Furthermore, Ibn Hayyan reports that the initial leader of the refugees was not Abu Hafs, but Muhajir ibn al-Qatil. He is echoed by Ibn Sa'id, who also adds that a certain Yahya, leader of the faqihs of Córdoba who had joined the exiles of Rabad, was another leader. It thus appears that Abu Hafs may have become the leader of the Andalusis at Alexandria, for it is only here that he is explicitly named as the leader of the Rabaḍiyyūn, the "rebels of Rabad", by Ibn Khaldun and al-Maqqari.
This account reveals that the initial leader of the displaced persons was not Abu Hafs, but Muhajir ibn al-Qatil. This information is corroborated by Ibn Sa'id, who also mentions another leader, Yahya, a faqih from Córdoba who had joined the exiles of Rabad. As a result, it seems that Abu Hafs may have become the leader of the Andalusians in Alexandria, as he is specifically named as their leader by Ibn Khaldun and al-Maqqari.