Haji Mirza Muhammad Karim K{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}an-i-Kirmani (1810- circa 1873) was the
self-appointed leader of the S{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}ayk{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}i community after the death of
Siyyid Kazim, who was the appointed successor to S{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}ayk{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~} Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i
(see notes 171 and 172). He dedicated himself to the promotion of the
teachings of S{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}ayk{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~} Ahmad. 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 in those times. He actively opposed both the Bab and
Baha'u'llah, and used his treatises to attack the Bab and His Teachings.
In the Kitab-i-Iqan, Baha'u'llah condemns the tone and content of his
writings and singles out for criticism one of his works which contains
negative allusions to the Bab. Shoghi Effendi describes him as
"inordinately ambitious and hypocritical" and describes how he "at the
special request of the S{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}ah had in a treatise viciously attacked the new
Faith and its doctrines".