Shaykh Káẓim-i-Samandar

Shaykh Káẓim-i-Samandar
Born	February 7, 1844
Died	February 5, 1918
Children	Ṭaráẓu’lláh, Mírzá ‘Abdu’l-Husayn, Aqa Ghulam-‘Ali, Thurayya
Parent(s)	Father: Hají Shaykh Muhammad
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Shaykh Káẓim-i-Samandar (Arabic: كاظم السمندر, February 7, 1844 - February 5, 1918) was a Persian Bahá’í from Qazvin who served the Faith during the lifetime of its founder Bahá’u’lláh and he received Tablets from both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He was designated one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh by Shoghi Effendi.

Biography

Early Life

Samandar was born on February 7, 1844, after his father, Hají Shaykh Muhammad who was a merchant in Qazvin, had asked Siyyid Káẓim to pray for him to have a son who survived infancy. Samandar was the first son in the family to survive into adulthood and was named after Siyyid Káẓim. His father became a Bábí soon after the Báb's Declaration on May 23, 1844, although it is not known precisely when, and Samandar was raised as a Bábí and met a Letter of the Living and an uncle of the Báb during his childhood. He began his education being tutored by Mulla Zaynu’l-‘Abidin, an uncle of Bahá’u’lláh, in Qazvin and he later moved to Tabriz in the late 1850's where he was tutored by prominent Bábí Mullá ‘Alí-Akbar-i-Ardistání for two years before returning to Qazvin.

After completing his education Samandar became a merchant like his father and frequently traveled to Tabriz, Rasht, Lahijan, and Tehran in his work. In the mid-1860's he became aware of Bahá’u’lláh's claim to be the new Manifestation of God foretold by the Báb and accepted them after receiving a copy of the Súriy-i-Aṣḥáb, and between 1866 and 1867 he wrote a work in which he refuted Mírzá Yaḥyá's counter claim to be the one foretold by the Báb which Bahá’u’lláh praised him for composing and granted him the title of Samandar.

Service and challenges as a Bahá’í

Samandar was a prominent member of the early Qazvin Bahá’í community and was very active in teaching the Bahá’í Faith and defending it from the claims of Yaḥyá's supporters. During the late 1860's Mírzá Muhammad ‘Alí, a son of Bahá’u’lláh, sent verses he had composed in Arabic to the Bahá’ís of Iran in which he claimed to be a partner of his father in Divine Revelation which caused considerable confusion in Qazvin however Samandar rejected the claims and clarification was received from Bahá’u’lláh that ‘Alí had no claim to Revelation.

In October 1873 Samandar went to Rasht and then Istanbul on a business trip and while in Istanbul he secured permission to go on pilgrimage. He arrived in Akka by sailing from Istanbul in March 1874 prior to Naw-Rúz and attained the presence of Bahá’u’lláh and remained in the Holy Land until at least Ridvan in April that year. He was able to meet Ismu'llahu'l-Asdaq who was also on pilgrimage at the time.

In the early 1880's Samandar taught a man named Mulla 'Ali about the Faith and he became a Bahá’í and Samandar hired him as a tutor for his children allowing him to live in his home in Qazvin. Mulla 'Ali's nephew was prejudiced against the Faith and accused Samandar of imprisoning his uncle to the authorities and Samandar was briefly detained by the authorities while Mulla 'Ali was travelling outside Qazvin and could not speak in his defence but he was released after a short time when it was realized that the accusations were false. Mulla 'Ali's nephew fled Qazvin when he returned as the Governor intended to arrest him after Mulla 'Ali clarified the situation.

Another challenge that Samandar faced in the 1880's was his trading business becoming insecure due to persecution of the Bahá’ís in Rasht where he had business interests and he made arrangements to flee Qazvin due to his financial troubles. A relative advised him to consult other merchants before doing so and he was loaned the funds to pay his debts allowing him to remain in Qazvin.

Service to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Samandar made a second pilgrimage between 1890 and 1891, traveling first to Istanbul from Iran, then Alexandria in Egypt, then to Akka where he met with Bahá’u’lláh again. He later recalled Bahá’u’lláh emphasizing that he should meet with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during his pilgrimage while in His presence and he was a staunch supporter of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá when He became head of the Bahá’í Faith after the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh in 1892. He was particularly active in Qazvin in defending ‘Abdu’l-Bahá from misrepresentations made by Mírzá Muhammad ‘Alí who attempted to displace ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as leader of the community despite Him being appointed by Bahá’u’lláh as His successor in His Will and Testament.

In 1892 Samandar had sent his daughter, Thurayya, to the Holy Land where she married Mírzá Díyá'u'lláh, was a son of Bahá’u’lláh. After the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh Díyá'u'lláh wavered between supporting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Mírzá Muhammad ‘Alí before his passing in late 1898. Samandar made a third Pilgrimage in 1899 during which he visited the Mansion of Bahji to meet with his daughter who complained that she was being mistreated although she refused to leave her husband's grave when Samandar asked her to come with him. He was attacked and beaten by a group of Mírzá Muhammad ‘Alí's supporters when attempting to leave the Mansion, and intended to pursue the matter in court however ‘Abdu’l-Bahá instructed him not to. After this pilgrimage he made several journeys across Iran in order to undertake tasks for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

In 1914 Samandar was sent to Tehran in order to mediate a disagreement between members of the cities Spiritual Assembly and he stayed with Amín-i-Amín while settling the matter. In September 1915 he went to Rasht where his son, Aqa Ghulam-'Ali, was living with his family and he tried to meet with every Bahá’í in the city and taught the Faith to many people in the home of a Bahá’í physician Mirza Mihdi Khan. He remained in Rasht until March 20, 1916.

Towards the end of his life Samandar's eyesight began to fail and he became frail before passing in the winter of 1918.

Publications

Bahai.media has a related page: Category:Shaykh Káẓim-i-Samandar

• 1974 - Táríkh-i-Samandar

References

• Balyuzi, H.M. (1985). Eminent Bahá'ís in the time of Bahá'u'lláh. The Camelot Press Ltd, Southampton. ISBN 0853981523.