufat-i-Muqatta'ih

(Interpretation of the Isolated Letters), which was revealed in Arabic and

has not yet been translated into English.

One of the martyrs, Mirza Aqa'y-i-Rikab-Saz asked Bahá'u'lláh to reveal

the significance, inner meanings and reasons for the isolated, broken or

disconnected letters which are found at the beginning of some of the surihs

of the Quran.

Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet explains in great detail many mysteries which had

remained hidden for thirteen centuries. The only important interpretation

down through the ages was that of the fifth Imam which has been explained

earlier. The light that Bahá'u'lláh puts on this subject and the depth to

which he examines these letters has prompted Adib Taherzadeh to say, "His

explanations are so profound as to overwhelm the imagination."[35]

The Quran says that the disconnected letters are ayihs (sometimes

spelled
Page 12

ayats) which is an Arabic word for any revealed verse, sign, symbol or

miracle of the Prophet of God. It says these disconnected letters are the

`yihs which make things clear.
A.L.R.
These are the Ayats
Of the Book of Wisdom.
Quran 10:1
A.L.R.
These are
The Symbols (or Verses)
Of the Perspicuous Book.
Quran 12:1
A.L.M.R. These are
The Ayats of Revelation
Of a Quran
That makes things clear.
Quran 15:1
A.L.M.R.
These are The Signs (or Verses)
Of the Book: that which
Hath been revealed unto thee
From thy Lord is the Truth;
But most men believe not.
Quran 13:1
Page 13

The Number Nineteen Examined As a Mathematical Entity

Nineteen is a prime number[36] which is very unusual and interesting. On

one hand it is the sum of the first powers of 9 and 10 (9' + 10' = 19) and

the difference between the second powers of 9 and 10 (10 [squared] - 9

[squared] = 100 - 81 = 19).

When you use the multiples of 19 and add their elements to get the

numerical values the result is an interesting pattern from 1 to 9 which

goes on repeatedly infinitely.
19 = 1 + 9 = 10 = 1
38 = 3 + 8 = 11 = 2
57 = 5 + 7 = 12 = 3
76 = 7 + 6 = 13 = 4
95 = 9 + 5 = 14 = 5
114 = 1 + 1 + 4 = 6 = 6
133 = 1 + 3 + 3 = 7 = 7
152 = 1 + 5 + 2 = 8 = 8
171 = 1 + 7 + 1 = 9 = 9
190 = 1 + 9 + 0 = 10 = 1
209 = 2 + 0 + 9 = 11 = 2
228 = 2 + 2 + 8 = 12 = 3
247 = 2 + 4 + 7 = 13 = 4
266 = 2 + 6 + 6 = 14 = 5
285 = 2 + 8 + 5 = 15 = 6
304 = 3 + 0 + 4 = 7 = 7
323 = 3 + 2 + 3 = 8 = 8
342 = 3 + 4 + 2 = 9 = 9
361 = 3 + 6 + 1 = 10 = 1
[and so on infinitely]
Page 14

There is a 19 year lunar cycle. Meton, a Greek astronomer, 433 B.C.,

discovered that the phases of the moon recur after nineteen years on the

same day of the month. This 19 year cycle is known as the Metonic

Cycle.[37] There seems to be some possibility that the 19 year cycle of the

moon was known centuries before Meton. At Stonehenge, during the third

major phase of construction about 2000 B.C., thirty stones were erected in

a circle. One of these was smaller than the others which may have meant

that the ring of stones stood for the twenty-nine and a half days of the

lunar month. "Inside the circle, nineteen bluestones were later arranged in

a horseshoe, possibly standing for the nineteen-year cycle of the moon,

after which the moon's phases start to recur on the same days of the

month."[38]

The early Christians wanted Easter to always fall on a Sunday because

they felt it should always fall on a sacred day. The dating of Easter

became a dispute which lasted until the fourth century when the Golden

Number Rule was accepted as the official procedure. The basis for it was

the work of Meton. The date of Easter is determined by dividing the year by

the number 19, discarding the quotient and adding 1 to the remainder.[39]

In the ancient Roman and Alexandrian calendars the Golden Number was marked

in gold. It is from that gold mark that the term Golden Number originated.

104
_____
19 1982
19
_____
82
76
_____
6

1 is added to 6 making 7 which is the Golden Number. Then you turn to the

table of Golden Numbers and discover that the number 7 gives you April 8.

April 8 is the date of the first full moon which follows March 21, the

beginning of spring in 1982. April 8 falls on Thursday. Therefore Easter

falls on the following Sunday April 11.

Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the

vernal equinox.
Page 15
Table of Golden Numbers

Golden Number Date of the Full Moon

1 April 14
2 April 3
3 March 23
4 April 11
5 March 31
6 April 18
7 April 8
8 March 28
9 April 16
10 April 5
11 March 25
12 April 13
13 April 2
14 March 22
15 April 10
16 March 30
17 April 17
18 April 7
19 March 27
1 April 14
2 April 3
3 March 23
Page 16

Another method which is basically the same is found in the Book of Common

Prayer:

Add one to the Year of our Lord and then divide by 19; the

Remainder, if any, is the Golden Number; but if nothing

remaineth, then 19 is the Golden Number.
Book of Common Prayer
(Table to find Easter Day).
104
_____
19 : 1983
19
__
83
76
__
7

For the year 1982 you add one year which equals 1983. The remainder 7 is

the Golden Number.
This method is also used to determine the epact.

There is a perfect correlation between the Julian (solar) and lunar

calendars. 235 lunar months is equal to exactly 19 Julian years of 365 1/4

days.

Another unusual phenomenon is the fact that, "The tide-raising force of

the moon is about 1/9,000,000 that of the earth's gravity, and the tide-

raising force of the sun is only 1/19,000,000 that of earth's

gravity...."[40]

In one of the earliest mathematical documents known there is an algebra

problem which reads, "Aha, its whole, its seventh, it makes 19." It was

discovered in an Egyptian papyrus 3,600 years old and is one of the first

known to have been solved by man. "Aha" means "a heap" or "quantity." We

use the expression today "Let x equal....":

The papyrus of "Aha" came to the notice of Western scholars a

century ago. Henry Rhind, a tuberculosis-ridden Scottish

antiquary, bought it in 1858 in a shop in the Nile village of

Luxor, where he was wintering for his health. Called the

Rhind Papyrus in his honor, it is one of the earliest

mathematical documents extant--an especially interesting one

because of the evidence it contains that men in 1700 B.C.

were already looking beyond arithmetic into the vistas of

algebra. From the days of the pharaohs on down, the basic

purpose of algebra has remained the same: to permit the

solution of a mathematical problem which involves an unknown

number. The unknown is expressed by an abstract
Page 17

symbol which is manipulated until its numerical value can be

established. In order to pin the problem down and hold it

securely while it is being turned around and simplified, the

relationship between known and unknown numbers is set down

in an equation--a statement of what equals what.

The venerable Egyptian problem of "Aha, its whole, its

seventh, it makes 19" can readily be transmuted into 20th

Century terms. A hardpressed taxpayer faces the prospect of

filing a declaration of estimated income tax. He knows that

his actual tax will be $1,900. But he decides that if he

slightly underestimates it at the beginning of the year-so

that the balance he will have to make up at the end of the

year does not exceed one seventh of what he has estimated--

the Internal Revenue Service will not make a federal case out

of it. Using the marvelously timesaving shorthand and

rulebook logic of modern algebra, he says to himself: "Let x

equal the number of hundreds of dollars I will declare as my

tax. Then the problem is to find x so that x plus one

seventh of it will equal 19." He expresses the entire

problem as an equation. x + x/7 = 19 ("one seventh of x"

being x/7). Then, almost automatically, he follows the axiom

that equals multiplied by equals remain equal, and he

multiplies both sides of the equation by 7 to arrive at a

new equation, 7x + x = 133. This in turn gives him 8x = 133,

then x = 133/8, and, finally, x = 16 5/8, or, in another

form, 16 5/8 hundreds of dollars--an estimated tax of

$1,662.50. The ancient Egyptians also reached the answer of

16 5/8, although without the symbolic sort of equation we use

today.[41]
x + x/7 = 19
7x + x = 133
x = 16 5/8
Page 18

We are primarily interested in the number 19[,] however, many numbers

have several unusual qualities about them.[42]

Some scholars have avoided number symbology because of baseless claims

made by certain numerologists, only to discover that it (used properly) is

a valuable tool of learning. As such it takes its place alongside paradox,

symbol, metaphor and other analogical devices, etc. As a teaching device,

"number" was employed both by The Báb and Bahá'u'lláh.

Sometimes not enough attention has been paid to certain "numbers".

Occasionally such an investigation reveals significant meanings. Even then

it may lead nowhere but oftentimes solutions to long-standing perplexing

problems are discovered.
Page 19
The Number 19 in the Quran

One of the most convincing proofs demonstrating striking evidence of the

divine inspiration of the Quran is also the most recent.

