…in the latter days the Shí‘ihs of Persia had forgotten the
truth of the religion of God and had become entirely devoid and deprived of the
morals of the spiritually minded. They
were cleaving to empty husks and remained entirely heedless of the pith and
substance. They had nothing to show but
outward observances, such as prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, almsgiving, and the
commemoration of the blessed Imáms. The
people of true knowledge would therefore call them “Qishrí” (superficial), for
amongst them the inner truths and meanings were absent, spiritual perceptions
were non-existent, and heavenly morals had become but an idle matter.
When the night of separation approached the dawn—that is,
when the concealment of the True One ran its course and the dawn of the morn of
God drew nigh—Shaykh Aḥmad-i-Ahsá’í appeared.
He guided the people to inner truths and meanings and expounded the
secrets and mysteries of the Qur’án. The
Shí‘ihs then became divided into two camps:
Some followed the august Shaykh and became known as Shaykhís, while
others kept to their prior condition and were called “Qishrí”.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, new resources prepared by the Baha’i World Center, 2019; Baha’i
Reference Library)
