Aben Humeya was born Fernando de Válor into a Morisco family and claimed to be of noble lineage, descended from the Umayyad dynasty.

Prior to the commencement of the Morisco revolt, Aben Humeya had been a town councilor of Granada and had been under house arrest for pulling out a dagger in the city council.

They carefully ascertained the dispositions of the inhabitants of the Alpujarras, where the best stand could be made against the royal forces, solicited aid from the kings of Morocco, and persuaded the local bandits to embrace their cause.

Diego Alguacil, a prominent Muslim from Ugíjar, was said to have harbored resentment against Aben Humeya for having forcibly abducted a widowed cousin and making her his mistress, when with her social status he should have taken her as his wife.

The captains suggested that the best course was, after securing approval from Algiers, to put power in the hands of a local man of noble descent in whom one might have confidence, someone who would serve the interests of the Muslims.

Almost the entire population of the Alpujarras was then deported to Castille or Kingdom of Seville and some 270 villages and hamlets were repopulated with settlers brought in from Northern Spain.