Does the Bahá’í Faith have rituals such as prayer and fasting?

If in the Bahá’í belief, it’s important to criticize those who neglect prayer, then why isn’t the reputation of Abdul-Bahá, who doesn’t pray, criticized? How can someone whom Bahá’u’lláh hates become his successor?.

It has been proved that the Baha’i faith admits that the commandments in the divine religion are of the type of worship, and since in the divine law, the commands are given by the Almighty God for His servants. therefore, the believers should submit to the command of Almighty God. Therefore, based on the issues raised by the Baha’i faith, it is concluded that one does not have the right to argue about the rulings of the heavenly and the divine laws.

However, in the Bahá’í Faith, unlike heavenly and divine laws, there are several teachings and principles that emphasizes the need for constant scrutiny of its laws. This means that Bahá’í teachings must always be examined and evaluated online and continuously. Why? Because according to Bahá’í teachings, whenever these laws conflict with human knowledge and reason, or when they are not suitable for the current times, they are automatically nullified and abolished. Therefore, it’s important to always assess Bahá’í teachings with knowledge, reason, and the needs of the time.

This means that if we look closely at Bahá’í prayers, it is as per the recommendation of the Bahá’í teachings itself. Let’s talk about some important things about Bahá’í prayer. Bahá’u’lláh, in the first rules of the Holy Book of Aqdas, said everyone over 15 years old must pray:

"Prayer and fasting have been made obligatory upon you from the beginning of maturity as an ordinance from God, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers”. It means that prayer and fasting are required when you become mature, and it comes from a divine command, the Lord who is also the Lord of your ancestors.

Reference :- Kitab e Aqdas page 10 , paragraph 10.

Therefore, there remains no doubt about the obligation of prayer in the Bahá’í Faith. Abdul Baha in his Tablet has said that the basis and the foundation of everything is prayer.Therefore, according to the claim of Abdul-Bahá also, it becomes clear that the foundation and basis of the Bahá’í faith is nothing but prayer!

Ref :- Ganjeen e Hudood wa Ahkam page 11.

Undoubtedly, a true Bahá’í cannot be indifferent to prayer! because the foundation of the Baha’i faith is based on prayer but we have seen in the previous article that Abdu’l-Bahá did not offer even one rak’ah of the Baha’i prayer in the entire 19 years that had passed since the revelation of the book ‘Aqdas’ and the commandments of prayer, and his father was also alive! How can such a person express such a position for prayer!

Now the question arises: what is the ruling if a Bahá’í shows negligence towards prayer? What behavior should be exhibited towards a Bahá’í who does not pay proper attention to prayer?

The answer to this question has also been clearly stated by Abdu’l-Bahá in the continuation of the above discussion, i.e. on pages 12 and 13 of the same book, "Ganjineh-ye Hodoode va Ahkam". He states in a Tablet addressed to Mirza Hossein, "Prayer and fasting are among the greatest duties . If someone neglects them or shows laziness, we must be cautious because it could greatly harm the religion of God. We must protect the God’s Command from the hostility and malice of such people, otherwise, the foundation of the divine religion will be destroyed.Warn all the loved ones to be careful."

Dear Bahá’ís ! , Abdul-Bahá has clearly stated that if you see someone in the Bahá’í community being lazy about prayer (not that they don’t pray), you should keep away from them! If you don’t, it could weaken the foundation of the Faith!. Bahá’u’lláh dislikes such a person, and they are seen as an enemy and harmful to Abdul-Bahá!. All Bahá’í friends should inform each other about such a person, saying that they are careless in their prayers, and everyone should be cautious about them! It could be said that according to Bahá’í beliefs, all Bahá’ís should treat someone who is lazy in their prayers like they have a contagious disease and warn others to stay away from them!

Bahá’í friends!, as you can see, the above rules apply to someone who is careless and negligent about prayer! According to Abdul-Bahá, Bahá’u’lláh dislikes such a person!!! Abdul-Bahá himself admits that such a person is an enemy and is disliked by Bahá’u’lláh! So, if this is the ruling for someone who is negligent about prayer, it’s unclear what the ruling would be for someone who completely abandons prayer (known as "Tārik al-Ṣalāh")!. Even though the Bahá’í Faith hasn’t clearly defined the ruling for someone who abandons prayer, and the House of Justice has neglected its essential duty during its unlawful tenure and hasn’t specified the ruling for this bad action like many other rulings , On page 93 of the fourth volume of the book "Amr va Khalq", Abdul-Bahá’s words are recorded in a footnote on the same page, referring to a statement from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) from the book "Majma’ al-Bahrain", where the Prophet clearly states that the one who abandons prayer is definitely an infidel because they nullify and reject the Shari’ah, and such a person is an infidel!.

From the teachings and texts of the Bahá’í Faith, we can understand a few important points: Firstly, prayer is a crucial duty for all adult Bahá’ís (those over 15 years old). Secondly, Bahá’ís must stay away from and reveal the faults of those who neglect or are careless about prayer and should treat with them like they treat with lepers. Thirdly, Bahá’u’lláh dislikes such people. Fourthly, even though the Bahá’í Faith hasn’t explicitly stated what to do with those who abandon prayer, based on references to Prophet Muhammad’s sayings, someone who stops praying due to denying divine law is considered an infidel. With these explanations, can Bahá’í friends accept someone detested by Bahá’u’lláh, as a successor to Bahá’u’lláh?

The Holy Book of Aqdas and its laws related with prayers were revealed 19 years before Bahá’u’lláh’s death. Yes! Isn’t it true that the prayer law is one of the earliest laws in the Holy Book? So why didn’t Abdul-Bahá pray according to Bahá’u’lláh’s wishes during those 19 years after the Book’s revelation? .A successor who hasn’t prayed a single time and whose reputation should be criticized!

The fact that they didn’t want to pray a single prayer in 19 years shows Bahá’í friends that Abdul-Bahá isn’t Bahá’u’lláh’s true successor. According to Bahá’í teachings, their reputation should be criticized publicly! This rule applies to someone who doesn’t care about prayer and completely ignores it! Clearly, in the 19 years after the Holy Book’s descent, they never prayed even once! To put it simply, they never followed the Holy Book’s prayer rules their whole life!

How can Bahá’í friends accept someone who hasn’t prayed a single Bahá’í prayer as Bahá’u’lláh’s successor!? How can someone who hasn’t prayed be Bahá’u’lláh’s successor!?

Dear Bahá’í friends! How do members of the House of Justice respond to so many contradictions and unanswered challenges about Bahá’í prayer? What’s been discussed here is just about prayer, one of the rules of this belief!. Despite many challenges and clear reasons against Babism and Bahá’í beliefs, how can someone convince themselves that following such a belief is their duty?.

———————————————-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx—————————————–