Biographies of the Imams in the Nizari Ismaili line, from Ali ibn Abi Talib to the present Imam, Mawlana Shah Rahim al-Hussaini, Aga Khan V.
This page follows the 49-Imam biographical sequence published by the Institute of Ismaili Studies through Aga Khan IV, and adds the current 50th Imam using the official Ismaili community biography. Historical records are uneven: dates and personal details are uncertain or undocumented for many early and concealed Imams. Where evidence is sparse, this is stated rather than filled with invented details. Honorifics are shown after every Imam’s name as requested.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 1 in this Nizari sequence
Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.)
c. 600–661 CE
Ali ibn Abi Talib (c. 599–661) was Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law and the husband of Fatima. In the Ismaili understanding of succession, he is the first Imam; other Muslim traditions also honour his central place while describing succession differently. He became the fourth caliph in 656, amid civil conflict, and was killed in Kufa in 661. His legacy reaches beyond political leadership: IIS scholarship describes his influence on theology, Qur’anic interpretation, law, spirituality and literature. The surviving record does not provide a dependable account of his childhood or private family life.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 2 in this Nizari sequence
Husayn ibn Ali (a.s.)
626–680 CE
Husayn ibn Ali (c. 626–680), son of Ali and Fatima and grandson of Prophet Muhammad, became Imam after his brother Hasan in the Ismaili sequence. In 680 he and a small group of relatives and companions were killed at Karbala after refusing to endorse Yazid’s rule; accounts differ in detail, and the event became a lasting centre of Shi‘i remembrance. His life before Karbala is less fully documented than the significance later communities attached to him. HSKRC distinguishes the historical outline from devotional interpretation and does not invent a childhood narrative.
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Imam 3 in this Nizari sequence
Ali Zayn al-Abidin (a.s.)
c. 659–713 CE
Ali Zayn al-Abidin (c. 658–713), son of Husayn, survived the events at Karbala and continued the Imamate in the Ismaili line. Later accounts remember him for devotion, teaching and prayer. The work known as al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is a collection of supplications associated with his name and early Shi‘i piety; its attribution and transmission belong to a wider manuscript history. Sources provide only a limited public record of his day-to-day life, so this biography focuses on succession and intellectual-religious legacy rather than uncertain anecdotes.
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Imam 4 in this Nizari sequence
Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.)
c. 676–732 CE
Muhammad al-Baqir (c. 676–732), son of Ali Zayn al-Abidin, led the community through the final decades of Umayyad rule and was succeeded by his son Ja‘far al-Sadiq. IIS scholarship describes him as a major early Muslim scholar whose teaching helped shape Shi‘i law and thought; traditions associated with him became important sources for later Ismaili and other Shi‘i jurisprudence. Accounts of his life are preserved mainly through later religious and historical writing, so exact dates and episodes require care. His intellectual legacy is better documented than details of his private life.
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Imam 5 in this Nizari sequence
Ja'far al-Sadiq (a.s.)
c. 702–765 CE
Ja‘far al-Sadiq (c. 702–765) succeeded his father Muhammad al-Baqir. His lifetime spanned the fall of Umayyad rule and the establishment of the Abbasid caliphate. Encyclopaedia Iranica notes that he largely avoided joining major political uprisings and pursued a scholarly Imamate in Medina, where he taught and attracted a broad circle of students. His legal and religious authority was recognised across communities, though later traditions sometimes present conflicting reports. In Ismaili history, succession through his son Isma‘il is foundational; accounts of the designation and Isma‘il’s death differ, and HSKRC marks that disagreement rather than flattening it.
