Marriage with relatives
Marriage with step-mother or step-father is forbidden[edit]
"It is forbidden you to wed your fathers' wives."
- (Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, par. 107)
"Marriage with one's stepmother is forbidden."
"Marriage with one's stepmother is here explicitly prohibited. This prohibition also applies to marrying one's stepfather. Where Bahá'u'lláh has expressed a law between a man and a woman it applies mutatis mutandis as between a woman and a man unless the context should make this impossible.
- (Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 133)
"In general, the laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas are stated succinctly. An example of this conciseness can be seen in the fact that many are expressed only as they apply to a man, but it is apparent from the Guardian's writings that, where Bahá'u'lláh has given a law as between a man and a woman, it applies mutatis mutandis between a woman and a man unless the context makes this impossible. For example, the text of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas forbids a man to marry his father's wife (i.e. his stepmother), and the Guardian has indicated that likewise a woman is forbidden to marry her stepfather."
- (Introduction to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 7)
Other relatives to be determined by House of Justice (the more distant the blood relation the better)[edit]
"QUESTION: Concerning the legitimacy or otherwise of marrying one's relatives.
"ANSWER: These matters likewise rest with the Trustees of the House of Justice."
- (Bahá'u'lláh, Question and Answers to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 50)
"All matters related to marriage with one's kindred are to be referred to the House of Justice."
"'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi confirmed that, while stepmothers are the only category of relatives mentioned in the text, this does not mean that all other unions within a family are permissible. Bahá'u'lláh states that it devolves upon the House of Justice to legislate "concerning the legitimacy or otherwise of marrying one's relatives" (Q and A 50). 'Abdu'l-Bahá has written that the more distant the blood-relationship between the couple the better, since such marriages provide the basis for the physical well-being of humanity and are conducive to fellowship among mankind."
- (Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 133)
House of Justice not yet seen fit to make regulations on marriage with one's kindred; currently on conscience of individuals, obeying civil law, and considering customs and traditions of each country[edit]
"The Universal House of Justice has instructed us to acknowledge your letter of 15 December 1980 in which you ask what prohibitions, in addition to the one on marrying one's step-mother, there may be restricting marriage between relatives, and to say that the House of Justice has not as yet seen fit to make regulations on the subject of marriage with one's kindred. For the present, therefore, decisions are left to the consciences of the individual Bahá'ís who must, of course, obey the civil law. Consideration must also be given to the prevailing customs and traditions in each country so that any action in this respect will not reflect upon the Faith in an adverse way."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly, January 15, 1981, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1289)
Seth a son of Adam; (spoken of in connection with a change in the social laws of religion)[edit]
"During the cycle of Adam it was lawful and expedient for a man to marry his own sister, even as Abel, Cain and Seth, the sons of Adam, married their sisters. But in the law of the Pentateuch revealed by Moses these marriages were forbidden and their custom and sanction abrogated."
- (The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 365)
See also[edit]
- Incest
- Interracial marriage (more distant relationship recommended)
