8 We have set forth the details of obligatory prayer in another Tablet.
Blessed is he who observeth that whereunto he hath been bidden by Him Who
ruleth over all mankind. In the Prayer for the Dead six specific passages
have been sent down by God, the Revealer of Verses. 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.
9 Hair doth not invalidate your prayer, nor aught from which the spirit
hath departed, such as bones and the like. 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’án, but from the
misconceptions of the divines. He, verily, is the All-Glorious, the
All-Knowing.
10 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. 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. 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; God, indeed, hath knowledge of that whereof ye know naught.
Let him that findeth no water for ablution repeat five times the words "In
the Name of God, the Most Pure, the Most Pure", and then proceed to his
devotions. Such is the command of the Lord of all worlds. 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.
11 We have absolved you from the requirement of performing the Prayer of
the Signs. 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".
12 It hath been ordained that obligatory prayer is to be performed by each
of you individually. 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.
13 God hath exempted women who are in their courses from obligatory prayer
and fasting. Let them, instead, after performance of their ablutions, give
praise unto God, repeating ninety-five times between the noon of one day
and the next "Glorified be God, the Lord of Splendour and Beauty". Thus
hath it been decreed in the Book, if ye be of them that comprehend.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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