| Supplication to, or communion with, God. |
| In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Bahá'u'lláh sets out the law of prayer: 'We have commanded you to pray and fast from the beginning of maturity; this is ordained by God, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers.'24 Bahá'ís are enjoined by Bahá'u'lláh to pray every morning and evening: 'Recite ye the verses of God every morning and evening. Whoso reciteth them not hath truly failed to fulfil his pledge to the Covenant of God.'25 Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'I-Bahá revealed many prayers which Bahá'ís are encouraged to use. Bahá'ís may also use their own words in private prayer. In addition to these personal prayers, Bahá'u'lláh has stipulated that Bahá'Is should recite one of three obligatory prayers every day. |
| However, Bahá'u'lláh states that one should not pray to excess: 'Take heed lest excessive reading and too many acts of piety in the daytime and in the nightseason make you vainglorious. Should a person recite but a single verse from the Holy Writings in a spirit of joy and radiance, this would be better for him than reciting wearily all the Scriptures of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Recite ye the verses of God in such measure that ye be not overtaken with fatigue or boredom. Burden not your souls so as to cause them exhaustion and weigh them down, but rather endeavour to lighten them, that they may soar on the wings of revealed Verse unto the dawning-place of His signs. This is conducive to nearer access unto God, were ye to comprehend.'26 |
| Prayers are usually said in private or with one's family, although there are occasions when community worship is appropriate, such as in the devotional part of the Nineteen Day Feast or at the observances of Bahá'í Holy Days. Special gatherings for prayers may also be held but are not obligatory. 'One of the characteristics of the Bahá'í society will be the gathering of the believers each day during the hours between dawn and two hours after sunrise to listen to the reading and chanting of the Holy Word.'27 Prayers are also offered in the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár and at the Holy Shrines. It is a common practice among Bahá'ís to begin and end meetings with prayers, but this also is not obligatory. Except for the obligatory prayers, there are no special gestures or positions one must take up for prayer. Prayers may be read, recited, chanted or sung. There is no congregational prayer in the Bahá'í Faith, except for the prayer for the dead, when the prayer is recited by one person while all others present stand. Bahá'ís do not generally recite prayers in unison, although the singing of a short prayer by a small group of believers is not forbidden.'28 |
| Bahá'ís may pray directly to God or through Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá'ís may also pray to other departed souls to intercede on their behalf. |
| [BD 183-184] |
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