The requirements for obligatory prayer called for in the Bábí and Islamic Dispensations were more demanding than those for the performance of the Obligatory Prayer consisting of nine rak’áhs that was prescribed in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (see note 4).

In the Bayán, the Báb prescribed an Obligatory Prayer consisting of nineteen rak’áhs which was to be performed once in a twenty-four-hour period—from noon of one day to noon of the next.

The Muslim prayer is recited five times a day, namely, in the early morning, at midday, in the afternoon and evening, and at night. While the number of rak’áhs varies according to the time of recitation, a total of seventeen rak’áhs are offered in the course of a day.