The Obligatory Prayer … referred to in this verse [of the Kitab-i-Aqdas] has been superseded by the three Obligatory Prayers later
revealed by Bahá’u’lláh…
A rak’áh is the recitation of specifically revealed verses
accompanied by a prescribed set of genuflections and other movements.
The Obligatory Prayer originally enjoined by Bahá’u’lláh
upon His followers consisted of nine rak’áhs. The precise nature of this prayer
and the specific instructions for its recitation are unknown, as the prayer has
been lost…
The original Obligatory Prayer had “for reasons of wisdom”
been revealed by Bahá’u’lláh in a separate Tablet... It was not released to the
believers in His lifetime, having been superseded by the three Obligatory
Prayers now in use.
Shortly after the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, the text of this
prayer, along with a number of other Tablets, was stolen by Muhammad-‘Alí, the
Arch-breaker of His Covenant. (From the “Notes”
section of the ‘Kitab-i-Aqdas’, prepared by the Research department of the
Universal House of Justice)
