Thedoctrine of theImamate inIsma'ilism differs from that of theTwelvers because the Isma'ilis had livingImams for centuries after the last Twelver Imam went into concealment. They followedIsma'il ibn Ja'far, elder brother ofMusa 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 sonMuhammad ibn Isma'il as the next imam.[2]
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According to some early Isma'ilis, theSeveners, as well as theQarmatians, a splinter group, the number of imams was fixed, with seven Imams preordained by God.[3] These groups considerMuhammad ibn Isma'il, the foundation Imam of the Isma'ili branch ofShia Islam, to be theMahdi and to be preserved in hiding, which is referred to asthe Occultation.[4]
Qarmatians believed thatMuhammad ibn Isma'il wasImāmal-Qā'imal-Mahdi, and the last of the great messenger–prophets.[3] On his reappearance, he would bring a new religious law by abrogating the one conveyed by the Islamic prophetMuhammad. Qarmatians recognized a series ofSeven law-announcing prophets calledūlul’l-ʿazm, namely,Nūh,Ibrāhīm,Mūsā,ʿIsā,Muhammad bin ʿAbd Allāh,Ali ibn Abu Tālib, andMuhammad bin Ismā‘īl, who was the seal of the series.[3]
| Imām | Personage | Period |
| 1 | Ali ibn Abi Talib[3] Imām and a messenger - prophet(Rasūl) as well | (632–661) |
| 2 | Hasan ibn Ali | (661–669) |
| 3 | Husayn ibn Ali | (669–680) |
| 4 | Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin | (680–713) |
| 5 | Muhammad al-Baqir | (713–733) |
| 6 | Ja'far al-Sadiq | (733–765) |
| 7 | Muhammad ibn Isma'il[3] Imāmal-Qā'imal-Mahdi also a messenger-prophet(Rasūl) | (775–813) |
According to the early Ismāʿīlis, God sent Seven greatprophets, known asnātiq "speakers", in order to disseminate and improve Islam. All of these great prophets has an assistant, the Sāmad (Silent) Imam. After six silent imams, anātiq was sent to reinvigorate Islam. AfterAdam and his sonSeth, and after six “Nātiq”(Speaker) – “Sāmad”(Silent) silsila[5] (Noah–Shem), (Abraham–Ishmael), (Moses–Aaron orJoshua), (Jesus–Simeon), (Muhammad bin ʿAbd Allāh–Ali ibn Abu Tālib); the silsila of “Nātıqs and Sāmads have been completed with (Muhammad bin Ismā‘īl as-ṣaghīr (Maymūn al-Qaddāh[6]) –ʿAbd Allāh Ibn-i Maymūn[7] and his sons).
Early Ismāʿīlis believed that hierarchical history of the mankind is created inSeven Eras of various durations each one inaugurated by "speaker-prophet" (known asnātiq). In the firstSix Eras of human history,nātiqs orūlul’l-ʿazm had beenAdam,Nūh,Ibrāhīm,Mūsā,ʿIsā,Muhammad bin ʿAbd Allāh. Qarmatians, on the other hand, originally includedAli ibn Abu Tālib instead of Adam in their list of law-announcing prophets. Later substitution of Adam in place of Ali as one of the nātiqs, and the reduction of Ali's rank from a prophet level to that of Muhammad's successor indicate the renouncement of their extremist views. Furthermore, they believed that each of the first six nātiqs were succeeded by a spiritual legatee calledwāsi or foundationasās or silentsāmit, who interpreted the inner esoteric(batin) meaning of the revelation. Eachsāmit in turn was followed bySeven Imāms calledatimmā', who guarded the true meaning of the scriptures and the laws.[8]
In theIsmaili interpretation, the Imam is the guide and the intercessor between humans and God, and the individual through whom God is recognized. He is also responsible for the interpretation (ta’wil) of theQuran. He is the possessor of divine knowledge and therefore the “Prime Teacher”. According to the “Epistle of the Right Path”, a PersianIsmaili prose text from the post-Mongol period ofIsmaili history, by an anonymous author, there has been a chain of Imams since the beginning of time, and there will continue to be an Imam present on the Earth until the end of time. The worlds would not exist in perfection without this uninterruptedchain of Imamate. The proof (hujja) and gate (bāb) of the Imam are always aware of his presence and are witness to this uninterrupted chain.[9]
According toNasir al-Din al-Tusi, aNizari Ismaili intellectual of theAlamut period, the Imams are the Possessors of the Command, upon whom obedience is ordered by God inSura an-Nisa, Ayah 59: "Obey God and obey the Messenger and the Possessors of the Command". An old command may be superseded by a newer one, and therefore those who hold to the command rather than the Commander, in the Ismaili view, may go astray. Through this framework, the Ismailis give primacy to the living Word, or the Imam of the Time, over the recorded word.[10]
TheNizari andMusta'li have several Imams in common; the Nizari considerAli the first Imam and his son Hasan apir while the Musta'li label himal-Asās or "the Foundation" and call Hasan the first Imam.
| Nizari | Musta'li | Personage | Period |
| 1 | Asās/Wāsīh | Ali | (632–661) |
| Pir | 1 | Hasan ibn Ali | (661–669) Mustaali |
| 2 | 2 | Husayn ibn Ali | (669–680) (Mustaali) (661–680) (Nizari) |
| 3 | 3 | Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin | (680–713) |
| 4 | 4 | Muhammad al-Baqir | (713–733) |
| 5 | 5 | Ja'far al-Sadiq | (733–765) |
| 6 | 6 | Isma'il ibn Ja'far | (765–775) |
| 7 | 7 | Muhammad ibn Isma'il | (775–813) |
