6 June 2004
Dear Bahá’í Friend,
The Universal House of Justice has received your email letter of 5 April 2004, in which you enquire whether the recitation of the specific verses associated with the performance of ablutions for the medium Obligatory Prayer would also be required when carrying out ablutions for the short and long Obligatory Prayers or for the recitation of the Greatest Name.
Responses to similar queries in the past have indicated that the recitation of the words specified in the medium Obligatory Prayer pertains only to that prayer; that is, for the short and long Obligatory Prayers it would be sufficient to wash one’s hands and face in preparation for each of these two prayers. It follows then that the recitation of the specific verses need not be applied when performing ablutions prior to the recitation of the phrase “Alláh-u-Abhá” ninetyfive times. However, there would be no objection to saying the verses with the ablutions in such cases, should any of the friends so desire.
Concerning your second query in which you request additional statements from the Bahá’í Writings regarding repetition of the Greatest Name ninety-five times a day, we are enclosing a memorandum that was prepared by the Research Department at the Bahá’í World Centre in response to an earlier query on this topic.
We hope this will provide the clarification you seek.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Department of the Secretariat
(Baha’i Library Online)