Sheppy

First of all, is it an obligatory prayer that should be said each day 95 times?

And how do you perform it? Should we face the Qiblih? Should we wash our hands and face before? Should we stand, sit? Close our eyes and think deeply while reciting? Can we sing it while playing the guitar?

Mdef

"The Greatest Name"

Bahá'ís repeat the phrase "Alláh-u-Abhá", a form of the Greatest Name, 95 times per day, as described by Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, sometimes using prayer beads

arthra

The obligatory prayers are recited separately and are not the same thing as reciting the Greatest Name ninety five times..

Here are the obligatory prayers:

http://www.bahaiprayers.org/obligshort.htm

Here's some quotes that might help answer your questions:

18
It hath been ordained that every believer in God,
the Lord of Judgement, shall, each day, having washed
his hands and then his face, seat himself and, turning
unto God, repeat "Allah-u-Abha" ninety-five times.

(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 25)

So after ablutions we seat ourselves and turning to God could mean to the Qiblah.. Bahji.



Recite the Greatest Name at every morn, and turn thou unto the Kingdom of ABHA, until thou mayest apprehend my mysteries.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v3, p. 674)

"Reciting" the Greatest Name means to repeat it over and over, silently or out loud....

(Shoghi Effendi, The Unfolding Destiny of the British Baha'i Community, p. 450)

QUESTION: Do ablutions performed for the Obligatory
Prayer suffice for the ninety-five repetitions of the
Greatest Name?

ANSWER: It is unnecessary to renew the ablutions.

(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 129)

So if you are reciting the Greatest Name itself you would do ablutions otherwise if it follows the obligatory prayer it is unnecessary.

The repetition of "Allah-u-Abha" ninety-five times is
to be preceded by the performance of ablutions (see note
34).

(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 180)

bwb

Reciting the Greatest Name 95 times a day only became binding on all Baha'is since 1999. There is some relevant information and quotations in this message from the Universal House of Justice.

Further Application of the Laws of the Kitab-i-Aqdas

"Further Application of the Laws of the Kitab-i-Aqdas
by Universal House of Justice
1999-12-28

To the Bahá'ís of the World

Beloved Friends,

In the course of the Four Year Plan, we have been reviewing those laws of the Kitab-i-Aqdas which are not yet universally applied, in order to determine which of them it would be timely to implement now.

In every land we see a growing thirst for spiritual life and moral clarity. There is recognition of the ineffectiveness of plans and programs for human betterment which are not rooted in lives of spiritual awareness and ethical virtue. Who should be better equipped to satisfy this longing than those who are already inspired by the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh and aided by His Power?

We have determined, therefore, that it is imperative for all the believers to deepen their awareness of the blessings conferred by the laws which directly foster the devotional life of the individual and, thus, of the community. The essentials of these laws are known to all Bahá'ís, but acquiring greater insight into their significance must include carrying out all the divinely revealed aspects of their observance. These are the laws which pertain to obligatory prayer, fasting and recitation of the Greatest Name ninety-five times a day.

Bahá'u'lláh asserts: "One who performeth neither good deeds nor acts of worship is like unto a tree which beareth no fruit, and an action which leaveth no trace. Whosoever experienceth the holy ecstasy of worship will refuse to barter such an act or any praise of God for all that existeth in the world. Fasting and obligatory prayer are as two wings to man's life. Blessed be the one who soareth with their aid in the heaven of the love of God, the Lord of all worlds."

The friends have long been familiar with the great importance which Bahá'u'lláh attaches to daily obligatory prayer and to the observance of the fast, but a number of aspects of the law, such as those concerning ablutions, travelling and the compensation for prayers missed, remained to be made universally applicable. This step is now taken. Thus all elements of the laws dealing with obligatory prayer and fasting are, without any exception, now applicable.

We have also decided that it is timely for Bahá'ís in every land to take to their hearts the words of the Kitab-i-Aqdas: "It hath been ordained that every believer in God, the Lord of Judgment, shall, each day, having washed his hands and then his face, seat himself and, turning unto God, repeat `Allah-u-Abha' ninety-five times. Such was the decree of the Maker of the Heavens when, with majesty and power, He established Himself upon the thrones of His Names." Let all experience the spiritual enrichment brought to their souls by this simple act of worshipful meditation.

