Ismaili

The Ismāʿīlī (Urdu: اسماعیلی Ismāʿīlī, Arabic: الإسماعيليون al-Ismāʿīliyyūn; Persian: اسماعیلیان Esmāʿīliyān) branch of Islam is the second largest part of the Shī'a community, after the Twelvers (Ithnāʿashariyya). The Ismaili get their name from their acceptance of Ismail bin Jafar as the successor, or Imam to Jafar al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelvers, who accept Musa al-Kazim, younger brother of Ismail, as their Imam. The Ismaili and the Twelvers both accept the same initial Imams from the descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima Zahra and therefore share much of their early history.

Though it claims to trace its earliest theology to the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad, and that Ismailism rose to one point as the largest branch of the Shia religion and climaxed as a political power with the Fatimid Empire in the tenth through twelfth centuries. However, Ismailism as it exists today is not close in creed or lineage to the early Ismailis. Due to vast changes in its teaching that do not fall within the fold of Islam as outlined in the Quran, Ismailis are not considered Muslim by the vast majority of Islamic scholars.

After the passing away, or Occultation of Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail according to the Sevener Ismailis, the teachings of Ismailism further transformed into the belief system as it is known today, with an explicit concentration on the batin, or esoteric aspect of the Islamic religion. With the eventual development of Twelverism into the zahir oriented Akhbari and later Usooli schools of thought, Shiasm developed into two separate directions: the Ismaili aspect focusing on the mystical nature of the Imam and the mystical path to Allah, and the Twelver aspect focusing on sharia and the Sunnah of the Ahl al-Bayt.

Though there are several sub-groupings within the Ismailis, the term in today's vernacular generally refers to the Nizari community, who are followers of the Aga Khan and the largest group among the Ismailis. While many of the branches have extremely differing exterior practices, much of the spiritual theology has remained the same since the days of the faith's early Imams. The Ismaili are found primarily in India, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, China, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, East Africa and South Africa, but have in recent years emigrated to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America.