Imamate in Ismaili doctrine
Concept in Ismaili theology / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the imamate in Ismaili doctrine. For the Shia in general, see Imamate in Shia doctrine. For the imamate as conceived in the Nizari branch of Ismailism, see Imamate in Nizari doctrine.
The doctrine of the Imamate in Isma'ilism differs from that of the Twelvers because the Isma'ilis had living Imams for centuries after the last Twelver Imam went into concealment. They followed Isma'il ibn Ja'far, elder brother of Musa al-Kadhim, as the rightful Imam after his father, Ja'far al-Sadiq.[1] The Ismailis believe that whether Imam Ismail did or did not die before Imam Ja'far, he had passed on the mantle of the imamate to his son Muhammad ibn Isma'il as the next imam.[2]