'Ěnbāqom was the baptismal name of the former Abu'l Fatḥ, who circa 1489 had immigrated from Muslim Yemen into Christian Ethiopia.[6][7] His father was said to have been nobility, his mother Jewish.[8] He arrived as a merchant trader, in the company of a returning Ethiopian who had been held captive in Yemen. Already 'Ěnbāqom was intensely involved in questioning his religious affiliation. Eventually, after much reading and discussion, he decided to convert and become a Christian.