Recitation of the verses of God

Who should recite the verses of God (and where)

• Arranged within sections in the order of their frequency

• See also protagonist, protagonist-location and patterns of activity.

Individual recitation

(Can recite privately or in Temples--See Obligatory Prayer)

• reciting the verses of God - individuals
  • (see reciting the verses of God - children for the specific injunction given to children (parents to teach them)) (every morning and evening)

Family recitation

• See Family prayer and reading

Community recitation (children, youth, adults, including women's gatherings)

In the Temple Auditorium (ideally) (or Hazíratu'l-Quds or homes for the time-being)

• Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (also devotional meetings, the embryonic form of the former) (to be daily in the future)
  • Children especially encouraged to recite (and be taught to recite) in melodious tones.

In the House of Worship dependencies (or Hazíratu'l-Quds (Bahá'í Center) or homes for the time-being)

• Bahá'í Sunday school (once a week: Sunday)
• Spiritual meetings (also called meetings for teaching) (or women's gatherings) (once a week)
• Feast (every 19 days)
• Holy Day (12 celebrated throughout the year)

What to Recite

See section 1D and 2 and also 3 and 4 and Writings by subject.

How to Recite (Technical): Volume

Reciting should be not too loud or too quiet (moderate voice)

• See prayer

A loud voice in prayer is not necessary for God

• See prayer

Articulating prayers in words is not necessary but it is also natural to want to speak out and commemorate God (at least in thought and action and with love)

• See prayer

Need for silence in contemplation

• section 1C

How to Recite (Technical): Manner

Melodious Recitation

• See recite melodiously

Memorization

• See memorization

Prayer (or other recitation) not to be an ostentatious act

• See not muttering verses publicly

Not to read without thought

"...in every age, the reading of the scriptures and holy books is for no other purpose except to enable the reader to apprehend their meaning and unravel their innermost mysteries.  Otherwise reading, without understanding, is of no abiding profit unto man."

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Íqán, par. 185)

"AUTOMATIC, FORMAL PRAYERS WHICH DO NOT TOUCH THE CORE OF THE HEART ARE OF NO AVAIL."

(On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, letter of 19 October 1925 to an individual)

How to Recite (Technical): Amount

Not Excessive to Fatigue or Hopelessness

(lightening load will draw one nearer to God)

"Recite ye the verses of God every morn and eventide. Whoso faileth to recite them hath not been faithful to the Covenant of God and His Testament, and whoso turneth away from these holy verses in this Day is of those who throughout eternity have turned away from God. Fear ye God, O My servants, one and all. Pride not yourselves on much reading of the verses or on a multitude of pious acts by night and day; for were a man to read a single verse with joy and radiance it would be better for him than to read with lassitude all the Holy Books of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Read ye the sacred verses in such measure that ye be not overcome by languor and despondency. Lay not upon your souls that which will weary them and weigh them down, but rather what will lighten and uplift them, so that they may soar on the wings of the Divine verses towards the Dawning-place of His manifest signs; this will draw you nearer to God, did ye but comprehend. "

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, paragraph 149)

Don't need to meditate for hours to be spiritual

"You should certainly safeguard your nerves, and force yourself to take time, and not only for prayer and meditation, but for real rest and relaxation. We don't have to pray and meditate for hours in order to be spiritual.

(Shoghi Effendi, Prayer, Meditation, and the Devotional Attitude, no. 1777)

Not to repeat excessively

• See repetition of prayers or verses

How to Recite the Verses (Spiritual)

Recite with Eagerness and Love

"Question: Concerning the sacred verse: "Recite ye the verses of God every morn and eventide."

"Answer: The intention is all that hath been sent down from the Heaven of Divine Utterance. The prime requisite is the eagerness and love of sanctified souls to read the Word of God. To read one verse, or even one word, in a spirit of joy and radiance, is preferable to the perusal of many Books."

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Questions and Answers, no. 68)

"Bahá'u'lláh states that the essential "requisite" for reciting "the verses of God" is the "eagerness and love" of the believers to "read the Word of God" (Q&A 68).

(Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 165)

Joy of reciting

• section 1A

Beauties of mysteries to be unraveled in reciting

• section 1B