[1] According to the 12th-century Yemeni historian Umara al-Yamani, he was chosen as chief dāʿī by Queen Arwa al-Sulayhi already in 1132, but he was then replaced by the ruler of Aden, Saba ibn Abi'l-Su'ud ibn Zuray, possibly because Ibrahim espoused the Tayyibi sect in the schism with the Hafizis.
[1][2] He resided in Sana'a, under the protection of the city's ruler Hatim ibn Ahmad, who, although espousing the Hafizi sect, did not interfere with the Tayyibi missionary work.
[3] On his death in July 1162,[2] Hatim succeeded him; his descendants monopolized the office of Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq until 1209.
The resulting synthesis combined al-Kirmani's cosmology with mythical elements, and formed the foundation of the peculiar Tayyibi system of esoteric exegesis (haqā'iq).
His major work was the Kitāb kanz al-walad ("Book of the Child’s Treasure"), which provided the basis for many future Tayyibi haqā'iq authors.