The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (324 page)

'
is monotheistic, but as God is regarded as in essence completely transcendent and unknowable, religious doctrine centres on the belief in a series of ‘Manifestations of God’ (
maz
ir-i il
h
). These individuals reflect and manifest the attributes of God and progressively reveal the divine purpose for humankind. The Manifestations include
Abraham
,
Moses
,
Zoroaster
, Gautama
Buddha
, Jesus,
Mu
ammad
, the
B
b
, and for the present age, Bah
'u'll
h. At a societal level, the present age is regarded as unique. The unity of all the peoples and religions of the earth is the destined hallmark of the age.
Religious life centres on various individual acts of devotion (daily obligatory prayer and moral self-accounting, an annual nineteen-day fast), and a communal ‘Feast’ held once every nineteen days at the beginning of each month in the Bah
'
calendar. Bah
'
communities come together to commemorate various Holy Days, including the Bah