Siyyid Basir-i-Hindí
Siyyid Basir-i-Hindí (d. 1851) was an early Bábí reportedly introduced to the religion by the Letter of the Living Sa‘íd Hindí in India. After converting he actively taught the Bábí Faith across Iran and Iraq until being executed in 1851.
Biography[edit]
Hindi was born in Multan, India (now Pakistan), into a family descended from the Prophet Muhammad and he was the great grandson of Sayyid Jalal Hindi who had lead a prominent Sufi order which had followers in Iran. When he was seven years old he suffered a severe case of chicken pox which blinded him.[1]
Hindi eventually became the leader of a local Sufi group which granted him significant financial resources and he was able to travel across India. When he was twenty-one he made the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca passing through Iran while traveling from India. After completing his pilgrimage he visited Iraq where he met Siyyid Káẓim, who he was impressed by, and attended some of his lectures before returning to India.[1]
At some point after 1844 Hindi was informed of the claims of the Báb, reportedly by Sa‘íd Hindí who was a Letter of the Living, and he traveled to Shiraz intending to meet with Him but arrived after the Báb had left the city on His pilgrimage to Mecca. He traveled on to Mecca where he was able to meet with the Báb in the Masjid al-Haram and he then became a Bábí. After accepting the Báb Hindi returned to Shiraz and began actively teaching the Bábí religion and he also traveled across Iran to teach.[1]
When Mullá Ḥusayn and a large company of Bábí's gathered in Mazandaran Province in 1848 Hindi attempted to join the company however he was unable to do so as they had become besieged by government troops in the the Shrine of Shaykh Ṭabarsí by the time he arrived in the area. He instead went to Gilan however he was expelled from the city at some point and went to Qazvin where he found success in teaching the Bábí Faith. He later moved to Tehran and was able to meet Bahá’u’lláh.[1]
After the Martyrdom of the Báb in 1850 Hindi undertook extensive travel teaching trips across Iran with places he visited including Kashan, Qum, Luristan, Mazandaran, and he also visited Iraq, often teaching members of the clergy in his travels. While in Luristan in 1851 he visited the household of the Governor of the Province, who was investigating the Bábí religion, and spent two days discussing the religion with him. During their discussions Hindi made disparaging remarks about Muhammad Sháh due to his oppression of the Báb and the Governor had him executed.[1]
