O thou daughter of the Kingdom! The
Obligatory Prayers are binding inasmuch as they are conducive to humility and
submissiveness, to setting one's face towards God and expressing devotion to
Him. Through such prayer man holdeth communion with God, seeketh to draw near
unto Him, converseth with the true Beloved of his heart, and attaineth
spiritual stations. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, from a Tablet, Compilation ‘The Importance
of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting’, prepared by the Research Department of the
Universal House of Justice; The American Baha’i September 2000)
