Muhammad al-Maktum

Seventh of the Isma'ili Shia Imams (740–813)
مُحَمَّد ٱلْمَكتُوم
Seventh Imam of Isma'ilism
7th Isma'ili ImamIn office
775 – 813 CEPreceded byIsma'il al-MubarakSucceeded byAhmad al-Wafi Titleal-Maktum(lit.'the hidden one')
al-Shakir(lit.'the grateful one')PersonalBorn122 AH
≈ 740 AD
Medina
Died197 AH
≈ 813 AD
Salamiyah
ReligionShia IslamChildren
List of children
    • Ahmad al-Wafi
    • Ja'far
    • Isma'il
    • Ali
    • Husayn
    • Abdullah
    • Yahya
    • Ahmad
Parents
  • Isma'il al-Mubarak (father)
  • Umm Farwa (mother)
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Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Maktum (Arabic: مُحَمَّد ٱبْن إسْماعِيل ٱلْمَكتُوم, romanizedMuḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Maktūm; c. 740–813) 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's death in 148/765. After the death of Abd Allah al-Aftah, Muhammad was the senior most member of this Fatimid branch of al-Husayn's descendants. However, due to the rival group that recognized Musa al-Kazim and the Abbasid persecution of all Fatimids, Muhammad fled Medina with his sons for the east. For this reason, he was known as al-Maktum (lit.'the hidden one'). He had two sons when living in Medina and then four more sons after his emigration, among whom was his successor Ahmad al-Wafi. Muhammad's descendants became the Fatimid caliphs of Egypt.

Life

Muhammad was the eldest son of Isma'il ibn Ja'far. His mother was a slave-wife (umm al-walad) called Umm Farwa.[a] He was also the eldest grandson of Ja'far al-Sadiq and, according to the records of Idris Imad al-Din (d. 1468), he was twenty-six years old when al-Sadiq died, which means that his birth date was 122/740.[1] The Dastūr al-Munajjimīn, in fact, places his birth in Dhu al-Hijja 121/November 739. Muhammad passed his early life with his grandfather for 24 years and 10 years with his family in Medina.[2]

He was the Imam of the Mubarakiyya and the eldest male member of al-Sadiq's family, after the death of his uncle Abd Allah al-Aftah; furthermore, all sources agree that he was older than his uncle Musa al-Kazim by about eight years.[3] As such, he enjoyed a certain degree of esteem and seniority in this Fatimid branch of the Alid family.[3] However, after the recognition of the Imamate of Musa al-Kazim by the majority of al-Sadiq's followers, Muhammad's position became untenable in his native Hejaz where his uncle and chief rival Musa also lived.[3][4] It was probably then, not long after al-Sadiq's death, that Muhammad left Medina for the east and went into hiding, henceforth acquiring the epithet al-Maktum (lit.'the hidden one').[3]

The Sunni historian al-Tabari (d. 923) refers to Muhammad as a rāwī, a title he must have earned before his concealment.[2][5]

He was in Medina when he rose to the protection of the religion of God, despatched his da'is, spread his doctrine, and ordered his missionaries to scarch for the 'land of refuge' (dar hijra) in which to seek safety.[5]

— Idrid Imad al-Din, ʿUyūn al-Akhbār

Juvayni (d. 1283) records that, during the Abbasid persecution carried out against Isma'il ibn Ja'far, Muhammad and his brother Ali were in hiding in Medina.[1] Muhammad left Medina to escape Abbasid espionage and thereafter lived incognito, his whereabouts being known to only a few of his most responsible followers.[5] Different sources mention various localities and regions as his final destination, but it is certain that he first went to southern Iraq and then to Persia.[3][6] According to the later Isma'ilis, this emigration marks the beginning of the period of concealment (dawr al-satr) in early Isma'ilism, the concealment ending with the establishment of the Fatimid caliphate (r. 909–1171).[7]

Muhammad ibn Isma'il seems to have spent the latter part of his life in Khuzestan, in southwestern Persia, where he had a certain number of supporters and from where he despatched his own da'is to adjoining areas.[8]

Death

The exact date of Muhammad's death remains unknown. But it is almost certain that he died during the caliphate of the celebrated Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809), perhaps soon after 179/795–796, the year in which al-Rashid, continuing the anti-Alid policy of his predecessors, arrested Musa al-Kazim in Medina and banished him to Iraq as a prisoner. The Twelver sources, which are hostile to Muhammad ibn Isma'il, maintain that it was he who betrayed Musa to the Abbasids, though they also relate the story of a reconciliation between these two Fatimids prior to Muhammad's departure for Iraq.[8]

Family

Muhammad had two sons who were apparently born to him before his migration to the East,—Isma'il and Ja'far.[9][8] They seem to be quite historical, left large posterity, are very rarely referred to in Isma'ili works, and apparently played no part in sectarian life.[9] After his emigration, he had four more sons, including Abdullah, who, according to the later Isma'ilis, was his rightful successor.[8][10]

See also

  • iconShia Islam portal
  • Islam portal

Footnotes

  1. ^ al-Mufid records an Umm Farwa as the full sister of Isma'il ibn Ja'far. So, there might be a possibility of confusion in Idris' record.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Buyukkara 1997, p. 63.
  2. ^ a b Tajddin 2009, p. 25.
  3. ^ a b c d e Daftary 2007, p. 95.
  4. ^ Buyukkara 1997, pp. 63, 64.
  5. ^ a b c Hollister 1953, p. 205.
  6. ^ Buyukkara 1997, p. 64.
  7. ^ Daftary 2007, pp. 95, 96.
  8. ^ a b c d Daftary 2007, p. 96.
  9. ^ a b Ivanow 1942, p. 38.
  10. ^ Tajddin 2009, pp. 26, 28.

