Abu Abd Allah al-Shi'i

A missionary who appeared in the Maghrib in 288 AH, and called the tribe of Kutama to the Mahdi, and they responded. Al-Suyuti counts this as the first appearance of the Ubaydids, who became the kings of Egypt. ¹

Al-Mas'udi says that he expelled Ziyadat Allah ibn Abd Allah, the last of the Aghlabids, from Ifriqiya in 296 AH (it is said 295), and that he was calling to Ubayd Allah. ²

Ibn Khaldun says that he himself went out to conquer the lands, defeated the armies of Ziyadat Allah, and entered Raqqada in Rajab 296 AH, then marched to Sijilmasa and released al-Mahdi and his son Abu al-Qasim from prison. ³

The dates differ between the sources (288, 295 and 296), and need comparison.

The Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.) entry, signed by S. M. Stern, describes al-Husayn b. Ahmad, known as Abu 'Abd Allah al-Shi'i and sometimes al-Muhtasib, as the founder of Fatimid rule in North Africa. A native of San'a', he joined the Isma'ili mission in Iraq and was trained in Yemen. He met Kutama pilgrims at Mecca in 279/892 and reached their country on 14 Rabi I 280 (3 June 893). After defeating Aghlabid expeditions in 289/902 and 290/903 he took Satif, Tubna, Tijis and Laribus, and he entered the Aghlabid capital Raqqada on 1 Rajab 296 (25 March 909). He freed the imam 'Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi from Sijilmasa, and both brothers, Abu 'Abd Allah and Abu l-Abbas, were murdered on 1 Dhu l-Hijja 298 (31 July 911). The article notes that its main source is al-Qadi al-Nu'man's Iftitah al-Da'wa. ⁴