The Babi and Baha'i Religion — Page 65
THE B Ā B Ī AND BAH Ā ’ Ī RELIGION 65 7. No one is permitted to marry more than two wives 90 , though Bah a ’ull a h himself had three. But ‘Abdul Bah a ’ has given out in the West that the Bah a ’ i sharia allows only monogamy. On this basis it is written in ‘A s r-e-Jad i d 91 that Bah a ’ i ism forbids polygamy. The Bah a ’ i historian writes: "It is to be remem- bered that the Bah a ’ i religion does not uphold polygamy, although in Aqdas a male is permitted to have two wives, but justice in that case would be binding as a condition. And ‘Abdul Bah a ’, who is the rightful commentator of the book, has said that since the dealing out of justice among one’s spouses is impossible, one should be content with only one wife" 92. Further it is to be noted that in this statement Mirz a ‘Abdul H usain has made a manifest misstate- ment, for in Aqdas the permission to have two wives is not conditional on the dealing out of equal justice in the case of the two wives. By pronouncing judgment that the dealing out of equal justice is not possible, ‘Abdul Bah a ’ has proved virtually that, in his opinion in any case, and in the 90 Aqdas 130. 91 Arabic , page 174. 92 Al-Kaw a kib , Persian, Volume II, page 9.