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Ali ibn Mahdi al-Himyari

علي بن مهدي الحميري

Ali ibn Mahdi al-Himyari of al-Uthr on Zabid's coasts; raised in his father's piety, withdrawn in worship, he made the hajj, sat with Iraq's scholars and took preaching from their preachers — a memorizing, eloquent man whose foretellings of his own affairs came true, so the people inclined to him, his sermon-cry 'the time is near' pointing to his own rising; when Umm Fatik of Zabid died in 545 the mountain folk swore to him, his cause flared, he crushed the Najahids and took Zabid in 554 ending their house — and all Tihama, the mountains and Yemen passed from the Sulaymanids' hands into Banu Mahdi's.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
Ruler · Preacher
Era
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
Region
Arabia
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Overview

Ali ibn Mahdi al-Himyari, of the people of al-Athr on the coast of Zabid. Ibn Khaldun says in "al-Ibar" that he grew up in the righteousness of his father, withdrew and became ascetic, went on the pilgrimage, met the scholars of Iraq and took preaching from their preachers. He was a memoriser and eloquent, so people inclined to him. 1

The founding of his state

After the death of Umm Fatik, the ruler of Zabid, in 545 AH, the people of the mountains came to him and allied with him. He took Tihama and its mountains, and in 554 AH he overcame the Banu Najah in Zabid. He was the founder of the state of the Banu Mahdi in Yemen. 1

Connections

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Founder of
Banu Mahdi's state in Yemen

People and things also explored

Banu Mahdi's state in Yemen

Sources

  1. Kitab al-Ibar of Ibn Khaldun
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Ali ibn Mahdi al-Himyari”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/ali-ibn-mahdi-al-himyari/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story. Related

Banu Mahdi's state in Yemen

The state of Ali ibn Mahdi al-Himyari and his sons in Yemen; begun in the preacher's da'wa when the mountain folk swore to him after Umm Fatik's death in 545 — his cause flared over Tihama and its mountains, he crushed the Najahids and took Zabid in 554, and the Sulaymanids' whole Yemeni kingship passed into Banu Mahdi's hands until the Ayyubid state came and took the country.