Al-Mustakfi was forced to recognize the Buyids as legitimate rulers and awarded them regnal titles, but was soon accused of plotting against them and deposed in January (or March) 946.

[4] By the 930s, the once mighty Abbasid Caliphate had fallen into decline: its outlying provinces lost to local dynasts, its finances in ruin, and warlords—the Hamdanids of Mosul, the Baridis of Basra, the Buyids of western Iran, as well as various military strongmen—competing for control of the very capital of the caliphate, Baghdad, and the title of amīr al-umarāʾ (commander-in-chief), which carried with it the de facto control over the Abbasid government.

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 amīr al-umarāʾ Tuzun in September 944.

[11] This, and the quick appointment of his son, Abu'l-Hasan Muhammad, as heir-apparent, show that al-Mustakfi confidently intended to emulate his father's successful reign,[12] but in reality, the new caliph was a puppet of the Turkic troops, facing an empty treasury, and with the resulting chaos and poverty threatening even Baghdad with famine.

[13] 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.

[16] 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.

[2][26] The reason given for al-Mustakfi's deposition was likely a mere pretext;[26] historian Harold Bowen called the act a "political necessity" that also was highly symbolic, making clear where power now resided.

[27] Al-Mustakfi was also blinded, apparently as a revenge act initiated by al-Muti,[28] and spent the rest of his life as a prisoner in the caliphal palace, where he died in September 949.

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.

[30] 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.