Sayyid Kāẓim bin Qāsim al-Ḥusaynī ar-Rashtī , mostly known as Siyyid Kázim Rashtí, 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 Mullah who, after study of the Islamic writings told his students about the coming of the Mahdi and the "Masih" 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 Husayn in Karbala.
Successorship
On the death of Siyyid Kazim on 31 December 1843, some Shaykhis went on to become Babis, some of whom later became Bahais, and the rest split into three factions. It is reported that before dying, instead of appointing a successor, he sent his out to find the Promised One. One of his most noted followers, Mullá Husayn said: In 1844 Mullá Husayn, after meeting the Siyyid ʻAlí-Muhammad 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; Baháʼísources state that the Báb 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 wrote that the Báb was in Karbila for two months meeting Siyyid Kazim occasionally:
:"He proceeded at some time antecedent to the year A.H. 1259 to Karbilá, where he resided for some time, occasionally attending the lectures of Hájí Siyyid Kázim of Resht"
::
Baháʼí sources state that the Báb went on pilgrimage to Iraq for 7 months, to the cities of Najaf and Karbila. But they deny that a close bond developed with Sayyid Kázim.
:"According to Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl 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."
::
Amanat presents arguments for and against the Bab being a student of Siyyid Kazim. On the one hand Mulla Sadiq Muqaddas states that "...Mir Ali Muhammad Shirazi ...is a student of Sayyid Kazim..." and that he 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."
::
In one of the Báb's earliest writings, the , 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."
