ery Dispensation the law
concerning prayer hath been emphasized and universally enforced. To this
testify the recorded traditions ascribed to the lights that have emanated
from the Day-star of Truth, the essence of the Prophet Muhammad.

The traditions established the fact that in all Dispensations the law of
prayer hath constituted a fundamental element of the Revelation of all the
Prophets of God--a law the form and the manner of which hath been adapted
to the varying requirements of every age. Inasmuch as every subsequent
Revelation hath abolished the manners, habits, and teachings that have
been clearly, specifically, and firmly established by the former
Dispensation, these have accordingly been symbolically expressed in terms
of 'sun' and 'moon'. "That He might prove you, which of you excel in
deeds."(25)

Moreover, in the traditions the terms "sun" and "moon" have been applied
to prayer and fasting, even as it is said: "Fasting is illumination,
prayer is light." One day, a well-known divine came to visit Us. While We
were conversing with him, he referred to the above-quoted tradition. He
said: "Inasmuch as fasting causeth the heat of the body to increase, it
hath therefore been likened unto the light of the sun; and as the prayer
of the night-season refresheth man, it hath been compared unto the
radiance of the moon." Thereupon We realized that that poor man had not
been favoured with a single drop of the ocean of true understanding, and
had strayed far from the burning Bush of divine wisdom. We then politely
observed to him saying: "The interpretation your honour hath given to this
tradition is the one current amongst the people. Could it not be
interpreted differently?" He asked Us: "What could it be?" We made reply:
"Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets, and the most distinguished of God's
chosen Ones, hath likened the Dispensation of the Qur'an unto heaven, by
reason of its loftiness, its paramount influence, its majesty, and the
fact that it comprehendeth all religions. And as the sun and moon
constitute the brightest and most prominent luminaries in the heavens,
similarly in the heaven of the religion of God two shining orbs have been
ordained--fasting and prayer. 'Islam is heaven; fasting is its sun, prayer,
its moon.'"

This is the purpose underlying the symbolic words of the Manifestations of
God. Consequently, the application of the terms "sun" and "moon" to the
things already mentioned hath been demonst