Ibrahim ibn al-Husayn al-Hamidi

Ibrahim was a member of the Hamidi branch of the Banu Hamdan.[1] According to the 12th-century Yemeni historian Umara ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Yamani, he was chosen as chief dāʿī by Queen Arwa al-Sulayhi already in 1132, but he was then replaced by the ruler of Aden, Saba ibn Abi'l-Su'ud ibn Zuray, possibly because Ibrahim espoused the Tayyibi sect in the schism with the Hafizis. Tayyibi sources mention none of this, however.[2]

In 1138 he was chosen as chief assistant (maʾdhūn) by the first Tayyibi Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq, Dhu'ayb ibn Musa, and succeeded him upon his death in 1151, becoming thus the head of the Tayyibi community.[1][2] He resided in Sana'a, under the protection of the city's ruler Hatim ibn Ahmad, who, although espousing the Hafizi sect, did not interfere with the Tayyibi missionary work.[1][2] He chose Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn al-Walid (died 1159) and then his own son Hatim as maʾdhūn and designated successor.[3] On his death in July 1162,[2] Hatim succeeded him; his descendants monopolized the office of Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq until 1209.[3]

As leader of the Tayyibi community, he introduced the Rasāʿil Ikhwān al-Safāʾ into Tayyibi literature, and in his own works incorporated many of the teachings of Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani. The resulting synthesis combined al-Kirmani's cosmology with mythical elements, and formed the foundation of the peculiar Tayyibi system of esoteric exegesis (haqā'iq). His major work was the Kitāb kanz al-walad ("Book of the Child’s Treasure"), which provided the basis for many future Tayyibi haqā'iq authors.[3][2]

The burial site of Syedna Ibrahim was unknown for a long time. His grave located in Ghayl bani-Hammid, Yemen was successfully identified by Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin on his visit to Yemen in 1961. His mausoleum was built in the year 2007.

• Daftary, Farhad (2007). The Ismāʿı̄lı̄s: Their History and Doctrines (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-61636-2.
• Madelung, Wilferd (1971). "al-Ḥāmidī". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume III: H–Iram. Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 134. OCLC 495469525.