Life and Da’i Authority
Fifteenth Da’i al-Mutlaq: Al-Hamidi served as the fifteenth Da’i al-Mutlaq of the Tayyibi da’wa — appointed in the chain of succession stretching back to Dhu’ayb ibn Musa, the first Da’i designated after the Imam al-Tayyib entered occultation in 1130 CE. His authority was the full authority of the Da’i al-Mutlaq — representing the hidden Imam’s guidance, administering the da’wa, and transmitting the esoteric knowledge.
Yemen as da’wa center: The Tayyibi da’wa established its center in Yemen — particularly the region of Haraz — following the Fatimid caliphate’s decline. Al-Hamidi’s period saw the consolidation of the Tayyibi community in Yemen and the continuation of the philosophical and literary tradition of the Fatimid da’wa in a new geographic context.
See also: Tayyibi Dawat, Dai Al Mutlaq Institution, Fatimid Caliphate, Hamid Al Kirmani, Nasir Khusraw
Kanzul Walad — The Philosophical Masterwork
A comprehensive encyclopedia: Al-Hamidi’s Kanzul Walad (Treasury of the Child — addressed to a spiritual son in the da’wa) is organized in the classical Ismaili encyclopedic tradition — beginning with the divine nature (tanzih and ta’wil of divine attributes), moving through the cosmic hierarchy (Intellect, Soul, the worlds), prophetology (cycles of prophets and Imams), and ending with eschatology (the return of the soul, the resurrection).
The philosophical synthesis: Al-Hamidi synthesized the Fatimid da’wa’s accumulated philosophical heritage — the cosmological work of Hamid al-Kirmani, the poetic-philosophical expressions of Nasir Khusraw, and the sermonic wisdom of al-Mu’ayyad — into a single systematic framework. The Kanzul Walad is evidence that the Tayyibi da’wa preserved and continued the Fatimid intellectual tradition after the caliphate’s fall.
See also: Ismaili Philosophy, Al Aql, Al Nafs Al Kulliyya, Daur Wa Kawr, Al Nasut
Legacy in Bohra Tradition
Foundation for subsequent Da’is: Al-Hamidi’s philosophical framework became foundational for subsequent Tayyibi/Bohra Da’is — his systematic treatment of Ismaili cosmology, prophetology, and ethics influenced the tradition that eventually became the Dawoodi Bohra community’s intellectual heritage. The line of Da’is that includes the present Da’i al-Mutlaq is the continuation of the chain that passed through al-Hamidi.
See also: Tayyibi Dawat, Dai Al Mutlaq Institution, Wali Al Asr, Understanding Walayah, Imamah
See also: Tayyibi Dawat, Dai Al Mutlaq Institution, Fatimid Caliphate, Hamid Al Kirmani, Nasir Khusraw, Ismaili Philosophy, Al Aql, Al Nafs Al Kulliyya, Daur Wa Kawr, Al Nasut, Wali Al Asr, Understanding Walayah, Imamah