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This is a list of the Imams as recognized by the different sub-sects of the Ismai'li sect of Shia Islam. Imams are considered members of the Bayt (Household) of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima.
All Isma'ili sects roughly share the first four Imams with the Zaydi Shia, and the first six Imams with the Twelver Shia. The Nizari and Musta'li are collectively also known as Fatimid Isma'ili, in contrast to the Sevener Isma'ili.
After Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, the Zaydis consider Zayd ibn Ali to be their next Imam rather than his older brother Muhammad al-Baqir who is considered the next Imam by the Isma'ili and Twelvers. After Ja'far al-Sadiq, the Twelvers consider Musa ibn Ja'far to be their next Imam, whereas Fatimid Isma'ilis consider his older brother Isma'il ibn Ja'far to be their next Imam, followed next by his son Muhammad ibn Isma'il. The Sevener Isma'ilis consider either Isma'il ibn Ja'far or his son Muhammad ibn Isma'il to be their final Imam and occulted Mahdi.
| Sevener | Fatimid | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waqifi | Qarmatian | Musta'li | Nizari | Personage | Period |
| 1 | 1 | Asās | 1 | Ali | (632–661) |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | Mustawda | Hasan ibn Ali | (661–669) Mustaali |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Husayn ibn Ali | (669–680) (Mustaali) (661–680) (Nizari) |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin | (680–713) |
| 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | Muhammad al-Baqir | (713–733) |
| 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | Ja'far al-Sadiq | (733–765) |
| 7 ( Mahdi ) | — | 6 | 6 | Isma'il ibn Ja'far | (765–775) |
| — | 7 (Mahdi) | 7 | 7 | Muhammad ibn Isma'il | (775–813) |
The Seveners propagated their faith from their bases in Syria through Da'iyyun . In 899, Abd Allah al-Mahdi Billah announced that he was the "Imam of the Time" being also the fourth direct descendant of Muhammad ibn Isma'il in the very same dynasty, and proclaimed his previous three descendant Da'is to have been "hidden Imams". This caused a split between his Sevener followers accepting his claim and the Qarmatian who continued to dispute his claim and considered Muhammad ibn Isma'il as the Imam in occultation. Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah eventually became the first Fatimid Caliph with his empire spanning Egypt and the eastern Maghreb. Sevener communities continued to exist in Eastern Arabia and Syria, and for a while in northern Iran but where it was gradually replaced by Fatimid Isma'ilis and other Shiʿi communities.
In the Fatimid and its successor Isma'ili traditions, the Imamate was held by the following. Each Imam listed is considered the son of the preceding Imam by mainstream accounts.
After his death, the succession was disputed. The regent Malik al-Afdal placed Mustansir's younger son Al-Musta'li Billah on the throne. This was contested by the elder son Nizar al-Mustafa li-Din Allah, who was defeated and died in prison. This dispute resulted in the split into two branches, lasting to this day, the Nizari and the Musta'li.
The Musta'li recognized Imams:
Hafizi Ismaili Muslims claimed that al-Amir died without an heir and was succeeded as Caliph and Imam by his cousin al-Hafiz. The Musta'li split into the Hafizi, who accepted him and his successors as an Imam, and the Tayyibi, who believed that al-Amir's purported son At-Tayyib was the rightful Imam and had gone into occultation.
The Tayyibi recognized Imam:
The Tayyibi branch continues to this day, headed by a Da'i al-Mutlaq as vice-regent in the imam's occultation. The Tayibbi have broken into several branches over disputes as to which Da'i is the true vice-regent. The largest branch are the Dawoodi Bohra, and there are also the Sulaymani Bohra and Alavi Bohra.
The Hafizi recognized Imams:
The Hafizi Ismaili sect lived on until the 14th century in Egypt and Syria but had died out by the end of the 14th century.