Using a computer Dr. Rashad Khalifa presents evidence which demonstrates

that the number 19 occurs too frequently in the Quran to be there by

chance. A simple application of the laws of probability is sufficient to

interest and astonish even the most reserved skeptic.

Dr. Khalifa, an Egyptian, received a doctorate in biochemistry in the

United States and taught there for awhile. He published a 60 page booklet

privately in English in the United States in 1972 which was called Number

19: A Numerical Miracle in the Koran.[43] In the January 13, 1980 and

January 20, 1980 issues of the weekly Gulf Times, published in Doha the

capital city of Qatar, articles appeared describing this extraordinary

marvel.

There are 114 surihs in the Quran. 114 is 19 x 6, a multiple of 19,[44]

The formula, "In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful" is found

over every surih of the Quran except the ninth. In this formula there are

19 Arabic letters.[45]

This heading has been repeated 113 times at the beginning of the surihs

plus one extra time in the Surih of Naml or the Ants XXVII which adds up to

114 times. 114 is a multiple of 19 (6 x 19). If this heading had not been

repeated one extra time in the Surih of Naml it would not have become a

multiple of 19.[46]

From where the heading is missing in surih IX and where it is repeated in

surih XXVII there are 19 surihs.[47]

The sacred formula Bismi'llahi'r Rahmani'r-Rahim, which means "In the

name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful," has words in it which are

repeated each a multiple of 19. Its first word, Ism, which means name, is

found 19 times
Page 20

throughout the Quran. The second word, Allah, meaning God, is found 2698

times which is 142 x 19. The third word, al-Rahman meaning most gracious,

appears 57 times which is 19 x 3. The fourth word, al-Rahim meaning most

merciful, is found 114 times or 6 x 19.[48]

The very first surih (XCVI) revealed to Muhammad is called Iqraa or Read!

or Proclaim! It is also called 'Alaq or The Clot of Congealed Blood. This

first surih has 19 `yihs or verses.

The number of letters in surih XCVI adds up to 285 or 19 x 15.[49]

Regarding the statements in the Quran where it says that man was created

from a clot of congealed blood, Maurice Bucaille, the French surgeon, says

this has always been mistranslated. Man has never passed through a stage of

being a blood clot. Maurice Bucaille tells us:

"Something which clings" is the translation of the word

'alaq. It is the original meaning of the word. A meaning

derived from it, "blood clot", often figures in translation;

it is a mistake against which one should guard: man has never

passed through the stage of being a "blood clot". The same is

true for another translation of this term, "adhesion" which

is equally inappropriate. The original sense of "something

which clings" corresponds exactly to today's firmly

established reality.[50]

When the egg is implanted in the uterus the development of villosities

result. These, like roots, draw nourishment from within the wall of the

uterus. "These formations make the egg literally cling to the uterus. This

is a discovery of modern times."[51]

Five times the Quran describes the act of clinging. This is the way

Bucaille translates the following verses:
Read in the name of thy Lord Who fashioned,
Who fashioned man from something which clings.
Quran 96:1-2.
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We have fashioned you from...something which clings.

Quran 22:5.

We have fashioned the small quantity (of sperm) into

something which clings.
Quran 23:14.

(God) fashioned you from a small quantity (of sperm),

from something which clings.
Quran 40:67.

Was (man) not a small quantity of sperm which has been

poured out? After that he was something which clings;

then God fashioned him in due proportion.
Quran 75: 37-38.

The last four of the above five verses describe progressive changes from

the small quantity of sperm to his development as an adult. The description

of these stages is in complete harmony with what we now know about it and

doesn't have a single statement that is not in agreement with science.

There is a statement in the Quran that tells us "that the embryo passes

through the stage of 'chewed flesh', then osseous tissue appears and is

clad in flesh (defined by a different word from the preceding which

signifies 'intact flesh)."[52]

We fashioned the thing which clings into a chewed lump

of flesh and We fashioned the chewed flesh into bones

and We clothed the bones with intact flesh.
Quran 23:14.

Maurice Bucaille explains, "'Chewed flesh' is the translation of the word

mudga; 'intact flesh' is lahm. This distinction needs to be stressed. The

embryo is initially a small mass. At a certain stage in its development, it

looks to the naked eye like chewed flesh. The bone structure develops

inside this mass in what is called the mesenchyma. The bones that are

formed are covered in muscle; the word lahm applies to them."[53]

Verses 1 to 5 of Surih XCVI were the first words of revelation to

Muhammad. All accounts agree that a long interval followed these words

where there was no
Page 22

further revelation. How long this interval was is a matter of speculation.

Some say it was as long as three years while others put it as low as ten

days. The first three years of Muhammad's ministry is very obscure. There

was no public declaration of His mission during this time and only a

handful of followers. The people of Mecca were unaware that God had chosen

someone amongst them to be His Prophet and that He was well known to them.

There was a general feeling of expectancy. "...a prophet was expected, and

women were anxiously hoping for male children, so they might mother the

Apostle of God; and the more thoughtful minds, tinged with traditions of

Judaism, were seeking for what they called the 'religion of Abraham,' These

men were 'Hanifs,' or 'incliners'...."[54]

When the Angel Gabriel, the vehicle of Revelation, appeared to Muhammad

on Mount Hirra" , three times the Angel held up a Tablet and told Him to

read. Each time He pleaded He could not read. When the words of revelation

came upon Him He was so overcome He thought He was going mad. At that

moment a clear voice rang out again in the quiet of the mountainside saying

to tell Muhammad that God had chosen Him to be His Messenger to mankind. He

was aware and terrified of the awesome mission to proclaim that God is One.

The first words of the revelation, "Read, in the name of your Lord" are

known to every Muslim. These first words of revelation contain 76 letters

or 19 x 4.[55]

The words of the first revelation (verses 1 to 5 in surih 96) number 19

which is 19 x 1.[56]

The words of the second revelation (the first 9 verses of surih 68)

number 38 which is 19 x 2.[57]

The words of the third revelation (the first 10 verses of surih 73) number

57 which is 19 x 3.[58]

Surih Muddaththir or One Wrapped Up (LXXIV) mentions nineteen appointed

angels and says the choosing of the number 19 is to test unbelievers. It is

in this surih that several reasons are stated for the use of the number 19.

Among
Page 23

these reasons are: So that the People of the Book (i.e. Jews, Christians,

Sabians, Zoroastrians) may know for certain that the Quran is a divinely

inspired Book, that the believers increase in faith, to remove doubts and

to show that faith is a gift from God which God puts into the heart of

whomsoever He pleaseth and will "leave to stray whom He pleaseth." Nineteen

as a number by itself is mentioned only once in the Quran (Quran 74:30).

The Quran explains the meaning for other numbers such a seven, twelve,

forty, etc., but the number 19 is not defined.

The last of the surihs, the Surih of Nasr or Help CX, which dates to only

a few months before the passing of Muhammad, has a total of 19 words.[59]

Twenty nine surihs in the Quran begin with the mysterious disconnected

letters. 14 different letters from the alphabet are used and there are 14

various combinations of these disconnected letters in the beginning of the

surihs (see Appendix 1 and Appendix 2). All these numbers add up to 57 (29

+ 14 + 14 = 57). 57 is 3 x 19, a multiple of 19.[60]

Up to this point the proofs advanced could possibly have been discovered

without the aid of a computer. Now we will examine some very complex

proofs. The Quran contains 77,974 words. There are 329,156 letters in the

Quran. There has been no change since it was revealed fourteen centuries

ago. Not one letter has been added to the original and not one letter has

been taken away. It has been kept in a state of purity obviously by divine

forces. 329,156 is a multiple of 19 (17,324 x 19).[61]

The Surih of Qaf (surih 50) begins with the disconnected letter "Q" or

"Qaf" from which the surih is named. The letter Q is found in this surih 57

times or 3 x 19. The people who rejected Lut[62] are mentioned twelve times

throughout the Quran. They are always referred to as "the people of Lut"

(eleven times) except in the fiftieth surih where they are called "the

brethren of Lut."
Page 24

People is an Arabic word that has a Q in it. If this change had not been

made Q would have occurred 58 times and the mathematical basis of the

Quran would have been destroyed.[63]

One of the disconnected letters at the beginning of surih 42 is "Q".

There are 57 of these letters in surih 42 which is the same as in surih 50.

Together they total 114 which is a multiple of 19 (19 x 6). Since there are

114 surihs in the Quran, "Q" seems to mean Quran.[64]

The Surih of Qalam or the Pen (LXVIII) which begins with the disconnected

letter "N", or Nun has 133 "N's" in it. 133 is 7 x 19, a

multiple of 19.[65]

The surih of Sad (XXXVIII) begins with the disconnected letter "Sad" or

"S" and this letter is found 29 times in this surih. This is not a multiple

of 19 but when it is added to the S which is one of the disconnected

letters at the beginning of the surih of Maryam (Mary) (XIX) where the

total times it is found is 26 (also not a multiple of 19) and add the total

of times S appears in the Surih of Araf or the Heights (VII) where the

total is 97 (also not a multiple of 19) you get a total of 152 (29 + 26 + +

97 = 152 which is a multiple of 19 or 19 x 8). There are only three times

where this letter is used as a disconnected letter in the Quran.

