Group – Forgiveness; Detachment; Enkindlement with love of God; Occupied with reading and meditating on verses of God; Attraction to God; Deepening knowledge and faith

O God! O God! Thou dost behold me, how my forehead is laid upon the dust of humility and submission and how my face is covered in the ground of the threshold of thy singleness. O thou my Lord, the Unconstrained! Thou seest me lowly and contrite, supplicating, entreating and imploring toward the Kingdom of thy light by day and by night, that thou encircle us with the eye of thy providence and the glances of the outlook of thy mercifulness.

O Lord! Forgive our sins, pardon our shortcomings and deal with us through thy grace and generosity under all circumstances. O our Lord! We are sinners, but thou art the merciful forgiver. We are transgressors, but thou art the clement pardoner. Absolve our iniquities, remove our sorrows, destine for us through thy bestowal severance from the world, occupation with thy mentioning, enkindlement with the fire of thy love, perpetual contemplation of thy signs, the knowledge of thy words, meditation over thy verses and the attraction of thy lights.

O Lord! O Lord! These are thy servants; they have turned their faces toward thy countenance and they have resolved their joy and happiness in thy favor and bounty. Strengthen their backs in thy obedience. Reinforce their lives in thy adoration. Perfume their hearts with the fragrances of thy holiness. Ordain for them presence in the paradise of thy meeting. Suffer them to become such servants as peruse the verses of unity in the assemblages held in thy name; that attract the rays of singleness from the lamp of thy bestowal; as those drawn towards thy beauty, humble before thy glory; who have abandoned aught else save thee and are relying upon thy protection and preservation; as those rendered meek by the sway of thy Word, made submissive before thy beloved ones; as those diffusing thy fragrances, disclosing thy mysteries, informing people with thy teachings and suffering mankind to become rejoiced through thy glad-tidings. Verily, thou art powerful over that which thou wiliest and thou feedest whomsoever thou desirest with thy hand. The world and the Kingdom belong to thee and thou art the mighty, the omnipotent and the beloved! 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; Star of the West, vol. 7, no. 14, November 23, 1916)

Believers – “prosperous”; “reveal to them the hidden realities and significances”; “a shining face and … a musk-diffusing character”

O thou Eternal One! Make the friends of that country prosperous, acquaint them with the mysteries; usher them into the divine rose-garden and; make their hearts the association of truth and their souls full of divine melodies and sacred (choral) music!

O God! This respectful assemblage are my relatives and kindred and the cause of the happiness of this afflicted one. Bestow upon them a shining face and grant them a musk-diffusing character. Show them the mystery of the Kingdom and suffer them to hear the soul-elevating harmony of heaven! Awaken (the people) by the breeze of the Paradise of Abha and make them alive by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Verily, Thou are the Powerful and Omnipotent, and Thou art the Bestower and generous! 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From ‘Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 2)

Group – “Remove our difficulties by Thy grace and bounty”

O Lord, my God! O Thou the Most Lauded, the Most Holy, the Most Tender, the Most Bountiful! Remove our difficulties by Thy grace and bounty. Thou art, verily, the All-Merciful, the All-Bountiful. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

Prayer for Washington

O God! Grant Washington happiness and peace! Illuminate that land with the light of the faces of the friends, make it a paradise of Glory, let it become an envy of the green gardens of the earth! Help the friends, increase their number, make their hearts sources of inspiration and their souls dawnings of light. Thus may that city become a beautiful paradise and fragrant with the fragrance of musk. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  ('Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha', vol. 2)

Individual – Spiritual growth and transformation

Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! Sanctify mine eye, and mine ear, and my tongue, and my spirit, and my heart, and my soul, and my body, and mine entire being from turning unto anyone but Thee. Give me then to drink from the cup that brimmeth with the sealed wine of Thy glory. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

A prayer for those who labor in Mashriqu’l-Adhkár

O Lord, my God! Confirm them in Thy service; strengthen their backs in bearing the stones for the erection of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. O Lord, my God! Illumine the faces of these righteous ones with the light that shineth from the dawning-place of Thy mysteries. Verily, Thou art the Mighty and the Unconstrained, and verily Thou art the Merciful and the Compassionate. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  ('Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks'; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

Individual – Assistance; Servitude; Humility & submissiveness; Firmness; Illumination; “Refresh my spirit”; “gladden my soul”; Forgiveness; Steadfastness

He is the Most Holy, the Most Glorious.

