The Babi and Baha'i Faiths arose in the Twelver Shia Islam

The Babi and Bahá'í Faiths arose in the Twelver Shi`i milieu in Iran and are related in many ways to Shi`i belief, practice, and concepts.

(Shi`i Islam, Moojan Momen, 1995)

https://bahai-library.com/momen_encyclopedia_shii_islam

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UHJ has no right at all to change any law that Bahá’u’lláh has specifically revealed.

Although the Universal House of Justice has to apply and supplement the laws of the Aqdas it has no right at all to change any law that Bahá’u’lláh has specifically revealed. As clearly stated by the Guardian, the provisions of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas “remain inviolate” during the entire Dispensation.

(From a letter dated 28 April 1974 written by the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)

https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/compilations/universal-house-of-justice-compilation/5#692131014

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Baha'u'llah declared all humanity purified and equal in the sight of God.

Though defensive jihad was sanctioned and anticipated in the writings of the Bab, it was hardly realized and is only dimly reflected in the Babi upheavals of the mid-1840s and later. The first thing that Baha’u’llah did in instituting his post-Babi, Baha’i religion in mid-1863, it may be recalled here, was to abolish militaristic jihad and declare all humanity purified and equal in the sight of God.

(The Báb and the Bábí Community of Iran, edited by Fereydun Vahman, Oneworld Academic, London, 2020)

https://bahai-library.com/vahman_bab_babi_community

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Abdul Baha introduces as an obligatory practice ziyara to the shrine of Baha'u'llah

With the death of Baha' Allah in 1892, his tomb at Bahji near Acre was designated by 'Abd al-Baha' as a place of ziyara ranking in importance with the houses in Shiraz and Baghdad. In one letter, he writes that "there is no obligation for everyone to visit such places [holy sites in general], other than the three, namely: the Most Holy Shrine, the Blessed House in Baghdad and the venerated House of the Bab in Shiraz. To visit these is obligatory if one can afford it and is able to do so, and if no obstacle stands in one's way ... These three Holy Places are consecrated to pilgrimage." It should, however, be made clear that what 'Abd al-Baha' is here referring to is ziyara; hajj as such, with its connected rites, may only be performed to the two houses, even though this cannot be done in practice. 'Abd al-Baha's statement is interesting in that it permits ziyara as well as hajj to the houses, and introduces as an obligatory practice ziyara to the shrine of Baha' Allah.

(Rituals in Babism and Baha'ism by Denis MacEoin, London: British Academic Press, 1994)

https://bahai-library.com/maceoin_rituals_babism_bahaism

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the Baha’i Faith is a law-based and statutory religious system.

The devotional and legal ordinances in the Baha’i Faith are primarily derived from the rulings of the Kitab-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book), which superseded the previous Islamic shari‘a. While initially influenced by certain Babi forms, the Baha’i Faith is a law-based and statutory religious system.

The central devotional aspects and regulations include:

Prayer and Devotion

• Recognition: The foundational duty is the recognition of Baha’u’llah as the Manifestation of God in this age. Every believer is also required to repeat the invocation Allah-u-Abha 95 times daily.

• Obligatory Prayer: Obligatory prayers are prescribed three times daily (morning, noon, and evening). They are performed individually and in private. They involve a brief washing of the hands and face and specific postures.

• Qiblih: The direction of obligatory prayer is toward ‘Akka, the resting place of Baha’u’llah.

• Age and Exemptions: Obligatory prayer becomes binding at age 15 for both men and women. Exemptions include the sick, the elderly, and women during their monthly cycle (who recite a brief prescribed verse instead).

• Texts of Prayer: Only the prayers and meditations revealed by Baha’u’llah, the Bab, and ‘Abdu’l-Baha are used in worship.

• Communal Prayer: Public liturgical congregational prayer is abolished, except for the special funeral prayer. Islamic roles such as the muezzin, imam, and khutbih have no equivalent in the Baha’i Faith.

Fasting, Huququ’llah, and Pilgrimage

• Fasting: The Baha’i fast lasts nineteen days, during the final month of the Baha’i year (‘Ala), immediately before Naw-Ruz. It involves abstention from food and drink from sunrise to sunset.

• Huququ’llah (Right of God): Instead of the traditional alms-tax, believers who meet specified conditions pay an annual nineteen percent levy on surplus wealth, known as Huququ’llah, to the House of Justice. Begging is prohibited.

