In this verse of the Aqdas, Bahá'u'lláh warns against allowing such concepts to blind one to the "sovereignty" of the new Divine Manifestation, the true "Vicegerent of God".
Hájí Mírzá Muhammad Karím K{ ~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{ ~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}án-i-Kirmání (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~}í community after the death of Siyyid Kázim, who was the appointed successor to S{ ~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{ ~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}ayk{ ~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~}h{ ~COMBINING MACRON BELOW~} Ahmad-i-Ahsá'í (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 Báb and Bahá'u'lláh, and used his treatises to attack the Báb and His Teachings. In the Kitáb-i-Iqán, Bahá'u'lláh condemns the tone and content of his writings and singles out for criticism one of his works which contains negative allusions to the Báb. 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~}áh had in a treatise viciously attacked the new Faith and its doctrines".
Bahá'u'lláh eulogizes the learned among His followers. In the Book of His Covenant, He wrote: "Blessed are the rulers and learned among the people of Bahá." Referring to this statement, Shoghi Effendi has written:
In this holy cycle the "learned" are, on the one hand, the Hands of the Cause of God, and, on the other, the teachers and diffusers of His Teachings who do not rank as Hands, but who have attained an eminent position in the teaching work. As to the "rulers" they refer to the members of the Local, National and International Houses of Justice. The duties of each of these souls will be determined in the future.