Bahá'í daily practices and Ruhi circles

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines · Bahá'u'lláh

What it is

What the observances are. Four interlocking Bahá'í practices: (1) daily reading of the sacred Writings, which the Kitáb-i-Aqdas enjoins "every morn and eventide"; (2) the daily repetition of "Alláh-u-Abhá" ninety-five times after washing the hands and then the face; (3) the Nineteen Day Feast, a…

Format

• The tradition has no clinical phases; the structure below has two layers: the observances as Bahá'í sources publish them, and a therapist workflow alongside them. No source gives session counts for this work; none are stated here.
• Daily cycle (individual). Reading the verses of God morning and evening [¶149]. Daily repetition of "Alláh-u-Abhá" ninety-five times (the text's own description, not a target set in therapy), having washed the hands and then the face; the same paragraph directs ablutions for the obligatory prayer…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Study circle cycle (training institute). Groups of typically "eight or ten friends" meet, usually in a member's home, at least once or twice a week for a few hours; anyone aged fifteen or older, Bahá'í or not, may join. A tutor is someone further along in the materials; "Tutors do not hold any special status". The main sequence: Book 1 Reflections on the Life of the Spirit (units: Understanding the Bahá'í Writings;…
• Who leads or authorises. The Universal House of Justice (guidance for the worldwide community); the Local Spiritual Assembly (Feast); training institutes and tutors (study circles); the individual (daily reading and repetition, done privately). The Bahá'í Faith is often described as having no clergy; the practical collaborators are therefore the Local Spiritual Assembly, tutors and Bahá'í friends the client names.
• Version followed: the Kitáb-i-Aqdas in the authorised English translation published by the Bahá'í World Centre (¶10, ¶16, ¶18, ¶57, ¶149); the Universal House of Justice letter of 27 August 1989 "To the Followers of Bahá'u'lláh" on the Nineteen Day Feast; and the training-institute (Ruhi Institute) course sequence as the Bahá'í International Community presents it on bahai.org. This is a religious observance, not a…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Health framing. None of these practices is presented here as a treatment for physical or mental illness. Bahá'í texts themselves direct believers to "competent physicians" in sickness, say believers are "free to turn to psychiatry", and state that spiritual healing "is not and cannot be a…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• parent–teen conflict about participation framed as a religious matter; peer issues in the group. Working: the young person can speak openly about faith and family.
• the client deferring to you as a religious authority; your own beliefs leading the conversation. Working: roles stay clear and the client feels free in both settings.
• the therapist's own views about religion; isolation after stepping back. Working: decisions feel owned, and relationships are renegotiated rather than cut by default.
• religious content in a manic or psychotic episode (the content is not the problem; the state is); sleep loss. Working: the experience is understood and the client is safe.
• the therapist steering a client towards or away from religious activity (stay neutral); interpersonal conflict in the circle. Working: participation feels chosen and proportionate.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.