Separately, in the individual surihs where they appear the letters do not

total a multiple of 19. It is only when they are taken together that a

multiple of 19 is formed.[66]

There are several other cases of this complex phenomenon. The Surih of

Ya. Sin. is the 36th surih of the Quran and is named from the disconnected

letters which are found at its opening verse (Y and S). Y is found in this

surih 237 times and S is found 48 times. Neither 237 or 48 are multiples of

19 but together they add up to 285 which is 19 x 15.[67]

Seven surihs 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 and 46 begin with the disconnected

Page 25

letters H.M. The number of times H appears in these seven surihs is 292 and

the number of times M appears is 1855. Added together they total 2147 which

is 19 x 113. 292 and 1855 are not multiples of 19 but added together they

become a multiple.[68]

The same is true for the disconnected letters which appear at the

beginning of the other surihs.

It is true in all 29 surihs which begin with the mysterious disconnected

letters. All of these letters fit precisely this mathematical pattern.

Unknown to millions who have spent endless hours reading, memorizing and

studying the Quran is that this revealed Book has a mathematical precision

which has remained unpenetrated for a full millennium and that this

exactitude has not been corrupted by time. In view of the changes

everything experiences, especially language, even over the space of a few

years, it is obvious that this sacred writing has been divinely protected.

Dr. Khalifa tells us that the Quran, according to the original, was

written into a General Electric Time-sharing terminal which was connected

to a central computer. It was programmed to count the frequency of

occurrence of each letter in each chapter. Each Arabic letter was given an

English equivalent. An important point to keep in mind is that the original

Quranic Arabic was strictly adhered to. Some printings of the Quran use

the conventional Arabic which is not identical.

This is one of the most unusual and important discoveries of this

century. We have been given a key that will unlock the door to the

understanding of the mysteries hidden in the Quran. It would be an error

to think that these discoveries are an end in themselves. They seem to be a

beginning which will yield explanations to mysteries we are not even aware

of at the present time.
Page 26
Why Nineteen?

First and foremost, the reason for the attention Muhammad calls to the

number 19 is part of His fulfillment of the covenant He made concerning the

Bab, the Promised One who would appear after Him. Every Prophet has made a

covenant with His people that they accept and follow the next Manifestation

who would be the reappearance of His own reality. Muhammad left signs and

evidences everywhere to make it easier for the sincere seeker to recognize

The Báb. In no way has Muhammad fallen short of His duty but the people

have been found to have closed hearts and blind eyes.

There is no evidence that the number 19 has ever been used or figured

prominently or even significantly in any religious system or social order

until the coming of Islam. In Islam it appears as a mysterious number which

has been a source of wonderment to scholars and a cause of speculation to

the mystics. All have failed to come up with convincing arguments for its

appearance in the Quran. Not until the coming of The Bábi Faith and the

Bahá'í Faith has convincing reasons for its use in Islam been brought

forward. Its use in the Quran is an indisputable proof of the validity of

Islam, the Cause of The Báb and the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh. Such a powerful

proof should remove doubts from any true seeker and bring greater heights

of certitude to the confirmed soul. Its use in the Quran is none other

than to point the way to the Promised One. The historical and practical use

in The Bábi Faith and the Bahá'í Faith and its application as one of the

basic mathematical components for the structure of the coming world

civilization is dazzling as one contemplates the far-reaching

transformation that this usage alone will have on human society. This is

true even though we feel its effects only slightly at the present time.

Page 27

The Number Nineteen Becomes Manifest in the Bahá'í Faith

Besides being a number which both The Báb and Bahá'u'lláh have employed

to use for practical reasons, the number has been used to help searchers

and believers alike to recognize the Messenger of God for this day. It has

been used in prophecy. It has been used in many ways to conceal meanings

and to reveal extended meanings in certain words and phrases. The use of

the number nineteen in the Bahá'í Faith is so extensive and obvious as to

leave the investigator in awe and astonishment, yet the mysteries contained

within that number are inexhaustible. Some of the ways in which this number

has been and is now in common practical usage in the Faith are:

1. The Bayan (Exposition), the Book of Laws[69] of The Bábi Dispensation,

consists of nine Vahids (Unities) of nineteen chapters each, except the

last which has only ten chapters.[70]

2. Bismi'llahi'r-Rahmani'r-Rahim is the sacred formula placed before

every surih of the Quran except the ninth.[71] Some translate this "In the

Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful" while others translate it," In

the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful." There are nineteen

Arabic letters in this formula.

The Báb has changed this formula to Bismi'llahi'l-Amna'i'l-Aqdas which

when translated is, "In the Name of God, the Inaccessible, the Sanctified,"

however the number of letters has remained unchanged. These are symbolic of

the nineteen Letters of the Living--eighteen disciples surrounding the

nineteenth, The Báb Himself.[72]

For a period of forty days only Mulla Husayn believed in The Báb.

Gradually other Letters were generated from the Primal Point as The Báb

Himself describes:

Understand in the same way the beginning of the manifestation

of the Bayan: during forty days no one but the letter Sin

believed in B. It was only, little by little, that the

Bismi'llahu'l-Amna'u'l-Aqdas
Page 28

clothed themselves with the garment of faith until finally

the Primal Unity was completed. Witness then how it has

increased until our day.[73]

Shoghi Effendi confirms this when he writes, "Not until forty days had

elapsed, however, did the enrollment of the seventeen remaining Letters of

the Living commence."[74]

Note that the word for unity ln both Arabic and Persian is vahid and that

the numerical values of the letters of this word add up to 19.

The letter Sin is the first letter to follow the B in Bismi'llah

(remembering that short vowels are not written). The Báb indicates that,

"All that is in the Bayan is synthesized in one of the verses of the

Bayan."[75] He explains that this is the first verse[76] Bismi'llahi'l-

Amna'i'l-Aqdas and says, "All that is in the Bayan is synthesized in one of

the verses, and it is He the B of Bismi'llah and this B is a proof in

itself."[77] The Báb is referring to the point which is beneath the B.

Without that diacritical mark the letter would not exist. In both Arabic

and Persian the B is a straight line with a point under it. The Báb reminds

us of some interesting mathematical facts when He states, All material

letters exist and flow from a point--a line is nothing but a succession of

points;--therefore, the reality of the letters does not exist nor develop

except through the point of Truth. This Point, in the Quran, is Muhammad,

in the Bayan, the master of the Seven Letters[78] and in the manifestation

of 'Him whom God Shall Make Manifest,' it is Divine Truth, the Divine

being...it is the sun of truth."[79]

He also says that, "The Point is like the sun, and the other letters are

like mirrors placed before the resplendent star." Each letter is like a

mirror, several mirrors or in the case of Quddus, mirrors to the number of

eight Vahids revolve."[80] Each mirror reflects the Source of Light and if

you look into any of those mirrors you see The Báb Himself. The First Vahid

is the Primal Unity. These eighteen lesser luminaries, together with the

Bab, are the First Vahid
Page 29

(Unity) of the Dispensation of the Bayan. The Báb is the Primal Point from

which have been generated this Primal Unity and,"... from which have been

generated all created things."[81] Expanding on this truth He says,

"Therefore, as words and letters are only made real through the Nuqtih

(Point) also, through Him the realities of human beings will manifest and

multiply."[82]

This is not the first time that this truth has been revealed to man. It

has been known among some of the mystics, the wise and the learned of

Islam. In a well-known tradition, which has been attributed to 'Ali, it is

said that the essence of all religious and spiritual truth of all past

revealed religions is to be found in the Quran and that the Quran itself

is contained in the first chapter, that this chapter is contained in the

first verse, that this verse is contained in its first letter (B) and that

all that is contained in the B is contained in the point beneath the B.

'Ali has said, "I am that Point."[83]

3. There are nineteen invocations in a very special and beautiful prayer

usually said by Muslims of Shi'ah Islam during the period of fasting in the

month of Ramadan. These invoke God through His names. The first of these

invocations revolves around Bahá which means Glory. The Badi'' Calendar,

which is the one in use in the Bahá'í Faith, uses these names in the same

order. The Báb has given them to the nineteen months of His calendar.[84]

Each month has nineteen days in it. Bahá'u'lláh gave formal sanction to

this calendar indicating that it should begin in the year of The Báb's

Declaration and since the position of the intercalary days were not

specified He stated where they were to be. One of the traditions of Islam

says that the "Greatest Name of God" is among these nineteen names.

