ʿAbdallāh al-Afṭaḥ ibn Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: عبدالله الافطح بن جعفر الصادق, d. 766 CE / 149 A.H.) was the eldest son of

Ja'far al-Sadiq Ja'far al-Sadiq (; –765) was a Muslim hadith transmitter and the last agreed-upon Shia Imam between the Twelvers and Isma'ilis. Known by the title al-Sadiq ("The Truthful"), Ja'far was the eponymous founder of the Ja'fari school of Isla ...

(after al-Sadiq's death) and the full-brother of

Isma'il ibn Jafar Isma'il ibn Ja'far () was the eldest son of Ja'far al-Sadiq and the sixth List of Isma'ili imams, Imam in Isma'ilism. He carried the epithet of al-Mubarak, on the basis of which one of the earliest Isma'ili groups became designated as the Mubarak ...

. Abdallah's title "''al-Aftah''" derives from the Arabic words "''aftah al-ra’s''" (broad-headed) or "''aftah al-rijlayn''" (broad-footed) used to describe his appearance.

Life

During the lifetime of his father, Abdallah al-Aftah had supported the revolt of his relative

Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al- Ḥasan al-Muthannā ibn al- Ḥasan al-Mujtabā ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib or Muḥammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya (), was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, through his daughter Fati ...

. Following Ja'far al-Sadiq's death, the majority of Ja'far's followers accepted Abdallah al-Aftah as their new

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

. These followers were known as the Fathites and, according to the

Mu'tazili Mu'tazilism (, singular ) is an Islamic theological school that appeared in early Islamic history and flourished in Basra and Baghdad. Its adherents, the Mu'tazilites, were known for their neutrality in the dispute between Ali and his opponents ...

heresiographer In theology or the history of religion, heresiology is the study of heresy, and heresiographies are writings about the topic. Heresiographical works were common in both medieval Christianity and Islam. Heresiology developed as a part of the emerg ...

Abul-Qasim al-Balkhi al-Ka‘bi (d.319 A.H. / 931 CE), they were the biggest and most important section of the followers of Ja'far al-Sadiq.Crone (2005), p
116
To support his claims, Abdallah al-Aftah seems to have claimed a 2nd Nass from his father (following Ismā'īl's demise) and his adherents cited a supposed ''

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

'' from Ja'far al-Sadiq to the effect that the Imamate must be transmitted through the eldest son of the Imam. However, when Abdallah al-Aftah died childlessHalm (2004), p
29
about 70 days after the death of his father, the bulk of his supporters went over to his brother

Musa al-Kazim Musa al-Kazim (; 745–799) was a descendant of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad and the seventh Twelve Imams, imam in Twelver Shi'ism, Twelver Shia Islam. Musa is often known by the title al-Kazim (), apparently ...

. Other Fathites considered Abdallah al-Aftah the 7th Imam and Musa al-Kazim the 8th Imam, while others believed the Imamate came to an end when Abdallah al-Aftah died. Another group invented a son for Abdallah al-Aftah, called Muhammad ibn Abdallah al-Aftah, because they unconditionally believed the Imamate could only be inherited from father to son, rather than from brother to brother. This group also claimed that Muhammad ibn Abdallah al-Aftah was the promised

Mahdi The Mahdi () is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, and will appear shortly before Jesu ...

As "Sāhib al-Haqq"

In a letter sent to the Isma'ili community in Yemen by the first

Fatimid caliph This is a list of an Arab dynasty, the Shi'ite caliphs of the Fatimid dynasty (909–1171). The Shi'ite caliphs were also regarded at the same time as the imams of the Isma'ili branch of Shi'a Islam Shia Islam is the second-largest br ...

Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah Abd Allah (), also spelled Abdullah, Abdhullah, Abdellah, Abdollah, Abdallah, Abdulla, Abdalla and many others, is an Arabic theophoric name meaning ''servant of God'' or "God's follower". It is built from the Arabic words '' abd'' () and ''All� ...

, which was reproduced by

Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman () was an Isma'ili missionary () and theological writer of the 10th century. Originally born and raised in Yemen, where his father Ibn Hawshab had established the Isma'ili in the late 9th century, he fled the country t ...

, Abdallah al-Aftah was referred as Sāhib al-Haqq or the legitimate successor of Ja'far al-Sadiq, in an attempt to explain the genealogy of his ancestors. Instead of tracing his descent to

and his son Muhammad ibn Ismail, al-Mahdi Billah designated al-Aftah as his forefather. According to al-Mahdi Billah, al-Aftah had called himself 'Isma'il ibn Ja'far' for the sake of

taqiyya In Islam, ''taqiyya'' ()R. STROTHMANN, MOKTAR DJEBLI. Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed, Brill. "TAKIYYA", vol. 10, p. 134. Quote: "TAKIYYA "prudence, fear" ... denotes dispensing with the ordinances of religion in cases of constraint of preaching ...

, and each of his successors had assumed the name Muhammad. Al-Mahdi Billah explained the genealogy of the Fatimid Caliphs and claimed Fatimid ancestry by declaring himself to be ʿAli ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn

Aḥmad Ahmad () is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other English spellings of the name include Ahmed. It is also used as a surname. Etymology The word derives from the root ( ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from ...

ibn ʿAbadullāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn

Jaʿfar al-Sadiq Ja'far al-Sadiq (; –765) was a Muslim hadith transmitter and the last agreed-upon Shia Imam between the Twelvers and Isma'ilis. Known by the title al-Sadiq ("The Truthful"), Ja'far was the eponymous founder of the Ja'fari school of Islamic ...

. But the

Imamah (Ismaili doctrine) The doctrine of the Imamate in Shia doctrine, Imamate in Isma'ilism differs from that of the Twelvers because the Isma'ilis had living Imamate, Imams for centuries after the last Twelver Imam went into concealment. They followed Isma'il ibn Ja ...

was later formulated in a different manner since ʿAbdallah al-Mahdi Billah's explanation of his ancestry was not accepted by his successors.Daftary (1992), p
108

Position in the Ismā'īlī-Imāmah doctrine

Genealogy

References

Bibliography