Questions about Bahá’í prayers

A Bahá’í prayer is a text revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb or ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and used for daily worship. Bahá’ís generally read or recite these revealed words rather than composing their own prayers aloud, though personal prayer in one’s own words is not forbidden. The prayers cover almost every circumstance of life — healing, protection, marriage, grief, guidance, service — and are read individually at home or shared in devotional gatherings.

• General prayers

One obligatory prayer a day is required, chosen from the three. Beyond that, Bahá’ís are asked to read from the sacred writings each morning and evening, and to repeat the invocation “Alláh-u-Abhá” ninety-five times daily after performing ablutions. There is no fixed limit on other prayers; Bahá’u’lláh counselled that it is better to read a single verse with joy and radiance than to read many wearily.

• Prayers for morning
• Prayers for evening
• Bahá’í daily practices

Yes — Bahá’í prayers may be read by anyone, of any faith or none. They are freely available and are often read at devotional gatherings, weddings and funerals attended by people of every background. Only the obligatory prayers and a few specific observances are reserved for Bahá’ís, since they are part of Bahá’í law rather than general devotion. Everything on this site may be read, printed and shared.

• Prayers for gatherings

Most Bahá’í prayers are simply read aloud or silently, alone or with others, in any posture and at any time. Bahá’u’lláh encouraged the prayers to be chanted or intoned in a melodious tone, and many Bahá’ís memorise favourite passages. Only the obligatory prayers carry set conditions — a fixed time, ablutions, and turning toward the Qiblih.

• General prayers

Bahá’ís read revealed prayers because the words are understood to come from a Manifestation of God and to carry a power and beauty beyond ordinary speech. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá described them as the language in which the soul most naturally converses with its Creator. Praying in one’s own words is entirely permitted as well, and many Bahá’ís do both.

• Manifestation of God

There are three obligatory prayers, and a Bahá’í chooses one of them each day. The short obligatory prayer is said once between noon and sunset. The medium prayer is said three times a day, in the morning, at midday and in the evening. The long obligatory prayer is said once in any twenty-four hours. Obligatory prayer becomes binding at the age of fifteen.

• Obligatory daily prayers
• Short obligatory prayer
• Medium obligatory prayer
• Long obligatory prayer

The short obligatory prayer is recited once in twenty-four hours, at any time between noon and sunset, standing and turning toward the Qiblih. It is a single paragraph in which the believer bears witness that God created them to know Him and to worship Him, and testifies to their own powerlessness and to God’s might and mercy. Ablutions — washing the hands and face — are performed before saying it.

• Short obligatory prayer

Yes, but only for the obligatory prayers. Bahá’ís turn toward the Qiblih, the Point of Adoration, which is the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh at Bahjí near ‘Akká in northern Israel. All other prayers may be said facing any direction. If someone is unable to determine the direction, or is unwell or travelling, the requirement is relaxed.

• The importance of obligatory prayer and fasting
• Qiblih

Ablutions are the washing of the hands and face performed before each of the obligatory prayers and before repeating the Greatest Name ninety-five times. They are a symbolic act of purification rather than a matter of physical cleanliness, and they are repeated even if one has just washed. If no water is available, a verse revealed for that purpose is said instead.

• Ablutions

Obligatory prayer is a personal duty between the individual and God, and no one is questioned or penalised for missing it. If the time for the chosen prayer has passed, a Bahá’í simply begins again the next day. Travellers, the sick, women in certain circumstances, and those under fifteen are exempt.

• Short obligatory prayer
• Obligatory Prayer

There are many. The best known is the short healing prayer of Bahá’u’lláh that begins “Thy name is my healing, O my God”, which is widely memorised and said for oneself or for others. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá also revealed healing prayers for the sick and for children who are unwell. Bahá’ís are taught to pray for healing while also seeking competent medical care; the two are understood to work together.

