Abd Allah was born in
Medina . His father was
Hasan al-Muthanna and his mother Fatima bint al-Husayn, both
Ali's grandchildren. Abd Allah was the first child of the couple and was raised by his maternal uncle
Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, who took charge of his education and instructed him theologically. According to the narrations of
Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani, Abd Allah had a great temper, aspired to exert control over
Banu Hashim, and challenged
Umar II. According to other Shi'a accounts, Abd Allah came to claim the
imamate for himself and issued
fatwas contrary to the imams. After the
Abbasids took control of the government, Abd Allah's sons refused to recognize the new authority, sparking a crackdown on them and their followers. The Abbasids pressured Abd Allah to show them his hideout, but he refused. The first caliph
al-Saffah treated Abd Allah with respect and left him alone, but nevertheless when
al-Mansur came to power he imprisoned Abd Allah accusing him of being an accomplice to the rebellion by refusing to collaborate in the capture of his sons, for which remained in jail for three years. Some sources mention that Abd Allah was assassinated on the orders of al-Mansur in al-Hashimiyya prison, near Kufa in 762.
Ibn al-Jawzi claimed that his death was on the day of
al-Adha. Abd Allah has a major shrine in
Al-Qadisiyah, 9 kilometres west of the city of al-Shinafiyah and 70 kilometres south of the city of
Najaf. In
Cairo, there is also a shrine to Abd Allah al-Mahd.
Children Abd Allah al-Mahd's sons are famous for their roles in the revolutions of the time, among them
Muhammad who rebelled against the Abbasids in Medina, which led to his death along with many of his followers. Ibrahim promoted a revolution in
Basra after the murder of his brother and was supported by many
Zaydis and
Mu'tazilas. The
revolution was unsuccessful and Ibrahim and many of his supporters were massacred in the Bakhmra region in an incident known as the Bakhmra martyrdom. Abd Allah al-Mahd's other sons,
Idris,
Yahya and
Sulayman, participated in the revolution. Idris survived the battle and went to Morocco where he established the first Sharifian state. Yahya went to
Persia and resided in
Daylam where he attempted to recruit people for a new rebellion against the Abbasid state, but was defeated and imprisoned by order of
Harun, dying of hunger, thirst or having been buried alive around 803. == Abd Allah and the revolution ==