I had observed that the number eight had a predominant part in the whole project. Without my asking the significance of that number in the structure and the surrounding grounds, Shoghi Effendi one day made reference to a verse of the Qur'an, which he recited in Arabic and then in English: ' ... on that day eight shall bear up the throne of thy Lord'.* He then explained the sublime station of the Báb,+ and how he guided Mr. Maxwell to incorporate the spiritual meaning of this Islamic prophecy in the project, to testify to His exalted station, to honor eternally the Martyr-Prophet enshrined in the Sepulchre, and to emphasize how closely the Báb's Revelation was connected to the Islamic world. Shoghi Effendi further mentioned that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, on completing the the initial six rooms, had named each of the five doors after one of the followers of the Faith, including those who had been associated with the construction of the Shrine as the 'Throne of the Lord', and the Casket of the Báb also as the 'Throne'. Even the Holy Dust was called by Him the 'Throne'.