• Prayers for healing

The Long Healing Prayer is a lengthy prayer revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, built on a repeating series of invocations of the names and attributes of God, each followed by the refrain “Thou the Sufficing, Thou the Healing, Thou the Abiding, O Thou Abiding One!” It is often read for someone who is seriously ill, sometimes by a group taking turns, and there is no fixed rule about how often it may be repeated.

• Prayers for healing

Yes. Bahá’ís pray for the progress of the soul after death, and there is a special Prayer for the Dead read at a Bahá’í funeral — the only Bahá’í prayer said congregationally. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá taught that prayers offered for those who have passed on assist their progress through the worlds of God, and that the departed also pray for us.

• Prayers for the departed

The Remover of Difficulties, revealed by the Báb, is the prayer most often turned to in hardship, along with the Tablet of Aḥmad and prayers for protection and assistance. Bahá’u’lláh taught that tests and difficulties can refine the soul, and that prayer brings the calm and confidence needed to meet them.

• Prayers for protection

A devotional gathering is an informal meeting, usually in a home, where people of any background read prayers and sacred writings together, often with music. There is no clergy, no sermon and no ritual — one person after another simply reads. Anyone may attend or host one.

• Prayers for gatherings

Bahá’ís revere Jesus Christ as a Manifestation of God — the Word made flesh, whom Bahá’u’lláh repeatedly names “Jesus, the Spirit of God” — and hold His station to be immeasurably above that of an ordinary teacher or prophet. The Gospel states it plainly: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1), and “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Bahá’u’lláh confirms that station in the strongest terms: “Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath to God, the whole creation wept with a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity was infused into all created things… We testify that when He came into the world, He shed the splendor of His glory upon all created things” (Gleanings XXXVI). ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains that “the reality of Christ was a bright and polished mirror of the greatest purity and clarity. The Sun of Truth, the Essence of the Divinity, appeared in that mirror and manifested its light and heat therein” (Some Answered Questions, “The Trinity”). Christ belongs to the one succession of divine Educators — Abraham, Moses, Christ, Muḥammad, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh — as the life-giving Spirit through whom, in the words of scripture, “in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Sources: John 1:1, 1:14 (KJV) · Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings XXXVI · ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, “The Trinity” · 1 Corinthians 15:22 (KJV)

• Manifestation of God
• Progressive Revelation

Yes. Bahá’ís affirm Christ as the Son of God and as the Word made flesh, and they accept Peter’s confession, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Bahá’í teaching understands sonship as a description of Christ’s station rather than of physical descent — which is why Christ could say both “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30) and “my Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), and why He told Philip, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). ‘Abdu’l-Bahá resolves this with the image of the mirror: God’s “manifestation, dawning, and effulgence are even as the appearance of the sun in a clear, bright, and polished mirror… The Sun of Truth, the Essence of the Divinity, appeared in that mirror and manifested its light and heat therein, yet it did not descend from the heights of holiness and the heaven of sanctity to reside within it.” He adds, “That is why Christ said, ‘The Father is in the Son’” (Some Answered Questions, “The Trinity”). The sun is truly seen in the mirror, yet the sun does not become the mirror — so the divine reality is truly beheld in Christ without being confined to a human frame.

Sources: Matthew 16:16; John 10:30; John 14:9, 14:28 (KJV) · ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, “The Trinity”

• Manifestation of God

Bahá’ís believe the promised return of Christ has come to pass in Bahá’u’lláh. Christ said, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:18), and “the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels” (Matthew 16:27), and “they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30). Bahá’u’lláh addresses Christendom directly on this point: “O kings of Christendom! Heard ye not the saying of Jesus, the Spirit of God, ‘I go away, and come again unto you’? Wherefore, then, did ye fail, when He did come again unto you in the clouds of heaven, to draw nigh unto Him…?” (Gleanings CXVI). Return, in Bahá’í understanding, means the return of the same divine reality and perfections in a new human temple — not the reappearance of the individual Jesus of Nazareth. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá demonstrates this from the Gospel itself: John the Baptist denied being Elias, yet Christ said, “Elias is indeed come” (Mark 9:13; Matthew 17:13). “We consider here not the individuality of the person but the reality of his perfections… When Christ said, ‘This is Elias’, He meant: This person is a manifestation of the grace, the perfections, the qualities, the attributes, and the virtues of Elias” (Some Answered Questions, “The Return of the Prophets”).