The Asma'u'l-Husna or "Most Beauteous Names" of God are phrases found in

several places in the Quran.[85] In hadith literature there is a statement

attributed to Muhammad, "Verily there are 99 names of God, and whoever

recites them shall enter Paradise."[86] Some Islamic scholars have made a

list of these
Page 30

99 names[87] from extensive research in hadith literature. These traditions

also say that God has a hundredth name, the "Most Great Name", and whoever

calls on God by that Name shall obtain all his desires. Many of the

mystics, the wise and the learned have tried and failed to unravel this

mystery. Some have even claimed to possess the Greatest Name but lacking

authority they failed to give the certainty required for such a claim. Only

a Manifestation of God could speak with such authority and solve such an

issue as this. It becomes obvious that this Name could only truly be known

when the Mihdi was made manifest.

One of the most interesting stories is that of a perceptive and widely

known scholar who claimed that the "Most Great Name" was Bahá and he even

adopted the name Shaykh Baha'i. He was from Lebanon, born in 953 A.H. (1547

A.D.) and went to Persia when he was a young boy. He became the most highly

regarded scholar at the court of Shah 'Abbas.[88]

Bahá'u'lláh confirmed that the "Greatest Name" is Baha. The Báb sent

Bahá'u'lláh a scroll with three hundred and sixty derivatives of the word

Bahá'í written in the form of a pentacle. The various derivatives of the

word Bahá in Arabic are also regarded as the "Greatest Name." The "Greatest

Name" is referred to as Ism-i-A'zam.

4. The Badi'' Calendar, which is used by Bahá'ís throughout the world,

consists of 19 months of 19 days each with four additional intercalary days

(Ayyam-i-Ha) in ordinary and five in leap years. The Báb described this

calendar in the Kitáb-i-Asma'', revealed in Arabic, and stated that this

system was dependent upon the acceptance and good-pleasure of "Him Whom God

shall make manifest."[89] It is based on the solar year.

19 months multiplied by 19 days plus Ayyam-i-Ha equals oneness (361 + 5 =

1 year).

The Báb has also divided the years following His Revelation into cycles

of nineteen years. Each cycle of nineteen years is called a vahid. He gave

each
Page 31

of these a name which is different from the names He gave to the months.

Nineteen cycles make 361 years which is called a Kull-i-Shay'. As mentioned

before the numerical value of the word vahid is nineteen.

Kull-i-Shay' is an Arabic word whose numerical value is 361 (19 x 19)

according to the abjad system of number value (K = 20, 1 = 30, Sh = 300, a

= 1, y = 10). Kull-i-Shay' means "all things". We are living in the eighth

vahid of the first kull-i-Shay'.

5. "...it behooveth man, upon reaching the age of nineteen, to render

thanksgiving for the day of his conception as an embryo. For had the embryo

not existed, how could he have reached his present state?"[90] The Báb

teaches man to be grateful for this gift from God while also, in the text

of the same paragraph, He teaches man to be grateful for former

Revelations. For, "...had the religion taught by Adam not existed, this

Faith would not have attained its present state."[91]

6. The Báb, on pilgrimage to Mecca, purchased and sacrificed nineteen

lambs of the choicest breed. He performed this according to ancient custom.

Nine of these were in His own name, seven in the name of Quddus and three

for His Ethiopian servant. He didn't take any of the meat Himself but gave

it to the poor and needy of the neighborhood.[92]

7. The Báb said that Quddus, "... is the one round whom revolve eight

Vahids...."[93] Shoghi Effendi said Quddus is the one "...whom the Persian

Bayan extolled as that fellow-pilgrim round whom mirrors to the number of

eight Vahids revolve...."[94] Eight Vahids is 152 (8 x 19) a multiple of

nineteen.

8. "The incarceration of Quddus [in Sari]... lasted five and ninety

days," (5 x 19).[95]

9. After the first sortie from the fort of Shaykh Tabarsi"...Quddus bade

his companions dig a moat around the fort as a safeguard against a renewed

attack. Nineteen days elapsed during which they exerted themselves to the

Page 32

utmost for the completion of the task they had been charged to

perform."[96]

10. After the death of Mulla Husayn, Quddus ordered Mirza Muhammad-Baqir

to lead the fourth sortie: "Sally out and, with the aid of eighteen men

marching at your side, administer a befitting chastisement upon the

aggressor and his host. Let him realize that though Mulla Husayn be no

more, God's invincible power still continues to sustain his companions and

enable them to triumph over the forces of their enemies."[97]

11. At the command of Quddus, "Mirza Muhammad-Baqir again ordered

eighteen of his companions to hurry to their steeds and follow him" (18 + 1

= 19). This was the fifth sortie in the defense of the fort of Shaykh

Tabarsi.[98]

12. During the period of some of the heaviest defensive action of the

Zanjan conflagration Hujjat gave instructions that the guards of the

barricades were "...to carry out The Báb's injunction to His followers and

to repeat nineteen times, each night, each of the following invocations:

'Allah-u-Akbar,'[99] 'Allah-u-A'zam,'[100] 'Allah-u-Ajmal,'[101] 'Allah-u-

Abha,'[102] and 'Allah-u-Athar.'[103][104]

13. The siege at Zanjan was a long and heroic struggle. After the capture

of the fort by the enemy, the soldiers were bent upon the extermination of

The Bábi defenders. The rest of the companions continued their defensive

actions from houses. "They were divided into five companies, each

consisting of nineteen times nineteen companions. From each of these

companies, nineteen would rush forth together and, raising with one voice

the cry of 'Ya' Sahibu'z-Zaman!'[105] would fling themselves into the midst

of the enemy and would succeed in scattering its forces. The uplifted

voices of these ninety-five companions would alone prove sufficient to

paralyse the efforts, and crush the spirit, of their assailants."[106] 5

companies times 19 companions equals 95. Note that the number 5 is a

reference to The Báb. The numerical values of the letters in His name is

equivalent to 5 in the abjad system of reckoning (b = 2, a = 1, b = 2).

14. Hujjat had endured severe pain, caused by a wound, for nineteen days

Page 33

before he suddenly passed away in the act of prayer invoking the name of

The Báb.[107]

15. The Báb revealed the Lawh-i-Huru'fat (Tablet of the Letters) which

unravelled the mystery of the Mustaghath and alluded "... to the nineteen

years which must needs elapse between the Declaration of The Báb and that

of Bahá'u'lláh."[108]

16. The Báb had made the command to His followers that once every

nineteen days the eighth Chapter of the sixth Vahid of the Bayan should be

read. This was done so they would not fail to recognize"... the revelation

of Him Whom God shall make manifest...."[109]

17. "Be attentive," warns The Báb, "from the inception of the Revelation

till the number of Vahid (19)."[110] Again and even more precisely He

says, "The Lord of the Day of Reckoning will be manifested at the end of

Vahid (19)...."[111] These are unmistakable references to the nineteen

years that must elapse between the public Declaration of The Báb and the

public Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh. It is a reference to the year nineteen

of the Badi Calendar.

18. The time between the Declaration of The Báb and the Declaration of

Bahá'u'lláh was nineteen years.

19. The "hour" mentioned several times by the Author of the Apocalypse is

nineteen years. There are many meanings to this word. Mirza Asadu'llah-i-

Nur explains that it means the Manifestation Himself, the Declaration of

His Mission, the "time of the end," and the amount of time between the

Declaration of The Báb and the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh.[112]

20. The Báb in a warning to Vahid states, "Beware, beware, lest in the

days of His Revelation the Vahid of the Bayan (eighteen Letters of the

Living and The Báb) shut thee out as by a veil from Him, inasmuch as this

Vahid is but a creature in His sight."[113]

21. Regarding the disconnected letters which appear before many of the

Page 34

surihs of the Quran Bahá'u'lláh says, "In the disconnected letters of the

Quran the mysteries of the divine Essence are enshrined, and within their

shells the pearls of His Unity are treasured."[114] Pay close attention to

the word unity in this statement for in it is disclosed the number 19.[115]

The word vahid means unity in Arabic and Persian and the numerical values

of the letters of this word (v = 6, a = 1, h = 8, d = 4) add up to 19

according to the abjad system of reckoning. Bahá'u'lláh provided the first

clue to a mystery that had remained unsolved for over thirteen centuries.

The word itself signifys unity and symbolizes the unity of God. It is the

name of the number one. When an Arabic speaking person counts he starts out

with vahid which means one.

22. The "Greatest Name" has within it all of the numbers with mystical

significance. Taken as a whole it symbolizes the Glory of God and the Unity

of God. Of the many mysteries surrounding the "Greatest Name" the number

nineteen appears among them, especially with the twin stars as it is used

on the Bahá'í ringstone. Some of these, from the personal view of this

writer are:

A. 7 + 7 + 5 which equal nineteen. Seven being the number of letters in

the name 'Ali Muhammad when written in Arabic and Persian and seven being

the number of letters in the name Husayn-'Ali. The five is derived from the

pentacle formed from three hundred and sixty derivatives of the word "Baha"

which The Báb had written in His own handwriting, a fine shikastih script,

on a scroll of blue paper and had it delivered to Bahá'u'lláh in

Tihran.[116] The number 5 in this case is the symbol of the Bahá'í Faith

which may, in time, become the dominant symbol of the Faith.

