Isma'il Ibn Jafar - The Nizar-Mustali Division

The Nizar-Mustali Division

The reign of the 8th Fatimid Caliph al-Mustansir billah (1035-1094 CE) is noted for the longest Caliphate in Muslim history and it is full of very significant events. During this period the Fatimid Empire touched its highest peak and then fell into a sharp decline. When Imam al-Mustansir died in 1094 CE, the Ismaili mission saw its greatest rift and division in its entire history.

Ordinarily the Fatimid Caliphs kept a personal control on three most important offices of their government namely the Civil Administration, the dawa and the Armed Forces. In 1074 CE, however, Imam al-Mustansir invited Badr al-Jamali, his military governor of Palestine, to come over to Cairo and bestowed upon him all the three key offices of the State mentioned above. Thus Badr al-Jamali became the most powerful person and de facto ruler of Egypt where as the Caliph himself remained merely a figurehead. The real power was wielded by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces (Amir-al-Joshen) and this office came to be associated with the family of Badr who was succeeded by his son al-Afdal.

Al-Mustansir had already designated (nass) to his eldest son Nizar as his successor and it was wholeheartedly accepted by most Ismaili circles. On the death of al-Mustansir (1094 CE), however, his prime minister and commander of the army, al-Afdal, proclaimed his brother-in-law, al-Mustali, a teenaged son of al-Mustansir as the successor to his father as the Fatimid Caliph. It is easily seen that al-Afdal had a vested interest in the appointment of al-Afdal, who had no public followings and who would consequently be dependent on his powerful patron. It seems that he had already figured it out before the death of al-Mustansir, as he gave his sister in marriage to this young prince and made the ties with him absolutely firm. Afdal explained to the public that the deceased Imam and Caliph, al-Mustansir billah, on his deathbed changed his nomination in favour of his younger son al-Mustali and cancelled his earlier nomination of his eldest son Nizar. He produced a few witnesses to certify the new nomination, and thus put al-Mustali on the throne of the Fatimid Caliphate.

This decision, however, had far-reaching effects on the future aspiration of the Ismailis, who were totally split on this point of succession.

Ismailis loyal to Nizar, argued that the first nomination had never been cancelled and that it contradicted the basic principle of the Ismailis, and for the same principle they had not accepted the second nomination of Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq, Musa al-Kazim, and had remained faithful to his first nomination in favour of Ismail. Most Ismailis living within the countries under direct rule of the Fatimids accepted the Imamate of al-Mustali but those who supported Nizar as their Imam were forced to accept the Imamat of al-Mustali, who was duly installed as the 9th Fatimid Caliph in Cairo.

Imam Nizar fled to Alexandria where he had a substantial following, but after an armed struggle was defeated by the armies of his brother al-Afdal. Imam Nizar was arrested, brought to Cairo and imprisoned till his death. There were four more Fatimid Caliphs from the line of al-Mustali ruling in Cairo but could not be considered more than a local Egyptian dynasty without power or influence. The Ismaili dream of a Universal Caliphate was thus lost.

The supporters of Nizar managed to develop an Ismaili state in Iran and Syria whose founder and main architect was Hasan-i-Sabbah, the subject of my forthcoming book. He laid the foundations of a small but strong Ismaili state.