Ismailism

Ismailism, historically and among its followers called Batiniyya, is a branch of Shia Islam. Like all Shia Muslims, Ismailis see a difference between the outward (zahir) and inward (batin) meanings of Islam, but they place a particularly strong focus on the inner, esoteric side. Within Shia Islam, Ismailis are a minority, while the Twelvers make up the largest group.

The name Ismaili comes from their belief that Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar was the rightful spiritual successor (Imam) after Ja'far al-Sadiq. This sets them apart from Twelver Shia, who consider Musa al-Kazim, Isma'il's younger brother, to be the true Imam. In short, Ismailis recognize Isma'il ibn Jafar as the sixth Imam. Ismaili thought has been heavily shaped by Neoplatonism.

After Muhammad ibn Isma'il died in the 8th century CE, Ismaili teachings developed further into the belief system known today, with a clear focus on the deeper, hidden meaning of Islam. As Usulism and Akhbarism grew into more literalist traditions, Shia Islam split into two paths. On one side are the metaphorical groups—Ismaili, Alevi, Bektashi, Alian, and Alawite—who concentrate on the mystical nature of God and see the "Imam of the Time" as the embodiment of esoteric truth and divine reality. On the other side are the more literalist Usuli and Akhbari groups, who emphasize divine law (sharia) and the deeds and sayings (sunnah) of Muhammad and the Twelve Imams, whom they view as guides and a light to God.

The largest Ismaili group is the Nizaris, who recognize Aga Khan V as the 50th hereditary Imam. Another group is the Tayyibi sect. The region with the highest percentage of Ismailis is Gorno-Badakhshan, but Ismailis also live in Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, Lebanon, Malaysia, Syria, India, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, East Africa, Angola, Bangladesh, and South Africa. In recent years, they have emigrated to Europe, Russia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Trinidad and Tobago.

**History**

**Succession crisis**

Ismailism began like other early Shia sects, emerging from the succession crisis that spread through the early Muslim community. From the start, Shia Muslims insisted that Ali, Muhammad’s cousin, should have both political and spiritual authority over the community, along with his two sons, who were Muhammad’s grandsons through his daughter Fatima. The conflict between Ali’s supporters and those who favored a semi-democratic system of electing caliphs stayed relatively peaceful until the third Rashidun caliph, Uthman, was killed and Ali took power with popular support.

Soon after Ali became caliph, Aisha—Muhammad’s third wife—along with Uthman’s tribe, the Umayyads, demanded that Ali seek blood revenge for Uthman’s death. Ali disagreed, believing the situation called for a peaceful resolution. Both sides had valid claims, but misunderstandings escalated into the Battle of the Camel. Aisha was defeated but was escorted back to Medina with respect by Ali.

After that battle, Mu'awiya I, the Umayyad governor of Syria, also rebelled under the same pretext. Ali led his forces against Mu'awiya until Mu'awiya’s side raised copies of the Quran on their spears, demanding that the dispute be decided by Islam’s holy book. Ali agreed, and an arbitration ruled in his favor. However, a group in Ali’s army thought that submitting his legitimate authority to arbitration was apostasy and abandoned him. This group, the Khawarij, was defeated by Ali before they could reach cities and blend in with the population. Although he could not wipe them out completely, he defeated their forces in later battles.

Despite these defeats, the Kharijites survived and became a violent problem in Islamic history. They plotted to assassinate Ali, Mu'awiya, and the arbitrator. A Kharijite succeeded in killing Ali in 661 CE. The Imamate then passed to his son Hasan ibn Ali, and later to his son Husayn ibn Ali. According to Nizari Ismaili tradition, Hasan was an "Entrusted Imam" and Husayn was the "Permanent Imam." An Entrusted Imam is a full Imam, but the lineage of the Imamate must continue through the Permanent Imam. Meanwhile, Mu'awiya, the only leader with a large enough army, took control of the political Caliphate.

Some of Ali’s early followers saw him as "an absolute and divinely guided leader" whose demands required the same loyalty expected for the Prophet. One of Ali’s supporters, also devoted to Muhammad, told him: "our opinion is your opinion and we are in the palm of your right hand." These early followers viewed Ali’s guidance as "right guidance" coming from Divine support—in other words, Ali’s authority expressed God’s will and the Quranic message. This spiritual and absolute authority of Ali was known as *walayah*, and it was passed down to his successors, the Imams.

In the first century after Muhammad, the term *sunnah* was not specifically defined as "the sunnah of the Prophet," but was used in connection with Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and some Umayyad caliphs. The idea of *hadith*, or traditions attributed to Muhammad, was not mainstream, nor was *qiyas* (analogical reasoning) criticized. Even early legal texts by Malik ibn Anas and Abu Hanifa used many methods, including analogical reasoning and personal opinion, and did not rely exclusively on *hadith*.