The Kitab-i-Aqdas Part 16

13. We have commanded you to pray and fast from the beginning of maturity #10

Baha'u'llah defines the "age of maturity with respect to religious duties"

as "fifteen for both men and women" (Q and A 20). For details of the period of fasting, see note 25.

14. He hath exempted from this those who are weak from illness or age #10

The exemption of those who are weak due to illness or advanced age from offering the Obligatory Prayers and from fasting is explained in Questions and Answers. Baha'u'llah indicates that in "time of ill-health it is not permissible to observe these obligations" (Q and A 93). He defines old age, in this context, as being from seventy (Q and A 74). In answer to a question, Shoghi Effendi has clarified that people who attain the age of seventy are exempt, whether or not they are weak.

Exemption from fasting is also granted to the other specific categories of people listed in the Synopsis and Codification, section IV.B.5. See notes 20, 30 and 31 for additional discussion.

15. G.o.d hath granted you leave to prostrate yourselves on any surface that is clean, for We have removed in this regard the limitation that had been laid down in the Book # 10

The requirements of prayer in previous Dispensations have often included prostration. In the Arabic Bayan the Bab called upon the believers to lay their foreheads on surfaces of crystal when prostrating. Similarly, in Islam, certain restrictions are imposed with regard to the surface on which Muslims are permitted to prostrate. Baha'u'llah abrogates such restrictions and simply specifies "any surface that is clean".

16. Let him that findeth no water for ablution repeat five times the words "In the Name of G.o.d, the Most Pure, the Most Pure", and then proceed to his devotions. #10

Ablutions are to be performed by the believer in preparation for the offering of obligatory prayer. They consist of washing the hands and face.

If water is unavailable, the repet.i.tion five times of the specifically revealed verse is prescribed. See note 34 for a general discussion of ablutions.

Antecedents in earlier Dispensations for the provision of subst.i.tute procedures to be followed when no water is available are found in the Qur'an and in the Arabic Bayan.

17. In regions where the days and nights grow long, let times of prayer be gauged by clocks and other instruments that mark the pa.s.sage of the hours.

#10

This refers to territories situated in the extreme north or south, where the duration of days and nights varies markedly (Q and A 64 and 103). This provision applies also to fasting.

18. We have absolved you from the requirement of performing the Prayer of the Signs. #11

The Prayer of the Signs is a special form of Muslim obligatory prayer that was ordained to be said in times of natural events, like earthquakes, eclipses, and other such phenomena, which may cause fear and are taken to be signs or acts of G.o.d. The requirement of performing this prayer has been annulled. In its place a Baha'i may say, "Dominion is G.o.d's, the Lord of the seen and the unseen, the Lord of creation," but this is not obligatory (Q and A 52).

19. Save in the Prayer for the Dead, the practice of congregational prayer hath been annulled. #12

Congregational prayer, in the sense of formal obligatory prayer which is to be recited in accordance with a prescribed ritual as, for example, is the custom in Islam where Friday prayer in the mosque is led by an imam, has been annulled in the Baha'i Dispensation. The Prayer for the Dead (see note 10) is the only congregational prayer prescribed by Baha'i law. It is to be recited by one of those present while the remainder of the party stands in silence; the reader has no special status. The congregation is not required to face the Qiblih (Q and A 85).

The three daily Obligatory Prayers are to be recited individually, not in congregation.

There is no prescribed way for the recital of the many other Baha'i prayers, and all are free to use such non-obligatory prayers in gatherings or individually as they please. In this regard, Shoghi Effendi states that

...although the friends are thus left to follow their own inclination, ... they should take the utmost care that any manner they practise should not acquire too rigid a character, and thus develop into an inst.i.tution. This is a point which the friends should always bear in mind, lest they deviate from the clear path indicated in the Teachings.

20. G.o.d hath exempted women who are in their courses from obligatory prayer and fasting. #13

Exemption from obligatory prayer and fasting is granted to women who are menstruating; they should, instead, perform their ablutions (see note 34) and repeat 95 times a day between one noon and the next, the verse "Glorified be G.o.d, the Lord of Splendour and Beauty". This provision has its antecedent in the Arabic Bayan, where a similar dispensation was granted.

In some earlier religious Dispensations, women in their courses were considered ritually unclean and were forbidden to observe the duties of prayer and fasting. The concept of ritual uncleanness has been abolished by Baha'u'llah (see note 106).

The Universal House of Justice has clarified that the provisions in the Kitab-i-Aqdas granting exemptions from certain duties and responsibilities are, as the word indicates, exemptions and not prohibitions. Any believer is, therefore, free to avail himself or herself of an applicable exemption if he or she so wishes. However, the House of Justice counsels that, in deciding whether to do so or not, the believer should use wisdom and realize that Baha'u'llah has granted these exemptions for good reason.

The prescribed exemption from obligatory prayer, originally related to the Obligatory Prayer consisting of nine rak'ahs, is now applicable to the three Obligatory Prayers which superseded it.

21. When travelling, if ye should stop and rest in some safe spot, perform ye-men and women alike-a single prostration in place of each unsaid Obligatory Prayer #14

Exemption from obligatory prayer is granted to those who find themselves in such a condition of insecurity that the saying of the Obligatory Prayers is not possible. The exemption applies whether one is travelling or at home, and it provides a means whereby Obligatory Prayers which have remained unsaid on account of these insecure circ.u.mstances may be compensated for.

Baha'u'llah has made it clear that obligatory prayer "is not suspended during travel" so long as one can find a "safe spot" in which to perform it (Q and A 58).

Numbers 21, 58, 59, 60, and 61 in Questions and Answers amplify this provision.

22. Upon completing your prostrations, seat yourselves cross-legged #14