rayers, but is under the
obligation of reciting one of them, and in accordance with any specific
directions with which they may be accompanied."

--from a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi

"By 'morning,' 'noon' and 'evening,' mentioned in connection with the
Obligatory Prayers, is meant respectively the intervals between sunrise
and noon, between noon and sunset, and from sunset till two hours after
sunset."--Synopsis and Codification of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 36

SHORT OBLIGATORY PRAYER

_TO BE RECITED ONCE IN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS, AT NOON_

I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to
worship Thee.

I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my
poverty and to Thy wealth.

There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

MEDIUM OBLIGATORY PRAYER

_TO BE RECITED DAILY, IN THE MORNING, AT NOON, AND IN THE EVENING_

Whoso wisheth to pray, let him wash his hands, and while he washeth, let
him say:

Strengthen my hand, O my God, that it may take hold of Thy Book with such
steadfastness that the hosts of the world shall have no power over it.
Guard it, then, from meddling with whatsoever doth not belong unto it.
Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the Most Powerful.

And while washing his face, let him say:

I have turned my face unto Thee, O my Lord! Illumine it with the light of
Thy countenance. Protect it, then, from turning to anyone but Thee.

Then let him stand up, and facing the Qiblih (Point of Adoration, i.e.
Bahji, Akka), let him say:

God testifieth that there is none other God but Him. His are the kingdoms
of Revelation and of creation. He, in truth, hath manifested Him Who is
the Dayspring of Revelation, Who conversed on Sinai, through Whom the
Supreme Horizon hath been made to shine, and the Lote-Tree beyond which
there is no passing hath spoken, and through Whom the call hath been
proclaimed unto all who are in heaven and on earth: "Lo, the
All-Possessing is come. Earth and heaven, glory and dominion are God's,
the Lord of all men, and the Possessor of the Throne on high and of earth
below!"

Let him, then, bend down, with hands resting on the knees, and say:

Exalted art Thou above my praise and the praise of anyone beside me, above
my description and the description of all who are in heaven and all who
are on earth!

Then, standing with open hands, palms upward toward the face