Muhammad ibn al-Qasim al-'Alawi
محمد بن القاسم العلوي
The devout 'Alid of Kufa who fled al-Mu'tasim to Khurasan — captured by 'Abdallah ibn Tahir, then either poisoned or smuggled out of his cage by Talaqan followers who still await him as mahdi 1.
At a glance
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Overview
Muhammad ibn al-Qasim ibn Ali ibn Umar ibn Ali ibn al-Husayn. The reports describe him as devout and pious in Kufa.
Flight and imprisonment
Al-Mu'tasim frightened him in 219 AH, and he fled to Khurasan and moved between Marw, Sarakhs, Taliqan and Nasa, and a great many people followed him. Then Abdallah ibn Tahir carried him to al-Mu'tasim, who imprisoned him in a vault in the garden at Samarra. 2
His fate
Accounts of his fate differ: it is said that he was killed by poison, and it is said that his followers breached the vault and brought him out, after which his trace was lost. Al-Mas'udi says that many of the Zaydis claim that he did not die and that he is the Mahdi of this community. 2
Sources
- Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi, p. 443-444
- Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi, p.443-444
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Muhammad ibn al-Qasim al-'Alawi”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/muhammad-ibn-al-qasim-al-alawi/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-16.