1. The saying of this prayer is, indeed, the only essential element of a Bahá’í funeral service…UHJ 1984
2. Bahá’u’lláh has clarified that the Prayer for the Dead is required only when the deceased is an adult (Q&A 70), that the recital should precede the interment of the deceased, and that there is no requirement to face the Qiblih when saying this prayer (Q&A 85). ~ The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, 1992 ed
3. Thus, the prayer must be recited at the funeral service, whether the service precedes going to the graveside or is held at the graveside and before the burial takes place. ~ UHJ to NSA of Canada, July 1993
4. Bahá’í family members and friends will surely wish to offer Bahá’í prayers for the progress of the soul, of which the Prayer for the Dead is the essential element of a Bahá’í funeral. There is no stipulation, however, that it must be recited at the graveside or at the funeral service; only that it be recited before the interment of the body takes place. It may even be recited in a private setting prior to any graveside prayers and the interment of the body. ~
Message written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, dated May 4, 1994, to a National Spiritual Assembly
5. The Prayer for the Dead … is the only Bahá’í obligatory prayer which is to be recited in congregation; it is to be recited by one believer while all present stand in silence ~ The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, (see note 19).
6. This prayer allows for a change in gender. Other prayers for the dead are optional, but if used they are to be used as revealed. ~ Universal House of Justice, Lights of Guidance, p.199-200
7. The Universal House of Justice has received your email of seeking clarification on the recitation of the Prayer for the Dead, and we have been asked to provide you with the following guidance. The correct way of reciting the Prayer for the Dead is as follows:
Alláh-u-Abhá (once)
We all, verily, worship God (19 times)
Alláh-u-Abhá (once)
We all, verily, bow down before God (19 times)
Alláh-u-Abhá (once)
We all, verily, are devoted unto God (19 times)
Alláh-u-Abhá (once)
We all, verily, give praise unto God (19 times)
Alláh-u-Abhá (once)
We all, verily yield thanks unto God (19 times)
Alláh-u-Abhá (once)
We all, verily, are patient in God (19 times)
The passages should be repeated by one person. In carrying out the requirements for the
prayer, one person reads or recites the passages from memory while the congregation stands.
It is not the practice for those present to repeat any part of the prayer in unison.
~ Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, 9 February 1999