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.

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Early Imams
Ali · Ḥassan · Ḥusain as-Sajjad · al-Baqir · aṣ-Ṣādiq Ismā‘īl · Muḥammad Abdullah /Wafi Ahmed / at-Taqī Husain/ az-Zakī/Rabi  · al-Mahdī al-Qā'im · al-Manṣūr al-Mu‘izz · al-‘Azīz · al-Ḥākim az-Zāhir · al-Mustansir · Nizār al-Musta′lī · al-Amīr · al-Qāṣim
Groups and Present leaders
Nizārī · Aga Khan IV Dawūdī  · Dr. Burhanuddin Sulaimanī  · Al-Fakhri Abdullah Alavī  · Ṭayyib Ziyā'u d-Dīn

Early Imams

Ismāʿīlīs share the following Imāms with the Twelver Shīʿah.Ismaili refer Imam Hasan as 1st Imam whereas Twelver refer Ali ibn Abi Talib as 1st Imam and Hasan ibn Ali as the second Imam .Hence Ismailis number the Hassan through Jafar as one numeral lower than do the Twelvers. The Zaydi Shi'a branch broke from this chain after Ali ibn Husayn, following Zayd ibn Ali rather than Muhammad al-Baqir.

Mustaali (Dawoodi Bohra, Sulaimani, Alavi Bohra) list

1. Hasan ibn Ali
2. Husayn (الحسين إبن علي), son of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, died 680
   
3. ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn (علي زين العابدين), son of Husayn, died 713
   
4. Muḥammad al-Bāqir (محمد الباقر), son of ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn, died 732
   
5. Jaʿfar aṣ-Ṣādiq (جعفر الصادق), son of Muḥammad al-Bāqir, died 765

Nizārī

1. . Ali
   
2. . Hussein ibn Ali (الحسين إبن علي), son of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, died 680
   
3. . ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn (علي زين العابدين), son of Husayn, died 713
   
4. . Muḥammad al-Bāqir (محمد الباقر), son of ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn, died 732
   
5. . 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Several Ismāʿīlī groups believed Muhammad to be the Mahdi, who had withdrawn into occultation and would return again.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"). 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 (born Abdullah ibn Mohammad)(Died 829), 1st Da'i of the Ismaili mission, according to Ismaili tradition son of Muhammad

9. Taqi Muhammad (born Ahmad ibn Abadullah)( Died-840), son of Abdallah, 2nd Da'i of the Ismaili mission

10. Rabi Abdullah (born Husain ibn Ahmad) ( Died-909), son of Muhammad

11. Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah, son of Hussayn, 4th Da'i of the Ismaili mission, openly announced himself as Imam, 1st Fatimid Caliph, died 934

12. Muhammad al-Qaim Bi-Amrillah, leader of the Ismailis, openly announced himself as Imam, 2nd Fatimid Caliph, died 946

13. Ismail al-Mansur, 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 Mustaʿlī.

Mustaali

The Mustaʿlī recognized as the rightful Imam:

19. Aḥmad al-Mustaʿlī, (son of Abū Tamīm Ma'add al-Mustanṣir bi-llāh), 9th Fatimid Caliph, died 1101.

20. Al-Āmir bi-Aḥkāmillāh, son of al-Mustaʿlī, 10th Fatimid Caliph, died 1130.

Hafizi Muslims claim that 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:

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.

The Fatimid dynasty and the Hafizi branch ended with Al-'Āḍid's death.

Tayyibi

21. Aṭ-Ṭayyib Abī-l-Qāsim

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.

Nizari

The Nizārī recognized as the rightful imams:

19. Nizār b. al-Mustanṣir billāh ابن المستنصر بالله نزار, (son of Abū Tamīm Ma'add al-Mustanṣir bi-llāh), died 1095.

20. Al-Hādī ibn Nizār الهادي (hidden)

21. Al-Mutadī المهتدي (hidden)

22. Al-Qāhir القاهر (hidden)

23. Ḥassan II ʻAlā Dhikrihi-s-Salām حسن على ذكره السلام (fourth Lord of Alamut, self-revealed as imam in 1164, died 1166)

24. Nūru-d-Dīn Muḥammad II نور الدين محمد or Aʻlā Muḥammad اعلى محمد (in Alamut, died 1210)

25. Jalālu-d-Dīn Ḥassan III جلال الدين حسن (in Alamut, died 1221)

26. ʻAlāʼ ad-Dīn Muḥammad III على الدين محمد (in Alamut, died 1255)

27. Ruknu-d-Dīn Khurshāh ركن الدين خرشاه (last Lord of Alamut, died 1257 k. by the Mongols)

28. Shamsu-d-Dīn Muḥammad شمس الدين محمد (died 1310)

29. Qāsim Shāh قاسم شاه

30. Islām Shāh اسلام شاه

31. Muḥammad b. Islām Shāh محمد ابن اسلام شاه

32. Al-Mustanṣir billāh II المستنصر بالله (died 1498)

33. ʻAbdu-s-Salām Shāh عبد السلام شاه

34. Gharīb Mīrzā غريب ميرزا

35. Abū Dharr ʻAlī ابو ذر علي or Nūru-d-Dīn نور الدين

36. Murād Mīrzā مراد ميرزا

37. Dhū-l-Fiqār ʻAlī ذو الفقار علي or Khalīlullāh I خليل الله

38. Nūru-d-Dīn ʻAlī نور الدين علي

39. Khalīlullāh II ʻAlī خليل الله علي

40. Nizār نظار

41. As-Sayyid ʻAlī السيد علي

42. Ḥasan ʻAlī حسن علي

43. Qāsim ʻAlī قاسم علي

44. Abū-l-Ḥasan ʻAlī ibn Qāsim ʻAlī ابو الحسن علي

45. Shāh Khalīlullāh III شاه خليل الله

46. Ḥassan ʻAlī Shāh Āgā Khān I حسن علي شاه اغا خان or Shāh Ḥassan ʻAlī شاه حسن علي (born 1804, died 1881; reigned 1817 to 1881)

47. Āqā ʻAlī Shāh Āgā Khān II اقا علي شاه اغا خان or Shāh ʻAlī Shāh شاه علي شاه (born 1830, died 1885; reigned 1881 to 1885)

48. Sulṭān Muḥammad Shāh Āgā Khān III سلطان محمد شاه اغا خان (born 1877, died 1957; reigned 1885 to 1957)

49. The current Imām Shāh Karīmu-l-Ḥussaynī Āgā Khān IV شاه كريم الحسيني اغا خان (born 1936; reigning from 1957)

References

• Daftary, Farhad (1990). The Ismāʿīlīs: Their history and doctrines. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp. 551–553. ISBN 0-521-42974-9. 
• Halm, Heinz (1988). Die Schia. Darmstadt, Germany: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. pp. 193–243. ISBN 3-534-03136-9. 
• International Imam Organization