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Isma'il ibn Jafar Imams of Ismaili Shi'a Islam
Rank	Sixth Nizari Imām Seventh Mustaali Imām
Name	Isma'il ibn Jafar
Kunya	Abu Muhammad
Birth	100/103 AH ≈ 719/722 C.E.
Death	158 AH ≈ 775 C.E.
Birthplace	Medina
Buried	Salamiyah, Syria
Life Duration	Before Imamate: 45-48 years (100/103 - 148) Imamate: 10 years (148 - 158 AH)
Titles	az-Azbab-i-Itlaq (Absolute lord)
Spouse(s)	???
Father	Ja'far al-Sadiq
Mother	Hamidah Khatun
Children	Muhammad ibn Ismail (successor), Ali, Fatima
Ali · Ḥassan · Ḥusain as-Sajjad · al-Baqir · aṣ-Ṣādiq Ismā‘īl · Muḥammad Aḥmad · at-Taqī · az-Zakī al-Mahdī · al-Qā'im · al-Manṣūr al-Mu‘izz · al-‘Azīz · al-Ḥākim az-Zāhir · al-Mustansir · Nizār al-Musta′lī · al-Amīr · al-Qāṣim Aga Khan I · Aga Khan II Aga Khan III · Aga Khan IV

Isma‘il ibn Ja‘far (Arabic: إسماعيل بن جعفر‎ c. 721 CE/103 AH - 755 CE/138AH) was the eldest son of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. Isma‘il was an Imam of the Isma‘ili branch of the Imami Shi'a. According to both Nizari and Mustaali he is the sixth Imam. He was buried in Jannat al-Baqi.^{[citation needed]}

Most Shī‘ī traditions acknowledge Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq thought his son, Ismā‘īl ibn Ja‘far "al-Mubārak", would be heir to the Imamate. However, Ismā‘īl predeceased his father.

Some of the Shī‘ah claimed Ismā‘īl had not died, but rather gone into occultation, but the proto-Ismā‘īlī group accepted his death and therefore that his eldest son, Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl, was now Imām. Muḥammad remained in contact with this "Mubārakiyyah" group, most of whom resided in Kūfah.

In contrast, most Twelvers believe that because of the death of the designated heir, Ja‘far appointed Mūsá al-Kāżim, another son, the new Imām. Musa was 28 years younger than Isma'il.^[1] This is the initial point of divergence between the proto-Twelvers and the proto-Ismā‘īlī. This disagreement over the proper heir to Ja‘far has been a point of contention between the two groups ever since.

Some Twelver believe that Ismail was never given the nuss (designation of the Imamate), while others believe he was such as Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, however the designation was changed, called bada'.

Isma'il ibn Jafar of the Ahl al-Bayt Banu Hashim Clan of the Quraish Born: 100/103 AH ≈ 719/722 C.E. Died: 158 AH ≈ 775 C.E.
Shī‘a Islam titles
Preceded by Jafar al-Sadiq	6th or 7th Imam of Ismailism 765 – 775	Succeeded by Muhammad ibn Ismail

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Imam Reza (A.S.). Network

[edit] Links

• Imam Ismail's house in Syria

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