Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl's first encounters with Baháʼís was in the beginning of 1876 during his time in Tehran. Abu'l-Faḍl, at one point, met an uneducated cloth-seller, named Aqa ʻAbdu'l-Karim, with whom he would have discussions over difficult religious questions. Over time Abu'l-Faḍl came to appreciate ʻAbdu'l-Karim's keenness and moral qualities, but when eventually he learnt that ʻAbdu'l-Karim was a Baháʼí and that the points he was making were predominantly derived from Baháʼí scripture, Abu'l-Faḍl was saddened. Abu'l-Faḍl, however, became curious about the Baháʼí Faith, and asked to meet other Baháʼís. There is a famous story of Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl's meeting with a Baháʼí blacksmith: