'Adud al-Dawla
Abu 'l-Fadl was the son of al-'Amid, a native of Qom from a low-class family, who served the various rulers of Tabaristan, but was later taken captive by the Samanids. Abu 'l-Fadl is first mentioned in 940, when the Buyid ruler Rukn al-Dawla, who greatly favored him, appointed him as his vizier. In 948, Abu 'l-Fadl served as the tutor of Rukn al-Dawla's son 'Adud al-Dawla. In ca. 955, a son of Abu 'l-Fadl's father's former overlord, Muhammad ibn Makan, marched towards the domains of Rukn al-Dawla, conquering the important cities Isfahan and Ray. During their invasion, Abu 'l-Fadl tried to repel them, but was defeated. However, in a second battle, with the aid of Adud al-Dawla, he managed to rout them, reconquer lost territory, and capture their leader Muhammad. Another Dailamite military officer named Ruzbahan also shortly rebelled against Mu'izz al-Dawla, while his brother Bullaka rebelled against Adud al-Dawla at Shiraz. Abu 'l-Fadl, however, managed to suppress the rebellion. In the 960s, the prominent official Ibn Miskawayh served Abu 'l-Fadl as his chief librarian in an important library in Ray.