Hatim ibn Ibrahim al-Hamidi was the third Tayyibi Isma'iliDāʿī al-Muṭlaq. He was of the Banu Hamdan tribe of Yemen and succeeded his father, the 2nd Dai Sayedna Ibrahim, to the religious post. Syedna Hatim was the first Dai to venture into the Yemeni political field after the era under the rule of the Sulayhid QueenArwa al-Sulayhi and her political patronage. The Zaydi ShiaImams of Yemen began to wage war against the TaiyabiIsmaili Shia, See Al-Mutawakkil Ahmad bin Sulayman for further information. It is in this context that Syedna Hatim became interested in territorial acquisition and becoming military power as a security requisition for the Taiyabi Ismailis. Banu Zuwahi, offered mountain-peak fortress of Kawkaban near San’aa to Syedna Hatim in 561/1166. San’aa was under the rule of Sultan Ali b. Hatim al-Yami of the Hamdan tribe. See Hamdanids for further information. Perceiving a threat to his own sovereignty, Sultan Ali proceeded to lay siege to Kawkaban. A trusted associate of the Dai, Ahmad al-Hibri betrayed him. Ahmad al-Hibri accepted a bribe from Sultan Ali, gave him vital information about the Dai's arrangements, and persuaded others in Kawkaban to turn against him, and forced Hatim to leave Kawkaban. He went to Lu’lu’a and Ray’an, two smaller fortresses some distance away. But Sultan Ali pursued him there with his troops and the Dai's reluctance to cause further strife among the Hamdan qabila prompted him to relinquish his hopes for acquiring territories in the San’aa region. He decided to move to the mountainous Haraz region, where there had been Ismailis from the time of the first Sulayhid ruler. In the next few years a series of successful military expeditions gradually brought most of Haraz under the Dai's control. The core of his army was the Ya’aabir qabila, and their chief Amir Sabaa b. Yusuf. Followers used to come to Syedna Hatim from all over Haraz and just below Hutaib was a cave known as Al-Kahf ul-N`eem where he used to preach to them. Amongst his many works of literature are: Al-Majaalis al Hatimiyyah, Risalato Tohfatil Quluub, Tanbeehul Ghafileen and Al-Shumuus ul- Zaherah. In his work he clarified position of succession regarding Ismaili Imams after Imam Jafer. Syedna Hatim wrote: "The eldest of these shall die in life time appointing as successor seventh imam." In San’aa, the Dawat was ably managed by the Dai's Mazoon, Syedna Mohammad b. Taher al-Haaresi.
