Ibrahim was a son of Salih ibn Ali, a military commander who participated in the conquest of Syria and Egypt during the Abbasid Revolution and later became governor of both regions.
Ibrahim apparently had a lackadaisical response to the affair, and within a short time much of Upper Egypt had fallen under Dihyah's control.
As a result of his failure to stamp out the rebel, an angered al-Mahdi removed him from office in 784, and his assistants were forced to hand over a fine of 300,000 dinars to his successor Musa ibn Mus'ab al-Khath'ami before he was able to return to Baghdad.
[6] During his later tenure in Damascus, Ibrahim was forced to deal with a violent conflict that had broken out between the Qays and Yemen tribes of the region.
Despite his efforts, however, the cessation of hostilities proved to be short-lived, as the rebellion of Abu al-Haydham broke out soon after his departure from the province.