Abu Hashim al-Hasan (died 1040) was an

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

of the Zaidi state in

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

who ruled part of the Yemeni highlands between 1031 and 1040. Abu Hashim al-Hasan was a fifth-generation descendant of al-Qasim al-Rassi (d. 860), one of the founders of the theological traditions of the

Zaydi Zaydism () is a branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali's unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. Zaydism is one of the three main branches of Shi'ism, with the other two being Twelverism ...

branch of

Shi'a Islam Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

. In 1031, the year after the violent death of the former imam al-Mu’id li-Din Illah, Abu Hashim claimed the imamate. He was able to seize San'a. One of the local grandees, Ibn Abi Hashid, fled, while another one, Nunsur bin Abi'l-Futuh, submitted. Abu Hashim's authority in San'a lasted until 1037, when he was expelled by the tribesmen of Hamdan. The Hamdanites later invited Ja'far, brother of the old imam al-Mahdi al-Husayn, to rule the city as

emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

. The following years were filled with contests over San'a, and Abu Hashim was able to regain control over the commercially important city for a brief term. After he had lost the city for good, he withdrew to Sa'dah in the north, which was the old stronghold of the Zaydiyyah. The hard pressed Abu Hashim died in 1040. A new pretender, Abu'l-Fath an-Nasir ad-Dailami, arrived from

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, possibly before Abu Hashim's death.H.C. Kay, ''Yaman; Its Early Medieval History''. London 1892, p. 229. Having proclaimed his da'wa (call for the imamate), he proceeded to seize Sa'dah and San'a some years later, in 1046.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abiu Hashim Hasan Zaydi imams of Yemen Year of birth unknown 1040 deaths 11th century in Yemen 11th-century Arab people Rassid dynasty 11th-century Zaydis

See also

References