The Baha'i calendar consists of 19 months and the Baha’i month consists of 19 days, giving 361 days, requiring the addition of four or five more days. Ayyám Al Há form the intercalary days that fill out the 365 or 366 days of the solar year.
Baha'u'llah specified in the Kitáb Al Aqdas that the Days of Ha should be inserted in the calendar just before the month of fasting:
"Let the days in excess of the months be placed before the month of fasting. We have ordained that these, amid all nights and days, shall be the manifestations of the letter Há, and thus they have not been bounded by the limits of the year and its months...and when they end--these days of giving that precede the season of restraint--let them enter upon the Fast. Thus hath it been ordained by Him Who is the Lord of all mankind."
This holiday begins each year on the evening of February 25 and ends at sunset on March 1st. Of this period Bahá'u'lláh writes:
"It behoveth the people of Bahá, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name."
As in His prayer for Ayyám Al Há, Bahá'u'lláh juxtaposes these "days of giving" with the Fast's "season of restraint." Ayyám Al Há is intended partly as spiritual preparation for the Fast, a reminder of its approach, and a way of fostering the detachment from material things so necessary for the Fast.
“Ayyam Al Ha" is an Arabic phrase means literally the "Days of Ha" ("Ha" is an Arabic letter corresponding to the English "H") the numerical value of "Há" is 5, the sum of the numerical values of the letters in the "Báb," and the maximum number of intercalary days."Há" is also the first letter of an Arabic pronoun commonly used in Arabic religious writings to refer to God, or "the Divine Essence." "Há" by itself is used as a symbol of "the Essence of God," and was the subject of many Arabic essay on its mysteries.
Bahá'u'lláh has designated the intercalary days "amid all the nights and days" as manifestations of the letter Há"--that is, as Days of the Divine Essence. Thus Ayyám Al Há can be thought of as days that symbolize eternity, infinity, and the mystery and unknowable Essence of God Himself. Contemplation during these days of the timeless mystery of the Essence of God provides us the "joy and exultation" with which to "sing His praise and magnify His Name."
تبدأ أيام الهاء كل عام مساء يوم الخامس والعشرين من شهر فبراير وتنتهي عند غروب شمس اليوم الأول من شهر مارس. وقد أوصى حضرة بهاء الله بإقامة الولائم، والضيافة، والإنفاق على الفقراء والمساكين، احتفالا بها
حضرة عبد البهاء
المدلولات الروحانية لايام الهاء
قد تشرفت الأيام يا إلهي بالأيام التي سميتها بالهاء كأن كل يوم منها جعلته مبشراً ورسولاً ليبشر الناس بالأيام التي فيها فرضت الصيام على خلقك وبريتك ليستعد كل نفس للقائها ويعين في قلبه محلاً لها ويطهره باسمك لنزولها عليه
