Thursday, November 1, 2018

Obligatory Prayer - Kitab-i-Aqdas paragraphs 6 - 14

As I'm sure you know by now, my wife and I have been studying the Kitab-i-Aqdas this year. It's been very fruitful, deeply enlightening.

We find that reading a paragraph at a time, with an eye towards different sections of the book, has made this a lot easier than we first thought. As we mentioned in the previous post, we view the first five paragraphs as an introduction, an assistance to our re-framing our perception of the world in order to better approach this book.

This next section goes from paragraph 6 right through 14, or 15, depending. Depending on what? I'm glad you asked. Depending on how you assign paragraph 15, which is something of a bridge between this section and the next.

Throughout many of His works, Baha'u'llah gives us these bridging paragraphs possibly to allow us the time to reflect on what He has just said. Paragraph 7, you will note, is also in this vein. These 9 paragraphs all revolve around the dynamics of prayer, in a general sense, except for number 7. This one is something of a reminder of His station, and the importance of obedience. You will likely note that He reminds of this throughout this volume.

But before I go into any of this further, let me put the paragraphs in here. This is just as a convenience for you, so you can see what I'm referencing, dear Reader. Personally, though, I skip it here, and have a copy of the book next to me so I can follow along as I read. I find that much easier.

6. We have enjoined obligatory prayer upon you, with nine rak‘ahs, to be offered at noon and in the morning and the evening unto God, the Revealer of Verses. We have relieved you of a greater number, as a command in the Book of God. He, verily, is the Ordainer, the Omnipotent, the Unrestrained. When ye desire to perform this prayer, turn ye towards the Court of My Most Holy Presence, this Hallowed Spot that God hath made the Center round which circle the Concourse on high, and which He hath decreed to be the Point of Adoration for the denizens of the Cities of Eternity, and the Source of Command unto all that are in heaven and on earth; and when the Sun of Truth and Utterance shall set, turn your faces towards the Spot that We have ordained for you. He, verily, is Almighty and Omniscient.
7. Everything that is hath come to be through His irresistible decree. Whenever My laws appear like the sun in the heaven of Mine utterance, they must be faithfully obeyed by all, though My decree be such as to cause the heaven of every religion to be cleft asunder. He doeth what He pleaseth. He chooseth, and none may question His choice. Whatsoever He, the Well-Beloved, ordaineth, the same is, verily, beloved. To this He Who is the Lord of all creation beareth Me witness. Whoso hath inhaled the sweet fragrance of the All-Merciful, and recognized the Source of this utterance, will welcome with his own eyes the shafts of the enemy, that he may establish the truth of the laws of God amongst men. Well is it with him that hath turned thereunto, and apprehended the meaning of His decisive decree.
8. We have set forth the details of obligatory prayer in another Tablet. Blessed is he who observeth that whereunto he hath been bidden by Him Who ruleth over all mankind. In the Prayer for the Dead six specific passages have been sent down by God, the Revealer of Verses. Let one who is able to read recite that which hath been revealed to precede these passages; and as for him who is unable, God hath relieved him of this requirement. He, of a truth, is the Mighty, the Pardoner.
9. Hair doth not invalidate your prayer, nor aught from which the spirit hath departed, such as bones and the like. Ye are free to wear the fur of the sable as ye would that of the beaver, the squirrel, and other animals; the prohibition of its use hath stemmed, not from the Qur’án, but from the misconceptions of the divines. He, verily, is the All-Glorious, the All-Knowing.
10. 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. He hath exempted from this those who are weak from illness or age, as a bounty from His Presence, and He is the Forgiving, the Generous. God hath granted you leave to prostrate yourselves on any surface that is clean, for We have removed in this regard the limitation that had been laid down in the Book; God, indeed, hath knowledge of that whereof ye know naught. Let him that findeth no water for ablution repeat five times the words “In the Name of God, the Most Pure, the Most Pure,” and then proceed to his devotions. Such is the command of the Lord of all worlds. In regions where the days and nights grow long, let times of prayer be gauged by clocks and other instruments that mark the passage of the hours. He, verily, is the Expounder, the Wise.
11. We have absolved you from the requirement of performing the Prayer of the Signs. On the appearance of fearful natural events call ye to mind the might and majesty of your Lord, He Who heareth and seeth all, and say “Dominion is God’s, the Lord of the seen and the unseen, the Lord of creation.”
12. It hath been ordained that obligatory prayer is to be performed by each of you individually. Save in the Prayer for the Dead, the practice of congregational prayer hath been annulled. He, of a truth, is the Ordainer, the All-Wise.
13. God hath exempted women who are in their courses from obligatory prayer and fasting. Let them, instead, after performance of their ablutions, give praise unto God, repeating ninety-five times between the noon of one day and the next “Glorified be God, the Lord of Splendor and Beauty.” Thus hath it been decreed in the Book, if ye be of them that comprehend.
14. When traveling, if ye should stop and rest in some safe spot, perform ye—men and women alike—a single prostration in place of each unsaid Obligatory Prayer, and while prostrating say “Glorified be God, the Lord of Might and Majesty, of Grace and Bounty.” Whoso is unable to do this, let him say only “Glorified be God”; this shall assuredly suffice him. He is, of a truth, the all-sufficing, the ever-abiding, the forgiving, compassionate God. Upon completing your prostrations, seat yourselves cross-legged—men and women alike—and eighteen times repeat “Glorified be God, the Lord of the kingdoms of earth and heaven.” Thus doth the Lord make plain the ways of truth and guidance, ways that lead to one way, which is this Straight Path. Render thanks unto God for this most gracious favor; offer praise unto Him for this bounty that hath encompassed the heavens and the earth; extol Him for this mercy that hath pervaded all creation.

