Abrogated Laws: Uncleanliness of Certain Objects for Purposes of Prostration

Uncleanliness of Certain Objects for Purposes of Prostration

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.

(The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, The Most Holy Book, Bahá’u’lláh, para. 10)

The requirements of prayer in previous Dispensations have often included prostration. In the Arabic Bayán the Báb called upon the believers to lay their foreheads on surfaces of crystal when prostrating. Similarly, in Islám, certain restrictions are imposed with regard to the surface on which Muslims are permitted to prostrate. Bahá’u’lláh abrogates such restrictions and simply specifies “any surface that is clean.”

(The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, The Most Holy Book, Notes NO. 15)