Ismaili

A branch of the Ismaili known as the Saaabiyin or Seveners held that Ismail's son, Muhammad, was the seventh and final Imam (a belief inaccurately but commonly ascribed to Ismailis as a whole). There is still a small Sevener Ismaili community in parts of Saudi Arabia to this date.

Related Topics:
Sevener - Imam - Saudi Arabia

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In the face of persecution, the bulk of the Ismailis continued to recognize imams who secretly propagated their faith through missionaries (da'is) from their bases in Syria. However by the 10th century, an Ismaili Imam, Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah (previously Sa'id bin Husayn), had emigrated to North Africa and had successfully established the new Fatimid state in Tunisia. His successors subsequently succeeded in conquering much of North Africa (including the prized Egypt) and parts of Arabia. The capital for the Fatimid state hence shifted to the newly founded city of Cairo. from which the Fatimid Caliph-Imams ruled for several generations.

Related Topics:
Imam - Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah - Fatimid - Cairo - Caliph

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A group of followers of the 16th Imam, Hakim bi-Amr-Allah broke away from the mainstream Ismailis to form the Druze religion.

Related Topics:
Imam, - Hakim bi-Amr-Allah - Druze

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A more fundamental split amongst the Ismaili occurred on the dispute of which son should succeed the 18th Imam, Mustansir. Mustaali, his younger son, was installed as Imam in Cairo with the help of Vizier Badr al-Jamali. However, Mustansir's elder son Nizar contested this claim and was imprisoned; he gained support from an Ismaili da'i based in Iran, Hasan as-Sabbah. Sabbah is noted by Western writers to be the leader of the legendary Assassins.

Related Topics:
Imam - Mustansir - Mustaali - Cairo - Badr al-Jamali - Nizar - Iran - Hasan as-Sabbah - Assassins

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The Fatimid state eventually collapsed after Mustaali's successor Amir was assassinated, but Mustaali Ismaili held that Amir had left a son named Tayyib who had gone into seclusion and that the imamate continued in his progeny during this time. They also regarded a succeeding chain of Yemeni da'is as representatives of the imam. In time, the seat for one chain of dais was transferred to India as the community split several times, each recognizing a different da'i.

Related Topics:
Fatimid - Mustaali

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Today the Dawoodi Bohras, which constitute the majority of the Mustaali Ismailis accept Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin as the 52nd da'i. The Dawoodi Bohras are based in India. While lesser known and smallest in number, Alavi Bohras accept as the 44th "da'i" : Da'i-e-Mutlaq, H.H. Saiyedna Abu Haatim Taiyeb Ziyauddin Saheb (TUS).

Related Topics:
Dawoodi Bohras - Mustaali - Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin - Alavi Bohras - H.H. Saiyedna Abu Haatim Taiyeb Ziyauddin Saheb (TUS)

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There has been, in recent years, a reapprochment between the Yemeni Mustaalis and the followers of the da'i based out of Mumbai. The Bohras are noted to be the more traditional of the two main groups of Ismaili, maintaining rituals such as prayer and fasting more consistently with other Muslim and Shi'a sects, although a reformist movement has emerged within the sect challenging the authoritarian Dawoodi Bohra clergy.

Related Topics:
Yemen - Mustaali - Mumbai - Muslim - Shi'a - Dawoodi Bohra

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The largest part of the Nizari Ismaili community today accepts Prince Karim Aga Khan IV as their 49th Imam. The 46th Imam, Aga Hasan Ali Shah, fled Iran to the Indian subcontinent in the 1840s after a failed coup against the Shah of the Qajar dynasty. Aga Hasan Ali Shah settled in Bombay in 1848. The Aga Khan was recognized as the legitimate Imam over Shia Ismaili Muslims in Bombay through a legal case at the Bombay high Court in 1866. The Judge in this case, Sir Joseph Arnold, ruled that the Khoja Muslim community was Ismaili (and not Sunni), that the Aga Khan was its leader, he was due the traditional tithes of the community and that community property belonged to his Imamate.

Related Topics:
Nizari - Prince Karim Aga Khan IV - Imam - Bombay - 1848 - Khoja - Sunni

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The Aga Khans have been in contact with various Nizari Ismaili communities around the world and several have accepted them as their Hazar Imam or 'Present Imam'. Deputations came to Mumbai to receive the Imam's guidance from as far afield as Kashgar in China, Bokhara in Central Asia, and all parts of Iran and the Middle East.

Related Topics:
Aga Khan - Nizari - Imam - Mumbai - Kashgar - China - Bokhara - Central Asia - Iran - Middle East

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