Fast traveling exemption: 9 hrs journey or 9 hrs away from home?

[john haukness]

Where does it mention "car" or "train"? Because there was a logical letter
from the Universal House of Justice a few years ago telling that the travel
exemption was about hard laborious travel in Bahaullah's day and that modern
easy travel like planes, cars, and trains are not what consitutes an
exemption. Maybe some one can post the House's clarification. au revoir j

-----Original Message-----

>I found the answer to my question in the notes of the Aqdas and in
>Lights of Guidance. Traveling, in this case, means the whole time you
>are spending on your journey, not just the time spent in a train, car,
>etc..
>
>Thanks everyone.
>
>Cousin.
>
>
>cousi...@aol.com (Seeker) wrote in message
news:<a55iin$clt$1...@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>...
>> I need some input here from other Baha'is regarding traveling and
>> exemption from Fasting.
>>
>> Currently, all laws regarding Fasting are binding on Western
>> believers.
>>
>> Regarding the 9 hours traveling exemption: Do you all read this to
>> mean that you are exempt from fasting if the time you are spent
>> physically traveling/moving is 9 or more hours, or do you read it to
>> mean that you count the whole time you are away from your home as
>> traveling, for example staying a weekend in a city 4 hours drive from
>> your home and you would be exempt until you return home?
>>
>> Thanks for your input.
>>
>> Cousin.

[Seeker]

The words "car" and "train" appear in Lights of Guidance quote #780,
which is in turn from Shoghi Effendi's _Principles of Baha'i
Administration, p 9-10:

"You are exempt the whole period of your travel, not just the hours
you are in a train or car, etc."

The text of the 28 Dec 1999 letter from the House of Justice, which
expands the Fasting laws of the Aqdas to all Baha'is of the world, can
be found at:

http://www.bahai-library.org/uhj/aqdas.laws.html

That letter mentions nothing about "hard laborious travel in
Baha'u'llah's day" or "easy travel" in modern times. But here is an
extract:

"The friends have long been familiar with the great importance which
Baha'u'llah attaches to daily obligatory prayer and to the observance
of the fast, but a number of aspects of the law, such as those
concerning ablutions, travelling and the compensation for prayers
missed, remained to be made universally applicable. This step is now
taken. Thus all elements of the laws dealing with obligatory prayer
and fasting are, without any exception, now applicable."

I recommend that this particular issue of traveling exemptions from
the Fast be closed, and that we move on to other topics.

Cousin

"john haukness" <hauk...@prodigy.net> wrote in message news:<a5b0k9$6d6$1...@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>...

[Roger Reini]

On 24 Feb 2002 15:24:57 GMT, "john haukness" <hauk...@prodigy.net>
wrote:

>Where does it mention "car" or "train"? Because there was a logical letter
>from the Universal House of Justice a few years ago telling that the travel
>exemption was about hard laborious travel in Bahaullah's day and that modern
>easy travel like planes, cars, and trains are not what consitutes an
>exemption. Maybe some one can post the House's clarification. au revoir j

I'd like to see this letter, if it's possible. But I recall seeing a
message from someone, either here or on one of the other newsgroups
with "bahai" in the name, who went on pilgrimage during the Fast.
He/she stated quite clearly that all of the pilgrims were exempt from
fasting.

As for "modern easy travel", 9-hour drives and flights aren't all that
easy <g>. And travel on foot longer than 2 hours is covered by the
exemption, is it not?

Roger Reini (ro...@rreini.com)