Page 35

That it will become dominant is, of course, the personal opinion of this

writer. The five pointed star is the symbol of our Faith as state in a

letter dated 28 October 1949 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an

individual believer, "Strictly speaking the 5-pointed star is the symbol of

our Faith as used by The Báb and explained by Him. But the Guardian does

not feel it is wise or necessary to complicate our explanations of the

Temple by adding this."[117] It does seem inappropriate and confusing in

our explanation of the Temple but very helpful in understanding other

aspects of the Faith.
Page 36

B. The twin stars (5 + 5) and the word "Baha," the numerical values of

which add up to 9, equal 19. This would fit a personal explanation given by

Hand of the Cause of God Abu'l-Qasim Faizi who asks:

may I venture to suggest another approach to the meaning of

the two stars This approach is merely a personal one

therefore not authoritative. Could we not visualize God as

manifested in His most resplendent glory in the majestic

figure of Bahá'u'lláh, and standing on either side of Him,

two towering personalities of unsurpassed beauty: The Báb the

Herald, the incarnation of sacrifice and of self effacement

and the highest expression of true love ever possible in this

contingent life; and `Abdu'l-Bahá'í the Center of the

Covenant, the true Exemplar of the teachings and the highest

embodiment of servitude.These two exemplify the mysteries of

sacrifice and servitude, calling on all men to hasten and

offer their potentialities as humble gifts for the

establishment of God's redeeming Order, the very reflection

of His Kingdom on earth.[118]

C. The calculation of the word "Bab" is 5 and "Baha" is 9. Add these

together with the 5 in the star which is the symbol of the Bahá'í Faith and

you get 19.
Page 37

D. The "Greatest Name" taken as a whole also has the value of one which

stands for unity. Vahid (19) - 1 + 9 = 10 = 1. One has always symbolized

the unity of God.
Page 38

E. `Abdu'l-Bahá comments upon the significance of the inscription on the

Bahá'í ring. He sheds much light upon the meanings of the Greatest Name but

some are very profound. He says, "The inscription is composed of two 'Ba'

and four 'Ha'"[119] and suggests that you refer to the commentary upon

"Bismi'llah, Errahman. Errahim" for a detailed explanation of "Ha". His

explanations touch upon many subjects which will require much study and

research and should be richly rewarding. After overwhelming your

imagination He says, "Briefly, such are the least of the mysteries of the

composition of the Greatest Name upon the stone of the Divine ring."[120]

Page 39

Wearing the Bahá'í ring is for ornamentation and for purposes of

identifying oneself as a Baha'i. This is the most general and simplest

reason for its use but there are many other reasons for its use. Wearing of

the "Greatest Name" usually on a pendant or a ringstone or placing it upon

the wall of where one has his home is an outward sign of one's firm bond

with the covenant Bahá'u'lláh has established with the believers. It is a

pledge of one's loyalty.

It is a sign of from whence he draws his strength. It is a reminder, a

source of protection, a source of spirituality, a visible badge of one's

honor. An announcement that his conduct and deeds are intimately linked to

the One he champions as his Liegelord. It is a declaration of the One to

Whom he bears allegiance and the One to Whom he swears fealty.

23. The triumph of Bahá'u'lláh over the beast and the false prophet

begins in the l9th chapter of the Apocalypse. There are 22 chapters in the

Apocalypse which is also the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. That

a book had 22 chapters was a Hebrew practice meaning a book is

complete.[121]

24. Seven has always been looked upon as a mystic number and symbol. It

is made up of many but yet forms an indivisible integer. It is the highest

indivisible integer of one digit. Seven is used in the Quran to some

extent. There are seven heavens, seven gates of hell, and so on:

God is He Who Created seven Firmaments
And of the earth A similar number.
Quran 65:12

`Abdu'l-Bahá quotes an Islamic source possibly the Quran or the Hadith

when He writes, "The seven heavens and the seven earths weep over the

mighty when he is brought low."[122]
Page 40

Five is the mystic symbol representing man who stands at the center of

the four elements, the four directions and the four seasons of the year,

which characterize the earthly state. Five, the pentad is the sum of 2 and

3, the first even and odd compound. One is the Creator. One is unity, God

alone without creation. Two is diversity, and three, the sum of 1 and 2, is

the bringing together of unity and diversity which are the two principles

in operation in the universe and which represents the combined powers of

nature. Five represents man and the symbol used is often the star or

pentacle which represents the body of man, with the head, the two arms and

the two legs.[123] Five also represents the five senses through which man

perceives existence. As there are seven heavens and seven earths, man's

external world has fourteen planes. Since he relates to these levels with

five senses the number of stages governing his development and controlling

his conduct may be said to be nineteen.

Man can acquire the "seven virtues" of faith, hope, charity, justice,

fortitude, prudence and temperance or he can fall into the grip of the

"seven deadly" or "capital sins" of pride, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony,

avarice and sloth. We are aware that the virtues and sins are endless,

without number, but there is a profound reason why they have been termed

seven in number. Seven signifies rest or repose in the divine center, "And

God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, because that in it He had

rested from all his work." In one sense it is the symbol of attainment.

Seven is the stamp of the divine seal upon things of the earth. Six, among

other things, is the symbol of man in that state on the sixth day when he

was created. Beyond six (seven) is that from which all existence comes from

and to which it returns. Man in the process of acquiring virtues follows

the spiritual path which the manifestation for the day in which he is

living points out to him. Man must learn to desire, even yearn, for this

love. He opens his heart and receives the
Page 41

gift of love and faith. There are risks taken on the path and he could

break laws and fall prey to all manner of sin. Some say it is better not to

set out at all than to awaken the soul, go a certain distance and then

abandon the path because the greater the virtue the greater the danger in

becoming the very embodiment of one or more of the deadly sins. Man in this

state can be described as corruption optimi pessima or the best when

corrupted becomes the worst. This is reminiscent of Alexander Pope's

statement, "The worst of madmen is a saint run mad."

25. There are six verses in the Prayer for the Dead which are to be

repeated nineteen times.[124]

26. Each believer is to repeat the "Greatest Name" "Allah-u-Abha'"

ninety-five times a day (19 x 5).[125]

27. There is an exemption from offering the Obligatory Prayers granted to

women in their courses provided they perform their ablutions and repeat

"Glorified be God, the Lord of Splendour and Beauty" 95 times a day (19 x

5).[126]

28. Every nineteen days, usually on the first day of the Bahá'í month,

the Bahá'ís gather for prayers, consultation and fellowship. These meetings

are called Nineteen Day Feasts because they are held once every nineteen

days. The Nineteen Day Feast, established by Bahá'u'lláh,[127] is the most

sacred of Bahá'í institutions and has been described by the Guardian as the

foundation of the new World Order."[128] "The Nineteen Day Feast was

inaugurated by The Báb and ratified by Bahá'u'lláh...."[129]

29. The period of fasting is for 19 days. There is an exemption from

fasting granted to travellers who break their journey for less than 19

days. If a traveller breaks his journey at a place where they will stay 19

days, he is exempt from fasting only for the first three days. There is an

exemption for women in their courses if they perform their ablutions and

repeat the verse "Glorified be God, the Lord of Splendour and Beauty" 95

times a day (19 x 5).[130]

30. The Bahá'í period of engagement must not exceed 95 days (5 x 19).

Page 42

31. The marriage dowry is fixed at 19 mithqals[131] of pure gold for

city-dwellers and 19 mithqals of silver for village-dwellers.[132]

You are forbidden to pay more than 95 (5 x 19) mithqals.[133]

Bahá'u'lláh states that He wants the man to content himself with the

payment of 19 mithqals of silver.[134]

32. During a year of patience, which all Bahá'ís must observe if they

wish to divorce, sexual intercourse with one's mate voids the period of

waiting. Intercourse with anyone else is forbidden and "whoever breaks this

law must repent and pay the House of Justice 19 mithqals of gold."[135]

33. "If a person has possessions equal in value to at least 19 mithqals

in gold, it is a spiritual obligation for him to pay 19% of the total

amount, once only, as Huqúqu'llah (The Right of God)... Thereafter,

whenever his income, after all expenses have been paid, increases the value

of his possessions by the amount of at least 19 mithqals of gold, he is to

pay 19% of this increase, and so on for each further increase."[136]

34. If one is able to do so there is a law requiring the renewal of the

furnishing of one's house after nineteen years.[137]

35. The National Assemblies are elected, "...annually by delegates whose

number has been fixed, according to national requirements, at 9, 19, 95, or

171 (9 times 19)..."[138]

36. The number nineteen is found within the architecture of the Baha'i

House of Worship in America along with other numbers significant to the

Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. "There are 18 steps at each of the nine

entrances of the Temple, which with the completing doorway make 19--and

each door (a 19) becomes a recurring symbol of The Báb himself, because as

we remember, Báb is a title meaning a door between heaven and earth."[139]

Page 43

The number eight had a significant part in the building of the Shrine of

The Báb on Mt. Carmel in the Holy Land. In explaining the meaning for the

use of eight in the architecture of the Shrine. Shoghi Effendi recited a

verse of the Quran, "...on that day eight shall bear up the throne of thy

Lord."[140] Shoghi Effendi, "...always referred to the Shrine as the

'Throne of the Lord,' and to the Casket of The Báb as the 'Throne.' Even

the Holy Dust was called by Him by the 'Throne.'"[141] Ugo Giachery, Hand

of the Cause of God says, "The eight pinnacles, one at each corner of the

octagon...are indeed original in conception....

