Bahá'u'lláh's family

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Bahá'u'lláh (Arabic: بهاء الله "Glory of God") was the founder and prophet of the Bahá'í Faith. He was born in 1817 to Khadíjih Khánum and Mírzá Buzurg of Nur (in the province of Mazandaran), a Persian nobleman, and went on to be a leader in the Bábí movement, and then established the Bahá'í Faith in 1863.

Bahá'u'lláh's family consists of his three wives and the children of those wives.

[edit] Titles of descendants

One of Bahá'u'lláh's titles is Sadratu'l-Muntahá, which translates from Arabic as the tree beyond which there is no passing (a quote from Qur'an 53:14). In this connection, Bahá'u'lláh entitled his descendants as follows:

His male descendants were given the title of Aghsán (Arabic for "Branches") which in singular form is "Ghusn". In particular, three of his sons were given specific "branch" titles:

`Abdu'l-Bahá (given name, Abbás): Ghuṣn-i-A`ẓam (Arabic: الغصن الأعظم "The Most Great Branch").

Mírzá Muhammad `Alí: Ghuṣn-i-Akbar, (Arabic: الغصن الأکبر "The Greater Branch").^[1]

Mírzá Mihdí: Ghuṣn-i-Áthár, (Arabic: الغصن الأطهر "The Purest Branch").

His daughters were given the title of Afnán (translated from Arabic as "Leaves"). This title should not be confused with the Afnán title given by Bahá'u'lláh to the maternal relatives of the Báb, which is translated as "twigs", and was adopted by their descendants as a surname. Thus Bahá'u'lláh's eldest daughter, Bahíyyih (given name, Fatimih), was given the title of the Greatest Holy Leaf.

During Bahá'u'lláh's lifetime, he referred to his eldest son, Abbás, by terms such as "Sirru'lláh" (Mystery of God), or "Sarkár-i-Áqá" (the Master). After the passing of Bahá'u'lláh, he chose the title "`Abdu'l-Bahá" (Servant of Bahá).

Bahá'u'lláh did not give his descendants any direct right to the property of others.^[2] This contrasts with Shi'a Islam in which sayyids were given special financial entitlements.

[edit] Ásíyih Khánum (title given by Bahá'u'lláh: Navváb)

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See main article Ásíyih Khánum

Ásíyih was Bahá'u'lláh's first and best-known wife, most commonly known by her title, Navváb. 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 lived 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 were:

[edit] `Abbas Effendi (`Abdu'l-Bahá)

See main article `Abdu'l-Bahá

Born in 1844 and died 1921 He was the oldest child of Ásíyih and Bahá'u'lláh. He was variously referred to by Bahá'u'lláh as "Mystery of God", "The Master", "Perfect Exemplar" and "the Most Great Branch". `Abdu'l-Bahá went on to be the Centre 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 `Alí, who was not given a leadership role or authority by Bahá'u'lláh. Muhammad `Alí claimed that `Abdu'l-Bahá was taking on too much authority; Bahá'ís refute this claim by citing Bahá'u'lláh's Lawh-i-Ghusn (Tablet of the Branch),^[3] Kitáb-i-Ahd (The Book of the Covenant),^[4] and the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book)^[5] as clear appointments of `Abdu'l-Bahá as his sole successor and interpreter of his writings. The struggle led to increasingly deteriorating prison conditions until `Abdu'l-Bahá was released after the Turkish Revolution.

After World War I, `Abdu'l-Bahá 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 currently buried within one of the rooms at the Shrine of the Báb.

[edit] Bahíyyih Khánum

Bahíyyih Khánum in 1895

Born in 1846 she was called Bahíyyih Khánum and entitled the Greatest holy Leaf. She was particularly dear to her father and is seen within the Bahá'í Faith as one of the 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."

(Bahá'u'lláh, quoted in The Bahá’í World, vol. V, p. 171) [3]

She stood by and remained faithful to the Centers of the Covenant over years of infighting within the Bahá'u'lláh's family that led to the expelling of many of them. 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 Bahá'í World Center in Haifa.

