Sa'id Akhtar Rizvi

Sayyid Sa‘eed Akhtar Rizvi (January 5, 1927 - June 20, 2002) was an Indian born, Twelver Shī‘ah scholar, who established the Bilal Muslim Mission in East Africa to spread the Twelver creed. He was granted authorizations by fourteen Grand Ayatollahs for Hadith, Ahkam, and Fiqh.

Biography Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi was born in Ushri, Saran district, Bihar, India, in 1927. His father, Sayyid Abul Hassan Rizvi, was a religious scholar. Rizvi had five sons and two daughters. His second eldest son, Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi, resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he serves as the Imam of the Islamic Shia Ithna‘asheri Jamaat (ISIJ).

Rizvi was fluent in Urdu, English, Arabic, Persian, and Swahili. He was also familiar with Hindi and Gujarati.

In 1959, Rizvi was appointed as an Islamic scholar in Lindi, Tanzania.

The Bilal Muslim Mission contributed to the spread of Islamic teachings through publications, correspondence, and personal outreach. Its work reached individuals in regions including Guyana in South America, Poland in Europe, Malaysia, and West Africa.

At the time of Rizvi's death, according to PEW Research, there were approximately two million Shias in Tanzania.