it of man." (See
also note 74.)

105. Wash ye every soiled thing with water that hath undergone no
alteration in any one of the three respects #74

The "three respects" referred to in this verse are changes in the colour,
taste or smell of the water. Baha'u'llah provides additional guidance
concerning pure water and the point at which it is considered unsuitable
for use (Q and A 91).

106. God hath ... abolished the concept of "uncleanness", whereby divers
things and peoples have been held to be impure. #75

The concept of ritual "uncleanness", as understood and practised in some
tribal societies and in the religious communities of certain earlier
Dispensations, has been abolished by Baha'u'llah. He states that through
His Revelation "all created things were immersed in the sea of
purification". (See also notes 12, 20, and 103.)

107. first day of Ridvan #75

This is a reference to the arrival of Baha'u'llah and His companions in
the Najibiyyih Garden outside the city of Bag{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}dad, subsequently referred
to by the Baha'is as the Garden of Ridvan. This event, which took place
thirty-one days after Naw-Ruz, in April 1863, signalized the commencement
of the period during which Baha'u'llah declared His Mission to His
companions. In a Tablet, He refers to His Declaration as "the Day of
supreme felicity" and He describes the Garden of Ridvan as "the Spot from
which He shed upon the whole of creation the splendours of His Name, the
All-Merciful". Baha'u'llah spent twelve days in this Garden prior to
departing for Istanbul, the place to which He had been banished.

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).

108. the Bayan #77

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