She died on 15 July 1932 was buried in the Bahá'í gardens below the Bahá'í 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[4].

The Monument of the Greatest Holy Leaf was built in her memory at the Bahá'í World Centre.

[edit] Mírzá Mihdí

Mírzá Mihdí in 1868

See main article Mírzá Mihdí

Born in 1848 and entitled the Purest Branch, Mírzá Mihdí died on 23 June 1870. He was chanting Qasidiy-i-Varqa'iyyih (a poem written by Bahá'u'lláh in Kurdistan)[5] 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 Bahá'u'lláh in prison. 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.

Mírzá Mihdí was eventually buried alongside his mother in the gardens below the Bahá'í Arc on Mount Carmel in Haifa near his brother and sister.

[edit] 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 in Mázandarán at the age of 7
`Alí Muhammad who was born and died in Baghdad at the age of 2

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

Born in 1828 and generally known as Mahd-i-'Ulya, Fatimih was one of Bahá'u'lláh's first cousins, and 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 are:

[edit] 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. Both were eventually declared Covenant-breakers. She died at age 49 in 1904/5 and her husband died at over one-hundred years of age in 1955.

[edit] Muhammad-`Alí

See main article: Muhammad `Alí

Born in Baghdad in approximately 1852, his father called him the "Greater Branch". When Bahá'u'lláh declared `Abdu'l-Bahá his successor, he set that Muhammad `Alí was next in rank after him.^[6] 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^[7], and appointing Shoghi Effendi his successor instead.

Muhammad `Alí is often described as the "Arch-Breaker of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant".^[8]

Muhammad `Alí died in 1937.

[edit] 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 Samandarí
He swayed between the two sides in his brothers' 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 [6].

[edit] Badi'u'lláh

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

Born in Adrianople in 1868.
For much of his life he supported his brother's challenge to `Abdu'l-Bahá's authority as Centre of the Covenant
He did however confess to `Abdu'l-Bahá's claim being correct in what is known as Badi'u'lláh'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

[edit] Others

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

`Alí Muhammad who died at the age of 2 in Baghdad
Sádhajiyya Khánim who was born in Baghdad and died at the age of 2 in Constantinople

[edit] Gawhar Khanum

Gawhar was Bahá'u'lláh's third wife. They are said to have married in Baghdad some time before he declared his mission. When Bahá'u'lláh left Baghdad in 1863 she and her daughter stayed and lived with her brother Mirza Mihdiy-i-Kashani. Later, on her way to join Bahá'u'lláh and the family she is reported to have been taken captive along with other believers, and for some years she was among the Bahá'í refugees in Mosul. She later went to Akká at Bahá'u'lláh's instruction.^[9]

Gawhar may have been a maid of the first wife of Bahá'u'lláh when he married her.^[10]

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

Her daughter was:

[edit] 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 Centre of the Covenant, and became Covenant-breakers.
According to Shoghi Effendi she died of cancer (date unknown).

[edit] Plurality of wives

That Bahá'u'lláh had three wives, when his religion teaches monogamy, has been the subject of criticism. There are facts and speculation.

[edit] Facts

Bahá'u'lláh had three concurrent wives according to his great-grandson Shoghi Effendi.
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 the laws and tradition of Islam which Bahá'u'lláh would have been following at the time of his marriages, a man is allowed four wives.
Bahá'í marriage laws were written in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas more than ten years after his last marriage. These set a limit to two wives and no concubines on the condition of justice.^[11] This was later interpreted by `Abdu'l-Bahá as impossible, thus establishing monogamy.^[12]

[edit] Bahá'í apologia

The general view among Bahá'u'lláh's family and Bahá'ís today is that all the wives were legal and equal. The question about how this conforms to religious law is addressed directly in two letters from Universal House of Justice quoting Shoghi Effendi twice:

"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."

