An-Nasir al-Hasan

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An-Nasir al-Hasan (1457 - June 24, 1523) was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen, who exerted a limited authority in the northern Yemeni highland in 1495-1523.

Al-Hasan bin Izz al-Din was the son of the forceful imam al-Hadi Izz al-Din. After the death of the latter in 1495, al-Hasan proclaimed his call for the imamate under the name an-Nasir al-Hasan. He inherited his father's love for learning, but hardly his political skills. Zaidi tradition depicts him positively as a shelter for widows and orphans, and a haven for the weak. Nevertheless, an-Nasir al-Hasan could only control a limited area in the northern highlands. For many years he had to resist the rival imam al-Mansur Muhammad (d. 1505). [1] Al-Mansur was captured and poisoned by the Tahiride Sultan Amir in 1504, and the Tahirides seized San'a. [2] In later years, an-Nasir al-Hasan was eclipsed by a new powerful imam, al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din (r. 1506-1555). He died in obscurity in 1523 and was buried in Falala. He sired nine sons, Muhammad, Izz al-Din, Majd ad-Din, Da'ud, Ahmad, Salah, Yahya, Taj ad-Din, and Ali. [3] Majd ad-Din made his call for the imamate after his father's demise, but was unsuccessful and died in 1536 without ever holding political power. [4]

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Zaidiyyah, Zaidism, or Zaidi Shiasm (Arabic: الزيدية‎ az-zaydiyya, adjective form Zaidi or Zaydi is one of the Shia sects closest in terms of theology to the Ibadi and Mutazila schools. Zaidiyyah emerged in the eighth century from Shi'a Islam. Zaidis are named after Zayd ibn ʻAlī, the grandson of Husayn ibn ʻAlī and the son of the fourth Imam Ali ibn 'Husain. Followers of the Zaydi Islamic jurisprudence are called Zaydi Shia and make up about 50% of Muslims in Yemen, with the greatest majority of Shia Muslims in that country being of the Zaydi school of thought.

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The Imams of Yemen and later the Kings of Yemen were religiously consecrated leaders belonging to the Zaidiyyah branch of Shia Islam. They established a blend of religious and secular rule in parts of Yemen from 897. Their imamate endured under varying circumstances until the republican revolution in 1962. Zaidiyyah theology differed from Isma'ili or Twelver Shi'ites by stressing the presence of an active and visible imam as leader. The imam was expected to be knowledgeable in religious scholarship, and to prove himself a worthy headman of the community, even in battle if this was necessary. A claimant of the imamate would proclaim a "call" (da'wa), and there were not infrequently more than one claimant.

Al-Hadi Sharaf ad-Din was a claimant for the Zaidi imamate of Yemen in the years 1878–1890, acting in opposition to the Ottoman occupiers of the country. His period saw a tribal embryo of a state taking form in the highlands of Yemen, which would be strengthened by his successors as imams, and eventually usher into the expulsion of the Ottoman Turks in the early 20th century.

Al-Mahdi Ali bin Mohammed was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen who ruled in 1349-1372.

An-Nasir al-Hasan bin Ali was a claimant to the Zaidi state of Yemen between 1579 and 1585, in opposition to the Ottoman Turks, who occupied the Yemeni lands for years.

Al-Mansur Ali bin Salah ad-Din (1373–1436) was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen who ruled in 1391–1436, partly in rivalry with other claimants to the imamate.

Al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen. His period as imam covered the period from 1506 to 1555, though his political power ended in about 1547.

Imam Al-Mutawakkil Ali al-Mutahhar was a ruler of Yemen from Sana’a who reigned from 1436 to 1474. He belonged to the Qasimid family who were descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, He ruled in the way of the Quran and the Sunnah and he left a number of writings on Hadith including praise poetry for the Prophet Mohammed.

Al-Mansur Muhammad was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen who ruled in 1475-1504, in rivalry with other claimants for the imamate.

Al-Hadi Izz ad-Din was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen, who held the imamate in 1474-1495 in rivalry with other claimants.

Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen who ruled in parts of the Yemeni highland including San'a in 1462-1503.

Al-Mansur an-Nasir was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen who held power in parts of the northern Yemeni highland in 1436-1462.

Al-Mutawakkil al-Mutahhar bin Yahya was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen whose imamate lasted from 1276 to 1298.

Al-Hadi Yahya was an imam of part of the Zaidi state in Yemen. He ruled from 1217 to 1239, partly in rivalry with a contender.

An-Nasir Muhammad bin Abdallah was an imam of part of the Zaidi state in Yemen, who ruled in 1217-1226 in rivalry with a contender.

Al-Mansur al-Hasan (1199–1271) was an imam of the Zaidi state of Yemen who ruled in 1262-1271.

An-Nasir Muhammad bin Yusuf was a contender for the Zaidi state in Yemen, whose term as imam is counted from 1474 to 1488.

Al-Mahdi Salah ad-Din was a claimant for the Zaidi state in Yemen, whose tenure as imam is counted from 1436 to 1445.

Al-Hadi Ali was a claimant to the Zaidi state in Yemen, who posed as imam from 1393 to 1432 in rivalry with another prince.

References

  1. ↑ Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. VII, Leiden 1993, p. 996.
  2. ↑ Lein O. Schuman, Political History of the Yemen at the Beginning of the 16th Century. Groningen 1960, p. 53.
  3. ↑ Imam Zaid bin Ali Cultural Foundation, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-01-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) (in Arabic).
  4. ↑ Madeleine Schneider, 'Deux études d'épigraphie arabe', Journal asiatique 275 1987, p. 234.
Preceded by
al-Hadi Izz al-Din 		Zaydi Imam of Yemen
1495–1523		Succeeded by
al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din
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