In the aftermath of the martyrdom of the Báb, and during the absence of the Desired One, that unchaste one engaged in such a disgraceful act as would have been repulsive even to the notorious Ghayúr of Baghdad. [1] That is, after the martyrdom of the Báb, he wedded the wife of the Exalted One, the Mother of the Faithful, marriage to whom had, according to His explicit statement, been forbidden to all. [2] And as if that dishonour were not enough, when he found her not to his liking, he presented that honourable lady—the sister of Mullá Rajab-‘Alí and the wife of the Báb—to Siyyid Muhammad-i-Isfahání. This was the extent of his exertions, his claim to might, power, and fame: to busy himself, by day and by night, in multiplying the number of his wives. He even summoned his own wife’s sister, Ruqíyyih Khánum, from Mázindarán, and married her too, thus being “married to two sisters at the same time”. [3] He also wed the sister of Mírzá Nasru’lláh-i-Tafrishí. The mother of Mírzá Ahmad, too, was one of his lawful wives, and he further entered into matrimony with the daughter of an Arab, thus transgressing the limits set by the clear text of the Bayán. These are his numerous marriages in Baghdad alone and do not include the ones in Tihrán and Mázindarán. Should ye investigate the matter, the truth of this verse would be made clear and evident: “He was calamity itself, that huntsman who passed through our grove. [4] We shall not expatiate further on this matter. The point is simply that that “paragon of chastity” [5] carried out such acts as are contrary to the explicit Text revealed by the Merciful Lord, and spent his days and nights in these vain pursuits.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet; ‘Light of the World’)
[1] A character, infamous for his moral laxity and indifference to honour and fidelity, mentioned in Ottoman Turkish sources
[2] A reference to Fátimih, the second wife of the Báb
[3] A reference to the prohibition in Qur’án 4:23 against
marriage to two sisters at the same time
[4] Poem by Nazírí Nishápúrí
[5] Mírzá Yahyá. An allusion and contrast to “Yahyá the
chaste”,the Islamic title of John the Baptist (see Qur’án 3:39)
