Ahmad al-Wafi (Abadullah)

Mosque Imam Abadullah, Salamia, Syria, renovated by Dawoodi Bohra.

Ahmad al-Wafi
Other names	Abu Muhammad
Personal
Born	Abadullah 179 AH (approximately 795/796) Medina
Died	212 AH (approximately 827/828)
Resting place	Salamiyah, Syria
Children	Taqi Muhammad (successor)
Parents	Muhammad ibn Ismail (father) Fatima bint al-Hussain'l-Athram bin al-Hasan bin Ali (mother
Senior posting
Title	az-Azbab-i-Itlaq (Absolute lord), Al-Wafi
Religious career
Initiation	(212 AH
Post	Eighth Ismāʿīlī Imām

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Mousoleum Imam Abadullah, Salamia.

"Kabra mubarak" Imam Abadullah, Salamia

Aḥmad al-Wafī (True name: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl (عبد اللّه بن محمد بن إسماعيل); born: 149 AH, 766 AD, died: 212 AH, 828 AD Salamiyya, Syria, Imam: 193-212 AH, 809-828 AD) is the eighth Ismaili Imam. He was son and successor of 7th Imam Muhammad bin Ismail. ^[1] He was surnamed "al-Wafi"(True to one's word), also known as ar-Radi Abdullah al-Wafi or Wafi Ahmad. As the Imam, he was the supreme spiritual leader of the Ismaili community from his appointment until his death. The Nizari and Mustaali trace their Imamate lines from him and his descendants who founded the Fatimid Empire. For protection against his real Imam position, he was known as attar (due to his profession in drug and medicine). He was succeeded by his son, Taqi Muhammad (Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh).^[2] With the death of Jafar Sadik in 148/765, Ismail (d. 158/775) and Muhammad (d. 197/813), the Ismaili Imams were impelled to hide, therefore, the first Dawr-i Satr came into force from 197/813 to 268/882, wherein the Imams were known as al-A'immatu'l masturin (the concealed Imams).^[3]

The 8th to 10th Ismaili Imams were hidden from the public, because of threats from the Abbassid caliphate, and were known by their nicknames. However, the Dawoodi Bohra in their religious text, Taqqarub, claim to have the true names of all 21 imams in sequence including those "hidden" imams: 8th Imam ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad the true name/ (Wafī Aḥmad), 9th Imam Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh (Taqī Muḥammad), and the 10th Imam al-Ḥusayn ibn Aḥmad (Raḍī ʿAbd Allāh).^[4][5]

Residence at Salamia, Syria

As per Ismaili.net ^[6] residence history of Salamia is as follows:

"The Ismaili dais in search of a new residence for their Imam came to Salamia and inspected the town and approached the owner, Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Saleh, who had transformed the town into a flourishing commercial centre. They told him that there was a Hashimite merchant from Basra who was desirous of settling in the town. He readily accepted and pointed out to them a site along the main street in the market, where existed a house belonging to a certain Abu Farha. The Ismaili dais bought it for their Imam and informed him about it. Wafi Ahmad arrived to his new residence as an ordinary merchant. He soon pulled down the old building and had new ones built in its place; and also built a new wall around it. He also built a tunnel inside his house, leading to the desert, whose length was about 12 miles. Money and treasures were carried on camels to the door of that tunnel at night. The door opened and the camels entered with their loads inside the house."

Photo placed here shows the mousoleum of the Imam. Near his kabra mubarak ("blessed grave"), the tunnel opening still exists.

External links

Tunnel imam salamia

• List of Syednas (according to Dawoodi Bohras)
• The Ismaili, their history and doctrine by Farhad Daftary
• Religion,learning and science by Young Lathan
• Medieval Islamic civilisation by Joseph w. Meri, Bacharach
• Sayyida Hurra: The Isma‘ili Sulayhid Queen of Yemenby Dr Farhad Daftary
• The Uyun al-akhbar is the most complete text written by an Ismaili/Tayyibi/Dawoodi 19th Dai Sayyedna Idris bin Hasan on the history of the Ismaili community from its origins up to the 12th century CE. period of the Fatimid caliphs al-Mustansir (d. 487/1094), the time of Musta‘lian rulers including al-Musta‘li (d. 495/1101) and al-Amir (d. 524/1130), and then the Tayyibi Ismaili community in Yemen.

Some of his ancestors, relatives and the tree of the Ismāʿīlī Shia Islam

Tree of the Ismāʿīlī Shia Islam.