![Siyyid-Kazim](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Siyyid-Kazim.jpg)
Sayyid Kāẓim bin Qāsim al-Ḥusaynī ar-Rashtī (1793–1843) ( ar, سيد كاظم بن قاسم الحسيني الرﺷتي), mostly known as Siyyid Kázim Rashtí ( fa, سید کاظم رشتی), was the son of Siyyid Qasim of
Rasht
Rasht ( fa, رشت, Rašt ; glk, Rəšt, script=Latn; also romanized as Resht and Rast, and often spelt ''Recht'' in French and older German manuscripts) is the capital city of Gilan Province, Iran. Also known as the "City of Rain" (, ''Ŝahre B ...
, a town in northern
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. He was appointed as the successor of
Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
, 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
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a Messianism, messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a de ...
and the "
Masih
Masih is Arabic for 'Christ (title), Christ' or 'Messiah'. Christians, Muslims and members of related religions use Masih (title), Masih as a religious title for Jesus of Nazareth.
Also spelled Mesih or Maseeh, it is used Masih (name), as a proper ...
" (the return of Christ) and taught them how to recognize them. After his death in 1843, many of his students spread out around
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
,
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
for the search.
Upon his death he was buried near the tomb of
Imam Husayn
Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...
in
Karbala
Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...
.
Works
Sharh al-qasída al-lámíya
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
The Verse of Light ( ar-at, آیة النور, āyat an-nūr) is the 35th verse of the 24th surah of the Quran ( Q24:35).
Verse
Commentary
The eighth Imam of the Twelver Imami Shiites Ali ibn Moses says in the interpretation of this verse:He i ...
.
Successorship
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
Mullá Husayn (1813 – 2 February 1849) ( fa, ملا حسين بشروئي Mulláh Hossein Boshru'i), also known by the honorific ''Jináb-i Bábu'l-Báb'' ("Gate of the Gate"), was a Persian religious figure in 19th century Persia and the fir ...
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
Fāṭima bint Muḥammad ( ar, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد}, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, th ...
. 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
Mullá Husayn (1813 – 2 February 1849) ( fa, ملا حسين بشروئي Mulláh Hossein Boshru'i), also known by the honorific ''Jináb-i Bábu'l-Báb'' ("Gate of the Gate"), was a Persian religious figure in 19th century Persia and the fir ...
, after meeting the Siyyid ʻAlí-Muhammad (the
Báb
The Báb (b. ʿAlí Muḥammad; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850), was the messianic founder of Bábism, and one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. He was a merchant from Shiraz in Qajar Iran who, in 1844 at the age of 25, claimed ...
) in Shiraz accepted him as the Mahdi.
The Báb's relationship to Sayyid Káẓim
The Shaykhis had previously met Siyyid ʻAlí-Muhammad in Karbila' when he attended the meetings of Sayyid Káẓim. There is disagreement over the amount of time Sayyid Mírzá ʻAlí-Muhammad stayed in Karbila' and the frequency of his attending Sayyid Káẓim's lectures;
Baháʼí sources state that the
Báb
The Báb (b. ʿAlí Muḥammad; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850), was the messianic founder of Bábism, and one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. He was a merchant from Shiraz in Qajar Iran who, in 1844 at the age of 25, claimed ...
only occasionally attended the meetings, while sources more critical to the Baháʼí Faith state that he stayed in Karbila for a year or two and learned the Shaykhi teachings. In the Bab's own writings, however, he refers to the Shaykhi leader as his teacher. Some statements include:
*
E.G. Browne
Edward Granville Browne FBA (7 February 1862 – 5 January 1926) was a British Iranologist. He published numerous articles and books, mainly in the areas of history and literature.
