The Declaration of Baha'u'llah is celebrated annually by the twelve-day Ridvan Festival, described by Shoghi Effendi as "the holiest and most significant of all Baha'i festivals" (see notes 138 and 140). (213:1)

108. the Bayan
The Bayan, the Mother Book of the Babi Dispensation, is the title given by the Bab to His Book of Laws, and it is also applied to the entire body of His Writings. The Persian Bayan is the major doctrinal work and principal repository of the laws ordained by the Bab. The Arabic Bayan is parallel in content but smaller and less weighty. When describing the Persian Bayan in God Passes By Shoghi Effendi indicated that it should be regarded "primarily as a eulogy of the Promised One rather than as a code of laws and ordinances designed to be a permanent guide to future generations". (213:2)

Abdu'l-Baha has written: "The Bayan hath been superseded by the Kitab-i-Aqdas, except in respect of such laws as have been confirmed and mentioned in the Kitab-i-Aqdas." (213:3)

109. the destruction of books
In the Tablet of Ishraqat Baha'u'llah, referring to the fact that the Bab had made the laws of the Bayan subject to His sanction, states that He put some of the Bab's laws into effect "by embodying them in the Kitab-i-Aqdas in different words", while others He set aside. (213:4)

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