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Congregational Prayer |
The prayers which Bahá’u’lláh has ordained as a daily obligation
for Bahá’ís are to be said privately. Only in the case of
the Prayer for the Dead has Bahá’u’lláh commanded congregational
prayer, and the only requirement is that the believer who
reads it aloud, and all others present, should stand. This
differs from the Islamic practice of congregational prayer in
which the believers stand in rows behind an imám, who leads
the prayer, which is prohibited in the Bahá’í Faith.
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Man may say: “I can pray to God whenever I wish,
when the feelings of my heart are drawn to God; when I
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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 soldiers fighting alone and individually have not the force of a united army. If all the soldiers in this spiritual war gather together, then their united spiritual feelings help each other, and their prayers become acceptable. (from notes taken by Miss Ethel J. Rosenberg). |