The Prayer for the Dead (see Some Texts Supplementary to the
Kitab-i-Aqdas) is the only Baha'i obligatory prayer which is to be recited
in congregation; it is to be recited by one believer while all present
stand in silence (see note 19). Baha'u'llah has clarified that the Prayer
for the Dead is required only when the deceased is an adult (Q and A 70),
that the recital should precede the interment of the deceased, and that
there is no requirement to face the Qiblih when saying this prayer (Q and
A 85).
Further details concerning the Prayer for the Dead are summarized in the
Synopsis and Codification, section IV.A. 13.-14.
11. six specific passages have been sent down by God, the Revealer of
Verses #8
The passages that form part of the Prayer for the Dead comprise the
repetition of the greeting "Allah-u-Abha" (God is the All-Glorious) six
times, each followed by nineteen repetitions of one of six specifically
revealed verses. These verses are identical with those in the Prayer for
the Dead revealed by the Bab in the Bayan. Baha'u'llah added a
supplication to precede these passages.
12. Hair doth not invalidate your prayer, nor aught from which the spirit
hath departed, such as bones and the like. Ye are free to wear the fur of
the sable as ye would that of the beaver, the squirrel, and other animals
#9
In some earlier religious Dispensations, the wearing of the hair of
certain animals or having certain other objects on one's person was held
to invalidate one's prayer. Baha'u'llah here confirms the Bab's
pronouncement in the Arabic Bayan that such things do not invalidate one's
prayer.
13. We have commanded you to pray and fast from the beginning of maturity
#10
Baha'u'llah defines the "age of maturity with respect to religious duties"
as "fifteen for both men and women" (Q and A 20). For details of the
period of fasting, see note 25.