Background
He was a descendant of the grand organizer of Zaydiyyah Islam, al-Qasim ar-Rassi (d 860), in the 14th degree.
He was a descendant of the grand organizer of Zaydiyyah Islam, al-Qasim ar-Rassi (d 860), in the 14th degree.
Al-Mutahhar bin Muhammad was no immediate relative of the family that had provided imams for the last three generations. When the old imam al-Mansur Ali died of the plague that ravaged Yemen in 1436, he was one of three candidates who brought forward their da'wa (call for the imamate). He took the honorific title al-Mutawakkil al-Mutahhar.
The two other claimants were al-Mahdi Salah ad-Din (d 1445) and al-Mansur an-Nasir (d 1462). Of these, al-Mansur initially became the dominant, and imprisoned his two rivals. While al-Mahdi died in captivity, al-Mutawakkil was released by his captor after some time.
The once powerful Rasulid Dynasty declined rapidly and collapsed altogether in 1442-1454. A new lowland power, the Tahiride Dynasty, took over in 1454. After some skirmishing, the Tahiride Sultan Ali temporarily took Dhamar in 1460.
A son of the imam was set up as fief-holder, exerting power together with the Tahiride governor al-Ba'dani. Al-Mutawakkil left a number of writings, including praise poems for the Prophet Muhammad and answers to legal questions.