Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i
10th-century Iraqi Isma'ili missionary
Abu Abdallah al-Husayn ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Zakariyya, better known as Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i (Arabic: ابو عبد الله الشيعي, romanized: Abū ʿAbd Allāh ash-Shīʿī), was an Isma'ili missionary (dāʿī) active in Yemen and North Africa. He was successful in converting and unifying a large part of the Kutama Berber tribe, leading them on the conquest of Ifriqiya from 902 to 909 and the overthrowing of the Aghlabid dynasty. This ultimately led to the establishment of the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya under the Imam–caliph Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah. However, Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah quickly fell out with Abu Abdallah and had Abu Abdallah executed on 18 February 911.
Early life
Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i was born al-Husayn ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Zakariyya in Kufa in Iraq. According to the sources, he may have been an early Sufi or Twelver Shi'a adherent before being proselytized along with his brother, Abu'l-Abbas Muhammad, in 891 to Isma'ili Shi'ism by a local missionary (da'i), Abu Ali, or, according to other sources, by Hamdan Qarmat, the leader of the Iraqi branch of the Isma'ili missionary network (da'wa). Abu Abdallah and Abu'l-Abbas became members of the Isma'ili missionary network (da'wa) themselves, inducted by Firuz, the representative of the hidden imam, and soon sent to missions abroad: Abu'l-Abbas to Egypt, and Abu Abdallah to Yemen. Abu Abdallah joined the Hajj caravan to Mecca, and joined the Yemeni pilgrims on their return to their homeland. He arrived there in April 892, and stayed and learned with the chief Isma'ili da'i, in Yemen, Ibn Hawshab, in preparation for going on to lead a mission to the Maghreb.
After less than a year, Ibn Hawshab sent Abu Abdallah again to Mecca, thence to go on to the Maghreb.
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