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful! Praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds!

O Lord my God, my Haven and my Refuge! How can I befittingly make mention of Thee, even with the most wondrous words of glorification or the most eloquent odes of praise, O Thou Almighty and Forgiving One, aware as I am that the tongue of every eloquent speaker doth falter, and every expression of praise from either human pen or tongue is confounded in its attempt to glorify but one of the signs of Thine omnipotent power or to extol a single Word that hath been created by Thee. Indeed, the wings of the birds of human minds are broken in their attempt to soar up to the atmosphere of Thy divine holiness, and the spiders of idle fancy are powerless to weave their frail webs upon the loftiest summits of the canopy of Thy knowledge. No recourse is there for me, then, but to acknowledge my powerlessness and shortcomings, and no habitation is there for me but in the depths of poverty and privation. Verily, powerlessness to comprehend Thee is the essence of understanding, confession of shortcomings is the only means of attaining Thy presence, and admission of poverty is the source of true wealth.

Group – Blessings and grace; “Illumine our eyes”; Joy; Spiritual growth; Steadfastness; Forgiveness; Assistance; Teaching; Strength; “confer heavenly power”

O Thou Omnipotent Lord! We are all held within the mighty grasp of Thy power. Thou art our Supporter and our Helper. Grant us Thy tender mercy, bestow upon us Thy bounty, open the portals of grace, and cast upon us the glance of Thy favours. Let a vivifying breeze waft over us, and quicken Thou our yearning hearts. Illumine our eyes and make the sanctuary of our hearts the envy of every blossoming bower. Rejoice every soul and gladden every spirit. Reveal Thine ancient power and make manifest Thy great might. Cause the birds of human souls to soar to new heights, and let Thy confidants in this nether world fathom the mysteries of Thy Kingdom. Set firm our steps and bestow upon us unwavering hearts. We are sinners, and Thou art the Ever-Forgiving. We are Thy servants, and Thou art the Sovereign Lord. We are homeless wanderers, and Thou art our haven and refuge. Graciously aid and assist us to diffuse Thy sweet savours and to exalt Thy Word. Elevate the station of the dispossessed, and bestow Thine inexhaustible treasure upon the destitute. Vouchsafe Thy strength unto the weak, and confer heavenly power upon the feeble. Thou art the Provider, Thou art the Gracious, Thou art the Lord Who ruleth over all things. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Twenty-six Prayers Revealed by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá; A selection of prayers prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice and released in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá's passing: Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Centre)

Group – Service to the Cause

O Lord! What an outpouring of bounty Thou hast vouchsafed, and what a flood of abounding grace Thou hast granted! Thou didst make all the hearts to become even as a single heart, and all the souls to be bound together as one soul. Thou didst endow inert bodies with life and feeling, and didst bestow upon lifeless frames the consciousness of the spirit. Through the effulgent rays shed from the Day-Star of the All-Merciful, Thou didst invest these atoms of dust with visible existence, and through the billows of the ocean of oneness, Thou didst enable these evanescent drops to surge and roar.

O Almighty One Who endowest a blade of straw with the might of a mountain and enablest a speck of dust to mirror forth the glory of the resplendent sun! Grant us Thy tender grace and favour, so that we may arise to serve Thy Cause and not be shamefaced before the peoples of the earth. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Twenty-six Prayers Revealed by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá; A selection of prayers prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice and released in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá's passing: Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Centre)

Group – Confirmation; Assistance; Spiritual attraction; Teaching

O Thou Almighty God! Confirm Thou these friends and the maid-servants of the Merciful! Grant Thou to them assistance. Open Thou before their faces the closed doors and make them intimate with the fragrances of holiness, so that they may become the confident friends of each other; raise the melody and the song of joy and sing the harmony of heaven, in order that they may exhilarate and gladden the regions of the West and impart attraction and ecstasy!