Life
Browne was born in Stouts Hill, Uley, Gloucestershire, En ...
wrote that the Báb was in Karbila for two months meeting Siyyid Kazim occasionally:
*:"He
he Bábproceeded at some time antecedent to the year A.H. 1259 (in which year Siyyid Kázim died) to Karbilá, where he resided for some time (two months, according to th
Táríkh-i-Jadíd, occasionally attending the lectures of Hájí Siyyid Kázim of Resht"
*::(E.G. Browne, Notes in the Traveller's Narrative
::"One day the circle of those who sat at the feet of Seyyid Kázim was augmented by a fresh arrival. The newcomer, who took his seat modestly by the door in the lowest place, was none other than Mírzá 'Alí Muhammad, who, impelled by a pious desire to visit the Holy Shrines, had left his business at Bushire to come to Kerbelá. During the next few months the face of the young Shírází became familiar to all the disciples of Siyyid Kázim, and the teacher himself did not fail to notice and appreciate the earnest but modest demeanour of the youthful stranger."
::
by
E G Browne in Religious Systems of the World, pp. 335).
*Baháʼí sources state that the Báb went on pilgrimage to Iraq for 7 months, to the cities of
Najaf
Najaf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف) or An-Najaf al-Ashraf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف), also known as Baniqia ( ar, بَانِيقِيَا), is a city in central Iraq about 160 km (100 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated popula ...
and
Karbila
Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...
. But they deny that a close bond developed with Sayyid Kázim.
*:"According to
Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl
Mírzá Muḥammad ( fa, ميرزا أبوالفضل), or Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl-i-Gulpáygání (1844–1914), was the foremost Baháʼí scholar who helped spread the Baháʼí Faith in Egypt, Turkmenistan, and the United States. He is one of ...
of Gulpaygan, He journeyed to the holy cities of 'Iraq in the spring of 1841, stayed in 'Iraq for nearly seven months and returned to His 'native province of
Fars' in the autumn of that year.
*:...
*:"While in Karbila the Bab visited Siyyid Kazim-i-Rashti and attended his discourses. But these occasional visits did not and could not make Him a pupil or disciple of Sayyid Kazim. His adversaries have alleged that He sat at the feet of Siyyid Kazim for months on end to learn from him."
*::(H.M. Balyuzi, ''The Bab - The Herald of the Day of Days'', p. 41)
*Amanat presents arguments for and against the Bab being a student of Siyyid Kazim (p140-1). On the one hand Mulla Sadiq Muqaddas states that "...Mir Ali Muhammad Shirazi
he Bab..is a student of Sayyid Kazim..." and that he (Muqaddas) was introduced to Siyyid Kazim by the Bab. On the other hand, another contemporary, Qatil Karbala'i, who later became a Babi, states that the Bab attended Sayyid Kazim's lectures only two or three times. Amanat argues that the Bab was not in Karbala long enough to fully grasp Siyyid Kazim's teachings; in fact, Muqaddas himself states that once in Karbala, he was asked to teach the Bab, and that he was also determined to convert the Bab to Shaykhism. Amanat asserts that the Bab's reference to Siyyid Kazim as "the revered scholar and my intimate teacher" is a symbolic acknowledgement of their spiritual affinity and not a literal fact.
*
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's wife,
Munirih Khanum quotes in her biography her uncle stating:
*:"We had often heard in the course of his lectures Haji Siyyid Kazem stating the fact, that the day of the Manifestation was drawing nigh. He admonished us at all times that we must be searching, and be in a state of quest, because the Promised One was living amongst the people, was associating with them; but unfortunately the people were veiled and lived in a state of negligence.
*:When we saw the Bab standing with such humility before the Shrine of Imam Hossein, we often wondered if perhaps, he was not the invisible Promised One, who had come to visit the Shrine of his ancestors.
*:...
*:During his seclusion in Karbila, he attended now and then the classes of Haji Siyyid Kasem, with a shining and luminous countenance. Whenever he entered the class, Haji Siyyid Kasem would show him the greatest respect and honor."
*::(Munirih Khanum quoting her uncle, found i
''Episodes in the Life of Moneereh Khanum'' pp. 11–12)
*In one of the Báb's earliest writings, th
or "Treatise on Spiritual Wayfaring," he mentions the Shaykhi leader by name and refers to him as "my master, my support, my teacher, the pilgrim Siyyid Kazim al-Rashti."
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rashti, Sayyid Kazim
1793 births
1843 deaths
Iranian Shia clerics
Shaykhis
Precursors in religion
People from Rasht