Obligatory Prayer

Obligatory prayers are prayers that are a required daily practice for Bahá’ís. Prayer is one of the most important practices for individual discipline. Along with fasting, obligatory prayer is one of the greatest obligations of a Bahá’í, and the purpose of the obligatory prayer is to foster the development of humility and devotion. Unlike almost all other prayers in the Bahá’í Faith, there are specific regulations concerning the obligatory prayers.

The obligatory prayer was prescribed by Bahá’u’lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.

Significance

The obligatory prayer is a primary religious obligation starting at the age of fifteen and it is the most important kind of prayer. The purpose of the obligatory prayer is to foster the development of humility and devotion, and the Bahá’í writings strongly warn against neglecting the prayers or minimizing their importance.

History

In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá’u’lláh prescribed the Bahá’í law of a daily obligatory prayer which is to be said individually. He wrote that the specific obligatory prayer was recorded in a separate tablet or writing. Bahá’u’lláh wrote the text mentioned, but never released it in order to avoid provoking conflict with the surrounding Muslims. Instead, sometime before the writing of the supplement to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Questions and Answers, Bahá’u’lláh wrote a set of three obligatory prayers which are the ones used by Bahá’ís today. The original obligatory prayer involved nine cycles of movement and was to be said in the morning, noon, and in the afternoon. After Bahá’u’lláh's death a strongbox holding the text of the original obligatory prayer was stolen by Mírzá Muhammad `Alí.

Current prayers

Bahá’u’lláh wrote three obligatory prayers — the short, the medium, and the long — and Bahá’ís are free to choose to say one of the three each day. If desired, more than one may be prayed in a day. The short and the medium prayer have to be said at specific times; the short has to be said once between noon and sunset and the medium has to be said three times daily: once between dawn and noon, once between noon and sunset and once between sunset and two hours after sunset. The long prayer can be said at any time in the day. The medium and long prayers also include movements and gestures during the prayers, which are themselves obligatory except when a person is physically incapable of performing them. Shoghi Effendi has written that the motions and gestures are symbolic are are used to help concentration during the prayers. Furthermore, the obligatory prayer is to be preceded by ablutions, the cleaning of the hands and face, and one has to face the Qiblih, which is the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh.

Short prayer

The short prayer is a brief affirmation of the power of God and the servitude of the worshipper. The prayer should be said while standing in an attitude of humility before God, and it should be said between noon and sunset. The text of the prayer is:

"I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth. There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting."

Medium prayer

The medium obligatory prayer must be said three times during the day: once between sunrise and noon, once between noon and sunset, and once after sunset till two hours after sunset. It includes a series of positions and movements from one position to the next, along with specific supplications. The prayer stresses the power and loftiness of God, and the grace that is shown through his revelation. The text of the medium obligatory prayer can be found in Bahá’u’lláh's Prayers and Meditations.

Long prayer

The long obligatory prayer can be said anytime during the day. It includes a series of positions and movements from one position to the next, along with specific supplications. The prayer also includes parts where the worshipper repeats the Greatest Name of God in the form of "Allah-u-Abha". The text of the long obligatory prayer can be found in Bahá’u’lláh's Prayers and Meditations.

Laws

Reddit has related posts about obligatory prayers:

• Question about Obligatory Prayers
• Getting the most out of obligatory prayer
• How do you perform ablutions?

The laws of the Bahá’í Faith prescribe specific regulations concerning the obligatory prayers, in contrast with almost all other prayers and observances. However, obligatory prayer is a personal spiritual obligation and thus no Bahá’í administrative sanction can be obtained if a Bahá’í fails to say his prayer daily; rather, failure to observe the law is seen to have a spiritual penalty. Laws and practices associated with the obligatory prayers concerning how to say the obligatory prayer, when Bahá’ís are exempt from saying the obligatory prayers, and what to do if one misses saying an obligatory prayer.

Prohibition of congregational prayer

Obligatory prayers must be made individually; this is stated in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, paragraph 8. A following paragraph states that the obligatory prayers are not to be made in congregation. This is in contrast to the obligatory prayer of Islám, which is typically practiced in a collective fashion with a leader and followers. Some non-authoritative sources state that the obligatory prayers are to be said in private; however, this appears to be a misinterpretation. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written that the obligatory prayers need not necessarily be said in private; only collective performance is forbidden.

Associated practices

Ablutions, or washing the hands and face with clean water, must be performed in connection with obligatory prayers.

There are certain required practices associated with the saying of the obligatory prayers. They include performing ablutions, which consist of washing the hands and face, before the obligatory prayer. In the case that water is unavailable, or its use harmful to the face or hands, the verse "In the Name of God, the Most Pure, the Most Pure" should be repeated five times. The prayer should be said while the believer is facing the Qiblih, which is the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh. It is also preferable for the reader to be standing while saying the obligatory prayers, in an attitude of humble reverence.

Exemptions

Exemptions from saying the obligatory prayer include:

• Children under the age of 15.
• Those that are of ill-health.
• Those that are older than 70.
• Women who are menstruating are exempt from saying their obligatory prayer. They should instead perform their ablutions and repeat the verse "Glorified be God, the Lord of Splendour and Beauty" ninety-five times.

Missed prayers

In the case of a missed prayer due to insecurity such as during travel, each missed prayer can be compensated for by the repetition of certain verses and movements. The person should perform a single prostration (laying the forehead on any clean surface) in the place of each unsaid obligatory prayer and the prostrations should be performed while saying the verse "Glorified be God,the Lord of Might and Majesty, of Grace and Bounty." The prostrations should then be followed by saying the verse "Glorified be God, the Lord of the kingdoms of earth and heaven" eighteen times while the person is sitting cross-legged.

References

• "Obligatory Bahá'í prayers". 2008-05-24. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
• Bahá’u’lláh (1992) [1873]. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0853989990.

Further reading

• Brownstein, Ted (2006). "Out of Jewish Roots: Studies of Prayer Patterns in Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Bahá'í Worship". Irfan Colloquia. Vol. 7. Wilmette, IL: Irfan Colloquia. pp. 29–66. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Savi, Julio; Mardani, Faezeh (2008). "Prayers and rituals in the Bahá'í Faith: Introduction to A Tablet to Jináb-i-Mullá 'Alí-Akbar fí Ardi'l-Álif". Irfan Colloquia. Vol. 9. Wilmette, IL: Irfan Colloquia. pp. 321–350. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• Online source of the obligatory prayers