Note 6

6. We have relieved you of a greater number # 6

The requirements for obligatory prayer called for in the &Babi and Islamic Dispensations were more demanding than those for the performance of the Obligatory Prayer consisting of nine &rak'ahs that was prescribed in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas (see note 4).

In the &Bayan, the &Bab prescribed an Obligatory Prayer consisting of nineteen &rak'ahs which was to be performed once in a twenty-four-hour period--from noon of one day to noon of the next.

The Muslim prayer is recited five times a day, namely, in the early morning, at midday, in the afternoon and evening, and at night. While the number of &rak'ahs varies according to the time of recitation, a total of seventeen &rak'ahs are offered in the course of a day.

7. When ye desire to perform this prayer, turn ye towards the Court of My Most Holy Presence, this

Hallowed Spot that God hath ... decreed to be the

Point of Adoration for the denizens of the Cities of

Eternity # 6

The "Point of Adoration", that is, the point to which the worshipper should turn when offering obligatory prayer, is called the Qiblih. The concept of Qiblih has existed in previous religions. Jerusalem in the past had been fixed for this purpose. &Muhammad changed the Qiblih to Mecca. The &Bab's instructions in the Arabic &Bayan were:

The Qiblih is indeed He Whom God will make manifest; whenever He moveth, it moveth, until He shall come to rest.

This passage is quoted by &Baha'u'llah in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas +P169 (# 137) and confirmed by Him in the above-noted verse. He has also indicated that facing in the direction of the Qiblih is a "fixed requirement for the recitation of obligatory prayer" (Q and A 14 and 67). However, for other prayers and devotions the individual may face in any direction.