Sayyid Ali was the 41st imam of the Qasim-Shahi branch of the Nizari Isma'ili community. [1]
Sayyid Ali succeeded his father Shah Nizar II when the latter died in September 1722. [2] Like his father, he resided at Kahak in central Persia, where he died in 1754. [3]
He was buried in his father's mausoleum in Kahak; his tomb is located in the largest of the mausoleum's chambers. [4] His son Sayyid Hasan Ali succeeded him. [5]
The Fatimid dynasty was an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty 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.
Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jawad was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the ninth of the Twelve Imams, succeeding his father, Ali al-Rida. He was known as al-Jawād and al-Taqī. Similar to many of his predecessors, al-Jawad kept aloof from politics and engaged in teaching. He was also renowned for his public defense of Islamic tradition. Al-Jawad organized the affairs of the Shia through a large network of representatives. His extensive correspondence with his followers on questions of Islamic law has been preserved in Shia sources. Numerous pithy religio-ethical sayings are also attributed to him.
ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Hādī was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the tenth of the Twelve Imams, succeeding his father, Muhammad al-Jawad. He is known with the titles al-Hādī and al-Naqī. As with most of his predecessors, he kept aloof from politics and engaged in teaching in Medina. Around 848, the Abbasid Caliph al-Mutawakkil, known for his extreme anti-Shia measures, summoned al-Hadi to the capital Samarra, where he was held under close surveillance until his death some twenty years later in 868. Shia sources often hold the Abbasids responsible for his death at the age of about forty. He was succeeded by his son, Hasan, who was also held under surveillance in Samarra until his death in 874 at the age of twenty-eight. As an important center for Shia pilgrimage, the al-Askari shrine in Samarra houses the tombs of al-Hadi and his successor. The restricted life of al-Hadi in Samarra marks the end of the direct leadership of the Shia community by the Imams. A theological treatise on free will and some other short texts are ascribed to al-Hadi.
Hasan ibn Ali ibn Muhammad, better known as Hasan al-Askari, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is regarded as the eleventh of the Twelve Imams, succeeding his father, Ali al-Hadi. Hasan Al-Askari was born in Medina in 844 and brought with his father to the garrison town of Samarra in 848, where the Abbasid caliphs held them under close surveillance until their deaths, even though neither were politically active. After the death of al-Hadi in 868, the majority of his following acknowledged his son, al-Askari, as their next Imam. Al-Askari's contact with the Shia population was restricted by the caliphs and instead he communicated with his followers through a network of representatives. He died in Samarra in 873-874 at the age of about twenty-eight and was buried in the family home next to his father, which later developed into al-Askari shrine, a major center for Shia pilgrimage. Shia sources commonly hold the Abbasids responsible for the death of al-Askari and his father. A well-known early Shia commentary of the Quran is attributed to al-Askari.
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 Ja'far Muhammad ibn Uthman was the second of the Four Deputies, who are believed by the Twelvers to have successively represented their twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, during his Minor Occultation. Abu Ja'far in this role succeeded his father, Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Asadi, the first deputy. After some forty years in office, Abu Ja'far died in 304 or 305 AH and was succeeded by Ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti, the third deputy. Abu Ja'far has been credited with the unification of the mainstream Shia.
Abu al-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ruh Nawbakhti was the third of the Four Deputies, who are believed by the Twelvers to have successively represented their Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, during his Minor Occultation. Ibn Ruh in this role succeeded Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Uthman in 917 CE. After some twenty years in office, Ibn Run died in 937 CE and was succeeded by Abul Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri, the fourth and final deputy.
Idris Imad al-Din was the 19th Tayyibi Isma'ili Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq and a major religious and political leader in 15th-century Yemen, as well as a notable theologian and the most important medieval Isma'ili historian. His work is fundamental for the history of the Fatimid Caliphate and the Isma'ili communities in Yemen.
Ali ibn Hatim al-Hamidi was the fourth Tayyibi Isma'ili Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq in Yemen, from 1199 to his death in 1209.
Ali Shams al-Din was the 18th Tayyibi Isma'ili Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq in Yemen. He succeeded his brother al-Hasan Badr al-Din I in 1418, and held the post until his death in 1428, when he was succeeded by his nephew Idris Imad al-Din.
Shah Khalil Allah III was the 45th Imam of the Nizari Ismaili Shia Islam community. Khalilullah Ali III was born in 1740 in the city of Kirman. His upbringing in Mahallat began under the care of his uncle, Mirza Muhammad Bakir at the age of two years, and got rudiments of his formal education at home. In 1792 he succeeded his father Abū-l-Ḥasan ‘Alī ibn Qāsim ‘Alī, for whom he was his eldest son. He moved the seat of the Imamate from Kirman to Kahak, from where he led for 20 years. His name of Shah Khalil Allah was a Ni'matullāhī Sufi name, which reflected the close relationship between the Nizaris and Ni'matullāhīs. In 1815 Shāh Khalīlullāh moved to Yazd in order to be closer to his Indian followers.
Ibrahim ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Walid was the eleventh Tayyibi Isma'ili Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq in Yemen, from 1287 to his death in 1328.
Ali Shah, known by the regnal name al-Mustansir Billah 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.
Abbas Shah, also known as Gharib Mirza and with the regnal name of al-Mustansir Billah III, was the 34th imam of the Qasim-Shahi branch of the Nizari Isma'ili community.
Abu Dharr Ali, also known by the regnal name of Nur al-Din Muhammad, was the 35th imam of the Qasim-Shahi branch of the Nizari Isma'ili community.
Khalil Allah II Ali was the 39th imam of the Qasim-Shahi branch of the Nizari Isma'ili community.
Shah Nizar II was the 40th imam of the Qasim-Shahi branch of the Nizari Isma'ili community.
Nur al-Dahr Ali or Nur al-Din Ali was the 38th imam of the Qasim-Shahi branch of the Nizari Isma'ili community.
Khalil Allah I, known in Nizari Isma'ili tradition by the Sufi name Dhu'l-Faqar Ali, was the 37th imam of the Qasim-Shahi branch of Nizari Isma'ilism.