In the
Name of Him Who hath been promised in the Books of God, the All-Knowing, the
All-Informed! The days of fasting have arrived wherein those servants who
circle round Thy throne and have attained Thy presence have fasted. Say: O God
of names and creator of heaven and earth! I beg of Thee by Thy Name, the
All-Glorious, to accept the fast of those who have fasted for love of Thee and
for the sake of Thy good-pleasure and have carried out what Thou hast bidden
them in Thy Books and Tablets. I beseech Thee by them to assist me in the
promotion of Thy Cause and to make me steadfast in Thy love, that my footsteps
may not slip on account of the clamour of Thy creatures. Verily, Thou art
powerful over whatsoever Thou willest. No God is there but Thee, the Quickener,
the All-Powerful, the Most Bountiful, the Ancient of Days.
- Baha’u’llah (Compilation ‘The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting’, prepared by the
Research Department of the Universal House of Justice; The American Baha’i
September 2000)
