Nineteen Day Fast

The Nineteen-Day Fast is a nineteen-day period of the year, during which members of the Bahá'í Faith adhere to a sunrise-to-sunset fast. Along with obligatory prayer, it is one of the greatest obligations of a Bahá'í, and its chief purpose is spiritual; to reinvigorate the soul and bring the person closer to God. The fast was instituted by the Báb, and accepted by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, who stated its rules in his book of laws, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. The nineteen days of fasting occur immediately before the beginning of the Bahá'í New Year, on the vernal equinox (around March 1/2 to March 19/20).

The Báb, the founder of the Bábí Faith, instituted the Badí‘ calendar with 19 months of 19 days in his book the Persian Bayán, and stated that the last month would be a period of fasting. The Báb stated that the true significance of the fast was abstaining from all except the love of the Messengers from God. The Báb also stated that the continuation of the fast was contingent of the approval of a messianic figure, Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest. Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, who claimed to be the one foretold by the Báb, accepted the fast, but altered many of its details and regulations.

The Bahá'í fast resembles fasting practices of several other religions. Lent is a period of fasting for Christians, Yom Kippur and many other holidays for Jews, and the fast of Ramadan is practiced by Muslims. The Bahá'í fasting most resembles the fast of Ramadan, except that the period of fasting is defined as a fixed Bahá'í month, whereas Muslims fast during a lunar month, whose specific Gregorian dates vary from year to year.

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