View source for Ali ibn Hanzala

{{Ismailism}}
'''Ali ibn Hanzala ibn Abi Salim al-Mahfuzi al-Wadi'i al-Hamdani''' ({{Langx|ar|علي بن حنظلة بن أبي سالم المحفوظي الوادعي الهمداني|ʿAlī ibn Ḥanẓala ibn Abī Sālim al-Maḥfūẓī al-Wādiʿī al-Hamdānī}}) was the sixth [[Tayyibi Isma'ilism|Tayyibi Isma'ili]] {{transl|ar|[[Da'i al-Mutlaq]]}} in [[Yemen]], from 1215 to his death in 1229.{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=267}}{{sfn|Poonawala|2008}}

==Life==
A member of the [[Banu Hamdan]] tribe,{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=267}} Ali ibn Hanzala had been active within the Tayyibi {{transl|ar|[[dawah|da'wa]]}} already during the tenure of the third {{transl|ar|[[Da'i al-Mutlaq]]}}, [[Hatim ibn Ibrahim]] (1162–1199).{{sfn|Poonawala|2008}} Under the fifth {{transl|ar|Da'i al-Mutlaq}}, [[Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Walid]] (1209–1215), he served as his senior deputy ({{transl|ar|[[ma'dhun]]}}) and succeeded him when the latter died in 1215.{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=267}}{{sfn|Poonawala|2008}} The position of {{transl|ar|Da'i al-Mutlaq}} ({{lit.|absolute/unrestricted missionary}}) signified their position as the ''de facto'' leaders of the Tayyibi community in their capacity as vicegerents of the [[satr (Isma'ilism)|hidden]] [[Imamate in Ismaili doctrine|imam]].{{sfn|Poonawala|2008}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|pp=238–239, 264}}

Like most of his predecessors and successors, Ali enjoyed good relations with the [[Hamdanids (Yemen)|Hamdanid dynasty]] ruling Sanaa and their [[Ayyubid]] overlords, which allowed him to reside both in Sanaa and in the Hatimid Hamdanid stronghold of [[Dhu Marmar]].{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=267}}{{sfn|Poonawala|2008}} He also sent junior missionaries to assist the growing Isma'ili community in western [[India]].{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=267}}{{sfn|Poonawala|2008}} At the same time, he confronted the attempts of the rival [[Hafizi Isma'ili]] {{transl|ar|da'wa}}, and the [[Zaidiyyah|Zaydi]] [[Imams of Yemen|imams]], to expand their influence in his territories.{{sfn|Poonawala|2008}}

His own {{transl|ar|ma'dhun}}s were both relatives of his predecessor, Ali ibn Muhammad: [[Ahmad ibn Mubarak]], Ali's nephew, and Ali's son [[Al-Husayn ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Walid|al-Husayn]]. Both would succeed him as {{transl|ar|Da'i al-Mutlaq}} after his death on 8 February 1229.{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=267}}{{sfn|Poonawala|2008}}

==Writings==
Ali ibn Hanzala was very well educated, with a particular interest in [[astrology]] and natural sciences.{{sfn|Poonawala|2008}}  He wrote two theological works on Tayyibi esoteric doctrine (''ḥaqāʾiq''):{{sfn|Poonawala|2008}}{{sfn|Daftary|2004|pp=108–109}}
* the ''Simṭ al-ḥaqaʾiq'' ("Banquet of reality"), a work on Tayyibi concepts on ''[[tawhid|tawḥīd]]'', [[Islamic cosmology|cosmology]] and [[Islamic eschatology|eschatology]], written as a poem of 663 verses. It has been edited and published in Damascus in 1953 by Abbas al-Azzawi at the ''Institut Français de Damas''.
* the ''Risālat ḍiyāʾ al-ʿulūm wa-miṣbāʿ al-ʿulūm'' ("Treatise on the radiance of reason and the light of knowledge"), divided into four chapters, it also deals with matters of ''tawḥīd'', cosmology and eschatology, as well as other theological questions.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Daftary |first=Farhad |author-link=Farhad Daftary |title= Ismaili Literature: A Bibliography of Sources and Studies | publisher = I.B. Tauris | location = London and New York | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-0-8577-1386-5 | url = {{Google Books|Ij0BAwAAQBAJ|plainurl=y}} }}
* {{Daftary-The Ismailis|edition=Second}}
* {{EI3 | last = Poonawala | first = Ismail K. | title = ʿAlī b. Ḥanẓala b. Abī Sālim | year = 2008 | doi =10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_SIM_0322}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-rel|sh}}
{{s-hou| [[Banu al-Walid al-Anf]]||  || 8 February 1229}} 
{{s-bef|before=[[Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Walid]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Da'i al-Mutlaq]] of [[Tayyibi Isma'ilism]] | years  = 1215–1229 CE}}
{{s-aft|after= [[Ahmad ibn Mubarak]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Dā'ī al-Mutlaq}}
{{Islamic theology}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali ibn Hanzala}}
[[Category:Yemeni Ismailis]]
[[Category:Tayyibi da'is]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:1229 deaths]]
[[Category:Banu Hamdan]]
[[Category:Ismaili theologians]]
[[Category:13th century in Yemen]]
[[Category:13th-century Arab people]]
[[Category:13th-century Ismailis]]
[[Category:13th-century Islamic religious leaders]]