Sources: John 14:18; Matthew 16:27, 24:30, 17:13; Mark 9:13 (KJV) · Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings CXVI · ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, “The Return of the Prophets”

• Bahá’u’lláh
• Progressive Revelation

Because Bahá’ís read the signs of the Gospel spiritually, as Christ Himself indicated they must be read, and find them fulfilled in Bahá’u’lláh. Christ foretold, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven” (Matthew 24:29), and warned that He would come unrecognised, “in such an hour as ye think not” (Matthew 24:44) — “as a thief in the night”. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá points out that these signs cannot be literal: “If these stars were to fall upon the surface of the earth, how could there be room for them?… It is therefore clear and evident that these signs have inner meanings and should not be taken literally. These meanings have been fully explained in the Kitáb-i-Íqán” (Some Answered Questions, “The Second Coming of Christ and the Day of Judgement”). He further notes that the very conditions written for the Second Coming were also written for the first, and “none of them came to pass outwardly”, which is why the Messiah was rejected. Christ also promised a further unfolding of truth: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:12–13). Bahá’ís believe Bahá’u’lláh is that Spirit of truth — He appeared in the mid-nineteenth century, endured forty years of imprisonment and exile ending in the Holy Land, and revealed a scripture summoning humanity to the oneness of religion and the Kingdom of God on earth.

Sources: Matthew 24:29, 24:44; John 16:12–13 (KJV) · ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, “The Second Coming of Christ and the Day of Judgement” · Bahá’u’lláh, Kitáb-i-Íqán

• Bahá’u’lláh
• Kitáb-i-Íqán

Bahá’ís affirm the crucifixion as an historical event and honour it as the sacrifice that gave spiritual life to the world; the resurrection they understand as a real but spiritual reality. Bahá’u’lláh writes, “Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath to God, the whole creation wept with a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity was infused into all created things” (Gleanings XXXVI). ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains the resurrection this way: “After the martyrdom of Christ, the Apostles were perplexed and dismayed. The reality of Christ… was hidden and concealed for two or three days after His martyrdom… The Cause of Christ was thus as a lifeless body. After three days the Apostles became firm and steadfast, arose to aid the Cause of Christ… Then did the reality of Christ become resplendent, His grace shine forth, His religion find new life… Such is the meaning of the resurrection of Christ, and this was a true resurrection” (Some Answered Questions, “The Resurrection of Christ”). Of the atonement He writes, “Christ sacrificed Himself so that mankind might be freed from the imperfections of the material nature and endowed with the virtues of the spiritual nature… Adam is a living soul; Christ is a life-giving spirit” (Some Answered Questions, “Sin and Atonement”).

Sources: Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings XXXVI · ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, “The Resurrection of Christ” · ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, “Sin and Atonement” · 1 Corinthians 15:22 (KJV)

• Some Answered Questions

Bahá’ís hold the Bible to be holy scripture and read it with reverence, above all the words of Christ. Bahá’u’lláh describes the Word of God as a City renewed in every age: “In the days of Moses it was the Pentateuch; in the days of Jesus, the Gospel; in the days of Muḥammad, the Messenger of God, the Qur’án” (Gleanings CXXV). Both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá quote the Bible constantly — the Kitáb-i-Íqán is largely an exposition of biblical prophecy, and Some Answered Questions devotes an entire part to Christian subjects, citing chapter and verse throughout. Christ’s own counsel is taken seriously: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). Bahá’ís also recognise that the biblical text has passed through long transmission and translation, so where questions of interpretation arise, the authoritative writings of Bahá’u’lláh and the interpretations of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are the standard.