Well, now that we have that done, you can see this theme very clearly. Of course, as you noticed, it overlaps with fasting, which is the next theme He addresses, in paragraph 16. But more on that later.

For now, let's look at paragraph 6. He's essentially telling  us what it is we need to say, even though He doesn't actually give us the words here. He also tells us when to say them, as well as where to face.

But why doesn't He give us the actual prayer here? Why was it revealed in a separate place, which, incidentally, was stolen by Mirza Muhammad-Ali, the arch Covenant-breaker, after Baha'u'llah's passing?

There may be a very good reason for it. Actually, since I can come up with one good reason, He probably has many thousands.

I would venture to guess that Baha'u'llah is merciful. I mean, that's not really a guess, is it? He is the All-Merciful. We know that. And here, it seems to me that He is allowing us to come to terms with what He is telling us.

A few years earlier, one of the Babis was leading a prayer and had added some words to the traditional prayer, as commanded by the Bab. The people freaked out. I mean, they literally went all violent and everything. You see, we love our prayers, and whenever anyone messes around with them, well, watch out. Personally, I think this is a visceral reaction, a reflex, even, and Baha'u'llah knows it. He knows this about us, and expects it. Of course, this is just my own personal opinion, but it makes sense to me. Anyways, here He is warning us that He is going to change the words. We don't have them yet, but we have the warning that change is coming.

And this leads us to paragraph 7. Don't forget, He seems to be saying, He doeth what He willeth. This change is a good thing, and when we understand it, we'll defend it to the death. Oh, our death, not someone else's.

Just like that last sentence in paragraph 5, when we are told to meditate, here it seems that we are given a full paragraph to reflect on this idea.

Anyways, this led my wife and I to an interesting train of thought, which I'll share here, as this is the point in our conversation that we had it.

The Obligatory Prayers from Baha'u'llah are quite different than any obligatory prayers we have seen in other faiths. All three of them seem to say the same thing, namely reminding us of our position in creation. So why is it that these are obligated of us? Why not any of the other prayers?

Quite simply, because we think they are true, as in the sense of absolute Truth, capitalized and all. Even if we don't believe them, even if we are an atheist or are just  saying them as a test, they are still true. This is the difference between truthfulness and honesty. The truth is the truth, no matter what we believe. Honesty is merely what we believe, whether or not it is true. And truthfulness, we are told, "is the foundation of all human virtues". Perhaps that is why I have suggested to my friends that they try saying these Obligatory Prayers every day, whether or not they agree with them. Many of them have,  and nearly all come back and said that yes, it did make a difference in their lives.

Oh, and I'm sure you noticed that it is in paragraph 8 that we are told where to find the words we are to say.

By the way, there is an interesting caveat in that paragraph regarding the Prayer for the Dead. He specifies that there are six verses that are repeated, and says that whoever can read should read the passages that precede them. If we can't read, He offers us, then presumably we can just recite the six verses the requisite number of times. I find this interesting because it is such a blessing to us, a true mercy in our time of grief. Prior to this, the prayers for the dead were to be read by ordained priests, as far as I am aware. But here, in the Baha'i Faith we don't have ordained clergy. So who is to bless the dead? Presumably we are. Ok, I can hear some people saying, but what if I can't read? Surely we can remember the six verses, six simple lines. And of course, we can probably count to 19, even if we're missing a finger. This, for many, I am sure, is a great blessing. They can now lay their own departed loved ones to rest, even if they are unable to read.

By the way, it is also worth noting that He still hasn't given us the words we are to say. It is as if He is doing all He can to assist us in curtailing that reaction I mentioned earlier. Truly, He is merciful.

On to paragraph 9. As I just mentioned, we don't have to be ordained ministers to say these prayers. We are all able to say them. And here, in this paragraph, He goes further. Many of those things that were thought might nullify our prayers in previous faiths? Nope. It's all poppycock. Such things as hair, fur, bones, and so on, do not invalidate our progress.