"...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.".^[13]

Bahá'í sources argue that polygamy is an ancient practice and other religions did not require monogamy.^[14] Under the Law of Moses a man could take as many wives as he chose. Jesus did not prohibit polygamy, and used parables with polygamous marriage incorporated into them. In the Arabian peninsula Muhammad introduced a limit of four wives to men who were accustomed to hundreds. The Bahá'í Faith slowly introduced monogamy to a region that considered polygamy a righteous lifestyle. Note 89 of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas comments on the verse in question:

"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."^[15]

[edit] Notes

^ Ghusn-i-A‘ẓam and Ghusn-i-Akbar can both be translated as "the great branch", "the greater branch" or "the most great branch". A‘ẓam carries a higher status in Arabic (see Baalbaki 1995, or Steingass 1970), so Bahá'í authors and others translate `Abdu'l-Bahá's title as "Most Great" and Muhammad `Alí's title as "Greater" (Taherzadeh, 2000, p. 256.). Some authors have reversed the English translations (Maulana, 1933, p.56). However the designations of Ghusn-i-A‘ẓam and Ghusn-i-Akbar are clear. (Browne, 1918, p. 61, & p. 85[1])
^ Bahá'u'lláh [1873-92] (1994). Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 222.
^ National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States (ed.) [1943] (1976). Bahá'í World Faith: Selected Writings of Báha'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá, pp. 204-207.
^ Bahá'u'lláh [1873-92] (1994). Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, pp. 219-223.
^ Bahá'u'lláh [1873] (1992). The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book, para. 121.
^ Bahá'u'lláh [1873-92] (1994). Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 221.
^ `Abdu'l-Bahá [1901-08] (1992). The Will And Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 5.
^ Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By, p. 263 & p.317.
^ Letter from Universal House of Justice: 1998, Apr 06, Memorandum re Wives of Bahá'u'lláh
^ Cole, Juan. A Brief Biography of Bahá'u'lláh. Retrieved on 2006-09-27.
^ Bahá'u'lláh [1873] (1992). The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book, para. 63.
^ Bahá'u'lláh [1873] (1992). The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book, pp. 205-206.
^ Letter from Universal House of Justice: 1998, April 06, Memorandum re Wives of Bahá'u'lláh [2]
^ Universal House of Justice, (1996), p. 449, and Letters from Universal House of Justice, October 23, 1995, June 27, 1996, and April 06, 1998.
^ Synopsis and Codification... of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, note 89

[edit] References

`Abdu'l-Bahá [1901-08] (1992). The Will And Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Mona Vale, N.S.W, Australia: Bahá'í Publications Australia. ISBN 0909991472.

Baalbaki, Rohi (2005). AL Mawrid Al Quarib (Arabic English Dictionary), 9th, Beirut, Lebanon: Dar el-Ilm lil-Malayēn. ISBN 189441294X.

Bahá'u'lláh [1873] (1992). The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0853989990.

Bahá'u'lláh [1873-92] (1994). Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877431744.

Browne, E.G. (1918), "Materials for the Study of the Bábí Religion"

Cole, Juan. A Brief Biography of Bahá'u'lláh. Retrieved on 2006-09-27.

Research Department of the Universal House of Justice (1982). Bahíyyih Khánum, The Greatest Holy Leaf (Compilation). Bahá’í World Centre, Haifa, Israel. 0853981310.

Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877430209.

Khan, J.A. (2005). Prophet's Daughter: The Life and Legacy of Bahíyyih Khánum, Outstanding Heroine Of The Bahá'í Faith. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 1931847142.

Maulana Muhammad Ali (1933). History and Doctrines of the Babi Movement.

Munírih Khánum; Sammireh Anwar Smith (tr.). Munírih Khánum - Memoirs and Letters. Los Angeles, United States: Lalimát Press.

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States (ed.) [1943] (1976). Bahá'í World Faith: Selected Writings of Báha'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877430438.

Nabíl-i-Zarandí (1932). in Shoghi Effendi (Translator): The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl’s Narrative, Hardcover, Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0900125225.

[1943] (1976) Bahá'í World Faith: Selected Writings of Báha'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877430438.

Steingass, F.J. , University of Munich [1892] (2005). A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary, Including the Arabic words and phrases to be met with in literature. New Delhi, India: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. ISBN 8173046697.