Sources

  • Daftary, Farhad (2007). The Ismāʿı̄lı̄s: Their History and Doctrines (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-61636-2.
  • Tajddin, Mumtaz Ali (2009). Brief history of the Shia Ismaili Imams. Karachi.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Ivanow, Vladimir (1942). Ismaili Tradition Concerning the Rise of the Fatimids. Islamic Research Association. ISBN 978-0-598-52924-4.
  • Hollister, John Norman (1953). The Shi'a of India. Luzac. ISBN 978-8170691068.
  • Buyukkara, Mehmet Ali (1997). The Imāmi Shi'i movement in the time of Mūsā al-Kāẓim and 'Ali al-Riḍa. Edinburgh University Press.
Muhammad al-Maktum
of the Ahl al-Bayt
Clan of the Quraysh
Born: 122 AH 740 AD Died: 197 AH 813 AD
Shia Islam titles
Preceded by 7th Imam of Isma'ilism
775–813
Succeeded by
  • v
  • t
  • e
Twelver
Hafizi
Tayyibi
  1. Hasan
  2. Husayn
  3. Ali al-Sajjad
  4. Muhammad al-Baqir
  5. Ja'far al-Sadiq
  6. Isma'il al-Mubarak
  7. Muhammad al-Maktum
  8. Abdallah (Wafi Ahmad)
  9. Ahmad (Taqi Muhammad)
  10. Husayn (Radhi Abdallah)
  11. Abdallah al-Mahdi#
  12. Muhammad al-Qa'im#
  13. Isma'il al-Mansur#
  14. Ma'ad al-Mu'izz#
  15. Nizar al-Aziz#
  16. Mansur al-Hakim#
  17. Ali al-Zahir#
  18. Ma'ad al-Mustansir#
  19. Ahmad al-Musta'li#
  20. Mansur al-Amir#
  21. Abu'l-Qasim al-Tayyib
Nizari
(Qasim-Shahi)
  1. Ali
  2. Husayn ibn Ali
  3. Ali al-Sajjad
  4. Muhammad al-Baqir
  5. Ja'far al-Sadiq
  6. Isma'il al-Mubarak
  7. Muhammad al-Maktum
  8. Abdallah (Wafi Ahmad)
  9. Ahmad (Taqi Muhammad)
  10. Husayn (Radhi Abdallah)
  11. Abdallah al-Mahdi#
  12. al-Qa'im#
  13. Isma'il al-Mansur#
  14. Ma'ad al-Mu'izz#
  15. Nizar al-Aziz#
  16. Mansur al-Hakim#
  17. Ali al-Zahir#
  18. Ma'ad al-Mustansir#
  19. Nizar
  20. Ali al-Hadi
  21. Muhammad (I) al-Muhtadi
  22. Hasan (I) al-Qahir
  23. Hasan (II) Ala Dhikrihi's Salam
  24. Nur al-Din Muhammad II
  25. Jalal al-Din Hasan III
  26. Ala al-Din Muhammad III
  27. Rukn al-Din Khurshah
  28. Shams al-Din Muhammad
  29. Qasim Shah
  30. Islam Shah
  31. Muhammad ibn Islam Shah
  32. Ali Shah (al-Mustansir Billah II)
  33. Abd al-Salam Shah
  34. Gharib Mirza (al-Mustansir Billah III)
  35. Abu Dharr Ali
  36. Murad Mirza
  37. Khalil Allah I (Dhu'l-Faqar Ali)
  38. Nur al-Dahr Ali
  39. Khalil Allah II Ali
  40. Shah Nizar II
  41. Sayyid Ali
  42. Sayyid Hasan Ali
  43. Qasim Ali
  44. Abu'l-Hasan Ali
  45. Shah Khalil Allah III
  46. Aga Khan I
  47. Aga Khan II
  48. Aga Khan III
  49. Aga Khan IV
Nizari
(Mu'mini)
  1. Ali
  2. Husayn ibn Ali
  3. Ali al-Sajjad
  4. Muhammad al-Baqir
  5. Ja'far al-Sadiq
  6. Isma'il al-Mubarak
  7. Muhammad al-Maktum
  8. Abdallah (Wafi Ahmad)
  9. Ahmad (Taqi Muhammad)
  10. Husayn (Radhi Abdallah)
  11. Abdallah al-Mahdi#
  12. al-Qa'im#
  13. Isma'il al-Mansur#
  14. Ma'ad al-Mu'izz#
  15. Nizar al-Aziz#
  16. Mansur al-Hakim#
  17. Ali al-Zahir#
  18. Ma'ad al-Mustansir#
  19. Nizar
  20. Ali al-Hadi
  21. Muhammad (I) al-Muhtadi
  22. Hasan (I) al-Qahir
  23. Hasan II
  24. Nur al-Din Muhammad II
  25. Jalal al-Din Hasan III
  26. Ala al-Din Muhammad III
  27. Rukn al-Din Khurshah
  28. Shams al-Din Muhammad
  29. Ala al-Din Mu'min Shah
  30. Muhammad Shah
  31. Radi al-Din I
  32. Tahir
  33. Radi al-Din II
  34. Shah Tahir
  35. Haydar I
  36. Sadr al-Din Miuhammad
  37. Mu'in al-Din I
  38. Atiyyat Allah
  39. Aziz Shah
  40. Mu'in al-Din II
  41. Amir Muhammad
  42. Haydar II
  43. Amir Muhammad II
  • § in occultation
  • # Fatimid caliphs
  • in concealment