عبيد الله المهدي

Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi, ancestor of the Banu Ubayd, the caliphs of the Egyptians. al-Suyuti reports that his mission appeared in Yemen in the year 270 AH, and that he performed the pilgrimage in the year 278 AH, where he met a tribe of Kutama and went with them to the Maghrib. That was the beginning of al-Mahdi's affair ².

He reports that he died in the days of al-Radi, that his days were twenty-five years, and that his son al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah took up the affair after him ³.

The sources differ on his lineage, and this question is disputed. It is presented here with each view attributed to the one who held it.

Ibn al-Nadim transmits the account of Ibn Razam, that he was Sa'id ibn al-Husayn ibn Abd Allah ibn Maymun, and that he claimed to be an Alid Fatimid in Egypt. al-Mu'tadid wrote to have him arrested, and he fled to the Maghrib ⁴.

Ibn al-Athir reports that the scholars differed on the validity of his lineage. It was said that he was Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Maymun ibn Muhammad ibn Isma'il ibn Ja'far, and it was said that he was Ubayd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Isma'il the second. Some attribute him to Abd Allah ibn Maymun al-Qaddah ⁵.

What is not covered here: the academic view and the reports of the Isma'ili sources. The entry needs an additional source.

Ibn Khaldun reports that after his father's death he migrated in the dress of merchants. al-Muktafi sought him. He passed through Egypt and then went to Sijilmasa, where its lord Ilyasa' ibn Midrar honoured him. Then he imprisoned him when the letter of Ziyadat Allah came ⁶.

Ibn Khaldun also reports that when Abu Abd Allah al-Shi'i took Ifriqiya, he drove him out with his son Abu al-Qasim, took the rule of the Aghlabids, and called himself al-Mahdi Amir al-Mu'minin ⁶.