Notes to Aqdas, Sentence #17

Notes from the Authorized Translation

8. and when the Sun of Truth and Utterance shall set, turn your faces towards the Spot that We have ordained for you # 6
Baha'u'llah ordains His resting-place as the Qiblih after His passing. The Most Holy Tomb is at Bahji, Akka. Abdu'l-Baha describes that Spot as the "luminous Shrine", "the place around which circumambulate the Concourse on High".

In a letter written on his behalf, Shoghi Effendi uses the analogy of the plant turning in the direction of the sun to explain the spiritual significance of turning towards the Qiblih:

...just as the plant stretches out to the sunlight-- from which it receives life and growth--so we turn our hearts to the Manifestation of God, Baha'u'llah, when we pray; ... we turn our faces ... to where His dust lies on this earth as a symbol of the inner act.

Earl Elder's Notes

Browne (JRAS., 1889, p. 973) takes this as a reference to Acre, the place where Baha'u'llah was at the time. But it may also mean that in worship Baha'is should face Baha'u'llah himself, wherever he may be. When he dies they are to face the person who will be appointed to succeed him. Muslims in prayer face Mecca.

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