The Kitáb-i-Aqdas

Ḥájí Mírzá Muḥammad Karím Khán-i-Kirmání (1810- circa 1873) was the self-appointed leader of the Shaykhí community after the death of Siyyid Kázim, who was the appointed successor to Shaykh Aḥmad-i-Ahsá’í (see notes 171 and 172). He dedicated himself to the promotion of the teachings of Shaykh Aḥmad. The opinions he expressed became the subject of controversy among his supporters and opponents alike.

Regarded as one of the leading savants and prolific authors of his age, he composed numerous books and epistles in the various fields of learning that were cultivated 245 in those times. He actively opposed both the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, and used his treatises to attack the Báb and His Teachings. In the Kitáb-i-Íqán, Bahá’u’lláh condemns the tone and content of his writings and singles out for criticism one of his works which contains negative allusions to the Báb. Shoghi Effendi describes him as “inordinately ambitious and hypocritical” and describes how he “at the special request of the Sháh had in a treatise viciously attacked the new Faith and its doctrines”.