Bahá'í Prayers. `Abdu'-Bahá

'í Prayers / A Selection of Prayers Revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb, and ‘Abdu'l-Bahá

“Blessed is the spot, and the house…”

      Blessed is the spot, and the house,

      and the place, and the city,

      and the heart, and the mountain,

      and the refuge, and the cave,

      and the valley, and the land,

      and the sea, and the island,

      and the meadow where mention

      of God hath been made,

      and His praise glorified.

—Bahá’u’lláh“Intone, O My servant, the verses of God…”

      Intone, O My servant, the verses of God that have been received by thee,

      as intoned by them who have drawn nigh unto Him,

      that the sweetness of thy melody may kindle thine own soul,

      and attract the hearts of all men. Whoso reciteth, in the privacy of his chamber,

      the verses revealed by God, the scattering angels of the Almighty

      shall scatter abroad the fragrance of the words uttered by his mouth,

      and shall cause the heart of every righteous man to throb.

      Though he may, at first, remain unaware of its effect, yet the virtue

      of the grace vouchsafed unto him must needs sooner or later exercise

      its influence upon his soul. Thus have the mysteries of the Revelation

      of God been decreed by virtue of the Will of Him

      Who is the Source of power and wisdom.

—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH

      OBLIGATORY PRAYERS

      “The daily obligatory prayers are three in number....”

      “The daily obligatory prayers are three in number. … The believer is entirely free to choose any one of these three prayers, but is under the obligation of reciting one of them, and in accordance with any specific directions with which they may be accompanied.”

—from a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi

      “By ‘morning,’ ‘noon’ and ‘evening,’ mentioned in connection with the Obligatory Prayers, is meant respectively the intervals between sunrise and noon, between noon and sunset, and from sunset till two hours after sunset.”—Synopsis and Codification of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 36

      SHORT OBLIGATORY PRAYER

TO BE RECITED ONCE IN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS, AT NOON

      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 OBLIGATORY PRAYER

TO BE RECITED DAILY, IN THE MORNING, AT NOON, AND IN THE EVENING

      Whoso wisheth to pray, let him wash his hands, and while he washeth, let him say:

      Strengthen my hand, O my God, that it may take hold of Thy Book with such steadfastness that the hosts of the world shall have no power over it. Guard it, then, from meddling with whatsoever doth not belong unto it. Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the Most Powerful.

      And while washing his face, let him say:

      I have turned my face unto Thee, O my Lord! Illumine it with the light of Thy countenance. Protect it, then, from turning to anyone but Thee.

      Then let him stand up, and facing the Qiblih (Point of Adoration, i.e. Bahjí, Akká), let him say:

      God testifieth that there is none other God but Him. His are the kingdoms of Revelation and of creation. He, in truth, hath manifested Him Who is the Dayspring of Revelation, Who conversed on Sinai, through Whom the Supreme Horizon hath been made to shine, and the Lote-Tree beyond which there is no passing hath spoken, and through Whom the call hath been proclaimed unto all who are in heaven and on earth: “Lo, the All-Possessing is come. Earth and heaven, glory and dominion are God’s, the Lord of all men, and the Possessor of the Throne on high and of earth below!”

      Let him, then, bend down, with hands resting on the knees, and say:

      Exalted art Thou above my praise and the praise of anyone beside me, above my description and the description of all who are in heaven and all who are on earth!

      Then, standing with open hands, palms upward toward the face, let him say:

      Disappoint not, O my God, him that hath, with beseeching fingers, clung to the hem of Thy mercy and Thy grace, O Thou Who of those who show mercy art the Most Merciful!

      Let him, then, be seated and say:

      I bear witness to Thy unity and Thy oneness, and that Thou art God, and that there is none other God beside Thee. Thou hast, verily, revealed Thy Cause, fulfilled Thy Covenant, and opened wide the door of Thy grace to all that dwell in heaven and on earth. Blessing and peace, salutation and glory, rest upon Thy loved ones, whom the changes and chances of the world have not deterred from turning unto Thee, and who have given their all, in the hope of obtaining that which is with Thee. Thou art, in truth, the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Bountiful.

      (If anyone choose to recite instead of the long verse these words: “God testifieth that there is none other God but Him, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting,” it would be sufficient. And likewise, it would suffice were he, while seated, to choose to recite these words: “I bear witness to Thy unity and Thy oneness, and that Thou art God, and that there is none other God beside Thee.”)

—Bahá’u’lláh

      LONG OBLIGATORY PRAYER

TO BE RECITED ONCE IN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS

      Whoso wisheth to recite this prayer, let him stand up and turn unto God, and, as he standeth in his place, let him gaze to the right and to the left, as if awaiting the mercy of his Lord, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate. Then let him say:

      O Thou Who art the Lord of all names and the Maker of the heavens! I beseech Thee by them Who are the Daysprings of Thine invisible Essence, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, to make of my prayer a fire that will burn away the veils which have shut me out from Thy beauty, and a light that will lead me unto the ocean of Thy Presence.

      Let him then raise his hands in supplication toward God—blessed and exalted be He—and say:

      O Thou the Desire of the world and the Beloved of the nations! Thou seest me turning toward Thee, and rid of all attachment to anyone save Thee, and clinging to Thy cord, through whose movement the whole creation hath been stirred up. I am Thy servant, O my Lord, and the son of Thy servant. Behold me standing ready to do Thy will and Thy desire, and wishing naught else except Thy good pleasure. I implore Thee by the Ocean of Thy mercy and the Daystar of Thy grace to do with Thy servant as Thou willest and pleasest. By Thy might which is far above all mention and praise! Whatsoever is revealed by Thee is the desire of my heart and the beloved of my soul. O God, my God! Look not upon my hopes and my doings, nay rather look upon Thy will that hath encompassed the heavens and the earth. By Thy Most Great Name, O Thou Lord of all nations! I have desired only what Thou didst desire, and love only what Thou dost love.

      Let him then kneel, and bowing his forehead to the ground, let him say:

      Exalted art Thou above the description of anyone save Thyself, and the comprehension of aught else except Thee.

      Let him then stand and say:

      Make my prayer, O my Lord, a fountain of living waters whereby I may live as long as Thy sovereignty endureth, and may make mention of Thee in every world of Thy worlds.

      Let him again raise his hands in supplication, and say:

      O Thou in separation from Whom hearts and souls have melted, and by the fire of Whose love the whole world hath been set aflame! I