List of Imams of the Ismailis

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The list of Imams of the Ismailis contains all religious heads ( imam ) of the Shia of the Ismailis , the second largest denominational group of Shiite Islam after the Twelve Shia .

The Imamate of the Ismailis claims a linear dynastic descent from the Prophet Mohammed († 632) through his daughter Fatima († 632) and her husband Ali (X 661). In the opinion of all Shiites, this should once have been designated by the Prophet as his successor / deputy ( ḫalīfa ) with leadership over the believers. The Ismaili Shia arose after the death of the fifth Imam Jafar as-Sadiq in 765 through a split in the Imamite Shia .

In 909 the Ismaili imams in North Africa established their own caliphate under the dynasty name of the Fatimids , which competed with the Sunni caliphate of the Abbasids of Baghdad . After the death of the eighteenth imam in 1094, a split also took place among the Ismailis between several rival imam lines, who were regarded by their followers as the legitimate ones, although there were no notable differences in their beliefs. All Ismaili imam lines and their followers claim the preservation and continuation of true Ismailis for themselves.

The imam lines of various Ismaili and other Shiite groups (e.g. the Twelve Shia ) have been raptured into secrecy ( ġaiba ) in the course of history in anticipation of a future return. The Imamate is only physically present to this day among the Nizari Ismailites .

Counting methods

For Shiites in general, Ali is the "foundation of the Imamate " (asās al-imāma) , but was and is treated differently among the Ismailis in the way of counting. Among the medieval Ismailis it was not Ali, but his eldest son Hassan who was the first imam, followed by his younger brother Hussein as the second imam. This counting method is still used today among the Tayyibi Ismailites.

In the case of the Nizari Ismailis, on the other hand, a correction was made in that Hassan was completely excluded from the counting method in the sense of a strict linear inheritance of the charism ( baraka ) associated with the imamate . With them, therefore, Ali himself is considered the first imam, immediately followed by his second son Hussein .

In any case, however, Hussein is the second imam for all Ismailis, which distinguishes the Ismaili method of counting from that of the Twelve Shiites . These include both Ali and Hassan in their imam line, which is why Hussein is only the third imam of them. Up until Imam Jafar as-Sadiq , there was a divergence in the number of imams between Ismailis and Twelve.

Imams of the Ismailis

No. Name
(full name according to DIN 31635 ) 		Remarks
1. Ali (X 661)
Abū l-Hasan ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib
(1.) Hassan († 670)
al-Ḥasan ibnʿAlī
2. Hussein (X 680)
al-Ḥusain ibn ʿAlī
3. Ali Zain al-Abidin († 713)
ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusain Zain al-ʿĀbidīn
4th Muhammad al-Baqir († 732/36)
Muhammad ibn ʿAlī al-Bāqir
5. Jafar as-Sadiq († 765)
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Ǧaʿfar ibn Muḥammad aṣ-Ṣādiq 		Last joint Imam of the Imamite Shia , which split into the Ismailite and "Twelve" parties after his death . In the count of the "twelve" he is their sixth imam, since, in contrast to the Ismailis, they include Ali's older son, Hassan , in their imam line
6th Ismail († 760)
Ismāʿīl ibn Ǧaʿfar
7th Muhammad
Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl 		Raptured into secrecy (ġaiba) and since then the expected, rightly guided ruler (al-imām al-mahdī) of the Ismaili primitive community ("Seven Shia") and the Qarmats .
8th. Abdallah al-Akbar
ʿAbd Allah al-Akbar 		In secrecy (ġaiba) . Founder of the Ismaili mission ( daʿwa ) and allegedly a son of the seventh imam.
9. Ahmad
Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allah 		In secrecy (ġaiba) .
10. Hussein († 882/83)
al-Ḥusain ibn Aḥmad 		In secrecy (ġaiba) .
11. Abdallah al-Mahdi († 934)
Abū Muḥammad ʿAbdallāh ibn al-Ḥusain al-Mahdī billāh 		On August 26, 909 in Sidschilmasa stepped out of concealment (ġaiba) and on January 5, 910 in Raqqada as deputy (ḫalīfa) of the Prophet as the first of the Fatimid dynasty proclaimed.
12. Muhammad al-Qa'im († 946)
Abūʾl-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn al-Mahdī al-Qāʾim bi-amriʾllāh 		Second caliph of the Fatimid dynasty.
13. Ismail al-Mansur († 953)
Abū ṭ-Ṭāhir Ismāʿīl ibn al-Qa'im al-Manṣūr bi-naṣriʾllāh 		Third caliph of the Fatimid dynasty.
14th Ma'add al-Mu'izz († 975) '
Abū Tamīm Maʿadd ibn al-Manṣūr al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh 		Fourth caliph of the Fatimid dynasty. Relocated the caliph's residence to Cairo in 972 .
15th Nizar al-Aziz († 996)
Abūʾl-Manṣūr Nizār ibn al-Muʿizz al-ʿAzīz billāh 		Fifth caliph of the Fatimid dynasty.
16. Mansur al-Hakim († 1021)
Abū ʿAlī al-Manṣūr ibn al-ʿAzīz al-Hākim bi-amriʾllāh 		Sixth caliph of the Fatimid dynasty, after whose death / disappearance the Druze split off from the Ismailites.
17th Ali az-Zahir († 1036)
Abūʾl-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn al-Hākim aẓ-Ẓāhir li-ʾIʿzāz Dīn Allāh 		Seventh caliph of the Fatimid dynasty.
18th Ma'add al-Mustansir († 1094)
Abū Tamīm Maʿadd ibn al-Ẓāhir al-Mustanṣir billāh 		Eighth caliph of the Fatimid dynasty. Last common imam of the Ismailis before their split.

