بسم الله الرحمـن الرحيم
الصلوة والسلام على من لا نبى بعده
Confused Shi’ite Doctrine of
Imamate
Part 2
The Isma’iliya
Continuing from the previous entry in this series, we left off with a brief
discussion about the Mubârakiya (proto-Isma’ilis). Recall that the Isma’iliya
in their numerous factions are all united in their acceptance of Isma’il b. Ja’far
as the designated successor of his father, Ja’far al-Sadiq رضى
الله عنه. However, Isma’il died within his father’s lifetime, which
created a turbulent crisis in the history of Imamiya Shi’ism. How could the
allegedly infallible and divinely-appointed Imam have designated his son
as his heir and successor and then that son died within his own lifetime? The
Imamiya were bewildered and extremely perplexed because of this and began to
debate among each other in an attempt to maintain their apparently erroneous
narrative. This episode in their history was what triggered the introduction of
a new doctrine called Badâ’ (revision) which posits that Allah Most High
has not fixed a definite course for human history, and certain divine
proclamations are in fact subject to amendment and alteration depending on how
events unfold.
The Imamiya fragmented after the death of Ja’far al-Sadiq. Some, like the Nawusiya,
refused to acknowledge his death, claiming he was alive and would return one
day as the Mahdi. The Aftahiya proclaimed Ja’far’s son Abdullah has his
true successor. Abdullah b. Ja’far (“al-Aftah”) died seventy days after his
father’s death and apparently did not leave behind any male issue. However, a
faction of the Aftahiya fabricated the idea that Abdullah had a son by the name
of Muhammad who is alive and shall return as the Mahdi. The Shumaitiya
proclaimed that Ja’far’s son Muhammad was his true successor, and thereafter
the Imamate was confined to his progeny. The rest of the Imamiya recognised Ja’far’s
son Musa al-Kadim رحمه الله as the right Imam. The Waqifa
from among them believed that Musa never died, and that he shall return as the
Mahdi, while the Qat’iya from among them acknowledged Musa’s death and
held to the continuation of the Imamate through his son Ali al-Rida رحمه
الله.
Coming back to the Isma’iliya, they put forward a new theory that although
Isma’il b. Ja’far had died within his father’s lifetime, because he had already
been designated as his father’s successor, therefore, the Imamate persists
among the progeny of Isma’il b. Ja’far. We have already discussed the Isma’iliya
al-Khalisa who denied the death of Isma’il b. Ja’far, claiming that he
shall return as the Mahdi. However, the rest of the Isma’iliya, known as the Mubarakiya,
are united in accepting the death of Isma’il within his father’s lifetime, and
the transferrance of the Imamate ot his son Muhammad b. Isma’il.
The death of Muhammad b. Isma’il created a rift among the Mubarakiya
(hopefully the reader can by now perceive a recurring pattern here!). A faction
from among them who came to be known as the infamous Qarâmita proclaimed
that Muhammad b. Isma’il had not died, and that he would return as the Mahdi.
Mubarakiya Line
1. Ali b. Abi Talib
2. Hasan b. Ali
3. Hussain b. Ali
4. Ali b. Hussain
5. Muhammad b. Ali
6. Ja’far b. Muhammad
7. Isma’il b. Ja’far
8. Muhammad b. Isma’il
Opposing Line (Musawiya)
1. Ali b. Abi Talib
2. Hasan b. Ali
3. Hussain b. Ali
4. Ali b. Hussain
5. Muhammad b. Ali
6. Ja’far b. Muhammad
7. Musa b. Ja’far
As opposed to the Qaramita, the rest of the Mubarakiya recognised the
continuation of the Imamate through Muhammad b. Isma’il’s son, Abdullah, a.k.a
Ahmad al-Wafi:
1. Ali b. Abi Talib
2. Hasan b. Ali
3. Hussain b. Ali
4. Ali b. Hussain
5. Muhammad b. Ali
6. Ja’far b. Muhammad
7. Isma’il b. Ja’far
8. Muhammad b. Isma’il
9. Abdullah b. Muhammad (Ahmad al-Wafi)
10. Ahmad b. Abdullah (Muhammad al-Taqi)
11. Hussain b. Ahmad (Abdullah al-Radi)
Fatimid Rulers
12. Abdullah b. Hussain (al-Mahdî)
13. Muhammad b. Abdullah (al-Qâ’im)
14. Isma’il b. Muhammad (al-Mansûr)
15. Ma’ad b. Isma’il (al-Mu’izz)
16. Nizar b. Ma’ad (al-Azîz)
17. Mansur b. Nizar (al-Hâkim)
This al-Hakim (Mansur b. Nizar) is incidentally a central figure in the
Druze religion.
