Editing Kitáb-i-Aqdas (section)

====Marriage and divorce====
{{main|Baháʼí marriage}}
Baha'u'llah's statements about marriage in the ''Kitáb-i-Aqdas'' are brief. Marriage is highly recommended but is stated to not be obligatory.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Smith |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Smith (historian) |encyclopedia=A concise encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith |title=marriage |year=2000 |publisher=Oneworld Publications |location=Oxford |isbn=1-85168-184-1 |pages= 232–234 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yhy9DwAAQBAJ}}</ref> Baháʼu'lláh states that the maximum number of wives is two, but also states that having only one wife would add more tranquility to both partners.<ref name="polygamy">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Smith |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Smith (historian) |encyclopedia=A concise encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith |title=Polygamy |year=2000 |publisher=Oneworld Publications |location=Oxford |isbn=1-85168-184-1 |pages= 273 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yhy9DwAAQBAJ}}</ref> These statements were later interpreted by [[ʻAbdu'l-Bahá]] that having a second wife is conditional upon treating both wives with justice and equality and was not possible in practice, thus establishing monogamy.<ref name="polygamy"/><ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2008|pp=205}}</ref><ref name="JLR18-m">{{cite journal |last=Schaefer |first=Udo |title=An Introduction to Baha'i Law: Doctrinal Foundations, Principles and Structures |journal=Journal of Law and Religion |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=321, 333 |year=2002–2003 |jstor=1602268 |doi=10.2307/1602268|s2cid=154511808 }}</ref>

That [[Baháʼu'lláh]] had three wives,<ref name="polygamy"/><ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2008|pp=16}}</ref> while his religion teaches monogamy, has been the subject of criticism. The writing of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and Baháʼí teachings on gender equality and monogamy post-date Baháʼu'lláh's marriages and are understood to be evolutionary in nature, slowly leading Baháʼís away from what had been a deeply rooted cultural practice.<ref name="polygamy"/><ref name="JLR18-m"/>