Bahá'u'lláh's family

Bahá'u'lláh was born to a Persian nobleman in 1817 and went on to be a leader in the Bábí movement, then established the Bahá'í Faith in 1863.

According to Baha'i sources, Bahá'u'lláh had three wives. For his third wife, the date of their marriage is not known.

Clarification of some terms

One of Baha'u'llah's titles is "Sadratu'l-Muntaha", the tree beyond which there is no passing. In this connection, Bahá'u'lláh titled his decendents as follows:

Sons are Aghsan (Arabic for "Branches"). "Ghusn" is the singular form, thus:

• Abdu'l-Baha (given name, Abbas), Ghusn-i-azam, the Most Mighty Branch (or Mightiest),
• Muhammad-Ali, Ghusn-i-akbar, the Most Great Branch (or Greatest),
• Mirza Mihdi, Ghusn-i-athar, the Purest Branch

Daughters are Afnan (translated from Arabic as "Leaves"). It should not be confused with the Afnan title given by Baha'u'llah to the maternal relatives of the Bab and as adopted by their descendents as a surname. Thus Baha'u'llah's eldest daughter, Bahiyyih (given name, Fatimih), was given the title the Greatest Holy Leaf.

`Abdu'l-Bahá chose the title, meaning "Servant of Baha", after the passing of Baha'u'llah.

Bahá'u'lláh did not give his descendents any direct right to the property of others. This contrasts with Shia Islam in which sayyids were given special financial entitlements.

Ásiyih Khánum (title given by Bahá'u'lláh: Navváb)

See main article Ásiyih Khánum, Navváb

Ásiyih was Bahá'u'lláh's first and most well known about wife. She was a daughter of a nobleman, Mirza Isma'il-i-Vazir. Her date of birth is not known.

They married some time between 24 September and 22 October 1835 in Tehran and she had seven of Bahá'u'lláh's children, of whom only three made to adulthood.

She was given the title Navváb by which she is best known within Bahá'í circles.

She died in 1886 in Akká.

Her children:

'Abbas Effendi (`Abdu'l-Bahá)

See main article `Abdu'l-Bahá

Born in 1844 and died 1921 he was the oldest child of Asiyih and Bahá'u'lláh. He was adorned with titles such as "Perfect Exemplar" and "the Most Mighty Branch". `Abdu'l-Bahá went on to be the Center of the Covenant of the Bahá'í Faith after the death of his father. During this time, he bore attacks from his half-brother Muhammad-'Ali, who was not given a leadership role or authority by Baha'u'llah; Muhammad-'Ali claimed that Abdu'l-Baha was taking on too much authority. The struggle led to worse prison conditions until `Abdu'l-Bahá was released after the Turkish Revolution.

After World War I he was awarded a Knighthood of the British Empire in recognition of his humanitarian work during the war for famine relief. Abbas Street in Haifa was later named in his honour.

He is buried within one of the rooms at the shrine of the Báb.

Fatimih Khanum

Born in 1846 she was called Bahiyyih Khanum and entitled the Greatest holy Leaf. She was particularly dear to her father and is seen within the Baha'i faith as one of greatest women to have lived:

Verily, We have elevated thee to the rank of one of the most distinguished among thy sex, and granted thee, in My court, a station such as none other woman hath surpassed.[1]

She stood by and remained faithful to the Centers of the Covenant as most mainstream Baha'is see it: Bahá'u'lláh, `Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi over years of infighting within the Baha'i Holy Family that led to the expelling of many of the Baha'i Holy Family. Shoghi in particular felt her support during difficult times such as the passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá, and in the years afterwards when she was entrusted with the Faith when he was absent from the Baha'i World Center in Haifa.

She died on 15th July 1932 was buried in the Baha'i gardens below the Baha'i Arc on Mount Carmel not far from her two brothers and mother. The shock to the administration meant that religious festivals were suspended for nine months[2].

Mirzá Mihdí

See main article Mirzá Mihdí

Born in 1848 and entitled the Purest Branch Mirzá Mihdí was killed on 23rd June 1870. It is believed that he was chanting Qasidiy-i-Varqa'iyyih (a poem written by Bahá'u'lláh in Kurdistan)[3] when he fell through a skylight in the prison city of Akká while pacing back and forth in prayer and meditation. He was 22 at the time.

The death is significant as Bahá'ís believe that Bahá'u'lláh offered him the chance of being cured, however he chose to use his life as a sacrifice so that the prison gates would open and the pilgrims would be able to visit the Baha'i Holy Family. It reflected one of the toughest times for them, but restrictions on them did lift in the years to come with them eventually being allowed to live a short distance outside the prison city.

Mirzá Mihdí was eventually buried alongside his mother in the gardens below the Baha'i Arc on Mount Carmel in Haifa near his brother and sister.