18. Ali b. Mansur (al-Zâhir)
19. Ma’ad b. Ali (al-Mustansir)
The next great schism among the Isma’iliya was concerning the identity of
the Imam after al-Mustansir (the eighth Fatimid ruler). The Musta’li
branch regard al-Mustansir’s son, Ahmad b. Ma’ad (al-Musta’li) as the ninth
Fatimid ruler and legitimate Imam, while the Nizari branch regard his
brother, Nizar b. Ma’ad (al-Mustafa), as the true successor of al-Mustansir.
Nizar revolted against the rule of his brother until he was killed in 490 H
(1097 C.E).
Al-Musta’li was succeeded by his son Mansur b. Ahmad (al-Amir), the tenth
Fatimid caliph and twentieth Musta’li Isma’ili Imam (*Note: remember the Musta’liya
begin counting the Imams with Hasan b. Ali b. Abi Talib رضى
الله عنهما).
After the killing of the tenth Fatimid caliph (al-Amir), yet another schism
occurred, this time among the Musta’liya branch of Isma’ilis. Al-Amir was
apparently succeeded by his cousin Abdul Majîd b. Muhammad b. al-Mustansir,
known as al-Hâfiz, the eleventh Fatimid caliph. The Hâfizi subsect of Isma’ilis
recognised the continuation of the Imamate through him and his progeny.
Hafiziya Line
1. Ali b. Abi Talib
2. Hasan b. Ali
3. Hussain b. Ali
4. Ali b. Hussain
5. Muhammad b. Ali
6. Ja’far b. Muhammad
7. Isma’il b. Ja’far
8. Muhammad b. Isma’il
9. Abdullah b. Muhammad (Ahmad al-Wafi)
10. Ahmad b. Abdullah (Muhammad al-Taqi)
11. Hussain b. Ahmad (Abdullah al-Radi)
12. Abdullah b. Hussain (al-Mahdî)
13. Muhammad b. Abdullah (al-Qâ’im)
14. Isma’il b. Muhammad (al-Mansûr)
15. Ma’ad b. Isma’il (al-Mu’izz)
16. Nizar b. Ma’ad (al-Azîz)
17. Mansur b. Nizar (al-Hâkim)
18. Ali b. Mansur (al-Zâhir)
19. Ma’ad b. Ali (al-Mustansir)
20. Ahmad b. Ma’ad (al-Musta’lî)
21. Mansur b. Ahmad (al-Âmir)
22. Abd-al-Majid b. Muhammad b. Ma’ad (al-Hâfiz)
23. Isma’il b. Abd-al-Majid (al-Zâfir)
24. Isa b. Isma’il (al-Fâ’iz)
25. Abdallah b. Yusuf b. Abd-al-Majid (al-‘Âdid)
The Fatimid caliphate came to an end, but the Hafiziya continued to
recognise the Imamate among the progeny of al-‘Adid:
26. Dawud b. Abdallah (al-Hâmid)
27. Sulaiman b. Dawud
Sulaiman Badruddin was the last Hafizi Imam, after which the Hafizi sect
vanished and was absorbed into the other branch of Musta’li known as the Tayyibiya.
