Ahmad Hindi

Ahmad Musavi Hindi
سيد احمد موسوى هندى
Personal
Born1800
Died1869 (aged 68–69)
ReligionIslam
ChildrenMostafa
ParentDin Ali Shah (father)
JurisprudenceTwelver Shia Islam

Sayyid Ahmad Musavi Hindi (Persian: احمد موسوی هندی; 1800–1869) was a Twelver Shia cleric. He was the paternal grandfather of the supreme leader of the Islamic republic of Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini.

Biography[edit]

India[edit]

His family migrated towards the end of the 18th century from Nishapur in Iran to Oudh in northern India.[1][2][3] They settled in the town of Kintoor, Barabanki district.[4][5][6] Zayn al-'Abidin al-Musavi, who was progenitor of sayeds of Kintoor, was great-great-grandfather of Seyyed Ahmad.[7] He was born in Kintoor.[4][5][8]

Iraq[edit]

In about 1830 he permanently left India, initially on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Ali in Najaf, Iraq.[5][6][8] According to Moin, this movement was to escape colonial rule.[9]

Iran[edit]

He visited Iran in 1834 and bought a house in Khomeyn.[4] He later purchased more land in and around Khomeyn, including an orchard and caravanserai. These properties remained in the family up to modern times.[6][8]

By 1841 he had married three wives: Shirin Khanum, Bibi Khanum, and Sakineh (his friend Yusuf Khan Kamareh'i's sister), all from Khomeyn. He had five children, including a son named Mostafa (father of Ruhollah Khomeini), who was born in 1856 from Sakineh.[4]

Death[edit]

He died in 1869 and was buried in Karbala.[4]

The Hindi nisba (title)[edit]

He continued to be known by the nisba (title) Hindi (i.e. from Hind or India), indicating his stay there. Even Ruhollah Khomeini used Hindi as a pen name in some of his ghazals.[6] Ruhollah Khomeini's brother was known by name Nureddin Hindi.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Algar, Hamid (2010). "A short biography". In Koya, Abdar Rahman (ed.). Imam Khomeini: Life, Thought and Legacy. Islamic Book Trust. p. 19. ISBN 978-9675062254.
  2. ^ Sacred space and holy war: the politics, culture and history of Shi'ite Islam By Juan Ricardo Cole
  3. ^ Art and culture: endeavours in interpretation By Ahsan Jan Qaisar,Som Prakash Verma,Mohammad Habib
  4. ^ a b c d e From Khomein, A biography of the Ayatollah, 14 June 1999, The Iranian
  5. ^ a b c d Khomeini: life of the Ayatollah, Volume 1999 By Baqer Moin
  6. ^ a b c d Ruhollah Khomeini's brief biography by Hamid Algar
  7. ^ Islam, Politics, and Social Movements By Edmund Burke, III, Ervand Abrahamian
  8. ^ a b c The Columbia world dictionary of Islamism By Olivier Roy, Antoine Sfeir
  9. ^ Moin, Baqer (2000). Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah. St. Martin's Press. p. 18. ISBN 0-312-26490-9.