1. Early Imams

2. Fatimid

3. Musta'li
     Tayyibi  Hafizi 

4. Nizari
     Mu'mini    Qasimi  

5. Genealogy

6. See also

7. References

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 Fatimah.

Early Imams

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.

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 Jafar to be their next Imam, followed next by his son Muhammad ibn Isma'il. The Sevener Isma'ilis skip Isma'il ibn Jafar and consider his son Muhammad ibn Isma'il to be their final Imam and occulted Mahdi.

One group of the Seveners propagated their faith from their bases in Syria through Da'iyyun ("Callers to Islam"). In 899, the Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah|fourth Da'i announced that he himself was the "Imam of the Time" being also the fourth direct descendant of Muhammad ibn Ismail in the very same dynasty. This caused a split between his Sevener followers accepting his claim and those Seveners disputing his claim and clinging to Muhammad ibn Ismail as the Imam in occultation. This Imam and Fourth Da'i, Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah, eventually became the First Fatimid Caliph. This separated group from the Seveners now became known as the Fatimids of the Maghreb and Egypt. This was the reason why the Qarmatians, the original Seveners, were the Fatimid's most irreconcilable opponents.

Fatimid

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 on the throne. This was contested by the elder son an-Nizar, 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.

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.

Tayyibi

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 Sulaimani Bohra and Alavi Bohra.

Hafizi

The Hafizi recognized Imams:

The Hafizi sect barely lived on beyond the 12th century in Egypt and Syria, but died out by the end of the 14th century.

Nizari

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' ad-Din Mumin 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

Mu'mini

Qasimi

Follow the younger son of Shamsu-d-Din Muhammad called Qasim Shah.

Genealogy

See also

• Mahdi

References

• {{cite book |first=Farhad |last=Daftary |title=The Isma'ilis: Their history and doctrines |location=Cambridge, England |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1990 |isbn=0-521-42974-9 |pages=551–553}}
• {{cite book |first=Heinz |last=Halm |title=Die Schia |location=Darmstadt, Germany |publisher=Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft |year=1988 |isbn=3-534-03136-9|pages=193–243}}

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