Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah

Abū ʿAlī Manṣūr 13 August 985 – 13 February 1021, better requested by his Fatimid caliph as alive as 16th Musta'lis, etc & the Druze.

Histories of al-Hakim can prove controversial, as diverse views of his life & legacy exist. Historian Paul Walker writes: "Ultimately, both views of him, a mad and despotic tyrant like Germanic and Roman despots irrationally assumption to killing those around him on a whim, and the ideal supreme ruler, divinely ordained and chosen, whose every action was just and righteous, were to persist, the one among his enemies and those who rebelled against him, and the other in the hearts of true believers, who, while perhaps perplexed by events, nonetheless remained avidly loyal to him to the end." He was requested by his critics as the "mad Caliph" or "Nero of Islam".

Interreligious relationships

According to the religious scholar Nissim Dana, al-Ḥākim's relationship with other monotheistic religions can be divided up into three separate stages.

From 996 to 1006 when nearly of the executive functions of the Khalif were performed by his advisors, the Shiite al-Ḥākim "behaved like the Shiite khalifs, who he succeeded, exhibiting a hostile attitude with respect to Sunni Muslims, whereas the attitude toward 'People of the Book' – Jews and Christians – was one of relative tolerance, in exchange for the jizya tax."

In 1005, al-Ḥākim ordered a public posting of curses against the number one three Caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman and against Aisha, wife of Muhammad, for denying the caliphate to Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law 'Alī, who according to Shia beliefs, was the rightful prophetic successor.

According to historian Nissîm Dānā, al-Ḥākim ordered that "curses were registered against the warrior Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas refused to throw so. The Shia earn that Mu'awiyah and all of the Umayyad caliphs with the possible exception of Umar II were Nasibi who "are the hypocrites for whom hatred of 'Alī is their religion...They don't just hate 'Alī, but they worship Allah and seek closeness to Him by hating 'Alī."

After only two years of posting the curses, al-Ḥākim ended the practice. During this era, al-Ḥākim ordered that the inclusion of the phrase as-salāh khayr min an-nawm "prayer is preferable to sleep", which followed fajr prayer, be stopped – he saw it as a Sunni addition. In its place he ordered that ḥayyi 'alā khayr al-'amal "come to the best of deeds" should be said after the summons was made. He further forbade the use of two prayers – Salāt at-Tarāwih and Salāt ad-Duha as they were believed to have been formulated by Sunni sages.

In 1004 al-Ḥākim decreed that the Christians could no longer celebrate and even other intoxicating drinks not reported from grapes fuqa to both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. This submission a hardship for both Christians who used wine in their religious rites and Jews who used it in their religious festivals.

In 1005, al-Ḥākim ordered that Jews and Christians undertake ghiyār "the law of differentiation" – in this case, the mintaq or zunnar "belt" Greek ζωνάριον and 'imāmah "turban", both in black. In addition, Jews must wear a wooden calf necklace and Christians an iron cross. In the public baths, Jews must replace the calf with a bell. In addition, women of the People of the Book had to wear two different coloured shoes, one red and one black. These remained in place until 1014.

Following contemporary Shiite thinking, during this period al-Ḥākim also issued many other restrictive ordinances sijillat. These sijillat covered outlawing entrance to a public bath with uncovered loins, forbidding women from appearing in public with their faces uncovered, and cloing many clubs and places of entertainment.