They hold that the successor of the tenth Fatimid caliph (al-Amir) was his son
al-Tayyib
Tayyibiya Line
Ali b. Abi Talib
1. Hasan b. Ali
2. Hussain b. Ali
3. Ali b. Hussain
4. Muhammad b. Ali
5. Ja’far b. Muhammad
6. Isma’il b. Ja’far
7. Muhammad b. Isma’il
8. Abdullah b. Muhammad (Ahmad al-Wafi)
9. Ahmad b. Abdullah (Muhammad al-Taqi)
10. Hussain b. Ahmad (Abdullah al-Radi)
11. Abdullah b. Hussain (al-Mahdî)
12. Muhammad b. Abdullah (al-Qâ’im)
13. Isma’il b. Muhammad (al-Mansûr)
14. Ma’ad b. Isma’il (al-Mu’izz)
15. Nizar b. Ma’ad (al-Azîz)
16. Mansur b. Nizar (al-Hâkim)
17. Ali b. Mansur (al-Zâhir)
18. Ma’ad b. Ali (al-Mustansir)
19. Ahmad b. Ma’ad (al-Musta’lî)
20. Mansur b. Ahmad (al-Âmir)
21. Tayyib b. Mansur
According to the Tayyibis, their 21st Imam (Tayyib) went into
occultation and hence the line of Imamate terminated with him. According to
them he is represented by an agent known as the Dâ’î. Over time, the
Tayyibis split into various branches and sects in dispute over identification
of the true Da’i al-Mutlaq. However, this does not concern us here because it
is not an issue of Imamate. Presently, there are various branches of Tayyibis,
such as the Dawudi Bohras, Sulemani Bohras, Alawi Bohras, etc. The Dawudi
branch is the largest and most well known. Recently in 2014, their Da’i
al-Mutlaq, Burhanuddin, died and this created a succession dispute between his
half-brother Khuzaima Qutbuddin and his son Mufaddal Saifuddin, resulting in
yet another of numerous schisms in the history of the Isma’iliya.
Now that we have discussed the Musta’liya and their various divisions over
the correct line of the Imamate, let us revisit the Musta’li-Nizari schism and
discuss the Nizariya.
The Nizariya regard Nizar b. Ma’d as the true successor of al-Mustansir and
the ninth Fatimid caliph. He was killed during his struggle with his brother
al-Musta’li.
Nizariya Line
1. Ali b. Abi Talib
Hasan b. Ali (entrusted Imam)
2. Hussain b. Ali
3. Ali b. Hussain
4. Muhammad b. Ali
5. Ja’far b. Muhammad
6. Isma’il b. Ja’far
7. Muhammad b. Isma’il
8. Abdullah b. Muhammad (Ahmad al-Wafi)
9. Ahmad b. Abdullah (Muhammad al-Taqi)
10. Hussain b. Ahmad (Abdullah al-Radi)
11. Abdullah b. Hussain (al-Mahdî)
12. Muhammad b. Abdullah (al-Qâ’im)
13. Isma’il b. Muhammad (al-Mansûr)
14. Ma’ad b. Isma’il (al-Mu’izz)
15. Nizar b. Ma’ad (al-Azîz)
16. Mansur b. Nizar (al-Hâkim)
17. Ali b. Mansur (al-Zâhir)
18. Ma’ad b. Ali (al-Mustansir)
19. Nizar b. Ma’ad
20. Ali b. Nizar (al-Hâdî)
21. Muḥammad Al-Mutadī
22. Hassan I Al-Qāhir
23. Ḥassan II ʻAlā
Dhikrihi-s-Salām
24. Nūr-al-Dīn Muḥammad II (Aʻlā Muḥammad)
25. Jalālu-d-Dīn Ḥassan III
26. ʻAlāʼ ad-Dīn Muḥammad III
27. Ruknu-d-Dīn Khurshāh
28.Shamsu-d-Dīn Muḥammad
It was at this juncture (the fourteenth century) that a schism occurred
among the Nizariya regarding the succession to their twenty-eighth Imam,
Shamsuddin Muhammad. The Mu’miniya branch regard Shamsuddin’s elder son,
Mu’min Shah, as the true Imam, succeeded by his son, Muhammad Shah. Their line
of Imamate continued until Amir Muhammad b. Haydar who vanished in 1796, thus
discontinuing this sect and its Imamate.
The other branch of Nizaris recognised Shamsuddin’s younger son, Qasim
Shah, as his legitimate successor and their 29th Imam, with the
Imamate continuing among his progeny. They are known as the Qâsimiya and
are a unique branch of Shi’ism who alone can boast that they have a living,
present Imam (currently Aga Khan III, Karim – their 49th Imam).
This wraps up the summary of the Isma’iliya and their various branches and
conflicting lines of Imamate. In the next entry we shall discuss the other
major branch of the Imamiya Shi’a who recognised Musa al-Kadim رحمه
الله as the seventh
Imam (the Musawiya and their various branches) ان شاء الله
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