A Study of Baha’u’llah’s
Kitab-i-Iqan, The Book of Certitude
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One of the believers has asked the Universal House of Justice as to why Baha’u’llah had three wives. As part of their reply the House of Justice draw the attention to two passages in the Iqan that describe the lives of the Manifestations. This letter from the Research Department and the corresponding quotation from the Iqan are produced below.
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Extracts from Memorandum Written by the Research Department [of the Baha'i World Centre]
Questions arising from the marriages of Baha'u'llah:
With regard to the marriages of Baha'u'llah, Mr. expresses the view that there is an apparent contradiction in the life of Baha'u'llah (in contracting two Islamic marriages during the time of the Babi Dispensation in total disregard of the Babi social laws" which were revealed in the Arabic Bayan and about which Baha'u'llah must have been informed], and in the Guardian's own views of when the Islamic Dispensation ended". The bases for the perceived contradiction in relation to the termination of the Islamic Dispensation are the letters written on the Guardian's behalf to the effect that:
"...(Baha'u'llah) was only acting according to the laws of Islam, which had not yet been superseded". (11 February 1944 to an individual believer)
"He (Baha'u'llah) was following the laws of the previous Dispensation and the customs of the people of His own land". (14 January 1953 to an individual believer) and the statements in "God Passes By", (Wilmette: Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1974), p. 25 concerning the abrogation of the Qur'anic laws by the revelation of the Arabic Bayan.
Mr. is invited to undertake his own reconciliation of the apparent contradictions by employing the general principles outlined in the section above, and we provide the following references and comments to assist him with this process:
(1) Concerning the lives of the Manifestations of God, Mr. is referred to "The Kitab-i-Iqan", (Wilmette: Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1974), pp. 55-57; p. 104.
(2) The revelation of laws is a gradual process and, within each Dispensation, the Laws are progressively and gradually applied. See the Introduction to the "Synopsis and Codification of the Laws and Ordinances of the Kitab-i-Aqdas", (Haifa: Baha'i World Centre . 1973), pp. 3-6.
(3) The laws of Islam were abrogated with the revelation of the Arabic Bayan. However, the practice of these laws did not cease immediately. According to the general principle of progressive revelation outlined in (2) above, the laws of the new Dispensation, which eventually supersede the old laws, are gradually disclosed to the believers and progressively implemented.
(4) The Guardian confirmed that at the time of the marriages of Baha'u'llah, the "laws of Islam ... .had not yet been superseded".
The Wives of Baha'u'llah:
Mrs. asks about the circumstances of the marriages of Baha'u'llah. The following extracts from letters written on behalf of the Guardian set this subject into its appropriate context. They clearly indicate that Baha'u'llah vas "acting according to the laws of Islam, which had not yet been superseded, and that He vas following the customs of the people of His own land":
"Baha'u'llah had no concubine. He had three legal wives. As He married them before the Aqdas (His book of laws) was revealed, He was only acting according to the laws of Islam, which had not yet been superseded. He made plurality of wives conditional upon justice; 'Abdul-Baha interpreted this to mean that a man may not have more than one wife at a time, as it is impossible to be just to two or more women in marriage."
(11 February 1944 to aa individual believer)
"As regards the questions you have asked: Baha'u'llah married the first and second wives while He was still in Tihran, and the third wife while He was in Baghdad. At that time, the Laws of the Aqdas had not been revealed, and secondly, He was following the Laws of the previous Dispensation and the customs of the people of His own land.
"We must not attach importance to these things. The life and the Teachings of the Manifestation are so lofty and perfect, that social customs have relatively no significance in comparison." (14 January 1953 to an individual believer)
The three wives of Baha'u'llah were:
1.Navvab (Asiyih Khanum): m. some time between 24 September and 22 October 1835; d. 1886; 7 children.
2. Mahd-i-'Ulya (Fatimih Khanum): b. 1828, m. 1849; d. 1904; a cousin of Baha'u'llah who later supported Covenant-breakers; 6 children.
3. Gawhar, Khanum (from Kashan): This marriage must have taken place in Baghdad. She remained in that city with her brother when Baha'u'llah left 'Iraq. Later on she was made captive together with other believers, among them Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin on their way from Baghdad to Musil and received instruction from Baha'u'llah to proceed to Akka. Baha'u'llah refers to this captivity in the Tablet to the shah. She passed away during the Ministry of Abdu'l-Baha. Her daughter Furughiyyih married Siyyid Ali on 13th Sha'ban 1303 (17 May 1886).
