Obligatory Bahá'í prayers

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Bahá'ís must, according to Bahá'u'lláh, say at least one of three revealed Obligatory Prayers (Salah in Arabic).

1 History
2 Current Obligatory Prayers
3 Laws concerning the Obligatory Prayer
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá'u'lláh prescribes the Bahá'í law of a daily obligatory prayer which is said in private. In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas he further states that the obligatory prayer was recorded separately in another tablet. The tablet containing this obligatory prayer was not released to the Bahá'ís during Bahá'u'lláh's lifetime, but was instead superseded by Bahá'u'lláh with three obligatory prayers. After Bahá'u'lláh's passing the text of the original obligatory prayer was stolen by Mírzá Muhammad `Alí.

[edit] Current Obligatory Prayers

There are three obligatory prayers, and Bahá'ís must fulfill the requirements of one of them each day.

[edit] Short Obligatory Prayer

This shortest of the three available obligatory prayers must be said once between noon and sunset:

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.

Bahá'u'lláh, Prayers and Meditations by Bahá'u'lláh, p. 313 [1]

[edit] Medium Obligatory 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 text of the medium obligatory prayer can be found here.

[edit] Long Obligatory 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 text of the long obligatory prayer can be found here.

[edit] Laws concerning the Obligatory Prayer

There are a number of 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.

[edit] Practices associated with the saying of the Obligatory Prayers

There are certain practices that must be associated with the saying of the obligatory prayers. They include:

Ablutions, which consist of washing the hands and face, must precede the obligatory prayer
- If 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 must be said in private.
While saying the prayer, the reader must be facing the Qiblih which is the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh.
It is preferable for the reader to be standing while saying the obligatory prayers in an attitude of humble reverence.

[edit] Exemptions from saying the Obligatory Prayer

Children under the age of 15 do not have to say the obligatory prayers.
Those that are of ill-health do not have to fulfill the obligations of obligatory prayer.
Those that are older than 70 do not have to say the obligatory prayers.
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.
Travellers, if they can not find a safe place to say their prayer, do not have to say their obligatory prayer.

[edit] Missed Obligatory Prayers

The person may perform a single prostration (laying the forehead on any clean surface) in the place of each unsaid obligatory prayer. 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 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.