Sayyid Kazim Rashti

Who was Sayyid Kazim Rashti?

Sayyid Kāẓim bin Qāsim al-Ḥusaynī ar-Rashtī, mostly known as Siyyid Kázim Rashtí, was the son of Sayyid 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 laid to rest near the tomb of Imam Husayn in Karbala.