• Pilgrimage: Pilgrimage is obligatory for men, to one of two places designated by Baha’u’llah: the House of Baha’u’llah in Baghdad (Iraq) and the House of the Bab in Shiraz (Iran).

Calendar and Community Life

• Calendar: The Baha’i year begins on Naw-Ruz (the spring equinox, March 21). The calendar is structured around the number nineteen.

• Intercalary Days: The Ayyam-i-Ha—four or five days before the fast—serve as days of hospitality and celebration.

• Holy Days: There are nine Holy Days on which work is suspended, connected with the lives of the Manifestations and key sacred events.

• Nineteen Day Feast: This is the central regular community gathering. Held on the first day of every Baha’i month, it includes devotional readings, consultation on community affairs, and fellowship. Attendance is expected of believers aged 15 and above and is a community-only gathering.

Houses of Worship and Burial Laws

• Mashriqu’l-Adhkar (House of Worship): This is the Baha’i public house of worship. Devotions consist of reading and chanting from the Sacred Texts. There is no clergy, no pulpit, no images, no candles, and no instrumental music. 

• Burial Laws: Cremation is forbidden. Burial must take place in the earth, within a distance of one hour’s travel from the place of death. The deceased is interred with a burial ring bearing the “Greatest Name” of Baha’u’llah.

• Purity: The Islamic concept of ritual impurity is abolished in the Baha’i Faith. Semen is not considered unclean and pork is not forbidden.

(Extracted from Francesco Ficicchia's Der Baha'ismus: Weltreligion der Zukunft? Geschichte, Lehre und Organisation in kritischer Anfrage, Stuttgart: Quell Verlag, 1981)

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Some strange laws of the Bab

• Unique Direction of Prayer (Qibla): The direction to face during prayer was decreed to be "him whom God shall manifest" (man yuẓhiruhu’lláh), the messianic figure foretold by the Báb.
• Specific Prostration Requirements: In ritual prayer, the prostration (sajda) was to be performed upon a box of crystal containing pieces of the dust from the graves of "the first and the last" (referring to Mullá Muḥammad Ḥusayn Bushrú’í and Mulla Muḥammad ‘Alí Barfúrúshí Quddús, the first and last Letters of the Living).
• Ritual for Women: Pregnant or menstruating women were exempted from ṣalāt but were instead commanded to perform wuḍū’ (ablutions) and praise God 95 times daily, using the specific formula: "Praise be to God, the Possessor of appearance and beauty".
• Idiosyncratic Salutations: The standard Islamic greeting (al-salām ‘alaykum) was replaced by unique phrases, such as men greeting each other with Allāhu akbar (God is Most Great) and replying with Allāhu a‘ẓam (God is Most Mighty).
• Daily Scripture Recitation: Believers were required to recite 700 verses of the Bayán daily, or, if unable, to mention God 700 times using the invocation "O God" (Allāhumma).
• Tattooing: It was obligatory for men to tattoo the word al-raḥmān (the Merciful) on their chest, and for women to tattoo the word Allāhumma (O God).
• Numerological Devices: The Babi tradition stressed the use of numerology and letter-number relationships (gematria). The spiritual reality of existence was seen as structured according to patterns related to the number 19 (al-wáḥid).
• Required Talismans: Followers were instructed to wear a talismanic device (haykal) around their neck, often in the shape of a pentagram, written in the Báb’s hand and containing divine names and mysterious symbols.
• Abrogating Holy Sites: The Báb enjoined the destruction or abrogation of historical shrines, including the Ka‘ba and the graves of the Imams, to be replaced by new shrines.
• The New Ka‘ba: The house of the Báb in Shiraz became the new focal point for pilgrimage, ideally to be filled from surface of the water to its top with diamonds, replacing its earth with elixir and its water with red perfume.
• Idiosyncratic Pilgrimage Rites: A specific rite was enjoined upon inhabitants of Tabriz (and its environs) to visit the site of the Báb's bastinado annually. This required them to remain for 19 days, practicing self-purification, which included uncovering the head, sitting on the ground without sandals, and removing all clothing (except that covering the private parts).

(Extracted from Rituals in Babism and Baha'ism by Denis MacEoin, London: British Academic Press, 1994)

https://bahai-library.com/maceoin_rituals_babism_bahaism

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authentication of texts in the Baha'i faith

General Rules for Authentication

• Nothing can be considered scripture for which an original text is not available.
• The degree of authenticity of every document will eventually need to be known and understood.
• Unauthenticated talks may continue to be used, but must be clearly distinguished from Bahá’í Scripture in the future.

