Abu al-Makarim Muslim ibn Quraysh who took the regnal name Sharaf al-Dawla, was a member of the Banu Uqayl, a dynasty descended from the Bedouin tribe of the same name. The Banu Uqayl rose to political prominence at the end of the tenth century during the reign of the
Buyids, a Shii dynasty who themselves pledged allegiance to the Abbasid caliphs, at that point figureheads. Specifically, members of this tribe replaced the Hamdanid governors of Mosul beginning in 990. The Banu Uqayl would reach their greatest extent of their political power under Muslim ibn Quraysh, who is known for his military exploits as an ally of the
Seljuks in Syria. Muslim ibn Quraysh is also known as a patron of architecture, as his name appeared on the tomb known as
Imam Dur located north of
Samarra, the earliest known example of a monumental tomb with a muqarnas dome before its destruction in 2014.