Al-Mutawakkil al-Qasim (died April 23, 1727) 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
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 in 1716–1727. He belonged to the
Qasimid
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 ...
family, that was descended from
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
and dominated the
Zaidi imamate
The term imamate or ''imamah'' (, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''imam'' or a Muslim theocratic state ruled by an ''imam''.
Theology
*Imamate in Shia doctrine, the doctrine of the leadership of the Muslim commu ...
of Yemen in 1597–1962.
Usurpation of power
Al-Qasim bin al-Husayn was a grandson of Imam
al-Mahdi Ahmad
Al-Mahdi Ahmad (1633 – July 10, 1681) was an Imam of Yemen, who ruled in 1676–1681. He belonged to the Qasimid family that was descended from Muhammad.
Struggle for the imamate
Ahmad was a son of al-Hasan bin al-Qasim (d. 1639), a bro ...
(d. 1681), and the nephew of Imam
al-Mahdi Muhammad (d. 1718). During the reign of his uncle, he was a military commander of note, and chastised the
Hashid
The Hashid (; Musnad: 𐩢𐩦𐩵𐩣) is a tribal confederation in Yemen. It is the second or third largest – after Bakil and, depending on sources, Madh'hij tribes in 1707. For some time he was imprisoned by the ruler. In 1716, however, al-Mahdi Muhammad was badly cornered by the rival imam
al-Mansur al-Husayn Al-Mansur al-Husayn (1669–1720) was an Imam over parts of Yemen, who ruled in rivalry with other competitors in 1716–1720. He belonged to the Qasimid family who dominated the Zaidi imamate of Yemen in 1597–1962.
Al-Husayn bin al ...
. He therefore released al-Qasim and sent him to fight the pretender. At Sudah, al-Qasim was defeated by the latter. He subsequently fell out with al-Mahdi Muhammad and submitted to al-Mansur al-Husayn. He proceeded to besiege his uncle on behalf of the pretender imam, and forced him to plead for a truce. However, al-Qasim had no intention to stick to al-Mansur al-Husayn. In the same year 1716 he rose against the usurper and proclaimed himself imam under the name al-Mutawakkil al-Qasim. Since he controlled
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 ...
and the seaports, he was able to block the revenues of al-Mansur al-Husayn, who was ensconced in Shaharah and whose powers were rapidly dwindling. When al-Mansur al-Husayn died in 1720, the Zaidi state was firmly in al-Mutawakkil al-Qasim's hands.
Reign
The reign of al-Mutawakkil al-Qasim was comparatively tranquil. However, in 1723 his cousin
an-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun (), commonly known as an-Nasir Muhammad (), or by his kunya: Abu al-Ma'ali () or as Ibn Qalawun (1285–1341) was the ninth Mamluk sultan of the Bahri dynasty who ruled Egypt between 12 ...
laid claim (
da'wah
' (, , "invitation", also spelt , , , or ) is the act of inviting people to Islam. The plural is () or (). Preachers who engage in dawah are known as da'i.
Etymology
literally means "issuing a summons" or "making an invitation". Grammat ...
) to the imamate. The well-known literati Muhammad bin Isma'il al-Amir managed to bring about a reconciliation. In 1726 the imam had an encounter with Arhab tribesmen at San'a. The imam's soldiers, led by al-Mutawakkil al-Qasim in person, defeated them with losses. In the following year the Arhab, together with the
Hashid
The Hashid (; Musnad: 𐩢𐩦𐩵𐩣) is a tribal confederation in Yemen. It is the second or third largest – after Bakil and, depending on sources, Madh'hij and
Bakil
The Bakil (, Musnad: 𐩨𐩫𐩺𐩡) federation is the largest tribal federation in Yemen. The tribe consists of more than 10 million men and women they are the sister tribe of Hashid(4 million) whose leader was Abdullah Bin Hussein Alahmar. The ...
tribes, rose again, and tried to enlist the support of the imam's son al-Husayn. Once again, Muhammad bin Isma'il al-Amir had authority enough to bring about a successful mediation.
Al-Mutawakkil al-Qasim is portrayed in positive terms in the chronicles. Apart from his personal bravery, he was considered a generous character who spent much money from the treasury on the poor.
[R. Serjeant & R. Lewcock, p. 84.] He died in 1727, a few months after the truce with the tribes, and was succeeded by his son
al-Mansur al-Husayn II.
See also
*
History of Yemen
Yemen is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Its relatively fertile land and adequate rainfall in a moister climate helped sustain a stable population, a feature recognized by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy, who desc ...
*
Imams of Yemen
The Imams of Yemen, later also titled the Kings of Yemen, were religiously consecrated leaders ( imams) belonging to the Zaidi branch of Shia Islam. They established a blend of religious and temporal-political rule in parts of Yemen from 897. T ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutawakkil al-Qasim
Zaydi imams of Yemen
1727 deaths
Year of birth unknown
18th-century Arab people