Imams of the Musta'li Ismailis

No. Name
(full name according to DIN 31635 ) 		Remarks
19th Ahmad al-Musta'li († 1101)
Abūʾl-Qāsim Aḥmad ibn al-Mustanṣir al-Mustaʿlī billāh 		Ninth caliph of the Fatimid dynasty.
20th Mansur al-Amir (X 1130)
Abū ʿAlī al-Manṣūr ibn al-Mustaʿlī al-Āmir bi-aḥkām Allāh 		Tenth caliph of the Fatimid dynasty.
21st at-Tayyib
Abūʾl-Qāsim aṭ-Ṭayyib ibn al-Āmir 		Raptured into secrecy (ġaiba) . His imamate was not recognized by the Hafizites.
The Shia of the Mustali Ismailitien, or Tayyibites , continues to this day in anticipation of the return of their Imam.

Imams of the Hafizi Ismailis

No. Name
(full name according to DIN 31635 ) 		Remarks
21st Abd al-Madschid al-Hafiz († 1149)
Abuʾl-Maimūn ʿAbd al-Maǧīd ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Mustanṣir al-Ḥāfiẓ li-Dīn Allāh 		Eleventh caliph of the Fatimid dynasty.
22nd Ismail az-Zafir († 1154)
Abūʾl-Manṣūr ʾIsmāʿīl ibn al-Ḥāfiẓ aẓ-Ẓāfir bi-amriʾllāh 		Twelfth caliph of the Fatimid dynasty.
23. Isa al-Fa'iz († 1160)
Abūʾl-Qāsim ʿĪsā ibn aẓ-Ẓāfir al-Fāʾiz bi-naṣriʾllāh 		Thirteenth caliph of the Fatimid dynasty.
24. Abdallah al-Adid († 1171)
Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yūsuf ibn al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿĀḍid li-Dīn Allāh 		Fourteenth and last caliph of the Fatimid dynasty, who was deposed on his death by the ruling vizier Salah ad-Din Yusuf .
25th Daoud († 1207 or 1218)
Abū Sulaimān Dāwūd ibn al-ʿĀḍid 		1173 appeared as a Fatimid pretender against the ruling Ayyubids .
26th Suleiman († 1248)
Badr ad-Dīn Sulaimān ibn Dāwūd
The Shia of the Hafizi Ismailitia continued for some time in Egypt with a hidden imamate, but is now considered to be non-existent.

