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.
Bahá’u’lláh 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).
- The
Universal House of Justice (The ‘Notes’ section of ‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
From Baha’u’llah:
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, and while prostrating say “Glorified be God, the Lord
of Might and Majesty, of Grace and Bounty”. Whoso is unable to do this, let him
say only “Glorified be God”; this shall assuredly suffice him. He is, of a
truth, the all-sufficing, the ever-abiding, the forgiving, compassionate God.
Upon completing your prostrations, seat yourselves cross-legged—men and women
alike—and eighteen times repeat “Glorified be God, the Lord of the kingdoms of
earth and heaven”. Thus doth the Lord make plain the ways of truth and
guidance, ways that lead to one way, which is this Straight Path. Render thanks
unto God for this most gracious favour; offer praise unto Him for this bounty
that hath encompassed the heavens and the earth; extol Him for this mercy that
hath pervaded all creation.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