The spiritual growth generated by individual devotions is reinforced by loving association among the friends in every locality, by worship as a community and by service to the Faith and to one's fellow human beings. These communal aspects of the godly life relate to the law of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar which appears in the Kitab-i-Aqdas. Although the time has not come for the building of local Mashriqu'l-Adhkars, the holding of regular meetings for worship open to all and the involvement of Bahá'í communities in projects of humanitarian service are expressions of this element of Bahá'í life and a further step in the implementation of the Law of God.

Bahá'u'lláh has written: "We have adorned the heaven of utterance with the stars of divine wisdom and holy ordinances as a bounty on Our part. Verily, We are the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous. O friends of God throughout the regions! Know ye the value of these days and cling unto whatsoever hath been sent down from God, the Most Great, the Most Exalted. Verily, He remembereth you in the Most Great Prison, and instructeth you in that which will cause you to draw nigh unto a station that delighteth the eyes of the pure in heart. Glory rest upon you and upon those who have attained unto that living fountain which floweth forth from My wondrous Pen."

It is our prayer at the Sacred Threshold that the greater attention to the spiritual heart of the Teachings which these laws express will enhance the devotion of the friends to the Source of all bounties and attract to the Cause the receptive souls among His spiritually famished children.

[SIGNED:
THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE]"

Sheppy

Thank you all for the informations!

bwb

You Baha'is are not under the impression that it is necessary to recite Allah'u'abha in Arabic are you? You can use the English translation if you are more comfortable with it:


"Concerning your question regarding the 'Greatest Name': The Greatest Name is an invocation which means 'O Thou of Glories'! The word Baha', or "Glory", is a reference to Bahá'u'lláh. The Greatest Name is a distinctive mark of the Cause and a symbol of our Faith. The term of 'Allah-u-Abha, on the other hand, is a form of Bahá'í greeting, and means 'God the All Glorious.'"

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, December 8, 1941)
(Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 266)

"He also wishes me to inform you that the symbol of the Greatest Name represents and invocation which can be translated either as 'O Glory of Glories' or 'O Glory of the All-Glorious'. The word used in this connection is a translation of the Arabic term 'Baha, the name of Bahá'u'lláh."

(From letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, April 28, 1935: Bahá'í News, No. 93, p. 1, July 1935)
(Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 270)

cire perdue

I have used the lost wax process to made sterling spacers for 95 beads, every 19th bead is sterling, with 95th bead having 3 holes in tribute to Buddhist prayer beads....Cire perdue means lost wax en francais. I have made some impressive beads. So
I was very pleased to learn from a Baha'i of less than a year who declared in Guam, they were taught to use the 3 joints and base of each finger which is 16 and then the 3 joints of the thumb 5 times, keeping count with the second hand, to the count to 95. I was very impressed.

arthra

Cire wrote:

I was very pleased to learn from a Baha'i of less than a year who declared in Guam, they were taught to use the 3 joints and base of each finger which is 16 and then the 3 joints of the thumb 5 times, keeping count with the second hand, to the count to 95. I was very impressed

What I do is count on one hand using the joints of fingers and tips which is nineteen..

with the other hand I count the the index finger twice and one round for the three other digits.. thus 5 X 19 = 95

The advantage of using counting this way is you do not really need prayer beads.. but of course prayer beads are lovely..

There was a set of beads passed around once at the Oregon Baha'i Summer School i attended that had been given by Abdul-Baha to an American believer.. they were beautiful in their own way made of uneven quartz stones.

Pollwr

I have threaded my own prayer beads but I also count on my hands. I use each digit on my left hand to touch each side of each finger twice, on the other hand, ending with touching the outside of the thumb once rather than twice. I use the Greatest Name as a mantra meditation. I find it clears my chattering mind beautifully and leads to a prayerful state where I don't have irritating little thoughts about the days events popping in.

Tobias

Speaking exactly the repetition of Alláh-u-Abhá 95 times is not an obligatory daily prayer (salát), but an obligatory daily remembrance (dhikr).

It has its roots in the Islamic religious tradition (especially Sufism) where dhikr describes the category of devotional where often repetition of the Names of God is done.

arthra

" It hath been ordained that every believer in God, the Lord of Judgement, shall, each day, having washed his hands and then face, seat himself and, turning unto God, repeat 'Allah'u'-Abha' ninety-five times. Such was the decree of the Maker of the Heavens when with Majesty and power, He established Himself upon the thrones of His Names. Perform ye likewise, ablutions for the Obligatory Prayer; this is the command of God, the Incomparable, the Unrestrained."

~ Bahá'u'lláh: The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, K18, p. 26