The Babi and Baha'i Religion — Page 8
THE B Ā B Ī AND BAH Ā ’ Ī RELIGION 8 the positions they took up in regard to a number of questions. Shaikh Ahmad al-A h s a ’ i was born in 1167 Hijra in a tribe of Bahrain, known by name of Bani Sakhr. His father’s name was Zainuddin al-A h s a ’ i. Ahmad al-A h s a ’ i was the founder of the sub-sect of the Ithn a ‘Asharia which is known as the Shaikhiyyah. He died in 1242 Hijra (A. D. 1826). The ideas he preached were essentially of the nature of Shia beliefs, but he brought forth rather a different interpretation of the Qur’an and the Hadith, this being the reason why those who accepted his way of thought came to be known as a new sect called the Shaikhiyyah. 2 That Shaikh Ahmad al-A h s a ’ i was a true Shia is quite clearly borne out by Alkaw a kib, page 42. With regard to the Imam Mahdi, Ahmad A h s a ’ i 's idea was that the twelfth Imam, ‘Askar i , who was held to have gone into hiding, was still alive, and would reappear at the proper time, which now was going to be very soon. His main point was the good news he professed to bear that the time of the reappearance of the Hidden Imam was very near 3. On this rallying point Al-A h s a ’ i gathered together a considerable number of followers. 2 Collection of Journals printed in Egypt, page 77. 3 Al-Kaw a kib , page 45.