Lawh-i-Salát I
Letters[edit]
Was to have been 3 times a day with nine rak'áhs[edit]
"We have enjoined obligatory prayer upon you, with nine rak'áhs, 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 Centre 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."
- (Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, par. 6)
Bahá'u'lláh's explanation of the replacement of this Obligatory Prayer[edit]
"QUESTION: In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas obligatory prayer hath been enjoined, consisting of nine rak'áhs, to be performed at noon, in the morning and the evening, but the Tablet of Obligatory Prayers+F1 appeareth to differ from this.
"ANSWER: That which hath been revealed in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas concerneth a different Obligatory Prayer. Some years ago a number of the ordinances of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas including that Obligatory Prayer were, for reasons of wisdom, recorded separately and sent away together with other sacred writings, for the purposes of preservation and protection. Later these three Obligatory Prayers were revealed."
"+F1 The Tablet containing the three Obligatory Prayers now in use
- (Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas Questions, no. 63)
This Obligatory Orayer has been superseded by the three newer ones[edit]
"The Obligatory Prayer (see note 9) referred to in this verse has been superseded by the three Obligatory Prayers later revealed by Bahá'u'lláh (Q and A 63)."
- (Universal House of Justice, Kitáb-i-Aqdas Notes, no. 3)
Further details on the superseding of the Obligatory Prayers: not ever released to the believers in His life; later stolen by Muhammad-'Alí[edit]
"The original Obligatory Prayer had "for reasons of wisdom" been revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in a separate Tablet (Q and A 63). It was not released to the believers in His lifetime, having been superseded by the three Obligatory Prayers now in use.
"Shortly after the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh, the text of this prayer, along with a number of other Tablets, was stolen by Muhammad-'Ali, the Arch-breaker of His Covenant.
- (Universal House of Justice, Kitáb-i-Aqdas Notes, no. 9)