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Imam 6 in this Nizari sequence
Isma'il ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq (a.s.)
c. 719–755 CE · dates and succession accounts debated
Isma‘il ibn Ja‘far was Ja‘far al-Sadiq’s eldest son by his first wife, Fatima, and is the sixth Imam in the Ismaili sequence. Encyclopaedia Iranica stresses that few details about his life can be established securely: even the date and circumstances of his death are disputed. Many reports place his death before his father’s in Medina, while some Ismaili traditions hold that he survived him. The succession narratives that followed shaped early Ismaili history, including the line through his son Muhammad ibn Isma‘il. HSKRC presents these as competing traditions rather than a settled single account.
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Imam 7 in this Nizari sequence
Muhammad ibn Isma'il (a.s.)
8th–9th century · dates uncertain
Muhammad ibn Isma‘il occupies a central place in early Ismaili accounts of succession after Isma‘il ibn Ja‘far. His lifetime is associated with the movement’s early period of concealment, when Ismaili leaders and missionaries worked through guarded networks rather than public institutions. Later traditions differ in how they describe his role and the expectation attached to his return, so the surviving evidence does not support a confident public chronology. Ismaili histories nevertheless preserve him as the link between the early Imams and the later concealed line.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 8 in this Nizari sequence
'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad (Wafi Ahmad) (a.s.)
9th century · dates uncertain
‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad, known in the Ismaili succession as Wafi Ahmad, is counted among the Imams of the early concealment period. Abbasid surveillance and political danger meant that the Imams’ public identities were guarded while the da‘wa relied on trusted missionaries and dispersed communities. Later Ismaili sources preserve Wafi Ahmad’s place in the line leading to the Fatimid dynasty, but dates and details of his personal life are not independently secure. The period is better understood through the history of the concealed Imamate and its networks than through a conventional court biography.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 9 in this Nizari sequence
Ahmad ibn 'Abd Allah (Taqi Muhammad) (a.s.)
9th century · dates uncertain
Ahmad ibn ‘Abd Allah, known as Taqi Muhammad in the Ismaili succession, followed Wafi Ahmad during the concealed Imamate. The early da‘wa’s headquarters shifted within Syria as leaders sought safety from Abbasid agents; Salamiyya later became an important centre from which the movement organized for several decades. This context is documented more securely than Taqi Muhammad’s own movements. Ismaili genealogical sources preserve his succession, while a detailed personal chronology remains unavailable.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 10 in this Nizari sequence
Husayn ibn Ahmad (Radi al-Din 'Abd Allah) (a.s.)
9th century · dates uncertain
Husayn ibn Ahmad, known in Ismaili sources as Radi al-Din ‘Abd Allah, is the third of the early concealed Imams listed before al-Mahdi. The period’s secrecy protected the Imams while Ismaili missionaries built networks across the Muslim world; Salamiyya served as a clandestine centre of the da‘wa before the Fatimid movement emerged publicly in North Africa. Later community traditions preserve Radi al-Din’s place in the succession, but his exact dates and personal history remain uncertain. Historians distinguish this lineage account from reports by opponents of the Fatimids.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 11 in this Nizari sequence
'Abd Allah al-Mahdi Billah (a.s.)
873–934 CE · Imam-Caliph from 909
Born Sa‘id ibn al-Husayn, he emerged from the period of concealed leadership when he declared the Imamate publicly in 899. As Abbasid pressure intensified, he left Salamiyya in Syria, travelled west, and was proclaimed Imam and caliph in Ifriqiya in 909. This transformed the Ismaili da‘wa into a ruling Fatimid state. Al-Mahdi first governed from the region of Raqqada and later established the coastal city of Mahdiyya as a new centre. His reign focused on building institutions and consolidating rule in North Africa; earlier campaigns toward Egypt did not succeed.
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Imam 12 in this Nizari sequence
al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah (a.s.)
893–946 CE · Imam-Caliph 934–946
Muhammad al-Qa’im succeeded his father, al-Mahdi, in 934 and ruled until 946. He continued the Fatimid effort to expand eastward, including campaigns toward Egypt, but Abbasid resistance prevented success. The defining crisis of his reign was the revolt led by Abu Yazid, which brought the Fatimid state close to collapse and reached the gates of Mahdiyya. Al-Qa’im died during the revolt; his son al-Mansur led the counteroffensive that ultimately restored Fatimid control. The surviving public record centres on these political and military events, with fewer details about his private life.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 13 in this Nizari sequence
al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah (a.s.)
