The Baha'i Fast

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Baha'is have begun to fast for the next nineteen days during the month of 'Ala or loftiness. The Baha'i Fast means that we abstain from food and drink between sunrise and sunset... The Fast is only required of those fifteen years of age till seventy years of age.

If one is ill or travelling a long distance during fast, or doing really hard manual labor they are also exempt. There are no make-ups ... that is if you are not fasting due to the above you don't have to make it up later.

The purpose of the Fast is to focus on our spiritual food..that is chant the revealed verses and immerse ourselves in the Writings. It is also a good discipline and helps us focus on transforiming our spiritual life.

The following is one of the prayers revealed for the Fast:

Praise be to Thee, O Lord my God! I beseech Thee by this Revelation whereby darkness hath been turned into light, through which the Frequented Fane hath been built, and the Written Tablet revealed, and the Outspread Roll uncovered, to send down upon me and upon them who are in my company that which will enable us to soar into the heavens of Thy transcendent glory, and will wash us from the stain of such doubts as have hindered the suspicious from entering into the tabernacle of Thy unity.
I am the one, O my Lord, who hath held fast the cord of Thy loving-kindness, and clung to the hem of Thy mercy and favors. Do Thou ordain for me and for my loved ones the good of this world and of the world to come. Supply them, then, with the Hidden Gift Thou didst ordain for the choicest among Thy creatures.
These are, O my Lord, the days in which Thou hast bidden Thy servants to observe the fast. Blessed is he that observeth the fast wholly for Thy sake and with absolute detachment from all things except Thee. Assist me and assist them, O my Lord, to obey Thee and to keep Thy precepts. Thou, verily, hast power to do what Thou choosest.
There is no God but Thee, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. All praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds.

—Bahá’u’lláh

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Letter from the Guardian of 21 May 1946

21 May 1946

Keeping the Fast is enjoined upon all Bahá’ís, regardless of nationality; it has a very salutary effect both physically and spiritually, and the friends should realise Bahá’u’lláh never would have instituted it if it were detrimental to the health. The Master referred to the Fast in talks to pilgrims, and some Tablets, but most material on this subject is not yet translated.