Authenticated/Authoritative Texts

Writings and Talks of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

• Some Answered Questions: The original Persian text was read in full and corrected by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself.
• Tablets: Specific Tablets (like the one concerning "Knowledge and Deeds" published in Bahá’í World Faith) are identified as being sourced from authorized collections of Tablets.

Letters from Shoghi Effendi (The Guardian)

• Letters read and approved by Shoghi Effendi: Whatever letters were sent on his behalf from Haifa were all read and approved by him before mailing, without exception.
• Authoritative Text: Letters written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi concerning matters "related strictly to the Cause and interpretation of the teachings" constitute authoritative Bahá’í text.
• Authority vs. Exact Word: Messages conveyed by the Guardian's secretaries are authoritative, conveying his thoughts and instructions, but their words are not necessarily the same as his, and their authority is less because they use their own terms.

Correspondence from the Universal House of Justice (UHJ)

• Letters signed "The Universal House of Justice": Drafts containing newly formulated policies are consulted upon and approved during a meeting of the House of Justice.
• Secretariat Letters: All letters written over the signature of the Department of the Secretariat are authorized by the Universal House of Justice.
• Routine Correspondence: Correspondence dealing with previously enunciated policies or routine matters is prepared by the Secretariat, as delegated by the UHJ, and initialed by at least the majority of UHJ members before being dispatched.

Texts Not Fully Authenticated or Non-Binding

Writings and Talks of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

• The Promulgation of Universal Peace and Paris Talks: For many addresses, no original authenticated text has yet been found. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá did not read and authenticate all transcripts of His talks.
• ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London: No original transcripts exist. It cannot be considered scripture, although it has value in Bahá’í Literature. A Persian verbatim record would be more reliable than one in English, as He was not always accurately interpreted.
• Foundations of World Unity and Bahá’í World Faith: The Research Department has not compiled a detailed listing of which specific extracts are authentic.

Letters written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi

• Personal Advice: Advice given on personal matters (e.g., about an individual's future) is not binding; the recipient is free to follow it or not.

Materials Prepared by the Research Department

• Status of Materials: Materials prepared by the Research Department, even if done at the direction of the UHJ, represent the views of that Department.
• Category Distinction: Such materials should never be taken to be in the same category as the elucidations and clarifications provided by the Universal House of Justice in its assigned functions.

(Authenticity of Texts by Universal House of Justice, Dt. 1996-10-22)

https://bahai-library.com/uhj_authenticity_some_texts

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a counter clockwise circumambulation of the Shrine.

Following the Readings we all commenced a counter clockwise circumambulation of the Shrine. This is the first thing I've done every time I've visited Bahjí but this circumambulation, the first from this trajectory was new and fresh.

(Impressions of Bahji, by Kevin Locke, 2001-05)

https://bahai-library.com/locke_impressions_bahji

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The Marriage Dispute of Mirza Abdul-Husayn Khan Dihqan and Khazar Razi

The marriage dispute between Mirza Abdul-Husayn Khan Dihqan and Khazar Razi highlighted significant challenges within the early administrative establishment of the Baha'i Faith after 'Abdu'l-Baha's passing. The couple's marriage, conducted according to Islamic law instead of Baha'i law, was viewed as a serious violation, undermining the community's legal and administrative identity. Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Cause, expressed deep concern and took decisive action, instructing the National Assembly to remove them from any positions in the Local Spiritual Assembly if re-elected and to deprive them of their administrative rights within the community. This incident became a key test of loyalty and adherence to Baha'i laws, setting a precedent for the enforcement of Baha'i administrative and spiritual order.

(Ninth volume of Tarikh Zuhur al-Haqq by Mirza Asadu’llah Fadil Mazandarani)

https://bahai-library.com/pdf/m/mazandarani_tarikh_zuhur_haqq_9_typed.pdf

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The event of death does not remove from a believer the obligation to pay Huququ'llah.

