The Book of the Most Holy CHAPTER TWO

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Division 31-60

THE MOST HOLY

31.

Everything that is hath come to be through His irresistible decree.

32.

Whenever My laws appear like the sun in the heaven of Mine utterance,

they must be faithfully obeyed by all,

though My decree be such as to cause the heaven of every religion to be cleft asunder.

33.

He doeth what He pleaseth. He chooseth, and none may question His choice.

34.

Whatsoever He, the Well-Beloved, ordaineth, the same is, verily, beloved.

35.

To this He Who is the Lord of all creation beareth Me witness.

36.

Whoso hath inhaled the sweet fragrance of the All-Merciful, and recognized the Source of this utterance, will welcome with his own eyes the shafts of the enemy, that he may establish the truth of the laws of God amongst men.

37.

Well is it with him that hath turned thereunto, and apprehended the meaning of His decisive decree.

38.

We have set forth the details of obligatory prayer in another Tablet.

39.

Blessed is he who observeth that whereunto he hath been bidden by Him Who ruleth over all mankind.

40.

In the Prayer for the Dead six specific passages have been sent down by God, the Revealer of Verses.

41.

Let one who is able to read recite that which hath been revealed to precede these passages; and as for him who is unable, God hath relieved him of this requirement.

He, of a truth, is the Mighty, the Pardoner.

42.

Hair doth not invalidate your prayer, nor aught from which the spirit hath departed, such as bones and the like.

43.

Ye are free to wear the fur of the sable as ye would that of the beaver, the squirrel, and other animals; the prohibition of its use hath stemmed, not from the Qur'á n, but from the misconceptions of the divines.

He, verily, is the All-Glorious, the All-Knowing.

44.

We have commanded you to pray and fast from the beginning of maturity;

this is ordained by God, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers.

45.

He hath exempted from this those who are weak from illness or age,

as a bounty from His Presence, and He is the Forgiving, the Generous.

46.

God hath granted you leave to prostrate yourselves on any surface that is clean,

for We have removed in this regard the limitation that had been laid down in the Book;

47.

God, indeed, hath knowledge of that whereof ye know naught.

48.

Let him that findeth no water for ablution repeat five times the words

" In the Name of God, the Most Pure, the Most Pure [Holy? ]",

and then proceed to his devotions.

49.

Such is the command of the Lord of all worlds.

50.

In regions where the days and nights grow long,

let times of prayer be gauged by clocks and other instruments that mark the passage of the hours.

He, verily, is the Expounder, the Wise.

51.

We have absolved you from the requirement of performing the Prayer of the Signs.

52.

On the appearance of fearful natural events call ye to mind the might and majesty of your Lord, He Who heareth and seeth all, and say

" Dominion is God's,

the Lord of the seen and the unseen, the Lord of creation".

53.

It hath been ordained that obligatory prayer is to be performed by each of you individually.

54.

Save in the Prayer for the Dead, the practice of congregational prayer hath been annulled.

He, of a truth, is the Ordainer, the All-Wise.

55.

God hath exempted women who are in their courses from obligatory prayer and fasting.

56.

Let them, instead, after performance of their ablutions, give praise unto God,

repeating 95 times between the noon of one day and the next

57.

" Glorified be God, the Lord of Splendour and Beauty".

58.

Thus hath it been decreed in the Book, if ye be of them that comprehend.

59.

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".

60.

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.

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