- Ahsa'i, Ahmad al- by Raul Welch
In full Shaykh Ahmad ibn Zayn al-Din Ibrahim al-Ahsa'i(born 1753, Al-Hasa, Arabia—died 1826, near Medina) Founder of the heterodox Shi'ite Muslim Shaykhi sect of Iran. He traveled widely in Persia and the Middle East. In 1808 he settled in Yazd, Persia, where he attracted followers with his interpretation of Shi'ism. He claimed knowledge from visions of Muhammad and the ...
- Bab, the by Samantha Obrien
... , he was influenced by the Shaykhi school of Shi'ite Islam. In 1844 he wrote a commentary on the surah of Joseph in the Qur'an and declared himself the Bab (Arabic: “Gateway”) to the hidden imam. Later he would claim to be the imam himself, and finally a divine manifestation. The same year he assembled 18 disciples, who spread the new faith in the various ...
- Babism by Kate Holmes
System of doctrines proclaimed in Persia in 1844 by Ali Muhammad of Shiraz. Influenced by the Shaykhi Shiite theology that viewed the Twelve Imams as incarnations of the Divine, Ali Muhammad proclaimed himself the Bab, the living door to the twelth Imam and the knowledge of God, and sent missionaries throughout Persia...