es 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".

183. O ye the learned ones in Baha #173

Baha'u'llah eulogizes the learned among His followers. In the Book of His
Covenant, He wrote: "Blessed are the rulers and learned among the people
of Baha." 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.

The Hands of the Cause of God were individuals appointed by Baha'u'llah
and charged with various duties, especially those of protecting and
propagating His Faith. In Memorials of the Faithful 'Abdu'l-Baha referred
to other outstanding believers as Hands of the Cause, and in His Will and
Testament He included a provision calling upon the Guardian of the Faith
to appoint Hands of the Cause at his discretion. Shoghi Effendi first
raised posthumously a number of the believers to the rank of Hands of the
Cause, and during the latter years of his life appointed a total of 32
believers from all continents to this position. In the period between the
passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957 and the election of the Universal House
of Justice i