The Fathites (alternately Aftahiyya, Fathiyya) are a now-defunct branch of

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the ...

Muslims who were supporters of Abdullah al-Aftah ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq, believing him to be

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, se ...

after his father

Ja'far al-Sadiq Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...

, the sixth imam of Shiism, in 766 CE. Abdullah's inheritance of the imamate was contested, with varying stories stating that either that he died within 70 days of his father, or that he was not sufficiently competent. One faction of Fathites believed that Abdullah al-Aftah had a son, Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Aftah, who inherited the Imamate. Others, however, believe Abdullah died without issue, and many Fathites later rejoined the Shia mainstream, becoming followers of Musa al-Kadhim, Ja'far's other son who was recognized as the 7th Twelver Shia imam.

Fathites amongst Shia

References

Shia Islamic branches {{shia-stub

Fathites amongst Shia

See also

References