913–953 CE · Imam-Caliph 946–953
Isma‘il al-Mansur succeeded al-Qa’im in 946 while the Abu Yazid revolt was still a threat. He took command of the counteroffensive, defeated the rebellion, and restored Fatimid authority across Ifriqiya. To mark the recovery and strengthen the state, he founded a new royal residence near Qayrawan, al-Mansuriyya, which served as a political centre for his successors. His short reign (946–953) consolidated the dynasty after a near-fatal crisis and prepared the way for the wider expansion under his son al-Mu‘izz. Accounts of private and early life are sparse compared with the record of the revolt.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 14 in this Nizari sequence
al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (a.s.)
932–975 CE · Imam-Caliph 953–975
Al-Mu‘izz ruled from 953 to 975 and oversaw the Fatimid transition from a North African power to an Egyptian-based empire. After years of Ismaili missionary work and earlier unsuccessful campaigns, he sent Jawhar al-Siqilli to lead the 969 campaign that secured Egypt. Jawhar negotiated guarantees for the population and began founding al-Qahira (Cairo); al-Mu‘izz and his court moved there in 973, making Egypt the Fatimid centre. His reign strengthened administration, diplomacy and cultural life across the Mediterranean. The move to Cairo became the defining event of his Imamate and reshaped the history of the region.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 15 in this Nizari sequence
al-'Aziz Billah (a.s.)
955–996 CE · Imam-Caliph 975–996
Nizar al-‘Aziz succeeded his father al-Mu‘izz in 975 and became the first Fatimid Imam-caliph to rule from Egypt from the outset of his reign. Under him, Cairo grew as the dynasty’s political and cultural capital, while Fatimid authority extended across Egypt, parts of Syria and the Mediterranean. His government managed diplomacy and conflict with neighbouring powers, including the Byzantines and the Buyids. Scholarship describes his reign (975–996) as a period of political stability and cultural, intellectual and architectural growth. He was succeeded by his son al-Hakim; detailed accounts of his childhood and family life remain limited.
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Imam 16 in this Nizari sequence
al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (a.s.)
985–1021 CE · Imam-Caliph 996–1021
Abu ‘Ali Mansur was eleven when he succeeded his father in 996, and he ruled as Fatimid Imam-Caliph from Cairo for nearly twenty-five years. The Dar al-‘Ilm, founded in 1005, became a notable centre of learning. His policies have been interpreted differently by later writers; in February 1021 he left for the Muqattam hills and did not return. The circumstances of his disappearance remain uncertain.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 17 in this Nizari sequence
al-Zahir li-I'zaz Din Allah (a.s.)
1005–1036 CE · Imam-Caliph 1021–1036
Born in Cairo in 1005, Abu’l-Hasan ‘Ali succeeded his father al-Hakim in 1021 as the seventh Fatimid Imam-Caliph. Because he was still young, his aunt Sitt al-Mulk secured the succession and governed as regent until her death in 1023. Al-Zahir’s reign continued Fatimid rule in Egypt and its remaining provinces during a period of court and regional challenges; he was succeeded by his son al-Mustansir in 1036.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 18 in this Nizari sequence
al-Mustansir Billah (a.s.)