“Your understanding that the obligation to pay Huququ'llah arises during one's lifetime and is normally to be carried out with lifetime giving is correct, although at the same time it is true that there may be cases where a believer dies without having made provision in his or her will for payment of the unpaid portion of Huququ'llah, if any. The event of death does not remove from a believer the obligation to pay Huququ'llah. Whatever portion is due to be paid is therefore a debt due from the believer's estate at the time of his or her death. The cost of the funeral and burial, the payment of the debts of the deceased, and the payment of whatever portion of Huququ'llah remains due are prior charges on the estate which must be met before arriving at the amount of the property which has to be divided in accordance with the provisions of the law of inheritance. Thus, whether or not a person makes a will or, having made a will, whether he or she makes provision in it for the payment of Huququ'llah, the Huququ'llah should be paid, like all debts, before the rest of the state is divided.”

-The UHJ to an individual believer, July 1 1996

https://www.bahaiquotes.com/subject/will-and-testament

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the parents may refuse consent for marriage on any ground

...the parents “may refuse consent on any ground and that they are responsible to God alone.” Baha’is who marry without providing verified parental consent are subject to deprivation of their Baha’i administrative rights and privileges.

-The Universal House of Justice

https://file.bahai.media/e/e7/The_American_Bahá’í_Vol5_No1.pdf

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Baha'i electoral system

Baha'is can't even vote for the UHJ. They elect delegates (each NSA determines what geographic areas get delegates and how many) and the delegates elect the National Spiritual Assembly, and the National Spiritual Assembly members are the only ones who actually get to vote for the UHJ (and in practice they only vote for members of the International Teaching Centre... who are appointed by the UHJ). Baha'i democracy is basically a sham anyway, especially nowadays. It's an entirely top down system with 'campaigns' being forbidden so nobody elected has any accountability and nobody has any idea what people serving actually do. Appointed officers of the Faith like ABM's and Counsellors excercise most of the control over what Bahai's actually do nowadays, with LSA's being limited to organizing pot-luck dinners for the most part in practice.

The Faith's ultimate goal is unity through establishing an unchallengable global theocracy ruled by the UHJ, however a lot of Baha'is aren't really aware of this despite the UHJ very firmly stating this in this letter: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/19950427_001/1#985937741. Sen McGlinn wrote a book arguing that the Faith allowed for separation of Church and State and in response the UHJ released communications denouncing him and expelled him from the Baha'i community which is a nice preview of what Baha'i unity would be if they could get more than 0.000000001% of the population to convert. Despite this a lot of Baha'is, especially on reddit, seem to think the Faith believes in a seperation of Church and State, probably because the Ruhi books don't go into this and the Faith generally lets people believe whatever keeps them donating to the fund.

As to your question of how non-Baha'is not having a vote in their government in a hypothetical Baha'i state, as mentioned above the vast majority of Baha'is would also have no say in their government. While the Faith incorporates elections it believes in an unlimited totalitarian authoriatarian approach to governing society where the only protections from corruption and institutional abuse are the benevelonce of the institution itself and faith in divine intervention.

Quotes:

"That which beseemeth man is submission unto such restraints as will protect him from his own ignorance, and guard him against the harm of the mischief-maker. Liberty causeth man to overstep the bounds of propriety, and to infringe on the dignity of his station. It debaseth him to the level of extreme depravity and wickedness."

"True liberty consisteth in man's submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it." - https://bahaiquotes.com/subject/submission

"The Guardian believes that a great deal of the difficulties from which the believers... feel themselves to be suffering are caused by their neither correctly understanding or putting into practice and administration. They seem -- many of them -- to be prone to continually challenging and criticizing the decisions of their Assemblies. If the Bahá’ís undermine the very leaders which are, however immaturely, seeking to coordinate Bahá’í activities and administer Bahá’í affairs, if they continually criticize their acts and challenge or belittle their decisions, they not only prevent any real rapid progress in the Faith's development from taking place, but they repel outsiders who quite rightly may ask however expect to unite the whole world when we are so disunited among ourselves!"

"There can be no protection for the Faith unless the friends are willing to submit to their administrative bodies, especially when these are acting in good faith; the individual believers are not in a position to judge their national Body. If any wrong has been done we must leave it in the hands of god, knowing, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, that he will right it, and in the meantime not disrupt the Cause of God by constantly harping on these matters." - https://www.bahaiquotes.com/subject/assemblies-obedience