| Nizari | Imams | Period | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mu'mini | Qasimi | Qasimi | Mu'mini | Qasimi | Mu'mini |
| 19 | 19 | Nizar al-Mustafa li-Din Allah ibn al-Mustansir Billah | 1095–1097 | ||
| 20 | 20 | Ali al-Hadi ibn Nizar al-Mustafa li-Din Allah ("hidden") | 1097–1136 | ||
| 21 | 21 | Muhammad al-Muhtadi ibn Ali al-Hadi ("hidden") | Muhammad al-Muhtadi (Rashid ad-Din Sinan) | 1136–1158 | 1136–1193 |
| 22 | Hasan al-Qahir ibn Muhammad al-Muhtadi ("hidden") | 1158–1162 | |||
| 23 | Hasan Ala Zikrihis-Salam ibn Hasan al-Qahir | 1162–1166 | |||
| 24 | Nur al-Din Muhammad ibn Hasan Ala Zikrihis-Salam | 1166–1210 | |||
| 22 | 25 | Jalal al-Din Hasan ibn Nur al-Din Muhammad | Jalal al-Din Hasan | 1210–1221 | 1193–1221 |
| 23 | 26 | Ala al-Din Muhammad ibn Jalal al-Din Hasan | 1221–1255 | ||
| 24 | 27 | Rukn al-Din Hasan Khurshah ibn Ala al-Din Muhammad | 1255–1256 | ||
| 25 | 28 | Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Rukn al-Din Hasan Khurshah | 1257–1310 | ||
Following the death of Shams al-Din Muhammad, the Nizari Isma'ili split into two groups: the Mu'mini Nizari (or, Muhammad-Shahi Nizari) who considered his elder son Ala al-Din Mu'min Shah to be the next Imam followed by his son Muhammad Shah, and the Qasimi Nizari (or, Qasim-Shahi Nizari) who consider his younger son Qasim Shah to be the next Imam
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dynasty of Arab origin, trace their ancestry to Muhammad's daughter Fatima and her husband, ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, the first Shi‘a imam. The Fatimids were acknowledged as the rightful imams by different Isma‘ili communities as well as by denominations in many other Muslim lands and adjacent regions. Originating during the Abbasid Caliphate, the Fatimids conquered Ifriqiya and established the city of al-Mahdiyya. The Ismaili dynasty ruled territories across the Mediterranean coast of Africa and ultimately made Egypt the center of the caliphate. At its height, the caliphate included—in addition to Egypt—varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and the Hijaz.
The Fatimid dynasty was an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty of Arab descent that ruled an extensive empire, the Fatimid Caliphate, between 909 and 1171 CE. Claiming descent from Fatima and Ali, they also held the Isma'ili imamate, claiming to be the rightful leaders of the Muslim community. The line of Nizari Isma'ili imams, represented today by the Aga Khans, claims descent from a branch of the Fatimids. The Alavi Bohras, predominantly based in Vadodara (Baroda) also descend from the branch of the Fatimids.
Isma'ilism is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept Musa al-Kadhim, the younger brother of Isma'il, as the true Imām.
In Shia Islam, the Imamah is a doctrine which asserts that certain individuals from the lineage of the Islamic prophet Muhammad are to be accepted as leaders and guides of the ummah after the death of Muhammad. Imamah further says that Imams possess divine knowledge and authority (Ismah) as well as being part of the Ahl al-Bayt, the family of Muhammad. These Imams have the role of providing commentary and interpretation of the Quran as well as guidance.
al-Ismāʿīliyya al-khāliṣa / al-Ismāʿīliyya al-wāqifa or Seveners was a branch of Ismā'īlī Shīʻa. They broke off from the more numerous Twelvers after the death of Jafar al-Sadiq in 765 AD. They became known as "Seveners" because they believed that Isma'il ibn Ja'far was the seventh and last Imam. They believed his son, Muhammad ibn Isma'il, would return and bring about an age of justice as Mahdi. Their most well-known and active branch were the Qarmatians.
The Musta‘lī are a branch of Isma'ilism named for their acceptance of al-Musta'li as the legitimate nineteenth Fatimid caliph and legitimate successor to his father, al-Mustansir Billah. In contrast, the Nizari—the other living branch of Ismailism, presently led by Aga Khan IV—believe the nineteenth caliph was al-Musta'li's elder brother, Nizar. Isma'ilism is a branch of Shia Islam.
Abū al-Qāsim Aḥmad ibn al-Mustanṣir, better known by his regnal name al-Mustaʿlī Biʾllāh, was the ninth Fatimid caliph and the nineteenth imam of Musta'li Ismailism.
Abū ʿAlī al-Manṣūr ibn al-Mustaʿlī, better known by his regnal name al-Āmir bi-Aḥkām Allāh was the tenth Fatimid caliph, and the 20th imam of the Musta'li Isma'ili sect of Shia Islam, from 1101 to his death in 1130. Until 1121, he was a de facto puppet of his uncle and father-in-law, the vizier al-Afdal Shahanshah. When the latter was murdered, possibly with al-Amir's connivance, he appointed al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi as his vizier, but took an increasing direct role in government, and after 1125 ruled without a vizier. His reign saw the progressive loss of all Fatimid strongholds in Palestine to the Crusaders, apart from Ascalon. His assassination in 1130, leaving only his infant son al-Tayyib as heir, threw the Fatimid regime into a succession struggle during which it almost collapsed. Fatimid rule was restored with the succession of al-Amir's cousin al-Hafiz li-Din Allah in 1132, which led to the division of Musta'li Isma'ilism into the rival Hafizi and Tayyibi branches.
