Baha’i Monogamy, Maids, and a Marketing Strategy

By: Kristine

A lot of people quote the section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas about polygamy, but fail to mention that Baha’u’llah’s statement on tranquil monogamy is absolutely untrue. My experience of monogamy with a Baha’i husband was anything but peaceful.

The quote…

“God hath prescribed matrimony unto you. Beware that ye take not unto yourselves more wives than two. Whoso contenteth himself with a single partner from among the maidservants of God, both he and she shall live in tranquility.

– Baha’u’llah – Kitab-i-Aqdas #63

I’m sorry to say it but monogamous marriage is not always tranquil so this is simply false. In fact, the Baha’i divorce rate is said to be higher than in non-Baha’i marriages.

“An internal Baha’i household survey done in 1987 found that the divorce rate in the U.S. Baha’i community was higher than that in American society as a whole. The report was never released to the public.”
– Juan Cole, from a post on talk.religion.bahai dated June 27, 2000 [Please take the time to read the rest of Juan Cole’s message if you have an interest in the reasons behind a high Baha’i divorce rate.]

Right after this obviously false statement about monogamous marriage, Baha’u’llah wrote (in the same section, #63):

“And he who would take into his service a maid may do so with propriety. Such is the ordinance which, in truth and justice, hath been recorded by the Pen of Revelation.

– Baha’u’llah – Kitab-i-Aqdas #63

What? A maid? What’s she doing here?

Some think this section #63 about marriage is a strange place to write something about a household servant. Others smile knowingly at the thought of having a concubine of some sort. That’s just fine for Baha’i guys, apparently, so long as they do this kind of thing “with propriety,” according to Baha’u’llah’s apparent original intent for the religion before this was all changed by the “Interpreter” who wanted to market the religion to Americans. Nowadays Baha’is believe there’s only monogamy, and no “maids” that aren’t mere household servants.

The next line in this section:

“Enter into wedlock, O people, that ye may bring forth one who will make mention of Me amid My servants. This is My bidding unto you; hold fast to it as an assistance to yourselves.

– Baha’u’llah – Kitab-i-Aqdas #63

Back to the topic of marriage.

Please understand the context in which he wrote about the maid. All three quotes were from one section (#63) in the Kitab-i-Aqdas. #63. He wrote about polygamy, and then tranquil monogamy, then taking maids “into…service,” then about an obligation to marry.

[Note: The 1962 Elder-Miller version translates the line this way: “…and one does no harm in taking a virgin into his service.” No maid, and no propriety.]

My opinion:

Those maids had little to do with housekeeping!

More likely: home wrecking!

Perhaps if this “service” was done with enough “propriety” the wife would never have to know.

We have to enjoy our tranquil monogamy, after all…

Now that I’ve taken off my Baha’i rose-colored glasses, when I read things like this, I am so happy I’m no longer a Baha’i. I remember reading this verse for the first time when the Kitab-i-Aqdas was finally given to us in 1992, wondering why in the world he would mention a maid in a section about marriage.

Was I naive or what?

My mind did flip-flops like a fish out of water until I finally decided that whatever Baha’u’llah wrote must be alright, because, after all, he was God’s messenger.

Hopefully you’re not as naive as I was.

Now I’m thinking: “Why is it okay for Baha’i men to have maids, but not okay for Baha’i women to have… servants?” There’s nothing in the book about Baha’i women having servants. Where are our servants, Baha’u’llah?

[I honestly don’t want such a servant, but I do want equality when I’m promised equality. Nobody likes “bait and switch” tactics… not even in a religion.]

Baha’i Book of Laws J. Curtis Lee Mickunas explained this well in his article, The Book of Flaws, The Kitab-i-Aqdas: The Real Hidden Words. His analysis shows that the book was written for Baha’i men, not for women. That must be why men get maids but women don’t get servants.

Also… because we’re women, and there never really was any equality of men and women in the Baha’i religion until ‘Abdu’l-Baha started teaching that line in the west. A marketing ploy.

It pains me to say things like this about ‘Abdu’l-Baha, because I respected him so much… but I’m seeing the facts, and the writing is on the wall.

One could say that the maids really were housekeepers only, but the word “propriety” doesn’t really mean “sexually pure” – the definition is “the state or quality of conforming to conventionally accepted standards of behavior or morals,” which could mean… whatever is normal in your community… and in Persia, the norm was to have multiple wives, plus concubines. There’s also the Muslim practice of temporary marriage: Nikāḥ al-Mutʿah. Wikipedia states “The practice is often viewed as a cover for promiscuity or prostitution.”

[Note: Baha’u’llah’s third wife originally was a housekeeper in his home. Reference]

I’ve been reading the chapter about women in Baha’ism and Its Claims: A Study of the Religion Promulgated by Bahaullah and Abdul Baha by Samuel Graham Wilson, D.D., which was published in 1915. I’m not done reading yet, but so far, I absolutely love this book. I wish I’d known about it when I was a Baha’i.

