Not muttering verses publicly
One is not to be ostentatious in public prayer[edit]
IV.D.1.y.xxix "Muttering sacred verses in the street"[edit]
"To none is it permitted to mutter sacred verses before the public gaze as he walketh in the street or marketplace ; nay rather, if he wish to magnify the Lord, it behoveth him to do so in such places as have been erected for this purpose, or in his own home. This is more in keeping with sincerity and godliness. Thus hath the sun of Our commandment shone forth above the horizon of Our utterance. Blessed, then, be those who do Our bidding."
- "This is an allusion to the practice of certain clerics and religious leaders of earlier Dispensations who, out of hypocrisy and affectation, and in order to win the praise of their followers, would ostentatiously mutter prayers in public places as a demonstration of their piety. Bahá'u'lláh forbids such behaviour and stresses the importance of humility and genuine devotion to God."
- (Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, 135)
"Call upon your LORD humbly and in secret; for he loveth not those who transgress."
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."
- (Note: this does not forbid private prayer in a place of communal worship, but only with poor intentions; see last quotation on the page)
Private prayer is more conducive to communing with God[edit]
"The prayerful condition is the best of all conditions, for man in such a state communeth with God, especially when prayer is offered in private and at times when one's mind is free, such as at midnight. Indeed, prayer imparteth life."
Communal worship is also recommended, however, for its benefits[edit]
"Man may say: "I can pray to God whenever I wish, when the feelings of my heart are drawn to God; when I am in the wilderness, when I am in the city, or wherever I may be. Why should I go where others are gathered upon a special day, at a certain hour, to unite my prayers with theirs, when I may not be in a frame of mind for praying?"
"To think in this way is useless imagination, for where many are gathered together their force is greater. Separate soldier fighting alone and individually have not the force of a united army. If all the soldier in this spiritual war gather together, then their united spiritual feelings help each other, and their prayers become acceptable.
- (Attributed to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Notes taken by Miss Ethel J. Rosenberg; quoted in Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, pp. 93-94)
See also[edit]
The obligatory prayer can be said also in a worshipping-place (alone)[edit]
"As to the obligatory prayer: Each one must say his prayer alone by himself, and this is not conditional on a private place; that is, both at home and in the worshipping-place, which is a gathering-place, it is allowable for one to say his prayer; but each person must say his prayer by himself. But if they chant supplications together, in a good and effective voice, that is very good."
- (Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbás, p. 464)
