Sevener


al-Ismāʿīliyya al-khāliṣa / al-Ismāʿīliyya al-wāqifa or Seveners was a branch of Ismā'īlī Shīʻa. They became known as "Seveners" because they believed that Isma'il ibn Jafar was the seventh and the last Imam. They believed his son, Muhammad ibn Isma'il, would return and bring about an age of justice as Mahdi. Their most famous and active branch were the Qarmatians.

History, Shia schisms, and Seveners

Seveners and the Fatimid dynasty

List of Imams

ImāmSevener al-Ismāʿīliyya al-khāliṣa ImāmPeriod
1Ali - First Ismā'īlī Imām
2Hasan ibn Ali - Second Ismā'īlī Imām
3Husayn ibn Ali - Third Ismā'īlī Imām
4Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin - Fourth Ismā'īlī Imām
5Muhammad al-Baqir - Fifth Ismā'īlī Imām
6Ja'far al-Sadiq - Sixth Ismā'īlī Imām
7Isma'il ibn Jafar - Seventh Ismā'īlī Imām

Sometimes "Sevener" is used to refer to Ismā'īlīs overall, though mainstream Musta'li and Nizari Isma'ilis have far more than seven imams.

Ismaili imams who were not accepted as legitimate by Seveners

The following Ismaili imams after Mahdi had been considered as heretics of dubious origins by certain Qarmatian groups who refused to acknowledge the imamate of the Fatimids and clung to their belief in the coming of the Mahdi.