al-Ismāʿīliyya al-khāliṣa / al-Ismāʿīliyya al-wāqifa[1] or Seveners (
Arabic: سبعية) was a branch of
Ismā'īlī Shīʻa. They broke off from the more numerous
Twelvers after the death of
Jafar al-Sadiq in 765 AD. They became known as "Seveners" because they believed that
Isma'il ibn Ja'far was the seventh and last Imam (hereditary leader of the Muslim community in the direct line of Ali).[2] They believed his son,
Muhammad ibn Isma'il, would return and bring about an age of justice as
Mahdi. Their most well-known and active branch were the
Qarmatians.
Sometimes "Sevener" is used to refer to
Ismā'īlīs overall, though mainstream
Musta'li and
Nizari Isma'ilis have far more than seven imams.
Ismaili imams who were not accepted as legitimate by Seveners
The following Ismaili imams after
Mahdi had been considered as heretics of dubious origins by certain
Qarmatian groups[3] who refused to acknowledge the imamate of the
Fatimids and clung to their belief in the coming of the Mahdi.[4]