List of Ismaili Imams - Split With Twelvers

Split With Twelvers

The Ismaili 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 al-Kazim, 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 Ismaili groups (known as Seveners, though this term is often applied to Ismailis at large) believed Muhammad ibn Ismaili to be the Mahdi, who had withdrawn into occultation and would return again.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 another dynasty. This caused a split between his followers and those disputing his claim and clinging to Muhammad. The Fatimid's most notable Sevener opponents were the Qarmatians.