Make Thou them the magnets of love so that they may attract the hearts to the Kingdom of Abha!

Verily, Thou art the Powerful and the Mighty; and Thou art the Giver, the Seer and the Hearer! There is no God but Thee, the Generous, the Merciful! 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 2)

Humanity – Assistance; “Dispel this darksome cloud”; Protection; “quicken the lifeless hearts”; “refresh this withered plant”

O Divine Providence! Bestow Thine aid and vouchsafe Thine assistance. Dispel this darksome cloud and disperse this obscuring mist. Waft Thy life-giving breezes and quicken the lifeless hearts. Rain down the showers of Thy mercy and refresh this withered plant. Cause the bowers of human hearts to become the gardens of the all-glorious Paradise and the realities of human souls to become the meadows of the Concourse on high. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Included in a message from the Universal House of Justice dated 14 May 2009 to the Believers in the Cradle of the Faith; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

Departed – for Robert Turner

O Thou Provider, O Thou Forgiver! Exalt dearly loved Robert [1] in Thy Kingdom and, in the garden of the Abhá Paradise, make him an intimate of the birds of the meadow. O All-Knowing God! While that innocent soul was black in colour, he was, like unto the black pupil of the eye, a source of radiant light.

O Thou Forgiving Lord! Enable that yearning soul to behold Thee and cause that thirsty one to drink his fill of the water of life. Thou art the Bestower, the Pardoner, the Loving. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; ‘Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks’; online Baha’i Reference Library, Baha’i World Centre)

[1] Robert Turner: The first African American Bahá’í and one of the nineteen Disciples of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Departed – “Make these precious souls companions of the inmates of Heaven, and admit them into the circle of Thy chosen ones”

He is God.

O Thou forgiving Lord! These servants were noble souls, and these radiant hearts were made illumined and resplendent through the light of Thy guidance. They drank a brimming cup of the wine of Thy love, and gave ear to eternal mysteries imparted by the melodies of Thy knowledge. They bound their hearts to Thee, broke free from the snare of estrangement, and laid hold of Thy unity. Make these precious souls companions of the inmates of Heaven, and admit them into the circle of Thy chosen ones. Make them intimates of Thy mysteries in the retreats of the realm above, and immerse them in the sea of lights. Thou art the Bestower, the Luminous, and the Kind. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Twenty-six Prayers Revealed by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá; A selection of prayers prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice and released in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá's passing: Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Centre)

Individual (woman) – “nourish me with the wine of Thy knowledge and the living waters of Thy love and pleasure”

O God! The trials Thou sendest are a salve to the sores of all them who are devoted to Thy will; the remembrance of Thee is a healing medicine to the hearts of such as have drawn nigh unto Thy court; nearness to Thee is the true life of them who are Thy lovers; Thy presence is the ardent desire of such as yearn to behold Thy face; remoteness from Thee is a torment to those that have acknowledged Thy oneness, and separation from Thee is death unto them that have recognised Thy truth!

I beseech Thee by the sighs which they whose souls pant after Thee have uttered in their remoteness from Thy court, and by the cries of such of Thy lovers as bemoan their separation from Thee, to nourish me with the wine of Thy knowledge and the living waters of Thy love and pleasure. Behold Thy handmaiden, O my Lord, who hath forgotten all else except Thee, and who hath delighted herself with Thy love, and lamented over the things that have befallen Thee at the hands of the wicked doers among Thy creatures. Do Thou ordain for her that which Thou didst ordain for such of Thy handmaidens as circle round the throne of Thy majesty, and gaze, at eventide and at dawn, on Thy beauty.

