The Kitáb-i-Aqdas : The Most Holy Book
Notes
The definition of “noon” as the period “from noon till sunset” applies to the recitation of the short Obligatory Prayer as well as the medium one.
6.We have relieved you of a greater number
¶6
The requirements for obligatory prayer called for in the
Bábí and Islamic
Dispensations were more demanding than those for the performance of the Obligatory Prayer consisting of nine
rak’áhs that was prescribed in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (see note
4).
In the
Bayán,
the Báb prescribed an Obligatory Prayer consisting of nineteen rak’áhs which was to be performed once in a twenty-four-hour period—from noon of one day to noon of the next.
The
Muslim prayer is recited five times a day, namely, in the early morning, at midday, in the afternoon and evening, and at night. While the number of rak’áhs varies according to the time of recitation, a total of seventeen rak’áhs are offered in the course of a day.
7.When ye desire to perform this prayer, turn ye towards the Court of My Most Holy Presence, this Hallowed Spot that God hath ... decreed to be the Point of Adoration for the denizens of the Cities of Eternity
¶6
The “
Point of Adoration”, that is, the point to which the worshipper should turn when offering obligatory prayer, is called the
Qiblih. The concept of Qiblih has existed in previous religions. Jerusalem in the past had been fixed for this purpose.
Muḥammad changed the Qiblih to
Mecca. The Báb’s instructions in the Arabic Bayán were:
The Qiblih is indeed He Whom God will make manifest; whenever He moveth, it moveth, until He shall come to rest.
This passage is quoted by
Bahá’u’lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
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