They pursue every branch of learning—
in every land, tracking down whatever lies remote;
They are the guiding stars
by which one is led to the paths of noble aims. (1)
142 – Jayyāsh Abū Fātik ibn Najāḥ al-Habashī *
He was the ruler of Yemen and the acknowledged head of his followers: King Abū Fātik Jayyāsh ibn Najāḥ al-Habashī, the client of Ḥusayn ibn Salāmah al-Nūbī, himself a client of the House of Ziyād, the former kings of Yemen.
His father had already seized Yemen, wiped out his adversaries and consolidated his authority until al-Ṣulayḥī (2) emerged, took power, and through guile poisoned Najāḥ. Najāḥ’s sons fled and sought refuge in Abyssinia, their leader being Saʿīd ibn Najāḥ—the cross-eyed one. Soothsayers foretold that this cross-eyed man would kill al-Ṣulayḥī. A complete likeness of al-Aḥwal was drawn for al-Ṣulayḥī in every possible pose, and he grew apprehensive of him, his vigilance heightened. Then the man came from Abyssinia with five thousand spearmen,
(1) Among his verses, cited in Masari al-Ushshaq, 1/103:
The party has scattered, and my tears, in yearning for them, pour down.
The herald of parting urged them from their homes, and they departed.
Say to those who journeyed far from my sight while my heart remained their dwelling:
My blood—though I had done no wrong—they deemed licit and shed at dawn among them.
What would it have harmed them to let me drink from the water of their union and be raised by it?
Main sources: Tarikh al-Yaman by Imara, p. 295; Tabaqat Fuqaha al-Yaman, p. 104; Kharidat al-Qasr, 3/223; al-Mushtabih, p. 140; al-Wafi bi-l-Wafayat, 11/228; Kashf al-Zunun, p. 1777; Bulugh al-Maram, pp. 16-17; Mu jam al-Ansab wa-l-Usarat al-Hakima, p. 181.
(2) Abu al-Hasan Ali b. Muhammad b. Ali al-Sulayhi was the head of the Sulayhid state and one of the rulers who seized Yemen by force. He kept company with Amir b. Abd Allah al-Rawahi, a Fatimid da i, and adopted their doctrine; al-Maqrizi even states that he became an imam of it. During the pilgrimage he served as guide, winning over anyone he sensed might respond to him, until sixty supporters from various tribes pledged allegiance to him in Mecca in 429/1037-38. His following increased, and by 455/1063 he had brought all of Yemen under his control … Sa id al-Ahwal killed him in 473/1080 in revenge for his father. His detailed biography appeared earlier, Book 18, no. 173.