Sayyid Kazim Rashti

Sayyid Kazim Rashti

Sayyid Kāẓim bin Qāsim al-Ḥusaynī ar-Rashtī (1793–1843) (Arabic: سيد كاظم بن قاسم الحسيني الرﺷتي‎), mostly known as Siyyid Kázim Rashtí (Persian: سید کاظم رشتی‎), 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" (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 laid to rest near the tomb of Imam Husayn in Karbala.