Hatim ibn Ibrahim

He was of the Banu Hamdan tribe of Yemen and succeeded his father, the 2nd Dai Sayedna Ibrahim, to the religious post.¹ Syedna Hatim’s tomb in Hutayb (in the mountainous Haraz region of Yemen) is a passionately sought place of pilgrimage and is frequently visited by Dawoodi Bohra and many other Sect of Shia. Syedna Hatim became the 3rd Dai al-Mutlaq in Yemen after his father the 2nd Dai Syedna Ibrahim al-Hamidi in 557/1162. His ascension to the throne of Dai in Sulayhid state was challenged by a grandson of the first Dai Syedna Zu’ayb, Ahsan b. After the demise of the Sulayhid Queen Hurrat al-Malika (Queen Arwa of Yemen)the Sulayhid kingdom disintegrated, and the Dais also had to deal with the loss of political patronage. This was a serious factor especially when Zaydi-Shia Imams began to wage war against the Ismaili-Shia,by Killing and looting villages of Ismaili Shia.² It is in this context that Syedna Hatim became interested in territorial acquisition and military power as a security requisition for his followers.³ Hamdan and Himyar tribes supported and offered their mighty mountain-peak fortress of Kawkaban near San’aa to Syedna Hatim.San’aa, the main city of north Yemen, was at the time under the rule of Sultan Ali b. Hatim al-Yami, also hailing from the Hamdan tribe, and ironically,Perceiving in the widespread support for the Dai and his increasing power a threat to his own sovereignty, Sultan Ali proceeded to lay siege to Kawkaban.The siege dragged on for about three years. Just when it seemed inevitable that the Sultan would have to ask for a truce, a trusted associate of the Dai betrayed him.⁴ Ahmad al-Hibri accepted a bribe from Sultan Ali, gave him vital information about the Dai’s arrangements, and persuaded others in Kawkaban to turn against him.⁵ Syedna Hatim learnt of al-Hibri’s treachery and quickly left Kawkaban.⁶ He went to Lu’lu’a and Ray’an, two smaller fortresses some distance away. But Sultan Ali pursued him there with his troops, and the Dai’s reluctance to cause further strife among the Hamdan qabila prompted him to relinquish his hopes for acquiring territories in the San’aa region. He decided to move to the mountainous Haraz region, where there had large support from the time of the first Sulayhid ruler.⁷ Stopping on the way at his son-in-law’s fort Bayt Radam, Syedna Hatim then proceeded to Haraz. He went initially to a town called Shi’aaf, where the people had accepted the Majeedi dawat (of Abd ul-Majeed, Imam Amir’s cousin who had usurped the imaamat and throne in Misar); Syedna Hatim’s personality and preaching won them to the Tayyibi fold. Then he occupied the al-Zahra peak, which became his home for several years. Then after conquering the high peak of al-Hutayb in the Shibam mountain range, Syedna Hatim fortified it and built living quarters and a masjid there, and made that his headquarters.⁸ In the next few years a series of successful military expeditions gradually brought most of Haraz under the Dai’s control.The core of his army was the Ya’aabir qabila, and their chief Amir Sabaa b.⁹ Yusuf, the commander of the army, is described as ‘the sword and champion of the Dai’. In San’aa, His administration was ably managed by the Dai’s Mazoon, the azeem ush-shaan Syedna Mohammad b. Taher was extremely learned, and is credited with several kitabs, among them the 2 volume taweel compilation, Majmu’ ut-Tarbiya, and the a’laa haqeeqat kitab al-Anwaar al-Latifa; he is also the author of the ‘baaweesa ni dua’ and the ‘tahajjud duas’. He coped admirably in the face of difficult circumstances, first under Sultan Ali b.Hatim, and then the threat of the Ayyubid invasion: after Salahuddin al-Ayyubi took control of Egypt, he sent his armies to Yemen, and many followers fled in fear of the Ayyubids to Syedna Hatim in Haraz, where the invaders did not venture. Ibrahim the Shia as they had in Egypt, their dominion did pose a serious threat to their religious freedom.Upon Syedna Mohammad b. Taher’s demise in 584/ 1188, the Dai appointed in his place the then Mukasir Syedna Ali b. Muhammad b. al-Walid, who later became the fifth Dai. Syedna Hatim entrusted the ilmi tarbiyat of his son, Syedna Ali b. Hatim, to his Mazoon Syedna Ali b.Mohammad. Syedna Hatim himself wrote in praise of his Mazoon, that he had no equal among the mumineen in all fazaa’il, virtues – ilm, taqwa, piety, nasab, jihad with pen and sword, all the qualifications needed for a Dai. Mohammad came to know that Syedna Hatim intended to make him his successor, he went to the Dai and requested him to appoint instead his worthy son Ali, and Syedna Hatim did so. Syedna Ali bin Muhammad succeeded Syedna Ali bin Hatim as the 5th Dai al-Mutlaq.Living conditions in the mountain peaks were primitive even by medieval standards, with only the most basic necessities. The Hutayb peak where Syedna Hatim spent most of his life is a small rocky area which has a few remains of what may have been living quarters,‘houses’, essentially small spaces enclosed by walls of rock. Battles and military engagements were for long periods a constant part of life; a large chunk of the history of the Yemeni Dais consists of continual conflict with Zaydi Shia imams and attempts to preserve territorial, and more importantly religious, autonomy/ integrity. But meticulous and scrupulous attention was paid to the observation / practice of the regular routine activities of the religion, the ‘majalis mashahid’(religious gatherings), the composition and recitation of , and the augmentation and teaching of the corpus of the Islam, in order to preserve and perpetuate the traditional heritage of the Shia Islam in the current generation. Representatives of the Dai were sent to all parts of Yemen to oversee the administration, and close contact and supervision was maintained of the Administration in India. The final trek up to the Hutayb peak – now made much smoother and easier – constituted at the time a precarious, rigorous and taxing climb. Syedna Hatim had to negotiate that trek every time for religious Preaching. Preaching which were held in the overhang of rock overlooking a spectacular hill landscape known as the ‘kahf an-na’eem’. Followers from all over Yemen came to Hutayb listening his preaching. It is likely that the Dai would have recited from the collection known as Majalis Syedna Hatim during these preaching as well; the administration library possesses a selection of these Majalis the religious gatherings. Syedna Hatim died on Saturday 7 November 1199;He is also given many other honorary epithets, among them Shia history & Biography Series 3rd Dai al-Mutlaq Syedna Hatim b. His current successors and followers (Dawoodi Bohra and other Bohra) are in India .¹⁰ View of the Mausoleum from above This is where Syedna Hatim used to go and pray.¹¹