Editing Shia Islam (section)

====Ismāʿīlī Imams====
{{main|List of Ismaili imams}}

In the [[Nizari Isma'ilism|Nizārī]] [[Isma'ilism|Ismāʿīlī]] interpretation of Shia Islam, the [[Imamate in Nizari doctrine|Imam]] is the guide and the intercessor between humans and God, and the individual through whom God is recognized. He is also responsible for the [[esoteric interpretation of the Quran]] (''taʾwīl''). He is the possessor of divine knowledge and therefore the "Prime Teacher". According to the "Epistle of the Right Path", a Persian Ismāʿīlī prose text from the post-[[Mongol invasions and conquests|Mongol period]] of Ismāʿīlī history, by an anonymous author, there has been a chain of Imams since the beginning of time, and there will continue to be an Imam present on the Earth until the end of time. The worlds would not exist in perfection without this uninterrupted [[List of Isma'ili imams|chain of Imams]]. The proof (''[[hujja]]'') and gate (''[[Bab (Shia Islam)|bāb]]'') of the [[Imamate in Nizari doctrine|Imam]] are always aware of his presence and are witness to this uninterrupted chain.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Virani |first=Shafique N. |date=2010 |title=The Right Path: A Post-Mongol Persian Ismaili Treatise |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00210860903541988 |journal=Iranian Studies |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=197–221 |doi=10.1080/00210860903541988 |issn=0021-0862 |s2cid=170748666}}</ref>

After the death of [[Isma'il ibn Ja'far|Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar]], many Ismāʿīlīs believed that one day the [[Islamic eschatology|eschatological figure]] of Imam [[Mahdi]], whom they believed to be [[Muhammad ibn Isma'il|Muhammad ibn Imam Ismāʿīl]], would return and establish an age of justice. One group included the violent [[Qarmatians]], who had a stronghold in [[Bahrain]]. In contrast, some Ismāʿīlīs believed the Imamate ''did'' continue, and that the Imams were in Occultation and still communicated and taught their followers through a network of ''[[Dawah|Da'i]]'' ("Missionaries").

In 909 CE, [[Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah]], a claimant to the Ismāʿīlī Imamate, established the [[Fatimid Caliphate]]. During this period, three lineages of Imams were formed. The first branch, known today as the [[Druze]], began with [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah|Al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh]].<ref name="Timani 2021">{{cite book |author-last=Timani |author-first=Hussam S. |title=Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |year=2021 |isbn=978-90-04-43554-4 |editor1-last=Cusack |editor1-first=Carole M. |editor1-link=Carole M. Cusack |series=Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion |volume=21 |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |pages=724–742 |chapter=Part 5: In Between and on the Fringes of Islam – The Druze |doi=10.1163/9789004435544_038 |issn=1874-6691 |editor2-last=Upal |editor2-first=M. Afzal |editor2-link=Afzal Upal |doi-access=free}}</ref> Born in 985 CE, he ascended as ruler at the age of eleven. When in 1021 CE his mule returned without him, soaked in blood, a religious group that was forming in his lifetime broke off from mainstream Ismāʿīlīsm and did not acknowledge his successor.<ref name="Timani 2021" /> Later to be known as the Druze, they believe Al-Ḥākim to be God incarnate<ref name="Poonawala">{{cite journal |last=Poonawala |first=Ismail K. |date=July–September 1999 |title=Review: ''The Fatimids and Their Traditions of Learning'' by Heinz Halm |journal=[[Journal of the American Oriental Society]] |publisher=[[American Oriental Society]] |volume=119 |issue=3 |page=542 |doi=10.2307/605981 |issn=0003-0279 |jstor=605981 |lccn=12032032 |oclc=47785421}}</ref> and the prophesied Mahdi on Earth, who would one day return and bring justice to the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=al-Hakim bi Amr Allah: Fatimid Caliph of Egypt |url=http://baheyeldin.com/history/al-hakim-bi-amr-allah-fatimid-caliph-of-egypt.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070406065948/http://baheyeldin.com/history/al-hakim-bi-amr-allah-fatimid-caliph-of-egypt.html |archive-date=6 April 2007 |access-date=24 April 2007}}</ref> The Druze faith further split from Ismāʿīlīsm as it developed into a distinct [[Monotheism|monotheistic]] [[Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic religion]] and [[ethno-religious group]] with its own unique doctrines,<ref name="Timani 2021" /> and finally separated from both Ismāʿīlīsm and Islam altogether.<ref name="Timani 2021" /> Thus, the Druze do not identify themselves as Muslims,<ref name="Timani 2021" /> and are not considered as such by Muslims either.<ref name="Timani 2021" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Pintak |first=Lawrence |title=America & Islam: Soundbites, Suicide Bombs and the Road to Donald Trump |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-78831-559-3 |page=86}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jonas |first=Margaret |title=The Templar Spirit: The Esoteric Inspiration, Rituals and Beliefs of the Knights Templar |publisher=Temple Lodge Publishing |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-906999-25-4 |page=83 |quote=[Druze] often they are not regarded as being Muslim at all, nor do all the Druze consider themselves as Muslim}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=8 August 2018 |title=Are the Druze People Arabs or Muslims? Deciphering Who They Are |url=https://www.arabamerica.com/are-the-druze-people-arabs-or-muslims-deciphering-who-they-are/ |access-date=13 April 2020 |website=Arab America |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=J. Stewart |first=Dona |title=The Middle East Today: Political, Geographical and Cultural Perspectives |publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-135-98079-5 |page=33 |quote=Most Druze do not consider themselves Muslim. Historically they faced much persecution and keep their religious beliefs secrets.}}</ref>

The second split occurred between [[Nizari Isma'ilism|Nizārī]] and [[Musta'li Ismailism|Musta‘lī]] Ismāʿīlīs following the death of Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah in 1094 CE. His rule was the longest of any caliph in any Islamic empire. Upon his death, his sons, [[Nizar (Fatimid Imam)|Nizār]] (the older) and [[Al-Musta'li|Al-Musta‘lī]] (the younger), fought for political and spiritual control of the dynasty. Nizār was defeated and jailed, but according to the Nizārī tradition his son escaped to [[Alamut]], where the [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] Ismāʿīlī had accepted his claim.<ref name="DaftaryShort1998p106">{{cite book |last=Daftary |first=Farhad |title=A Short History of the Ismailis |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-7486-0687-0 |location=Edinburgh |pages=106–108}}</ref> From here on, the Nizārī Ismāʿīlī community has continued with a present, living Imam.

The [[Musta'li Ismailism|Musta‘lī Ismāʿīlīs]] split between the [[Tayyibi Isma'ilism|Ṭayyibi]] and the [[Hafizi Isma'ilism|Ḥāfiẓi]]; Ṭayyibi Ismāʿīlīs, also known as "Bohras", are further divided between [[Dawoodi Bohra|Dawudi Bohras]], [[Sulaymani|Sulaymani Bohras]], and [[Alavi Bohras]]. The former denomination claims that [[At-Tayyib Abi l-Qasim]], son of [[Al-Amir bi-Ahkami l-Lah]], and the Imams following him went into a period of anonymity (''Dawr-e-Satr'') and appointed a ''[[Da'i al-Mutlaq]]'' ("Unrestricted Missionary") to guide the community, in a similar manner as the Ismāʿīlīs had lived after the death of Muhammad ibn Imam Ismāʿīl. The latter denomination claims that the ruling Fatimid caliph was the Imam, and they died out with the fall of the Fatimid Empire.