Thou art, verily, the Lord of the Judgement Day. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah)

The Fast: Individual & Believers – “cast me not away from the gate of the city of Thy presence”; Nearness; “attract me by the fragrance of Thy raiment”; Service; “enable me to gaze on the Daystar of Thy Beauty”; Assistance; “grant that I may die to all that I possess and live to whatsoever belongeth unto Thee”; ”aid me to remember Thee amongst Thy creatures, and to extol Thee amidst Thy people”; “remove me far from whatsoever Thy will abhorreth”; “make known unto me what lay hid in the treasuries of Thy knowledge”; ”number me with such as have attained unto that which Thou hast sent down in Thy Book”; Steadfastness; Forgiveness

I beseech Thee, O my God, by Thy mighty Sign, and by the revelation of Thy grace amongst men, to cast me not away from the gate of the city of Thy presence, and to disappoint not the hopes I have set on the manifestations of Thy grace amidst Thy creatures. Thou seest me, O my God, holding to Thy Name, the Most Holy, the Most Luminous, the Most Mighty, the Most Great, the Most Exalted, the Most Glorious, and clinging to the hem of the robe to which have clung all in this world and in the world to come.

I beseech Thee, O my God, by Thy most sweet Voice and by Thy most exalted Word, to draw me ever nearer to the threshold of Thy door, and to suffer me not to be far removed from the shadow of Thy mercy and the canopy of Thy bounty. Thou seest me, O my God, holding to Thy Name, the Most Holy, the Most Luminous, the Most Mighty, the Most Great, the Most Exalted, the Most Glorious, and clinging to the hem of the robe to which have clung all in this world and in the world to come.

I beseech Thee, O my God, by the splendor of Thy luminous brow and the brightness of the light of Thy countenance, which shineth from the all-highest horizon, to attract me by the fragrance of Thy raiment, and make me drink of the choice wine of Thine utterance. Thou seest me, O my God, holding to Thy Name, the Most Holy, the Most Luminous, the Most Mighty, the Most Great, the Most Exalted, the Most Glorious, and clinging to the hem of the robe to which have clung all in this world and in the world to come.

Group & Humanity – Assistance; Humanity: “new thoughts, new life”; “new perceptions, and…new virtues”; Acceptance at God’s threshold

O Thou kind God! In the utmost state of humility and submission do we entreat and supplicate at Thy threshold, seeking Thine endless confirmations and illimitable assistance. O Thou Lord! Regenerate these souls, and confer upon them a new life. Animate the spirits, inform the hearts, open the eyes, and make the ears attentive. From Thine ancient treasury confer a new being and animus, and from Thy preexistent abode assist them to attain to new confirmations.

O God! Verily, the world is in need of reformation. Bestow upon it a new existence. Give it newness of thoughts, and reveal unto it heavenly sciences. Breathe into it a fresh spirit, and grant unto it a holier and higher purpose.

O God! Verily, Thou hast made this century radiant, and in it Thou hast manifested Thy merciful effulgence. Thou hast effaced the darkness of superstitions and permitted the light of assurance to shine. O God! Grant that these servants may be acceptable at Thy threshold. Reveal a new heaven, and spread out a new earth for habitation. Let a new Jerusalem descend from on high. Bestow new thoughts, new life upon mankind. Endow souls with new perceptions, and confer upon them new virtues. Verily, Thou art the Almighty, the Powerful. Thou art the Giver, the Generous. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)

Ayyam-i-Há

My God, my Fire and my Light! The days which Thou hast named the Ayyám-i-Há [1] in Thy Book have begun, O Thou Who art the King of names, and the Fast which Thy most exalted Pen hath enjoined unto all who are in the kingdom of Thy creation to observe is approaching. I entreat Thee, O my Lord, by these days and by all such as have during that period clung to the cord of Thy commandments, and laid hold on the handle of Thy precepts, to grant that unto every soul may be assigned a place within the precincts of Thy court, and a seat at the revelation of the splendors of the light of Thy countenance.

These, O my Lord, are Thy servants whom no corrupt inclination hath kept back from what Thou didst send down in Thy Book. They have bowed themselves before Thy Cause, and received Thy Book with such resolve as is born of Thee, and observed what Thou hadst prescribed unto them, and chosen to follow that which had been sent down by Thee.

