List of Ismaili Imams

This is a list of the Imams recognized by the Ismaili Shia and their sub-branches. Imams are considered members of the "Ahl al-Bayt", the Family of Muhammad.

Early Imams

Ismāʿīlīs share the following Imāms with the Twelver Shīʿah:

1. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (علي إبن ابي طالب), died 661 CE 2. Hasan (الحسن إبن علي), son of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, died 670 (disputed by Nizari, the largest Ismāʿīlī Tariqah) 3. Husayn (الحسين إبن علي), son of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, died 680 4. ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn (علي زين العابدين), son of Husayn, died 713 5. Muḥammad al-Bāqir (محمد الباقر), son of ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn, died 732 6. Jaʿfar aṣ-Ṣādiq (جعفر الصادق), son of Muḥammad al-Bāqir, died 765

Splits

The Ismāʿīlīs split with the Twelvers over the succession to the Imām Jaʿfar, whose designated heir Ismāʿīl had predeceased him. Whereas Twelvers eventually settled for Ismāʿīl's brother Musa, Ismāʿīlīs insist on the succession of Ismāʿīl and his son Muhammad ibn Ismāʿīl.

6. Ismāʿīl (إسماعيل إبن جعفر), Jaʿfar's son and designated heir, predeceased his father in 755 but accepted as Imām by the Ismāʿīlīs. 7. Muhammad (محمد إبن إسماعيل), Ismāʿīl's son, died under the reign of Harun al-Rashid (786-809)

Several Ismāʿīlī groups believed Muhammad to be the Mahdi, who had withdrawn into occultation and would return again.

One group propagated their faith from their bases in Syria through Dāʿiyyūn ("Callers to Islām"), the first of which was Abdallah al-Akbar. In 899, the fourth Da'i announced that he himself was the Imam, starting the Fatimid dynasty. This caused a split between his followers and those disputing his claim and clinging to Muhammad. The Fatimid's most notable opponents were the Qarmatians.

Fatimids

In the Fatimid (and subsequently Ismaili) tradition, the Imamat was held by:

8. Wafi Ahmad, 1st Da'i of the Ismaili mission, according to Ismaili tradition son of Muhammad 9. Taqi Muhammad, son of Abdallah, 2nd Da'i of the Ismaili mission 10. Rabi Abdullah, son of Muhammad 11. ʿUbaydullāh al-Mahdī billāh, son of Hussayn, 4th Da'i of the Ismaili mission, openly announced himself as Imam, 1st Fatimid Caliph, died 934 12. Muḥammad al-Qāʾim bi-ʾAmrillāh, leader of the Ismailis, openly announced himself as Imam, 2nd Fatimid Caliph, died 946 13. Ismāʿīl al-Manṣūr, 3rd Fatimid Caliph, died 953 14. Maʿād al-Muʿizz li-Dīnillāh, 4th Fatimid Caliph, died 975 15. Abū Manṣūr Nizār al-ʿAzīz billāh, 5th Fatimid Caliph, died 996 16. Al-Ḥakīm bi-Amrillāh, 6th Fatimid Caliph, disappeared 1021. :The Druze believe in the divinity of all Imams and split off after Hakim's disappearance, believed by them to be the occultation of the Mahdi. 17. ʿAlī az-Zāhir li-Iʿzāz Dīnillāh, son of al-Hakim, 7th Fatimid Caliph, died 1036. 18. Abū Tamīm Ma'add al-Mustanṣir bi-llāh, son of Ali az-Zahir, 8th Fatimid Caliph, died 1094. :After his death, the succession was disputed. The regent Malik al-Afdal placed Mustansir's younger son Al-Musta'li on the throne. This was contested by the elder son an-Nizar, who however was defeated and died in prison, along with his sons. This dispute resulted in the split into two branched, lasting to this day, the Nizari and the Mustaali

= Mustaʿlī =

The Mustaʿlī recognized as the rightful Imam:

19. Aḥmad al-Mustaʿlī, son of al-Mustansir, 9th Fatimid Caliph, died 1101 20. Al-Āmir bi-Aḥkāmillāh, son of al-Mustaʿlī, 10th Fatimid Caliph, died 1130

Amir died without an heir and was succeeded as Caliph by his cousin Al-Hafiz. The Mustaʿlī split into the Hafizi, who accepted him and his successors as Imam, and the Tayyibi, who believed that Amir's purported son At-Tayyib was the rightful Imam and had gone into occultation:

Tayyibi

21. Aṭ-Ṭayyib Abī-l-Qāsim

The Tayyibi branch continues to this day.

