Posted by Rob on August 04, 2101 at 14:14:56:

In Reply to: Nine posted by Bo Salisbury on August 04, 2101 at 13:04:55:

From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, dated October 28, 1949; Baha'i News, No. 228, February 1950, p. 4:

"We must avoid giving the impression of being tied up with peculiar religious theories; on the other hand, the nine sides of the Temple and nine-pointed star require an explanation, and he feels that the best one is this:

"Nine is the highest digit, hence symbolizes comprehensiveness, culmination; also, the reason it is used in the Temple's form is because nine has the exact numerical value of 'Baha' (in the numerology connected with the arabic alphabet) and 'Baha' is the name of the Revealer of our Faith, Baha'u'llah. The nine-pointed star is not part of the teachings of our Faith, but only used as an emblem representing nine. In telling people of the nine religions of the world, that is, existing religions, we should not give this as the reason the Temple has nine sides. This may have been an idea of the architect, and a very pleasing idea, which can be mentioned in passing but the Temple has nine sides because of the association of nine with perfection, unity and 'Baha'.

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