Al-Qa'im (Fatimid caliph)

Al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah or Abu'l-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abdallah or bi-Amri 'llah (April 893 – 17 May 946) was the second caliph of the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya and ruled from 934 to 946. He is the 12th Imam according to the Isma'ili faith.

Gold dinar of Al-Qa'im

Quotes

Poem addressed to the People of Egypt

• The edge of the sword is far more curing to the sick
  It is worthier to attain the right when it is neede.
  Do you not see me seeking comfort for the night journey?
  So I established by the order of God, as it should be.
  I have been patient, and patience leads to success
  Perhaps the intelligent person will be hasty, and
  therefore he made mistake and missed the mark
  Until God wanted to strengthen his faith.
  So I established by the order of God, as the muhtāsīb does.
  And I called the call of one who is certain about the
  generous God to the peoples of the West:
  He who believes in Him will never fail.
  They came quickly to join a noble and generous one
  Descended from Arabs, paying him allegiance.
  I have come on the horses of God to your land
  And the face of death has appeared to me from
  behind the screen
  I sent more ambling noble horses
  Led by men like lions.
  Their banner is my grandfather's, their call my father's
  And their belief is mine, near and far.
  Praise be to God! You know what occurred:
  I won with the striking, devastating, victorious arrow.
  That is my character–as long as I live– and yours.
  There it is, a war raging like a blaze.
  • Quoted in article The Origins of Fatimid Αrt, Muqarnas, Vol. 3 (1985), p. 26

External links

• Jonathan M. Bloom: The Origins of Fatimid Αrt, Muqarnas, Vol. 3 (1985), p. 20-38, Brill Publications, Leiden, Netherlands.