Bahaullah married his first wife, Ásíyih Khánum, in 1835.  He married his second wife, Fatimih, in 1849. And he married his third wife, Gawhar, in 1862. 

When Bahaullah married his second wife, he was a Babi! He accepted Bab in 1844, so he was not a Muslim anymore!! He was a Babi! And in Babi religion you can only have 2 wives.

When he married his third wife he was not a Muslim but a Babi! So he broke the Babi’s rules and married his third wife.  Not only that is not monogamy, but he also broke the Babi’s rules! 

In the Persian Bayan, wahid 8 section 14, the Bab says

“If a man or woman proves incapable of having a child, it is legitimate for the spouse who is not infertile (whichever it may be) to marry again after having obtained the permission of the other party, but not without her permission”

But Bahaullah had 7 children from his first wife!

Shoghi Effendi wrote: “Bahaullah 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the “Aqdas” (His book of laws) was revealed, He was only acting according to the laws of Islám, which had not yet been superseded. He made plurality of wives conditional upon justice.”

Abdul-Bahá 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.” “…Bahaullah married the first and second wives while He was still in Tehran, 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.”

But who cares whether Aqdas was “revealed” to him or not! He was a Babi and he could not have had more than two wives! (See below! Even in Aqdas Bahaullah said you can have two wives!) Also, did you notice that they did not mention that Bahaullah was a Babi and not a Muslim? When he was in Baghdad he was a Babi!

AND, aren’t we told that the divine messengers live exemplary, holy lives and are obedient to the holy texts even *before* they receive their Revelations???

If it is “impossible to be just to two or more women in marriage” as Abdul-Baha said, how would this state of affairs be any different before Baha’u’llah wrote the Aqdas?

Baha’u’llah also said: “God hath prescribed matrimony unto you. Beware that ye take not unto yourselves more wives than two.”(Baha’u’llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 41)

Although in the next sentence he said monogamy is accepted “Whoso contenteth himself with a single partner from among the maidservants of God, both he and she shall live in tranquility.”(Baha’u’llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 41)

Shoghi Effandi said: “He made plurality of wives conditional upon justice.”

But first, we must acknowledge that nowhere in the Aqdas is polygamy preconditioned upon justice (or the equal treatment of both wives). This is an addition by Abdul-Baha. Perhaps Baha’u’llah told Abdu’l-Baha orally about this, but to my knowledge there is no written document authored by Baha’u’llah laying out this precondition.

Second, according to the Writings of Abdul-Baha, he did not say that the precondition of justice cannot be met. In fact, He says the opposite:

“Concerning the practice of bigamy, this has been promulgated, and no one must abrogate it. ‘Abdul-Baha has not abrogated this law. These are false accusations and lies (spread by) the friends. What I have said is that He has made bigamy bound on a precondition. As long as someone does not attain certitude regarding the capability to practice justice and his heart is not at rest that he can practice justice, he should not be intent upon a second marriage. But if he should be sure and attain certitude that he would practice justice on all levels (and conditions), then a second marriage is lawful. Just as has been the case in the Holy Land: the Baha’i friends wished to marry a second wife, accepting this precondition, and this servant [Abdul-Baha] never abstained (from giving permission), but insisted that justice should be considered, and justice actually means here self-restraint; but they said, that they will practice justice and wished to marry a second wife. Such false accusations [charges that Abdul-Baha prohibited bigamy] are the slanderous whisperings of those who wish to spread doubts and to what degree they already succeed in making matters ambiguous! (Our) purpose was to state that bigamy without justice is not lawful and that justice is very difficult (to achieve).”[Amr wa Khalq, Volume 4, p. 174]

“You asked about polygamy. According to the text of the Divine Book the right of having two wives is lawful and legal. This was never prohibited, but it is legitimate and allowed. You should therefore not be unhappy, but take justice into your consideration so that you may be as just as possible. What has been said was that since justice is very difficult (to achieve), therefore tranquility (calls for) one wife. But in your case, you should not be unhappy.”[ibid. Volume 4, p. 174]

It is obvious from reading the above that Abdu’l-Baha gives a much more naunced take on this whole matter. So, according to Abdu’l-Baha if there is justice you can have two wives. According to Abdu’l-Baha, there is a condition and it can be met. He himself gave permission and blessing for polygamous marriages to take place by Baha’is.

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