Samuel Graham Wilson, D.D. (Doctor of Divinity) was a missionary in Persia for more than thirty years, from 1880 to his death in Tabriz in 1916. [Bio] He was familiar with the language, was able to read the Baha’i books, and had close association with Baha’is there. He was very familiar with the religion and wrote his book with the hope that it would tell the truth to believers in the west. He was very concerned about the way the Baha’i religion spread into Europe and North America. The book is well worth reading!

Here’s a quote from his book. This is about ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s marketing strategy to attract women into the religion:

“ABDUL BAHA while in Europe and America had much to say about the relation of man and woman. In New York City, after referring the audience to various books of the Baha’i religion, he said: “Similarly all the other tablets of Bahaullah contain new teachings, which have not been revealed in any books of the past Prophets. The sixth new teaching is the equality between men and women. This is peculiar to the teachings of Bahaullah, for all other religions placed men above women.”

In the exposition of Baha’i teachings at Clifton, England, he declared: “His Highness, Bahaullah, established certain precepts or principles.” “The sixth principle of Bahaullah regards the equality of the sexes. God has created the man and the woman equal. In the animal kingdom the male and the female enjoy suffrage [laughter]; in the vegetable kingdom the plants all enjoy equal suffrage [laughter and applause]. The male and the female of the human kingdom are equal before God. Divine justice demands that men and women have equal rights.”

“My first thought on reading these statements was one of surprise, for they contradict my observations during thirty years’ residence in Persia, in close touch with Baha’is. I decided to make a thorough investigation of the teachings and practice of Bahaullah bearing on the relation of the sexes, to determine definitely whether these claims of the “inspired interpreter” were valid or not.

A considerable body of Baha’i literature and “revelation” is accessible. Examination of the chief books, the “Kitab-ul-Akdas,” the “Ikan” and the “Surat-ul-Haykal” disclose no such teaching. Neither the 155 paragraphs of the “Hidden Words,” nor the “Seven Valleys” have any such delectable thoughts for Oriental women. Neither the six “Ornaments” of the faith nor the four “Rays,” nor the nine “Effulgences,” nor the eleven “Leaves of the Words of Paradise,” nor the nine precepts of the “Tablet of the World,” nor the fifteen “Glad Tidings”—though they announce many blessings, from freedom to cut the beard as you please to constitutional monarchy as the best form of government—give the teaching of the equality of woman with man.

Neither Mirza Abul Fazl in his “Baha’i Proofs,” representing the new Baha’is of Abdul Baha, nor Doctor Kheiralla in his ponderous volume on Bahaullah, representing the old Baha’is, in this bitter and rancorous schism; nor Myron Phelps in his “Life of Abbas Effendi,” nor Professor Browne of Cambridge University in his learned and impartial investigations regarding the religion makes the statement that Bahaullah teaches the equality of man and woman.

On the contrary, investigation confirmed my previous conviction that the position of woman under Baha’i laws and customs is inferior to that she holds in Western lands and that her lot is far less desirable and less blest than in Christian civilization. I reached the conclusion that this doctrine as enunciated by the “Interpreter” is a late addition to Baha’ism, intended to attract the attention and tickle the ears of audiences in Europe and America.

Of the two or three thousand Americans who are following the cult of Baha’ism, most are women. Concerning this Abdul Baha says in a tablet: “Today the women of the West lead the men in the service of the cause (Baha’ism) and loosen their tongues in eloquent lectures.” The editor adds, “Nine-tenths of the active workers in the cause are women.” ”

– Samuel Graham Wilson, D.D. – Baha’ism and Its Claims, page 155

[Note: I’ve deleted the many footnote numbers; refer to the text via the link to see how well Dr. Wilson documented his book. I also broke up his long paragraphs to avoid the online “wall of text” effect.]

Baha’is have found a few passages from Baha’u’llah’s writings that may indicate that women are equal to men in general, but they are few in number, in minor “tablets,” and hardly counter-balance the inequality of women in the “Most Holy Book” and the law that women cannot be members of the “House of Justice.”

Women, take heed: Though currently women are allowed to be members of Local and National Spiritual Assemblies, the plan is to replace all these Baha’i institutions with local “Houses of Justice” and apparently women are not to be members… in case that ever happens. I doubt that it will because despite the Baha’i perception that their religion is a Big Deal . . . it really is miniscule and the drop-out rate is astounding.

All the following quotes are found here: Compilation on Women.

Examples from the writings of Baha’u’llah:

“Praised be God, the Pen of the Most High hath lifted distinctions from between His servants and handmaidens, and, through His consummate favors and all-encompassing mercy, hath conferred upon all a station and rank of the same plane.”

“The names of handmaidens who are devoted to God are written and set down by the Pen of the Most High in the Crimson Book. They excel over men in the sight of God.”

“Whosoever from amongst the handmaidens hath recognized the Lord of all Names is recorded in the Book as one of those men…”

If you still think there’s equality of men and women in the Baha’i Faith… please go read the inheritance laws in the Kitab-i-Aqdas.

http://exbahai.com/