1029–1094 CE · Imam-Caliph 1036–1094
Abu Tamim Ma‘add became Fatimid Imam-Caliph in 1036 as a child and reigned for almost sixty years, one of the longest reigns in medieval Islamic history. The later decades brought severe political and economic strain, including famine and factional conflict. Al-Mustansir called Badr al-Jamali to Egypt in 1074, and the vizier restored central authority. When al-Mustansir died in 1094, the succession dispute between his sons Nizar and al-Musta‘li divided the Ismaili movement.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 19 in this Nizari sequence
Nizar ibn al-Mustansir (a.s.)
c. 1045–1095 CE · dates approximate
Abu Mansur Nizar, the eldest surviving son of al-Mustansir, became the focus of the 1094 succession crisis. Nizari accounts hold that his father had designated him as Imam; the Fatimid vizier al-Afdal instead installed Nizar’s younger half-brother al-Musta‘li in Cairo. Nizar’s revolt in Alexandria was defeated, and he died in captivity in 1095. His supporters maintained his claim and the line of Imams recognized by Nizari Ismailis.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 20 in this Nizari sequence
al-Hadi (a.s.)
Late 11th–early 12th century · dates uncertain
Al-Hadi is the first Imam in the Nizari line after Nizar, according to Nizari Ismaili succession. The community was under intense pressure after the 1094 split, and the early Imams remained concealed while their followers organized beyond Fatimid control. Later Nizari accounts preserve his place in the lineage, but independent contemporary evidence for his movements and personal life is scarce.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 21 in this Nizari sequence
al-Muhtadi (a.s.)
12th century · dates uncertain
Al-Muhtadi is the second concealed Imam in the Nizari succession after Nizar. The Nizari community was building a separate network in Iran and Syria, with Alamut becoming its principal base after Hasan Sabbah took the fortress in 1090 and the succession rupture deepened in 1094. Because the Imams’ identities were deliberately protected, later Ismaili histories preserve the succession more clearly than a public biography; surviving chronicles are incomplete and often written by outsiders.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 22 in this Nizari sequence
al-Qahir (a.s.)
12th century · dates uncertain
Al-Qahir is named as the third concealed Imam in the Nizari succession after Nizar. Nizari tradition places him in the line that preceded Hasan II, who became the first openly manifest Imam of the Alamut period in 1162. The interval is difficult to reconstruct: the Mongol conquest later destroyed much of the Nizari archive at Alamut, while hostile external chronicles preserve only fragments. The evidence supports the succession claim more securely than a detailed account of al-Qahir’s life.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 23 in this Nizari sequence
Hasan 'ala dhikrihi al-salam (Hasan II) (a.s.)
c. 1126–1166 CE · Imam 1162–1166
Hasan II became the fourth ruler of Alamut in 1162 and was recognized by his followers as Imam. He had studied Ismaili doctrine and esoteric interpretation, and his authority was already acknowledged by some Nizaris before his accession. On 8 August 1164, at a formal gathering at Alamut, he proclaimed the qiyama, a spiritual declaration whose meaning and treatment of religious law became central to Nizari thought. He was killed in 1166; his son Nur al-Din Muhammad succeeded him.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 24 in this Nizari sequence
Nur al-Din Muhammad (Ala Muhammad) (a.s.)
1148–1210 CE · Imam 1166–1210
Nur al-Din Muhammad succeeded his father Hasan II in 1166, aged seventeen, and led the Nizari state and da‘wa from Alamut for forty-four years. His long reign was the longest of the Alamut lords. He elaborated the doctrine of qiyama announced by his father and managed a network of communities and fortresses across Persia and Syria. He died in 1210 and was succeeded by his eldest son Jalal al-Din Hasan.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 25 in this Nizari sequence
Jalal al-Din Hasan (a.s.)
1187–1221 CE · Imam 1210–1221
Jalal al-Din Hasan succeeded his father at Alamut in 1210. At his accession he publicly repudiated the qiyama doctrine and announced adherence to Sunni forms of Islamic law, a policy that improved relations with neighbouring Muslim rulers and the Abbasid caliphate. Nizari Ismailis continued to regard him as their Imam; historians note that the public change in practice did not mean the community abandoned its Imamate. He ruled until 1221 and was succeeded by his son ‘Ala al-Din Muhammad.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 26 in this Nizari sequence
Ala al-Din Muhammad (a.s.)