With regard to polygamy, it must be remembered that polygamy is s very ancient practice among the majority of humanity, and that the introduction of monogamy has been only gradually accomplished by the Manifestation of God. Jesus, for example, did not limit polygamy, but abolished divorce except in the case of fornication; Muhammad limited the number of wives to four reintroducing permission for divorce; Baha'u'llah, Who was revealing His Teachings in the milieu of a Muslim society, introduced the Question of monogamy gradually in accordance with the principles of wisdom and progressive unfoldment of His purpose. The fact that He left His followers with an infallible Interpreter of His Writings enabled Him to outwardly permit a maximum of two wives in the Kitab-i-Aqdas but include a condition that enabled ''Abdu'l-Baha to elucidate later that the intention of the law was to enforce monogamy.
As no doubt Mrs. . is aware, the "Synopsis and Codification of the Kitab-i-Aqdas", page 39, clearly states that "Plurality of wives Is forbidden." The extract from a letter of the Universal House of Justice dated 16 July 1973 cited below, further elaborates this theme:
We have received your letter of July 4, 1973 in which you requested references about monogamy. Please refer to the Synopsis and Codification of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, page 39 where it is stated: "Plurality of wives is forbidden." The note explaining this appears on page 59 and states: "The text of the Kitab-i-Aqdas upholds monogamy, but as it appears also to permit bigamy, the Guardian was asked for a clarification, and in reply his secretary wrote on his behalf: Regarding Baha'i marriage; in the light of the Master's Tablet Interpreting the provision in the Aqdas on the subject of the plurality of wives, it becomes evident that monogamy alone is permissible, since, as Abdu'l-Baha states, bigamy is conditioned upon justice, and as justice is impossible, it follows that bigamy is not permissible, and monogamy alone should be practised."' (To a National Spiritual Assembly)
(Letters of The Universal House of Justice, 1998 Apr 06, Memorandum re Wives of Baha'u'llah)
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The appropriate sections of the Iqan that are referenced above are the following:
Were men to meditate upon the lives of the Prophets of old, so easily would they come to know and understand the ways of these Prophets that they would cease to be veiled by such deeds and words as are contrary to their own worldly desires, and thus consume every intervening veil with the fire burning in the Bush of divine knowledge, and abide secure upon the throne of peace and certitude. For instance, consider Moses, son of `Imrán, one of the exalted Prophets and Author of a divinely-revealed Book. Whilst passing, one day, through the market, in His early days, ere His ministry was proclaimed, He saw two men engaged in fighting. One of them asked the help of Moses against his opponent. Whereupon, Moses intervened and slew him. To this testifieth the record of the sacred Book. Should the details be cited, they will lengthen and interrupt the course of the argument. The report of this incident spread throughout the city, and Moses was full of fear, as is witnessed by the text of the Book. And when the warning: "O Moses! of a truth, the chiefs take counsel to slay Thee" reached His ears, He went forth from the city, and sojourned in Midian in the service of Shoeb. While returning, Moses entered the holy vale, situate in the wilderness of Sinai, and there beheld the vision of the King of glory from the "Tree that belongeth neither to the East nor to the West." There He heard the soul-stirring Voice of the Spirit speaking from out of the kindled Fire, bidding Him to shed upon Pharaonic souls the light of divine guidance; so that, liberating them from the shadows of the valley of self and desire, He might enable them to attain the meads of heavenly delight, and delivering them, through the Salsabíl of renunciation, from the bewilderment of remoteness, cause them to enter the peaceful city of the divine presence. When Moses came unto Pharaoh and delivered unto him, as bidden by God, the divine Message, Pharaoh spoke insultingly saying: "Art thou not he that committed murder, and became an infidel?" Thus recounted the Lord of majesty as having been said by Pharaoh unto Moses: "What a deed is that which Thou hast done! Thou art one of the ungrateful. He said: `I did it indeed, and I was one of those who erred. And I fled from you when I feared you, but My Lord hath given Me wisdom, and hath made Me one of His Apostles.'"
And now ponder in thy heart the commotion which God stirreth up. Reflect upon the strange and manifold trials with which He doth test His servants. Consider how He hath suddenly chosen from among His servants, and entrusted with the exalted mission of divine guidance Him Who was known as guilty of homicide, Who, Himself, had acknowledged His cruelty, and Who for well-nigh thirty years had, in the eyes of the world, been reared in the home of Pharaoh and been nourished at his table. Was not God, the omnipotent King, able to withhold the hand of Moses from murder, so that manslaughter should not be attributed unto Him, causing bewilderment and aversion among the people?