"Once a decision has been reached, all members of the consultative body, having had the opportunity fully to state their views, agree wholeheartedly to support the outcome. What if the minority view is right? “If they agree upon a subject,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has explained, “even though it be wrong, it is better than to disagree and be in the right, for this difference will produce the demolition of the divine foundation. Though one of the parties may be in the right and they disagree, that will be the cause of a thousand wrongs, but if they agree and both parties are in the wrong, as it is in unity, the truth will be revealed and the wrong made right.” Implicit in this approach to the social utility of thought is the profundity of the change in the standard of public discussion intended by Bahá’u’lláh for a mature society." - https://www.bahai.org/documents/the-universal-house-of-justice/individual-rights-freedoms

"One delegate then asked about the income of NSA members and other employees of the Faith, inquiring as to whether some families earned large incomes from the Fund, and asking whether or not the Universal House of Justice could be consulted about what the delegate perceived as a widespread national concern over executive compensation. William Davis then replied, saying that the NSA reviews the financial needs of full-time executive employees annually, and that the UHJ is then apprised of the arrangements. Davis then expounded on the differences between the checks and balances in the "old world" US system, saying that lack of trust is endemic to it. He then questioned the faith in the Covenant of those who would mistrust the NSA, while saying that the question itself was a legitimate one." - https://bahai-library.com/langness_report_1995_convention

https://old.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/1lkmu1y/unity/

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The first Bahá'í funeral

Lorol Schopflocher arrived back in Haifa from another trip to India and Persia on 8 May 1927 and told many stories of her adventures. She stayed until 28 May when she departed for Cairo, Alexandria and Paris. Another pilgrim asked the Guardian when he would come to America. His frank and very clear answer was, 'When you have learned to obey the National Spiritual Assembly." At about the same time, Mírzá Mohsen Afnán, a resident believer, passed away and his funeral was the first entirely Bahá'í funeral held in Palestine, showing the independence of the Faith.

(Shoghi Effendi Through the Pilgrim's Eye, Volume 1 - Building the Administrative Order, 1922-1952 Earl Redman)

First Bahá’i Funeral Service in the East

From Miss Effie Baker, at the American Pilgrim House, Haifa, we learn the significant fact that the services held to observe the passing of Mirza Mohsen Afnan were entirely Bahá’i without admixture of Moslem elements—the first entirely Bahá’i funeral service to be held in a Moslem environment. Thus slowly but surely the Cause asserts itself as an independent Religion founded upon new laws and teachings and giving rise to new customs and observances not reflecting superstition and man-made tradition.

(Baha’i News Letter, The Bulletin of The National Spiritual Assembly of The Baha’is of The United States and Canada, August, 1927)

https://bahai.works/Bahá’í_News/Issue_19/Text#First_Bahá’i_Funeral_Service_in_the_East

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This law is binding on Persian believers

"…the Universal House of Justice instructs us to say that according to its ruling, the law of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas that the lapse of time between engagement and marriage should not exceed ninety-five days, is binding on Persian believers wherever they reside, if both parties are Persian. This law is not applicable, however, if one of the parties is a western believer."

-Lights of Guidance (second part)

https://bahai-library.com/hornby_lights_guidance_2&chapter=3/

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Changing the meaning of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings by interpretation is explicitly forbidden

Changing the meaning of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings by interpretation is explicitly forbidden by Bahá'u'lláh, with no exception for 'Abdu'l-Bahá:

"Whoso interpreteth what hath been sent down from the heaven of Revelation, and altereth its evident meaning, he, verily, is of them that have perverted the Sublime Word of God, and is of the lost ones in the Lucid Book."

(Kitáb-i-Aqdas)

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Baha'i men not allowed to grow hair beyond the lobe of their ear ...not to shave their head.

"... not to allow the growth of men's hair beyond the lobe of the ear ... not to shave one's head."

"To wash one's feet; to cut one's nails; not to plunge one's hand in food (referring to the manner of eating)..."

(Synopsis and Codification of the Laws and Ordinances of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, pp. 48-51)

Should the garb of anyone be visibly sullied, his prayers shall not ascend to God, and the celestial Concourse will turn away from him.

