Memorandum
To: The Universal House of Justice
Date: 15 September 2003
From: Research Department
Additional References Regarding Repetition of the Greatest Name Ninety-five Times a Day
The Research Department has studied the query raised by Dr. ... in his email message of 14 May 2003 to the Bahá’í World Centre. Dr. ... explains that he has conducted a preliminary search of the Bahá’í Sacred Writings and other references on the subject of the repetition of the Greatest Name ninety-five times a day. He appends a list of citations he has located, and explains that he has not found any additional insights or commentaries on “the law that brings ‘spiritual enrichment’ to our souls ‘by this simple act of worshipful meditation’”. He asks whether any additional references or materials are available on this law. We provide the following response.
Dr. ... is no doubt aware from a perusal of the Synopsis and Codification section of the “Kitáb-i-Aqdas”, that the “Repetition of the Greatest Name 95 times a day” is listed as one of the “Miscellaneous Laws and Ordinances”.
He has already referred to paragraph 18 in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, a segment of which reads:
“It hath been ordained that every believer in God, the Lord of Judgement, shall, each day, having washed his hands and then his face, seat himself and, turning unto God, repeat “Alláh-u-Abhá” ninety-five times.”
We bring to Dr. ...’s attention note 33 of “The Kitáb-i-Aqdas”, which refers to paragraph 18 and provides the following elucidation regarding the significance of the Greatest Name in relation to Bahá’u’lláh:
““Alláh-u-Abhá” is an Arabic Phrase meaning “God the All Glorious.” It is a form of the Greatest Name of God.... In Islám there is a tradition that among the many names of God, one was the greatest; however, the identity of this Greatest Name was hidden. Bahá’u’lláh has confirmed that the Greatest Name is “Bahá”.”