Thou seest, O my Lord, how they have recognized and confessed whatsoever Thou hast revealed in Thy Scriptures. Give them to drink, O my Lord, from the hands of Thy graciousness the waters of Thine eternity. Write down, then, for them the recompense ordained for him that hath immersed himself in the ocean of Thy presence, and attained unto the choice wine of Thy meeting.

I implore Thee, O Thou the King of kings and the Pitier of the downtrodden, to ordain for them the good of this world and of the world to come. Write down for them, moreover, what none of Thy creatures hath discovered, and number them with those who have circled round Thee, and who move about Thy throne in every world of Thy worlds.

Thou, truly, art the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. 

- Bahá’u’lláh  (‘Bahá’í Prayers: A Selection of Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Centre)

[1] The Intercalary Days: Days of preparation for the Fast, days of hospitality, charity, and the giving of presents.

Individual & Group – Mercy; Protection; Assistance; Service

Praise be to Thee, O Lord my God!... I am the one, O my Lord, that hath held fast the cord of Thy mercy which hath surpassed the entire creation. I am the one that hath clung to the hem of Thy loving-kindness, O Thou in Whose hand is the empire of all names!

Have mercy upon me and upon all them that are in my company, through the wonders of Thy grace and power. Shield us, then, O my God, from the mischief of Thine enemies, and assist us to help Thy Faith, and to protect Thy Cause, and to celebrate Thy glory. Thou art, verily, He Who from everlasting hath inhabited the inaccessible heights of His unity, and will continue to remain the same for ever and ever. Nothing whatsoever escapeth Thy knowledge, nor is there anything that can frustrate Thee. No God is there beside Thee, the Almighty, the Ever-Faithful, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, the Best-Beloved.

Lauded and glorified art Thou, in Whose hand is the empire of all things! 

-Baha’u’llah‘  (Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)

Individual – Detachment; “tidings of joy”; “captivate me with Thy love”; Steadfastness

O Thou kind Lord! Sanctify my heart from all attachment, and gladden my soul with tidings of joy. Free me from attachment to friend and stranger alike, and captivate me with Thy love, that I may become wholly devoted to Thee and be filled with fervid rapture; that I may desire naught but Thee, seek no one except Thyself, tread no other path besides Thine, and commune only with Thee; that I may, even as a nightingale, be spellbound by Thy love and, by day and night, sigh and wail and weep and cry out, “Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá!” 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Twenty-six Prayers Revealed by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá; A selection of prayers prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice and released in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá's passing: Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Centre)

Youth – Blessings; Spiritual growth; “may be freed from error”; Service; “may guide the wayward”; “awaken the heedless”

O Lord! Make this youth radiant and confer Thy bounty upon this poor creature. Bestow upon him knowledge, grant him added strength at the break of every morn and guard him within the shelter of Thy protection so that he may be freed from error, may devote himself to the service of Thy Cause, may guide the wayward, lead the hapless, free the captives and awaken the heedless, that all may be blessed with Thy remembrance and praise. Thou art the Mighty and the Powerful. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Youth)

Group & Children (revealed on Mount Carmel) – “Forgive our sins”; “Shield us within The shelter of Thy protection”; “Guard and preserve these two little children”; “nurture them in the embrace of Thy Love”

From America, that distant country, we hastened to the Holy Land and directed our steps toward this blessed Spot. We attained unto the two blessed and sacred Thresholds and obtained boundless grace therefrom. We have now come to Mount Carmel, which is Thy sacred garden. Most of the Prophets turned to Thee in prayer upon this holy mountain, communing with Thee in the utmost humility at the midnight hour.

O Lord! We are now in this blessed place. We beseech Thine infinite bounties and long for a joyous and tranquil conscience. We desire firmness in the Covenant and seek Thy good-pleasure to our last breath.

O Lord! Forgive our sins and bestow upon us Thy manifold favours. Shield us within The shelter of Thy protection. Guard and preserve these two little children and nurture them in the embrace of Thy Love. Thou art the Forgiver, the Resplendent, the Ever-Loving. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘Additional Prayers Revealed by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá; Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Centre)