Obligatory Bahá'í prayers

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Obligatory Bahá'í prayers are prayers which are to be said daily by Bahá'ís according to a fixed form decreed by Bahá'u'lláh. Prayers in the Bahá'í Faith are reverent words which are addressed to God, [1] and refers to two distinct concepts: obligatory prayer and devotional prayer (general prayer). The act of prayer is one of the most important Bahá'í laws for individual discipline. [2] Along with fasting, obligatory prayer is one of the greatest obligations of a Bahá'í, [2] and the purpose of the obligatory prayer is to foster the development of humility and devotion. The obligation of daily obligatory prayer was prescribed by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, in his book of laws, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas . [1]

Prayer invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with a deity

Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity, or a deified ancestor. More generally, prayer can also have the purpose of thanksgiving or praise, and in comparative religion is closely associated with more abstract forms of meditation and with charms or spells.

Baháulláh Founder of the Baháí Faith

Bahá'u'lláh, was a Persian religious leader, prophet and the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, which advocates universal peace and unity among all races, nations, and religions.

Prayer in the Bahá'í Faith refers to two distinct concepts: obligatory prayer and general or devotional prayer. Both types of prayer are composed of reverent words which are addressed to God, and the act of prayer is one of the most important Bahá'í laws for individual discipline. The purpose of prayer in the Bahá'í Faith is to grow closer to God and his Manifestation and to help better one's own conduct and to request divine assistance.

Contents

It is forbidden to perform the obligatory prayers in congregation, so the daily obligatory prayers are offered individually, though it is not required that they be said in private. [1]

Jumuah replacement prayer for Dhuhr on Fridays when performed in a mosque in congregation

Jumu'ah, also known as Friday Prayer or Congregational Prayer, is a prayer (ṣalāt) that Muslims hold every Friday, just after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according to the sun's sky path regardless of time zones.

History

In the Bayán the Báb prescribed an obligatory prayer of the nineteen rak'ah (prostrations). He never wrote the text of this prayer, making the implementation of this law dependent on the coming of the Promised One. The Báb explained that the prayer symbolizes a spiritual journey from the realm of the body to the realm of the heart, which can be described as an arc of ascent, mirroring the arc of descent from God to creation. [3]

In Bábism, Bayán, or exposition, denotes the whole body of the works of the Báb. It also refers more specifically to a set of two books written by the Báb around 1848:

Báb Iranian prophet; founder of the religion Bábism; venerated in the Baháí Faith

The Báb, born Siyyid `Alí Muhammad Shírází was the founder of Bábism, and one of the central figures of the Bahá'í Faith.

Rakat unit of prayer in Islam equal to one iteration of a specific series of movements

A rakat, or rakʿah, consists of the prescribed movements and words followed by Muslims while offering prayers to God. It also refers to a single unit of Islamic prayers.

In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas , Bahá'u'lláh confirmed the law of daily obligatory prayer and 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 Muslims. [1] 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 rak'ah and was to be said in the morning, noon and in the afternoon, probably three cycles at a time. [1] After Bahá'u'lláh's death a strongbox holding the text of the original obligatory prayer was stolen by Mírzá Muhammad `Alí. [1]

<i>Kitáb-i-Aqdas</i> Primary Baháí text, written by Baháulláh in 1873

The Kitáb-i-Aqdas or Aqdas is the central book of the Bahá'í Faith written by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, in 1873. The work was written in Arabic under the Arabic title al-Kitābu l-Aqdas, but it is commonly referred to by its Persian title, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, which was given to the work by Bahá'u'lláh himself. It is sometimes also referred to as "the Most Holy Book", "the Book of Laws" or the Book of Aqdas. The word Aqdas has a significance in many languages as the superlative form of a word with its primary letters Q-D-Š.

A tablet, in a religious context, is a term used for certain religious texts.

Mírzá Muhammad `Alí One of the sons of Baháulláh, the founder of the Baháí Faith.

Mírzá Muhammad `Alí was one of the sons of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He was the eldest son of his father's second wife, Fatimih Khanum, later known as Mahd-i-'Ulya, whom Bahá'u'lláh married in Tehran in 1849. Muhammad `Alí received the title from his father of Ghusn-i-Akbar.