Imams of the Nizari Ismailis

No. Name
(full name according to DIN 31635 ) 		Remarks
19th Nizar al-Mustafa (X 1095)
Abūʾl-Manṣūr Nizār ibn al-Mustanṣir al-Muṣṭafā li-Dīn Allāh 		Fatimid counter-caliph in Alexandria . His shia was organized by Hasan-i Sabbāh from Alamut .
20th Ali al-Hadi
ʿAlī al-Hādī 		In secrecy (ġaiba) . Allegedly a son of Nizar.
21st Muhammad I. al-Muhtadi
Muḥammad al-Muhtadī 		In secrecy (ġaiba) .
22nd Hassan I. al-Qahir
asan al-Qāhir 		In secrecy (ġaiba) .
23. Hassan II (X 1166)
Ḥasan ʿalā ḏikrihī s-salām 		Emerged from obscurity (ġaiba) on August 8, 1164 in Alamut .
24. Only ad-Din Muhammad II († 1210)
Nūr ad-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan
25th Jalal ad-Din Hassan III. († 1221)
Ǧalāl ad-Dīn Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad
26th Ala ad-Din Muhammad III. († 1255)
Alāʾ ad-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan
27. Rukn ad-Din Churschah (X 1257)
Rukn ad-Dīn Ḫūršāh ibn Muḥammad 		Last ruler of Alamut. 1256 ousted by Hülegü .
28. Shams ad-Din Muhammad († 1310) Shams ad-
Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḫūršāh 		Secession of the Mu'minites .
29 Qasim Shah († around 1370)
30th Islam Shah († around 1425)
31. Muhammad
32. Ali Shah Mustansir († 1480) Mausoleum in Anjedan .
33. Abd al-Salam Shah
34. Abbas Shah Mustansir († 1498) Mausoleum in Anjedan.
35. Abu Dharr Ali
36. Murad Mirza (X 1574)
37. Chalil Allah I († 1634)
38. Nur al-Dhar Ali († 1671)
39. Chalil Allah II († 1680)
40. Shah Nizar († 1722) Mausoleum in Kahak .
41. Sayyid Ali († 1754)
42. Sayyid Hassan Ali
43. Qasim Ali
44. Abu'l-Hassan Ali († 1792)
45. Shah Khalil Allah III. (X 1817)
46. Hassan Ali Shah, Aga Khan I († 1881)
47. Aqa Ali Shah, Aga Khan II. († 1885)
48. Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III. († 1957)
49. Shah Karim al-Hussaini, Aga Khan IV.

Imams of the Mu'mini Ismailis

No. Surname Remarks
26th Ala ad-Din Mu'min Shah Son of the 28th imam of the Nizari-Ismailites, who is listed as the 25th imam in the counting of the Mu'minites, because they do not take into account the three hidden imams of the Nizarites.
28. Muhammad Shah
28. Radi ad-Din I.
29 Tahir
30th Radi ad-Din II. († 1509)
31. Shah Tahir al-Hussaini Dekkani († 1549)
32. Haidar I. († 1586)
33. Sadr ad-Din Muhammad († 1622)
34. Mu'in al-Din I († 1644)
35. Atiyyat Allah († 1663)
36. Aziz Shah († 1691)
37. Mu'in al-Din II († 1715)
38. Amir Muhammad I. al-Musharraf († 1764)
39. Haidar II († 1786)
40. Amir Muhammad II al-Baqir Raptured into secrecy (ġaiba) since 1796 .
The Shia of the Mu'minites continues to this day in anticipation of the return of its Imam.

See also

literature

  • Heinz Halm , The Schia. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1988.
  • Heinz Halm, The Empire of the Mahdi. The rise of the Fatimids 875–973. CH Beck, Munich 1991.
  • Heinz Halm, The Caliphs of Cairo. The Fatimids in Egypt 973-1074.Beck , Munich 2003.
  • Heinz Halm, caliphs and assassins. Egypt and the Middle East at the time of the First Crusades 1074–1171. Munich: CH Beck, 2014.
  • Farhad Daftary , The Ismāʿīlīs: Their History and Doctrines. Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Web links