1211–1255 CE · Imam 1221–1255
‘Ala al-Din Muhammad succeeded his father in 1221, aged nine, and ruled at Alamut until 1255. His early government continued his father’s policy of accommodation with Sunni powers; later, his rule faced internal tensions and the growing Mongol threat. Nizari strongholds remained centres of administration, scholarship and community life. After his death, his son Rukn al-Din Khurshah inherited a state already under severe pressure from Hülegü’s campaign.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 27 in this Nizari sequence
Rukn al-Din Khurshah (a.s.)
c. 1230–1257 CE · Imam 1255–1257
Rukn al-Din Khurshah became Imam and ruler of Alamut in 1255, as Hülegü’s Mongol forces advanced into Iran. He sent envoys and negotiated, but the Mongols demanded the surrender of Alamut and other Nizari fortresses. Khurshah surrendered Alamut in December 1256; the Mongols dismantled the Nizari state and destroyed much of its library and archive. Khurshah was later killed in Mongol custody. The end of Alamut’s political rule did not end the Nizari Imamate or community.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 28 in this Nizari sequence
Shams al-Din Muhammad (a.s.)
13th–14th century · dates uncertain
Shams al-Din Muhammad became Imam in 1257, after the Mongols executed his father, Rukn al-Din Khurshah. He survived by living clandestinely in Azerbaijan, likely in or near Tabriz, where Nizari followers used the Sufi cover name Ikhwan al-Safa. A contemporary Nizari poet, Nizari Quhistani, indicates that he saw the Imam in Tabriz in 1280. The episode shows how the Imamat and community continued after Alamut despite the loss of their headquarters and archives.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 29 in this Nizari sequence
Qasim Shah (a.s.)
14th century · dates uncertain
Qasim Shah followed Shams al-Din Muhammad in the post-Alamut succession, a period for which public records are unusually thin. Nizari communities preserved the Imamate through family and regional networks while avoiding exposure under Mongol rule. Later sources also record a succession disagreement that produced the Qasim-Shahi and Muhammad-Shahi lines; available evidence does not support a detailed chronology of Qasim Shah’s private life, so this biography distinguishes the established succession tradition from uncertain particulars.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 30 in this Nizari sequence
Islam Shah (a.s.)
14th–15th century · dates uncertain
Islam Shah belongs to the post-Alamut line of Imams who guided Nizari communities during a renewed period of concealment. Researchers have found traces of continuing Ismaili activity in the southern Caspian region and Quhistan, but the sources do not securely establish a single public residence or a full personal chronology for this Imam. The name also appears among more than one later Nizari Imam, a reminder that titles and names in this period should not be treated as unique identifiers without additional evidence.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 31 in this Nizari sequence
Muhammad ibn Islam Shah (a.s.)
15th century · dates uncertain
Muhammad ibn Islam Shah is named in the Qasim-Shahi line after Islam Shah and before the Anjudan revival. The centuries after the Mongol conquest are documented unevenly: community memory and later genealogies preserve the Imams’ succession, while external chronicles rarely identify them directly. Scholarly research has also shown that several later Imams bore the title Islam Shah, and that the rival Muhammad-Shahi branch complicates some identifications. His place in the Qasim-Shahi line is recorded; further personal detail remains uncertain.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 32 in this Nizari sequence
Mustansir Billah (Anjudan period) (a.s.)
15th century · dates uncertain
Mustansir bi’llah is identified by Farhad Daftary as the first Qasim-Shahi Imam to establish his residence at Anjudan, where a Nizari community was already present. He died in 1480, and his leadership marks the beginning of the Anjudan revival: Nizaris cautiously became more visible, strengthened connections with followers across Iran and South Asia, and renewed Persian Ismaili literary activity. The village’s surviving Imam mausoleums provide material evidence for this period.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 33 in this Nizari sequence
'Abd al-Salam Shah (a.s.)
