The Baha'i Studies Listserv Hi David, I found a quote relevant to the theme that the Prophet Muhammad himself indirectly encouraged monogamy.
"*Concerning the question of plurality of wives among the Muslims: This practice current in all Islamic countries does not conform with the explicit teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. For the Qur'an, while permitting the marriage of more than one wife, positively states that this is conditioned upon absolute justice. And since absolute justice is impossible to enforce, it follows, therefore, that polygamy cannot and should not be practised. The Qur'an, therefore, enjoins monogamy and not polygamy as has hitherto been understood*." (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, January 29, 1939, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1672) On Mon, Oct 1, 2012 at 1:14 AM, David Regal <david.re...@yahoo.com> wrote: > The Baha'i Studies Listserv > > >Jesus, for example, did not prohibit polygamy, but > abolished divorce except in the case of fornication; > Muhammad limited the number of wives to four, but > making plurality of wives contingent on justice, and > reintroducing permission for divorce; Bahá'u'lláh, 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 the progressive > unfoldment of His purpose. The fact that He left His > followers with an infallible Interpreter of His Writings > enabled Him to outwardly permit two wives in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas > but uphold a condition that enabled 'Abdu'l-Bahá to > elucidate later that the intention of the law was to enforce > >monogamy. > > Both Muhammad and Baha'u'llah allowed a plurality of wives contingent on > justice. Since 'Abdul'-Baha clarified that justice is impossible, doesn't > that mean that Muhammad never really allowed polygamy? What, then, of the > apologetic explanation taken from the letter from the House of Justice on > the subject: > > 'Regarding the wives of Bahá'u'lláh, extracts from letters written on > behalf of the beloved Guardian set this subject in context. They indicate > that Bahá'u'lláh was "acting according to the laws of Islám, which had not > yet been superseded", and that He was following "the customs of the people > of His own land": > > ...as regards Bahá'u'lláh's marriage it should be noted that His three > marriages were all contracted before He revealed His Book of Laws, and even > before His declaration in Baghdád, at a time when Bahá'í marriage laws had > not yet been known, and the Revelation not yet disclosed. > (25 May 1938 to a National Spiritual Assembly) > > 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) > > ...Bahá'u'lláh married the first and second wives while He was still in > Tihrán, and the third wife while He was in Baghdád. 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. > (14 January 1953 to an individual believer)' > > > > Since Muhammad also made a plurality of wives contingent on justice, how > could Baha'u'llah have been following the laws of Islam in taking multiple > wives? Did any of the Imams clarify what the Qur'an said on plurality of > wives, as 'Abdul-Baha did Baha'u'llah? > > > > > Regards, > David > > > __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:arch...@mail-archive.com Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:leave-667661-27401.54f46e81b66496c9909bcdc2f7987...@list.jccc.edu Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to ly...@list.jccc.edu Or subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st News (on-campus only) - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