Others

Navváb bore at least three other children, but due to their early deaths little is known about them:

• Sádiq who died aged 3–4
• `Alí Muhammad who died aged 7 at Mázandarán
• `Alí Muhammad who was born and died at Baghdad aged 2

Fatimih Khanum (title given by Bahá'u'lláh: Mahd-i-'Ulya)

Born in 1828 and generally known as Mahd-i-'Ulya, Fatimih was originally one of Bahá'u'llá's first cousins, but later become his second wife. They married in 1849 in Tehran and she had six of Bahá'u'lláh's children, of whom only four survived to adulthood. She was said to have harbored great enmity towards `Abdu'l-Bahá. She died in 1904, and was later labelled a Covenant-breaker.

Her children:

Samadiyyih

Relatively little has been documented about Samadiyyih. What we do know is:

• She was born at Baghdad. Married Majdu'd-Din (son of Bahá'u'lláh's faithful brother Aqay-i-Kalim also known as Mirzá Musa), who was one of `Abdu'l-Bahá's greatest critics and sometimes described as the Arch-Covenant-breaker. She died at age 49 in 1904/5 and her husband died at over one-hundred years of age in 1955.

Muhammad-'Alí

See main article: Muhammad Ali

Born in Baghdad in approximately 1852, his father called him the "Most Great Branch". When Bahá'u'lláh declared `Abdu'l-Bahá his successor, he also said that Muhammad-'Alí was next in rank after him. When `Abdu'l-Bahá died, his will went into great detail about how Muhammad-'Alí had been unfaithful to the Covenant, labelling him a Covenant-breaker, and appointing Shoghi Effendi instead.

Whole books within Bahá'í literature have been printed to refute the claims of Muhammad-'Alí. This represented what is often described as the most testing time for the Bahá'í Faith.

Muhammad Ali died in 1937.

Díyá'u'lláh

(Alternate spelling: Zíyá'u'lláh)

Relatively little is known about Díyá'u'lláh, so it is difficult to piece together an accurate account of his life, but we do know:

• Born 15 August 1864 in Edirne (modern day Adrianople)
• Married Thurayya
• He swayed between the two sides in his brother's argument, and died before taking part in an act against `Abdu'l-Bahá, but has still been labelled a Covenant-breaker
• He died in 30 October 1898 (without issue) and was buried in the room next to where Bahá'u'lláh was buried
• His body was moved by relatives of the Covenant-breakers to a building covering the grave of his brother Muhammad-'Alí
• In 1965 the Universal House of Justice removed his body from the vicinity of the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh as an act of purification [4].

Badi'u'llah

It is difficult to piece together information about Badi'u'llah since so little is known about him. What is known is:

• Born at Adrianople in 1868.
• For much of his life he supported his brother's challenge to `Abdu'l-Bahá's authority as Center of the Covenant
• He did however confess to `Abdu'l-Bahá's claim being correct in what is known as Badi'u'llah's epistle (see External Links below), however it was short lived. This confession played a large role in `Abdu'l-Bahá's will and testament.
• He died in Israel in 1950

Others

Mahd-i-'Ulya bore at least two other children:

• `Alí Muhammad who died aged 2 at Baghdad
• Sádhajiyya Khánim who was born in Baghdad and died aged 2 at Constantinople

Gawhar Khanum

Gawhar was Bahá'u'lláh's third wife (or union) and was commonly known as Haram-i Kashi (the Kashi Wife). They are said to have married in Baghdad some time before he declared his mission. When Bahá'u'lláh left Baghdad (1863) she and her daughter stayed and lived with Gawhar's brother Mirza Mihdiy-i-Kashani. For some years she was among the Baha'i refugees in Mosul and later went to Akká at Bahá'u'lláh's request.

Gawhar was a maid of the first wife of Bahá'u'lláh when he is said to have married her. See Controversy below.

Both mother and daughter were declared Covenant-breakers after the death of Bahá'u'lláh. Gawhar died during the ministry of Abdul Baha, thus between 1892 and 1921.

Her daughter:

Furughiyyih

Relatively little is known about Furughiyyih so it is difficult to write a documented account. What is known is:

• Until her mother moved to Akká, she was raised by her in the area around Mosul
• She married Siyyid Ali (the son of the Báb's brother-in-law) on 17 May 1886 and bore him two sons.
• She, her husband and her children (in particular her eldest Nayyir) all rebelled against `Abdu'l-Bahá's authority as Center of the Covenant, and became Covenant-breakers
• According to Shoghi Effendi she died of cancer (date unknown)

Controversy and Confusion

The status of Bahá'u'lláh's third wife is disputed. It does have a certain sense of discrepancy, which will be discussed here. There is no clear cut, nor a simple answer.

