S͟hayk͟h Káẓim-i-Samandar ( fa, کاظم سمندر; died 1918), known as Samandar, was an eminent follower of

Baháʼu'lláh Baháʼu'lláh (born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Qajar Iran, Persia, and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Bábism, Bábí ...

, the founder of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...

. He was born to a prominent Baháʼí family of

Qazvin Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. Qazvin was a capital of the ...

of Bábí and Shaykhi background. Favored by Baháʼu'lláh, he was identified as one of his nineteen Apostles.

Early life

Samandar was born Muhammad Kázim Qazvíní in February 1844 in

, the eldest surviving son of Shaykh Muhammad Qazvíní. Shaykh Muhammad was an early Bábí and later accepted the

. His father was bastioned in Qazvín and attained the presence of the

Báb The Báb (b. ʿAlí Muḥammad; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850), was the messianic founder of Bábism, and one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. He was a merchant from Shiraz in Qajar Iran who, in 1844 at the age of 25, claimed ...

who was then imprisoned in Máh-Kú. Later Shaykh Muhammad was entitled ''Nabil'' by

. He was named after

Siyyid Kázim Sayyid Kāẓim bin Qāsim al-Ḥusaynī ar-Rashtī (1793–1843) ( ar, سيد كاظم بن قاسم الحسيني الرﺷتي), mostly known as Siyyid Kázim Rashtí ( fa, سید کاظم رشتی), was the son of Siyyid Qasim of Rasht, a to ...

whom his family had close connections with. His mother was a disciple of

Táhirih Táhirih (Ṭāhira) ( fa, طاهره, "The Pure One," also called Qurrat al-ʿAyn ( "Solace/Consolation of the Eyes") are both titles of Fatimah Baraghani/Umm-i Salmih (1814 or 1817 – August 16–27, 1852), an influential poet, women's rights ...

. Samandar was of a wealthy mercantile family, and Shaykh Muhammad Qazvini had made a success of the business. From an early age he was a devout Baháʼí, and clearly remembered the days of persecution as a little boy.

Prominence

Samandar was living in Qazvin when a group of very active

Azali An Azali ( fa, ازلی) or Azali Bábí is a follower of the monotheistic religion of Subh-i-Azal and the Báb. Early followers of the Báb were known as Bábís; however, in the 1860s a split occurred after which the vast majority of Bábís ...

s begun disputing

and his claims. Samandar studied the writings of both Azali and Baháʼu'lláh. He subsequently became a staunch believer in Baháʼu'lláh, and wrote a pamphlet denouncing the Azali's and stating they based their claims on nothing. The document was read widely, and reduced influence of the Azali's in Qazvin. Baháʼu'lláh then renamed Muhammad Kázim Qazvíní as ''Samandar'' a Persian word meaning ''phoenix''. Baháʼu'lláh also sent Samandar numerous tablets and prayers in his honour, much of which is still extant. The most famous is perhaps Lawh-i-Fu'ád (tablet of Fuʼád) which was addressed to Samandar. He worked tirelessly teaching the faith in Persia. He traveled all around Iran teaching people of the Baháʼí Faith and its principles.

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian: ‎, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later canonized as the ...

also kept in regular correspondence with him. He had many children; a mixture of boys and girls of whom all married into prominent Baháʼí families of Persia.Samandar, ''Tárikh-i-Samandar'' His most famous child is possibly Tarázʼu'lláh Samandarí, a

Hand of the Cause of God Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá who died in 2007. Hands of ...

. In

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

Samandar's daughter Thurayyá Khánum was married to Baháʼu'lláh's younger son Mírzá Ḍíyáʼu'lláh. She later became a covenant breaker devastating Samandar. He made two pilgrimages to ʻAkká to visit Baháʼu'lláh and the Baháʼí holy family (

Ásíyih Khánum Ásíyih K͟hánum ( fa, ‎ 18201886) was the wife of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. She is also known by her titles of Navváb, the Most Exalted Leaf, Búyúk K͟hánum or Hadrat-i-K͟hánum. K͟hánum is a title usually ...

Bahíyyih Khánum Bahíyyih Khánum (1846 – July 15, 1932) was the only daughter of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, and Ásíyih Khánum. She was born in 1846 with the given name Fatimih Sultan, and was entitled "Varaqiy-i-'Ulyá" or "Greate ...

and Munírih).

Death

Samanadar died February 5, 1918.

Shoghi Effendi Shoghí Effendi (; 1 March 1897 – 4 November 1957) was the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, appointed to the role of Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957. He created a series of teaching plans that over ...

described him a “flame of the love of God” and identified him as one of the

Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh The Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh were nineteen prominent early followers of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. The apostles were designated as such by Shoghi Effendi, head of the religion in the earlier half of the 20th century, an ...

. His memoirs Tárikh-i-Samandar was regularly referred to and seen a source of valuable Baháʼí history. His relatives are known by the surname ''Samandarí''.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samandar Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh Iranian Bahá'ís Year of birth unknown 19th-century Bahá'ís 20th-century Bahá'ís