Likewise, reflect upon the state and condition of Mary. So deep was the perplexity of that most beauteous countenance, so grievous her case, that she bitterly regretted she had ever been born. To this beareth witness the text of the sacred verse wherein it is mentioned that after Mary had given birth to Jesus, she bemoaned her plight and cried out: "O would that I had died ere this, and been a thing forgotten, forgotten quite!" I swear by God! Such lamenting consumeth the heart and shaketh the being. Such consternation of soul, such despondency, could have been caused by no other than the censure of the enemy and the cavilings of the infidel and perverse. Reflect, what answer could Mary have given to the people around her? How could she claim that a Babe Whose father was unknown had been conceived of the Holy Ghost? Therefore did Mary, that veiled and immortal Countenance, take up her Child and return unto her home. No sooner had the eyes of the people fallen upon her than they raised their voice saying: "O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of wickedness, nor unchaste thy mother."
And now, meditate upon this most great convulsion, this grievous test. Notwithstanding all these things, God conferred upon that essence of the Spirit, Who was known amongst the people as fatherless, the glory of Prophethood, and made Him His testimony unto all that are in heaven and on earth.
Behold how contrary are the ways of the Manifestations of God, as ordained by the King of creation, to the ways and desires of men! As thou comest to comprehend the essence of these divine mysteries, thou wilt grasp the purpose of God, the divine Charmer, the Best-Beloved. Thou wilt regard the words and the deeds of that almighty Sovereign as one and the same; in such wise that whatsoever thou dost behold in His deeds, the same wilt thou find in His sayings, and whatsoever thou dost read in His sayings, that wilt thou recognize in His deeds. Thus it is that outwardly such deeds and words are the fire of vengeance unto the wicked, and inwardly the waters of mercy unto the righteous. Were the eye of the heart to open, it would surely perceive that the words revealed from the heaven of the will of God are at one with, and the same as, the deeds that have emanated from the Kingdom of divine power.
And now, take heed, O brother! If such things be revealed in this Dispensation, and such incidents come to pass, at the present time, what would the people do? I swear by Him Who is the true Educator of mankind and the Revealer of the Word of God that the people would instantly and unquestionably pronounce Him an infidel and would sentence Him to death. How far are they from hearkening unto the voice that declareth: Lo! a Jesus hath appeared out of the breath of the Holy Ghost, and a Moses summoned to a divinely-appointed task! Were a myriad voices to be raised, no ear would listen if We said that upon a fatherless Child hath been conferred the mission of Prophethood, or that a murderer hath brought from the flame of the burning Bush the message of "Verily, verily, I am God!"
If the eye of justice be opened, it will readily recognize, in the light of that which hath been mentioned, that He, Who is the Cause and ultimate Purpose of all these things, is made manifest in this day. Though similar events have not occurred in this Dispensation, yet the people still cling to such vain imaginings as are cherished by the reprobate. How grievous the charges brought against Him! How severe the persecutions inflicted upon Him-- charges and persecutions the like of which men have neither seen nor heard!
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p.54-59
These attributes of God are not and have never been vouchsafed specially unto certain Prophets, and withheld from others. Nay, all the Prophets of God, His well-favoured, His holy, and chosen Messengers, are, without exception, the bearers of His names, and the embodiments of His attributes. They only differ in the intensity of their revelation, and the comparative potency of their light. Even as He hath revealed: "Some of the Apostles We have caused to excel the others." It hath therefore become manifest and evident that within the tabernacles of these Prophets and chosen Ones of God the light of His infinite names and exalted attributes hath been reflected, even though the light of some of these attributes may or may not be outwardly revealed from these luminous Temples to the eyes of men. That a certain attribute of God hath not been outwardly manifested by these Essences of Detachment doth in no wise imply that they Who are the Daysprings of God's attributes and the Treasuries of His holy names did not actually possess it. Therefore, these illuminated Souls, these beauteous Countenances have, each and every one of them, been endowed with all the attributes of God, such as sovereignty, dominion, and the like, even though to outward seeming they be shorn of all earthly majesty. To every discerning eye this is evident and manifest; it requireth neither proof nor evidence.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p.103-4