Abu Muhammad, Al-Hassan ibn Ali ibn Al-Hassan was born in 230 A.H., corresponding to 845 AD. His ancestry takes him back to Imam Al-Hussain ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib, the Prophet’s grandson. He is known by his title, Al-Nassir, as he was given it when he established his state in areas to the east of today’s Iran. His nickname “Al-Utroosh” indicates that at one stage he suffered partial deafness.

Many of the descendants of Ali ibn Abu Talib went into Islamic scholarship. They recognized that they had a special position which commanded love and respect by the people, as they were the descendants of the Prophet through his daughter Fatimah. Most people would have loved that they should be the rulers, because they trusted them and felt their dedication to the Islamic cause.

But those of them who were involved in political activity suffered a great deal. Many were killed when they fought battles where the odds were stacked against them. The most famous of these killed in this way were the Prophet’s grandson Al-Hussain ibn Ali and his grandson, Zaid ibn Ali ibn Al-Hussain. Therefore, many of them went into scholarship, studying Islamic jurisprudence, or Fiqh, and the Hadith, in addition to studying the Qur’an and its interpretation.

Al-Nassir Al-Utroosh was one of those who made such extensive study his primary pursuit. He was able to achieve a position of eminence as a scholar. He is described by one of his contemporaries as resembling “a vast, active and very deep sea”. Another description of him gives him the highly honorable title, “the scholar among the Prophet’s descendants”. His scholarship concentrated on the Sunnah and the Hadith in which he achieved excellence.

An important development took place during the Abbasid rule which left a considerable effect on the life of Al-Nassir Al-Utroosh. This started with the succession to the position of Caliph of Al-Mutawakkil, who did not like those of the Alawi descent. This saw a marked change in the attitude of the state toward people like Al-Nassir who was a young man pursuing his scholarship. Therefore, he left the areas close to the state capital and went eastward, toward Central Asia, where the population was non-Muslim. Apparently, his departure was because he learned that a warrant was issued to arrest him on suspicion of political involvement. Therefore, he went far away, to be out of the reach of the Abbasid rulers and governors.

When he settled in his new abode, he began to preach Islam and teach the people in the area where he stayed about Islam. Soon many of them became Muslim and he began to teach them how to conduct their affairs in the Islamic way, following the Zaidi school of law. The people of these areas responded positively and he had a large following. To him, this was a fertile area, where the people had not learned about a divine faith. They accepted the simple and straightforward Islamic beliefs and found the Zaidi school easy to follow. It was not long before Al-Nassir Al-Utroosh was able to found a state which he ruled in accordance with the Zaidi Fiqh.

When a state is run by a scholar of extensive knowledge, it follows that the school of law he adopts would soon strengthen and flourish. This is due to the fact that scholars of that school would find themselves dealing with all sorts of problems, for which they need to find rulings and solutions. Hence, the Zaidi school of law was soon well-established in that area. In his book on different sects and creeds, Al-Milal Wal-Nihal, Al-Shahristani says: “The affairs of the Zaidis were not put on an even keel until Al-Nassir Al-Utroosh was able to establish himself in the eastern Persian provinces. He was chased in order to be put to death, but he managed to hide and flee to those areas, where the people were non-Muslim. He started to preach Islam and explain the Zaidi teachings, and the response to his call was very positive. The Zaidis remained in power in these areas.”

A parallel situation was soon to follow in Yemen, where another Zaidi imam was to assume leadership. That is Imam Al-Hadi whom we will introduce next week, God willing.