Speaking one evening of the importance of the minarets in Islamic

architecture,
Page 44

Shoghi Effendi said: 'The mosque of Medina has seven minarets, the one of

Sultan Ahmad in Constantinople has six, but the Quran mentions

eight.'[142a] Furthermore, the eight slender minaret-like spires symbolize

the bearers of the 'throne of God.'"[142b] "'Also The Báb is the eighth

Manifestation of those religions whose followers still exist.'"[143] The

use of the number eight is evident in many other details of the Shrine and

in the grounds around it such as the eight doors, the flowerbeds shaped as

eight-pointed stars, etc. Might not the "Angels...on its sides[144] be the

ones for whom the doors of the Shrine of The Báb were named?

Page 45

37. Shoghi Effendi selected nineteen from amongst the foremost followers

of Bahá'u'lláh who had passed away and grouped their photographs in an

illustration published in The Bahá'í World, Volume 3. Under the

illustration they have been named, "The Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh" and

"Pillars of the Faith".[145]

38. Shoghi Effendi selected nineteen from amongst the foremost servants

of the Faith who had passed away and grouped their photographs in an

illustration published in The Bahá'í World, Volume 3. Under the

illustration they have been named, "The Disciples of `Abdu'l-Bahá and

"Heralds of the Covenant".[146]

39. It was `Abdu'l-Bahá who conceived the great plan for the development

of Bahá'í properties on Mount Carmel. Using the Shrine of The Báb as the

axis, "The plan called for nine terraces with stairways from the foot of

the mountain to the Shrine, and nine above the Shrine to the mountain-top,

with the Shrine area constituting the nineteenth terrace."[147]

Page 46

The list is not exhaustive. It would be more proper to say the list is

inexhaustible.

Time, prayer and effort will obviously reveal a wider knowledge and

understanding of the total pattern of all numerical significances and

deeper penetration into the concealed meanings that are yet to astonish the

mind of man.
Page 47

The evidence presented here should indicate that every letter of the

Quran has been preserved exactly as it was revealed and should leave no

doubt that the Quran is a divinely inspired Book which, in turn, should

increase the faith of every believer and enable him to look upon that Book

with a new reverential awareness. It also confirm that the statements in

the Quran are in agreement with precise scientific concepts which have

only been discovered in recent times. In addition to this, it shows in an

unsuspecting and ingenuous way that The Báb and Bahá'u'lláh were the Ones

promised by Muhammad.
Page 48
Appendix 1

29 letters are found in the Arabic alphabet (hamza and alif are counted

as two letters).
29 surihs have disconnected letters.

Surih XLII has two sets of disconnected letters and is not counted twice.

14 different letters from the Arabic alphabet have been used prefixed to

29 surihs. 15 letters have not been used.
These 14 letters are:
A., Alif.
A., 'Ain.
H., Ha.
H., H.
L., Lam.
M., Mim.
N., Nun.
Q., Qaf.
R., Ra.
S., Sin.
S., Sad.
T., Ta.
Y., Ya.

These 14 letters have been used in 14 combinations.

The 14 various combinations are:
Three surihs have one letter by itself.
N. Surih 68.
Q. Surih 50.
S. Surih 38.
Ten surihs have two letter combinations.
H.M. Surih 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46.
T.H. Surih 20.
T.S. Surih 27.
Y.S. Surih 36.
Thirteen surihs have three letter combinations.
A.L.M. Surih 2, 3, 29, 30, 31, 32.
A.L.M. Surih 10, 11, 12, 14, 15.
T.S.M. Surih 26, 28.
Page 49
Two surihs have four letter combinations.
A.L.M.R. Surih 13.
A.L.M.S. Surih 7.
Two surihs have five letter combinations.
K.H.'A.S. Surih 19.
H.M. and 'A.S.Q. Surih 42

The twenty-nine surihs which have disconnected letters are:

2. A.L.M. Alif. Lam. Mim.
3. A.L.M. Alif. Lam. Mim. Sad.
7. A.L.M.S. Alif. Lam. Mim.
10. A.L.R. Alif. Lam. Ra.
11. A.L.R.. Alif. Lam. Ra.
12. A.L.R. Alif. Lam. Ra.
13. A.L.R Alif. Lam. Mim. Ra.
14. A.L.R. Alif. Lam. Ra.
15. A.L.R. Alif. Lam. Ra.
19. K.H.Y.'A.S. Kaf. Ha. Ya. 'Ain. Sad.
20. T.H. Ta. Ha.
26. T.S.M. Ta. Sin. Mim.
27. T.S. Ta. Sin.
28. T.S.M. Ta. Sin. Mim.
29. A.L.M. Alif. Lam. Mim.
30. A.L.M. Alif. Lam. Mim.
31. A.L.M Alif. Lam. Mim.
32. A.L.M. Alif. Lam. Mim.
36. Y.S. Ya. Sin.
38. S. Sad.
40. H.M. Ha. Mim.
41. H.M. Ha. Mim.
42. H.M. and Ha. Mim. and
'A.S.Q. 'Ain. Sin. Qaf.
43. H.M. Ha. Mim.
44. H.M. Ha. Mim.
45. H.M. Ha. Mim.
46. H.M. Ha. Mim.
50. Q. Qaf.
68. N. Nun.
Page 50

The twenty-nine surihs, their disconnected letters and their numerical

values:
2. A.L.M. 1 + 30 + 40
3. A.L.M. 1 + 30 + 40
7. A.L.M.S. 1 + 30 + 40 + 90
10. A.L.R. 1 + 30 + 200
11. A.L.R. 1 + 30 + 200
12. A.L.R. 1 + 30 + 200
13. A.L.M.R. 1 + 30 + 40 + 200
14. A.L.R. 1 + 30 + 200
15. A.L.R. 1 + 30 + 200
19. K.H.Y.'A.S. 20 + 5 + 10 + 70 + 90
20. T.H. 9 + 5
26. T.S.M. 9 + 60 + 40
27. T.S. 9 + 60
28. T.S.M. 9 + 60 + 40
29. A.L.M. 1 + 30 + 40
30. A.L.M. 1 + 30 + 40
31. A.L.M. 1 + 30 + 40
32. A.L.M. 1 + 30 + 40
36. Y.S. 10 + 60
38. S. 90
40. H.M. 8 + 40
41. H.M. 8 + 40
42. H.M. and 8 + 40
'A.S.Q. 70 + 60 + 100
43. H.M. 8 + 40
44. H.M. 8 + 40
45. H.M. 8 + 40
46. H.M. 8 + 40
50. Q. 100
68. N. 50
__________
Total 3385

The abjad or numerical values of all the disconnected letters in all the

twenty-nine surihs where they appear total 3385.

This number [3385] added, using either the abjad system or the literary

device called the gematria, equals 1. (3385 = 19 = 9 + 1 = 10 = 1). 3385 is

also a multiple of five (677 X 5).
Page 51
Notes

1. Translation taken from Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í Scriptures

(New York: Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1923), p. 567. See also

Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqan: The Book of Certitude (Wilmette, Illinois:

Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1931), p. 140 where the translation is, "We

noted all things and wrote them down."

2. The spelling of the Oriental words and proper names used in this

article is according to the system of transliteration established at one of

the International Oriental Congresses.

3. Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqan: The Book of Certitude, trans. Shoghi

Effendi (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1931), p. 210.

4. Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, trans. Shoghi Effendi

(Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1941), p. 82.

5. Bahá'u'lláh, EPistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 112.

6. Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice (Wilmette, Ill.: Baha'i

Publishing Trust, 1971), p. 41.

7. Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh (Wilmette, Ill.: Baha'i

Publishing Trust, 1955), p. 106.

8. Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, trans. Shoghi

Effendi (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1976), p. 101.

9. Maurice Bucaille' The Bible. The Quran and Science: "La Bible, le

Coran et la Science', trans. Alastair D. Pannell and the Author

(Indianapolis: American Trust Publications, 1978), p. 148. This work has

also been translated into Arabic.
10. Bucaille, p. 125.
11. Bucaille, p. 120.
12. Bucaille, p. 167.

13. Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ( New York: The

Modern Library, n.d.), III, 85. This is a most beautiful and poetic story

which helps man in his comprehension and is compatible with Baha'i

teaching. We are aware that paper, silk or anything that decomposes and is

perishable does not exist in worlds beyond the material world and that the

angel Gabriel is the personification of the Holy Spirit. In Christianity it

is symbolized by a dove and in the Bahá'í faith the Holy Spirit is

personified by a Maiden. It is a well known concept in Islam that God

speaks through the mouth of His Prophet. It should be a well known concept

in Christianity on the basis of such clear statements of Christ such as:

'For I spake not from myself but the Father that hath sent me, He hath

given me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak "(John

12:49). The power of the Quran in the development of man and the creation

of a new civilization can best be understood by the words of Bahá'u'lláh in

what He says about a single letter from God: "Every single letter

proceeding from Our mouth is endowed with such regenerative power as to

Page 52

enable it to bring into existence a new creation--a creation the magnitude

of which is inscrutable to all save God. He verily hath knowledge of all

things. It is in Our power, should We wish it, to enable a speck of

floating dust to generate, in less than the twinkling of an eye, suns of

infinite, of unimaginable splendor, to cause a dewdrop to develop into vast

and numberless oceans, to infuse into every letter such a force as to

empower it to unfold all the knowledge of past and future ages (Bahá'u'lláh

quoted in Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh (Wilmette, Ill.:

Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1938

14. Sir William Muir, Life of Mohammed (Edinburgh, 1912), p. 24.

15. Professor Hamidullah quoted by Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, The Quran

and Science: La Bible. le Coran et la Science, trans. by Alastair D.

Pannell and the Author (Indianapolis, Indiana: American Trust Publications,

1978), pp. 129-30.

16. H. M. Balyuzi, Muhammad and the Course of Islam (Oxford: George

Ronald, 1976), p. 221.

17. Mirzaeh Gail, Six Lessons on Islam (Wilmette, Illinois: Baha'i

Publishing Committee, ), p. 29.
18. Gail, Six Lessons on Islam, p. 29.
19. Gail, Six Lessons on Islam, p. 29.

20. Abu'l-Qasim Faizi, The Prince of Martyrs: A Brief Account of the Imam

Husayn (Oxford: George Ronald, 1977), p. 10-11.
21. Abu'l-Qasim Faizi, p. 11.
22. Abu'l-Qasim Faizi, p. 11.

23. They are called the disconnected letters of the Quran, the letters

prefixed to the surihs of the Quran, the abbreviated letters, and

sometimes just the broken letters. They are often called isolated letters

by Bahá'í translators.
24. Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqan, p. 202.
25. Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqan, p. 203.
26. Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqan, p. 203.

27. Colonel Anaitullah Sohrab, Lessons of Teaching, p. 54. This book

contains lessons from the Bahá'í Summer School in the year 106 B.E. (1950

A.D.) in Isfahan and was published by the Institute of National Baha'i

Prints in 117 B.E. (1961 A.D.). This book was given to this writer by

Parviz Mohebali. It is written in Persian and was translated into English

with the help of Parviz Mohebali and Shoaullah Motamedi.

28. Sohrab, p. 52.
29. Sohrab, p. 52.
Page 53

30. Sohrab, p. 52. Each lunar year is approximately eleven days shorter

than a solar year. About every 33 years you lose almost a full year. To be

specific one solar year is 365.242 days while one lunar year is 354.367

days. One solar year is 1.03069 lunar years.

To convert a date in the Christian solar calendar to the Muslim lunar

equivalent you multiply by 1.03069. Remember the beginning of the Muslim

calendar was in 622 A.D.

To convert the year 1844 A.D. to its approximate equivalent you compute

(1844-622) x 1. 03069 - 1259.5 A. H.

To convert the year 680 A.D. in the Christian solar calendar to its

approximate Muslim lunar equivalent you compute:
680 - 622 X 1.03069 =
58 X 1.03069 = 59.78002

To 59.78002 you must add 12 lunar years because this was the span of time

between the beginning of the Muslim calendar (622 A.D.) and the Divine

Summons of Muhammad (610 A.D.).
59.78002 + 12 = 71.78002 years

To convert the year 750 A.D. in the Christian solar calendar to its

approximate Muslim lunar equivalent you compute:
750 - 622 X 1.03069 =
128 X 1.03069 = 131.92832

To 131.92832 you must add 12 lunar years because this was the span of

time between the Divine Summons of Muhammad (610 A.D.) and the beginning of

the Muslim calendar (622 A.D.)
131.92832 + 12 = 143.92832 years

Considering the subtraction of the months in the beginning year and those

of the ending year of each event, the loss of days in 12 lunar years (about

132 days) and the fact that the exact month and day of Muhammad's Divine

Summons is not known and cannot be stated with certainty[,] the computation

is likely to equal 142 years.

Also it is not possible to get exact equivalent dates for the earliest

years of the Muslim calendar with the Christian calendar because there

seems to have been some discrepancy between the calendar that was in use in

Medina and the one in Mecca, and because up to 632 A.D. the calendar was

roughly luni-solar. When Muhammad adopted a purely lunar calendar the

confusion ended. Every date after 10 A.H. can be converted to a

corresponding date in any other accurate calendar. Before that time there

are problems to consider and caution is necessary.

31. Sohrab, p. 52.
32. Sohrab, p. 54.
33. Sohrab, p. 52.

34. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing

Trust, 1970), p. 96.

35. Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh: Baghdad 1853-63

(Oxford: George Ronald, 1974), pp. 125-26.

36. A prime number is a number that is not divisible, without remainder,

by any number except itself and unity (the number one).

37. Franklyn M. Branley, The Moon: Earth's Natural Satellite, revised ed.

(New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1960), p. 108.

38. Richard Cavendish, Mysteries of the Universe (New York: Galahad Books,

1981), p. 28.
39. Branley, p. 108.
40. Branley, pp. 88-89.

41. David Bergamini and the Editors of Life, Mathematics: Life Science

Library (New York: Time Incorporated, 1963), p. 63.

Page 54

42. Jeffrey J. W. Baker and Garland E. Allen, A Course in Biology

(Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1979), pp. 95-

96. For example the pattern of nine is very common, probably universal, in

all cell structure. This was discovered in the 1960's when detailed

electron microscope investigations confirmed the existence of microtubules

in the cytoplasm of cells.

The cytoplasm surrounding the nuclear membrane of a cell is like oil

floating on water. It doesn't separate because the microtubules in the

cytoplasm is made of protein which is very tough. Microtubules seem to be

part of the structure of many, perhaps most, cells. They are like a

building frame-work of structural girders. They are found in simple and

complex cell life from one-celled protozoan to human brain cells.

Microtubules are long, straight
Page 55

minute cylindrical structures and are made up of longitudinal fibrils. They

are more numerous next to the plasma membrane.

The cross section of the Naegleria flagellum of the one-celled protozoan

shows a characteristic 9 + 2 pattern of microtubules.

In a cross section of sperm flagellum of the rat we observe the 9 + 2

pattern of microtubules. The dense outer coarse fibers number 7.

Sometimes the microtubules in cross section have this pattern of nine.

Page 56

43. Martin Gardner, "Mathematical Games," Scientific American, September

1980, Volume 243, Number 3, pages 22 and 24. This biographical information

has been taken from this magazine along with some of the computer

information. The first time the computer discoveries were brought to the

attention of the writer of this article, was when he was shown a brief

feature in the Persian section of the French Bahá'í Journal when he was in

Holland. Later, when casually mentioning this to Dr. Gerald Hanks of

Winnipeg, Dr. Hanks called attention to this article in Scientific

American. From correspondence with Martin Gardner regarding some

mathematical problems the writer was able to get Dr. Khalifa's address and

eventually his books so the computer findings could be reviewed and

examined.

Dr. Khalifa has since published his translation of the Quran called,

Quran: The Final Scripture (Tucson, Arizona: Islamic Productions, 1981).

He has also written and published, The Computer Speaks: God's Message to

the World (Tucson, Arizona: Renaissance Productions, 1981).

Page 57

44. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer Speaks: God's Message to the World

(Tucson, Arizona: Renaissance Productions, 1981), p. 9.

45. The Báb calls attention to this in His Persian Bayan. The Báb changed

this sacred formula but did not change the number of letters it contains.

This change will be discussed later.
46. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, pp. 94-95.
47. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, p. 96.

48. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, pp. 17-18 and pp. 87-90.

49. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, p. 15.
50. Bucaille, p. 204.
51. Bucaille, p. 204.
52. Bucaille, p. 205.
53. Bucaille, pp. 205-06.
Page 58

54. Stanley Lane-Poole, Speeches and Table-Talks of the Prophet Mohammad

(London, 1882), pp. 24-25.
Page 59
55. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, pp. 14.
56. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, pp. 13.
57. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, p. 97.
58. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, p. 98.
59. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, p. 8.
60. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, pp. 199.

61. Rashad Khalifa, Let the World Know: Mathematical Miracle of Quran

(Tucson, Arizona: n.p., n.d.), p. 10.
62. Lut is the Lot of the English Bible.
Page 60
63. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, p. 109.
64. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, p. 111.
65. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, p. 115.
66. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, p. 117.
67. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, p. 122.
68. Rashad Khalifa, The Computer, p. 125.
Page 61
69. Shoghi Effendi,,God Passes By, p. 28.
70. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 25.