15th century · dates uncertain
‘Abd al-Salam Shah succeeded Mustansir bi’llah in the Anjudan succession. His Imamat coincided with the emergence of the Safavid state and growing pressure on nonconforming Shi‘i communities, so the Nizari leadership continued to rely on guarded networks and practices of concealment. The succession is preserved in Ismaili sources, but surviving independent evidence gives little detail about his residence, writings or political activity; no undocumented personal narrative is added here.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 34 in this Nizari sequence
Gharib Mirza (Mustansir Billah) (a.s.)
15th century · dates uncertain
Gharib Mirza, also known by the Imam’s title Mustansir bi’llah, was an Anjudan-period Imam whose mausoleum remains in the village. He died in 1498. A study of the Nizari scholar Abu Ishaq Quhistani places him in this Imam’s time, helping anchor the succession in the late fifteenth century. The repeated use of Mustansir bi’llah as a title for different Imams can cause confusion, so this profile retains the distinct name Gharib Mirza used in the Institute of Ismaili Studies’ sequence.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 35 in this Nizari sequence
Abu Dharr Ali (a.s.)
16th century · dates uncertain
Abu Dharr ‘Ali is listed among the Anjudan Imams after Gharib Mirza. The Persian Nizari community’s literary activity was reviving in this era, with authors such as Abu Ishaq Quhistani and, later, Khayrkhwah Harati preserving and developing Ismaili thought. The record names Abu Dharr’s place in the Imamate but offers little independently verifiable detail about his personal life; the broader intellectual and communal context is better documented than his individual biography.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 36 in this Nizari sequence
Murad Mirza (a.s.)
16th century · dates uncertain
Murad Mirza is one of the later Imams in the Anjudan succession. By this time, Nizari communities maintained ties across Iran, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and Persian devotional and doctrinal texts helped connect dispersed followers. Sources preserve Murad Mirza’s position in the line but do not establish a detailed personal chronology. The surviving record is therefore presented with its limits rather than filled out with uncertain dates or anecdotes.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 37 in this Nizari sequence
Dhu'l-Faqar Ali (a.s.)
16th century · dates uncertain
Dhu’l-Faqar ‘Ali is recorded in the later Anjudan succession, during the period when Safavid rule made public religious identity more sensitive for Nizari communities. The Anjudan network continued to support contacts with followers outside Iran, particularly in Sind and Gujarat, while scholars wrote and circulated Persian Ismaili works. The surviving sources establish his place in the succession more firmly than the details of his life, and the date range on this page reflects that evidentiary limit.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 38 in this Nizari sequence
Nur al-Din (al-Dahr) Ali (a.s.)
17th century · dates uncertain
Nur al-Din ‘Ali, also called al-Dahr, belongs to the final Anjudan-era succession before Khalil Allah ‘Ali. The Nizari Imams of this period led a geographically dispersed community through a mixture of local representatives, devotional networks and carefully managed public identities. The sources name him in the Qasim-Shahi line but do not provide a secure account of his early life or a precise public chronology; those limits should remain visible in any account of his biography.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 39 in this Nizari sequence
Khalil Allah Ali (Anjudan) (a.s.)
d. 1680 CE · dates uncertain
Khalil Allah ‘Ali was the last Imam whose residence was associated with Anjudan in this sequence. He died there in 1680 and was buried in the village. His son and successor Shah Nizar moved the Imam’s residence and the Nizari da‘wa headquarters to Kahak during the early years of his Imamat, after which Anjudan was no longer the Imams’ residence. The surviving tombs and local records make this transition unusually visible compared with earlier centuries.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 40 in this Nizari sequence
Shah Nizar (Qasim-Shahi Imam) (a.s.)
