Abū al-Ḥusayn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl ( ar, أحمد بن عبد اللّه بن محمد بن إسماعيل), better known as Muḥammad al-Taqī (born , died , Salamiyah, Syria, Imam: –) is the ninth

Ismāʿīlī 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-S ...

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve ...

. As the Imam, he was the supreme spiritual leader of the

community from his appointment until his death. The

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 ...

and

Musta'li The Musta‘lī ( ar, مستعلي) are a branch of Isma'ilism named for their acceptance of al-Musta'li as the legitimate nineteenth Fatimid caliph and legitimate successor to his father, al-Mustansir Billah. In contrast, the Nizari—the other ...

trace their Imamate lines from him and his descendants who founded the

Fatimid Caliphate The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a ...

. He was succeeded by his son, al-Ḥusayn ibn Aḥmad / ʿAbd Allāh al-Raḍī. The 8th to 10th

Imams were hidden from the public, because of threats from the Abbasid caliphate, and were known by their nicknames. However, the

Dawoodi Bohra The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination within the Ismā'īlī branch of Shia Islam. Their largest numbers reside in India, Pakistan, Yemen, East Africa, and the Middle East, with a growing presence across Europe, North America, South ...

in their religious text, ''Taqqarub'', claim to have the true names of all 21 imams in sequence including those "hidden" imams: 8th Imam Abd Allah ibn Muhammad (Ahmad al-Wafi), 9th Imam Ahmad ibn Abd Allah (Muhammad al-Taqi), and the 10th Imam Husayn ibn Ahmad (Abd Allah al-Radi). Ismaili Da'i,

Idris Imad al-Din Idris Imad al-Din ( ar, إدريس عماد الدين بن الحسن القرشي, Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn ibn al-Ḥasan al-Qurashī; 1392 – 10 June 1468) was the 19th Tayyibi Isma'ili '' Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq'' and a major religious and politic ...

, in his book, ''Uyun al-Akhbar'', claimed that Ahmad authored the epic

Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity The ''Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity'' ( ar, رسائل إخوان الصفا) also variously known as the ''Epistles of the Brethren of Sincerity'', ''Epistles of the Brethren of Purity'' and ''Epistles of the Brethren of Purity and Loyal ...

, concealing his identity, to fight against abrogation of Islam by Ashr'ites and

Mu'tazilites Muʿtazila ( ar, المعتزلة ', English: "Those Who Withdraw, or Stand Apart", and who called themselves ''Ahl al-ʿAdl wa al-Tawḥīd'', English: "Party of ivineJustice and Oneness f God); was an Islamic group that appeared in early Islamic ...

, and rising religious intolerance among Muslims during the reign of Abbasids, especially during the period of

Mihna The Mihna ( ar, محنة خلق القرآن, ''Miḥnat k͟halaq al-Qurʾān'' "ordeal egardingthe createdness of the Qur'an") refers to the period of religious persecution instituted by the 'Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun in 833 CE in which relig ...

instigated by the caliph,

Al-Ma'mun Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو العباس عبد الله بن هارون الرشيد, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn ar-Rashīd; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'm ...

References

Ismaili imams 810s births 840 deaths {{Islam-bio-stub 9th-century Arabs

See also

References