The Second Awakener – Glimmerings

Section Two: The Second Awakener

Without the presence of Shaykh Ahmad, Siyyid Kázim grappled with feelings of isolation and immense responsibility. With limited time remaining, he faced the daunting task of preparing his band of followers for the imminent advent of the Promised One. Moreover, he found himself besieged by formidable adversaries – other Shí’a leaders entrenched in their positions of power and authority. These leaders vehemently opposed the Shaykhi teachings, refusing to embrace the call for the purification of Islam, the pursuit of virtuous living, and a shift towards spiritual understanding over literal interpretations.

Geopolitics of the Middle East at the time of Siyyid Kázim

During Siyyid Kázim’s lifetime, most of the Middle East was under the rule of two Islamic Empires: the Qájár Empire, which had Tihrán as its capital and governed Persia, and the Ottoman Empire, which had Constantinople as its capital (see map on next page). Islam has two main branches: Sunní and Shí’a. Persia was mainly Shí’a (and remains so in modern day Írán), with most belonging to the branch known as Twelver Shí’a. The Ottoman Empire was mainly Sunní, except for a few small areas such as the area around Baghdad which had a large Shí’a population. These two branches of Islam were and still are often bitterly opposed to each other.

In addition to the close-minded religious belief systems, what made Siyyid Kázim’s efforts additionally difficult was that the political and civil structures in 19th century Middle East were extremely corrupt. A simple description of these structures in Persia during this period says:

In the nineteenth century, Írán was ruled by the Qájár shahs,… One of them, Fath-‘Alí Sháh had a thousand wives and over two hundred and sixty children. The children were given important positions all over the country, and they used the land for their own profit. In theory and in practice, the king owned the land and the country; the people were his slaves. The king’s representatives, usually his children, had absolute power over life and property.

Every provincial governor bought his office from the king. In return, he was permitted to levy taxes and take as much as he could get from the people. …

This geopolitical landscape shaped the religious and cultural dynamics of the region where the Dawn-Breakers story unfolds.

³⁷Istanbul, Turkey

³⁸Most of the population in the region where the Dawn-Breakers unfolds were the branch of Shí’a Islam known as Twelver Shí’a [Ithná-’Asharíyyih ]. The reason they are called Twelver is because they believe in 12 Imáms. The 1st Imám was Imám ‘Alí. Imám ‘Alí was the cousin of the Prophet, and His foster brother. ‘Alí married the Prophet’s daughter, Fátima. Fátima is given a very high station especially by the Shí’a [she is seen as being Immaculate, Pure] and is usually called Fátima-az-Zahrá [zahrá means ‘the one that shines, the radiant’]. All the subsequent Imáms are the male descendants of the 1st Imám, Imám ‘Alí and Fátima. The Imámate was passed on from father to usually the eldest son or surviving son. ‘Alí and Fátima had two sons, Hasan & Husayn. After Imám ‘Alí was assassinated [he was assassinated in Kúfa and buried in Najaf], Hasan became the 2nd Imám.

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