Tomb of Sheikh Bahai is located inside the holy shrine in Mashhad after the vast porch of Imam Khomeini. The tomb is made of stone with a glass covering. This is the tomb of the Iranian scientist and erudite, Baha al-Din, Mohammad Ibn Hossein, known as Sheikh Bahai and all the pilgrimers of Imam Reza’s shrine (AS) pass this tomb before and after visiting the shrine and they also say prayers for him.
Sheikh Baha al-Din, Mohammad Ibn Hossein, known as Sheikh Bahai was the well-known scientist of Safavid era.
Sheikh Baha-al-Din Muhammad famous as Sheikh Baha’i was the well-known Islamic scholar of the eleventh century Hijrah. His genealogy dates back to Haris Hamdani, the famous companion of Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (A.S.). He was born on 17 Muharram, 953 A.H. / 20 March 1546 A.D., in a village near Baal’bak in the Jabal Amel area of Lebanon.
He came to Iran in 966 A.H. / 1558 A.D., and attained the highest religious position of Sheikh-al-Islam in isfahan, the capital of the later Safavid rulers of Iran. Sheikh Baha’i had compiled 88 books and treatises in various fields of Islamic sciences. His famous works include Jame Abbasi (jurisprudence), Miftah al-Falah (supplications), Kitab al-Arba’een (hadith), Kashkul (literature), Khulasat al-Hisab (mathematics), Kitab al-Jabr wa’l Muqabala (algebra), Tashreeh al-Aflak (astronomy) and a discourse on astrolabe and geometry.
Sheikh Baha’i passed away in Isfahan in 1031 A.H., and his body was carried to the holy city of Mashhad and laid to rest in the Riwaq which became famous as Sheikh Baha’i Riwaq.
This Riwaq is located in the south-eastern side of the holy shrine and opposite to Dar al-Ibadah. It is visited through three passages, first a passage from the south of Azadi courtyard, second from the court of Dar al-Zuhd porch. Three other courts on the southern side connect this porch to the Imam Khomeini (R.A.) riwaq.
Sheikh Baha’i Riwaq is quadrangular in shape with 10.30 meters length and 10 meters breadth. The floor and the plinth up to 1.60 meters are covered with green marbles. The grave of Sheikh Baha’i is located in the middle of the porch. On the epitaph of the grave the details of his birth and demise are inscribed.
All the walls above the plinth and the roof are completely decorated with mirrors. The roof is in the form of hanging arches in checkered style with 25 fountains. Below the arches, on three sides of the porch a brief biography and the books written by Sheikh Baha’i are inscribed on marble stones.