Yahya ibn Al-Hussain ibn Al-Qassim was the grandson of Imam Al-Qassim Al-Rassi whom we introduced recently in this series. This means that Yahya is a direct descendent in the Hassani branch of the Prophet’s line of descent through his daughter Fatimah and her husband Ali ibn Abu Talib, the fourth Caliph and the Prophet’s cousin.
Yahya was born in Madinah in 245 A. H., which corresponds roughly to A.D. 860. He devoted himself at a very early age to Islamic scholarship, particularly Fiqh, or Islamic jurisprudence. He spared no effort in acquiring such knowledge from all available sources. Needless to say, his main area of study was the knowledge in which scholars of the Prophet’s descent specialized. He gathered all that and taught it in his circles both in Madinah and Yemen.
He was the author of several books in both Fiqh and Hadith, one of which is known as Al-Ahkam, or Religious Rulings. In this book he follows the method established by Imam Malik in his most famous book, Al-Muwatta’. Thus, he mentions Hadiths and reports of statements by the Prophet and his companions, outlining the grade of authenticity of each such Hadith, and pointing out what he thinks about the areas of applicability of each such Hadith and report. In his study of any question, he is keen to relate it to the evidence on which the ruling is based. It is to be noted that in most cases, his reporting of Hadiths is in agreement with the chain of transmission outlined by Imam Zaid ibn Ali as reported in his book Al-Majmoo’. Thus we have a supporting evidence for the authenticity of the latter book by Imam Zaid.
Imam Al-Hadi may issue rulings that agree or disagree with those of Imam Zaid, but he remains a scholar of the Zaidi school of Islamic law. Indeed he is one of its main figures, particularly because his sons and their contemporary scholars made a great effort in outlining the evidence for each ruling he made, and explained how a ruling is arrived at, and what may be said about it. It is such effort, carried by one generation of scholars after another that consolidates a school of thought and enriches it.
Al-Hadi was recognized as an authority on Islamic scholarship throughout the Muslim world, and by followers of all schools of thought. Questions were put to him by scholars and ordinary people from everywhere in the Muslim world. He replied to all of these with valuable information, defending the method of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, outlining the true line to follow. In one of his letters he proves that whatever is authentic of the Prophet’s Sunnah includes God’s own orders and directives and must be followed by Muslims. He says: “The Prophet could not have invented anything without God’s knowledge. He is quoted in the Qur’an as saying, “I only follow what has been revealed to me.” (46: 9) God also says: “You were not aware either of the Book or of faith, but it is We who have made it a light to guide those whom We will.” (42: 52)
This certainly proves that whatever the Prophet said or taught in matters of religion was given to him by God Himself.
When he says this, Al-Hadi does not deny that the Prophet used his own discretion in matters that needed a decision. But should he make a mistake, God would inform him of the right course to follow. When he makes a right decision, then that is a manifestation of God’s guidance provided to him. In this, Al-Hadi answers those who claim that since the Prophet used his discretion, we also may use ours, even though it may be contrary to the Prophet’s own guidance. That is undoubtedly wrong, whether those who make such a claim were contemporaries of Al-Hadi or our own contemporaries.
In 280, when Al-Hadi was 35, he traveled to Yemen, where he found a good reception for his scholarship. He gained much popularity and people wanted him to stay, but several reasons necessitated that he should return to Madinah, which he did. But he left behind many people who thought that he could unite the people of Yemen and put an end to many practices that deviate from Islamic teachings, but had crept into Yemeni life. They were particularly worried about the influence gained by the deviant group, Al-Qaramitah, who were guilty of spreading much evil. Therefore, a delegation of Yemeni notables traveled to meet him and invite him to go back to Yemen to assume its leadership. The delegation was preceded by numerous letters to the same effect sent by notables and ordinary Yemenis. He felt that he had to respond, and he returned to Yemen early in 284 A.H.
When he offered himself as an Imam in both the political and scholarly sense, seeking people’s pledge of allegiance, he gave them what amounts today to a manifesto outlining his policy. He said to the people of Yemen: “I commit myself to four conditions defining my obligations toward you: 1) that I will rule in accordance with God’s book and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him); 2) that I give you preference over myself in whatever God has placed as belonging to you and me, which means that I will not give myself any preference over you; 3) that I will put you ahead of myself when it comes to any financial benefit; and 4) I will put myself ahead of you when we face our enemy in war. On your part, you shall be committed to two things: 1) that you will give me good and sincere counsel in what serves God’s cause, whether in public or private; and 2) that you will obey my orders in all situations provided that I am obedient to God. If I commit any disobedience, I have no right to be obeyed by you. If I deviate from God’s book and the Sunnah of His Prophet, I have no argument to hold against you. This will be my policy.”
When he assumed power, he strove to achieve two objectives: to unite Yemen on the basis of true Islamic government, and to ensure that justice is spread throughout Yemen. To him, justice included social justice, which meant that zakah and other sources due to the public treasury were paid in and then distributed to those who are entitled to benefit under Islamic law. He stipulated that at least one-quarter of the zakah collected from a village should be spent in that village. This ensured that the local poor received what they needed. Indeed, he worked hard to organize the state treasury, or Bait Al-Mal, so that all resources were utilized to the benefit of the community. It is perhaps useful to mention here that he ruled that the state treasury must buy any slave whose owner is a non-Muslim if the slave converts to Islam. In this he relied on the fact that one area for the use of zakah is freeing slaves.
His was in fact a model Islamic rule. Hence, the people supported him whole-heartedly, and joined his campaigns against the enemies of Islam. By the year 293, i.e. after nine years of his rule in Yemen, the problem of the Qaramitah had become very serious, particularly because they were by now close to Yemen and making raids on some of its border areas. This group had upheld some views advanced by the extreme Shia, and were bent on destroying Islamic rule. Therefore, Imam Al-Hadi fought them hard, over five years. By the end of 298, he was wounded badly in his war against them, and soon died, having been a courageous fighter for the cause of Islam. The task of fighting this deviant group was left to his son, Ahmad ibn Yahya, who continued to fight them throughout his reign stretching over 27 years.
