Aḥmad Ibn Abī al-Rijāl

Aḥmad Ibn Abī al-Rijāl (born July 1620, al-Shabaṭ, Arabia—died March 1681, Sanaa) was a Yemeni scholar and theologian, who is the best source of historical information on the little-known sect of Shīʿī Muslims in Yemen called the Zaydīs. After completing his education, Ibn Abī al-Rijāl joined the religious-bureaucratic establishment and reached the important rank of secretary and court orator under the rule of Ismāʿīl al-Mutawakkil, the Zaydī spiritual and temporal ruler of Yemen. Ibn Abī...