ibn Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbbād ibn Quraysh al-Lakhmī, a descendant of the emir of al-Ḥīrah al-Nuʿmān ibn al-Mundhir. His lineage goes back to Syria, to the town of al-ʿArīsh, whence his father made his way to al-Andalus. There Abū al-Qāsim was reared, excelling in the religious sciences. His circumstances shifted from post to post until he was appointed chief judge of Seville in the days of the ʿAlid Banū Ḥammūd. He administered the city with statesmanship, earned widespread praise, and all eyes were fixed upon him.

Later, Yaḥyā ibn ʿAlī ibn Ḥammūd—a harsh tyrant—advanced and besieged Seville. The leading men gathered around the judge, pledged their obedience, and said, “Rise with us against this oppressor and we shall enthrone you.” He accepted, readied himself for battle, and—as we have recorded elsewhere (1)—Yaḥyā rode out to meet them in a drunken state and was killed. The judge thereupon gained the upper hand; the populace submitted to him, and he was given the honorific al-Ẓāfir (“the Victorious”). He subsequently took possession of Córdoba and other districts (2).

His celebrated episode with the man who claimed to be al-Muʾayyad bi-Llāh of the Marwanid line is well known. News of that Umayyad branch had been cut off for twenty years, and those years were rife with grave turmoil. Word reached Ibn ʿAbbād that the Muʾayyad was alive, living in a mosque at Qalʿat Rabaḥ. He sought the man out, treated him with deference, pledged allegiance to him as caliph, and installed himself as his vizier (3).

The amir ʿAzīz commented, “Ibn ʿAbbād was envied.” People said, “Yaḥyā al-Idrīsī, one of the Prophet’s household, has been slain, and Ibn Dhī al-Nūn has been killed unjustly.” Ibn ʿAbbād pondered what course he should take. Then a man came to him, saying, “I have seen the Muʾayyad.” He replied, “Be careful what you say!” The man insisted, “Yes, by Allah, it is he.”