The exemption of those who are weak due to illness or advanced age from
offering the Obligatory Prayers and from fasting is explained in Questions
and Answers. Baha'u'llah indicates that in "time of ill-health it is not
permissible to observe these obligations" (Q and A 93). He defines old
age, in this context, as being from seventy (Q and A 74). In answer to a
question, Shoghi Effendi has clarified that people who attain the age of
seventy are exempt, whether or not they are weak.
Exemption from fasting is also granted to the other specific categories of
people listed in the Synopsis and Codification, section IV.B.5. See notes
20, 30 and 31 for additional discussion.
15. God hath granted you leave to prostrate yourselves on any surface that
is clean, for We have removed in this regard the limitation that had been
laid down in the Book # 10
The requirements of prayer in previous Dispensations have often included
prostration. In the Arabic Bayan the Bab called upon the believers to lay
their foreheads on surfaces of crystal when prostrating. Similarly, in
Islam, certain restrictions are imposed with regard to the surface on
which Muslims are permitted to prostrate. Baha'u'llah abrogates such
restrictions and simply specifies "any surface that is clean".
16. Let him that findeth no water for ablution repeat five times the words
"In the Name of God, the Most Pure, the Most Pure", and then proceed to
his devotions. #10
Ablutions are to be performed by the believer in preparation for the
offering of obligatory prayer. They consist of washing the hands and face.
If water is unavailable, the repetition five times of the specifically
revealed verse is prescribed. See note 34 for a general discussion of
ablutions.
Antecedents in earlier Dispensations for the provision of substitute
procedures to be followed when no water is available are found in the
Qur'an and in the Arabic Bayan.
17. In regions where the days and nights grow long, let times of prayer be
gauged by clocks and other instruments that mark the passage of the hours.
#10
This refers to territories situated in the extreme north or south, where
the duration of days and nights varies markedly (Q and A 64 and 103). This
provision applies also to fasting.
18. We have absolved you from the requirement of performing the Prayer of
the Signs. #11
The Prayer of the Signs is a special form of Muslim obligatory prayer that
was ordained to be said in times of natural events, like earthquakes,
eclipses, and other such phenomena, which may cause fear and are taken to
be signs or acts of God. The requirement of performing this prayer has
been annulled. In its place a Baha'i may say, "Dominion is God's, the Lord
of the seen and the unseen, the Lord of creation," but this is not
obligatory (Q and A 52).
19. Save in the Prayer for the Dead, the practice of congregational prayer
hath been annulled. #12
Congregational prayer, in the sense of formal obligatory prayer which is
to be recited in accordance with a prescribed ritual as, for example, is
the custom in Islam where Friday prayer in the mosque is led by an imam,
has been annulled in the Baha'i Dispensation. The Prayer for the Dead (see
note 10) is the only congregational prayer prescribed by Baha'i law. It is
to be recited by one of those present while the remainder of the party
stands in silence; the reader has no special status. The congregation is
not required to face the Qiblih (Q and A 85).
The three daily Obligatory Prayers are to be recited individually, not in
congregation.
There is no prescribed way for the recital of the many other Baha'i
prayers, and all are free to use such non-obligatory prayers in gatherings
or individually as they please. In this regard, Shoghi Effendi states that
...although the friends are thus left to follow their own
inclination, ... they should take the utmost care that any manner
they practise should not acquire too rigid a character, and thus
develop into an institution. This is a point which the friends
should always bear in mind, lest they deviate from the clear path
indicated in the Teachings.
20. God hath exempted women who are in their courses from obligatory
prayer and fasting. #13
Exemption from obligatory prayer and fasting is granted to women who are
menstruating; they should, instead, perform their ablutions (see note 34)
and repeat 95 times a day between one noon and the next, the verse
"Glorified be God, the Lord of Splendour and Beauty". This provision has
its antecedent in the Arabic Bayan, where a similar dispensation was
granted.
In some earlier religious Dispensations, women in their courses were
considered ritually unclean and were forbidden to observe the duties of
prayer and fasting. The concept of ritual uncleanness has been abolished
by Baha'u'llah (see note 106).
The Universal House of Justice has clarified that the provisions in the
Kitab-i-Aqdas granting exemptions from certain duties and responsibilities
are, as the word indicates, exemptions and not prohibitions. Any believer
is, therefore, free to avail himself or herself of an applicable exemption
if he or she so wishes. However, the House of Justice counsels that, in
deciding whether to do so or not, the believer should use wisdom and
realize that Baha'u'llah has granted these exemptions for good reason.
The prescribed exemption from obligatory prayer, originally related to the
Obligatory Prayer consisting of nine rak'ahs, is now applicable to the
three Obligatory Prayers which superseded it.
21. When travelling, if ye should stop and rest in some safe spot, perform
ye--men and women alike--a single prostration in place of each unsaid
Obligatory Prayer #14
Exemption from obligatory prayer is granted to those who find themselves
in such a condition of insecurity that the saying of the Obligatory
Prayers is not possible. The exemption applies whether one is travelling
or at home, and it provides a means whereby Obligatory Prayers which have
remained unsaid on account of these insecure circumstances may be
compensated for.
Baha'u'llah has made it clear that obligatory prayer "is not suspended
during travel" so long as one can find a "safe spot" in which to perform
it (Q and A 58).
Numbers 21, 58, 59, 60, and 61 in Questions and Answers amplify this
provision.