Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn al-Layth was amir of the Saffarid amirate from 910 until 911. Early in 910 Muhammad's brother, the Saffarid amir al-Layth b. 'Ali, led an army west towards Fars in an effort to wrest it from its ruler, the slave commander . Since both al-Layth and another brother, al-Mu'addal, were participating in the campaign, Muhammad was left behind in the capital Zarang as al-Layth's representative. The campaign ended in disaster, with al-Layth being captured and sent to the Abbasid court at Baghdad; when news of this reached Zarang in early September, Muhammad was hailed as amir in the provinces still part of the amirate. To cement his power, he imprisoned al-Mu'addal, who had managed to avoid being captured by Sebük-eri and had returned to Sistan.