Al-Mahdi Ibrahim (died June/July 1284) 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 ...

whose imamate lasted from 1272 to 1276.

Proclamation of the imamate

The late 13th century was the high tide of the rule of the

Rasulid Dynasty The Rasulids () or the Rasulid dynasty was a Sunni Yemeni dynasty of Oghuz Turkic origin who ruled Yemen from 1229 to 1454. Origin The Rasulids take their name from a messenger under the Abbasids, Muhammad bin Harun, who was nicknamed "Rasu ...

in Yemen. In the northern highland, Zaidi nobles tried to maintain a position as imams, with varying success. In July 1272, Ibrahim bin Ahmad Taj ad-Din bin Badr ad-Din, a nephew of the former imam

al-Mansur al-Hasan Al-Mansur al-Hasan (1199–1271) was an imam of the Zaidi state of Yemen who ruled in 1262–1271. Al-Hasan bin Badr ad-Din came from the same family as imam al-Hadi Yahya (d. 1239). When the former imam Yahya bin Muhammad as-Siraji was blinded ...

, proclaimed his bid for the imamate as al-Mahdi Ibrahim. His call was heeded by the population in

Hadur Sanaa ( '), also spelled San'a or Sana, is a governorate of Yemen. Its capital is Sanaa, which is also the national capital. However, the city of Sanaa is not part of the governorate but instead forms the separate governorate of Amanat Al-Asema ...

, Banu'r-Ra'i, Banu Shihab, and other places. He entered Banu'r-Ra'i and Banu Shihab with seven followers and then led the

Friday prayer Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

among 7,000 people. Warfare soon flared up between the Zaidis and the Rasulid authorities. The able Rasulid commander in

San'a Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation o ...

, Alam ad-Din Sinjar al-Sha'bi, defeated the Zaidis in 1273, and in the following year, al-Mahdi Ibrahim made peace with Sultan al-Muzaffar Yusuf.

Abortive seizure of San'a

However, in August 1275, a corps of rebellious slave soldiers seized San'a, and invited the imam and the Zaidi strongman Sarim ad-Din Da'ud to reside in the city. Al-Mahdi Ibrahim accepted and was led to the Cathedral Mosque of San'a. The Zaidi leaders drew up plans of advancing further to Dhamar. Nevertheless, al-Muzaffar Yusuf reacted quickly and moved against San'a with an army. Sarim ad-Din Da'ud took a position on a summit, but his troops were heavily defeated, and he barely slipped away. The imam was besieged in a fortress. Eventually, he was captured after many of his followers were killed. The Rasulid sultan treated his prisoner with great courtesy and gave him a house to live in

Ta'izz Taiz () is a city in southwestern Yemen. It is located in the Yemeni highlands, near the port city of Mocha on the Red Sea, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is the capital of Taiz Governorate. As of 2023, the city has an estimated p ...

. He stayed there until his death in 1284. Personally, although generally unsuccessful in his political affairs, al-Mahdi Ibrahim was acclaimed as a brave warrior, famous horseman, and a good poet.El-Khazreji, 1906, pp. 182-8, 210.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahdi Ibrahim Zaydi imams of Yemen 1284 deaths Year of birth unknown 13th century in Yemen 13th-century Arab people Rassid dynasty 13th-century Zaydis

Proclamation of the imamate

Abortive seizure of San'a

See also

References