Abu'l-Fath an-Nasir ad-Dailami (died 1053) was an imam of the Zaidi state in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

who ruled from c. 1038 to 1053.

Genealogy

# Imam Ali al-Murtada # Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba # Zayd # al-Hasan # Ali # Abdullah # Ahmad # Abdullah # Muhammad # Isa # Muhammad # al-Husayn # Abu'l-Fath al-Nasir al-Dailimi

From Deylaman to Yemen

Abu'l-Fath was a

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhamma ...

but not a member of the dynasty of the

Rassids The Imams of Yemen and later also the Kings of Yemen were religiously consecrated leaders belonging to the Zaidiyyah branch of Shia Islam. They established a blend of religious and political rule in parts of Yemen from 897. Their imamate endured ...

. He traced his descent from Zaid bin al-Hasan bin Ali, grandson of the

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...

. He was born and raised in Deylaman south of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

where there was also a

Zaydiyyah Zaydism (''h'') is a unique branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali‘s unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. In contrast to other Shia Muslims of Twelver Shi'ism and Isma'ilism, Zaydis, a ...

congregation, hence his cognomen ad-Dailami. Abu'l-Fath arrived to Yemen in 1038 or later, and claimed the Zaidi imamate. In 1046 the tribesmen of Hamdan accepted him, and he was able to seize

Sa'dah Saada ( ar, صَعْدَة, translit=Ṣaʿda), a city and ancient capital in the northwest of Yemen, is the capital and largest city of the province of the same name, and the county seat of the county of the same name. The city is located in the ...

and

San'a Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Govern ...

in the same year. The new ruler set out to organize the Yemeni highland, appointing officials and collecting land taxes and

zakat Zakat ( ar, زكاة; , "that which purifies", also Zakat al-mal , "zakat on wealth", or Zakah) is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam as a religious obligation, and by Quranic ranking, is ...

. As his permanent residence, he used a fortified mountain near Dhibin. In 1047 several further highland groups submitted to Abu'l-Fath, including the emir Ja'far, brother of imam

al-Mahdi al-Husayn al-Mahdi al-Husayn (987 - 1013) was an imam of the Zaidiyyah, Zaidi state in Yemen who ruled in the years 1003–1013, in rivalry with another imam. Like most of the medieval Yemenite imams he was a member of the Rassids, Rassid line. His genealogy ...

and leader of the Husayniyya Zaidi sect.

Sulayhid victory

However, the power of the imam rested on shaky ground. Ja'far and the Hamdan chief Ibn Abi Hashid soon fell out with him, and he lost San'a again. Abu'l-Fath withdrew to his stronghold in Dhibin where he fought Ja'far. His powers were further eclipsed by the

Shi'ite Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

Sulayhid Dynasty The Sulayhid dynasty ( ar, بَنُو صُلَيْح, Banū Ṣulayḥ, lit=Children of Sulayh) was an Ismaili Shi'ite Arab dynasty established in 1047 by Ali ibn Muhammad al-Sulayhi that ruled most of historical Yemen at its peak. The Sulayh ...

which began to expand in the highlands. Abu'l-Fath had to move from place to place, and tried to enlist the support of the

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

Najahid dynasty in

Zabid Zabid ( ar, زَبِيد) (also spelled Zabīd, Zabeed and Zebid) is a town with an urban population of around 52,590 people on Yemen's western coastal plain. It is one of the oldest towns in Yemen, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since ...

. In 1053 (or, in another account, 1055) the Sulayhid forces overcame the imam at Najd-al-Jah, and he was killed with 70 followers. The slain imam was buried in Radman in the Ans region, and his grave was subsequently the object of veneration by pilgrims. Among his writings, one may mention two

qur'anic The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...

commentaries, and a collection of answers to legal and theological questions. Some of his theological standpoints are said to have been eccentric. Through his career in Yemen, he may have influenced the introduction of Zaidi doctrine and literature from the Caspian region.Encyclopaedia Iranica, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/deylami-abul-fath-naser ; H.C. Kay, ''Yaman; Its Early Medieval History''. London 1892, p. 230.

Genealogy

From Deylaman to Yemen

Sulayhid victory

See also

References

Further reading