The “Point of Adoration”, that is, the point to which the
worshipper should turn when offering obligatory prayer, is called the Qiblih.
The concept of Qiblih has existed in previous religions. Jerusalem in the past
had been fixed for this purpose. Muḥammad changed the Qiblih to Mecca. The
Báb’s instructions in the Arabic Bayán were:
“The Qiblih is indeed He Whom God will make manifest;
whenever He moveth, it moveth, until He shall come to rest.”
This passage is quoted by Bahá’u’lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
(# 137) and confirmed by Him in the above-noted verse. He has also indicated
that facing in the direction of the Qiblih is a “fixed requirement for the
recitation of obligatory prayer” (Q and A 14 and 67). However, for other
prayers and devotions the individual may face in any direction.
- The Universal
House of Justice (‘The Notes section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