While we may think that this is merely correcting a minor misconception from Islam, or Judaism, I think it goes quite a bit further than that. This validates many Indigenous traditions around the world. All of a sudden those sacred objects that are so valued by people all over the globe are now justified. If something helps us remember our Creator, then it is good. If we find value in using a bird's wing to blow the smoke from the burning sage across our brow, this is fine. We are allowed to do it. No longer can Indigenous peoples be told not to use their own traditional items. Again, what a blessing and mercy.

By the way, as we read this paragraph, we were kind of curious about two of the animals mentioned. I mean, we had no problem with the sable, but my wife was wondering if there were beavers in Europe. After all, we live in Canada, and are well aware that there are many animals here that are not in Europe. Was the beaver one of them? Nope. There were plenty of beavers all over Europe and Asia. They almost went extinct around 1900, but, through various efforts, were saved.

Now, this connection to Canada, the beaver being one of our national icons, led me to think of another famous Canadian icon: the moose. And what comes next? The squirrel.

Moose and squirrel.

Every time I read this passage I think of Boris Badanov now: "Moose and sqvirrel? Excellent. Now ve can use their fur, Natasha."

Anyways, this brings us to paragraph 10, in which He tells us some of the boundaries for this Obligatory Prayer, as well as fasting. He tells us our  obligation to use it begins upon reaching maturity, but exempts us due to weakness from illness or age. He reminds us to prostrate ourselves on a clean surface, because cleanliness is a good thing, right? And He also gives provisions for those living in arid climes, or near the polar regions, demonstrating His global vision. Again, such mercy.

In paragraph 11 He removes the mandatory prayer for natural phenomenon. We no longer need to say this prayer when we encounter "fearful natural events". Why? Perhaps because He is helping us move past any superstition surrounding these events. While we may still be "frightened" during an earthquake, we understand they don't come from gay marriages, or anything else that we, as a society, may have done. We have an awareness of plate tectonics, and know why they really occur. By understanding their true nature, we can take more effective action against, say, the development of stronger  hurricanes due to climate change.

Another point here is that this remembrance of God during these times is a reminder that we are only here a short time. God is the one in charge.

On to paragraph 12. Remember what I said earlier about no priests? Well that applies here, too. Congregational prayer, contrary to some people's belief, does not refer to praying in a group setting. It refers to someone saying the prayers for you. In many previous religions it was only the ordained clergy who were able to say effective prayers. If you wanted your prayers to go to God, they were the ones who had the direct line connection. Here Baha'u'llah seems to be saying, "Do it yourself." You can't delegate someone else to pray on your behalf. It just won't work.

Paragraph 13 is also interesting. This one is specifically, and only, for women. And I really loved what my wife shared about it. First, it's not an exemption in the way that we normally think of it. In fact, it takes her longer to to the 95 repetitions than it does to say her normal Obligatory Prayers.

But what is it that she is to say? "Glorified be God, the Lord of Splendour and Beauty". During the time of the month when she "feels like crap" and "feels especially ugly", she is to focus on splendour and beauty. And not only is she to focus on it, she is given a mantra to use during that time. Again, it takes time. During this difficult time of the month for her, she is to make sure that she takes aside 20 - 30 minutes every day and say a mantra focused on beauty.

How often do women, especially mothers, take that kind of time to look after their spiritual needs? How often are they allowed? Here it is guaranteed. This is really powerful, and especially important.

Finally, paragraph 14, which is all about traveling. I find it interesting how He shows us a form of equality here, with the repeated phrase, "men and women alike". This is not just for the men, but for everyone. And look at what it is we are to do. If we miss an Obligatory Prayer, we are to prostrate ourselves in a safe place and recite one verse for each missed prayer, or if we can't prostrate ourselves, recite another verse. Ok. Cool. Then, once we've done that, we are to sit cross-legged and repeat another verse 18 times.

Wait. Cross-legged? Don't some people consider that inappropriate for a woman? Well, evidently it's ok. Presumably everyone will be wearing appropriate clothing for travel, and so this should be acceptable.

To me, this is another subtle reminder to not try and stifle women.

But what, my wife asked me, if she is in her courses? Then you look at the previous paragraph. Even while traveling, it is probably not all that difficult to find a little bit of time to say that mantra when you are resting at the end of the day. So this should be ok.

In the end, this whole section on Obligatory Prayer seems to me to be just blessing upon blessing, and mercy upon mercy.

But one last question: Why is this the very first thing He talks about? Simple, I think. It's all about our connection to God. Everything else comes from that. Recognize and obey. Understand the true nature of these laws, and their reasons. And then work on that connection with your Creator.


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