d. 1722 CE · Imam from 1680
Shah Nizar succeeded Khalil Allah ‘Ali and moved the Imam’s residence and the Nizari da‘wa headquarters from Anjudan to Kahak during the early decades of his Imamat. The reason for the move is not known, but Kahak became a place of regular pilgrimage for Khoja Ismailis travelling from India to meet their Imam. Shah Nizar died in September 1722; his inscribed tombstone and the surviving Kahak mausoleum help confirm the chronology.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 41 in this Nizari sequence
Sayyid Ali (a.s.)
d. 1754 CE · dates of birth uncertain
Sayyid ‘Ali succeeded his father Shah Nizar and continued to reside in Kahak. The village mausoleum contains his grave alongside those of his father and other family members. An Institute of Ismaili Studies study dates his death to 1754, after which his son Hasan ‘Ali—also known as Sayyid Hasan Beg—became Imam. The site’s tombstones and the continuing journeys of Khoja pilgrims connect this Iranian residence with the wider South Asian Nizari community.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 42 in this Nizari sequence
Hasan Ali (18th-century Imam) (a.s.)
18th century · dates uncertain
Hasan ‘Ali, also known as Sayyid Hasan Beg, led the Nizari Imamat as it re-emerged into public political life in eighteenth-century Iran. His relationship with Nadir Shah brought new recognition: accounts report that he served as a military commander and later received authority around Mahallat, though details differ. After Nadir Shah’s death, Hasan Beg’s seat shifted toward Kirman to improve access for Indian followers whose pilgrimage routes had become difficult. He died before the brief Imamat of his son Qasim ‘Ali.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 43 in this Nizari sequence
Qasim Ali (a.s.)
18th century · dates uncertain
Qasim ‘Ali followed his father Hasan ‘Ali (Sayyid Hasan Beg) as Imam in eighteenth-century Iran. The historical record is unusually brief: a scholarly study notes that few details survive and that his Imamat was evidently short. His successor, Abu’l-Hasan ‘Ali, is better documented for his leadership in Kirman under the Afsharid and Zand rulers. Qasim ‘Ali’s biography therefore records the succession without assigning a precise duration that the available sources do not establish.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 44 in this Nizari sequence
Abu'l-Hasan Ali (a.s.)
18th–19th century · dates uncertain
Abu’l-Hasan ‘Ali succeeded Qasim ‘Ali and became a prominent political leader in Kirman. Under the Zands he was appointed governor of the province, repelled a major Afghan invasion and sponsored public buildings in the city. After Karim Khan Zand’s death, Abu’l-Hasan maintained local authority and shifted his support to Agha Muhammad Khan Qajar during the conflict with the Zands. He died in 1792; his son Shah Khalil Allah succeeded him and moved the Imamat’s seat back to Kahak.
No authenticated portrait identified; this marker is not a likeness.
Imam 45 in this Nizari sequence
Shah Khalil Allah (a.s.)
c. 1740–1817 CE · Imam from 1792
Shah Khalil Allah led the Nizari community from 1792, first from Kahak and then, from 1815, from Yazd, closer to routes used by Khoja pilgrims from India. In 1817 a mob, incited by a local cleric after a dispute between some of the Imam’s followers and shopkeepers, attacked his residence and killed him and several followers. Qajar ruler Fath ‘Ali Shah ordered punishment for those responsible and appointed his son Hasan ‘Ali Shah governor of Qom, granting him the title Aga Khan. Shah Khalil Allah was buried in Najaf.
Archival portrait credited to David Pitney; public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Imam 46 in this Nizari sequence
Hasan Ali Shah (Aga Khan I) (a.s.)
