Al-Mu'ayyad Abbas (died 1880) 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, ...

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 briefly in 1850. He belonged to the Qasimi family, descendants of the Islamic

prophet Muhammad In Islam, Muhammad () is venerated as the Seal of the Prophets who transmitted the Quran, eternal word of God () from the Angels in Islam, angel Gabriel () to humans and jinn. Muslims believe that the Quran, the central religious text of Isl ...

, who 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 between 1597 and 1962. Abbas bin Abd ar-Rahman was a scholar who descended from Imam

al-Mutawakkil Isma'il Al-Mutawakkil Isma'il (c. 1610 – 15 August 1676) was an Imam of Yemen who ruled the country from 1644 until 1676. He was a son of Al-Mansur al-Qasim. His rule saw the biggest territorial expansion of the Zaidiyyah imamate in Greater Yemen. Ear ...

(d. 1676) in the sixth generation. He was a disciple of the renowned Yemeni scholar

Muhammad ash-Shawkani Muḥammad ibn Ali ibn Muḥammad ibn Abd Allah, better known as al-Shawkānī () (1759–1834) was a prominent Yemeni Sunni Islamic scholar, jurist, theologian and reformer. Shawkani was one of the most influential proponents of Athari theology ...

. After the abortive Ottoman intervention in highland Yemen in 1849, the remains of the Zaidi state became the prey of political rivalries. The current imam al-Mansur Ali II was an

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

and commanded little respect; tribal groups rebelled, and the court 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 ...

was dominated by the oppressive minister al-Misri. Certain

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' is an honorific title of Hasanid and Husaynid lineage, recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and Ali's sons Hasan ibn Ali, Hasan and Husayn ibn Ali, Husayn. The title may also refer ...

s and

qadi A qadi (; ) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. History The term '' was in use from ...

s in San'a defected to

Sa'dah Saada (), located in the northwest of Yemen, is the capital and largest city of the governorate bearing the same name, as well as the administrative seat of the eponymous district. The city lies in the Serat (Sarawat) mountains at an altitude o ...

far to the north, where al-Mansur Ahmad bin Hashim posed as imam. Al-Mansur Ahmad besieged San'a in 1850. However, the elite of San'a chose Abbas as their imam, under the name al-Mu'ayyad Abbas (June 1850). The new imam appointed Muhammad ash-Shawkani's son Ahmad as his

. His soldiers and

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 ...

s held out for a while against the attackers in the ''qasr'' (fortress) of the city. Finally he had to surrender to al-Mansur Ahmad and was imprisoned. The victor, however, could only maintain his position in San'a for three months before he was forced to flee to the Arhab tribe. In the following year 1851, the contenders for the Zaidi imamate agreed to appoint al-Hadi Ghalib. Al-Mu'ayyad Abbas withdrew to a life of scholarship and teaching until his demise in 1880.Zaidi biographies, in http://www.al-aalam.com/personinfo.asp?pid=426 (in Arabic).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muayyad Abbas Zaydi imams of Yemen 1880 deaths Year of birth unknown 19th-century Arab people

See also

References