The Historian Ali ibn Muhammad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh Al-Abbasi Al-Alawi (d. 297 AH) and His Historiographical Method in The Statecraft of Imām al-Hādī ilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā ibn al-Ḥusayn.

This study introduces the historian ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh al-ʿAbbāsī al-ʿAlawī and examines his work The Life of Imām al-Hādī ilā al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā ibn al-Ḥusayn. It identifies al-ʿAlawī as the true author of the extant version and explores the concept and style of sīra it represents. Using a historical-analytical method, the study analyzes al-ʿAlawī’s approach to collecting, organizing, and critiquing historical events.

The research concludes that this sīra marked a significant development in Zaydī biographical and historical writing in Yemen. Al-ʿAlawī’s methodology is characterized by precision, objectivity, and the use of varied sources, including documentary material and poetry. His interpretive and causal analysis, presented in a coherent chronological structure, positions his work as an early example of analytical historiography in Yemen.

The study recommends further investigation into the influence of al-ʿAlawī’s sīra on later Yemeni and Zaydī historical sources to assess their reliance on his work and its methodological impact. It also calls for comparative studies between al-ʿAlawī’s historiographical approach and those of other contemporary or later historians, aiming to highlight similarities, differences, and unique features that distinguish his contribution to Islamic historical literature.