1804–1881 CE · Imam 1817–1881
Born in 1804 in Kahak near Qom, Hasan Ali Shah was the son of Imam Shah Khalil Allah and Bibi Sarkara Maryam Khatoon. After his father was killed in 1817, the 13-year-old succeeded him. His mother petitioned the Qajar court; the family received justice and land in Mahallat, while Hasan Ali Shah married Sarv-e Jahan Khanum and was appointed governor of Qom, receiving the title Aga Khan. Muhammad Shah later appointed him governor of Kirman. Dismissed in 1836, he resisted, surrendered after a siege, and later left Iran through Afghanistan and Sind. He reached western India in the 1840s and, after years of movement between Bombay and Calcutta, made Bombay his lasting home. He strengthened links with Ismaili communities across South and Central Asia and wrote a memoir of his Iranian political career. He died in April 1881 and was buried at Hasanabad in Bombay. Sources differ on the precise stages and dates of his permanent move to Bombay.
Archival portrait dated 1885 or earlier; author and original source are unknown. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Imam 47 in this Nizari sequence
Aqa Ali Shah (Aga Khan II) (a.s.)
c. 1830–1885 CE · Imam 1881–1885
Aqa Ali Shah was born in Mahallat in 1830 to Hasan Ali Shah, Aga Khan I, and Sarv-e Jahan Khanum, a daughter of Fath Ali Shah Qajar. He spent his childhood in Mahallat and was taken by his mother to Karbala, where he studied Arabic and Nizari Ismaili teachings. In adulthood he managed Ismaili affairs in Iran and Syria while his father was often away. After periods in Iran and Karachi, he moved to Bombay and succeeded his father as Imam and Aga Khan in 1881. He maintained relations with Iran and British India, served on the Bombay City Council, supported schools and widened contacts with communities in the Hindu Kush, Burma, East Africa and Syria. He married Shams al-Muluk, a Qajar princess. His son and designated heir Shihab al-Din Shah died before him in a riding accident in 1885. Aqa Ali Shah died later that year after a short Imamat of four years and was buried in Najaf.
Sultan Muhammad Shah (1877–1957) became the 48th Imam in 1885, aged eight, after his father Aga Khan II died. His mother oversaw his early years; later he became a major public figure in South Asia and international affairs. He advocated modern education, including girls’ education, and supported the development of Aligarh Muslim University. He was a founding president of the All-India Muslim League and in 1937 became president of the League of Nations. After a 72-year Imamat, he died in Switzerland in 1957 and was buried at Aswan, Egypt. These public milestones are better documented than details of his childhood and private life.
Karim al-Hussaini (1936–2025) was born in Geneva, spent part of his childhood in Nairobi, attended school in Switzerland, and studied Islamic history at Harvard. He succeeded his grandfather as the 49th Imam in 1957, aged 20, and led the community for 67 years. He established the Aga Khan Development Network, founded the Institute of Ismaili Studies in 1977, and supported the Aga Khan University, the University of Central Asia and cultural conservation initiatives. He also promoted pluralism and founded the Global Centre for Pluralism with Canada. He died in Lisbon on 4 February 2025, aged 88; his public record spans spiritual leadership, development, education, diplomacy, architecture and horse breeding.
born 12 October 1971 · 50th Imam since 4 February 2025
Shah Rahim al-Hussaini was born in Geneva on 12 October 1971, the eldest son of Karim al-Hussaini and Salimah Aga Khan. He studied at Phillips Academy Andover and graduated from Brown University in 1995 with a degree in comparative literature. Before his succession, he served on boards across the Aga Khan Development Network and followed the work of the Institute of Ismaili Studies and community institutions. His father designated him as successor; he became the 50th Imam on 4 February 2025. As Imam and chair of AKDN, he has focused publicly on pluralism, climate and improving opportunities for vulnerable communities. His leadership is ongoing, so this biography records public milestones and will need periodic updating.
Core reference: Farhad Daftary, The Ismaili Imams: A Biographical History (Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2020). The sequence and names follow the book's listed Nizari line; it presents concise biographies of all 49 Imams through Aga Khan IV. The current Imam's accession and biographical details are linked to The Ismaili, the official community news and information site. Read the IIS reference · Mawlana Shah Rahim's biography
