A dispute in 1058 between members of the Abd al-Qays tribe and the millenarian Ismaili Qarmatian state prompts a revolt in Bahrain led by Abu al-Bahlul al-Awwam, who, along with his brother, Abu'l-Walid Muslim, had called for the khutba in Bahrain to be read in the name of the Abbasid caliph al-Qaim, a common way of expressing allegience to the Abbasids, which is anathema to the millenarian Qarmatian Ismailis.

Their rebellion quickly overthrows Qarmatian rule in the islands and leads to the unraveling of the Qarmatian state.

A similar rebellion takes place in Qatif in 1058, forcing the Qarmatians back to Al-Hasa.