Шайхы әлиәсінің ізбасары: Сәйід Казым Раштының өмірі мен қызметі

Successor of Shaykh Ahmad al Ahsa'i, leader of the Shaykhí movement

Sayyid Kāẓim bin Qāsim al Ḥusaynī ar Rashtī (1793–1843) (سيد كاظم بن قاسم الحسيني الرﺷتي), mostly known as Siyyid Kázim Rashtí (سید کاظم رشتی), was the son of Siyyid Qasim of Rasht, a town in northern Iran. He was appointed as the successor of Shaykh Ahmad al Ahsa'i, and led the Shaykhí movement until his death. He came from a family of well known merchants. He was a Shaykhi scholar who told his students about the coming of the Mahdi and the "Masih" (the return of Christ) and taught them how to recognize them. After his death in 1843, many of his students spread out around Asia, Europe and Africa for the search. Upon his death he was buried near the tomb of Imam Hossein in Karbala.

One of Siyyid Kazim’s most important works is a 16,000 verse commentary on an Arabic ode. The text itself has not much to do with the actual content of the poem. The commentary is well known for Kazim’s depiction of the many levels, regions and inhabitants of the spiritual universe depicted as a “multi faceted celestial, cosmic city”. It also includes discussion surrounding “the curtain of the city of knowledge” and its symbolism, the inception of an era of spirituality and “inward realities” as opposed to the “outward observances” and laws of the past, allusions to the significance of the word Baha (Splendour/Glory), as well as interpretations of Noah’s Ark and the light verse.

On the death of Siyyid Kazim on 31 December 1843, some Shaykhis went on to become Babis, some of whom later became Baháʼís, and the rest split into three factions. Baháʼí sources claim that Ḥájí Mírzá Muḥammad Karím Khán i Kirmání declared himself as the successor to Siyyid Káẓim. It is also reported in the Baháʼí sources that before dying, instead of appointing a successor, he sent his disciples out to find the Promised One. One of his most noted followers, Mullá Husayn said:
"Our departed teacher insistently exhorted us to forsake our homes, to scatter far and wide, in quest of the promised Beloved Regarding the features of the Promised One, he told us that He is of a pure lineage, is of illustrious descent, and of the seed of Fatimah. As to His age, He is more than twenty and less than thirty. He is endowed with innate knowledge. He is of medium height, abstains from smoking, and is free from bodily deficiency." (quoted in Nabil i Aʻzam's The Dawn Breakers", or "Nabil's Narrative", translated by Shoghi Effendi, p. 57)

In 1844 Mullá Husayn, after meeting the Siyyid ʻAlí Muhammad (the Báb) in Shiraz accepted him as the Mahdi.