Facts

(The relevance of each individual fact in the controversy described is a matter under dispute)

• Bahá'u'lláh was said by his great-grandson Shoghi Effendi to have had three concurrent wives. In dispute of this fact, E. G. Browne (in "Materials" p320) and Maulana (in "Doctrines" p54) both state that Bahá'u'lláh had only two wives. Although Browne does state in a footnote that Bahá'u'lláh had another daughter Faniqiyya, without stating who the mother was.
• Bahá'u'lláh married his first wife in Tehran when they both were Muslims, he married his second wife also in Tehran, when he, his first wife and his new wife were all Bábí and no longer muslims
• According to Bábí law, a man should take no more than two wives and no concubines
• At the time of his third marriage Bahá'u'lláh was a Bábí and the general consensus was that Bábí law superceeded Islamic law
• His third wife was a maid working in his house while he lived in Baghdad. She was a maid of his first wife (Navváb).
• Although he had not declared himself as Him Whom God shall make Manifest, the figure the Bábís were searching for, he would later claim that he had already been informed of his station when he married Gawhar
• A law introduced within the Bahá'í Faith at least ten years after his last marriage would set a limit to two wives and no concubines on the condition of justice. This was later interpreted by `Abdu'l-Bahá as impossible, so reduced to monogamy.
• According to the laws and tradition of Islam which Bahá'u'lláh would have been following if it were not for the Bábí movement and his own revelation of the Bahá'í Faith, a man is allowed four wives and an unlimited amount of concubines

Range of different possibilities

There are a range of possible explainations, some of which are quite damning. It is important to point out that there is very little evidence to support many of these though, due to the lack of information.

Three legal wives

The general view amongst Bahá'ís is that all the wives were legal and equal [5]. The question about how this conforms to the Bábí law is addressed directly by a letter from Universal House of Justice dated 6 April 1998 which quotes Shoghi Effendi twice:

"... (Bahá'u'lláh) was only acting according to the laws of Islam, which had not yet been superseded". (11 February 1944 to an individual believer)

"He (Bahá'u'lláh) 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)

Pro forma temporary marriage

There has been some speculation that his last marriage could have been "a Pro forma temporary marriage mut`ah of a sort required of Shi`ite law where a man had a live-in maid and Gawhar Khanum had been brought into the household in the Shi`ite Karkh district in order to serve Asiyih Khanum"[6].

There is little evidence to support this other than:

• Gawhar did not follow Bahá'u'lláh as closely as his other two wives

Gawhar was the widow of a martyr

This also is speculation[7]. If this were true, Bahá'u'lláh could have married Gawhar in order to protect and support her in much the same way he married Mahd-i-'Ulya after she became the widow of Bahá'u'lláh's brother. Women were not capable of living unsupported so lived with their parents until they were married off, then lived with their husbands.

Gawhar was pregnant

This is speculation. We do not know the date of their marriage nor the date of the birth of their only child Furughiyyih.

Gawhar and her daughter's status are unclear. Some early reports (Browne and Maulana) do not mention Gawhar, whereas Baha'i accounts recognise her as of equal status to Bahá'u'lláh's first two wives.

Gawhar was simply a concubine

This also cannot be confirmed, but is denied by the respective centers of the faith in the years afterwards. But in support of it, E. G. Browne and Maulana (possibly dependent) state that Bahá'u'lláh had only two wives.

Possible rebuttals

• Shoghi Effendi, first Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith wrote the following on the subject:

"Bahá'u'lláh 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; 'Abdu'l-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."(11 February 1944 to an individual believer)

• Baha'is accept that Bahá'u'lláh is the one promised by the Báb--i.e. Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest--of whom the Báb wrote in his Will and Testament (v.29): He shall carry out whatever He wishes, with permission from His Lord. He shall not be questioned for his actions.... Through this verse, the Báb instructs that Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest is not subject to Babi law.

• The Qur'án permitted additional wives to the Prophet, the Manifestation of God only obeyed the laws of the time out of kindness to the people. Also, many of the laws of the Báb were conditional upon the acceptance of the Promised One, who Bahá'ís believe had not yet forumulated the new law. New declarants to the Bahá'í Faith who came from a polygamous background are not expected to divorce their additional wives.

• Bahá'í sources argue that polygamy is an ancient practice and other religions did not require monogamy. Jesus made no laws limiting the number of wives whilst the Qu'rán's permitted only four wives. The Baha'i faith slowly introduced monogamy to a region where it was not in common practice.

External links

• Badi U'llah's Epistle

References

• "Materials for the Study of the Babi Religion", E. G. Browne (1918)
• "History and Doctrines of the Babi Movement", Maulana Muhammad Ali; Lahore, India. (1933)
• William McElwee Miller The Baha'i Faith: Its History and Teachings (1974) William Carey Libray pub.
• Taherzadeh, Adib (2000). The Child of the Covenant. George Ronald, Publisher 46 High Street, Kidlington, Oxford, UK OX5 2DN. ISBN 0–85398439–5.
• Letter from Universal House of Justice to an individual believer about the wives of Bahá'u'lláh dated 23 October 1995
• Badi'u'llah's epistle
• Cyprus Exiles, The by Moojan Momen
• Letter from Universal House of Justice: 1998, Apr 06, Memorandum re Wives of Bahá'u'lláh
• Ahmad Kasravi – collection of articles from Parcham newspaper (book – posthumous). 1949 Tehran, Iran.