Isma'il ibn Jafar

Isma'il ibn Jafar
Born	103 AH (approximately 722 C.E) Medina
Died	138 AH (approximately 755 C.E)
Resting place	Al-Baqi' Madina Saudi Arabia
Other names	Abu Muhammad, Isma'il Ad-deebaj
Known for	Elder son of Ja'far al-Sadiq, sixth Ismāʿīlī Imām, Syed
Title	az-Azbab-i-Itlaq (Absolute lord), Al-Wafi
Predecessor	Ja'far al-Sadiq According to Ismaili Shia Branch
Successor	Muhammad ibn Ismail According to Ismaili Shia Branch
Children	Muhammad ibn Ismail, Ali ibn Ismail, Fatima
Parent(s)	Ja'far al-Sadiq (father) Fatima bint al-Hussain'l-Athram bin al-Hasan bin Ali (mother)
Relatives	Musa al-Kadhim

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Early Imāms Ali Hasan Husayn as-Sajjad al-Baqir Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar al-Mubārak Muhammad ibn Ismāʿīl ash-Shākir ʿAbadu l-Lāh (al-Wāfī Ahmad) Ahmad (al-Taqī Muhammad) Ḥusayn (ar-Raḍī ʿAbdillāh) ʿAbdu l-Lāh al-Mahdī bi l-Lāh al-Qāʾim al-Manṣūr al-Muʿizz al-ʿAzīz al-Ḥākim al-Ẓāhir al-Mustanṣir bi l-Lāh Nizār al-Muṣṭafā li-Dīn’il-Lāh / Aḥmadu l-Mustāʿlī bi l-Lāh Manṣūr al-Āmir bi-Aḥkām’il-Lāh Abu l-Qāsim al-Tayyib
Nizari Ismaili and Taiyabi Da'is  Nizārī Ismā'īlī Aga Khan IV Taiyabi-Musta’li Ismailis Dawoodi Bohra Disputed between Mufaddal Saifuddin and Taher Fakhruddin Sulaymani Al-Fakhri Abdullah Alavi Bohra Haatim Zakiyuddin
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Ismāʿīl ibn Ja‘far al-Mubārak (Arabic: إسماعيل بن جعفر‎‎; c. born: 719 AD, Medina - died circa 755 AD, Medina) was the eldest son of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, and he was the full-brother of Abdullah al-Aftah. His mother, Fatima bint al-Hussain'l-Athram bin al-Hasan bin Ali, was the first wife of Ja'far al-Sadiq. Following Ja'far's death, the Shia community split between the element that would become the Twelver Shia, and those who believed the Imamate passed through to Ismail's son; the Ismaili branch of Shia Islam is accordingly named for Ismail.^[1] According to both the Nizari and Mustaali Shia sects, he is the sixth Imam.

The Ismāʿīlī-Ithna’asheri Division

Ismāʿīlī followed Ismail ibn Jafar as the sixth Imam after Ja'far al-Sadiq^[2] instead of them, Twelver Shia Muslims follow Musa al-Kadhim as successor of Jafar ibn Muhammad.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Ismāʿīlī sources deny the death of Isma'il Ibn Jafar in the life of Jafar ibn Muhmmad^[10] However other Shia and Sunni Muslims believe that he died in the life of Jafar ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq.^{[11][12][13][14][15][16]}

Burial Place

According to Ismāʿīlī sources, he is buried in Al-Salamiyah, a city located in Syria.^[17] Twelver Shia's and Sunni Muslims sources have contradicted this information, stating that he was buried in Al-Baqi' Medina, the holy Islamic city located in Saudi Arabia.^{[18][19][20][21][22][23]} However, some Ismāʿīlī sources also point to Al-Baqi' Madina as the burial place of Isma'il ibn Jafar.^[24]

Biography

He was born in Shawwal in 100 AH/719 C.E. To protect him from persecution, his father sent him into hiding and publicly declared him deceased. The majority Twelver groups however argue that Ismail actually died, and that the funeral was not a fraud. He died during the Imamat of Imam Ja'far al- Sadiq in the year 138 AH/756 C.E. Ismaili sources say that after the age of seven, as the designated successor, Ismail was kept apart from his siblings, limited his contact with the public and took personal responsibility for his education. Given his father Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq's own reputation as a scholar and the number of distinguished students who sought out his tuition, Ismail would have received high quality training. It is also said that whenever he was ill and unable to fulfill his duties as Imam he deputized Ismail, although this role was restricted to the confines of the residence. According to Daftary, Ismail may have taken part in an anti-Abbasid plot in 755 and identified with the more activist, or militant Shi'a (some of whom split off as the Zaydis).[1] He may have been summoned to the Caliph's court with others to face charges but according to Daftary he was spared execution, unlike some of his fellow plotters.[2] In about 762, Ismail may have let Madina for Basra, although this is disputed. He is said to have had a full grasp of the esoteric truth, the inner message of Islam. He was succeeded by his son, Muhammad, as the 8th Ismaili Imam, who was about 22 at the time. Some Ismailis believe that Muhammad bin Ismail became "Hidden" and will return as the Mahdi, to establish universal peace and justice. According to Daftary, he may have led a revolt against the Abbasids in 815, "and died shortly afterwards."[3] He probably lived in "southwestern Persia ... from where he dispatched his own Dais to adjoining areas."[4]

References