I leave it an open question whether Seyyid Kazim had actually fixed
on the person who was to be his successor, and to reflect the Supreme
Wisdom far more brilliantly than himself. But there is no reason to
doubt that he regarded his own life and labours as transitional, and
it is possible that by the rising sun of which he loved to speak he
meant that strange youth of Shiraz who had been an irregular attendant
at his lectures. Very different, it is true, is the Muhammadan
legend. It states that 'Ali Muhammad was present at Karbala from
the death of the Master, that he came to an understanding with members
of the school, and that after starting certain miracle-stories, all of
them proceeded to Mecca, to fulfil the predictions which connected the
Prophet-Messiah with that Holy City, where, with bared sabre, he would
summon the peoples to the true God.

This will, I hope, suffice to convince the reader that both the Sufi
Order and the Sheykhite Sect were true forerunners of Babism and
Bahaism. He will also readily admit that, for the Sufis especially,
the connexion with a church of so weak a historic sense was most
unfortunate. It would be the best for all parties if Muslims both
within and without the Sufi Order accepted a second home in a church
(that of Abha) whose historical credentials are unexceptionable,
retaining membership of the old home, so as to be able to reform from
within, but superadding membership of the new. Whether this is
possible on a large scale, the future must determine. It will not be
possible if those who combine the old home with a new one become
themselves thereby liable to persecution. It will not even be
desirable unless the new-comers bring with them doctrinal (I do not
say dogmatic) contributions to the common stock of Bahai
truths--contributions of those things for which alone in their hearts
the immigrant Muslim brothers infinitely care.