Obligatory Prayer: “a ladder for the souls, a lamp unto the hearts of the righteous, and the water of life from the garden of paradise”

Thou hast written concerning obligatory prayer. Such prayer is binding and mandatory for everyone. Most certainly guide all to its observance, because it is like unto a ladder for the souls, a lamp unto the hearts of the righteous, and the water of life from the garden of paradise. It is a clear duty prescribed by the All-Merciful, in the observance of which it is in no wise permissible to be dilatory or neglectful. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; compilation ‘The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice; The American Baha’i September 2000)