Hafizi

21. Al-Hafiz, 11th Fatimid Caliph, died 1149. 22. Al-Zafir, son of Al-Hafiz, 12th Fatimid Caliph, died 1154. 23. Al-Faiz, son of Al-Zafir, 13th Fatimid Caliph, died 1160. 24. Al-'Āḍid, son of Al-Zafir, 14th Fatimid Caliph, died 1171.

With him ended the Fatimid dynasty and the Hafizi branch.

Nizari

The Nizārī recognized as the rightful Imam:

19. Nizār ibn al-Mustanṣir billāh, son of al-Mustansir, died in prison 1094

:Some Nizari, later also known as Hashshashin (Assassins), occupied the fortress of Alamut and proclaimed the grand-son, who had reportedly escaped, and his descendants as hidden Imams: 20. Al-Hādī (escapted to Alamut with a Nizari Dai - Abul Hasan Saidi, remained concealed from public)
21. Al-Muhtadī (remained concealed from public)
22. Al-Qāhir (aka: Hasan I, remained concealed from public)
23. Hasan ala-dhikrihi as-Salaam (Hasan II) - son of Imam al-Qahir and the first Nizari Imam of Alamut to openly declare himself as such, died in 1166
24. Nūru-d-Dīn Muḥammad II, son of Hassan II, openly declared himself the Imam, died 1210
25. Jalālu-d-Dīn Ḥassan III, son of Muhammad II, died 1221
26. ʿAlāʾu-d-Dīn Muḥammad III, son of Hassan III, died 1255
27. Ruknud-Dīn Khurshāh, son of Muhammad III, surrendered to Hulagu Khan in 1256. He travelled to the court of Khublai Khan and was killed on the journey back.

After the fall of Alamut, the Nizari split into groups, each recognizing descendants of the Imams of Alamut:

28. Shams al-Din Muhammad

In Syria, some Nizari groups survived in their strongholds. Most notable among the Imams recognized by them was "Shamsu-d-Dīn Muḥammad Shah", who in 1374 had temporarily regained Alamut. His descendants lived in Soltaniye, Azerbaijan until the Safavids in 1522 expelled Imam "Shah Taher Hoseini". The Imam emigrated to India. The Syrian Nizari lost contact to their Imam in 1796. In 1887 they send messengers to India, but since they could not locate any descendants, most Syrian Nizari recognized Aga Khan III as their Imam. However, a small minority, located in Masyaf and the mountains of al-Qadmus, cling to the previous lineage.

In Iran, small Nizari groups survived and centred around Imams in the village Angodan near Mahallat. Since the end of the 15th century, the following Imams are known:

29. Qāsim Shāh
30. Islām Shāh
31. Muḥammad ibn Islām Shāh
32. Mustanṣir billāh II
33. ʿAbdu-s-Salām Shāh
34. Gharīb Mīrzā / Mustanṣir billāh III
35. Abū Dharr ʿAlī Nūru-d-Dīn
36. Murād Mīrzā
37. Dhu-l-Fiqār ʿAlī Khalīlullāh I
38. Nūru-d-Dahr (Nūru-d-Dīn) ʿAlī
39. Khalīlullāh II ʿAlī
40. Shāh Nizār II
41. Sayyid ʿAlī
42. Ḥassan ʿAlī
43. Qāsim ʿAlī (Sayyid Jaʿfar)
44. Abu-l-Ḥassan ʿAlī (Bāqir Shāh)
45. Shāh Khalīlullāh III
46. Ḥassan ʿAlī Shāh Āghā Khān I, died 1881
47. Āqā ʿAlī Shāh Āghā Khān II, son of Aga Khan I, died 1885
48. Sulṭān Muḥammad Shāh Āghā Khān III, son of Aga Khan II, died 1957
49. His Highness Shāh Karīmu-l-Ḥussaynī Āghā Khān IV,l grandson of Aga Kahn III

References

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