The legal compendium, Kitāb al-Azhār, is perceived as the canonical text of the Yemeni Zaydi school of law (the Zaydi madhhab of fiqh). In this book, the author followed a conservative approach, transmitting only traditional legal views ascribed to influential early Zaydi figures. Since its composition, around 800/1397, the legal views presented in Kitāb al-Azhār have remained stable, with a possibility for change within specific customary frameworks in legal scholarship. During the reign of the Zaydi Imām Sharaf al-Dīn (r. 912/1506–965/1558), another legal compendium titled Athmār al-Azhār emerged, authored by Imām Sharaf al-Dīn himself, supplanting Kitāb al-Azhār as the canonical text of the madhhab. However, following Imām Sharaf al-Dīn's demise, Athmār al-Azhār experienced a decline, leading to the resurgence of Kitāb al-Azhār. Through an analysis of both the context and content of Athmār al-Azhār, this paper focuses on the factors precipitating this hiatus and explores why Imām Sharaf al-Dīn was unable to sustain the prominence of his book within the Zaydi madhhab.