Bahá'í (Badí')

Bahai Date Today

As of Tuesday, May 19, 2026 at 11:31 PM, today's Bahá'í (Badí') date is:

3 'Aẓamat 183 BE
3 'Aẓamat 183 BE
Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Today's Bahá'í (Badí') date — full detail

Date
3 'Aẓamat 183 BE
Arabic transliteration
3 'Aẓamat 183 BE
Short form
183-4-3
Month
'Aẓamat
Year
183 BE — Badí' (بديع, literally 'wonderful', 'new', or 'unprecedented')
Gregorian
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Current BE year
183 BE — the 183th year of the Badí' era
19 months
Bahá, Jalál, Jamál, 'Aẓamat, Núr, Raḥmat, Kalimát, Kamál, Asmá, 'Izzat, Mashíyyat, 'Ilm, Qudrat, Qawl, Masá'il, Sharaf, Sulṭán, Mulk, 'Alá'
19 days per month
Same names as the months (Bahá, Jalál, Jamál...) — each day is named after the same divine attribute, on a rotating basis
New Year
Naw-Rúz — vernal equinox (20 or 21 March)
Intercalary days
Ayyám-i-Há — 4 or 5 days between months 18 and 19 — dedicated to hospitality and charity
Fasting period
Final 19-day month ('Alá') — dawn-to-sunset fast for those aged 15–70 in normal health

Why today matters

Today is 3 'Aẓamat 183 BE. The Bahá'í calendar is unique among the world's major calendar systems: every month and every day is named after an attribute of God, transforming the very act of dating into an act of remembrance. Each month begins with the Nineteen-Day Feast — a triple gathering of devotion (prayers and readings from Bahá'í scripture), consultation (community business and decision-making), and fellowship (food and conversation) — held in every Bahá'í community worldwide at the start of each 19-day month. The day-name attribute also rotates: this same calendar structure means today is sacred to a particular divine quality, with the prayers and meditations of observant Bahá'ís oriented toward that attribute.

"The new Day of God hath dawned, and the morn of His ancient promise hath broken." — Bahá'u'lláh, <em>Kitáb-i-Aqdas</em>

How we compute this

Bahá'í (Badí') is a solar (astronomical) calendar. Each year contains 365 or 366 days, structured as 19 months × 19 days + 4 or 5 intercalary <em>Ayyám-i-Há</em> days, with each month averaging 19 days exactly — the only major world calendar with a 19-day month. Years are counted from 21 March 1844 CE — the declaration of the Báb in Shiraz, marking the start of the Bahá'í era (era: BE — Badí' (بديع, literally 'wonderful', 'new', or 'unprecedented')).

The Badí' ("wonderful") calendar was instituted by the Báb (Sayyid 'Alí Muḥammad Shírází, 1819–1850) in 1844, and refined by Bahá'u'lláh (1817–1892) — the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. The calendar marks the start of a new spiritual era: year 1 of the Badí' calendar corresponds to 21 March 1844, the date the Báb made his initial declaration in Shíráz, Persia. The structure of 19 months × 19 days is mystically significant: 19 is the number of letters in the Arabic Bismillāh (بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم), and was a central numerical symbol in the early Bábí and Bahá'í movements. The four or five intercalary days, Ayyám-i-Há, are placed between the 18th and 19th months and are dedicated to hospitality, gift-giving, service to others, and preparation for the Nineteen-Day Fast that occupies the final month. The Bahá'í New Year — Naw-Rúz — falls on the spring equinox (20 or 21 March), inheriting the ancient Persian astronomical tradition. The Universal House of Justice — the supreme governing body of the Bahá'í Faith, based in Haifa, Israel — formalized the modern calendar\'s astronomical basis in 2014, anchoring Naw-Rúz to the actual moment of the vernal equinox observed in Tehran.

Used by: Approximately 8 million Bahá'ís worldwide. Regions: Practiced in over 200 countries and territories — the most geographically widespread independent religion after Christianity.

Frequently asked

What is the Bahá'í date today?
Today's Bahá'í (Badí') date is 3 'Aẓamat 183 BE.
How is the Bahá'í calendar structured?
The Bahá'í calendar has 19 months of 19 days (19 × 19 = 361 days), plus 4 or 5 intercalary days called Ayyám-i-Há placed before the final month, plus a leap-year adjustment — totaling 365 or 366 days. The new year (Naw-Rúz) falls on the spring equinox. Every month and every day is named after an attribute of God — Bahá (Splendor), Jalál (Glory), Jamál (Beauty), 'Aẓamat (Grandeur), Núr (Light), Raḥmat (Mercy), Kalimát (Words), Kamál (Perfection), Asmá (Names), 'Izzat (Might), Mashíyyat (Will), 'Ilm (Knowledge), Qudrat (Power), Qawl (Speech), Masá'il (Questions), Sharaf (Honor), Sulṭán (Sovereignty), Mulk (Dominion), and 'Alá (Loftiness).
How is the Bahá'í week structured?
Seven days, each with a divine-attribute name: Jalál (Glory — Saturday), Jamál (Beauty — Sunday), Kamál (Perfection — Monday), Fiḍál (Grace — Tuesday), 'Idál (Justice — Wednesday), Istijlál (Majesty — Thursday), Istiqlál (Independence — Friday). The Bahá'í day of rest is Istiqlál (Friday), recommended though not required.
What are the Days of Há?
Ayyám-i-Há (Days of Há) — sometimes called the Intercalary Days — are 4 or 5 days placed between the 18th and 19th months of the Bahá'í year (26 February to 1 March in Gregorian terms, with the final number determined by whether the following year is a leap year). They are dedicated to hospitality, charity, gift-giving, and service. Bahá'ís use these days to give gifts to family and friends, to make donations and acts of service to the poor, and to spiritually prepare for the Nineteen-Day Fast that follows immediately afterward. The name Ayyám-i-Há means "days of the letter Há" (هـ); the Arabic letter Há has a numerical value of 5 in the Abjad system.
When did the Bahá'í calendar begin?
Year 1 of the Bahá'í (Badí') calendar corresponds to 21 March 1844 CE — the day on which the Báb made his initial declaration in Shíráz, Persia, on the eve of Naw-Rúz. The Báb founded the Bábí Faith, of which the Bahá'í Faith emerged as the further development under Bahá'u'lláh. The calendar was designed by the Báb himself and refined in its modern astronomical form by the Universal House of Justice in 2014.
Is there a Bahá'í fast?
Yes — the Nineteen-Day Fast takes place during the final month of the Bahá'í year, named 'Alá (Loftiness), running from 2 March to 20 March Gregorian, ending at Naw-Rúz. During this period, Bahá'ís aged 15–70 in normal health abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. The fast is preceded by the four or five Days of Há and followed immediately by the joyous celebration of Naw-Rúz. Like the fast in Ramadan, the Bahá'í fast is understood as primarily spiritual: a time of detachment, reflection, prayer, and reorientation toward the divine.