The Tawussite Shia (attributed to ʿAjlan ibn Tawus) were a
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...
group who were a section of the supporters of Imam
Ja'far al-Sadiq
Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...
who denied admitting that he died. They believed that he was the Awaited
Mahdi
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad w ...
and that he was alive and did not die.
After the death of Imam
Muhammad al-Baqir
Muḥammad al-Bāqir ( ar, مُحَمَّد ٱلْبَاقِر), with the full name Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, also known as Abū Jaʿfar or simply al-Bāqir () was the fifth Imam in Shia Islam, succee ...
, the defeat of
Muhammad ibn Abdallah An-Nafs Az-Zakiyya, the triumph of the
Abbasids
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
, and the popularity of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, reports became widespread on his Mahdism. Al-Nubakhti reports that: “Some Shiites (i.e. Tawussites) have reported (falsely) from Imam Sadiq that he said: ‘If you see my head rolling to you from the mountain, you should not believe that, for I am your Sahib (Mahdi)’” and: “If anyone informs you that he nursed me, washed my body (after death) and shrouded me, do not believe him, I am your companion (Sahib) and the companion of the sword.”
Among the Tawussites was Aban ibn Uthman al-Ahmar, who was considered by Shia scholar al-Kashi to have been one of the men of
Ijma
''Ijmāʿ'' ( ar, إجماع , " consensus") is an Arabic term referring to the consensus or agreement of the Islamic community on a point of Islamic law. Sunni Muslims regard ''ijmā as one of the secondary sources of Sharia law, after the Qur' ...
(consensus), i.e. one of the supposed closest people to Imam Sadiq.
[Ikhtiyar Ma’rifah al-Rijal, by Al-Kashi]
See also
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Islamic schools and branches
Islamic schools and branches have different understandings of Islam. There are many different sects or denominations, schools of Islamic jurisprudence, and schools of Islamic theology, or '' ʿaqīdah'' (creed). Within Islamic groups themselves ...
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List of extinct Shia sects
The following is a list of extinct unorthodox movements within Shia Islam. These are movements that no longer have any living followers or practitioners. These movements were created around certain beliefs that were unorthodox and not held by th ...
References
{{Islamic theology, schools
Shia Islamic branches
Schisms in Islam
8th-century Islam