Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad

The Imamites
 
 
 
The Imamites are those who state that the imamate was confirmed by stipulation from the Prophet, may 
Allah bless him and grant him peace, by a clear text and certainty and that it was a definite and specific 
appointment. They cite certain traditions from the Prophet, as well as particular events in the life of the 
Prophet, as evidence for the appointment of ‘Ali. They agree that al-Hasan and then al-Husayn were the 
Imams after ‘Ali. At this point, however, there is disagreement and they divide into groups, the largest of 
which are the Ithna ‘asharites (Twelvers) and Isma‘ilis. 
The Ithna ‘asharites (Twelvers) 
 

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They believed that after al-Husayn, the imamate went to ‘Ali Zayn al-‘Abidin, then Muhammad al-Baqir, 
followed by Ja‘far as-Sadiq, then his son Musa al-Kadhim, then ‘Ali ar-Rida, then Muhammad al-Jawwad, 
then ‘Ali al-Hadi, then al-Hasan al-‘Askari and then his son Muhammad, the twelfth Imam. They believe that 
he has gone into occultation. 
The Isma‘ilis
 
 
 
They are a branch of the Imamites who take their name from Isma‘il ibn Ja‘far. They are also called the 
Batiniya because of their view about the “concealed Imam”. This group believe that Ja‘far designated his son, 
Isma‘il, as Imam. The result of this is that, even though he died before his father, the imamate continued 
among his descendants. So the imamate passed to his son Muhammad al-Maktum, the first of the concealed 
Imams, and then to his son Ja‘far al-Musaddiq and then his son Muhammad al-Habib, the last of the concealed 
Imams, and then to his son, ‘Abdullah al-Mahdi, who gained control over North Africa and from whom the 
Fatimid dynasty derives. 
The Kharijites