Al-Qāhir ibn al-Muhtadī bi-Quwwat Allāh ( ar, القاهر بن المهتدي بقوة الله) or Ḥasan al-Qāhir was the 22nd Imam of the

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

Nizari The Nizaris ( ar, النزاريون, al-Nizāriyyūn, fa, نزاریان, Nezāriyān) are the largest segment of the Ismaili Muslims, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasize independent ...

Ismailis Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...

. He is believed to have lived in

occultation An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden from the observer by another object that passes between them. The term is often used in astronomy, but can also refer to any situation in which an object in the foreground blocks ...

in the

Nizari Ismaili state The Nizari state (the Alamut state) was a Shia Nizari Ismaili state founded by Hassan-i Sabbah after he took control of the Alamut Castle in 1090 AD, which marked the beginning of an era of Ismailism known as the "Alamut period". Their people w ...

centrered around

Alamut Castle Alamut ( fa, wikt:الموت, الموت, meaning "eagle's nest") is a ruined mountain fortress located in the Alamut region in the South Caspian Sea, Caspian province of Qazvin near the Masudabad, Qazvin, Masoudabad region in Iran, approximately ...

. He is believed to have been represented externally by

Kiya Buzurg-Ummid Kiyā Buzurg-Ummīd ( fa, کیا بزرگ امید; died 1138) was a ''dawah, dāʿī'' and the second ruler (''da'i'') of the Nizari Ismaili state#Rulers and Imams, Nizari Isma'ili State, ruling Alamut Castle from 1124 to 1138 CE (or 518—532 A ...

, and later on by Muhammad ibn Buzurg-Ummid. There is not a great deal known about al-Qahir except that which is recorded traditional doctrine of the

Nizari Isma'ili The Nizaris ( ar, النزاريون, al-Nizāriyyūn, fa, نزاریان, Nezāriyān) are the largest segment of the Isma'ilism, Ismaili Muslims, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasize ...

; he was the father of their 23rd Imam, Hasan 'Ala Zikrihi's-Salam., and according to tradition, revealed himself to his followers in 1164 as the son of "Muhammad al-Muhtadi". However, the existence of al-Qahir and his two predecessors is considered obscure. On the one hand, because they are said to have lived in secrecy and, on the other hand, because contemporary historiographical works by the Ismailis were destroyed in the Middle Ages. The oldest genealogies of the imams following Nizar date from the 15th and 16th centuries. Sunni chroniclers like

Ata-Malik Juvayni Atâ-Malek Juvayni (1226–1283) ( fa, عطاملک جوینی), in full, Ala al-Din Ata-ullah (), was a Persian historian and an official of the Mongol state who wrote an account of the Mongol Empire entitled '' Tarīkh-i Jahān-gushā'' (' ...

consider this story to be a untrue. According to him, Hasan II was actually a biological son of Muhammad ibn Buzurg-Umid, and therefore a false imam. He and his followers had constructed his descent from Nizar († 1095) in order to preserve the right to exist for their branch of

Isma'ilism Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...

References

1126 births 1162 deaths Nizari imams People of the Nizari–Seljuk wars People from Alamut 12th-century Ismailis 12th-century Islamic religious leaders {{Iran-reli-bio-stub