Abūʾl-Maymūn ʿAbd al-Majīd ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Mustanṣir, better known by his regnal name as al-Ḥāfiẓ li-Dīn Allāh, was the eleventh Fatimid caliph, ruling over Egypt from 1132 to his death in 1149, and the 21st imam of Hafizi Isma'ilism.
Hafizi Isma'ilism was a branch of Musta'li Isma'ilism that emerged as a result of a split in 1132. The Hafizis accepted the Fatimid caliph Abd al-Majid al-Hafiz li-Din Allah and his successors as imams, while the rival Tayyibi branch rejected them as usurpers, favouring the succession of the imamate along the line of al-Hafiz's nephew, al-Tayyib.
Abu Mansur Nizar ibn al-Mustansir was a Fatimid prince, and the oldest son of the eighth Fatimid caliph and eighteenth Isma'ili imam, al-Mustansir. When his father died in December 1094, the powerful vizier, al-Afdal Shahanshah, raised Nizar's younger brother al-Musta'li to the throne in Cairo, bypassing the claims of Nizar and other older sons of al-Mustansir. Nizar escaped Cairo, rebelled and seized Alexandria, where he reigned as caliph with the regnal name al-Mustafa li-Din Allah. In late 1095 he was defeated and taken prisoner to Cairo, where he was executed by immurement.
Abū al-Ḥusayn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl, better known as Muḥammad al-Taqī is the ninth Ismāʿīlī Imam. As the Imam, he was the supreme spiritual leader of the Ismāʿīlī community from his appointment until his death. The Nizari and Musta'li trace their Imamate lines from him and his descendants who founded the Fatimid Caliphate. He was succeeded by his son, al-Ḥusayn ibn Aḥmad / ʿAbd Allāh al-Raḍī.
ʿAbd Allāh al-Raḍī, is the tenth Isma'ili Imam. He is son and successor to the ninth Imam, Ahmad ibn Abd Allah, and the father of Abd Allah al-Mahdi Billah, the Imam who founded the Fatimid Caliphate.
Billah is an Arabic phrase meaning with God or through God. It is used in various standard sayings, such as the Hawqala and the Ta'awwudh. It is also often used as a component of compound personal proper names, particularly as regnal names by caliphs and other rulers when it might be seen as a counterpart of the Christian usage by the grace of God. It is used for example as follows:
Occultation in Shia Islam refers to the eschatological belief that the Mahdi, a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, has already been born and he was subsequently concealed, but he will reemerge and he will establish justice and peace on earth at the end of time. The signs of his (re)appearance are largely common in Shia and Sunni, , and the belief in the eschatological Mahdi remains popular among all Muslims, possibly owing to numerous traditions to this effect in canonical Sunni and Shia sources.
The History of Nizari Isma'ilism from the founding of Islam covers a period of over 1400 years. It begins with Muhammad's mission to restore to humanity the universality and knowledge of the oneness of the divine within the Abrahamic tradition, through the final message and what the Shia believe was the appointment of Ali as successor and guardian of that message with both the spiritual and temporal authority of Muhammad through the institution of the Imamate.
The doctrine of the Imamate in Isma'ilism differs from that of the Twelvers because the Isma'ilis had living Imams for centuries after the last Twelver Imam went into concealment. They followed Isma'il ibn Ja'far, elder brother of Musa al-Kadhim, as the rightful Imam after his father, Ja'far al-Sadiq. The Ismailis believe that whether Imam Ismail did or did not die before Imam Ja'far, he had passed on the mantle of the imamate to his son Muhammad ibn Isma'il as the next imam.
ʿAlī Shāh, known by the regnal name al-Mustanṣir Billāh II, was the 32nd imam of the Qasim-Shahi branch of the Nizari Isma'ili community. His reign initiated the Anjudan period of Nizari history, which was marked by a revival of Nizari teachings.
Satr is a term used by the Isma'ili Shi'a for various periods in their history where the true imam was hidden and represented through agents. These periods of concealment might end with the renewed public manifestation of the imam, or continue until the present day. Entering into concealment did not mean that the line of imams stopped with the hidden imam; the Isma'ili concept is thus different from the concept of occultation as conceived by the Twelver Shi'a.