(Bahá’u’lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 47)

"Cleanse every impure thing with a water which will not change by the three (colour, taste, smell); beware not to use a water which is infected by the air (stagnant) or by any other thing... "

(Baha'u'llah: Baha'i Proofs, p. 86)

Above quotes can be found in

(The Throne of the Inner Temple compiled by Elias Zohoori - Kingston, Jamaica: National Spiritual Assembly of The Bahá'ís of Jamaica, 1985)

https://bahai-library.com/zohoori_throne_inner_temple/

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Baha'u'llah about Fornication, Sodomy, and Adultery among most Babis

In the letter, Baha’u’llah responds to the questions of someone who knows Ism Allah al-Asdaq, a Hand of the Cause and one of the earliest believers in the Bab. The questioner seems to have inquired about the religious lawfulness of some behaviors current among the Baha’is. We can surmise that some of these behaviors were sexual given the nature of Baha’u’llah’s response, in which he blames the early Babis and some of their leaders for condoning such acts (we’re not given specifics) and then provides guidance on which behaviors God forbids: zina, liwat, and khiyana.

Some behaviors are among the early customs of the people of the Bayan that were current among them and were done wrongfully. You and the other loved-ones know that before this Most Great Theophany, most of the people of the Bayan did that which accords with no (religious) community or law and is unacceptable to anyone possessing intellect and insight. (Such was the case) until the sun of the theophany dawned. From the years sojourning in Iraq until the present, which is the seventeenth day of the month second Jumada of the year 1291 [Aug 1, 1874], wondrous tablets have descended continuously and uninterruptedly from the heaven of the divine Will.

[...]

O brother! The pearl of the Cause is hidden by unseemly deeds, and this is the general reason that has caused people to hesitate (embracing the Cause). Otherwise, you would hear from all sides and every land the cry of “I have turned to you and hastened to you, O desire of the worlds!”

In Iraq, after the light of the world dawned, he forbade everyone from (engaging in) some behaviors. Some abandoned (those behaviors) as bidden, and some, even though they were in the shadow of God, continued to do what they were doing but it would be concealed.

[...]

In the early days, some behaviors appeared from the leaders of the Bayan that veiled people and caused their hesitation (to embrace the Cause).

If this servant were to mention the deeds of some that he has witnessed himself, all would be astonished.

https://web.archive.org/web/20220128090837/http://www.kashkul.org/2021/09/06/bahaullahs-tablet-on-fornication-sodomy-and-adultery/

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Baha'i scholar about the Babi laws

Some legalistic directives of the Bab are demanding, harsh, sometimes disturbing, and definitely revolutionary. Some may never have been intended to be carried out, though the Bab did expect his followers to obey or implement his new law and legalistic religious directives.

(The Bab and the Babi Community of Iran, Edited by Fereydun Vahman)

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Who are true Baha'is?

Our community health and vigor consists of an abounding faith—a deep, immovable conviction as to the fundamental truths which constitute the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh. These fundamental truths are precisely those which the Guardian set forth as the qualifications of Bahá’ís:

“Full recognition of the station of the Forerunner, the Author, and the True Exemplar of the Bahá’í Cause, as set forth in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Testament; unreserved acceptance of, and submission to, whatsoever has been revealed by their Pen; loyal and steadfast adherence to every clause of our Beloved’s sacred Will; and close association with the spirit as well as the form of the present day Bahá’í administration throughout the world ...”

Bahá’ís who have accepted these qualifications and not wavered in their devotion to them; Bahá’ís who realize that each individual believer should study and pray in order to remain in the spirit of the Faith, and whole-heartedly uphold the general activities of the Cause—these believers have health of spirit because they remain within the area of nearness where the Holy Spirit sends its beneficent rays.

(Baha'i News, No. 133, February, 1940)

https://bahai.works/Bahá’í_News/Issue_133/Text

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The Qiblih is indeed He Whom God will make manifest; whenever He moveth, it moveth, until He shall come to rest.

When ye desire to perform this prayer, turn ye towards the Court of My Most Holy Presence, this Hallowed Spot that God hath … decreed to be the Point of Adoration for the denizens of the Cities of Eternity ¶6

The “Point of Adoration,” that is, the point to which the worshiper should turn when offering obligatory prayer, is called the Qiblih. The concept of Qiblih has existed in previous religions. Jerusalem in the past had been fixed for this purpose. Muḥammad changed the Qiblih to Mecca. The Báb’s instructions in the Arabic Bayán were:

The Qiblih is indeed He Whom God will make manifest; whenever He moveth, it moveth, until He shall come to rest.

This passage is quoted by Bahá’u’lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (¶137) and confirmed by Him in the above-noted verse. He has also indicated that facing in the direction of the Qiblih is a “fixed requirement for the recitation of obligatory prayer” (Q&A 14 and 67). However, for other prayers and devotions the individual may face in any direction.

https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/kitab-i-aqdas/12#114215861

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