7 When Ye Desire To Perform This Prayer
Categories: NOTESSources: The Kitab-i-aqdas
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 f
Bab's instructions in the Arabic Bayan 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 Baha'u'llah in the Kitab-i-Aqdas ( 137) and
confirmed by Him in the above-noted verse. He has also indicated that
facing in the direction of the Qiblih is a fixed requirement for the
recitation of obligatory prayer (Q and A 14 and 67). However, for other
prayers and devotions the individual may face in any direction.
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O REBELLIOUS ONES! My forbearance hath emboldened you and My long-suffering hath made you negligent, in such wise that ye have spurred on the fiery charger of passion into perilous ways that lead unto destruction. Have ye thought Me heedless or th... 65: O Son Of Man! My Majesty Is My Gift To Thee And My Grandeur
O SON OF MAN! My majesty is My gift to thee, and My grandeur the token of My mercy unto thee. That which beseemeth Me none shall understand, nor can anyone recount. Verily, I have preserved it in My hidden storehouses and in the treasuries of My c... 66
O My brother! Forsake thine own desires, turn thy face unto thy Lord, and walk not in the footsteps of those who have taken their corrupt inclinations for their god, that perchance thou mayest find shelter in the heart of existence, beneath the redee... 66 Aghsan #42
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O CHILDREN OF THE DIVINE AND INVISIBLE ESSENCE! Ye shall be hindered from loving Me and souls shall be perturbed as they make mention of Me. For minds cannot grasp Me nor hearts contain Me. ... 66: O Emigrants! The Tongue I Have Designed For The Mention Of
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In this connection We will relate unto thee that which was revealed of old concerning "life", that perchance it may turn thee away from the promptings of self, deliver thee from the narrow confines of thy prison in this gloomy plane, and aid thee to ... 67 Revert To The People Of Baha #42
Baha'u'llah provides for the possibility that the line of Aghsan would terminate prior to the establishment of the Universal House of Justice. He designated that in such a situation endowments shall revert to the people of Baha. The term people of... 67: O Children Of Fancy! Know Verily That While The Radiant Dawn Breaketh
O CHILDREN OF FANCY! Know, verily, that while the radiant dawn breaketh above the horizon of eternal holiness, the satanic secrets and deeds done in the gloom of night shall be laid bare and manifest before the peoples of the world. ... 67: O Son Of Beauty! By My Spirit And By My Favor! By My Mercy And
O SON OF BEAUTY! By My spirit and by My favor! By My mercy and by My beauty! All that I have revealed unto thee with the tongue of power, and have written for thee with the pen of might, hath been in accordance with thy capacity and understanding,... 68
He saith, and He, verily, speaketh the truth: "Shall the dead whom We have quickened, and for whom We have ordained a light whereby he may walk amongst men, be like him whose likeness is in the darkness, whence he will not come forth?"(48) This verse... 68 Shave Not Your Heads #44
In some religious traditions it is considered desirable to shave one's head. The shaving of the head is forbidden by Baha'u'llah, and He makes it clear that the provision contained in His Suriy-i-Hajj requiring pilgrims to the Holy House ... 68: O Children Of Men! Know Ye Not Why We Created You All From The
O CHILDREN OF MEN! Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumben... 68: O Weed That Springeth Out Of Dust! Wherefore Have Not These Soiled Hands Of Thine
O WEED THAT SPRINGETH OUT OF DUST! Wherefore have not these soiled hands of thine touched first thine own garment, and why with thine heart defiled with desire and passion dost thou seek to commune with Me and to enter My sacred realm? Far, far ar... 69
Would that pure and stainless hearts could be found, that I might impart unto them a sprinkling from the oceans of knowledge which My Lord hath bestowed upon Me, so that they may soar in the heavens even as they walk upon the earth and speed over the... 69 It Is Not Seemly To Let The Hair Pass Beyond The Limit Of The Ears #44
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O SON OF BEING! Thy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly home, reunion with Me. Enter therein and tarry not. This is that which hath been destined for thee in Our kingdom above and Our exalted dominion. ... 6: O Son Of Earth! Know Verily The Heart Wherein The Least Remnant
O SON OF EARTH! Know, verily, the heart wherein the least remnant of envy yet lingers, shall never attain My everlasting dominion, nor inhale the sweet savors of holiness breathing from My kingdom of sanctity. ... 7
Through the power of God and His might, I shall now relate certain passages revealed in the Books of old, and mention some of the signs heralding the appearance of the Manifestations of God in the sanctified persons of His chosen Ones, that thou maye... 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... 70
O My brother! At every juncture We have restated Our theme, that all that hath been recorded in these verses may, by the leave of God, be made clear unto thee, and that thou mayest become independent of those who are plunged in the darkness of self a... 70 Exile And Imprisonment Are Decreed For The Thief #45
Baha'u'llah states that the determination of the degree of penalty, in accordance with the seriousness of the offence, rests with the House of Justice (Q and A 49). The punishments for theft are intended for a future condition of society, when the... 70: O Son Of Him That Stood By His Own Entity In The Kingdom Of His Self!