Sources: John 5:39 (KJV) · Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings CXXV · Bahá’u’lláh, Kitáb-i-Íqán · ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, Part 2: “Some Christian Subjects”

• Kitáb-i-Íqán

Bahá’ís would say that accepting Bahá’u’lláh is a way of obeying Christ, not of leaving Him. Christ said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15), and also, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:12–13). Bahá’u’lláh identifies Himself with the very One the Gospel promised: “O Jews! If ye be intent on crucifying once again Jesus, the Spirit of God, put Me to death, for He hath once more, in My person, been made manifest unto you” (Gleanings XLVII). A Bahá’í continues to love and revere Jesus, to read the Gospels, and to keep Christ’s teachings — the love of Christ is not set aside but carried forward. What changes is affiliation: Bahá’ís do not hold dual religious membership, so someone who becomes a Bahá’í no longer belongs formally to a church.

Sources: John 14:15; John 16:12–13 (KJV) · Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings XLVII and CXVI

• Bahá’u’lláh

Progressive revelation is the Bahá’í teaching that God has guided humanity through a succession of divine Educators, each renewing the same eternal faith in a form suited to the age — and Christianity is a chapter of that one unfolding religion of God, not a rival to it. Christ Himself pointed forward: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). Bahá’u’lláh explains the continuity with the image of the sun: “Consider the sun. Were it to say now, ‘I am the sun of yesterday,’ it would speak the truth. And should it, bearing the sequence of time in mind, claim to be other than that sun, it still would speak the truth” (Gleanings, on the return of the Manifestations). ‘Abdu’l-Bahá uses the same logic of returning perfections — last year’s flower and this year’s flower share “the same fragrance, delicacy, colour, and form”, so it is truly said the flower has returned (Some Answered Questions, “The Return of the Prophets”). Christianity’s spiritual teachings remain true; its social teachings answered the needs of its own age. Bahá’ís believe the process never ends: further Manifestations will come after Bahá’u’lláh, though not for at least a thousand years.

Sources: John 16:12 (KJV) · Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings · ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, “The Return of the Prophets”

• Progressive Revelation

The Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel in Haifa holds the remains of the Báb, the Herald of the Bahá’í Faith, who was executed in Tabríz in 1850. His remains were hidden for decades before being interred there by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1909. The Shrine and its terraced gardens are a place of pilgrimage and prayer and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, though the Qiblih for obligatory prayer remains the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh at Bahjí.

• Birth of the Báb
• Shrine of the Báb

The Hidden Words is a short book revealed by Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdád around 1858, made up of brief ethical and mystical verses in Arabic and Persian, each addressed to the reader as “O Son of Spirit”, “O Son of Man” and so on. They are counsels and meditations rather than prayers, and Bahá’ís are encouraged to read and reflect on them daily alongside the prayers.

• The Hidden Words

The Bahá’í Faith has three central figures: the Báb, who announced in 1844 that a greater Messenger was at hand; Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Faith, who declared Himself in 1863; and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’u’lláh’s eldest son, appointed by Him as the perfect exemplar of His teachings and the authorised interpreter of His words. Almost every prayer on this site was revealed by one of the three.

• Bahá’u’lláh
• The Báb
• ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Bahá’ís aged fifteen to seventy abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset during the nineteen days of the month of ‘Alá’, from 1 to 19 March, ending at Naw-Rúz. The Fast is a period of prayer, reflection and spiritual renewal rather than mere abstinence, and the sick, travellers, pregnant and nursing women, and those doing heavy labour are exempt.

• The Fast

Every prayer here is from the authorised English translations of the Bahá’í writings, principally Bahá’í Prayers and Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh. Nothing is paraphrased or rewritten. The pages group the prayers by occasion and need so they are easier to find than in a printed book.

• Prayers and Meditations