Do you not wish for me to depart, Siyyid Káẓim kept asking his students near the end, so that the Truth may be made manifest? Bahá’u’lláh honours him and Shaykh Aḥmad as the two souls after the Imáms who grasped the inner meaning of the divine Books, and says they framed their teaching to draw receptive hearts toward a recognition they would not live to see. The subject is what a teacher’s success looks like when it means the student walks on past the teacher’s door. John’s two disciples, hearing their master name Jesus, leave him to follow and are told to come and see [1]; the Shaykhí school faced the same crossing, and not all made it. Some demanded certainty and found it a veil, some clung to a symbolic saying its author had declined to explain, some let scholarship harden into pride; and Bahá’u’lláh, noting copying errors in a text attributed to the Shaykh, models a reading that is reverent without being credulous. From here the road leads back into Islam and to Muḥammad, whose promised Qá’im the whole school was awaiting.
Once these blessed words issued forth from the Source of divine wisdom: "O servant in attendance! Ahmad and Kazim were aware and informed of the meanings of the divine Books. With the intention of attracting hearts, they made certain statements, and their purpose was to bring people near, that they might attain the Word of Truth - as indeed those souls who first entered the divine Law were of that party. That party it was, and this fact beareth witness to their awareness, knowledge, wisdom and the straight path to which they held fast. Well is it with them.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1302-02-11 [1884-Nov-30], to Mirza Ali Muhammad Yazdi (Varqa) et al -- BH00051)
02
Ismu'llah had memorized a great number of Islamic traditions and had mastered the teachings of Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kazim.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tadhkiratu'l-Vafa (Memorials of the Faithful), 1916-Mar-25 -- AB00002)
03
Please deliver the enclosed letter to Mirza Muhammad Yazdi who was a student of the late Haji Siyyid Kazim - may God exalt his station.
(The Báb, Letter to Haji Mirza Hasan 'Ali, Khal-i-Asghar, in Masqat, 1261-04-23 (Muscat) [1845-May-1], to Hasan 'Ali, uncle of the Bab -- BB00496)
04
After the Seal of the Prophets - may the life of all else be sacrificed for His sake - and the holy Imams, only two souls attained unto the truth and were adorned with the ornament of true understanding: the late Shaykh and Siyyid - upon them be the Most Glorious Glory of God. … Through the nobility of these two souls, receptive souls turned toward the direction of Shin and attained unto the dawning-place of bounty and the day-spring of knowledge.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1303 ? [1885-1886], to Ahmad Mu'allim -- BH00319)
05
O Muhit! You regard yourself as one of the most outstanding figures of the Shaykhi community and a distinguished exponent of its teachings.
(The Báb, Words to Mirza Muhit-i-Kirmani, facing the Kaaba, 1260-12 (Mecca) [1844-Dec] -- BBU0002)
06
The Shaykhis, contrary to the Shi'ites, believe that relying on conjecture in matters of faith is forbidden - one must act on certainty, as mentioned in many parts of the Qur'an. One day this person mentioned that he had written a thousand verses about this matter. During an argument, he stated that he believed in the Bab. When asked if he was firm in this belief, he said he had conjecture about it, and they immediately confounded him...
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1916-May-15 in Haifa -- ABU0771)
The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.
07
Regarding your question about "the mystery of the great reversal in the sign of the sovereign": This phrase is among the sayings of the late Shaykh which he wrote in response to a question about the Qa'im. All the passages in that response of the Shaykh have been extensively explained, interpreted and commented upon, and are available. The purpose is that when all the Shaykhi leaders admit they do not understand these statements of the Shaykh, then that explanation and interpretation will be published. Whether the Shaykhi leaders write their own interpretation or not, in either case their ignorance will be proven.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1898-Mar-14, to Abu'l-Qasim Saatsaz Shirazi -- AB02327)
08
His holiness the heavenly light, Haji Siyyid Kazim Rashti, upon him be greetings and praise, asked of that candle of the divine assembly, the late revered Shaykh [Ahmad] Ahsa'i: "What is the outcome of this Cause in which we are engaged and to what will it lead?"
The revered Shaykh wrote in reply, and it is recorded in the books and treatises in the possession of the Shaykhis: "This Cause must needs have a focal point, and every announcement has its fixed time, but it is not permissible to specify by name. You shall surely know its tidings after a time [ba'da hin]."
Observe how clearly he states that a focal point is established for this Cause, but specifying the person by name and title is not permitted. Then he cites the blessed verse from the Furqan which states "This is but a Reminder for all the worlds, and you shall surely know its tidings after a time," meaning that focal point is the Remembrance of God, and what He announces will become manifest and evident in the year after sixty-eight, which corresponds to the numerical value of "time," and after "time" is sixty-nine, meaning it will bear fruit, just as the Exalted One [the Bab] has stated: "Then in the year nine you shall attain all good."
Answer: Know that in the latter days the Shi'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 Imams. The people of true knowledge would therefore call them "Qishri" (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.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kazim, 1905 ca. -- AB00046)
10
Say: The people claim this Cause is like unto the cause of [Shaykh] Ahmad before [Siyyid] Kazim. Nay, by your Lord! If Ahmad were alive it is my Cause that he would attain, while Kazim would not separate from me and would circle around me by God's leave.
The Shaykhis themselves have mentioned that when the departed and honored Haji Siyyid Kazim - upon him be the Glory of God - was asked about the elevated one, no answer was forthcoming, and likewise from other Shaykhis. And all acknowledged that were the meaning of these passages to become manifest, they would turn towards the Supreme Horizon.
As to the matter of statements attributed to Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i, upon him be all the Most Glorious Glory of God: the original statements were written by one of the Shaykhi school who inquired about them in Iraq. Several errors were observed therein, but no attention was paid to correcting them. The statements were copied exactly as written by the scribe, as is also referenced in the Tablet to Mir Karim Khan. … The Shaykh's intent was that what was created in six days has passed and ended with the Alif standing between the two letters, and in another six days that which was raised before will be raised again. Then all matters will be transformed as thou hast seen and known. Thus was the matter completed through the Proof, and the Most Great Name appeared among creation.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Sirr al-Tankis, to Lur-i-Bakhtiyari, Darvish Ali et al -- BH00415)