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"The ordinance of fasting is, as is the case with these three prayers (obligatory) a spiritual and vital obligation enjoined by Baha'u'llah upon every believer who has attained the age of fifteen. In the Aqdas He thus writes: `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 has exempted from this those who are weak from illness or age, as a bounty from His Presence, and He is the Forgiving, the Generous.' (28:1) "And in another passage He says: `We have enjoined upon you fasting during a brief period, and at its close have designated for you Naw- Ruz as a Feast... The traveller, the ailing, those who are with child or giving suck, are not bound by the Fast... Abstain from food and drink, from sunrise to sundown, and beware lest desire deprive you of this grace that is appointed in the Book.' (28:2) "Also in the `Questions and Answers' that form an appendix to the Aqdas, Baha'u'llah reveals the following: `Verily, I say that God has appointed a Great station for fasting and prayer. But during good health its benefit is evident, and when one is ill, it is not permissible to fulfill them.' Concerning the age of maturity, He reveals in the appendix of that same Book: `The age of maturity is in the fifteenth year; women and men are alike in this respect.' Regarding the vital character and importance of the Divine ordinances and laws, and the necessity of complete obedience to them by the believers, we thus read in the Gleanings, p. 175: (28:3) `Know verily that the essence of justice and the source thereof are both embodied in the ordinance prescribed by Him Who is the Manifestation of the Self of God amongst men, if ye be of them that recognize this truth. He doth verily incarnate the highest, the infallible standard of justice unto all creation. Were His law to be such as to strike terror in the hearts of all that are in heaven and on earth, that law is naught but manifest justice. The fears and agitation which the revelation of this law provoke in men's hearts should indeed be likened to the cries of the suckling babe weaned from his mother's milk, if ye be of them that perceive...'
(28:4)
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