71. It is also used by Muslims at the beginning of many acts such as at

the beginning of meals, undertaking a journey, putting on new garments.

72. Wanden Mathews, La Farge, "The Relation of The Báb to the Traditions

of Islam," in The Bahá'í World: A Biennial International Record, Volume

III, 1928-1930, comp. National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'í of the

United States and Canada (New York: Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1930), pp.

293-99.

73. The Báb, Le Bayan Persan, Vol. 4, p. 119, trans. (into French) A.L.M.

Nicolas, quoted in Emily McBride Perigord', Translation of French Foot-

Notes of the Dawn-Breakers (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1970,

p. 8.
Page 62
74. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 7.

75. The Báb, quoted in La Farge, "The Relation of The Báb to the

Traditions of Islam," p. 296. La Farge translates from A.L.M. Nicolas,

Seyyed 'Ali Mohammed dit le Báb (1905). Nicolas was a distinguished

orientalist and longtime first interpreter of the French legation in

Persia. His book is very rare.
76. La Farge, p. 296.
77. The Báb, quoted in La Farge, p. 296.

78. 'Ali Muhammad has seven letters when written in Arabic and Persian.

79. The Báb, quoted in La Farge, p. 297.

80. The Báb, Selections From the Writings of The Báb, trans. Habib

Taherzadeh (Haifa: Bahá'í World Centre, 1976), p. 90.

81. The Báb, quoted by Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, pp. 8 and 57.

82. The Báb, quoted by La Farge, p. 296.

83. Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh: Baghdad 1853-63, p.

34. See also La Farge, p. 296. The quotation from Nicolas is as follows:

"'Ali said: 'All that is in the Quran is contained in the first Surah, all

that is in the first Surah is contained in Bismi'llahi'r-Rahmani'r - Rahim,

all that is in Bismi'llahi'r-Rahmani'r - Rahimthe is contained in the B of

Bismi'llah, all that is contained in the B of Bismi'llah is contained in

the point which is beneath the B -- and I am that Point.'" The Shi'ahs

transfer this station to 'Ali after the Prophet's death and to each

succeeding Imam.

84. Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh: Baghdad 1853-63, p.

116.
85. Quran 17:110.

86. Mirzaeh Gail, Bahá'í Glossary (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing

Trust, 1955), p. 9.

87. In this day Bahá'u'lláh has said that the names and attributes of God

are inexhaustible. Man has now reached the stage where he can comprehend

this knowledge far greater than at any time in the past. It is a time when

large masses of humanity are familiar with elementary mathematical concepts

such as infinity in such problems as:
3.3333
__________
3 :10.0000
9
__________
10
9
__________
10
9
__________
10
Page 63

Some people find it difficult to imagine anything that does not have

limits while others find it difficult to think of anything in terms of

limitations. The reality of inexhaustible names and attributes is an

example of an agreement between science and religion. This knowledge is one

of the most important safeguards Bahá'u'lláh has given to humanity. No

longer will man have to live in fear of his life because he has a different

degree of understanding from another.

Bahá'u'lláh has promised to remove from religion anything which has been or

will be a source of disunity. This will bring to an end the fearsome

injustices of the past.

88. Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh: Baghdad 1853-63, p.

117.

89. Nabil-i-A'zam (Muhammad-i-Zarandi), "Additional Material Gleaned from

Nabil's Narrative (Vol. II), Regarding the Bahá'í Calendar,' The Baha'i

World: A Biennial International Record, Volume VII, 1936-1938, comp. The

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada

(Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1939 ), p. 448-51.

90. The Báb, Selections, trans. Habib Taherzadeh, p. 89.

91. The Báb, Selections, trans. Habib Taherzadeh, p. 89.

92. Nabil-i-A'zam (Muhammad-i-Zarandi), The Dawn-Breakers: Nabil's

Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá'í Revelation, trans. and ed. Shoghi

Effendi (New York: Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1932), p. 132.

93. The Báb, Selections from the Writings of The Báb, trans. by Habib

Taherzadeh, p.90.
94. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 49.
95. Nabil-i-A'zam, The Dawn-Breakers, pp. 350-51.
96. Nabil-i-A'zam, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 363.
97. Nabil-i-A'zam, The Dawn-Breakers, pp. 386-87.
98. Nabil-i-A'zam, The Dawn-Breakers, p.394.
99. "God the Great."
100. "God the Most Great."
101. "God the Most Beauteous."
102. "God the Most Glorious."
103. "God the Most Pure."
104. Nabil-i-A'zam, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 552.

105. "Lord of the Age," One of the titles of the promised Qa'im. Qa'im

meaning "He who shall arise "is a title designating the Promised One of

Islam.
Page 64
106. Nabil-i-A'zam, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 570.
107. Nabil-i-A'zam, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 573.
108. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 27.

109. The Báb quoted by Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p.

158.

110. The Báb quoted by Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 29.

111. The Báb quoted by Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 29.

112. Mirza Asadu'llah-i-Nur, Sacred Mysteries (Chicago: Bahá'í Supply and

Publishing Board, 1902) pp. 16-17.

113. The Báb quoted by Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 29.

114. Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqan, p. 202.

115. Shoghi Effendi indicates that the numerical values of this word total

19 in God Passes By, pp. 25 and 29. Mirzaeh Gail mentions this in Baha'i

Glossary (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1955), p. 53. See also

Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 153.

116. Nabil-i-A'zam, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 505. See also `Abdu'l-Bahá, A

Traveler's Narrative: Written to Illustrate the Episode of The Báb, trans.

Edward G. Browne, new and corrected edition (Wilmette, Ill.: Baha'i

Publishing Trust, 1980), p. 26. Bahá'u'lláh ordered the most important of

His tablets which were addressed to individual sovereigns to be written in

the form of a pentacle. This symbolized the temple of man. See Shoghi

Effendi, The Promised Day is Come, revised ed. (Wilmette, Ill.: Baha'i

Publishing Trust, 1980), p. 47.

117. Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian (New Delhi: Baha'i

Publishing Trust, n.d.), p. 48. The quotation originally appeared in Baha'i

News, Feb. 1950, p. 4.
Page 65

118. Abu'l-Qasim Faizi, Explanation of the Symbol of the Greatest Name

(New Delhi: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, n.d.), p. 20.

119. `Abdu'l-Bahá, in Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í Scriptures, p.

478.
120. `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í Scriptures, p. 479.

121. Robert F. Riggs, The Apocalypse Unsealed (New York: Philosophical

Library, 1981), pp. 14 and 224.

122. The Secret of Divine Civilization, trans. Mirzaeh Gail (Wilmette,

Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1957), p. 9.
123. `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í Scriptures, p. 479.

124. Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations by Bahá'u'lláh, trans. Shoghi

Effendi (New York: Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1938), CLXVII, pp. 260-61.

Page 66

125. Bahá'u'lláh, A Synopsis and Codification of the Laws and Ordinances

of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book of Bahá'u'lláh, trans. and

outlined in English with notes in Persian by Shoghi Effendi and completed

by the Universal House of Justice (Haifa: Bahá'í World Centre, 1973), p. 46

and 63.

126. Bahá'u'lláh, Synopsis and Codification Kitáb-i-Aqdas, pp. 36 and 37.

127. The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States quoted in Baha'i

Meetings: The Nineteen Day Feast, comp. The Universal House of Justice

(Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1976), pp. 23-24.

128. Shoghi Effendi quoted in Bahá'í Meetings: The Nineteen Day Feast, p.

24.

129. `Abdu'l-Bahá quoted in Bahá'í Meetings: The Nineteen Day Feast, p. 21.

130. Bahá'u'lláh, Synopsis and Codification Kitáb-i-Aqdas, pp. 38-9 and p.

57.

131. 3 1/2 grams. A mithqal is a weight which was designated by The Báb.

132. Bahá'u'lláh, Synopsis and Codification Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 40.

133. Bahá'u'lláh, Synopsis and Codification Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 40.

134. Bahá'u'lláh, Synopsis and Codification Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 40.

135. Bahá'u'lláh, Synopsis and Codification Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 42.

136. Bahá'u'lláh, Synopsis and Codification Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 60.

137. Bahá'u'lláh, Synopsis and Codification Kitáb-i-Aqdas, pp. 51 and 65.

138. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 333.

139. Mary Hanford Ford quoted in "The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar: 'The Dawning

Place of God's Praise'", Bahá'í Year Book, Volume I, 1925-1926, comp.

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada

(Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1926), p. 62.

140. Surih 69, The Inevitable, verse 17, of Rodwell's translation quoted

in Ugo Giachery, Shoghi Effendi: Recollections by Ugo Giachery (Oxford:

George Ronald, 1973), p. 83.

141. Ugo Giachery, Shoghi Effendi: Recollections by Ugo Giachery (Oxford:

George Ronald, 1973, p. 83.
142a. Ugo Giachery, Recollections, p. 96.
142b. Ugo Giachery, Recollections, p. 83.

143. Shoghi Effendi quoted in Ugo Giachery, Recollections, p. 84.

144. Quran 69:17.