- published: 01 Oct 2010
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Bahá'í symbols are symbols that have been used, or are used, to express identification with the Bahá'í Faith. While the five-pointed star is the symbol of the religion, being used to represent the human body and Messengers of God, more common symbols include the nine-pointed star, the Greatest Name, and the Ringstone symbol, representing perfection, and the Messengers of God.
The five-pointed star, or haykal (Arabic: temple) is the symbol of the Bahá'í Faith as mentioned by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith: "Strictly speaking the 5-pointed star is the symbol of our Faith, as used by the Báb and explained by Him." The five-pointed star has been used as the outline of special letters or tablets by both the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh.
Haykal is a loan word from the Hebrew word hēyḵāl which means temple and specifically Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. In Arabic, the word also means the body or form of something, particularly the human body. In the Bahá'í tradition, the haykal was established by the Báb — the person who told of Bahá'u'lláh's coming — who represented the haykal as a five-pointed star representing the human body as a head, two hands, and two feet. The Báb wrote many letters, tablets, prayers and more in the shape of a five-pointed star, including some that included many derivatives of the word Bahá’ (see below).
The Bahá'í Faith ( /bəˈhaɪ/) is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories.
In the Bahá'í Faith, religious history is seen to have unfolded through a series of divine messengers, each of whom established a religion that was suited to the needs of the time and the capacity of the people. These messengers have included Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad - as well as figures from extra-Abrahamic traditions such as Zoroaster, Krishna, and the Buddha. For Baha'is, the most recent messengers are the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. In Bahá'í belief, each consecutive messenger prophesied of messengers to follow, and Bahá'u'lláh's life and teachings fulfilled the end-time promises of previous scriptures. Humanity is understood to be in a process of collective evolution, and the need of the present time is for the gradual establishment of peace, justice and unity on a global scale.