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The Kitáb-i-Aqdas
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Pages 98-100
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MEDIUM OBLIGATORY PRAYER
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1 |
Whoso wisheth to pray, let him wash his hands, and
while he washeth, let him say:
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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.
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3 |
And while washing his face, let him say:
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I have turned my face unto Thee, O my Lord!
Illumine it with the light of Thy countenance. Protect
it, then, from turning to any one but Thee.
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Then let him stand up, and facing the Qiblih (Point of
Adoration, i.e. Bahjí, Akká), let him say:
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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!"
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Let him, then, bend down, with hands resting on the
knees, and say:
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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!
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9 |
Then, standing with open hands, palms upward toward
the face, let him say:
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10 |
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!
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Let him, then, be seated and say:
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12 |
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.
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13 |
(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.")
(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá'u'lláh, CLXXXII)
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