Significance

The obligatory prayer is a primary religious obligation starting at the age of fifteen and it is the most important kind of prayer. [4] The purpose of the obligatory prayer is to foster the development of humility and devotion. [1] The Bahá'í writings strongly warn against neglecting the prayers or minimizing their importance. The obligatory prayers are a personal spiritual obligation, and failure to observe the law is seen to have only a spiritual penalty. [1]

Humility virtue

Humility is the quality of being humble. Dictionary definitions accentuate humility as a low self-regard and sense of unworthiness. In a religious context humility can mean a recognition of self in relation to a deity or deities, and self-debasement with subsequent submission to said deity as a member of that religion. Outside of a religious context, humility is defined as being "unselved", a liberation from consciousness of self, a form of temperance that is neither having pride nor indulging in self-deprecation.

Bahá'í literature, like the literature of many religions, covers a variety of topics and forms, including scripture and inspiration, interpretation, history and biography, introduction and study materials, and apologia. Sometimes considerable overlap between these forms can be observed in a particular text.

Current prayers

Baha'is may use prayer beads which consist of either 95 or 19 beads to recite daily prayers if they wish to repeat them, as well as other observances which are to be said a set number of times. Prayer Beads, Tetovo.jpg
Baha'is may use prayer beads which consist of either 95 or 19 beads to recite daily prayers if they wish to repeat them, as well as other observances which are to be said a set number of times.

Unlike general prayers in the Bahá'í Faith, there are specific regulations concerning the obligatory prayers; 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. [1]

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. 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. [4] 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 and are used to help maintain concentration during the prayers. [1] 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. [4]

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. [1] 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." [6]

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. [1] The text of the medium obligatory prayer can be found in Bahá'u'lláh's Prayers and Meditations. [7]

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 says the Greatest Name of God in the form of "Allah-u-Abha" at several points. [1] About this prayer, Bahá'u'lláh has stated: "...the long Obligatory Prayer should be said at those times when one feeleth himself in a prayerful mood. In truth, it hath been revealed in such wise that if it be recited to a rock, that rock would stir and speak forth; and if it be recited to a mountain, that mountain would move and flow. Well is it with the one who reciteth it and fulfilleth God's precepts. Whichever prayer is read will suffice." [8] The text of the long obligatory prayer can be found in Bahá'u'lláh's Prayers and Meditations. [9] This prayer is known in Arabic as salat and as namaz in Persian, and is similar to the Islamic salat .

Laws

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.

Practices

There are certain practices that must be associated with the saying of the obligatory prayers. They include performing ablution, 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 reader 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. Bahá'í's are also obliged to repeat the Greatest Name (Alláh-u-Abhá) 95 times a day while sitting and facing the Qiblih. Ablutions are also prescribed for this, but it is not necessary to do them again if the repetitions are done right after the daily obligatory prayer.

Exemptions

Exemptions from saying the obligatory prayer include: [4]

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. [4] 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. [1]

Obligatory prayer for the departed

Bahá'u'lláh also wrote a specific prayer for the dead, known as the Obligatory prayer for the departed, which is an unrelated practice, despite the similarity in terminology. This prayer is to be said before the interment of a Bahá'í who has reached the age of fifteen. It is a congregational prayer: the words are read aloud by a single person while others who are present stand in silence. [4]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Walbridge, John. "Prayer and worship" . Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  2. 1 2 Hatcher, W.S.; Martin, J.D. (1998). The Bahá'í Faith: The Emerging Global Religion. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. pp. 156–157. ISBN   0-87743-264-3.
  3. ↑ Saiedi, Nader (2008). Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb. Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 310, 366. ISBN   978-1-55458-056-9.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Smith, Peter (2000). "prayer". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 274–275. ISBN   1-85168-184-1.
  5. ↑ Prayer: the pinnacle of faith, Baha'i style July 2008
  6. ↑ Bahá'u'lláh (1974) [1938]. Prayers and Meditations. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. p. 313. ISBN   0-87743-024-1.
  7. ↑ Bahá'u'lláh (1974) [1938]. Prayers and Meditations. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. pp. 314–316. ISBN   0-87743-024-1.
  8. ↑ The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting - a compilation from the Bahá'í writings, compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice
  9. ↑ Bahá'u'lláh (1974) [1938]. Prayers and Meditations. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. pp. 317–323. ISBN   0-87743-024-1.

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References

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