al-Ismāʿīliyya al-khāliṣa / al-Ismāʿīliyya al-wāqifa or Sevener () was a branch of Ismā'īlī Shīʻa. They broke off from the more numerous

Twelvers Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the largest branch of Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as t ...

after the death of Jafar al-Sadiq in 765 AD. They became known as "Seveners" because they believed that

Isma'il ibn Ja'far Isma'il ibn Ja'far () was the eldest son of Ja'far al-Sadiq and the sixth 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 Mubarakiyya. It seems likely t ...

was the seventh and last Imam (hereditary leader of the Muslim community in the direct line of Ali). They believed his son,

Muhammad ibn Isma'il Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Maktum (; ) was the eldest son of Isma'il al-Mubarak and the seventh imam in Isma'ilism. When Isma'il died, his son Muhammad continued to live in Medina under the care of his grandfather Ja'far al-Sadiq until the latter' ...

, would return and bring about an age of justice as

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 ...

. Their most well-known and active branch were the Qarmatians.

History, Shia schisms, and Seveners

Seveners and the Fatimid dynasty

List of Imams

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

had been considered as heretics of dubious origins by certain Qarmatian groupsEncyclopedia Iranica, "ʿABDALLĀH B. MAYMŪN AL-QADDĀḤ"
/ref> who refused to acknowledge the imamate of the

Fatimids The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...

and clung to their belief in the coming of the Mahdi.Encyclopedia Iranica, "THE IMAMATE IN ISMAʿILISM"
/ref> * Abadullah ibn Muhammad (Ahmad al-Wafi) (813–829) * Ahmad ibn Abadullah (Muhammad at-Taqi) (829–840) * Husayn ibn Ahmad (Radi Abdullah) (840–881) * Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah (881–934) (Founder of

Fatimid Caliphate The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa and West Asia, i ...

)

References

{{Islam topics, state=collapsed 7 (number) Ismailism Extinct Islamic sects

History, Shia schisms, and Seveners

Seveners and the Fatimid dynasty

List of Imams

Ismaili imams who were not accepted as legitimate by Seveners

See also

References