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Abu al-Qasim Abd Allah ibn Ali (11 November 908 – September/October 949), commonly known by his regnal name al-Mustakfi, was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 944 to 946.
Al-Mustakfi was a younger son of Caliph al-Muktafi, and hence a rival to the line of Caliph al-Muqtadir that reigned in 908–944, a period during which the Abbasid Caliphate nearly collapsed, and caliphs became puppets at the hands of rival warlords. Al-Mustakfi himself was installed on the throne by Tuzun, a Turkish general who deposed and blinded the previous caliph, al-Muttaqi. In the power vacuum left after Tuzun's death in August 945, al-Mustakfi tried to regain some of his freedom of action, initiating anti-Shi'a measures, but the same vacuum allowed the Buyids to capture Baghdad. Al-Mustakfi was forced to recognize the Buyids as legitimate rulers and awarded them laqab, but was soon accused of plotting against them and deposed in January (or March) 946. He spent the final years of his life in prison. His son attempted to claim the caliphate in , but failed.
Al-Radi's brother, al-Muttaqi (), was raised to the throne by the Bajkam. He tried to exploit the rivalries of the regional warlords to recover the independence and authority of his office, but his attempts failed, and he was deposed and blinded by the Tuzun in September 944. For the 11th-century historian al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, this unprecedented deed signalled the final collapse of caliphal authority. In al-Muttaqi's stead, al-Mustakfi was raised to the throne, at the age of 41.
At the same time, al-Mustakfi persecuted potential rivals, in the person of al-Fadl, the chief of the remaining sons of al-Muqtadir and brother of the two previous caliphs, al-Muttaqi and al-Radi. Al-Mustakfi and al-Fadl were said to have hated each other already during their stay in the Tahirid Palace as young princes. When al-Mustakfi was enthroned, al-Fadl prudently went into hiding, and the vengeful al-Mustakfi had his house burned down. The new regime in Baghdad was threatened from the east and south by the Buyids, who had allied themselves with the Baridis of Basra. A Buyid attempt to capture Wasit in spring 944 failed, as did a thrust on Baghdad while Tuzun was preoccupied in the north in the summer 944. In spring 945, the Buyids managed to occupy Wasit, but after Tuzun concluded peace with the Hamdanids, they were forced to retreat.
Tuzun was able to fend off various challengers to retain control of Baghdad, but he died in August 945 and was replaced by his secretary Ibn Shirzad, who did not enjoy the same authority with the troops. Ibn Shirzad's weakness was quickly exploited by the Caliph, who assumed a new title, that of 'Rightful Imam' (), to bolster his claim to Islamic leadership. He also took measures against Shi'a followers, imprisoning the Shi'a leader al-Shafi'i, and dismissed corrupt judges, including the chief , Muhammad ibn Abi al-Shawarib.
Finding himself unable to control affairs, Ibn Shirzad requested the aid of the Hamdanid Nasir al-Dawla from Mosul. Just then the governor of Wasit surrendered to the Buyid leader Ahmad ibn Buya, and joined him in his march on Baghdad. Left leaderless, the Turkic troops of the capital made no preparations to resist. Ibn Shirzad and the Caliph went into hiding, emerging only when the Turks had left the city to join the Hamdanids. When a messenger of Ahmad ibn Buya arrived at the capital, al-Mustakfi pretended to be delighted at their arrival.
Al-Mustakfi himself reportedly intrigued with some of the Buyids' Daylamite officers against Mu'izz al-Dawla. As a result, he was deposed on 29 January 946 (or 9 March, according to other accounts) on Mu'izz al-Dawla's orders. The reason given for al-Mustakfi's deposition was likely a mere pretext; historian Harold Bowen called the act a "political necessity" that also was highly symbolic, making clear where power now resided.
Although the Buyids and their followers were Shi'a sympathizers, Mu'izz al-Dawla preferred not to risk installing a Shi'a caliph (or recognizing the Isma'ili Fatimid caliphs), for fear of his men obeying the caliph rather than him. Instead, he raised al-Fadl, who emerged from hiding, to the caliphate with the name al-Muti. Lacking any real power, the new caliph was effectively a puppet ruler who granted the Buyid regime legitimacy. Following the conclusion of a peace agreement in summer 946, the Hamdanids acknowledged al-Muti as caliph, but in the east, the Samanids continued to recognize al-Mustakfi as caliph until 955.
Al-Mustakfi was also blinded, apparently as a revenge act initiated by al-Muti, and spent the rest of his life as a prisoner in the caliphal palace, where he died in September 949. Some attempts were made to reclaim the caliphate from al-Muti by members of al-Muktafi's line, but these were unsuccessful. One of al-Mustakfi's nephews, Abu'l-Nasr Ishaq, tried to raise a revolt in Adharbayjan in 960, taking the caliphal name al-Mustajir bi'llah ("Seeking Support in God"), but was defeated by the local Musafirid rulers. After the death of Mu'izz al-Dawla in 967, al-Mustakfi's son and designated heir, Abu'l-Hasan Muhammad, came to Iraq and managed to gather a considerable following by hiding his identity and claiming to be the Mahdi, but eventually he was discovered and captured. Although he managed to escape, his hopes of seizing the throne were never realized. This marked the end of the caliphal pretensions of the line of al-Mustakfi as well.
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