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Say: O people! The Tree of Life hath verily been planted in the heart of the heavenly paradise and bestoweth life in every direction. How can ye fail to perceive and recognize it? It will in truth aid thee to grasp all that this well-assured Soul hat... 71 On The Third Offence
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Wing then thy flight unto this divine Tree and partake of its fruits. Gather up that which hath fallen therefrom and guard it faithfully. Meditate then upon the utterance of one of the Prophets as He intimated to the souls of men, through veiled allu... 72 Whoso Wisheth To Make Use Of Vessels Of Silver And Gold Is At Liberty To Do So #46
In the Bayan the Bab allowed the use of gold and silver utensils, thus abrogating the Islamic condemnation of their use which stems not from an explicit injunction of the Qur'an but from Muslim traditions. Baha'u'llah here confirms the Bab's rulin... 72: O My Servant! Thou Art Even As A Finely Tempered Sword Concealed
O MY SERVANT! Thou art even as a finely tempered sword concealed in the darkness of its sheath and its value hidden from the artificer's knowledge. Wherefore come forth from the sheath of self and desire that thy worth may be made resplendent and ... 73
Behold, then, the foolish ones of bygone times and those who, in this day, await the advent of such a being! Nor would they ever bear allegiance unto him except that he appear in the aforementioned form. And as such a being will never appear, so too ... 73 Take Heed Lest When Partaking Of Food Ye Plunge Your Hands Into The Contents Of Bowls And Platters #46
This prohibition was defined by Shoghi Effendi as plunging one's hand in food. In many parts of the world it has been customary to eat with the hands from a communal bowl. ... 73: O My Friend! Thou Art The Daystar Of The Heavens Of My Holiness
O MY FRIEND! Thou art the daystar of the heavens of My holiness, let not the defilement of the world eclipse thy splendor. Rend asunder the veil of heedlessness, that from behind the clouds thou mayest emerge resplendent and array all things with ... 74
I shall now briefly explain the true meaning of this utterance, that thou mayest discover its hidden mysteries and be of them that perceive. Examine then and judge aright that which We shall reveal unto thee, that haply thou mayest be accounted in th... 74 Adopt Ye Such Usages As Are Most In Keeping With Refinement #46
This is the first of several passages referring to the importance of refinement and cleanliness. The original Arabic word latafah, rendered here as refinement, has a wide range of meanings with both spiritual and physical implications, such as ele... 74: O Children Of Vainglory! For A Fleeting Sovereignty Ye Have Abandoned My
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Know then that He who uttered these words in the realms of glory meant to describe the attributes of the One Who is to come in such veiled and enigmatic terms as to elude the understanding of the people of error. Now, when He saith: "His eyes were as... 75 He Who Is The Dawning-place Of God's Cause Hath No Partner In The Most Great Infallibility #47
In the Tablet of Ishraqat, Baha'u'llah affirms that the Most Great Infallibility is confined to the Manifestations of God. Chapter 45 in Some Answered Questions is devoted to an explanation by 'Abdu'l-Baha of this verse of the Aqdas. In this cha... 75: O Children Of Negligence! Set Not Your Affections On Mortal Sovereignty
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