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Explore the Bahá’í belief in soul development through laws and practices promoting spiritual growth, prayer, fasting, and ethical behavior. Understand the significance of obedience to God, daily meditation, and community teachings for personal enrichment.
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An Introduction to the Bahá’í Faith Part 2 – Laws and Practices
Bahá’ís believe that every human being has a soul and that our purpose in this life is to develop the soul as much as we can. All the difficulties in life help us to progress as we learn to overcome them. All the laws of a religion (such as being kind to others) and the practices (such as prayer) help us to understand how to live our lives in order to be happy and to be able to deal with the problems we meet along the way.
Prayer The body needs food every day for it to grow. In the same way, the soul needs spiritual food every day so it will grow. This spiritual food is prayer. God is a spiritual Being and prayer is spiritual communication with God.
Obligatory prayer Every day, Bahá’ís between the ages of 15 and 70 should choose one of three Daily Obligatory Prayers to say. These range from a few lines to a few pages in length.
Meditation Bahá’u’lláh said that it is important to read something from the Bahá’í Writings each morning and each evening and to think deeply about what it means. Bahá’ís should also meditate every day, by sitting down and repeating the phrase “Alláh-u-Abhá!” 95 times. This means “God is the All-Glorious”.
The Fast During the last month of the Bahá’í year there is a fast from sunrise to sunset. Bahá’ís aged between 15 and 70 do not eat or drink between these times. This should be a time for remembering that the soul is more important than the body, and for prayer. The Fast lasts for 19 days and is always at the same time of year so it lasts for about 12 hours each day. It ends with the New Year festival which is a Holy Day.
Health Bahá’ís should not drink alcohol or use any other habit-forming drugs. Smoking is also strongly discouraged. None of these help our souls to progress. There are no foods which Bahá’ís are forbidden to eat, although Bahá’ís do expect that, in the future, meat will no longer be eaten.
Behaviour Bahá’ís should always look at other people’s good points, and should never say unkind things about others. This is very important. Bahá’ís should be kind, generous, honest, fair, trustworthy and humble. If we have learned how to live a good life then we will be happy in this world and the next.
Life after Death The soul leaves the body behind, like taking off a coat, and goes on to a completely different plane of existence. We still have our memories from this life, and we will be able to recognise people we knew. The more we have developed spiritually in this world, the nearer we will be to God in the next world. This is heaven. If we haven’t taken our chances to make progress in this world, we will realise our mistake and this is what hell is like – being far from God.
A Bahá’í Funeral When a Bahá’í dies, the body should be buried nearby – within an hour’s travel at most. A special burial ring goes on one of the fingers of the dead person, and the body is wrapped in cloth and placed in a coffin. There is a special prayer which should be said at the funeral.
Pilgrimage Bahá’ís from all over the world go to the Holy Land on pilgrimage to visit the shrines where Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb and `Abdu’l-Bahá are buried, and also visit the places where Bahá’u’lláh was imprisoned.
Pilgrims are taken to the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, near the town of Akká in the Holy Land. This is the spot towards which Bahá’ís turn when they say their daily prayers. There is a special prayer to be said at the Shrines of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh.
Children Bahá’í children are taught to think for themselves and to make up their own minds about things. They are encouraged to learn about other faiths and to make friends with children from all religions and none.
Education Education is considered very important – most especially for girls, because they grow up to become mothers, and they will be the first teachers of their children. Education should mean looking for the talents and gifts which each person has. Bahá’ís see no conflict between religion and science, they are two different ways of looking at the same thing.
Becoming a Bahá’í There are no special ceremonies for Bahá’í children. In the same way, if an adult decides to become a Bahá’í, he or she just has to say that they believe in Bahá’u’lláh and want to join the Bahá’í community. At the age of 15 children should decide for themselves if they believe in Bahá’u’lláh and therefore wish to continue as a Bahá’í. A young person then takes responsibility for daily prayers and for fasting.
Marriage Marriage is very important for Bahá’ís. It brings two families together, and should give children a happy home in which to grow up. The Bahá’í wedding vows are very simple. The bride and groom each say one sentence: “We will all, verily, abide by the will of God.” Other than this, the bride and groom choose their favourite prayers, readings and music to include in the ceremony.
For a Bahá’í wedding to take place, the couple must have freely chosen one another, without any interference, but once they have decided that they would like to be married, they then ask for approval from their parents. The result should be more stable families. As men and women are considered equal, the husband and wife must be a partnership or team.
Divorce Bahá’ís should avoid divorce if at all possible, but if the couple come to really dislike one another, they must live apart for one year. If they still want to separate, the divorce is granted.
The Calendar The Bahá’í year starts at the spring equinox (when the days and nights are the same length) which falls on March 20th or 21st. In the Bahá’í calendar there are nineteen months. The months have names such as Glory, Beauty and Power. Each of the 19 months has 19 days. This gives a total of 361 days. Each year there are 4 or 5 extra days, depending on the date of the equinox, to make a full year. These days come before the Fast and are special days when Bahá’ís give presents.
Elections Bahá’ís have no priests of any sort, so in each city, town or village, nine Bahá’ís are elected as the Local Spiritual Assembly. The vote is secret and no-one suggests anyone as a candidate or discusses who would be best. There are prayers before an election as it is a spiritual choice. Bahá’ís should vote for people who have both spiritual and practical qualities.
The Bahá’í Fund Only Bahá’ís are allowed to give money to the Bahá’í Fund. All donations are secret and no-one will ever be asked for money.
Caring for the Earth Bahá’ís believe we should respect the earth and all God’s creatures. We are all part of a system which needs to work in harmony. There is no place for greed which will only upset the delicate balance. We need to live a spiritual, unselfish life.
A Bahá’í Symbol Bahá’ís normally use a nine-pointed star as a symbol of their religion. Sometimes people design their own flower with nine petals, or make a nine-sided geometric design. Nine is the biggest single digit, and so some people refer to it as the number of unity. Unity is the main purpose of the Bahá’í Faith.
This has been a very brief introduction to the laws and practices of the Bahá’í Faith. For more information see www.bahai.org Produced by P&A Vickers for the UK Bahá’í RE agency. Pilgrimage photographs courtesy of the Bahá’í Media Bank.
