Ahmad al-Wafi
Aḥmad al-Wafī alias ʿAbdallāh ibn Maymūn Al-Qaddāḥ is the eighth Isma'ili Imam. He was the son and successor of the seventh Imam, Muhammad ibn Isma'il. He was called al-Wafi "true to his word".
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 Caliphate. For protection against his real Imam position, he was known as "Attar". He was succeeded by his son, Muhammad at-Taqi. With the death of Ja'far al-Sadiq in 765, Isma'il in 775 and Muhammad in 813, the Isma'ili Imams were impelled to hide; this first occultation lasted from 813-882.
The eighth to tenth Ismaili Imams were hidden from the public because of threats from the Abbasid 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 the "hidden" imams: the eighth Imam Abdullah ibn Mohammad, the ninth Imam Ahmed ibn Abadullah, and the tenth Imam Husain ibn Ahmed.Gallery
